10 More Awesome Sci-Fi Villains Wasted In Terrible Movies
2. Emperor Palpatine - Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker should've been an epic finale to a nine-part saga. But because the director, JJ Abrams, had to course-correct plot threads from The Last Jedi, we were left with a disjointed uneven mess.
Most of the film's criticism was centred around Abrams' decision to resurrect the character of Emperor Palpatine, who had been busy being dead for nearly 40 years. Although there's a convoluted explanation how he returned according to books and comics, it's never explored in the film itself, making his appearance seemingly non-sensical. Not only that, reintroducing a long-dead character with zero build-up in the very first scene comes across as desperate fan-service.
Despite this perfectly valid criticism, no one complained about the actor who portrayed Palpatine, Ian McDiarmid. After playing the character in movies, animated series, and video games for decades, it would be easy for the British actor to phone it in.
But after the Emperor's opening scene in The Rise of Skywalker, it's evident McDiarmid is still relishing the role and putting his heart and soul into every word he utters. It was fantastic to see the character again but it was a shame it wasn't in a better movie.