10 Movie Sequels That'll Definitely Make You Angry

3. Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise Of Skywalker

Terminator Dark Fate
Lucasfilm

The Rise of Skywalker was never going to live up to expectations. After all, it marked the end of the most cherished yet divisive sci-fi saga in modern popular culture. Plus, mastermind J.J. Abrams had to rectify several storyline and character incongruities, while delivering a worthwhile ending to the trilogy he started with 2015’s The Force Awakens.

Therefore, the movie turned out better than many Star Wars devotees anticipated, yet it was a clearly rushed job, with inconsistent pacing, subpar acting, clumsy resolutions, and myriad instances of fan service that felt lame and obligatory rather than rewarding.

The biggest affront of all was its main villain, the illogically resurrected Emperor Palpatine, who – apparently – had been using Abrams’ initial antagonist, Snoke, as a puppet all along. That could’ve worked if it’d been set-up subtly and consistently during The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, but it wasn’t.

Instead, the reveal comes as an overt sign of how desperate and aimless things became behind-the-scenes, with Abrams struggling to find some huge moment since Snoke was killed off in The Last Jedi. That disservice, alongside other issues – like the biological and adopted lineages of Rey – is undeniably irritating.

Contributor
Contributor

Hey there! Outside of WhatCulture, I'm a former editor at PopMatters and a contributor to Kerrang!, Consequence, PROG, Metal Injection, Loudwire, and more. I've written books about Jethro Tull, Opeth, and Dream Theater and I run a creative arts journal called The Bookends Review. Oh, and I live in Philadelphia and teach academic/creative writing courses at a few colleges/universities.