9 Things Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker Did Right
Abrams got blood out of a stone with Snoke...
The Rise of Skywalker has, much like The Last Jedi before it, faced a lot of backlash and this is, in many ways, understandable.
The pacing is rushed as hell, it's loaded with plot holes, it doesn't do enough to follow on from The Last Jedi, that C-3PO subplot was awful and John Boyega's Finn didn't get a proper arc but at the same time, The Rise of Skywalker is still a three-star film that does plenty of stuff really well.
It cannot be denied that this is a disappointing film, but it's important not to forget the many things that worked. After all, when considering The Rise of Skywalker in a balanced way, it actually feels like a pretty decent film in many ways and it improves on a second viewing.
Some feel like the scrapped Colin Trevorrow version sounds a lot better and while it's true that Duel of the Fates sounded more coherent, take all of that with a pinch of salt. Remember, Trevorrow is the guy behind Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Book of Henry, two of the stupidest films of recent years.
The Episode IX that we got was good enough and here's why...
9. Yes, It Retconned The Last Jedi But It Did So Well
Although The Rise of Skywalker does undeniably retcon The Last Jedi a bit, most of the answers it comes up with are actually pretty good and if they weren't deviations from the previous film, it's likely most would've found them perfectly agreeable.
For example, the idea of Rey being a Palpatine (ignoring the question of how Darth Sideous managed to bang anyone) is actually rather interesting, since it adds a thought-provoking dimension to Rey's arc: she has to accept yet also overcome her Sith heritage and it makes her emergence as a Jedi later on even more satisfying.
Additionally, while Luke was acting more like his old self in Rise, perhaps people who are criticising this didn't actually watch The Last Jedi. Luke had had a change of heart by the time of his death, so his behaviour in Rise was entirely logical.
It should be remembered that Rian Johnson was a story consultant for this, so JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy didn't completely reject his vision and while this is thematically different to Last Jedi, in all three Star Wars trilogies each film felt different in tone and theme.
As for another retcon many have criticised...