Who should win? Why The Rise of Skywalker Sucked

 Rise of Skywalker sucked.

The whole final trilogy sucked. And I'm not saying this because I didn't like a female main character (I'm totally fine with that) or the racial inclusiveness of the cast (I am highly in favor of that). It's because Rey's arc, her fight scenes, and especially the final scene, violated the basic principles of good action movies.

Here's my 2-part thesis:

1. Action movies are satisfying because the just (good, virtuous) characters win. Snuff films and torture porn are a different genre with different rules. 

2. In good action movies, the heroes must win in cool ways, and their victories MUST be connected to their virtue. The way they win must SHOW how they are better - not  physically stronger or tougher, but better in some way that we morally value. Smarter, more disciplined, harder working, more courageous, things like that. 

What does this mean?

In the real world, the winner of a fistfight is not guaranteed to be the better person. Bad people are often big, tough, strong, and athletic. In fact, it might even be the case that bad people are MORE likely to win in 'real' fights, for several reasons. They're more likely to have experience with violence. They're likely to be meaner. Both of those traits correlate well to winning an actual fight.

Imagine a war movie where the 'good guys' have better technology, greater numbers, and a superior strategic position. Then they beat the 'bad guys.' How satisfying would it be? Not very (if you disagree, find a war movie where that's what happens. I'll wait). To be satisfying, the 'heroes' have to be outnumbered or disadvantaged in some way - bad tech, low supplies, whatever. 

But being disadvantaged is not enough by itself. Imagine our heroes 'win' because the 'bad guys' accidentally set off their own munitions and blow themselves up. Or are struck by a freak blast of lightning. Yes, plucky heroes win, but not because of anything they did, but because of luck. Again, not satisfying, and feel free to try to find a counterexample. Yes, I'll wait.

No, in order for the victory to feel good, the heroes must win in some way that reflects on their superior qualities - their virtues. They might show more courage (NOT turning aside in some version of chicken that resolves the situation). They  might be more clever - finding some intelligent, creative solution to the problem that helps them overcome the superior forces of the bad guys. Or, if they are simply more skilled or stronger, it should be because they have worked harder. They have earned that strength or skill through discipline and effort.

This is the two-pronged payoff of the martial arts movie. First of all, the martial arts moves used by the heroes are inherently cool. Secondly, they implicitly or explicitly (think training montage) reference a set of behaviors where the hero outworked the bad guys, developing the skills that win the day. Obviously, these skills are not always developed onscreen, but they are at least implied (think of The Raid, where the training is off-camera but obvious. Or John Wick, where we don't see him train but it's strongly implied that he did so). 

What's the problem with Rise of Skywalker?

Rey trains, but no more than other Force users, at least not in any way that is made clear in the films. In the climactic battle, she is just stronger. Why? It's not clear, but probably because she is the inheritor of a lineage of strong Force users. She doesn't use any clever maneuvers, no interesting psychological ploys. She just pushes harder than her opponent, and is able to do something because of what she is. Not because of what she's done, or earned, but just because she was born to have this ability.

Rey's victory does not make you think any more of HER, because it doesn't say or show anything good about who she is as a person. If anything, it makes me, at least, feel bad for Palpatine. All that work down the drain for this poor guy because some person was born with a stronger connection to the Force.

Some people are stronger than others in the real world. That is life. In our stories, we want to think that being a better person matters, that it influences outcomes. The final 3 movies failed to show us that.