The Star Wars sequel trilogy was among the most-anticipated films in cinematic history. After a long hiatus in live-action film, fans were excited to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens pick up where 1983’s Return of the Jedi let off. Of course, fan expectations were set high, but that was only because Star Wars is something people keep so close to their hearts. The Force Awakens was positively received upon release and became the highest-grossing film of all time at the domestic box office.

Despite the success of The Force Awakens, the Star Wars fanbase became incredibly divided by the end of the trilogy. Some fans enjoyed the sequels, while others viewed the trilogy as a major disappointment. Although reception has been mixed, there were some parts of the sequels that people could generally agree on. Without further ado, here’s what the Star Wars sequel trilogy was able to get right.

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Great Performances From New Cast

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Lucasfilm assembled a spectacular cast for the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Fans may have had problems with the creative decisions, but criticisms on the performances was almost unheard of. Mark Hamill did not necessarily agree with the way Rian Johnson wrote Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but he committed himself to serving the story and giving the best performance possible. Johnson needed Hamill to portray a world-weary man who had lost his way, and that’s exactly what Hamill did. Every scene with Luke showed his pain and anger at his own failures. The Last Jedi was arguably Hamill’s best performance in his Star Wars career.

Characters like Supreme Leader Snoke, Captain Phasma, and General Hux were unfortunately killed off before they had a chance to shine. Andy Serkis, Gwendoline Christie, and Domhnall Gleeson are all phenomenal actors, and every actor in the sequel trilogy made the most out of the material they had been given. One of the standout performances was Adam Driver as Kylo Ren. Driver created the richest and most emotionally complex character of all three films in Kylo Ren, a.k.a. Ben Solo.

John Williams’ Score

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John Williams, quite simply, has become one of the greatest film composers of all time. Williams has not just composed for Star Wars, but has also composed for the first three Harry Potter films, the first two Jurassic Park films, Jaws, Superman, Schindler’s List, and more. Lucasfilm was fortunate to have Williams score The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker. There was no equivalent to “Duel of the Fates” in the sequels, but “Rey’s Theme” and the epic “March of the Resistance” were some of Star Wars’ best.

Balance of the Force

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For many years, there has been confusion on what “balance of the Force” exactly meant in Star Wars. Thanks to the sequel trilogy, it has become a lot clearer. A previous concept popular among fans was the idea of “Gray Jedi,” Force users who followed both the light and dark sides of the Force. This, however, was never present in either George Lucas’ films or new Star Wars stories under Disney. Everyone in the galaxy was technically gray because they had both light and darkness within them. As shared by ScreenRant, Lucas’ protégé Dave Filoni described the dark side as a manifestation of “greed, desire for power, and fears.” The light side, on the other hand, has always been about “selfless action, by living in balance, by overcoming our fears.”

In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Anakin’s Force spirit reached out to Rey instructing her to “bring back the balance” as he did. Anakin restored balance in the Force by defeating Palpatine, and Rey did it again when Palpatine re-emerged. Some fans grew angry that balance was seemingly once again about the light defeating the dark. Writer Chris Terrio explained to IndieWire that that was not exactly the case. Palpatine and the First Order being defeated never meant that “everything is happily ever after.” Rather, Rey and the Resistance simply prevented the dark side from dominating the galaxy. According to Terrio, even without the Sith, Empire, or First Order, there were “corners everywhere in the galaxy where the Dark still exists.”

Cinematography and Strong Visual Identity

The Star Wars sequel trilogy was some of the most gorgeous blockbuster films in recent memory. The films had high production values, with most of the shots from the films looking absolutely beautiful. Of course, a large production budget has never guaranteed a film would succeed on the visual front. The theatrical version of Justice League, for example, was one of the most expensive movies ever made, but still often looked questionable.

In the 2000s, the Star Wars prequels were heavily criticized for their use of CGI. Lucasfilm kept the criticisms in mind and returned to their practical VFX roots. Scenes on Jakku, Crait, Pasaana, and Luke’s island were all shot using real locations. Of course, Lucasfilm still used computer-generated imagery; they simply understood the importance of the practical in many scenarios. Plus, when they did use CGI, they were able to effectively blend it with practical effects.

Not only did the locations and sets look great, so too did the costumes, props, and vehicles. Combined with fantastic cinematography and sound design, it was difficult not to be impressed. Many of the people who did not enjoy the sequel trilogy gave credit where it was due. The cinematography and visuals in the Star Wars sequel trilogy were all top-notch. The problems people had were mostly in the writing and story decisions they didn’t agree with.