- Joined
- Jan 23, 2006
- Messages
- 19,631
- Reaction score
- 14,518
There were fun elements in it.
Luke the disgruntled and disheveled former Jedi master living in near isolation. That provided some laughs but also an interesting take on the Force.
I thought this was the movie that best described the dark side.
I loved the chasing of the Alliance's last ship with a powerful New Order hunting them down. I thought that brought about the right kind of doomsday tension that kept us on the edge of our seats with a faint hope that Luke would come and save the day.
I liked the odd relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren. Both are trying to convert each other while basquing in each other's mutual admiration while balancing just enough caution so to not be deceived by the other's intentions. There was a hint of romantic tension in there as well without it being at all obvious but leaves the possibility open in the future.
The central themes of Star Wars were there: David vs. Goliath with Good as the distant underdog. Mystic element of the force and its cautious taming of it. Potentially destructive element of seduction, obsession and greed. Hope (probably the most important theme in Star Wars)
What I didn't like was the casino scene. Although it provides for the segue into the rebuilding of the Alliance thus bridging episodes 8 and 9, it dragged on for too long and sometimes felt like the producers just wanted some action scenes thrown in there.
Benicio Del Toro's character was underutilized. Although I liked that we thought he'd be the next Han Solo (merch for hire), he ended up being Han's antihero. I just wish there would have been more buildup of friendship and trust before the betrayal. I would have preferred a betrayal in episode 9 but whatever.
Phasma getting killed off after being billed as a badass was a waste of a good story.
And the Leah scene floating in space although the director claimed she used the force to create an oxygen bubble around her. I felt like he made that up himself because it wasn't at all apparent in the movie.
Star Wars is chalk full of plot holes, even in eipsodes 4-6 but we tend to forgive those because they were part of our youth and so we're blinded by our nostalgia, not to mention SW was never a great movie because of its incredible storyline. It was he breakthrough in special effects that was its greatest contributor to cinema, and it was done on a shoestring budget.
Today's Star Wars is backed by infinite money and its fanbase is now grown up enough to pick apart the plot holes and go on massive whinefests. I'm especially afraid of becoming crosseyed from rolling my eyes so much every time I hear about someone complaining about the SJW agenda.
