This was the best Star Wars movie...nay, the ONLY Star Wars movie, the only true Star Wars movie, the only movie to truly capture the...
I'll start again.
This movie was good. Damned good.
J. J. Abrams really nailed it.
Like, REALLY nailed it.
Random thoughts about the movie's unanswered questions:
1) Rey is Luke's daughter. That's pretty obvious.
2) Who is Snoke? Andy Serkis is genius as always, but who the hell is he?
3) I love how conflicted Kylo Ren is at first - he's such a wonderfully complex villain, a fully 3 dimensional character with a whole bunch of stuff and baggage and thoughts.
4) I love how J. J. Abrams put us at ease immediately when Poe knelt before Ren and we were all "ok here comes the shitty dialogue this...oh, nope, never mind." That whole "So..do you talk first? Do I talk?" Beautiful. The whole movie flowed. The dialogue was just excellent, most of the time, except for that awkward "well we've got to cram this exposition between Han and Leia in here somewhere, let's do it all in one stilted conversation" minute.
5) BB-8 said HIYA to R2D2. HIYA. ADORABLE.
6) Why am I numbering these?
7) Just read somewhere that Finn and Poe might be on their way to a gay romance. Yes. Yes please.
8) I also read that Han Solo will be back for Ep. VIII. How? Force ghost? Flashbacks? Miraculously surviving being stabbed and falling down a hole? Luke did it. He had his hand cut off and fell down a hole.
9) John Williams' score was FANTASTIC. Love Rey's theme, the new Resistance theme, the First Order's theme, and everything was just...YES. Dude's a modern Mahler.
I agree with just about everything you said! It was amazing. A few things made my eyebrows shoot up - I still don't understand Snoke, to the point of thinking a giant hologram is kind of hokey. Like, even if he's legitimately that giant, that still doesn't really make it better for me. Also, dropping Poe back in at the end, like hello, oh, yeah, I survived and shit. That felt sloppy.
But nothing else about the entire runtime felt sloppy, it felt finished and thought-through and brilliantly handled. BB8 is so freaking cute. I'm loving Rey, the flashback when she touched Luke's saber took my breath away, and of course the final scene. A person I didn't expect spoiled Han's death for me by publicly posting a giant screencap of that moment, so I knew it was Kylo Ren's sword too. That really sucked, and I wish I'd been able to experience that moment clean.
I agree with everything you said about KR without hesitation - I was terrified during the end battle that they were going to kill him off, and a lack of an arching villain is one of the many, many things those "movies-that-shall-not-be-named" got wrong. KR was entirely right. I loved how General Hux treated him with a mix of fear of his power and contempt for the tantrum-throwing, emo kid he is.
Also, I'm really, REALLY happy they humanized stormtroopers in this movie, and not just Finn. There was a lot of comedy in those scenes, like the one where the troopers realized KR was throwing a saber-fit and just slid backwards until they could turn around. I wonder if the 501st influenced that at all.
I agree with you that Rey is Luke's daughter, but Shanna thinks she is Ben's twin. She thinks it's why she, with no training, could read into his mind. I think she's Luke's daughter since her happy place is where Luke is, and Ren reading that in her mind didn't trigger anything for him. Overall I am happy with the movie but I admit that I must suspend disbelief for the whole franchise. That said, I've always seen it as a sci fi fairy tale.
I just listened to the complete soundtrack on Spotify, and it's as fun and spectacular as one could hope. John Williams is the strongest of all the Jedi!
When I first saw Supreme Leader Snoke, my first thought was of "The Wizard of Oz". I suspect he's actually tiny in stature, and that he uses the hologram to betray his actual size. I have nothing to back this up other than a gut feeling, though.
So, Rey.
I read a fantastic fan theory about here today, and the more I think about it, the more fun it might be were it to become canon.
What if Rey isn't a Solo/Organa?
What if Rey isn't a Skywalker, either?
What if - *what if* - Rey is actually ... a KENOBI?
Obi Wan had a decades-long connection to the blue lightsaber before giving it to Luke, which could be why it called to Rey instead of Kylo Ren, who (one would think) had never seen it until facing it in battle. And Luke, Han, and Leia don't have British accents, unlike a certain grizzled old loner Jedi we know and love ...
Food for thought! I think it's a fun idea, regardless if it becomes canon or not.
OK.
ReplyDeleteThis was the best Star Wars movie...nay, the ONLY Star Wars movie, the only true Star Wars movie, the only movie to truly capture the...
I'll start again.
This movie was good. Damned good.
J. J. Abrams really nailed it.
Like, REALLY nailed it.
Random thoughts about the movie's unanswered questions:
1) Rey is Luke's daughter. That's pretty obvious.
2) Who is Snoke? Andy Serkis is genius as always, but who the hell is he?
3) I love how conflicted Kylo Ren is at first - he's such a wonderfully complex villain, a fully 3 dimensional character with a whole bunch of stuff and baggage and thoughts.
4) I love how J. J. Abrams put us at ease immediately when Poe knelt before Ren and we were all "ok here comes the shitty dialogue this...oh, nope, never mind." That whole "So..do you talk first? Do I talk?" Beautiful. The whole movie flowed. The dialogue was just excellent, most of the time, except for that awkward "well we've got to cram this exposition between Han and Leia in here somewhere, let's do it all in one stilted conversation" minute.
5) BB-8 said HIYA to R2D2. HIYA. ADORABLE.
6) Why am I numbering these?
7) Just read somewhere that Finn and Poe might be on their way to a gay romance. Yes. Yes please.
8) I also read that Han Solo will be back for Ep. VIII. How? Force ghost? Flashbacks? Miraculously surviving being stabbed and falling down a hole? Luke did it. He had his hand cut off and fell down a hole.
9) John Williams' score was FANTASTIC. Love Rey's theme, the new Resistance theme, the First Order's theme, and everything was just...YES. Dude's a modern Mahler.
Alright. Your turn. Discuss.
I agree with just about everything you said! It was amazing. A few things made my eyebrows shoot up - I still don't understand Snoke, to the point of thinking a giant hologram is kind of hokey. Like, even if he's legitimately that giant, that still doesn't really make it better for me. Also, dropping Poe back in at the end, like hello, oh, yeah, I survived and shit. That felt sloppy.
ReplyDeleteBut nothing else about the entire runtime felt sloppy, it felt finished and thought-through and brilliantly handled. BB8 is so freaking cute. I'm loving Rey, the flashback when she touched Luke's saber took my breath away, and of course the final scene. A person I didn't expect spoiled Han's death for me by publicly posting a giant screencap of that moment, so I knew it was Kylo Ren's sword too. That really sucked, and I wish I'd been able to experience that moment clean.
I agree with everything you said about KR without hesitation - I was terrified during the end battle that they were going to kill him off, and a lack of an arching villain is one of the many, many things those "movies-that-shall-not-be-named" got wrong. KR was entirely right. I loved how General Hux treated him with a mix of fear of his power and contempt for the tantrum-throwing, emo kid he is.
Also, I'm really, REALLY happy they humanized stormtroopers in this movie, and not just Finn. There was a lot of comedy in those scenes, like the one where the troopers realized KR was throwing a saber-fit and just slid backwards until they could turn around. I wonder if the 501st influenced that at all.
I agree with you that Rey is Luke's daughter, but Shanna thinks she is Ben's twin. She thinks it's why she, with no training, could read into his mind. I think she's Luke's daughter since her happy place is where Luke is, and Ren reading that in her mind didn't trigger anything for him.
ReplyDeleteOverall I am happy with the movie but I admit that I must suspend disbelief for the whole franchise. That said, I've always seen it as a sci fi fairy tale.
I just listened to the complete soundtrack on Spotify, and it's as fun and spectacular as one could hope. John Williams is the strongest of all the Jedi!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw Supreme Leader Snoke, my first thought was of "The Wizard of Oz". I suspect he's actually tiny in stature, and that he uses the hologram to betray his actual size. I have nothing to back this up other than a gut feeling, though.
So, Rey.
I read a fantastic fan theory about here today, and the more I think about it, the more fun it might be were it to become canon.
What if Rey isn't a Solo/Organa?
What if Rey isn't a Skywalker, either?
What if - *what if* - Rey is actually ... a KENOBI?
Obi Wan had a decades-long connection to the blue lightsaber before giving it to Luke, which could be why it called to Rey instead of Kylo Ren, who (one would think) had never seen it until facing it in battle. And Luke, Han, and Leia don't have British accents, unlike a certain grizzled old loner Jedi we know and love ...
Food for thought! I think it's a fun idea, regardless if it becomes canon or not.