On Star Wars: The Force Awakens · 4:26pm Jan 2nd, 2016
I saw it last night. I'll get more in-depth (with unmarked spoilers) below the break, but short summary: it was everything I needed it to be. I can't tell you hard enough to GO SEE THIS FUCKING MOVIE before clicking the "Read More."
Star Wars was a huge part of my formative years, one I haven't involved myself with in a very long time. Which is weird, considering how much else from my childhood I'd held onto or revisited (like Transformers, as should be obvious). But I was deeply disappointed with the prequels when compared to the classic trilogy, even if I will argue that Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith at least have their moments. Most of my former enjoyment of them came from a young mind that didn't give a SHIT about narrative integrity and just liked watching pretty things happen, but some of that stuck and, with the originals, still holds up.
So when I heard that The Force Awakens was happening with A. the original cast, B. a post-Jedi setting, and C. no involvement from the man who strong-armed the prequels into mediocrity at best, I was MORE than on board. I knew from the moment the first trailer hit that it would blow the prequels out of the water and deliver the Star Wars experience we deserved to have for thirty fucking years.
My faith was rewarded. It fucking delivered. I was on the verge of tears of joy when the credits rolled.
The cast was absolutely perfect. For one thing, it felt like a huge, happy reunion seeing the core characters from the olden days come back (and seeing Harrison Ford give a shit for the first time in years). At times, it was like they'd never left, thirty years' worth of aging aside.
And on the other side of that coin, we've got the new crew, which shined just as brightly. They had great chemistry with each other AND the old cast, their characters and arcs were all engaging and interesting, and they really helped tie the whole thing together. To name specific examples:
- Rey was fucking STELLAR, the perfect lead for this movie and the rest of the coming trilogy. Resourceful, a VERY adept mechanic and pilot, and able to get herself out of trouble even when she's captured. It was her interactions with Han Solo that REALLY sold me on her, and I firmly believe she's worthy of the pilot seat of the Millennium Falcon AND, someday, the mantle of a Jedi.
- Finn was pretty damned great as well. It was partly through him that we got some insight into the nature of the stormtroopers, at least the First Order ones, and while a fair share of conflict could have been avoided if he'd been a little more open and honest, his struggle was understandable and it's hard to fault him for it. Plus, him and Poe at the start. Oh my god.
- Kylo fucking Ren. I've given him some shit after walking out of that theater, calling him Darth Fuckboy and asserting that his life motto is "IT'S NOT A PHASE, DAD!" However, he's a much different breed of villain than Vader was: volatile, conflicted, and unpredictable. And he looks pretty dopey once the mask comes off, which just further drives home the fact that he's really trying so goddamn hard to live up to the wrong family name. He's what Anakin Skywalker SHOULD HAVE BEEN.
- BB-8. Oh my god BB-8. He really is R2-D2 for a new generation. I don't even need to say anything more.
One of the grievances I hear regarding the story is that it's not original and that it's a retread of A New Hope. And honestly, the plot similarities are too numerous to outright say they're wrong. BUT it at least picked a great film (within its own series, too) to borrow from, and it more than compensates for its familiarity by delivering the story in a fresher, equally gripping manner. It still had all the heart, the humor, and the tension that drew people in the first time. If anything, the fact that I can't call it a complaint is a credit to how well Abrams tells the tale.
Just a couple other miscellaneous notes before I go:
- Captain Phasma was shockingly minor and tragically wasted, for all the marketing and merchandise she got.
- Han's death could be seen coming a mile away. Nothing good ever comes of precarious walkways over open pits that would make OSHA try to shut down the entire Starkiller base.
- How the actual fuck did they get that lightsaber from Cloud City.
- The very end with Rey and Luke... PERFECTION.
- They also got Ackbar back. No, he didn't say the thing.
- There is little room left to doubt that the First Order is a Nazi allegory. They went all-the-fuck-out.
- R2 was pretty much a last-second deus ex machina regarding the map.
- Even if he hadn't deserted, I'm pretty sure Finn would've gotten kicked out anyway for being a decent marksman.
- They had BETTER start marketing Rey better now that she's basically becoming this generation's Luke AND Han.
- ...does that make her this generation's Lone Starr?
So yeah. Star Wars. If you're reading this, you should have already seen it.
Man, JJ Abrams had balls of fucking granite for what he pulled.
One of my friends said he was genuinely confused for a second when Hux's speech didn't get a "seig heil" from the Stormtroopers that were present for it.
HMMMMMmmmmm...
Mary Sues aren't inherently bad; I frequently cite Harry Potter as an example of a very well done Mary Sue. I had it pointed out to me that Rey has many of the obvious qualities of a Mary Sue, and I can't find myself denying any of them. She is, by all definitions, a Mary Sue. Whether that's to her benefit or detriment is in the eye of the beholder.
I agree, especially in comparison to Rey. Finn epitomizes the flawed hero: He's cowardly, he's a liar, and he's uncertain of himself. He's a lot like Luke was in the original trilogy; Luke was incredibly flawed and not this iconic badass like Rey. Finn, on the other hand, has positive and negative qualities, which I find considerably more polarizing than iconic badass.
Of course, the best thing that they could do to the trilogy--and I would fucking love them for doing this--would be for Rey to be turned to the dark side (second movie), and for Finn to discover his own Jedi potential and bring her back from the brink (third movie). I think that playing out in a modern-day cinema is almost unheard of, and it would be incredible to see actually happen.
Rey is too awesome. She needs to show her humanity. I think her doing the unspeakable would be amazing. I see Rey like I saw Anakin: Badass, very little negative to speak of, but destined for greatness and gets caught up in that thought. The difference between Rey and Anakin is that Rey would be shown the light in the end--hopefully by a friend, but I doubt Disney will pass up the obvious Rey x Finn romance. Despite that being passion, which is typically associated with the dark side.
Finn, alternatively, needs to grow and become greater than he currently is. Finn is a lot more like Luke in that respect. Luke was hopelessly flawed, too eager to commit and too confident in his abilities--and by the final movie, he had learned wisdom and restraint. I can only hope that Finn follows the same path.
This is my most vocal complaint as well. It felt almost like pandering to us. It's well-known that the original trilogy is well-received and the prequel trilogy is not, so drawing lots of parallels to the original was the obvious choice.
I watched an interview with George Lucas where he stated that he wasn't happy with the initial drafts that he had insight into of the new movie; he felt the movie was too "retro," and essentially said, "I know you own Star Wars and that you want me to have a part in it, but I don't like this." Then he called Disney white slavers and everything was k.
I don't necessarily agree with Lucas, but I think the "retro" argument is indeed valid. There were a lot of throwbacks, to the point where the movie did feel at least a little bit like pandering.
3658880
I agree. A force-sensitive breaking out full-blown force powers without any training? Even Anakin, the "most powerful jedi evar" wasn't tossing folks around until he'd been taught how. Thanks to the Sueness, she's simply a much less interesting character than Finn.
Yup. Cross out the names of characters and locations and replace them with one another, and you have an exact summary of both movies.
The nu-Boba Fett, literally gets tossed in the trash.
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/055/494/316.jpg
3658943
Seems reminiscent of a scene I loved back when I was a kid.
Granted, magic as portrayed in Harry Potter's universe is vastly different than the Force as portrayed in Star Wars, but having incredible natural ability doesn't necessarily make the character bad. It's how that ability is utilized. As I said before, eye of the beholder.
3659000
Thing is, natural talent in a Force user has been expressed in more latent abilities and larger capacity of power, not in spontaneous ability. (i.e. the passive semi-precognition that Anakin displayed)
Basically, someone who is naturally talented in language can pick up and understand languages much faster, but they still cannot spontaneously learn one without being taught beforehand. (With Harry Potter, it's a magical language in and of itself so the rules are more bendable there)
What happened with Rey is precisely this. She gained active force powers and the knowledge of how to use them without having been taught. She "spoke a language" despite nobody teaching it to her.
Thus, the problem with it/her is that it's an illogical and inexplicable characteristic.
3659400
The only full-blown Force power I can remember seeing her use was a persuasion, and that took her... what, three tries, right? I'm certain I'm forgetting something, but I don't recall her having high agility, or pushing things around, or anything of the like. She has a natural persuasion ability despite no training in the Force (I consider this similar to Luke's ability to block the little robot thing's lasers, albeit much more complicated) and a bit of a natural aptitude for lightsaber combat despite no knowledge or training in the respective styles. Sort of a "feel as you go" for the lightsaber combat.
What other powers did we see? I honestly can't remember any more.
3659990
She's fought before, so she has a bit of a head start on lightsaber fighting. Staffs and lightsabers aren't the same, but a lot of the skills needed to win are the same. She Force-pulled Anakin's lightsaber to herself to fight Kylo Ren at the end, but that and the mind trick were the only Force abilities she used.
3660188
I definitely agree that she has the foundations of combat down with elongated weapons; a lightsaber is like a staff, you just have to remember you can't grab the other end.
Lightsaber combat is highly sophisticated; it has a lot of foundations in traditional swordplay, but it has evolved some really specific training styles that promote ability over luck. Using a proper saber style is crucial to winning a battle because freeforming leaves far too many openings and nowhere near enough counters. It's very similar to real swordfighting. Link. One thing to keep in mind is that Finn and General Grievous mostly just used brute force and instinct to guide their movements; Finn stood a chance because Kylo Ren is kind of a pussy, and Grievous had four freakin' lightsabers man. Just bear in mind that anyone who has received training in the way of the Jedi has at least some rudimentary knowledge of most of these styles and at least experiments with them in training to see what works for them.
Form I is basic strike/parry fighting. Was used in the fight between Kenobi and Vader.
Form II is primarily anti-lightsaber. More common back in the day. It's largely fallen into disuse.
Form III is for blocking blaster fire. You see most Jedi using this at some point or another; it's primarily when their saber is close to their body.
Form IV is a type of acrobatic style that favors one-handed lightsabers. Yoda is the obvious one here; he jumps all over Count Dooku.
Form V is the "defense is the best offense" form. It's the form used to reflect blaster fire back, as Form III is intended as a peaceful form of combat and its movements tend to just knock the blaster shots away harmlessly. Form V is also used to the same effect; it uses the enemy's weapon against them. One of my favorite fights, the one between Kenobi and Grievous, has Kenobi using Form V due to Grievous's sheer strength. If not for Form V, Kenobi would have been absolutely shredded.
Form VI is a conglomeration of the previous styles, with the added bonus of lots of Force power to maneuver oneself and others around the battle. I'm pretty sure Darth Maul used this for most of his fight.
Form VII is the opposite of all the others because, rather than remove one's emotions from the fight in order to focus, it's to channel one's emotion into raw power and random technique. Think kind of like the drunken boxing of lightsaber combat--and, contrary to how it sounds, is incredibly difficult to master. I figure Kylo Ren probably tried to use Form VII, but he didn't have enough raw emotion to fuel his power. Had he used a different form, he would have beaten nearly anyone untrained in lightsaber technique.
Lightsaber combat is srs bsns, man.
My only real comment is that it seems to be a semi retread (i hesitate to call it a complete rip off) of the 4th move (chronologically) which is what JJ did with star trek so im seeing a pattern.