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Quick Star Wars reactions
I was getting some vibes that it was going to be bad, so in fact I liked it better than I expected to. There are things I really liked and things I didn't like as much and a couple of things that really annoyed me a lot. And in a lot of ways I feel like it didn't live up to the promise of its predecessors. But given all that, I'm relatively content, especially with the way it ended. If this is where the story of Star Wars ends, I can be good with that.
FORCE-SENSITIVE FINN I KNEW IT I CALLED IT I AM SO HAPPY I could only be happier if he had used his connection to the Force to reach out and free all the stormtroopers, but that was just a little dream I started having after they discovered the other escaped stormtroopers in the Endor system, so I'm not that disappointed. I've seen some comments that Finn felt more like a sidekick than a full character, but I didn't see that at all; he's found a real place in the Resistance and got enough of his own story that I am happy. Overall I really, really like the vibe they gave the new trio of Rey, Finn, and Poe in this film -- it actually feels like a new trio now. (I am also finally on the Stormpilot train, although more as an OT4 with Rey and Rose.) What was criminal is how little Rose got to do -- she was very much sidelined, and that sucks, especially if it really was bowing to the fanboy hatred she got last time.
The reused footage with Carrie Fisher often felt weird and stilted, although probably not as weird as a CGI character would have been. I wonder how much her absence affected the movie -- it certainly hurt the writing, and probably the acting of the other folks in those scenes. I'm still glad they didn't write her out completely, and I suspect her ultimate fate would have been the same (*sniff*). But I would still like to see the version of the movie in the universe where she is still with us.
I got teary a few times, but never more so than when Chewbacca reacted to the news of Leia's death.
I liked it better in TLJ, when Rey was nobody special, but I SUPPOSE we can go along with this granddaughter of Palapatine thing. It's better than making her a Skywalker, anyway, though it was cute and touching when she took the name.
All right, I've put it off long enough. Let's talk about Kylo Ren. I've gone on record many times in saying that I didn't want a Kylo Ren redemption arc, and that I was really hoping the films would not go that way. But I suppose that was never going to happen, so if we HAD to have one, and if there HAD to be kissing (I literally covered my face with my hands and said "Okay, fine, I GUESS" at that moment), I'm way less annoyed with how it all went down than I was afraid I might be. It felt as though Rey killed Kylo Ren and resurrected Ben Solo. And Ben acknowledged his failings (at least to himself), helped Rey stop the Emperor, and gave his life to save hers. He didn't do it for glory or recognition, he did it to save a life and the world. So I can accept it, even while wishing they'd found a more original story to tell.
But it's pretty clear, looking back over this trilogy, that they never really set out to do something original. They've updated the story in several ways, and TLJ made a few really exciting moves, but TRoS didn't follow through on those, instead going back to the formula that made TFA so successful. But that kind of magic is hard to replicate. I suppose I can't fault them too much for not succeeding.
FORCE-SENSITIVE FINN I KNEW IT I CALLED IT I AM SO HAPPY I could only be happier if he had used his connection to the Force to reach out and free all the stormtroopers, but that was just a little dream I started having after they discovered the other escaped stormtroopers in the Endor system, so I'm not that disappointed. I've seen some comments that Finn felt more like a sidekick than a full character, but I didn't see that at all; he's found a real place in the Resistance and got enough of his own story that I am happy. Overall I really, really like the vibe they gave the new trio of Rey, Finn, and Poe in this film -- it actually feels like a new trio now. (I am also finally on the Stormpilot train, although more as an OT4 with Rey and Rose.) What was criminal is how little Rose got to do -- she was very much sidelined, and that sucks, especially if it really was bowing to the fanboy hatred she got last time.
The reused footage with Carrie Fisher often felt weird and stilted, although probably not as weird as a CGI character would have been. I wonder how much her absence affected the movie -- it certainly hurt the writing, and probably the acting of the other folks in those scenes. I'm still glad they didn't write her out completely, and I suspect her ultimate fate would have been the same (*sniff*). But I would still like to see the version of the movie in the universe where she is still with us.
I got teary a few times, but never more so than when Chewbacca reacted to the news of Leia's death.
I liked it better in TLJ, when Rey was nobody special, but I SUPPOSE we can go along with this granddaughter of Palapatine thing. It's better than making her a Skywalker, anyway, though it was cute and touching when she took the name.
All right, I've put it off long enough. Let's talk about Kylo Ren. I've gone on record many times in saying that I didn't want a Kylo Ren redemption arc, and that I was really hoping the films would not go that way. But I suppose that was never going to happen, so if we HAD to have one, and if there HAD to be kissing (I literally covered my face with my hands and said "Okay, fine, I GUESS" at that moment), I'm way less annoyed with how it all went down than I was afraid I might be. It felt as though Rey killed Kylo Ren and resurrected Ben Solo. And Ben acknowledged his failings (at least to himself), helped Rey stop the Emperor, and gave his life to save hers. He didn't do it for glory or recognition, he did it to save a life and the world. So I can accept it, even while wishing they'd found a more original story to tell.
But it's pretty clear, looking back over this trilogy, that they never really set out to do something original. They've updated the story in several ways, and TLJ made a few really exciting moves, but TRoS didn't follow through on those, instead going back to the formula that made TFA so successful. But that kind of magic is hard to replicate. I suppose I can't fault them too much for not succeeding.
no subject
I'm kind of sad that this was her last screen appearance. I'm really not a Star Wars fan -- to the point where I haven't even seen the latest trilogy because I just don't care about it enough to bother. But I really liked Carrie Fisher and I really wish I could say goodbye the way that Star Wars fans get to do.
no subject
So many scenes felt stilted so that i didn't find the Carrie scenes significantly more stilted, and i didn't find them as creepy as i expected.
I was a little miffed that Rey had to have a bloodline, but i had enough warning going into the movie that i wasn't disappointed while watching.
no subject
That has been my reaction to the entire trilogy. I genuinely don't understand why people get so ANGRY about it. It doesn't have enough meat or marrow to get angry over. It's just kind of there.
At least it gave us porgs and porg disguise pajamas?