You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Taking the discussion back to the original topic, the movie itself is great. I think it's safe to say that fans of the original trilogy won't be disappointed in this one the way they were with the prequels, and if you're like me and enjoy the whole series you'll have a great time with it.
The parallels are easily drawn between the movie and Abrams's earlier reboot of Star Trek, but it feels a little more natural in this case because The Force Awakens updates the feeling of the original films for now (something that didn't occur with Trek, for better or worse).
Out of fear of spoiling it, I'll leave it at that. Enjoy it.
My biggest disappointment was in the degree of reference to the original trilogy in terms of the overarching conflict -- it comes across as a summary of the OT as much as a sequel. Some things feel too familiar, and given the opportunities the setting provides, the rehashed elements seem wasteful.
That said, it also had some really strong points. I'm very interested to see where Kylo Ren is going as a villain; he's easily the most humanised villain in any Star Wars film to date, at least so early in any trilogy. There's also a really interesting political situation I'd like to see expanded upon. The prequels may have left fans feeling sour about politics in Star Wars, but we're not talking trade disputes -- we're talking about questions of governmental legitimacy and proxy warfare.
Overall, it's a worthy addition to the mythology, but it sticks to the Star Wars script perhaps a bit too much. Definitely better than all of the prequels, although it lacks something free-spirited about the original trilogy -- probably owing to its desperation to pay homage over its desire to explore new avenues in the setting's potential.
I think it does do the reuse of the first film's plot thing pretty well, save for the "new Death Star" part which was done decently enough but still gave me pause.
Also, damn, it's been a while since a new Star Wars entry made the universe feel *bigger,* huh? How about that.
The mannerisms and "Heh, you stupid kids are alright, take care of yourselves" manner of a certain Han Solo in this movie are almost exactly those of my archaeology teacher, Steven Simms. In fact, Harrison Ford as an old guy looks a lot like prof. Simms.
It's telling of how I've grown up that I think of Jesse Jennings before Vader when I hear "Dark Lord".
Strangely enough, the new film goes back and actually does this stuff. Considering how much of a fanboy Abrams is, I don't think that was a coincidence.
Am I the only person who thinks this corrects some of the mistakes of Return of the Jedi?
Right, so, I get that a lot of people consider Return to be the weakest of the original films, and there are some good reasons for that. After the rescue of Han and the escape from Tatooine, everyone who isn't Luke is basically an accessory, used for additional context. The main event of that film is Luke's ascension to the station of a true Jedi Knight via the redemption of Vader.
For as lackluster as the battle of Endor is, and for how pointless the other characters are in the film, it completely nails the interactions between Luke and Vader. The film, in that respect, does have an overwhelming strength anyone can point to and say, "this makes the film worthwhile". Luke is our central protagonist and his arc was completed about as effectively as it possibly could have been.
What I didn't get from The Force Awakens was any sense of focus or competent character building, perhaps apart from Kylo Ren. Rey is too good at too many things, and understands too much of the Force, so much of the drama that surrounds her is dissipated as suddenly as it appears. Finn was torn between his innate sense of justice and his fear of the First Order, informed by his insider's knowledge -- but the choice to face it or flee was taken out of his hands. Poe is absent for most of the film, magically showing up at the end, so his character is largely a mystery. Not in the enigmatic, interesting sense; we merely know little about him, and have next to nothing to base any views upon.
The contrast between RotJ and TFA, for me, is that the former concludes its central character arc very powerfully, while the latter fails to establish much because it never allows its new protagonists to fail. Every time their own doubts would give them an opportunity to show actual weakness, the plot conveniently saves them from having to make an unheroic choice. Even just in ANH, Luke's sense of familial duty pushes him away from Obi-Wan's invitations to undertake training as a Jedi, and he's dead-set against breaking that sense of duty until the brutality of the Empire is illustrated for him.
So it takes at least half of TFA to get where ANH really sets off -- where the characters actually have their choices illustrated. Rey's rejection of the lightsaber and Finn's affiliation with anti-Order organisations should have been at the beginning of the film, because that would provide us with an opportunity to see these characters as framed by their weaknesses before we get to see them framed by their strengths. On the contrary, these character-establishing moments come at the end of act 2, and since the film has only one more act to go (and it absolutely must be an explosive one), those conflicts have to be resolved almost as soon as we encounter them.
tl;dr TFA spends way too much time establishing very little, then spends far too little time on developing the characters when they're presented with conflicts that can't be easily resolved with weapons.
Comments
I'm so nice they named me twice! ^w^
The parallels are easily drawn between the movie and Abrams's earlier reboot of Star Trek, but it feels a little more natural in this case because The Force Awakens updates the feeling of the original films for now (something that didn't occur with Trek, for better or worse).
Out of fear of spoiling it, I'll leave it at that. Enjoy it.
I'll just have to try to avoid spoilers until then.
anyway i saw this film and speaking as a person utterly uninvested in the star wars universe, it was.pretty good and i liked it ok bye
Also, damn, it's been a while since a new Star Wars entry made the universe feel *bigger,* huh? How about that.
It's telling of how I've grown up that I think of Jesse Jennings before Vader when I hear "Dark Lord".
I thought that the new characters were pretty interesting, and am excited to see what happens to them from here.
Am I the only person who thinks this corrects some of the mistakes of Return of the Jedi?