Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Now With Spoilers!)
Okay, so let's put on the critical thinking cap and look more closely at the movie.
Flaws (aka stuff that bothered me for one reason or another) and other thoughts:
- Rey is a little too awesome. I have zero problem with a female taking what seems to be the central lead role in a Star Wars trilogy. I don't mind that she's a good technician, pilot, and can handle herself in a fight. I actually like that she saves Finn more than vice versa and manages to free herself after being captured. I'm even okay with her powerful Force talents in a general sense. But all of that together is a bit much, and how she manages to find her center in the middle of a fight and beat Kylo Ren sort of tips it over into the realm of "does this character actually have any weaknesses?"
- There's a lot of background that isn't explained. Rey's parentage (probably Luke at this point, but there are hints that she could be another Solo). Why Finn seems to be exceptional in breaking the First Order conditioning. What went down between the new Jedi and Snoke. Why C-3PO's arm was replaced (okay, that one doesn't really nag me). How the First Order actually arose from the Empire and whether it's the only notable faction that did. What the deal is with Captain Phasma. What awesome battle happened at Jakku that left such a graveyard of Imperial ships. Certainly, there are a lot of time constraints in a movie, but there are an awful lot of questions and gaps that will probably only be filled in over the course of two more movies and all the other media released over the next four years or so.
- A major one of those questions is what's up with Kylo Ren. He venerates Vader, but there's really no sign of what he wants in an endgame term. He's desperately trying to be a darksider. He epitomizes the passionate rage aspects in his outbursts (but manages to strangle fewer people than the silently-seething Vader), but he's trying so hard that it begs the question: Why? Probably it would help him justify whatever went down when he started on that path, but he doesn't seem like he wants it for power or to rule the galaxy. So far he just seems to want to be a darksider to be a darksider?
- I could have done without another big-ass superweapon. Starkiller Base (was it referred to that in-film?) definitely reminds one of the Star Forge, but the design bugs me. Sure it's an ice planet, but it has an ecology (trees, at least) that wouldn't really survive if it goes around extinguishing whatever sun it's using as power. And it shoots faster-than-light beams that can take out multiple planets in a system (wouldn't just sucking up the system's sun accomplish a similar end?). And somehow that can be seen from the planet the heroes are on, which I'm pretty sure was another system entirely. This is probably the biggest "bwuh-huh?" in the movie for me. The implications alone remind me of the introduction of hyperspace transporters in Star Trek: Into Darkness in how it seems seriously rules-changing but will probably be ignored going forward.
- We see BB-8 clunk down the stairs, but how's he supposed to get UP them? I think the design is cute and works in most cases, but there seem some serious practicality issues (not that R2 didn't have those before they slapped jets on him in the prequels).
- First Order TIEs appear to have seen a serious upgrade over the stripped-down Empire versions.
- As a friend points out, perhaps a little indirectly but still, there's no real "lovable scoundrel" with the new generation of characters. Rey's the morally-upright "chosen one" like Luke. Finn has his past as a stormtrooper, but refused to gun down innocents (even if he gets on board with shooting other troopers pretty quick). He still feels like a straight up "good" guy. Poe misses a lot of the action, but seems pretty solidly a "good" guy soldier for the Resistance. No one's got the questionable morals or skepticism that Han Solo had, and that feels like sort of a loss.
- While there were some short scenes, I did not feel the whiplash between them I did in some of the prequel movies. Good thing!
- The First Order base and ship scenes bug me a little with how sterile and clean everything is. Granted, this is a typical Lawful Evil militant organization, so it sort of fits tonally, but it all feels so unlived in and pristine.
- Everything from lightsaber fighting to dialog felt more natural to me - something that seriously distinguishes the feel of the original series from the feel of the prequels in my perception. Definitely another good thing!
Flaws (aka stuff that bothered me for one reason or another) and other thoughts:
- Rey is a little too awesome. I have zero problem with a female taking what seems to be the central lead role in a Star Wars trilogy. I don't mind that she's a good technician, pilot, and can handle herself in a fight. I actually like that she saves Finn more than vice versa and manages to free herself after being captured. I'm even okay with her powerful Force talents in a general sense. But all of that together is a bit much, and how she manages to find her center in the middle of a fight and beat Kylo Ren sort of tips it over into the realm of "does this character actually have any weaknesses?"
- There's a lot of background that isn't explained. Rey's parentage (probably Luke at this point, but there are hints that she could be another Solo). Why Finn seems to be exceptional in breaking the First Order conditioning. What went down between the new Jedi and Snoke. Why C-3PO's arm was replaced (okay, that one doesn't really nag me). How the First Order actually arose from the Empire and whether it's the only notable faction that did. What the deal is with Captain Phasma. What awesome battle happened at Jakku that left such a graveyard of Imperial ships. Certainly, there are a lot of time constraints in a movie, but there are an awful lot of questions and gaps that will probably only be filled in over the course of two more movies and all the other media released over the next four years or so.
- A major one of those questions is what's up with Kylo Ren. He venerates Vader, but there's really no sign of what he wants in an endgame term. He's desperately trying to be a darksider. He epitomizes the passionate rage aspects in his outbursts (but manages to strangle fewer people than the silently-seething Vader), but he's trying so hard that it begs the question: Why? Probably it would help him justify whatever went down when he started on that path, but he doesn't seem like he wants it for power or to rule the galaxy. So far he just seems to want to be a darksider to be a darksider?
- I could have done without another big-ass superweapon. Starkiller Base (was it referred to that in-film?) definitely reminds one of the Star Forge, but the design bugs me. Sure it's an ice planet, but it has an ecology (trees, at least) that wouldn't really survive if it goes around extinguishing whatever sun it's using as power. And it shoots faster-than-light beams that can take out multiple planets in a system (wouldn't just sucking up the system's sun accomplish a similar end?). And somehow that can be seen from the planet the heroes are on, which I'm pretty sure was another system entirely. This is probably the biggest "bwuh-huh?" in the movie for me. The implications alone remind me of the introduction of hyperspace transporters in Star Trek: Into Darkness in how it seems seriously rules-changing but will probably be ignored going forward.
- We see BB-8 clunk down the stairs, but how's he supposed to get UP them? I think the design is cute and works in most cases, but there seem some serious practicality issues (not that R2 didn't have those before they slapped jets on him in the prequels).
- First Order TIEs appear to have seen a serious upgrade over the stripped-down Empire versions.
- As a friend points out, perhaps a little indirectly but still, there's no real "lovable scoundrel" with the new generation of characters. Rey's the morally-upright "chosen one" like Luke. Finn has his past as a stormtrooper, but refused to gun down innocents (even if he gets on board with shooting other troopers pretty quick). He still feels like a straight up "good" guy. Poe misses a lot of the action, but seems pretty solidly a "good" guy soldier for the Resistance. No one's got the questionable morals or skepticism that Han Solo had, and that feels like sort of a loss.
- While there were some short scenes, I did not feel the whiplash between them I did in some of the prequel movies. Good thing!
- The First Order base and ship scenes bug me a little with how sterile and clean everything is. Granted, this is a typical Lawful Evil militant organization, so it sort of fits tonally, but it all feels so unlived in and pristine.
- Everything from lightsaber fighting to dialog felt more natural to me - something that seriously distinguishes the feel of the original series from the feel of the prequels in my perception. Definitely another good thing!
Another positive note: distinct lack of "wacky characters" (BB-8 hardly qualifies) and no fart or poop jokes (Just one alien animal butt on screen and it's brief)
ReplyDeleteThat's true. The movie pretty much played it straight. BB-8 (and briefly the other droids) provided some "cute factor," but there wasn't really any effort to "play down" to the children in the audience that Lucas seemed fond of. I appreciate that.
ReplyDeleteHmm. I think perhaps the largest single problem with the movie is that it is burdened by being a piece of something much larger. There are so many details that will only be fleshed out in further movies or other works. There are so many details that rely upon pre-existing events, characters, and relationship. I wonder how it would feel to watch it in a complete Star Wars vacuum - I think it would be more confusing and all the questions that bug me a little would be so much more a distraction. But I still really enjoyed it. ;)
ReplyDelete