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bloodyrosemccoySTAR WARS WAS PRETTY GREAT, YOU GUYS. I pretty much spent the movie with a big dumb grin on my face the whole time. And I wasn't the only one. A crowd willing to go see it on opening day (or, technically, BEFORE) is one that will cheer when old characters show up, or when a new character does something awesome, or when that first goddam bombastic note hits. Good times.
Thoughts:
-It would be 100% legitimate to criticize this movie as a rehash or a remix of Star Wars Original Flavor. It totally is. But here's the thing: I really like that. JJ Abrams has gotten fairly skillful at remixing old franchises into new ones, but something about the sense of Star Wars as an ancient epic makes it especially apt. The way the new movie mirrors the same beats while making them feel new seemed perfectly in tune to me.
I once described this with Avatar: TLA as hearing a classical concerto played really well. Zuko's character arc in that series is nothing new, but it's played by those particular writers beautifully and thus doesn't need to be, because you can still enjoy that piece again. Same thing here.
-The new characters are a nice mix--they're clearly building a new generation, and it's good that they aren't just new versions of the old characters. And man, Daisy Ridley was stellar as Rey. The audience actually cheered when she used the Force during her battle at the end. I mean, they'd been cheering the old characters, but it's nice to have them cheer the new ones, too.
Also, John Boyega, man. Goddamn. Have you seen Attack the Block? No? GO SEE IT.
-Now, when I first heard that Lupita Nyong'o was going to be in the movie I was kind of picturing her as a luminously beautiful rogue type, but I guess I will have to write that story myself. I was disappointed to find out she'd be a CG character. But honestly, I liked Maz Kanata a lot. I hope she shows up again.
-The hints of a sibling rivalry between Kylo Ren and the guy I keep thinking of as Junior Moff (General Hux?) is also interesting. Kylo Ren is going to be a fun villain, trying to live up to being Darth Vader. I honestly have this disconnect between Prequel Vader and what I think of as REAL Vader, but I also like to think that Kylo Ren hero-worships Vader so much he fluffed his hair to match Anakin's. Betcha he had, like, posters and shit of Vader on his wall at Jedi School.
-I think one of my favorite moments in the movie was in the TIE fighter when Poe and Finn yell out introductions to each other. That just ... felt wonderfully Star Warsy.
-I am not sure when I realized where Han Solo was gonna end up. It might have been before I saw the movie itself, because Harrison Ford is a grumpy old man who wanted Han dead back in RotJ and he's probably gonna die in a helicopter crash sometime soon anyway, or maybe it was the foreshadowing they did during it, but somewhere along the way my subconscious just said, "WELP" and I accepted it. And it felt right. Han was no longer the hotshot pilot; he was the Old Wise Mentor, and also he was standing on a catwalk, which you should never do in the Star Wars universe. But he was still Han Solo.
See, one of the things I actually did like about the prequels (there were some things!) was Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi--and the reason I liked him was because, Jedi or no, he kind of flew by the seat of his pants through a lot of the series. My siblings and I described him as "if Han Solo were a Jedi." So having Han take on the role of Ben Kenobi was ... a pretty goddamn great bit of circularity.
-Having hints at a history right at the beginning of a new trilogy is quite enjoyable. What HAS Leia been up to? Where's Poe from? Where's Wedge at? Is Rey Luke's daughter? Did he have a one-night stand, or did her mother leave him after what my brother refers to as "The Ben Incident," or what?
And, lastly and not spoiler-ly:
-The early-90s Expanded Universe, up through the Young Jedi Knights, will always hold a special place in my heart even with some of its total bullshit. But I am entirely fine with having a split timeline. More story for everyone!
-MY BROTHER: Did you notice the Lucas wipes?
ME: OH THANK GOD I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO LAUGHED AT THOSE.
Hope you guys like it as much as I did!
Thoughts:
-It would be 100% legitimate to criticize this movie as a rehash or a remix of Star Wars Original Flavor. It totally is. But here's the thing: I really like that. JJ Abrams has gotten fairly skillful at remixing old franchises into new ones, but something about the sense of Star Wars as an ancient epic makes it especially apt. The way the new movie mirrors the same beats while making them feel new seemed perfectly in tune to me.
I once described this with Avatar: TLA as hearing a classical concerto played really well. Zuko's character arc in that series is nothing new, but it's played by those particular writers beautifully and thus doesn't need to be, because you can still enjoy that piece again. Same thing here.
-The new characters are a nice mix--they're clearly building a new generation, and it's good that they aren't just new versions of the old characters. And man, Daisy Ridley was stellar as Rey. The audience actually cheered when she used the Force during her battle at the end. I mean, they'd been cheering the old characters, but it's nice to have them cheer the new ones, too.
Also, John Boyega, man. Goddamn. Have you seen Attack the Block? No? GO SEE IT.
-Now, when I first heard that Lupita Nyong'o was going to be in the movie I was kind of picturing her as a luminously beautiful rogue type, but I guess I will have to write that story myself. I was disappointed to find out she'd be a CG character. But honestly, I liked Maz Kanata a lot. I hope she shows up again.
-The hints of a sibling rivalry between Kylo Ren and the guy I keep thinking of as Junior Moff (General Hux?) is also interesting. Kylo Ren is going to be a fun villain, trying to live up to being Darth Vader. I honestly have this disconnect between Prequel Vader and what I think of as REAL Vader, but I also like to think that Kylo Ren hero-worships Vader so much he fluffed his hair to match Anakin's. Betcha he had, like, posters and shit of Vader on his wall at Jedi School.
-I think one of my favorite moments in the movie was in the TIE fighter when Poe and Finn yell out introductions to each other. That just ... felt wonderfully Star Warsy.
-I am not sure when I realized where Han Solo was gonna end up. It might have been before I saw the movie itself, because Harrison Ford is a grumpy old man who wanted Han dead back in RotJ and he's probably gonna die in a helicopter crash sometime soon anyway, or maybe it was the foreshadowing they did during it, but somewhere along the way my subconscious just said, "WELP" and I accepted it. And it felt right. Han was no longer the hotshot pilot; he was the Old Wise Mentor, and also he was standing on a catwalk, which you should never do in the Star Wars universe. But he was still Han Solo.
See, one of the things I actually did like about the prequels (there were some things!) was Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi--and the reason I liked him was because, Jedi or no, he kind of flew by the seat of his pants through a lot of the series. My siblings and I described him as "if Han Solo were a Jedi." So having Han take on the role of Ben Kenobi was ... a pretty goddamn great bit of circularity.
-Having hints at a history right at the beginning of a new trilogy is quite enjoyable. What HAS Leia been up to? Where's Poe from? Where's Wedge at? Is Rey Luke's daughter? Did he have a one-night stand, or did her mother leave him after what my brother refers to as "The Ben Incident," or what?
And, lastly and not spoiler-ly:
-The early-90s Expanded Universe, up through the Young Jedi Knights, will always hold a special place in my heart even with some of its total bullshit. But I am entirely fine with having a split timeline. More story for everyone!
-MY BROTHER: Did you notice the Lucas wipes?
ME: OH THANK GOD I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE WHO LAUGHED AT THOSE.
Hope you guys like it as much as I did!
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Date: 2015-12-19 02:15 pm (UTC)I'm gonna have to rewatch both of the old trilogies, but I don't recall being this cheered up and excited about a Star Wars film before. There were just so many fun things in it! I fell in love with Poe the moment he mouthed off at Kylo Ren, I fell in love with Finn before he took off his mask, and I fell in love with Rey when I saw her climbing around in that hugeass Star Destroyer like it wasn't no thang.
I was worried that BB-8 was going to be an annoying, gimmicky character - a droid version of the Gungan that shall not be named - but nope, it's adorable and I want one. And I want to high-five whoever it was that thought of using the lighter as a thumb. :D
I was a bit disappointed by how little Captain Phasma got to do, but I've decided that she'll be back. I mean, off-screen death by trash compactor? Please! She'll be back, and she's gonna hunt Finn to the end of the universe to get her revenge. #PhasmaLives *popcorn.gif*
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Date: 2015-12-19 09:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-19 09:01 pm (UTC)