The Force Awakens
Dec. 30th, 2015 10:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osprey_archerI finally saw The Force Awakens yesterday! At last I am a fully-fledged member of the modern world again!
I really liked it! It was very pretty and enjoyable and visually quite striking: I really loved the crashed star destroyers in the dessert, and the community of people who grew up around scavenging them - I mean, not that we spent a lot of time developing that community, but the idea of a community built around harvesting that massive amount of scrap.
In any case, it's not a flaw that the movie didn't spend much time developing that community. I think the thing that Star Wars has always done best is offer scope for imagination: it offers these suggestions of stories and moves the story merrily onward to a space battle.
And I did quite enjoy all the characters. I liked Finn (he won my heart in that scene where Rey's like "You're part of the Resistance?" and he's like "Yes, yes I am, I'm part of the Resistance," oh Finn, that lie is going to catch up with you but it's so understandable), and I liked Rey right from the start when she sledded down the dune in that old door thing - and I think that's a great shot, too, the camera pulling away so we get a good view of her sledding and also we see this giant star destroyer in the dessert...
Also everyone who complains that Rey is a Mary Sue ought to be set upon by a Wookie, because her story is beat-for-beat almost exactly like Luke's, except, you know, less ridiculously over-powerd because instead of single-handedly saving an entire planet and the whole damn rebellion at the end, she only defeats Kylo Ren. Who is already badly injured. And, let's face it, it would be entirely in character for Kylo Ren to either neglect his lightsaber practice or get so pissy every time practice is going badly that he ends up destroying the practice room rather than drilling on his parries and thrusts.
After all the emo that people expended about Kylo Ren's lightsaber back when we got the first visuals of it, I found it kind of hilarious how fitting the thing is to his character. Of course Kylo Ren has a ridiculous lightsaber with three frickin' blades: he wants the most special and unique lightsaber of all time.
The one moment the story did genuinely surprise me was when Kylo killed Han - not so much the fact that he killed him, but the fact that the death stuck. I really expected some kind of last-minute save.
I imagine that Rey is going to have an awkward time explaining this to Luke. "Yeah, you know your rogue apprentice? Just killed his father who is also your best friend. And blew up four planets. ...So would this be a good time to ask if you want a new apprentice?"
The four planets thing did make me snicker, because it's just so OTT. Blowing up a mere one planet is no longer enough! And neither is blowing up a mere giant space station: now the Resistance needs to blow up an entire planet to stop the First Order!
I'm a bit concerned how the franchise is going to cope with this raising of stakes. Are they going to be blowing up entire solar systems by the third movie?
It also makes the whole scene with Han and Kylo kind of weird, because despite Han's fond parental fantasies, it really is too late for Kylo to change his mind and come home. Anyone sensible would want to prosecute the hell out of him, and they would be right, because he's a high-ranking member of a regime that just blew up four planets.
And it struck me as strange in conjunction with the way the movie went out of its way to make Finn squeaky-clean: when he was a storm trooper he worked in sanitation, and the massacre at the beginning of the movie where he never fires his gun is his first mission. I guess maybe the filmmakers didn't want to have two redemption arcs on their hands.
And I think it's blindingly obvious that Kylo will get a redemption arc. I would say I'm not enthused, but the last time I said that was about Ward on Agents of SHIELD and clearly I should have been careful what I wished for, because we got Ward's Descent into Villainy (tm) instead and that was even worse. So yay redemption arcs, I guess.
...In any case, getting too bogged down in the ethical theory of Star Wars is probably a recipe for pain and frustration, so, you know. Let's acknowledge the amazing visual of a lightsaber battle in a snow-covered forest of tall bare trees instead. The white snow! The black trees! The hiss and crackle of the red and blue lightsabers below!
Oh, and special mention to BB-8, for being totally adorable. I think that the key to creating adorable characters is to make sure they don't talk, because once they start talking they are far too likely to become Jar-Jar. I bet people would have found Jar-Jar fifty times less irritating if he communicated through gesture. And it's amazing how many emotional states BB-8 can get across when he's basically a soccer ball with no way to gesture except twitching his head.
I really liked it! It was very pretty and enjoyable and visually quite striking: I really loved the crashed star destroyers in the dessert, and the community of people who grew up around scavenging them - I mean, not that we spent a lot of time developing that community, but the idea of a community built around harvesting that massive amount of scrap.
In any case, it's not a flaw that the movie didn't spend much time developing that community. I think the thing that Star Wars has always done best is offer scope for imagination: it offers these suggestions of stories and moves the story merrily onward to a space battle.
And I did quite enjoy all the characters. I liked Finn (he won my heart in that scene where Rey's like "You're part of the Resistance?" and he's like "Yes, yes I am, I'm part of the Resistance," oh Finn, that lie is going to catch up with you but it's so understandable), and I liked Rey right from the start when she sledded down the dune in that old door thing - and I think that's a great shot, too, the camera pulling away so we get a good view of her sledding and also we see this giant star destroyer in the dessert...
Also everyone who complains that Rey is a Mary Sue ought to be set upon by a Wookie, because her story is beat-for-beat almost exactly like Luke's, except, you know, less ridiculously over-powerd because instead of single-handedly saving an entire planet and the whole damn rebellion at the end, she only defeats Kylo Ren. Who is already badly injured. And, let's face it, it would be entirely in character for Kylo Ren to either neglect his lightsaber practice or get so pissy every time practice is going badly that he ends up destroying the practice room rather than drilling on his parries and thrusts.
After all the emo that people expended about Kylo Ren's lightsaber back when we got the first visuals of it, I found it kind of hilarious how fitting the thing is to his character. Of course Kylo Ren has a ridiculous lightsaber with three frickin' blades: he wants the most special and unique lightsaber of all time.
The one moment the story did genuinely surprise me was when Kylo killed Han - not so much the fact that he killed him, but the fact that the death stuck. I really expected some kind of last-minute save.
I imagine that Rey is going to have an awkward time explaining this to Luke. "Yeah, you know your rogue apprentice? Just killed his father who is also your best friend. And blew up four planets. ...So would this be a good time to ask if you want a new apprentice?"
The four planets thing did make me snicker, because it's just so OTT. Blowing up a mere one planet is no longer enough! And neither is blowing up a mere giant space station: now the Resistance needs to blow up an entire planet to stop the First Order!
I'm a bit concerned how the franchise is going to cope with this raising of stakes. Are they going to be blowing up entire solar systems by the third movie?
It also makes the whole scene with Han and Kylo kind of weird, because despite Han's fond parental fantasies, it really is too late for Kylo to change his mind and come home. Anyone sensible would want to prosecute the hell out of him, and they would be right, because he's a high-ranking member of a regime that just blew up four planets.
And it struck me as strange in conjunction with the way the movie went out of its way to make Finn squeaky-clean: when he was a storm trooper he worked in sanitation, and the massacre at the beginning of the movie where he never fires his gun is his first mission. I guess maybe the filmmakers didn't want to have two redemption arcs on their hands.
And I think it's blindingly obvious that Kylo will get a redemption arc. I would say I'm not enthused, but the last time I said that was about Ward on Agents of SHIELD and clearly I should have been careful what I wished for, because we got Ward's Descent into Villainy (tm) instead and that was even worse. So yay redemption arcs, I guess.
...In any case, getting too bogged down in the ethical theory of Star Wars is probably a recipe for pain and frustration, so, you know. Let's acknowledge the amazing visual of a lightsaber battle in a snow-covered forest of tall bare trees instead. The white snow! The black trees! The hiss and crackle of the red and blue lightsabers below!
Oh, and special mention to BB-8, for being totally adorable. I think that the key to creating adorable characters is to make sure they don't talk, because once they start talking they are far too likely to become Jar-Jar. I bet people would have found Jar-Jar fifty times less irritating if he communicated through gesture. And it's amazing how many emotional states BB-8 can get across when he's basically a soccer ball with no way to gesture except twitching his head.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2015-12-30 05:18 pm (UTC)Kylo Ren's lightsabre was indeed ridiculously appropriate :-D
no subject
Date: 2015-12-30 07:48 pm (UTC)Kylo Ren's lightsaber is such an emo teenager lightsaber. I bet when he was building it Luke tried to gently point out that the laser hilt might cut off his hands someday and Kylo was like "I DO WHAT I WANT."
no subject
Date: 2015-12-30 07:32 pm (UTC)Headcanon accepted. (And ugh, the 'Rey is a Mary Sue' thing is utterly depressing.)
no subject
Date: 2015-12-30 07:50 pm (UTC)Plus, I mean, we've already seen her fight with a pike at the beginning of the film. Obviously a lightsaber is not exactly the same, but she clearly knows her way around a weapon - well enough to beat up three dudes trying to steal her droid! - so it's not like the lightsaber thing is COMPLETELY OUT OF NOWHERE OMG.
I kind of think that the Big Bad keeps Kylo around for the propaganda value of having Han and Leia's son on his side, because it's certainly not for his own native scariness or competence.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-30 10:22 pm (UTC)I read a really interesting article last night as soon as I got home from the film, basically going into the reasons why Ren killed Han, and why he is in this position close to the evil throne, as it were. Ren asking Han for help, knowing he has to kill him in order to complete his indoctrination to the dark side, therefore getting closer to the throne, and closer to being able to kill Snoke. He asks for Han's help to be able to kill him, which Han doesn't know. TO quote the article: "he had to completely turn away from his family in order to become a sith." He suffers grief, in his own words, at what he has to do. He says: it is what I must do but I lack the strength to do it. Will you help me? And Han, of course, says YES. ANYTHING. "He essentially asks Han's permission to kill him, a task that must be completed in order for him to transition to the Dark Side."
I just found that so compelling. I can't stop thinking about the fact that his redemption arc is also his damnation arc.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-30 11:49 pm (UTC)I do think he's conflicted about his turn to the dark side, and I suspect that will get a lot more play in the coming movies - and I wouldn't be surprised if he does, Vader-like, end up killing Snoke. (I doubt he has a son, so maybe in defense of Rey?) But I don't think it's his plan right now.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-31 12:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-12-31 12:48 pm (UTC)this is par the course, though. i mean, eu does not apply anymore, but when luke's pupil went darkside and blew up a sun there (killing occupied planets), luke turned him back and brought him to the fold, and everybody grumbled but rolled with it. so like:
- luke is an awful jedi teacher in whatever incarnation (luke dearest! maybe you're just not cut out for academia) and tends to put his schools on old sith temples and such;
- dark side is like vegas: whatever you do while there doesn't quite count.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-31 04:55 pm (UTC)Luke's own training is so fragmentary, I guess it's not surprising that he's not good at teaching. Oh Luke. Maybe it's just time to let the Jedi go.
no subject
Date: 2015-12-31 06:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-01-01 12:01 am (UTC)I guess Luke has Vader in front of him as an example about why, no really, the Dark Side is even worse than Yoda and Obi-Wan and all their shenanigans, but still, I wouldn't really blame him if at some point he just decided to throw aside this whole Force thing and go home. Or for adventures, as he doesn't have a home. "Want a smuggling buddy, Han?" Luke said, bitterly considering the fact that the outlaw smuggler was one of the few people he knew who had never lied to him.