Star Wars: The Force Awakens Reaction Post
Non-spoilery reaction: THAT WAS AWESOME, AND I LOVED IT.
Bill and I managed to grab a sitter for this morning, so we went to the 10am showing, where we were only a little surprised that we weren't even close to the only people in the theater.
Boring previews, for the most part, though there was one for the new Captain America movie, which looked good, and the Batman v Superman movie, which looked stupid to the point of painful. And the new Pixar movie with the talking animals, which looked adorable and had us in stitches, because it is Pixar, and they literally can do no wrong.
I will be honest and say that when the movie started, and we got the "A long time ago" screen, and then the fanfare, and STAR WARS, and the scrolling text... I might have teared up a bit and had to swallow past a knot in my throat a few times. Which is silly, I don't know why, I've always liked Star Wars but it's not like I was ever emotional about it or anything. And I didn't cry when the last Harry Potter movie began, and crying then might have made more sense.
ANYWAY, MOVING ON.
It was awesome. Oh my goodness, it was so flippin' awesome, I loved it right from the get-go, which is pretty good since the get-go was so flippin' dark. I loved Finn's introduction and how palpable his panic and fear was, even though we couldn't see his face, and I loved how realistic the whole sequence was, and I loved the way it was made so obvious that Finn wanted to be anywhere else in the world, and disagreed with what was happening.
And then when it was over, and they were going back to the Star Destroyer... I took a breath and all I could think was, "Oh, shit. Andrew wants to see this movie."
(More on this later.)
I have to say, I'm still shocked that I wasn't spoiled on anything for the movie. I thought I saw a spoiler a few days ago - that at the end of the movie, Finn and Poe kissed - but it turns out that was more wishful thinking than something that happened in the movie. (I will say I saw it in three places from three different sources, one of which was a news source that had worded a headline very creatively, so I figured it was more or less true.)
So I went in, thinking this was going to happen. And thus, when we had that instant camraderie and chemistry between Finn and Poe... well. Maybe I was looking for it? But it was there, because Bill saw that too. (Though he did not see the spoiler I did. He'd been spoiled on Han being killed by Kylo Ren, though he was awesome and didn't in turn spoil me.)
That said: I kind of loved the relationship forming between Finn and Poe. I really want to see more of the two of them in the next movie, because I feel like we were shortchanged on Poe.
Other thoughts:
-- I loved that there were so many women visible in the movie, even if some of them were covered in silver Stormtrooper suits. (Gwendoline Christie was the most perfect choice ever. As was Lupita Nyong'o - I loved Maz from the first moment, I really really don't want her to be dead because she is fabulous.) I loved that there was a woman x-wing pilot, and women working as both Stormtroopers and regular troopers for the First Order, and women in the Rebel's command center.
Could it have been better? Of course it could have. Despite being a general, we never saw Leia be a leader to the resistance. (And we know she has in the past; there's a scene in one of the movies where she's giving out orders.) Despite Captain Phasma obviously being in charge of her unit, I don't think we saw her doing much besides walking around all impressive in her silver outfit, and scolding Finn for not following the pack mentality. It would have been nice to see them actually doing what earned them their titles.
-- It was odd the way Kylo Ren's backstory was unveiled, almost as if the writer or director expected the details of his parentage to be known before the audience filed into the theater. The reveal that Han Solo was his father was so understated - it was almost said as if it were a given. Which I suppose it would be, in context of the scene, as everyone there would know it already. But to me, that was quite a big thing. HAN SOLO'S SON GOES EVIL?
And then the reveal that Leia is his mother, because Darth Vadar is his grandfather, would have been a great way to reveal the information. Except by then, to me, it was already revealed, because let's face it: Han/Leia OTP. (And also, we're given no indication that they won't be together at the end of Return of the Jedi.) The moment I learned that Han was Kylo Ren's father, I automatically assumed that Leia was his mother, and thus the whole reveal of Darth being his gramps was a bit anticlimatic, when it could have been much more gasp-inducing.
(Though I kind of love that his name was Ben Solo. Ben. So much for Jacen or Anakin, ah well.)
-- I do like the mystery behind Rey's backstory, and how we learned it so quickly via that flashback/hallucination/time-travel thing. I like the parallels between her backstory, and Luke's. (Both orphaned, grown up on a desert planet, come late to learning they can weild the Force.) I like the differences too. (Luke wanted to get away, Rey is desperate to return. Luke knew about his parentage; we have no indication that Rey knows her parents. Luke had a mentor in Obi-Wan Kenobi; Rey didn't really have a mentor as such, though it sure seemed like Han Solo was in the running.)
I HAVE A THEORY, THOUGH. And I would be shocked if I was the only one with the theory, honestly. I think that Rey is Ben Solo's twin sister, and therefore Leia and Han's daughter. No, seriously, it makes sense. It's why she has the Force - she's a Skywalker on her mom's side - and it's why she can finish Han's sentences and why she's so good with technology. It's why Chewwie likes her instinctively, and Han too, even if he seems reluctant about it.
Aha, I hear you say, but Han and Leia did not seem to recognize her, and there was no agonizing over their long-lost daughter! How can Rey be their daughter if they don't even know they have one!
That's the best part, though! Leia wouldn't have noticed a second pregnancy if she was already pregnant with Ben. And given the history of the Skywalker children - it's not outside the realm of possibility that someone (Luke, even) would have taken one of the children away immediately after birth and told Leia and Han either that (a) it was a single child born, no twin at all, or (b) the girl twin died shortly after birth. Either way, Leia and Han would have no reason to believe that they even had a long-lost daughter, much less that the daughter in question was Rey.
TA-DA. INSTANT REVEAL FOR THE NEXT MOVIE.
(Plus, it makes Luke's despondency even more poingnant, if he had a hand in secreting Rey away. Suppose he did it because he thought one of the two twins was destinated to turn evil, but for some reason, he thought it was Rey? So he sends her away, hoping to avert that fate. But he made the wrong choice, and it was always going to be Ben, and thus Luke blames himself? Which would then explain why he was so shocked to see Rey at the end of the movie.)
There is no way I'm the first person to think of this. I mean... the connection was so obvious between Rey and Han that I'm actually kind of surprised that someone didn't remark on it. OF COURSE THEY DIDN'T, THEY'RE SAVING IT FOR THE NEXT MOVIE.
MOVING ON.
-- Leia's blue outfit at the end was gorgeous, but I think it might have been a bit twisted. It seemed a little off-center. I'd have to watch the scene again
--Bill has a theory about the future of Finn's arc, that instead of going all Resistance-ho, he's going to have his own goal of freeing the other Stormtroopers. If what he said (and Phasma inferred) is true, then he was taken from his parents as a small child and raised to this life. Who's to say there aren't other Stormtroopers who don't feel the same as he does, but don't take the initiative (or succeed if they do) to escape?
--Other things I loved:
The Millenium Falcon's reveal
Han's sudden infatuation with Chewwie's crossbow
Chewwie having a personality - yay!
BB-8, who is adorable
C3PO continuing to be Captain Obvious (and Captain Oblivious)
Kylo Ren's tempter tantrums
How funny the Stormtroopers were
A few complaints:
-- The ending. I'm not sure why we had to end with Rey finding Luke on the island. (Maybe J.J. Abrams has a thing with islands?) I felt like her leaving with Chewwie on the Millenium Falcon was a perfectly good ending, I was totally happy to end there. It was hopeful, it left everyone in a mostly good place (if you ignore Finn being unconscious, anyway), I would not have felt the loss. Plus it would have left the mystery of if she'd find Luke or not.
(Again with parallels - the ending very much reminded me of the ending to Empire Strikes Back - we've got one hero in the medical ward, and the other heroes heading off to find a missing person. We've also got the parallel of Rey looking for Luke, much in the same way that Luke looked for Yoda.)
-- The fight between Rey/Finn and Kylo Ren. Bill brought this one up, and I agree. We think it would have been stronger if Rey had not been winning the fight at the end. Bill's theory is that they couldn't have Kylo Ren actually beat Rey, because then it would be much harder for him to achieve redemption in the eyes of the audience. Maybe. But I also find it somewhat inconceivable that Rey could be that good with the lightsaber, when she'd never so much as fired a blaster before in her entire life. (The power of the Force sudden filling her notwithstanding.) The way we're left, Rey is now the stronger swordsman of the two, and since Kylo Ren is meant to be menacing and scary - doesn't quite fit.
(I also made the observation that both Rey and Finn were on the offensive in that fight. Andrew and Bill both have lightsabers, so there's been plenty of duels in my house in the last few months. Bill has taken to parroting "Knowledge and Defense, never for attack!" when they start, not that Andrew ever actually listens; he's all about the offensive. If Rey and Finn are theoretically fighting for the light - to have them on the offensive the entire time - and then in Rey's case, do well, doesn't really jive for me. Again, I think it would have been a stronger fight, story-wise, to have them both (and Rey in particular; I suppose Finn lost pretty obviously) fighting on the defensive against a stronger opponent, and then failing because they don't know what they're doing. (And then have Rey saved because of the earth splitting she and Kylo Ren apart.)
-- Apparently, the Big Bad is Voldemort. Also, who thought Snoke wasn't a stupid name for a bad guy? No wonder he's going with Supreme Leader.
(Just like Voldy dropped "Tom Riddle" as a moniker.)
-- Other vaguely annoying things:
Why does everyone age but Chewbacca? Do Wookies not age? Couldn't we have added a few grey hairs in there somewhere?
Why do Rey's two costumes look exactly alike? Is she going to wear arm sleeves and clamdiggers for the entire series?
How the heck did Poe get off Jakku when Rey and Finn had such trouble with that detail?
Where's Lando? Can we have Lando?
If Finn was working in Sanitation on the Death Star Planet - how the heck did he end up in the firefight on Jakku?
*
Anyway, here's the dilemma:
Andrew really, really wants to see this movie. He's been excited about it for months, he was a Stormtrooper for Halloween (we think based on the fact that he saw Finn in the preview wearing a Stormtrooper uniform). Right now, he is sleeping in Star Wars pajamas on Star Wars sheets with a Star Wars duvet, and his dad's Millenium Falcon toy sitting on the headboard.
But Star Wars is PG13. And I have to say... both Bill and I think it's earned that rating.
Just based on the first twenty minutes alone - yeah. That was dark, and scary, and granted there's some dark things that happen in the course of the movies, even the ones he's seen - but this just seemed so much more, because of how well it portrayed Finn's panic. I worry that if we take Andrew into the theater to see the movie, on a large screen in a dark space, even if we're both with him (which we totally would be), that it's just going to be too overwhelming.
Kylo Ren killing Han Solo - yeah, that's bad, Andrew likes Han Solo. (He doesn't know about the father/son thing yet.) The idea of the son killing the father - totally bad, too. But in a lot of ways, it wasn't any more graphic than Darth Vader cutting off Luke's hand, or killing Obi-Wan. I think he could very possibly ride that scene, if it weren't for those first twenty minutes of the movie.
And he's really, really excited about Finn. He's even asked where Lando is. (Read that as you will.)
So Bill and I are conflicted. We want to take him, it would be such a fun thing, and we could totally dress up in our Halloween costumes and it would be so much fun....
Except for that first 20 minutes.
One thing we've done is to purchase one of those early-reader books on the movie - and we found out that deals specifically with that whole bit of Finn's arc. The idea being that we can read that to Andrew, so he'd know what happens, and we could talk about it in daylight and help him process it a bit, so if we do take him - or even when he eventually sees it at home in the living room on our TV - it wouldn't be such a shock. He'd know it was coming. I worry about his reaction in a dark theater if we can't talk about it right then - and Andrew's a talker, he really likes to process out loud in the NOW, and not wait two hours for the movie to end.
So we'll see. I don't think the movie's leaving theaters anytime soon, so we have a little bit of time. And even if he doesn't see this one in theaters - maybe for Star Wars 8, when he's 7-1/2. (Assuming it's out on time, anyway. That does seem rather quick, doesn't it?)
Anyway, I shall stop, because it is late and I'm exhausted. In short, awesome movie, I have a theory, and we have no idea what to do about Andrew's love of Star Wars.
Bill and I managed to grab a sitter for this morning, so we went to the 10am showing, where we were only a little surprised that we weren't even close to the only people in the theater.
Boring previews, for the most part, though there was one for the new Captain America movie, which looked good, and the Batman v Superman movie, which looked stupid to the point of painful. And the new Pixar movie with the talking animals, which looked adorable and had us in stitches, because it is Pixar, and they literally can do no wrong.
I will be honest and say that when the movie started, and we got the "A long time ago" screen, and then the fanfare, and STAR WARS, and the scrolling text... I might have teared up a bit and had to swallow past a knot in my throat a few times. Which is silly, I don't know why, I've always liked Star Wars but it's not like I was ever emotional about it or anything. And I didn't cry when the last Harry Potter movie began, and crying then might have made more sense.
ANYWAY, MOVING ON.
It was awesome. Oh my goodness, it was so flippin' awesome, I loved it right from the get-go, which is pretty good since the get-go was so flippin' dark. I loved Finn's introduction and how palpable his panic and fear was, even though we couldn't see his face, and I loved how realistic the whole sequence was, and I loved the way it was made so obvious that Finn wanted to be anywhere else in the world, and disagreed with what was happening.
And then when it was over, and they were going back to the Star Destroyer... I took a breath and all I could think was, "Oh, shit. Andrew wants to see this movie."
I have to say, I'm still shocked that I wasn't spoiled on anything for the movie. I thought I saw a spoiler a few days ago - that at the end of the movie, Finn and Poe kissed - but it turns out that was more wishful thinking than something that happened in the movie. (I will say I saw it in three places from three different sources, one of which was a news source that had worded a headline very creatively, so I figured it was more or less true.)
So I went in, thinking this was going to happen. And thus, when we had that instant camraderie and chemistry between Finn and Poe... well. Maybe I was looking for it? But it was there, because Bill saw that too. (Though he did not see the spoiler I did. He'd been spoiled on Han being killed by Kylo Ren, though he was awesome and didn't in turn spoil me.)
That said: I kind of loved the relationship forming between Finn and Poe. I really want to see more of the two of them in the next movie, because I feel like we were shortchanged on Poe.
Other thoughts:
-- I loved that there were so many women visible in the movie, even if some of them were covered in silver Stormtrooper suits. (Gwendoline Christie was the most perfect choice ever. As was Lupita Nyong'o - I loved Maz from the first moment, I really really don't want her to be dead because she is fabulous.) I loved that there was a woman x-wing pilot, and women working as both Stormtroopers and regular troopers for the First Order, and women in the Rebel's command center.
Could it have been better? Of course it could have. Despite being a general, we never saw Leia be a leader to the resistance. (And we know she has in the past; there's a scene in one of the movies where she's giving out orders.) Despite Captain Phasma obviously being in charge of her unit, I don't think we saw her doing much besides walking around all impressive in her silver outfit, and scolding Finn for not following the pack mentality. It would have been nice to see them actually doing what earned them their titles.
-- It was odd the way Kylo Ren's backstory was unveiled, almost as if the writer or director expected the details of his parentage to be known before the audience filed into the theater. The reveal that Han Solo was his father was so understated - it was almost said as if it were a given. Which I suppose it would be, in context of the scene, as everyone there would know it already. But to me, that was quite a big thing. HAN SOLO'S SON GOES EVIL?
And then the reveal that Leia is his mother, because Darth Vadar is his grandfather, would have been a great way to reveal the information. Except by then, to me, it was already revealed, because let's face it: Han/Leia OTP. (And also, we're given no indication that they won't be together at the end of Return of the Jedi.) The moment I learned that Han was Kylo Ren's father, I automatically assumed that Leia was his mother, and thus the whole reveal of Darth being his gramps was a bit anticlimatic, when it could have been much more gasp-inducing.
(Though I kind of love that his name was Ben Solo. Ben. So much for Jacen or Anakin, ah well.)
-- I do like the mystery behind Rey's backstory, and how we learned it so quickly via that flashback/hallucination/time-travel thing. I like the parallels between her backstory, and Luke's. (Both orphaned, grown up on a desert planet, come late to learning they can weild the Force.) I like the differences too. (Luke wanted to get away, Rey is desperate to return. Luke knew about his parentage; we have no indication that Rey knows her parents. Luke had a mentor in Obi-Wan Kenobi; Rey didn't really have a mentor as such, though it sure seemed like Han Solo was in the running.)
I HAVE A THEORY, THOUGH. And I would be shocked if I was the only one with the theory, honestly. I think that Rey is Ben Solo's twin sister, and therefore Leia and Han's daughter. No, seriously, it makes sense. It's why she has the Force - she's a Skywalker on her mom's side - and it's why she can finish Han's sentences and why she's so good with technology. It's why Chewwie likes her instinctively, and Han too, even if he seems reluctant about it.
Aha, I hear you say, but Han and Leia did not seem to recognize her, and there was no agonizing over their long-lost daughter! How can Rey be their daughter if they don't even know they have one!
That's the best part, though! Leia wouldn't have noticed a second pregnancy if she was already pregnant with Ben. And given the history of the Skywalker children - it's not outside the realm of possibility that someone (Luke, even) would have taken one of the children away immediately after birth and told Leia and Han either that (a) it was a single child born, no twin at all, or (b) the girl twin died shortly after birth. Either way, Leia and Han would have no reason to believe that they even had a long-lost daughter, much less that the daughter in question was Rey.
TA-DA. INSTANT REVEAL FOR THE NEXT MOVIE.
(Plus, it makes Luke's despondency even more poingnant, if he had a hand in secreting Rey away. Suppose he did it because he thought one of the two twins was destinated to turn evil, but for some reason, he thought it was Rey? So he sends her away, hoping to avert that fate. But he made the wrong choice, and it was always going to be Ben, and thus Luke blames himself? Which would then explain why he was so shocked to see Rey at the end of the movie.)
There is no way I'm the first person to think of this. I mean... the connection was so obvious between Rey and Han that I'm actually kind of surprised that someone didn't remark on it. OF COURSE THEY DIDN'T, THEY'RE SAVING IT FOR THE NEXT MOVIE.
MOVING ON.
-- Leia's blue outfit at the end was gorgeous, but I think it might have been a bit twisted. It seemed a little off-center. I'd have to watch the scene again
--Bill has a theory about the future of Finn's arc, that instead of going all Resistance-ho, he's going to have his own goal of freeing the other Stormtroopers. If what he said (and Phasma inferred) is true, then he was taken from his parents as a small child and raised to this life. Who's to say there aren't other Stormtroopers who don't feel the same as he does, but don't take the initiative (or succeed if they do) to escape?
--Other things I loved:
The Millenium Falcon's reveal
Han's sudden infatuation with Chewwie's crossbow
Chewwie having a personality - yay!
BB-8, who is adorable
C3PO continuing to be Captain Obvious (and Captain Oblivious)
Kylo Ren's tempter tantrums
How funny the Stormtroopers were
A few complaints:
-- The ending. I'm not sure why we had to end with Rey finding Luke on the island. (Maybe J.J. Abrams has a thing with islands?) I felt like her leaving with Chewwie on the Millenium Falcon was a perfectly good ending, I was totally happy to end there. It was hopeful, it left everyone in a mostly good place (if you ignore Finn being unconscious, anyway), I would not have felt the loss. Plus it would have left the mystery of if she'd find Luke or not.
(Again with parallels - the ending very much reminded me of the ending to Empire Strikes Back - we've got one hero in the medical ward, and the other heroes heading off to find a missing person. We've also got the parallel of Rey looking for Luke, much in the same way that Luke looked for Yoda.)
-- The fight between Rey/Finn and Kylo Ren. Bill brought this one up, and I agree. We think it would have been stronger if Rey had not been winning the fight at the end. Bill's theory is that they couldn't have Kylo Ren actually beat Rey, because then it would be much harder for him to achieve redemption in the eyes of the audience. Maybe. But I also find it somewhat inconceivable that Rey could be that good with the lightsaber, when she'd never so much as fired a blaster before in her entire life. (The power of the Force sudden filling her notwithstanding.) The way we're left, Rey is now the stronger swordsman of the two, and since Kylo Ren is meant to be menacing and scary - doesn't quite fit.
(I also made the observation that both Rey and Finn were on the offensive in that fight. Andrew and Bill both have lightsabers, so there's been plenty of duels in my house in the last few months. Bill has taken to parroting "Knowledge and Defense, never for attack!" when they start, not that Andrew ever actually listens; he's all about the offensive. If Rey and Finn are theoretically fighting for the light - to have them on the offensive the entire time - and then in Rey's case, do well, doesn't really jive for me. Again, I think it would have been a stronger fight, story-wise, to have them both (and Rey in particular; I suppose Finn lost pretty obviously) fighting on the defensive against a stronger opponent, and then failing because they don't know what they're doing. (And then have Rey saved because of the earth splitting she and Kylo Ren apart.)
-- Apparently, the Big Bad is Voldemort. Also, who thought Snoke wasn't a stupid name for a bad guy? No wonder he's going with Supreme Leader.
(Just like Voldy dropped "Tom Riddle" as a moniker.)
-- Other vaguely annoying things:
Why does everyone age but Chewbacca? Do Wookies not age? Couldn't we have added a few grey hairs in there somewhere?
Why do Rey's two costumes look exactly alike? Is she going to wear arm sleeves and clamdiggers for the entire series?
How the heck did Poe get off Jakku when Rey and Finn had such trouble with that detail?
Where's Lando? Can we have Lando?
If Finn was working in Sanitation on the Death Star Planet - how the heck did he end up in the firefight on Jakku?
*
Anyway, here's the dilemma:
Andrew really, really wants to see this movie. He's been excited about it for months, he was a Stormtrooper for Halloween (we think based on the fact that he saw Finn in the preview wearing a Stormtrooper uniform). Right now, he is sleeping in Star Wars pajamas on Star Wars sheets with a Star Wars duvet, and his dad's Millenium Falcon toy sitting on the headboard.
But Star Wars is PG13. And I have to say... both Bill and I think it's earned that rating.
Just based on the first twenty minutes alone - yeah. That was dark, and scary, and granted there's some dark things that happen in the course of the movies, even the ones he's seen - but this just seemed so much more, because of how well it portrayed Finn's panic. I worry that if we take Andrew into the theater to see the movie, on a large screen in a dark space, even if we're both with him (which we totally would be), that it's just going to be too overwhelming.
Kylo Ren killing Han Solo - yeah, that's bad, Andrew likes Han Solo. (He doesn't know about the father/son thing yet.) The idea of the son killing the father - totally bad, too. But in a lot of ways, it wasn't any more graphic than Darth Vader cutting off Luke's hand, or killing Obi-Wan. I think he could very possibly ride that scene, if it weren't for those first twenty minutes of the movie.
And he's really, really excited about Finn. He's even asked where Lando is. (Read that as you will.)
So Bill and I are conflicted. We want to take him, it would be such a fun thing, and we could totally dress up in our Halloween costumes and it would be so much fun....
Except for that first 20 minutes.
One thing we've done is to purchase one of those early-reader books on the movie - and we found out that deals specifically with that whole bit of Finn's arc. The idea being that we can read that to Andrew, so he'd know what happens, and we could talk about it in daylight and help him process it a bit, so if we do take him - or even when he eventually sees it at home in the living room on our TV - it wouldn't be such a shock. He'd know it was coming. I worry about his reaction in a dark theater if we can't talk about it right then - and Andrew's a talker, he really likes to process out loud in the NOW, and not wait two hours for the movie to end.
So we'll see. I don't think the movie's leaving theaters anytime soon, so we have a little bit of time. And even if he doesn't see this one in theaters - maybe for Star Wars 8, when he's 7-1/2. (Assuming it's out on time, anyway. That does seem rather quick, doesn't it?)
Anyway, I shall stop, because it is late and I'm exhausted. In short, awesome movie, I have a theory, and we have no idea what to do about Andrew's love of Star Wars.