Star Wars: The Force Awakens (I need a new icon)
Random things I am thinking about Star Wars: The Force Awakens:
1. Rey is awesome: she never EVER needs to be rescued. Thank you JJ (I never thought I'd say that!). And that makes her no more of a Mary Sue than Luke ever was, IJS.
2. Finn is wonderful. God, John Boyega is lovely, and human and friendly and dorky and real. So marvelous. Anyone who hasn't seen him before, check out this little British film called Attack the Block; you won't regret it.
3. Finn+Rey together, solving problems, fighting off bad guys, STEALING THE MILLENIUM FALCON! So great, so adorable, such fanboys/fangirls.
4. HAN AND CHEWIE. My heart! I was completely unspoiled, gasped out loud when Han got it in the chest, and whimpered for several minutes afterwards. I was not prepared. Makes narrative sense, but still! Han!
5. Han offering Rey a job! And her burst of enthusiasm, followed by the reluctant decision that she had to go back to Jakku. So adorbs.
6. Leia! Here comes the General, indeed. I felt like Fisher's performance was missing something, somehow, but that Leia was there, and being The Boss, and still clearly had a connection with Han, that I loved.
7. Kylo Ren: of COURSE he's Han & Leia's son. Of course he has daddy issues (why does nobody in this franchise have Mother issues?). Of course, as Anikin's grandson, he's a whiny git. I don't know what to expect from his arc: as my sister pointed out, the thing he did in this movie is the thing Luke triumphed by not doing. I don't know how you come back from patricide, unless you're Angel the Vampire and spend years atoning. (I do not expect years of atonement from any George Lucas or JJ Abrams property.) Anyway, that said, I thought this essay on Kylo Ren was very much on point and psychologically believable.
8. Captain Phasma better have a big-ass role in the next movie. Seriously. (And why did she give in so quickly about the shields? That made no sense.)
9. I liked Maz, but I still trip over the fact that they cast the most beautiful woman in the world in their movie, and we didn't get to see her face. (Just like casting Gwendoline Christie and we didn't get to see her face!)
10. Who was the female medic/nurse/doctor treating Chewie? She was hella familiar.
11. CHEWIE and his unacknowledged grief! And why did Leia hug Rey, who she didn't know from Adam? I do not understand!
12. Does JJ Abrams have NO understanding of astronomy? How were there so many inhabited planets in one system? How could a weapon destroy all those planets, and have the destruction be witnessed hundreds of lightyears away? Why did the Falcon arrive at its destination so quickly?
13. Poor Leia. She's lost so much; she needs her brother!
14. I found it sad that in the aftermath of the great triumph of RotJ, they all went on to such struggle and tragedy. I know it makes more sense, and is useful to build the current plot, but it makes me sad. I wanted happy lives for them all, and they didn't get them. (Yes, this is what fic is for.)
15. Please, please, please let none of the new heroes (Rey, Finn, Poe) be related to the older cast! I'm tired of dynasties. I know people love family dramas, but why should all the important people in the galaxy be related to Anikin Skywalker? Rey needs to NOT be Luke's daughter, seriously, or it really is all about midichlorians after all.
16. I wonder how integrated this story line is with Rebels, and I am reminded to catch up with Rebels.
So, yeah: I enjoyed it a lot. I hope the next one stretches a bit farther from the source, and lets the new characters breathe and develop more, but it was a hell of a lot of fun, even if the pacing dragged in the final act. Abrams has my (qualified) approval.
I'm sure I have more thoughts, but that's some to start with.
ps: is there an icon community? I need a Rey + Finn icon...
ETA: Some of you might find this Twitter feed of interest, heh.
Crossposted from DW, where there are
comments; comment here or there.
1. Rey is awesome: she never EVER needs to be rescued. Thank you JJ (I never thought I'd say that!). And that makes her no more of a Mary Sue than Luke ever was, IJS.
2. Finn is wonderful. God, John Boyega is lovely, and human and friendly and dorky and real. So marvelous. Anyone who hasn't seen him before, check out this little British film called Attack the Block; you won't regret it.
3. Finn+Rey together, solving problems, fighting off bad guys, STEALING THE MILLENIUM FALCON! So great, so adorable, such fanboys/fangirls.
4. HAN AND CHEWIE. My heart! I was completely unspoiled, gasped out loud when Han got it in the chest, and whimpered for several minutes afterwards. I was not prepared. Makes narrative sense, but still! Han!
5. Han offering Rey a job! And her burst of enthusiasm, followed by the reluctant decision that she had to go back to Jakku. So adorbs.
6. Leia! Here comes the General, indeed. I felt like Fisher's performance was missing something, somehow, but that Leia was there, and being The Boss, and still clearly had a connection with Han, that I loved.
7. Kylo Ren: of COURSE he's Han & Leia's son. Of course he has daddy issues (why does nobody in this franchise have Mother issues?). Of course, as Anikin's grandson, he's a whiny git. I don't know what to expect from his arc: as my sister pointed out, the thing he did in this movie is the thing Luke triumphed by not doing. I don't know how you come back from patricide, unless you're Angel the Vampire and spend years atoning. (I do not expect years of atonement from any George Lucas or JJ Abrams property.) Anyway, that said, I thought this essay on Kylo Ren was very much on point and psychologically believable.
8. Captain Phasma better have a big-ass role in the next movie. Seriously. (And why did she give in so quickly about the shields? That made no sense.)
9. I liked Maz, but I still trip over the fact that they cast the most beautiful woman in the world in their movie, and we didn't get to see her face. (Just like casting Gwendoline Christie and we didn't get to see her face!)
10. Who was the female medic/nurse/doctor treating Chewie? She was hella familiar.
11. CHEWIE and his unacknowledged grief! And why did Leia hug Rey, who she didn't know from Adam? I do not understand!
12. Does JJ Abrams have NO understanding of astronomy? How were there so many inhabited planets in one system? How could a weapon destroy all those planets, and have the destruction be witnessed hundreds of lightyears away? Why did the Falcon arrive at its destination so quickly?
13. Poor Leia. She's lost so much; she needs her brother!
14. I found it sad that in the aftermath of the great triumph of RotJ, they all went on to such struggle and tragedy. I know it makes more sense, and is useful to build the current plot, but it makes me sad. I wanted happy lives for them all, and they didn't get them. (Yes, this is what fic is for.)
15. Please, please, please let none of the new heroes (Rey, Finn, Poe) be related to the older cast! I'm tired of dynasties. I know people love family dramas, but why should all the important people in the galaxy be related to Anikin Skywalker? Rey needs to NOT be Luke's daughter, seriously, or it really is all about midichlorians after all.
16. I wonder how integrated this story line is with Rebels, and I am reminded to catch up with Rebels.
So, yeah: I enjoyed it a lot. I hope the next one stretches a bit farther from the source, and lets the new characters breathe and develop more, but it was a hell of a lot of fun, even if the pacing dragged in the final act. Abrams has my (qualified) approval.
I'm sure I have more thoughts, but that's some to start with.
ps: is there an icon community? I need a Rey + Finn icon...
ETA: Some of you might find this Twitter feed of interest, heh.
Crossposted from DW, where there are
comments; comment here or there.