I Saw 'The Force Awakens.'
Be forewarned, there are lots of spoilers under the cut.
Oh man. That was a damn good Star Wars movie. First and foremost, I am genuinely pleased that it captured the spirit of the original trilogy in ways that Episodes I - III utterly failed to do, and for that I have to give JJ Abrams some grudging respect. I say grudging because even though 'The Force Awakens' was unquestionably a success, Abrams has a long and storied history of falling on his face when it comes to the long game, and that makes me a little nervous. But I'm trying to stay positive. So mostly, I'm gonna fangirl squee.
THE CASTING WAS SOOOOOOOO GOOD.*
-- John Boyega as Finn was the heart of the movie and he balanced true vulnerability with humor so well.
-- Daisy Ridley as Rey was a star-making turn-- she was absolutely the grounded lead that this film needed. She was every inch Luke's equal from A New Hope, minus the whiny bits that made him a titch insufferable. Considering she's basically a newcomer to screen, I was so, so impressed with her.
-- Adam Driver surprised the hell out of me-- granted, I'd only ever seen him in Girls, and just about everything about that show makes me want to throw things, but he was EXCELLENT at nailing all of the things that should have made Anakin a compelling antagonist in Revenge of the Sith.
-- Just assume I am always in love with every single thing Oscar Isaac (Poe) does, ok? My thirst is real.
-- I really really want to see more of Lupita Nyong'o's character. She brilliantly picked up the thread that Yoda left us with, without usurping what will be Luke's role in the next film.
-- *The lone exception, imo, is Domhnall Gleeson's character, which surprised me, because he tends towards subtlety over bluntness. I really like Gleeson, so I have to think that his character was the way he was because of a directing choice.
NOW, FOR THE FEELS. Prepare for capslock.
-- THEY NAMED HIM BEN. OMFG THEY NAMED HIM BEN. OF COURSE THEY NAMED HIM BEN.
-- Regarding Han's death: I don't wanna talk about it. I knew it was coming because Harrison Ford has been bitching and moaning about killing off Han since the 80's, and also because he got paid 11x more than Carrie Fisher & Mark Hamill combined, which means Disney really wanted to get him in this film for closure. Like, I love how it echoed Obi Wan's death in ANH, but... nope nope nope. My heart. :/ (Headcanon: Lando totally just happened to be cruising below Starkiller Station, caught him, and put him in a healing tank. THAT TOTALLY HAPPENED, SHHHHH.)
-- I love how they're cementing the new OT3, even though Poe & Rey haven't even met yet. First, Finn's easy bond with Poe, and then how quickly Finn & Rey became bonded, with BB-8 acting as the through-line from Poe to Rey. They all have great chemistry, and I am excited about seeing them all the next two films.
-- BB-8! HOW CUTE WAS SHE? OMG. (And I know droids don't technically have a gender and Poe called her "he," but BB-8 totally sounded female to me. FIGHT ME.)
-- Man, so many callbacks to ANH. Granted, some of that is because they're following the Campbell Hero's Journey with Rey in almost the same exact ways they followed it with Luke, but there were a lot of touching beats that recalled ANH's triumphs, like Poe firing on Starkiller Base. I also like how they're mixing up character attributes so that no new character is a complete match with a classic character-- Rey is a mashup of Luke's best qualities and Han's piloting skills with a dash of Leia's pragmatism thrown in. Finn is a mashup of Luke's everyman persona with the humor that C-3PO provided. Poe has Leia's mission combined with Luke's skill at being a fighter pilot. Basically, these are my precious cinnamon rolls now.
-- CARRIE FISHER. You held up great, lady.
-- GENERAL ORGANA. GENERAL mothaeffin' ORGANA. YES.
-- The Leia / Rey hug. I was a little surprised Leia didn't hug Chewie first, but. I mean. I have theories. Still, THAT LEIA/REY HUG. ALL MY FEELS.
-- Mark Hamill's clearly been taking Tyra Banks's advice, re: smizing.
-- REY. CAN WE TALK ABOUT REY? LIKE, YES. I cannot wait to have kids so I can point at Rey and be like, "THIS IS WHAT A HERO LOOKS LIKE." She was smart, strong, self-reliant. While needing to be saved isn't always necessarily a marker of weakness (especially if characters of all genders save each other equally), I appreciated that she always saved herself. I don't necessarily expect that to always be the case, especially as the OT3 interacts more, but for a starter outing, by god, that was fucking refreshing.
-- Also? Finn. I cannot TELL you how much it will mean to a new generation of kids to see someone who grew up in an unutterably toxic environment make the decision to stand up and turn from it because it is the right thing to do. He was basically the human embodiment of "you can take your 'but I was raised this way!' nonsense and shove it." He so fully embodies "if you know better, do better" that he instantly found a place in my heart. I love Finn's brand of personal heroism, and I love that it never competes with or takes away from Rey's. (Also, when Finn took up the lightsaber, it was such a defining moment of who he is at his core that I very nearly clapped in the theater.)
OKAY, NOW, FANDOM...
I am seeing all of the baby fans on Tumblr get excited about shipping. Fine. But. I am seeing a fair bit of Rey / Kylo Ren already happening, and... guys, you know they're gonna be related, right? Because if they're not siblings somehow (this series loves its twins), they're at the very least cousins. There is NO WAY Rey is not going to turn out to be of the Skywalker lineage.
Let's see: Separated by parents at a young age? Check. Grew up in desert conditions? Check. (She even dresses exactly like young Anakin and ANH Luke.) Uncanny force ability? Check.
And also, I know that the new movies are throwing out the Expanded Universe (bitter forever we won't be getting Mara Jade), but, uh, come on. She is Jaina Solo, to a tee. And in the EU, Jaina has to fight her twin brother, Jacen, who has turned to the Dark Side, lured by the legacy of his grandfather, Vader. DOES THAT SOUND FAMILIAR?
Also-- R2D2 was powered down since Luke left. The minute Rey landed on the planet, he powered back up.
It also seemed to me that Kylo Ren zeroed in on that one of those aiding in BB-8's escape from his clutches was a girl on Jakku-- maybe it was just my read of the line, but he seemed to have information that the rest of us did not.
And also completely subjectively, Rey reminded me very strongly of Keira Knightley in this movie. Who was in the prequels, playing Padme's decoy. When Keira & Natalie Portman were on set, they looked so much alike that their own mothers repeatedly had a hard time telling them apart. I could see that one of the things that made Daisy Ridley such an appealing choice in casting would be a strong likeness to the Skywalker line, which might need to come into play later.
So, tl;dr, Ren/Rey shippers (side note: ew, potential familial relationship aside, ew): knock it off. Because they're totally related.
AAAGH I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS MOVIE AGAIN.
And also, I now have a renewed interest in getting a rebel insignia tattooed somewhere on my person. Because of course I do.
Oh man. That was a damn good Star Wars movie. First and foremost, I am genuinely pleased that it captured the spirit of the original trilogy in ways that Episodes I - III utterly failed to do, and for that I have to give JJ Abrams some grudging respect. I say grudging because even though 'The Force Awakens' was unquestionably a success, Abrams has a long and storied history of falling on his face when it comes to the long game, and that makes me a little nervous. But I'm trying to stay positive. So mostly, I'm gonna fangirl squee.
THE CASTING WAS SOOOOOOOO GOOD.*
-- John Boyega as Finn was the heart of the movie and he balanced true vulnerability with humor so well.
-- Daisy Ridley as Rey was a star-making turn-- she was absolutely the grounded lead that this film needed. She was every inch Luke's equal from A New Hope, minus the whiny bits that made him a titch insufferable. Considering she's basically a newcomer to screen, I was so, so impressed with her.
-- Adam Driver surprised the hell out of me-- granted, I'd only ever seen him in Girls, and just about everything about that show makes me want to throw things, but he was EXCELLENT at nailing all of the things that should have made Anakin a compelling antagonist in Revenge of the Sith.
-- Just assume I am always in love with every single thing Oscar Isaac (Poe) does, ok? My thirst is real.
-- I really really want to see more of Lupita Nyong'o's character. She brilliantly picked up the thread that Yoda left us with, without usurping what will be Luke's role in the next film.
-- *The lone exception, imo, is Domhnall Gleeson's character, which surprised me, because he tends towards subtlety over bluntness. I really like Gleeson, so I have to think that his character was the way he was because of a directing choice.
NOW, FOR THE FEELS. Prepare for capslock.
-- THEY NAMED HIM BEN. OMFG THEY NAMED HIM BEN. OF COURSE THEY NAMED HIM BEN.
-- Regarding Han's death: I don't wanna talk about it. I knew it was coming because Harrison Ford has been bitching and moaning about killing off Han since the 80's, and also because he got paid 11x more than Carrie Fisher & Mark Hamill combined, which means Disney really wanted to get him in this film for closure. Like, I love how it echoed Obi Wan's death in ANH, but... nope nope nope. My heart. :/ (Headcanon: Lando totally just happened to be cruising below Starkiller Station, caught him, and put him in a healing tank. THAT TOTALLY HAPPENED, SHHHHH.)
-- I love how they're cementing the new OT3, even though Poe & Rey haven't even met yet. First, Finn's easy bond with Poe, and then how quickly Finn & Rey became bonded, with BB-8 acting as the through-line from Poe to Rey. They all have great chemistry, and I am excited about seeing them all the next two films.
-- BB-8! HOW CUTE WAS SHE? OMG. (And I know droids don't technically have a gender and Poe called her "he," but BB-8 totally sounded female to me. FIGHT ME.)
-- Man, so many callbacks to ANH. Granted, some of that is because they're following the Campbell Hero's Journey with Rey in almost the same exact ways they followed it with Luke, but there were a lot of touching beats that recalled ANH's triumphs, like Poe firing on Starkiller Base. I also like how they're mixing up character attributes so that no new character is a complete match with a classic character-- Rey is a mashup of Luke's best qualities and Han's piloting skills with a dash of Leia's pragmatism thrown in. Finn is a mashup of Luke's everyman persona with the humor that C-3PO provided. Poe has Leia's mission combined with Luke's skill at being a fighter pilot. Basically, these are my precious cinnamon rolls now.
-- CARRIE FISHER. You held up great, lady.
-- GENERAL ORGANA. GENERAL mothaeffin' ORGANA. YES.
-- The Leia / Rey hug. I was a little surprised Leia didn't hug Chewie first, but. I mean. I have theories. Still, THAT LEIA/REY HUG. ALL MY FEELS.
-- Mark Hamill's clearly been taking Tyra Banks's advice, re: smizing.
-- REY. CAN WE TALK ABOUT REY? LIKE, YES. I cannot wait to have kids so I can point at Rey and be like, "THIS IS WHAT A HERO LOOKS LIKE." She was smart, strong, self-reliant. While needing to be saved isn't always necessarily a marker of weakness (especially if characters of all genders save each other equally), I appreciated that she always saved herself. I don't necessarily expect that to always be the case, especially as the OT3 interacts more, but for a starter outing, by god, that was fucking refreshing.
-- Also? Finn. I cannot TELL you how much it will mean to a new generation of kids to see someone who grew up in an unutterably toxic environment make the decision to stand up and turn from it because it is the right thing to do. He was basically the human embodiment of "you can take your 'but I was raised this way!' nonsense and shove it." He so fully embodies "if you know better, do better" that he instantly found a place in my heart. I love Finn's brand of personal heroism, and I love that it never competes with or takes away from Rey's. (Also, when Finn took up the lightsaber, it was such a defining moment of who he is at his core that I very nearly clapped in the theater.)
OKAY, NOW, FANDOM...
I am seeing all of the baby fans on Tumblr get excited about shipping. Fine. But. I am seeing a fair bit of Rey / Kylo Ren already happening, and... guys, you know they're gonna be related, right? Because if they're not siblings somehow (this series loves its twins), they're at the very least cousins. There is NO WAY Rey is not going to turn out to be of the Skywalker lineage.
Let's see: Separated by parents at a young age? Check. Grew up in desert conditions? Check. (She even dresses exactly like young Anakin and ANH Luke.) Uncanny force ability? Check.
And also, I know that the new movies are throwing out the Expanded Universe (bitter forever we won't be getting Mara Jade), but, uh, come on. She is Jaina Solo, to a tee. And in the EU, Jaina has to fight her twin brother, Jacen, who has turned to the Dark Side, lured by the legacy of his grandfather, Vader. DOES THAT SOUND FAMILIAR?
Also-- R2D2 was powered down since Luke left. The minute Rey landed on the planet, he powered back up.
It also seemed to me that Kylo Ren zeroed in on that one of those aiding in BB-8's escape from his clutches was a girl on Jakku-- maybe it was just my read of the line, but he seemed to have information that the rest of us did not.
And also completely subjectively, Rey reminded me very strongly of Keira Knightley in this movie. Who was in the prequels, playing Padme's decoy. When Keira & Natalie Portman were on set, they looked so much alike that their own mothers repeatedly had a hard time telling them apart. I could see that one of the things that made Daisy Ridley such an appealing choice in casting would be a strong likeness to the Skywalker line, which might need to come into play later.
So, tl;dr, Ren/Rey shippers (side note: ew, potential familial relationship aside, ew): knock it off. Because they're totally related.
AAAGH I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THIS MOVIE AGAIN.
And also, I now have a renewed interest in getting a rebel insignia tattooed somewhere on my person. Because of course I do.