Star Wars
Somewhere in these archives are probably my thoughts from watching Star Wars 15 years ago. So, yay?
Anyway: I was pleasantly surprised! They kept setting up things that I thought was going to go one way based on prior Star Wars stuff, but ended up going a different way that was (a) more interesting and (b) still felt "Star Wars". So overall pretty rad!
- You think that it's going to be a "hotshots make crazy plan to save everyone" movie, but then it turns out to be a "hunker down in Helm's Deep" movie which is actually then a "Asgard's not a place, it's a people" movie. I think that's why people are complaining about the pacing, but I'm actually okay with it, because it *is* a series of red herrings.
- I really like all the ways that they've taken on / deconstructed core parts of the Star Wars mythos:
--- it's not about crazy hotshot plans vs. staid retreat, but about protecting people, because people represent hope.
--- it's not about light vs. dark, but about achieving balance
--- it's not about First Order vs. Resistance, but about how War Sucks Regardless
--- it's not about winning, because really, no one actually gets what they want when they win.
--- it's not about lineage, but rather the choices that you make with your life.
--- and something interesting about the pitfalls of and the need for legends.
- I really, really like that Luke is like "Force is everywhere and in everything" , "It's hubris to say that the Jedis own the Force" and "Actually the history of the Jedis is one of failure." It really gets at the "let's go orthogonal to all the dichotomies" thing that the movie is going for.
- I like that it's actually about a bunch of people meeting each other and being friends and having an adventure as the underdogs, and maybe learning a thing or two along the way. (Kylo Ren is *not* invited, thank goodness for not making him a sympathetic character. Also: Good job, Rey, for dealing with parental issues in a relatively healthy way.)
- It was fun, to see fresh takes of seemingly familiar scenes. George Lucas, please take note: this is how you do it right. (Hoth, Obi Wan, Pod Racing, etc)
Anyway: I was pleasantly surprised! They kept setting up things that I thought was going to go one way based on prior Star Wars stuff, but ended up going a different way that was (a) more interesting and (b) still felt "Star Wars". So overall pretty rad!
- You think that it's going to be a "hotshots make crazy plan to save everyone" movie, but then it turns out to be a "hunker down in Helm's Deep" movie which is actually then a "Asgard's not a place, it's a people" movie. I think that's why people are complaining about the pacing, but I'm actually okay with it, because it *is* a series of red herrings.
- I really like all the ways that they've taken on / deconstructed core parts of the Star Wars mythos:
--- it's not about crazy hotshot plans vs. staid retreat, but about protecting people, because people represent hope.
--- it's not about light vs. dark, but about achieving balance
--- it's not about First Order vs. Resistance, but about how War Sucks Regardless
--- it's not about winning, because really, no one actually gets what they want when they win.
--- it's not about lineage, but rather the choices that you make with your life.
--- and something interesting about the pitfalls of and the need for legends.
- I really, really like that Luke is like "Force is everywhere and in everything" , "It's hubris to say that the Jedis own the Force" and "Actually the history of the Jedis is one of failure." It really gets at the "let's go orthogonal to all the dichotomies" thing that the movie is going for.
- I like that it's actually about a bunch of people meeting each other and being friends and having an adventure as the underdogs, and maybe learning a thing or two along the way. (Kylo Ren is *not* invited, thank goodness for not making him a sympathetic character. Also: Good job, Rey, for dealing with parental issues in a relatively healthy way.)
- It was fun, to see fresh takes of seemingly familiar scenes. George Lucas, please take note: this is how you do it right. (Hoth, Obi Wan, Pod Racing, etc)