Well...
I saw it yesterday, with my regular gaming friends, and it was... a film...
I'm not going to lie; we were all entertained, and it was Star Wars. But also, I have to admit, it was deeply flawed.
And that's coming from somebody (me) who has a huge capacity for suspension of disbelief, a great love for anything Star Wars, and who can always see the silver lining on the darkest clouds. But even I have to say that even though it's a huge spectacle, a rollercoaster ride and set in the Star Wars universe, there were simply parts in it that were downright bad.
Things that bugged me:
* The Leia spacewalk. That was just utter BS IMHO. Also, in the light of Carry Fischer's passing, they could have used that material to very dramatically end her character right there. I mean; now Mark Hamil's still alive, but Luke's dead, and Carry Fischer is dead, but Leia lives!? Good luck writing yourself out of that one.
- Snoke's death. There was absolutely zero investment in his character; who was he, what were his motivations, his origins? We don't know, and now it doesn't matter, and quite frankly; who cares? The biggest bad guy dead halfway through the trilogy, so who's going to carry the day for the bad guys? Masochist flunky
Hugs Hux? Conflicted Kylo? There's a big chance he will be turned in the end, so who will be there to go out with a bang?
- Phasma's death. Another Boba Fett moment. A total bad ass character, who you want to see more of, gets killed off in a not very satisfying way.
- Finn's almost sacrifice. That would have actually been an awesome and heroic way to go out as a character. But Rose decides to foil his desperate attempt to stop the destruction of the rebel base purely because she's got the hots for him? And then goes on saying that winning should not be about destroying what you hate but saving what you love? WTF DID YOU THINK FINN WAS DOING BEFORE YOU HELPED THE FIRST ORDER BY STOPPING HIM?? Net result; the Death Star technology Battering Ram Laser (wot?) holes the massive door the Rebels were hiding behind...
And there were quite a lot of other, smaller things that elude me for now. The worst part was, that the above pulled me 'out' of the film. Something that rarely happens, and that's usually a good sign a film does not sit right with me.
I have to admit; sitting through it with 5 other thirty- and fourtysomething Star Wars nuts in the back row probably wasn't helping in that regard, as jokes and remarks were shared throughout. And I ruined it for myself by making a popping sound when the rebel cruiser hyperjumped into the massive FO ship. People laughed and I was ripped out of the story and was unable to get back in. In hindsight, that was just stupidity for some cheap laughs. But it does illustrate how I was experiencing the film at that moment I guess; not fully invested.
In about a week, I will see it again, this time with my 15 y/o, Star Wars crazy nephew; it's a bit of a tradition that we go and see the new Star wars film together. I think I will probably be able to get into the story more then.
The good; yes, despite the deep flaws I mentioned, there was also a lot of nice and even good about it. Most of my buddies have been nitpicking over a lot of minor things already (and to be honest; some of the points above do fall in this category), and I'm sure this will go on for a good time to come, but I don't share those opinions.
Sure; you can destroy the entire film by nitpicking it to death, but it's my opinion that each and every film can be subjected to that and be totally annihilated. It's all about suspension of disbelief and storytelling. Some things are done just to get the story across; live with it and just enjoy the ride...
And this is one of my major opinions, and not so popular with my friends: the original trilogy was also flawed at many levels! (but I still love them
)
At the time Alec Guinness, a respected and lauded actor, was in it for the money; he despised the film and the hokey texts he was fed. The storylines were shallow at best, the acting at times clunky and wooden, and the effects, while good for their time, also had their flaws.
But we all remember those fondly. In-jokes are made of the original trilogy's mistakes; they're 'part of the charm', and have actually been embraced by the fans. Probably because we've had to make do with those three films for decades.
The new ones are not better (well, Rogue One actually is) or worse that the originals. Had Lucas had the chance to use the CGI visuals of the prequels back in the seventies and eighties when he did the originals, I have no doubt he would have! Search your feelings; you know it to be true...
Thing is; we've not (yet?) had the chance to let the prequels and sequels stew in the way that the originals have. But with the frequency of new films appearing, there is only a small chance they will get the same opportunity.
So; even though the company I was in probably spoiled parts of the movie for me, and I have my criticisms (some of the above points can certainly be glossed over, but the Leia thing is just plain wrong, period), I think I can say that it is on par with all other Star Wars films.
Highly entertaining, but don't look for second layers, deeper storylines or meaning, because it's space opera; it's entertainment, and not a lifestyle or religion, and in the greater scheme of things actually not important and certainly not a reason to get worked up, or lose sleep over.
I was entertained by the Star Wars universe, and probably will be again in the future... (just really don't pull another Leia, please
)
+++EDIT+++ @ Belligerentparrot: yes...
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October 05, 2024, 08:07:11 AM
December 28, 2015, 09:40:13 PM