Force Awakens Spoiler Review! Click to reveal!
[spoiler]
The Good:
-- Dialogue and action was stellar all round.
-- I really liked that Finn's arc was so simple - the Soldier who says No. He wasn't anyone's legacy (that we know of) or Chosen One. Just a good man who finally said, "Enough". And since he never had a choice in being a Stormtrooper to begin with, he's not betraying anything real. I figured John Boyega would be good based on ATTACK THE BLOCK, but I was really pleased with his charisma and chemnistry with Rey. And his delivery of the trash compactor line was one of my favs in the whole film.
-- Daisy Ridley as Rey definitely earns her new Uber-crush status. Not just looks or manner, which project this odd Kiera Knightly deal - but her sheer appeal and obvious intelligence. Whatever her parentage turns out to be (i was SURE the film was going to end with her saying "Dad?", but no) she fits the ongoing Hero mold to a T. I love her acting job of fully and convincingly showing her discovering her Force powers. You could almost literally see her leveling up ;-) And despite all her Mary-Sue like qualities, she never felt like one. Her resourcefulness combined with the simple sadness of her waiting for her parents only made her more noble.
-- The old cast - delightful! Always great to see Harrison Ford engaged in his work, but Carrie Fisher brought all the feels.
-- Adam Driver as Kylo-Ren (Ben) was the revelation here. Instantly as scary as Vader has ever been. But with that unnerving teen edge of fury, almost like a young Gary Oldman. The Anakin we should have had but never did. Something almost punk rock about him, well, when ignoring the psychopathic nazi stuff. And when confronting Han, I kept waiting for him to go full Riff-Raff, "You never liked me!!!". But he dialed it back in which was perfect to show the real mind-fuck job that Snoke has done to him. Even as telegraphed as his betrayal was, it worked because you really wanted him to go back with Han. So it still HURT.
-- Poe - Oscar Issac could read stereo instructions in a mumu, and be interesting.
-- The First Order - the sense of military organization and just how it would all WORK was very convincing. Gen Hux was solid, as that actor always is.
-- Captain Phasma - Boba Fett level coolness achieved. we BETTER see more of her.
-- Maz - very fun. More please!
-- I don't know how they made Star Destroyers feel BIGGER again, but they did.
-- When the lightsaber calls to Rey, were those children cries the screams of the Younglings that Anakin killed? ;-)
The Bad:
-- Being both a sequel and a remake with yet another Death Star (" but it goes to 11?" ) was weak.
-- The physics of firing a shot between SYSTEMS, and having other systems see it in real time was EXTREMELY bad physics.
-- The physics of having a weapon you can fire twice before you drain a whole sun seemed silly and too plot driven. Even if they can move the planet, ala the original Death Star, that feels equally dumb. Maybe if they'd just SHOWN the place moving between systems, like it drains a sun for the shot and the hyperjump, a real Galactus level threat - THAT could have been cool. But they fumbled it.
-- The physics of the "star map" and missing piece was terrible. 4-6 stars on the fragment, and anyone could tell where it is. You don't need a literal dotted line like a pirate map!
The Ugly:
-- 3PO felt really tacked on a wedged in for his scenes. Like "Hey look, Anthony Daniels , ladies and gentlemen!"
-- Snoke didn't work for me at all, except in the results of his work. Bad name. Confusing whether he was a giant or hologram at first. Is he a Muun or some other race? Darth Plaguies? But above all, NOT as instantly scary or intriguing as The Emperor was. I don't blame Andy Serkis, I blame the lines and character design.
-- The Resistance and the Republic really seemed like useless incompetents compared to the First Order. 25+ years on or whatever, and that's the best they can do? WTF with their "fleet" which is nothing but a few dozen X-Wings? No capital ships?
-- Inside references - Who was Max Von Sydow? Why the red arm for 3PO? What was the Battle of Jakku and why? A teeny bit of elegant exposition would have helped it avoid feeling like an ad-teaser for "Go read the book tie-ins to find out!"
OVERALL: A huge success, with characters and execution and emotion more than overshadowing flaws. And follows the best rule of all, leaves us wanting MORE![/spoiler]
