I’ve been struggling to actually write about this movie. I’m not sure if I like it or not — there are times when I think it’s very good, and there are times when I feel a little disappointed.
Spoilers below.
Kylo, Poe and Leia are all better in this movie than the previous one, especially the last two characters. (Kylo was already one of the stronger characters in the first movie, I would say.) Phasma was a complete waste of potential, as was the case last time. Hux also feels dull, although he does get one of my favourite lines in the movie, when he sarcastically asks: “Do you think you got him?”. Snoke is slightly better than his first appearance, but is still boring. I’m actually surprised at how many people are annoyed that his background wasn’t explained. On one level I do understand wanting a more fleshed out background for the story, but on the other hand the character itself really doesn’t interest me at all.
Interestingly, Benicio del Toro’s character outshines Phasma, Hux and Snoke. The writing and the performance both work well, to the point where I would actually like to see him return. Rose also works fairly well, and it will be good to see more of her character in the next film. Yoda’s return was also handled surprisingly well.
Rey is solid, as she was last time. Luke…well, Luke is part of why I am so confused about how I feel when it comes to this movie. I won’t go into detail here, as I still haven’t decided what to think about him on the whole, but I’ll say this — his reunion with R2-D2 was a bright spot, along with the way his story wrapped up.
One of the highlights of the movie is the battle in the throne room, where Kylo and Rey take on a bunch of skilled guards. On the note of Kylo, one thing that does confuse me is the way he is referred to as being a rare talent in the force. Honestly, I never really had that impression when I saw the first movie…it was Rey that came across like a prodigy, not Kylo.
One thing I will miss about Johnson (I believe Abrams is returning to direct the next film) is his interesting dialogue. I’m thinking of Yoda’s dialogue to Luke, about failure and the student and master relationship, or Luke talking to Leia near the end.
Fantasy, Science Fiction and Random Things 