Lol, I just got back from this movie and I really liked it, so reading these extremely negative responses are hilarious. I'm assuming ya'll just decided ya'll weren't gonna like it unless Finn was the reincarnated version of Shaft + Blade x X-men's Bishop huh?
First, let me get the Finn stuff out of the way since this is a black oriented site, so obviously our eyes were on him predominantly. I loved him. While I understand people's disappointment in him not being force sensitive or the bad ass we thought he would be, I'm actually not that bothered by it because he ended up being something else that I still liked: a nuanced combination of afraid but brave, charming and funny without coming off like a tap dancing c00n, and a damn good actor. The potential for where his character can go is rather expansive. I can see Po dying and passing the torch onto him as the leading captain of the resistance. I can see him perhaps becoming a Jedi. I can see him being a bit of free agent. I don't know, but I'm intrigued. People got most hyped when Rey got the light saber, but I was most pumped when Finn was using it.
While I was expecting Kylo to be a more traditional villain, I was pleasantly surprised to see he was far more layered than that. The actor did a REALLY GOOD job of displaying that torment, confusion, and pain. He was equally convincing with the mask on as a bad ass and off as a scared, unhinged young man. Excellent job and one of the better villains IMO.
Rey was great and I love her chemistry with Finn. She's a believable protagonist and I look forward to seeing where she goes. With that said, I agree with those that said they went too far out of their way to hide her origins. Because it's obvious to me and most others that she is the daughter of Luke Skywalker, I don't see why they couldn't just reveal that fact. They had several opportunities to during the many off screen conversations about her. When Leia and Han were talking, they could have said something like "we're gonna bring our son back, and Luke's kid, too." and then BOOM. Done, and her Skywalker lineage being revealed would make her prodigious talent with the force make perfect sense. Anyway, she was dope. I've grown numb to most basic white female protagonists, so for me to have enjoyed her says a lot about her performance.
Han was of course dope and all about the nostalgia. I personally don't believe hes dead at all. What about you guys? I'm thinking he might have activated a parachute when falling or some shyt. That death felt really "fake out"-ish to me. And I believe if Kylo is to return to the side of light (which I predict), killing his father IMO is a point of no return. Leia was good, and Luke's cameo was on point. Looking forward to him being explored in the next one.
Oh, and Po was great too. Really likeable, and I look forward to seeing the actor's portrayal of Apocalypse.
Pros
- Great action scenes including space ship fights and light saber duels
- Fun dialogue that is nowhere near as corny as the prequel stuff
- Great acting from the young ones and they are allowed time to shine rather than be in the shadows of the OGs
- Well worth an IMAX 3D experience
- Brisk pace. Fits a lot into its 2 hour and 15 minute time frame.
- Fin isn't what I expected or wanted, but I got something I still enjoyed very much. As a guy who is very pro-black and sensitive towards how we are portrayed, I wasn't offended by anything he did at all sans falling for ol' Becky Sue
- The movie is flat out just a fun time.
Cons
- It DID feel a lot like a retelling of A New Hope, which is a little disappointing, but it improved on a great formula, so I can't be too mad
- Would have been nice to get a LITTLE more from Luke Skywalker
- Wish we got more insight into who Snoke is, but I'm guessing he's supposed to be a Sith and Kylo his apprentice, right?
- Who's the General guy? What's his story? He spoke to Kylo as an equal and not a subordinate, so I'm interested to see what his pull is.
Overall score is an 8.5/10 for me
now I can actually go back and read the last 50 pages of this thread! It's cool how this set the stage for the new trilogy. It's gonna be good to see how the wrap everything up
" and Han's like, "
Thats not how that shyt works breh." Lol.
he was the most "human" character in the whole film along with Kylo
