Let me start this off by saying I did like the movie overall. The acting was great and the new characters were really good, too. Especially Finn and Ren. Rey was fine, but there was something I didn't like about her character, which I will get into later. Anyway, there are a few things that nag at you after watching it that takes away from your enjoyment of it, and keeps it being an A movie. Personally, I think I would give it a B-. I'll have to wait til after repeat viewings to see if it stays there, or if the negatives are enough to make it slide to a C+. Let's get started. And remember, these are done in order of annoyance, with 4 & 5 being more like heightened nitpicks and 1 & 2 being something that really detracts from the movie.
5. Uneccesary CGI. Now, I don't mind CGI when it is used sparingly or for things that would just be impossible/impratical to do with makeup. And TFA does get points for using much more pratical effects than the prequels. However, there are two characters that stand out as completely uncessary to be CG, especially since JJ decides to show them up close. Now, Kanata (cantina owner) isn't the worse CGI character and would have been better if we weren't having to focus so closely on her face. After awhile the delusion melts away and you are just looking at something a computer baked up. What's worse is that her part could have been 100% played by a short woman with face makeup on, as nothing about her screams "couldn't be done practically." This is even more apparent with Leader Shoke. Not only would he have been much easier/cheaply done with an actor, but he looks like CG from the first Harry Potter movie. It not only looks bad in an otherwise visually stunning movie, but it also detracts from his itimidation factor.
4. The Ending. To me the ending felt rushed and tacked on. Like the filmmakers thought the audience just couldn't wait to see Luke. And why of all the people to go see Luke for the first time in years, they send a complete stranger? You would think at least Leia would want to see her brother after looking for him so long. Personally, I think they should have ended it with the Rebellion celebrating after their defeat of the "Super Death Star," then the camera slowly falling on R2. We see a slight light then hear a soft beep, the audience knowing he is starting to reboot. Then the next movie could be there journey to track down Luke and all the hardships the New Order gives them. Speaking of Luke on that island.
3. Not Enough Was Explained. Why the hell was Luke living on an island that seemed to have little to no resources (I don't even think I saw his ship)? Why did he abandon everyone for them to have deal with Kylo Ren and the New Order without him, when that is completely out of his character? Why did he choose that island? If he wanted to be left alone, why did he leave a map on R2? Why was a section left out and given to BB8? How did the New Order know they had a map to Luke? How did a new Republic, that is now sided with the Rebellion, allow a new Empire to form? How did the New Order get so large, after much of the Empire was destroyed, in a matter of 30 years? Where has this Snoke been this entire time? Why is everyone just listening to him? No, seriously, how the Hell did Kanata get Anakin's Lightsaber? It should have shattered to a thousand pieces as it fell from Cloud City (with Luke's hand) and plummeted to the ground.
Now, some may say, "Well, the OG SW didn't explain it all, either." True. Here's the problem, though. That was technically the first movie. It was setup so simply that it didn't really need explaining. Even if you look at it as technically a 4th chapter, we already knew it was a 4th at the start. So, if we ever wanted it all explained, we would just have to wait for the prequels. This movie, however, is the next chapter after ROTJ, so it just starting with little to no explanation of why/how things got the way they are isn't really excusable.
2. Girl Power. I'm not talking about changing Phasma to a woman. I didn't mind that, though, I do hate the reason they did it. So, she was fine. The only thing I didn't really like about her was that her voice was just not that threatening. No, what I'm talking about is an almost complete mastery of the Force by way of "girl power." It's the same exact problem I had with Legend of Korra, and why I never watched after the first episode. In the Last Airbender, he only knew one elemental power, air. The rest of the show was him growing as a person, trying to master the other elements. In LOK? Oh, she just has most of them mastered as a small child. Why? Girl power, I guess.
Rey is the exact same way in this movie. She never comes across a single Jedi Master. Not even Leia teaches her anything. Just Kanata giving some speech about feeling it, after saying she's no Jedi. No form of lightsaber training. In fact, Finn carries the lightsaber around most of the time. However, all she has to do is feel the girl power flowing through her and she can not only stop Ren from reading her mind, but also from willing the lightsaber to him and defeat him in a lightsaber battle. Keep in mind, Ren has had probably 2 decades in Jedi training. Probably 10-12 from Luke and 8-10 from Snoke. But I guess he had the wrong thing between his legs to become a true Jedi master. Now, if they had shown her using some Jedi powers when she was alone, discovering them slowly on her own, it could have been somewhat forgiven. But not when your going 0 to Jedi with no training whatsoever.
1. And the biggest problem...It Borrows WAY Too Much From The OG Trilogy. I love the original trilogy. However, when this is supposed to be a sequel, don't make it a condensed version of the original, with a few twists to the plot and new characters. We have it open with the NO coming after a map that's been stowed in a droid, just like the battle plans. Of course, this time it makes no sense that they know about it or that they feel it is a #1 priority like the Death Star battle plans, which could and did lead to the Rebels finding a weakness. We have our loner on a desert planet that comes across the droid with the map/plans. We have the father/son dynamic from the OG trilogy, only this time it's Darth Son vs. Rebel Father, without the same impact it has on the story and characters. Not even that great of a reveal, either. For seemingly no reason we have Snoke in the movie, just so we can copy the Emperor/Darth Vader dynamic. Then, of course, let's have another Death Star destroyed. Only this time, we'll make it 10x the size, since bigger is better.
I think this movie would have been another A for me if I didn't keep getting the nagging feeling the writers had no idea what to do, so they just cut up the OG trilogy and threw it into a blender. And they didn't know how to fit in Rey's training, so...girl power it. And a little more explanation of the history would have been nice. I think I'll write a second post to share how I would have changed things for the better. So what are your thoughts?
