Parts I didn't like
1) The humour wasn't that good. I mean, I laughed... but I don't think I should be laughing at a Star Wars movie. Like, rewatching the originals, and I giggled at R2 and Yoda. Whereas C3P0 is campier and an annoyance rather than laughing stock.
2) Phasma has all the things to be a devastating force for evil. Her armour reflects blasters, she's a sadistic ("a blaster bolt is too good for these two"), but uckfaying damn it, Disney. Follow through with the badassness! SHE COULD BE SO MUCH BETTER IF SHE KICKED SOME DAMN REBEL assay. Ugh, so much wasted talent with the actress they have playing her only to have Finn call her chromedome and uppercut her or throw her in a garbage can.
3) Holdo, what a garbage leader. I mean, yes. Poe was demoted, as he needed to be. But that suddenly doesn't mean he's not a valuable strategist and fit for the bottom of the barrel. Communicate with the arrogant flyboy, cause clearly not telling him worked wonders.
4) Finn could be good. He really could be. Like, let him leave. And then let him come back on his own accord. Don't let him get zapped, go on an utterly useless mission, and think he's now validated. He needs to leave on his own accord, and come back on it. It worked for Han, make it work here. That'd be a better way of showing he's not a runner. It'd have been good if he learned that war profiteering was from people selling to both sides on his own, and then realizing, "hey, i'm gonna stand with the rebels."
5) Echoing Jelly's sentiments about all of the politics.
The good things:
1) Kylo Ren was the best damn part of the movie. Holy itshay, Adam Driver knocked that out of the park. He and Daisy Ridley have some damn good acting chops, and I appreciate the chemistry between them. And you could feel the tension in Kylo. And how his lightsabre suits him. You kinda got that in Force Awakens, that he was angsty, trying to be intimidating, and broken inside. But then seeing Snoke tear him down, and then he hesitates on the trigger, but is also fulling willing to go kill some Imperial Guards.
2) The Imperial Guard fight scene. As a sucker for a good fight scene and unconventional tactics (think this
), seeing how Rey handled herself and then throwing the blade to Kylo. So good. Dang gump. And I'm finally glad the Red Guards did something other than standing around and looking ominous. Though, in some cases, it's like the magic has since been lost. Homer says it best
here. "the little guy hasn't done anything yet, and you know it's gonna be good". Maybe thinking that it was going to be good was better than knowing they could be beat. However, still a great scene.
3) How they showed Luke and his depression and sealing himself off from the world. Depression friggin sucks, and seeing how that changed Luke. While Luke was whiney in the original trilogy, he had balls. He wasn't too phased in the face of danger going after the Death Star, hopped into the X-Wing to save Leia and Han, and then willingly gave himself up to Vader. And he tried to mentor new students, in something he had minimal formal training with. And then he uckfayed it up. Like, big time. And that ruined him. And seeing the aftermath and what he blames himself with, and how that mentally ruins him. And subsequentially seeing his attempt at trying to return to normal.
- Side note, all I could hear when Hamill was talking was The Joker, which worked. And then when he exclaimed, "R2!" that brought me right back into Empire Strikes Back and that hit me right in the feels.
4) Yoda. Frig, when he burns the tree, and his little legs stomping up and down. That's the humour I like in Star Wars. Yoda being a smart-assay.
5) The droids.
- R2 and *whir whir beep beep*, Luke "SACRED island." It's R2 saying "ittshay island", no matter what else you say
And pulling up the message that started it all with Leia. That was another right in the feels moment.
- BB-8 reminds me of my old dog. "I'm so happy to be here and give me attention and all of you are awesome. BUT DON'T YOU DARE THREATEN MY HUMANS". As noted by the Hamill's screen capture character -- the little, drunk gremlin -- feeding coins into BB-8 and then shooting the guards. Or terrorizing the stormtroopers in the walker. Only to be cemented when Poe and BB-8 see each other again.
- BH-8, reminds me of my old cat. "I caught this mouse. Give me treats. uckfay everyone".
6) The advancement of tech and that the world isn't just stagnant. The Imperials came up with hyperspace tracking, how the equipment has been improved upon from what's in the mining base (not talking about the skimmers). Yes, it's cause our IRL tech is better, but it helps show that there's development. It's a nice touch.
Will I watch it again? Yeah, but not in theatres. Maybe if it's on Netflix.
Jelly, the reason they blew up Ackbar off screen was that, tragically, Erik Bauersfeld had passed away in 2016. But they should have done better. Alas, they didn't, and it sucks.
