Mange wrote: 2018-02-02 12:40amWhile I do hope that'll still be the case, we really don't know that. Johnson obviously took another approach to the question of Rey's parents than Abrams.
I can see pros and cons either way. Rey being a Skywalker would have worked better with the preceding films, and could have given her interactions with Luke much greater depth. I also think it would have fit with the overall progression of the Jedi in the first two trilogies, from an order which shuns attachment and family to one that embraces and is made stronger by it (but we can still have that, somewhat, if Rey and Finn get together and have Jedi babies
). It also would have fit better with TFA's set-up.
On the other hand, its at least original, and the democrat (small d in this case) in me loves the idea that Rey is special because of who SHE is, rather than because she has an elite bloodline.
Also, Rey being a Skywalker would have made the shippy scenes with Kylo
so much creepier (though I'd much rather that that aspect of TLJ had never happened at all in any case, especially given that the only prior interaction between them that was in any way suggestive of anything sexual was a veiled rape threat/subtext from Kylo in TFA). It is an element of the film that is only partly salvaged by its ultimate subversion, and the whole thing feels needless manipulative of the audience to me, and gives off a "pandering to the shippers"/"bad fan-fic" vibe. It is probably the closest that any element of the film came to being a deal-breaker for me.
I do think that its probably too late to make Rey a Skywalker in any case, or at least too late to gain the full advantage of doing so- the best time to do that would have been TLJ, where it would presumably have had the most effect on her interactions with Luke and Kylo. And it would likely seem awkward now. You could do it, but it would be tricky to do it effectively.
But yeah, the ultimate results of this decision are in the category of "too soon to say".
These are opinions and no opinions are more valid than others but...
I beg your pardon, but some opinions are definitely less valid than others- bigoted opinions, for example (though that doesn't particularly apply here), or ones that are based on objective factual inaccuracies (which does apply to some of these, in my opinion).
Finn and Poe are the two worst main Star Wars characters. Finn is essentially useless if it wasn't for him having been a janitor and thus somehow knows pretty much everything there is to know about the hyperspace tracking device.
I like Finn very much, both for the actor's performance, and for the backstory and journey that was set up in TFA, which is a highly unique one for a Star Wars protagonist.
He did not contribute much to the overall outcome of the film's plot this time around, but I don't think that that made his inclusion in the film pointless- it was about continuing his journey from a deserter who was just trying to escape, to someone who was willing to take a stand for the people he cared about, to now being someone who has embraced a larger cause, after getting a chance to interact with a rank-and-file resistance member and see the galaxy, and himself, through their eyes. I wrote a rather lengthy analysis of it earlier, which I can repost if you wish.
I do find the whole "janitor" thing irritating, not because I have a problem with the filmmakers making Finn a janitor, but because I think that it subconsciously biases a lot of people to see him as a useless incompetent (to be clear, this criticism is not directed at you personally).
The Mary Poppins scene. Yes, it was painful to watch and if it hadn't been for Carrie Fisher's tragic death, I'm sure it would've been much ridiculed. For me, the entire movie was painful to watch because of Fisher.
Fair enough, but again, its not really the filmmakers' fault. In fact, I seem to recall reading somewhere (I think it was TV Tropes, but I'm not sure) that the director chose not to cut any of Leia's scenes because he didn't want to cut Carrie Fisher's last performance. So it was written and filmed (obviously) before her death, and if it was kept in out of respect for Fisher, I'm okay with that.
As to the presentation of the scene itself- its not the way I'd have chosen to showcase Leia's Force powers, but I'm glad that we at least got to see Leia be a Jedi for a bit (sort of), rather than completely ignoring the implication that she would be trained as a Jedi at the end of RotJ .
It also somewhat ameliorates (though does not completely eliminate) the rather nasty implications arising from the fact that of the Skywalker twins, the woman is portrayed as being the weaker and more passive in the Force, and of her spending two films waiting for her brother to come save her.
Too bad about Han...
Yeah, but that's a point against TFA, not TLJ.
You mean the onesided, overlong, minimalistic and flat out boring nBSG-esque chase involving a handful of active capital ships travelling in a straight line?
Onesided- that's not really a criticism to me. A lot of the battles in Star Wars are one-sided. In fact, those tend to be the more interesting ones.
Overlong- this is more subjective, but it didn't bother me much. It was intercut with other stuff (arguably too much so), and I felt that the gradual whittling down of the Resistance fleet effectively built tension and established the desperation of their situation, and the stakes for the film.
I don't deny that it was very reminiscent of some of NBSG, but I don't really care about the exact number of ships or the specific maneuvers that they use. I care much more about the perspective of the characters inside those ships, and the dramatic opportunities arising from using an environment other than a dogfight or a boarding action. Indeed, a larger number of active ships flying every which-way could have easily ended up overcluttered, like I found the Battle of Coruscant in RotS- just so much meaningless flash.
Oh, and cap ships are just cool in and of themselves.
I would also have liked if it had been Admiral Ackbar who had sacrificed himself instead of Admiral Cocktail Dress whom we just had been introduced to.
Fair enough, though belittling Holdo by calling her "Admiral Cocktail Dress" is bordering on sexism, in my opinion. Though I do agree that she ought to have worn a more practical military uniform.
I also find it baffling that Poe didn't know about her as the size of the Resistance.... or was it back to Rebels again... was down to a handful of people.
He knew her by reputation, just not by appearance. If she's an admiral, she was likely with the capital ships, not on Leia's base in TFA (when the Resistance was larger). The Resistance was only reduced to a handful of people over the course of TLJ (much of those losses after Holdo's death).
This is a criticism based on misconstruing the sequence of events, and an unproven assumption that the entire Resistance was always present at one base.
Again, my opinions aren't more valid, but those are a few of the reasons I don't agree with yours.
And, of course, you are entitled to your opinion. But it irritates me when people insist on attacking or discrediting every single aspect of the film. The Prequels got the same treatment, and it irritated me off their too. Its like its not enough to just criticize the films' flaws, or to just not like them- no, they have to be
completely bad in every single way.
I remember we had a thread a while back arguing that the colour of the lightsabers was wrong in the Prequels. I have no strong opinion on that either way, but I felt like rolling my eyes, because at some point, the seeming need to bash
every single aspect of the films just starts seeming petty, vindictive, and obstinate.
I do like your theory on Snoke!
Thanks. I think it would fit very neatly with the existing canon.