I'm gonna be honest, I haven't been too impressed with the sequel films. I don't hate them, but they have been surprisingly underwhelming. However, I'll try to not to grouse too much. Let's see what I noticed when rewatching these films!
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens- The opening scrawl makes it sound like the First Order wasn't able to come together until Luke disappeared. Kinda makes me curious what Luke was doing to keep the galaxy in order!
- I've always thought it was weird that the good guys, despite being supported by the New Republic, goes by The Resistance. I guess to make it sound like they're still rebels or something.
- Poe Dameron is my favorite of the new characters, and it's mostly because he seems to be aware that he's in a Star Wars movie, and acts accordingly. Something about him has that old-school flair.
- To be honest, that really is a solid introduction to Kylo Ren. You learn what he's capable of, and how evil he is, but that there is more to his character to be revealed later.
- How did Finn and Poe not notice the Tie Fighter was still attached?
- Finn has the potential to be an interesting character, but ends up being just kinda meh. He starts off having a moment of conscience, and gets Poe out, but then seems to just focus on running away most of the time, regardless of where things are heading.
- Why is the Millennium Falcon always referred to as junk or garbage? What is it about people's standards of starships that makes it so?
- Harrison Ford really is a great old Han Solo. He slides into the role like a pair of comfortable old shoes.
- The pacing really shows its era. Once the plot gets going, it really doesn't stop. None of the reveals or plot turns get to settle at all. Just action, action, action.
- I don't think they had stairs in mind when they made BB-8 (in-universe).
- So the First Order blows up a bunch of planets, and it's made to feel like this big deal, but there really isn't much weight behind the loss. Sure, we've seen Coruscant in earlier movies, but it's hard to feel anything for any of these supposed tragedies.
- Looking at the plan to destroy the Starkiller just makes me think of Thumb Wars again: "Fortunately, they put a massive button on it that will blow the whole thing up!"
- Nothing like an exploding planet to break up a Jedi fight.
- Man, Starkiller really takes its sweet time blowing up, doesn't it?
- Poe mouthing off at Hux is completely hilarious! This is why I love him as a character!
- I admit I'm not a fan of what they've done with Luke Skywalker's character, but I can't deny that Mark Hammill plays it full tilt, and it's great!
- Good grief, they just toss out BB-8 like that? Pretty rough treatment.
- Once again, this movie is just one dang thing after another. I think this one is worse that seven, as it just tries to do too much too quickly.
- These long distance conversations between Kylo and Rey are definitely weird, but I suppose they serve their purpose. I'd hate to see Snoke's phone bill, though.
- You know, there is something kinda nostalgic about Yoda scolding Luke.
- I get that the story is kinda trying to teach Poe to not be gung-ho and reckless, but the way Holdo didn't say anything, letting Poe believe there wasn't a real plan, and thus not letting the audience know either, is bad storytelling, in my opinion. When all is finished, it basically turns the whole thing with Poe's mutiny a big waste of time.
- Benicio Del Toro is another actor doing a neat role that doesn't get much screen time. He really puts a lot into that character and we don't really get much.
- With all that build up with Snoke as the Big Bad Guy, his death does seem kinda anti-climactic.
- Using lightspeed as a weapon is pretty cool (if highly wasteful).
- By the time we get to the battle on SaltHoth, this movie really does feel like it's taking too long. It does have the feel of about 4 Netflix episodes from the middle of a series edited together to make a movie.
- However, Luke's Final Stand is pretty epic. Again, Hammill is just amazing.
Due to watching this in the theaters, this is going to be more of a standard review than the bullet points I've been doing this whole time (though I do have a few I'll throw in at the end).
First of all, it's hard to really know how I feel about this one. I was so disappointed with VII and VIII that I think my standards were lowered. However, I do think it's probably the most tolerable of the three.
Once again, we have problems of pacing, as one thing happens after another with no opportunity to really slow down and let things soak in. This one really feels the most like a roller-coaster ride (just in time for Disneyland's new attraction, I suppose). They've also done as much as they can to mine the nostalgia of the previous films, throwing in all kinds of references and cameos, though they're often just as voices, so they can be easy to miss.
Still, it does a decent enough job to wrap up the new trilogy. As always, the special effects are solid, but Hollywood (and Industrial Light and Magic in particular) have this down like clockwork, so it's hardly a surprise anymore. While I continue to think Oscar Isaac is the best of the new characters, I do want to give special mention to Adam Driver, who is given a very peculiar role and did some admirable work with it, making it his own.
7/10, but I'm not really in a hurry to see it again. Now, onto my bullet points!
- Are those the only clothes Rey has to wear? She's worn them for three movies, now!
- Seriously though, Poe Dameron is the best new character of this trilogy. His dialogue is snappy, his instincts are strong, and he still feels like the only one who's acting like a Star Wars character.
- For half a second, I thought all those Star Destroyers were zombie ships, the way they came out of the ground. The inclusion of zombie stormtroopers would have been neat (if completely out of genre).
- Well, that's an interesting place to find Lando.
- Good grief, after having seen that trailer over and over again, that one-on-one Rey has with Ren's Tie Fighter felt so dull when I finally got to it.
- Wow, Merry is a very long way from The Shire!
- It's a shame that this final fight is kinda predictable and underwhelming. It's supposed to be the big finish to the whole thing, and they just redo the Battle of Endor with very little in the way of surprises.
And that's it. It's over. It's been quite a trip to watch all these films in succession. Between the ups and downs, I think it's overall not a bad series to binge. The Original Trilogy are classics and nothing will diminish their timelessness and impact. The Prequel Trilogy have their well-document flaws, but they still feel like Star Wars to me. The Sequel Trilogy, well, time will tell what their impact and legacy will be. I suspect some will laud them, others will loathe them, but that seems pretty par for the course with this franchise.
As for the future, I do want to say that I'm going to try and post more things to this site. More reviews, more original work, more of something! While I don't have anything planned to be next, I really should put more work into this place somehow.
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