More Shocking than Force Lightning
In a world without Luke Skywalker, the fate of The Resistance hangs in the balance. The First Order has them cornered and options are running thin. Rey is now tasked with convincing Luke to return to the battle while the others are preoccupied with survival.
Where to start, being a big fan, there’s a lot to mention about this new entry into the acclaimed series. To start off, I was amazed! This is definitely a different Star Wars compared to the rest of the series. The cinematography, writing, and even the comedy are all welcomed changes.
***Warning: Spoilers***
This is a gorgeous film. There are so many iconic shots sprinkled throughout the movie that you can screen capture and make a phone background. I can’t wait to put a picture of Finn after winning a fight, or Luke facing off with the First Order as my computer background. The cinematography feels unique for a Star Wars film. It feels similar in tone to Rogue One to reflect where our heroes are in terms of balance of power. Red is a big color that is shown throughout the film to show the power of the First Order.
There were so many good moments in this. To start, the intro is probably the most engaging one to date. I didn’t think I would care so much about a character that has one line, but I did. There are 2 other ones that left my jaw on the floor, of which I want readers to experience for themselves. But I’ll say that one involved ships and the other a lightsaber. These moments left me speechless and the most shocked I’ve ever felt for the series.
Visually stunning with equally good music and sound. You know you’re in for a ride when you hear the classic fan fair of John Williams blare in when you see the title and prologue scroll across the screen. Character themes interacted with each other to reflect the characters on screen. Sound effects bring the world to life. When ships fly past the window, you can feel the room shake. Even the absence of sound in key scenes leave an impact on viewers.
Characters new and old are welcomed. It’s great to see representation in Hollywood and having the first Asian actor in Rose is a step in the right direction. She did good as a fan being roped into the cause. The arc that she was in wasn’t the strongest, but I’m curious to see what’s next for her. Seeing Yoda return as a puppet was a fun surprise. It feels right, compared to the CGI one from the prequel movies.
Luke’s story comes full circle. When we last left him, we assumed that he was going to easily come back and save the day, but our expectations were subverted greatly. It turns out that he is a bit of a broken man after failing to guide Kylo and refuses to help. This becomes a big hurdle for the Resistance, but also the most rewarding story. Witnessing his evolution throughout the movie was a rollercoaster up until the very end.
The film had its ups, but it also had its downs. With a lot of characters at play, there is a lot of story to cover. It does have a sort of outline that is similar to Empire Strikes back, but subdivides them further. This creates too many subplots to follow, causing the whole to feel convoluted. The second act starts to slow down because of this, but when stories converge, it starts to pick up again. Some worked, and some did not with little to no payoff. We could have lived without most of the master codebreaker subplot.
I’m not sure how I feel about the use of some stories from the Force Awakens. Who is Snoke? Who are Rey’s parents? We were set up to think of Snoke being the next big bad, but he is easily dealt with halfway through the film. One of the biggest mysteries that was set up in the previous film felt unimpactful. After a fateful fight, it feels like the revelation of Rey's parentage was just easily passed by. Talk about subverted expectations.
Comedy was a double-edged sword. Star Wars isn’t a stranger to humor, but this contained some of the more funnier moments in the series. It was welcomed, but sometimes it felt too much. In some moments, our hearts were being torn out, but to shortly be undercut by a joke.
This is a great entry into the Star Wars saga. For me, the great outweighs the problems. Fans may be torn with this one, but I loved it and will proceed to watch it as many times as I can while it’s in theaters. Now how long do I need to wait for Episode 9?