EPTVideo Review: + Show Spoiler +
Written Review continued: + Show Spoiler +
Ok, with that out of the way let me get into some more detail.
1. I did not like Episode 7. Every time I rewatch it I become more and more displeased with it, the obvious rehashing of the story of the original Star Wars is noticeable to even casual fans, however even in the midst of rehashing the original series there were still opportunities to create fresh and original appeal. Episode 7 played it safe in this regard in every meaningful area. Episode 8 carries much of the same feel unfortunately. Throughout the majority of the movie I felt like I was watching a mishmash of Empire Strikes Back (Force training montage, the battle of hoth) and Return of the Jedi (the conflict of Kylo Ren, Kylo Ren's betrayal, the showdown in the throne room, the Millenium Falcon dodging TIE fighters in narrow corridors whilst damaging itself, rampaging a crime syndicate recreational area, a comandeered AT-ST rescuing two main characters etc.)
2. Very little of the overall plot of the movie felt in any way unique and original, however there were some areas that I felt were done well.
Luke Skywalker's moral diliemma regarding the Jedi and their hubris I thought was a very well done moment, it speaks very strongly to the fundamental ambiguity that exists in a "balanced" force, this same grey area between good and evil is explored later with Benicio Del Toro's character (did anyone remember his name?) as the mercenary that doesn't pick sides. This kind of moral ambiguity provided long time Star Wars fans a bit of a true salute as the nature of Jedi principles has been long debated even as far back as the original trilogy.
In general, I felt that Mark Hamill's performance was the best in the movie, and yet his character received an almost criminal amount of screen time, and nearly all of that was done in sulking silence. At least this movie remains canon with George Lucas' Extended Universe decree regarding the fate of Luke.
3. The Supreme Leader Snoke has always bothered me from the moment he first appeared on screen. While Emperor Shiv Palpatine later got 3 additional movies to explain his backstory, his original implementation was done in a far better way than Snoke's was. We never saw him in the original movie, he was barely a foot note in the second movie, it wasn't until the third that he REALLY became a true villain. The anticipation and build up to his eventual confrontation with Luke was everything that Snoke's confrontation with Rey wasn't. At no point in the scenes with Snoke did I ever think that Ren was not going to kill him, which is made even more disappointing with the over display of force power he showed during the encounter. (really, he can read minds while simultaneously suspending someone in the air?)
Disregarding the fact that no one who has only watched the movies has ANY IDEA where Snoke came from, or why he is so powerful with the Dark Side despite not being a Sith, even what we do know about the character is never followed up on. He simply is made to exist in order to kind of advance the conflict plot of Kylo Ren. To me, that is very weak storytelling, especially when it concerns a primary antagonist.
4. I can't believe I'm saying this, but we hardly saw any settings in this movie. Virtually the entire movie took place in 3 settings. 1. Starships, 2. The Jedi Temple Island 3. The final rebel base battle. The scenes in the casino were cute, but didn't advance the story AT ALL, they were merely footnotes and eye candy for people watching the movie in 3D (I almost got dizzy with all of the cheesy coins flying everywhere during those scenes.)
Rogue One, arguably used too many settings, but this movie ties a franchise low for locales in the saga matched only by the original 1970 Star Wars. I don't know about anyone else but I find that point very disappointing.
5. Try as I might, I still cannot find any character from the new trilogy that I find engaging or interesting. The most interesting character in this whole trilogy so far to me is Poe Dameron because he's a reckless ace pilot who has good intentions but gets people killed with his recklessness. That one sentence contains more character depth than any other new character in the saga, and that bothers me. Rey still feels like a bland protagonist who has outrageous powers and abilities without any explanation for how she has them or how she can control them, Kylo Ren continues to be an Anakin Skywalker clone with even less charm, and Finn well... Finn just whines too much.
6. What that hell was THIS moment? + Show Spoiler +
1. I did not like Episode 7. Every time I rewatch it I become more and more displeased with it, the obvious rehashing of the story of the original Star Wars is noticeable to even casual fans, however even in the midst of rehashing the original series there were still opportunities to create fresh and original appeal. Episode 7 played it safe in this regard in every meaningful area. Episode 8 carries much of the same feel unfortunately. Throughout the majority of the movie I felt like I was watching a mishmash of Empire Strikes Back (Force training montage, the battle of hoth) and Return of the Jedi (the conflict of Kylo Ren, Kylo Ren's betrayal, the showdown in the throne room, the Millenium Falcon dodging TIE fighters in narrow corridors whilst damaging itself, rampaging a crime syndicate recreational area, a comandeered AT-ST rescuing two main characters etc.)
2. Very little of the overall plot of the movie felt in any way unique and original, however there were some areas that I felt were done well.
Luke Skywalker's moral diliemma regarding the Jedi and their hubris I thought was a very well done moment, it speaks very strongly to the fundamental ambiguity that exists in a "balanced" force, this same grey area between good and evil is explored later with Benicio Del Toro's character (did anyone remember his name?) as the mercenary that doesn't pick sides. This kind of moral ambiguity provided long time Star Wars fans a bit of a true salute as the nature of Jedi principles has been long debated even as far back as the original trilogy.
In general, I felt that Mark Hamill's performance was the best in the movie, and yet his character received an almost criminal amount of screen time, and nearly all of that was done in sulking silence. At least this movie remains canon with George Lucas' Extended Universe decree regarding the fate of Luke.
3. The Supreme Leader Snoke has always bothered me from the moment he first appeared on screen. While Emperor Shiv Palpatine later got 3 additional movies to explain his backstory, his original implementation was done in a far better way than Snoke's was. We never saw him in the original movie, he was barely a foot note in the second movie, it wasn't until the third that he REALLY became a true villain. The anticipation and build up to his eventual confrontation with Luke was everything that Snoke's confrontation with Rey wasn't. At no point in the scenes with Snoke did I ever think that Ren was not going to kill him, which is made even more disappointing with the over display of force power he showed during the encounter. (really, he can read minds while simultaneously suspending someone in the air?)
Disregarding the fact that no one who has only watched the movies has ANY IDEA where Snoke came from, or why he is so powerful with the Dark Side despite not being a Sith, even what we do know about the character is never followed up on. He simply is made to exist in order to kind of advance the conflict plot of Kylo Ren. To me, that is very weak storytelling, especially when it concerns a primary antagonist.
4. I can't believe I'm saying this, but we hardly saw any settings in this movie. Virtually the entire movie took place in 3 settings. 1. Starships, 2. The Jedi Temple Island 3. The final rebel base battle. The scenes in the casino were cute, but didn't advance the story AT ALL, they were merely footnotes and eye candy for people watching the movie in 3D (I almost got dizzy with all of the cheesy coins flying everywhere during those scenes.)
Rogue One, arguably used too many settings, but this movie ties a franchise low for locales in the saga matched only by the original 1970 Star Wars. I don't know about anyone else but I find that point very disappointing.
5. Try as I might, I still cannot find any character from the new trilogy that I find engaging or interesting. The most interesting character in this whole trilogy so far to me is Poe Dameron because he's a reckless ace pilot who has good intentions but gets people killed with his recklessness. That one sentence contains more character depth than any other new character in the saga, and that bothers me. Rey still feels like a bland protagonist who has outrageous powers and abilities without any explanation for how she has them or how she can control them, Kylo Ren continues to be an Anakin Skywalker clone with even less charm, and Finn well... Finn just whines too much.
6. What that hell was THIS moment? + Show Spoiler +
Summary 2: For those that read the Spoiler section, these are my final thoughts.
The cameos and guest stars stole the show in this movie. Not because they were particulary outstanding performances, but just because of how weak the rest of the movie felt. There were plenty of popcorn fun moments in the movie, but very little that I feel will stand up well in the long term saga of Star Wars lore.
Even the prequels had more to offer than these two movies have had so far. While the prequels introduced us to lore regarding the Jedi, the Sith, the Republic and the nature of the Force. These new movies offer nothing else other than fun jokes, action sequences (SHORT action sequences) and rehashed plot points.
Most long time Star Wars fans hold the prequels in very low esteem, and mostly for very justifiable reasons. So far, this new trilogy is weaker than the prequels are, and I cannot expect Episode 9 to be good enough at this point to change my feelings about that.
