I don't know. It was entertaining, but nobody should get away with lazy writing. I'm surprised so many people liked it when it's just a regurgitation of past movies, plot devices, characters, landscapes, jokes, scenes, etc. They even went very far with the ridiculous idea of hey, yet another Death Star that is super powerful but gets destroyed by mini airships. I didn't even care about it because from the first time they introduced it I knew someone in an orange suit would destroy it.
I'm tempted to say that people like it just because it's Star Wars and it's cool to like something you waited for so long (the same reason that prompts people to "like" stuff they supported on Kickstarter, scalation of commitment), but after reading everybody's posts I think people really like the movie, which baffles me.
Serious question: can anybody mention 3 things in this movie that were original and had any bearing on the overall movie (i.e. not "hey the android is orange now!")?. I can't even come up with one. And before anybody yells "It didn't have to be original!!" I want to repeat that nobody should get away with such a lazy writing.
Yes....and they are ALL multi-layered characters. This may be the best written, multi layered, character driven SW ever.
Kylo Ren is very close to taking over Darth Vader as the best villain.
Rey completely blows away Katniss and Ripley as the strongest female sci-fi/action lead in cinema history. Not only stronger, but far deeper and better written.
Finn is another one with just a host of motivations and layers.
I wouldn't have cared if the story had ripped off the originals even more than they did (and I really only thought it was a few "framework" items). The characters absolutely carried this film.
It's also Harrison's finest moment as Han. His motivations for trying to reach out to Kylo are multi-layered as well. Not just having to do with Ben being his son, but with Leia's request to try to save him. Han *may* have known that reaching out was most likely going to cost him his life...but for the opportunity to save his son, and and bring him back as promised to the true love of his life, he was willing to go against the overwhelming odds one last time.
Was Kylo truly conflicted? Was his request for "help" a plea for redemption? Or a rouse to get Han to buy in? Or maybe even a sick and twisted request to have his own father HELP him in the action of killing himself to further add insult to injury?
On top of that, there are so many places for this to go. So many WONDERFUL story lines to explore.
I could go on and on. The reasons people love it were simply because it is the best writing and storytelling we've seen from the universe since ESB. Easily.
I agree with this overall point. The characters were very well done and carried the film. But more to the point, I just don't see any "lazy writing" in The Force Awakens at all. Whether fans may agree or disagree with some of the choices that were made, it seems very clear to me that this is a very well-crafted, well-written film. Abrams and his team had a vision, and far from being lazy, they clearly carried out that vision with intent and purpose, and I feel that it, for the most part, really, really worked well.
Now let me disagree with one of your main points, J.D. A couple of issues with the Rey
as the "strongest female sci-fi/action lead in cinema history" point.
First, you and a few others have posted along the lines of "sci-fi/action has been in need of a true strong female lead, and we FINALLY got one." (I have also seen articles along those lines) I STRONGLY disagree, and I take exception to that. In MOST genres, we just need good characters, period. It shouldn't matter that they are female, or a minority, or whatever, as long as they are good characters. The world isn't somehow a better place just because we have affirmative action in movie casting. I don't see it is a moral victory that a great character is female. Just give us good characters. Also, we HAVE had good female characters in many genres, both as leads and in supporting roles. I disagree with the notion that there has been a shortage. Is it true that the majority have been in supporting roles rather than lead roles? Yes. But again I say, so what? I don't feel that that should matter. I don't need to have my particular demographic represented in order to have a fuller, deeper enjoyment of my cinematic experience. (and thank goodness, since there aren't many middle-aged Ukranian Austrian Spaniards lighting up the silver screen last time I checked).
Second, and as alluded to above, there have been strong female lead roles. And while I think Rey is a very well-written character, I think at least one of the two you mentioned above surpass her, if not both of them. Well, okay, maybe not Ripley. Ellen Ripley is a good character. But the more I think about it, she isn't a GREAT character. We immediately sympathize with her because of the horror she lived through in the first film and the strength she showed, despite not having any formal combat training that we know of. So we like her right off the bad despite that, when I really think about it, I have a difficult time pointing out anything that really makes her a very deep or complex character. Then in #2, we fall deeper in love with her because she is a caring "mother figure," on one hand, while being completely hardcore on the other hand. But she still isn't really deep or complex. And maybe that's okay. Katniss, on the other hand, is a very deep, complex, and well-written character. I thought she was handled very well in the films, but even more so in the novels. She has complex, well-written motivations, emotions, and background. She is strong, yet vulnerable. She is independent, yet a tool of the system. Like her or hate her, I think she is more developed and complex in just the first film/book than Rey. And that isn't a knock on Rey at all. Just pointing out that there are some VERY well-done female characters in the genre that can easily compete with, if not surpass, Rey's character.
Sorry if that was unnecessarily long, but I have been stewing over this point for awhile and just got around to posting on the subject.
Topic: Star Wars, The Force Awakens -- *SPOILERS* (Read 59500 times)
