I have seen The Rise of Skywalker
Dec. 20th, 2019 08:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizbeeSpoilers behind the cut.
Honestly? I was mostly bored and mildly irritated. The first two acts are a barrage of ACTION and MOVEMENT and SOUND AND FURY SIGNIFYING NOTHING, with just a handful of good moments here and there.
It's probably significant that it suddenly became properly engaging after Leia's death (all due respect to Carrie Fisher's body and voice doubles, but the use of old footage was both obvious and distracting, and honestly kind of ghoulish). But by then I already had a throbbing headache, so some of the impact was lost.
I went in expecting Bendemption and maybe a subtle dash of Reylo, amidst a good movie which served all the characters well. Wishing on that monkey's paw might have been a mistake, though, because I got Bendemption and actual canonical Reylo ... amidst a big, messy movie which didn't do well by anyone except Rey and Ben.
(The white characters. Interesting, isn't it?)
Finn came out mostly okay, but he felt more like a sidekick than in the last two movies, and now he's apparently infatuated with Rey? Apparently Jannah is also an ex-Stormtrooper, which is interesting, but I was in the loo when she was introduced, tweeting about how bored I was. Yes, I realise that was a mistake; I should have timed my loo break for one of the scenes where Poe is awful.
I am impressed with the writing for Poe: over three movies, they've led me from total indifference (I literally forgot who he was in TFA when he comes back to rescue them) to frustration at his selfish mansplaining in TLJ to active dislike as he shouts at Rey here.
So I'm not a fan, but even so, it's hard to reconcile his personality in TRoS with everything else. Suddenly he's overbearing and kind of sulky? But also has a ~~dark past~~ we've never heard of before (and is hotwiring speeders, which you'd think Rey the ex-scavenger would be on top of).
And, of course, he has a hot ex-girlfriend, and as much as I like Zori, and Keri Russell's performance, it felt like there was a strong dash of no homo in this development. Zori had more chemistry with Rey in their single interaction, and it all had a whiff of ... corporate interference. Like, if TLJ was about him learning that women are, in fact, people with ideas worth listening to (even if they have purple hair and wear pretty dresses), TRoS is all about Poe Is The Leader Who Knows What's Up -- which should feel like the culmination of his arc in TLJ, but it doesn't quite mesh.
Possibly because so many aspects of TLJ are either reversed or shoved quietly aside.
The worst example: remember Rose Tico? Loved her story? Too bad, the racist fans have spoken! She's barely in it! I hope Kelly Marie Tran goes on to have a wildly successful career, because it really does seem like Disney caved in to the toxic sides of fandom -- and it wasn't just men -- who bullied her off social media. This isn't just an ugly decision from Disney-LF -- it sets a horrible precedent for blockbusters going forward.
Other examples are less egregious -- just frustrating. TLJ made a big deal out of Kylo Ren destroying his mask; here, he rebuilds it. Just as Thor: Ragnorak had a whole major plot point about Thor learning that he didn't need his hammer, only for the next film to give him a brand new one. Call me crazy, but I have this idea that, if you're working in a shared universe, you should at least be communicating with your fellow creators about your intentions and expectations re: character development.
Likewise, Luke (present as a Force ghost) is more proactive and less of a sad sack in TRoS than TLJ, which is a real bummer -- I loved his characterisation in TLJ, and it made sense to me. And it was brave, which TRoS absolutely is not.
Having said all this, in one respect, a key idea from TLJ is carried forward: the democratisation of the force. Finn is sensitive to Rey via the Force, which I adore, and it's a valuable reminder that you don't need a special bloodline to be Force sensitive, but also, just because you're aware of the Force in some respect doesn't mean you have to be a Jedi.
This is pretty valuable, because TRoS otherwise leans in really hard on the special bloodline/all Force users should be Jedi or Sith. Surprise! The Sith (and Palpatine) are back! Surprise! Rey is Palpatine's granddaughter! Surprise! Leia was a fully-trained Jedi but chose to put her lightsaber away!
Me: Thanks, I hate it!
...okay, I enjoyed the medical body horror of Palpatine's post-death existence, and I like the idea that there's an alternate timeline where Rey had a normal life and did a stint as queen of Naboo.
That's it. Everything else is ... I don't think it's intrinsically bad, it's just not what I wanted. And, because I was so often bored, I kept wondering about the logistics of Palpatine's secret planet-destroying navy, and where he got the money, and how they managed to keep this immense project a secret even from the First Order.
(One of the things about this universe which gives me joy is the realistic timelines around the Empire's giant infrastructure projects. It takes more than twenty years to bring the Death Star to fruition! And, okay, suddenly they have a new one a few years later, but maybe there was a prototype shell or something, and they used slaves to build it. Anyway. Just as I wonder if Lando's mining crews are unionised, I have questions about the Sith navy.)
Oh, and I DO hate that Anakin's sacrifice in Return of the Jedi was ultimately pointless. Like. That's the template for all redemption stories in this universe!
(I don't think it's a terribly amazing redemption story, but then, what interests me more is the atonement that comes after you've chosen a better path. Like, I would have preferred for Ben to live and find a way to make amends for his crimes -- if that's possible -- and live with the consequences, but I also know that (a) this is not that universe; (b) western narratives don't treat patricides kindly; (c) particularly when the pater killed was a widely loved character we already knew.)
I feel like this post has gotten away from me, which is probably appropriate, because TRoS was such a big, sprawling, messy film. And deeply conservative in its storytelling choices, predictable in nearly every respect, and honestly a touch reactionary. I've seen pro reviewers compare it to The Phantom Menace, but that's quite unfair -- I'd rank it above all the prequels, but below the original trilogy and the first two sequels.
It's frustrating, because every time I go to roll around in my Reylo feels, I remember ... everything else. But maybe that will pass? I still have a remnant of that headache, which isn't helping...
Honestly? I was mostly bored and mildly irritated. The first two acts are a barrage of ACTION and MOVEMENT and SOUND AND FURY SIGNIFYING NOTHING, with just a handful of good moments here and there.
It's probably significant that it suddenly became properly engaging after Leia's death (all due respect to Carrie Fisher's body and voice doubles, but the use of old footage was both obvious and distracting, and honestly kind of ghoulish). But by then I already had a throbbing headache, so some of the impact was lost.
I went in expecting Bendemption and maybe a subtle dash of Reylo, amidst a good movie which served all the characters well. Wishing on that monkey's paw might have been a mistake, though, because I got Bendemption and actual canonical Reylo ... amidst a big, messy movie which didn't do well by anyone except Rey and Ben.
(The white characters. Interesting, isn't it?)
Finn came out mostly okay, but he felt more like a sidekick than in the last two movies, and now he's apparently infatuated with Rey? Apparently Jannah is also an ex-Stormtrooper, which is interesting, but I was in the loo when she was introduced, tweeting about how bored I was. Yes, I realise that was a mistake; I should have timed my loo break for one of the scenes where Poe is awful.
I am impressed with the writing for Poe: over three movies, they've led me from total indifference (I literally forgot who he was in TFA when he comes back to rescue them) to frustration at his selfish mansplaining in TLJ to active dislike as he shouts at Rey here.
So I'm not a fan, but even so, it's hard to reconcile his personality in TRoS with everything else. Suddenly he's overbearing and kind of sulky? But also has a ~~dark past~~ we've never heard of before (and is hotwiring speeders, which you'd think Rey the ex-scavenger would be on top of).
And, of course, he has a hot ex-girlfriend, and as much as I like Zori, and Keri Russell's performance, it felt like there was a strong dash of no homo in this development. Zori had more chemistry with Rey in their single interaction, and it all had a whiff of ... corporate interference. Like, if TLJ was about him learning that women are, in fact, people with ideas worth listening to (even if they have purple hair and wear pretty dresses), TRoS is all about Poe Is The Leader Who Knows What's Up -- which should feel like the culmination of his arc in TLJ, but it doesn't quite mesh.
Possibly because so many aspects of TLJ are either reversed or shoved quietly aside.
The worst example: remember Rose Tico? Loved her story? Too bad, the racist fans have spoken! She's barely in it! I hope Kelly Marie Tran goes on to have a wildly successful career, because it really does seem like Disney caved in to the toxic sides of fandom -- and it wasn't just men -- who bullied her off social media. This isn't just an ugly decision from Disney-LF -- it sets a horrible precedent for blockbusters going forward.
Other examples are less egregious -- just frustrating. TLJ made a big deal out of Kylo Ren destroying his mask; here, he rebuilds it. Just as Thor: Ragnorak had a whole major plot point about Thor learning that he didn't need his hammer, only for the next film to give him a brand new one. Call me crazy, but I have this idea that, if you're working in a shared universe, you should at least be communicating with your fellow creators about your intentions and expectations re: character development.
Likewise, Luke (present as a Force ghost) is more proactive and less of a sad sack in TRoS than TLJ, which is a real bummer -- I loved his characterisation in TLJ, and it made sense to me. And it was brave, which TRoS absolutely is not.
Having said all this, in one respect, a key idea from TLJ is carried forward: the democratisation of the force. Finn is sensitive to Rey via the Force, which I adore, and it's a valuable reminder that you don't need a special bloodline to be Force sensitive, but also, just because you're aware of the Force in some respect doesn't mean you have to be a Jedi.
This is pretty valuable, because TRoS otherwise leans in really hard on the special bloodline/all Force users should be Jedi or Sith. Surprise! The Sith (and Palpatine) are back! Surprise! Rey is Palpatine's granddaughter! Surprise! Leia was a fully-trained Jedi but chose to put her lightsaber away!
Me: Thanks, I hate it!
...okay, I enjoyed the medical body horror of Palpatine's post-death existence, and I like the idea that there's an alternate timeline where Rey had a normal life and did a stint as queen of Naboo.
That's it. Everything else is ... I don't think it's intrinsically bad, it's just not what I wanted. And, because I was so often bored, I kept wondering about the logistics of Palpatine's secret planet-destroying navy, and where he got the money, and how they managed to keep this immense project a secret even from the First Order.
(One of the things about this universe which gives me joy is the realistic timelines around the Empire's giant infrastructure projects. It takes more than twenty years to bring the Death Star to fruition! And, okay, suddenly they have a new one a few years later, but maybe there was a prototype shell or something, and they used slaves to build it. Anyway. Just as I wonder if Lando's mining crews are unionised, I have questions about the Sith navy.)
Oh, and I DO hate that Anakin's sacrifice in Return of the Jedi was ultimately pointless. Like. That's the template for all redemption stories in this universe!
(I don't think it's a terribly amazing redemption story, but then, what interests me more is the atonement that comes after you've chosen a better path. Like, I would have preferred for Ben to live and find a way to make amends for his crimes -- if that's possible -- and live with the consequences, but I also know that (a) this is not that universe; (b) western narratives don't treat patricides kindly; (c) particularly when the pater killed was a widely loved character we already knew.)
I feel like this post has gotten away from me, which is probably appropriate, because TRoS was such a big, sprawling, messy film. And deeply conservative in its storytelling choices, predictable in nearly every respect, and honestly a touch reactionary. I've seen pro reviewers compare it to The Phantom Menace, but that's quite unfair -- I'd rank it above all the prequels, but below the original trilogy and the first two sequels.
It's frustrating, because every time I go to roll around in my Reylo feels, I remember ... everything else. But maybe that will pass? I still have a remnant of that headache, which isn't helping...
no subject
Date: 2019-12-20 12:23 am (UTC)I'm like one of the, apparently, two people on the planet who quite liked TLJ and the Rose/Finn/Poe trio (ordinary people! doing their best in extra ordinary situations! yeeeessssssss!) and hearing they got such a bad deal in this film so we could get more space Twilight is just... lesigh. I'm not even disappointed by this point, honestly.