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Who is your favorite bad guy? (Destiny)

by Korny @, Dalton, Ga. US. Earth, Sol System, Tuesday, February 09, 2016, 15:16 (2970 days ago) @ Durandal

I think he's a pretty good character who happens to be the antagonist.


As a proper foil for the heroine of the movie, he fails.

I think the problem is that you're looking for him to fill a role. A black to counter the white, but he's very much his own gray wanting to be black, which is independent of the other characters or structure of a movie. This is very much part one of three, and we've only seen the character in the position that his master has placed him, without knowing why that piece was played that way.

Measured against any of the other characters he doesn't seem intimidating much at all, and certainly doesn't seem like as big a challenge to overcome. It's bad enough Rei is just a mary sue pilot/mechanic/fighter who multiclasses into Jedi master half way into the film and our plucky POV stormtrooper is lovably incompetent, but their interactions with Ren are like a videogame cutscene where you would wipe the floor with some mooks but because it's a cutscene you lose to one blow to the head or something.

Finn seemed to have more trouble against Nines than he did against Kylo, and that's pretty telling about Ren, I think. He's not intimidating, he's an emotional kid.


Darth Vader is never seen at a disadvantage in a fight until Revenge of the Jedi. He never seems troubled by Kenobi in III, and only gets shot by Han because he's focused on Luke. In Empire he pretty much kicks everyone's butt. Going up against Vader, or even failing him, is a serious proposition that adds tension and gravitas to the plot.

Again, he's not Vader. He's not supposed to be Vader. He wants to be Vader, but he's nothing like him, and so will not be anywere near as menacing or as threatening. You're essentially complaining that Anakin in Episode I wasn't as scary as he was in Episode IV.


The latest movie needed someone similar. Phantoma could have been the icy competent Boba Fett, but she gets all of two lines and is never used to good effect. There was really no one to be afraid of.

It didn't need any one specific thing. Again, going into the film with a checklist is a lousy way to approach part 1 of a multi-part story. And Phasma wasn't a big player in Episode VII, but she's going to return in VIII, so I'd wait a bit before dismissing the character altogether.


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