My thoughts (definitely SP) (Off-Topic)

by stabbim , Des Moines, IA, USA, Monday, December 21, 2015, 21:25 (3266 days ago) @ Earendil

From my fan boy perspective, it was a great throwback to the old ones, and in such a good way that I want to go back and watch them again in a way that I haven't wanted to in a long time.

I am actually literally doing that right now. And as soon as I'm done, I'm going back to a theater to see episode VII again.

This movie absolutely nailed it, for me. I think I'm more or less in agreement with Funkmon and Avateur, in that there is definitely some strong resemblance between this and the first film, but that is NOT a negative thing. It's clear to me that any similarities are there intentionally, but not as a ripoff or to be lazy. Rather, they're trying to ground the new trilogy in the existing universe (tied more strongly to the original trilogy than the prequels, I'd say), probably as a jumping-off point to totally new stuff.

While I was actually sitting there watching it I didn't care about any of that. I was just grinning the whole time, enjoying the nostalgia. But the more I think back on it now, the more I'm sure that I like the direction things are going.

The new characters in particular have a lot of potential. Rey is really interesting to me because I can't quite tell whether she will end up dark or light. On the surface she's obviously one of the good guys, but in her more intense scenes there's often a subtle hint that she's drawing on anger as much as anything else (except toward the end of the forest fight - she's very zen there). Of course, I don't know if that's because they're actually hinting at a darker path for her, or just because she's had no Jedi training yet. Kylo Ren's potential to turn is more obvious, I think. He could still come back.

I could write down things I liked all evening.