This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Joe Jatcko’s review published on Letterboxd:
This review may contain spoilers.
I guess they really should have pumped the breaks on that whole Ewok party.
So no one really bothered to go disarm the Empire? Or move into somewhere that doesn't resemble a bunker? Or make any noticeable progress in 30 years?
No? Okay...
Despite all the thought, care, and money that went into this, there is one huge example of laziness that really messed up the whole experience for me. In order to make sure the good guys are always the underdogs, the Empire and the Rebels, are essentially re-imagined as the "First Order" and the "Resistance."
It's like The Return of the Jedi didn't happen--or worse--none of what was accomplished really mattered.
This is just one of the tropes they dusted off, but in my opinion, the most fatal. I hate these kinds of labels, but it felt like a reboot, remake, etc.--not something new.
And, I have to say, I missed George Lucas. I know people tend to see him as the ultimate Star Wars villain: the one who had the most potential for good, who therefore was able to perpetrate the greatest evil. But, at his best, he was an excellent storyteller who rolled out all his plot points one at a time, at just the right moment. Here they're either rolled out all at once or not at all. Everyone is uncovered, uncloaked, and unmasked in the first act. Who is this "Supreme Commander?" He has no mystique, no tie to the mythology--he just looks like a half-baked Voldemort ripoff, or just a generic bad guy from from any number of other movies.
Of course they did take one giant risk. And, as heartbroken as I am, I feel it was a smart one. But, again, it felt like a plot point, not something that was essential to the story and needed to happen at that exact moment to be truly meaningful. It was just a scene in what was just a movie.
And that's okay, our lives will go on. But there will be a lot more Star Wars movies in them, and I can't help but think that these last few months will be the last time it really feels...I don't know...special.
I did like a lot of the new characters. I guess there really is a reason Oscar Isaac and/or Adam Driver are in just about every movie made these days. I wasn't as jazzed as the main leads + droid, but I see the appeal. It is really cool to see the franchise take advantage of its stature and add some diversity to its on-screen heroes. Having a female Jedi alone feels like one of the smartest moves they could have made. Also, Captain Phasma--so cool! She got suspiciously little screen time. I wonder why...
But, in the end, they're sitting in all the same seats, saying all the same things, and adhering to all the same formulas. Of course the more of these movies they churn out--and we know there will be many--the further they will deviate from the originals, but right now, it just feels like a competently-executed rehash.
I'm glad everyone is so happy with how it turned out though--even if I don't feel the same way.