Okay, when I say I’m hater of “Star Wars,” it’s more towards the intense hype and the extreme fanaticism. I grew up with my father showing me the original trilogy, and taking me to the newer less regarded Episodes I, II, and III. I played with Star Wars legos, toys, video games, plastic lightsabers, the whole nine yards. It just never had the impact for me as it has for others. Oh and by the way, I promise there will be NO SPOILERS. This is just a reaction piece with added tidbits from “Conan” and his special Star Wars episode.
Basically, I feel like Bill Burr, as he explains here:
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi_Ojd0yHeU[/embedyt]
I think maybe the reason why I’m not so crazed about this franchise is based on the fact that blockbusters and pop culture doesn’t exactly thrill me. As a good friend of my mine once put it: “You’re not a mainstream dude.” And he’s right. I like indie music with lyrics of substance and movies with great emotional or character development. These aspects are generally not in the money making machines produced for the masses. Also, Disney owning it and realising an infinite amount of spin-offs doesn’t help. It’s overkill, similar to Marvel and probably DC once or if they get their act together. I read people complaining about screenshots as spoilers, or review article titles and I honestly think like Harrison Ford in this clip (eyes rolls and all): excitement:
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_FieJToFKc[/embedyt]
To me it’s frightening similar to tweens going clinical for Justin Bieber, but hey maybe I’m just a cynical jerk!
Back to the film experience. It was a solid movie. The atmosphere was a bit odd, as I saw the movie alone and was serenaded with a mixture of cycling Star Wars music, Christmas music, and commercials. Applause erupted for both the opening and closing credits. The visuals were excellent; I didn’t find too much CGI that bothered me, and the writing from J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan was a huge upgrade, especially regarding the dialogue. They impressively managed humor through natural human/character behavior. I found that both the new and old cast really embraced their roles. Daisy Ridley’s character kicked the most rears. She displayed an incredibly strong female that really made this movie pop. Harrison Ford was back to his old awesome grumpy self, but my favorite roles came from Oscar Isaac and BB-8. In the past my favorite was R2-D2, so it’s no surprise I went from droid to droid. There’s something about their interactions I just really enjoy. They just amuse me, and I feel more attached to them.
I did find some issues with the movie as it deals with some developments towards the end; however for the sake of the public, I won’t delve further into. Even with some minor issues, I believe this is a much watch. It’s still incredibly fresh. Even for a blockbuster, it’s admirably risking in how they dealt with characterization. For me, it’s the best Star Wars my eyes have seen. Go see it, it even swayed a hater!
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z36TWbEpsSk[/embedyt]
