Kylo Ren Masked or Unmasked?

Me too. I wish Solo was more important and more seen as well.

 

I think that Driver is the best thing in the sequels, with respect to the other actors.
A lot of people were disappointed with the mask 'reveal' in TFA, because they said he was nowhere near as intimidating. Personally I thought he was, Driver is a big guy and mask or no, Kylo Ren could easily rip someone apart with the Force. But it was the whole point that he was a young man with a sensitive face that gave away all his insecurities, his doubts and fears. It was why he wore the mask, to try and imitate his granddad and hide his humanity.

Whereas Vader was a hollow man once he'd lost his wife, Kylo was still very much human, very much Ben Solo, despite his denying it. He represented to me the true tragedy of darksiders, than anyone can become one, because hatred, fear and anger are part of what makes us human. I read somewhere that he was coded as mentally ill, and I remember Andy Serkis describing Snoke as a 'predator'. Snoke was the closest thing to a child abuser that they could depict in a 'family' film. I've spoken to real life child abuse survivors who love the character and can identify with him. As a mentally ill person, I do.

TROS to me was a shattering disappointment. I wanted this character to survive and atone for his actions. Vader/Anakin was more dead than alive and found peace. Ben Solo was young and could have achieved amazing things during his atonement. I really would have loved to see his story continue.

I walked out of the cinema post his death, not as a 'protest' but simply because I wasn't interested in the rest of the characters. Daisy, John and especially Oscar are fine actors, but for me, Rey, Poe and Finn couldn't hold a candle to the last real Skywalker. TROS actually showed me that, as they had most of the screentime and when Kylo wasn't on screen I was something I'd never been while watching a SW film before - bored.

 

I like the design of his mask and thought he had a great look in full suit in TFA. So I'll go with the mask. Wasn't a fan of the repaired mask in TROS. Just didn't look good in my opinion.

 

Given the strong allusions to Batman that he (and Rey) have to Batman. I would say with the mask on. I think the mask (like Batman) allows him to exhibit a certain persona of a ruthless leader when he is with others under his command. As opposed to when he is alone and in private or with someone he trusts/respects.

I actually like the fragmented mask in TROS. It provides a great allusion to the scars on his soul. I hope that if we get a X it's brought back.

 

Yeah, that's a good point. The broken mask is a good allegory for what Kylo feels internally.

And for sure, Kylo with the mask on is all for show. It's a show of authority purely, and he's completely aware of it. Not like Vader's mask, which is used for health reasons and exudes authority secondarily.

 

Aesthetically, my favorite Kylo Ren is the gobliny "mask on, hood up" version. He just looks so creepy, almost like a ringwraith or something, it's cool.

But I like mask off Ren, too. The movies do a pretty good job of having Ren displayed in whatever way is needed for a scene- TROS possibly excluded.

 

I loved his lightsabre, it looked like an old fashioned broadsword!

 

Having to reply to myself here as I can't find an edit button and I don't want to double post.
For fans of his, this is an oldies but an interesting read!
https://www.themarysue.com/kylo-ren-childhood-abuse/

 

Masked

 

Succinct.

 

I thought Solo was great, better than TROS.

 

Maksed