MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS ON TFA

So I just saw TFA, and I gotta be honest, it kinda felt underwhelming. Now before I continue, let me clarify that TFA is NOT a terrible movie. There was clearly alot of effort put into this, and I did had fun with the film. However there were things that somewhat irked me. If you enjoyed the film, if you thought it was the best movie you've ever seen, I have nothing against that. In fact, maybe it will get better with age (after all, this is only the first part of a trilogy). With all that said, here's my (amateur ) review:

THE GOOD:

The action was spot on! It was quick, tense, and a hell of a ride. I was also genuinely surprised that there was not alot of shaky cam in this film. So JJ, thank you for having a steady hand! The acting and writing, I thought, was excellent. So much good humor and one-liners, and it was great that they didn't abuse classic lines, which is an annoying trope that Star Wars always falls into. The atmosphere was top-notch. When we see Rey for the first time, there was little to NO dialogue. Instead, all we get is well crafted world-building. From the scavenging of a star-destroyer, to even when she was preparing her food. In a way, it felt like I was watching an art film.

Speaking of Rey, I enjoyed her character. It was really fleshed out (to an extent) and she was quite likable. Finn was also really likable. Admittedly, he didn't do too much heroric stuff, but he was still enjoyable to watch. Poe Dameron was freaking awesome and hilarious, and so was BB8. Kylo Ren was a complete badass! I will admit that my brother was kinda right that he resembles closely to Avatar's Zuko (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zuko), but he was still an intriguing villian to watch. I'm also glad they kept him alive for the upcoming sequels.

And then there's Han Solo: Imo, he is the BEST example on how to do "rhyming" in the best way possible. He acts as the Obi-Wan to the story, with some notable exceptions (exp: Obi gives Luke a lightsaber, Han gives Rey a gun).

And yeah, the sound-effects were sick! No arguing with that!

THE MEH/BAD:

This is the part were I get all "controversial" and blast. First, let's talk about something I'm pretty sure EVERYONE will agree with me: CAPTAIN PHASMA WAS A COMPLETE JOKE!!1! People complained that General Grievous was a lame villian, but at least he did something. Phasma did not fire a. single. god. damn. shot! And she died pathetically (Boba died pathetically as well, but at least he had a brief moment to shine). I know her design was slick, but if they couldn't figure out how to incorporate her into the story, they might as well remove her entirely. I was genuinely surprised that they kept Hux alive, because I gonna be honest, he didn't do it for me. Starkiller base felt more like a character compared to him. In fact, they should've kept the Starkiller alive and killed off the general instead.

Speaking of which, the base shouldn't been destroyed. Imo, it ruined the threat level of this weapon, especially since it's supposed to be more powerful than the Death Star. It would've been better if they kept that thing going for the entire trilogy, as it will add a sense of constant dread. It will also make the planet's explosion at the end much more impactful.

There was also a lack of details about the setting. I know alot people say that not everything should be spilled out, but when it came to things like The New Republic, and the rise of the First Order, I felt like I need to read a goddamn book to get a bigger picture. For some fans, I'm pretty sure they don't mind, but you got to remember that there are many people out there who don't have the money and/or time to be invested in the Star Wars lore (Isn't that one of the reasons why Disney needed to clean up the EU?). I also felt like the film had certain scenes deleted, like as if we are not getting the bigger picture (call me crazy, but I demand a special edition version when it comes out to retail).

Lastly, and this is going to sound like a complete blasphemy even to me, is that the score didn't sound that memorable.

Now granted, it was not awful (Hell, it's still better than most orchestra these days), but I don't think I'll be humming it as much as I do with the Imperial March theme. Even the prequels had some memorable scores.

There are alot more flaws I want to mention, but I don't want to be too negative. Besides, I'm sooo freaking tired right now.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I think one of the reasons why the prequels failed is because they over-explained things, which resulted with too many retconning. This movie's problem, however, is that it played it a bit TOO safe, were it didn't feel like it expanded the story at all. I get why they did it, they want to get back the fans, but what they ended up doing was making something "by the book" basic. Look at it like this: The OT was like sending an astronaut to the Moon for the first time. It's risky as hell, and it could've failed. But it pulled through, which made it a historic landmark for Human progress. The PT was like sending a colony to Mars straightaway, but the plans were miscalculated and flawed. This results to a fatal accident that cost so many lives, which in turn left so many scars to alot of people. TFA is like sending an astronaut back into space for a short while, and it help people to coup with the trauma. However, there is no significant progress being made, especially compared to the last project. Like I said, this movie is not bad, and there were some great scenes, but it really needed to "up its game" (Like Donald Trump, without the insane proposals). I will say this though: I think I need to watch the movie again to grasp some things I missed, which in some ways, succeeded on having rewatchability.

Feel free to agree or disagree with my review. If I made an error on some of these criticisms (like forgetting some story bits or simply pronunciation mistakes), don't hesitate to correct me. All I ask is that you respect each other's opinions. Thanks for reading and may the Force be with you.



PS: Snoke was a huge Vhlor!

 

You know, I think the reason why I was disappointed is because I was spoiled about a certain death scene.

While I still believe the movie is flawed, I think I should give it an another chance.