Who's Acting Impressed You The Most?

Yeah I also think Gleeson did an excellent job. The intention of Abrams was that you would think he is too young to have such a command and that he would feel out of place. He did. A young guy in a high position wants to prove himself by all means and does not like any competition. He wants to get into favour with Snoke. Kylo Ren is in his way. Very well tranlated by Gleeson.

 

I think all the casting was really good. Both the newcomers knew how to deliver endearing performances for new characters we were not fond of yet, as well as the existing characters that delivered a quite credible and touching performance of the characters we love but 30 years later.

 

Surprisingly, for me, Adam Driver.

 

It's the woman who did the casting for game of thrones. She has an eye for talent.

 

everyone

 

Great acting all around, but Daisy is the stand-out. She is amazingly expressive with just her face!
There were many scenes where she said little or nothing, but conveyed so much with her facial expressions.
Really, the overall level of acting in this movie is just way beyond what you normally get in a sci-fi or fantasy film. Way beyond what you normally get in a modern blockbuster, for that matter.

 

All the actors did a good job. J.J was able to get everyone's abilities out and allowed them to flourish unlike Lucas with the prequels with the exception of Ian, Sir Lee and Ewan.

Daisy Ridley did the best IMO.

 

My votes go to Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver.

Ridley was a find. I walked out of that movie wanting to be Rey. It was in the little things like how adorable she was when she put the Rebel helmet on her head, but also how she believably held her own when fighting with Kylo Ren, whether physically or mentally.

Driver was totally unexpected for me because I watched the first few episodes of Girls and completely loathed him. But both in and out of the mask, he totally sold the conflicted nature of Kylo Ren.

I was most disappointed in Domhnall Gleeson. He is a tremendous actor and I've loved him in every other role I've seen him in (especially Ex Machina), but I thought his grand speech was just overdone. I don't know why any troops would follow a crazy, spittle blowing zealot and I'm not really convinced of his competence to rise so high in the First Order.

 

They were all really good. But yeah, Daisy was the standout. She makes Rey instantly likeable/endearing, without even having to say anything. In fact she's GREAT at non-verbal acting, conveying so much emotion and letting you know just what Rey is thinking/feeling, just through body language and facial expressions. She's also funny, and tough, and is just amazing all around.

And it becomes all the more impressive once you learn that it was her first big film role (talk about pressure). She's a natural.

And not having seen Girls, I knew very little about Adam Driver. But I was really impressed by him here as well.

 

I think for some of us, Adam Driver really stands out because we've seen him in 'Girls' where his character is not Kylo-ish at all. I've not seen him in anything else other than TFA and Girls, so maybe I just wasn't prepared for his acting skill; I was expecting his weirdo/jackass character from Girls and what I got was a psycho nut job (Kylo Ren) which makes happies in my heart.

 

i never saw Adam Driver before in my life except a single red carpet / junket picture of him. had no idea what to expect.

after seeing TFA i went and watched clips of Girls to see what everyone was talking about. then i watched Hungry Hearts.

yeah, holy crap, the dude can act.

 

I would probably have to go with Mark Hamill.

 

Carrie Fisher and Chewbacca. I absolutely LOVED them!
(I say "Chewbacca" because I don't know who played him in any given scene, but I loved the TFA's rendition of the character. Granted, much of his awesome was due to better writing, animatornics, and filming than what he has enjoyed before, but still...)

 

I wonder if many of the people complaining about Gleeson being "over the top" have actually seen many of the speeches that dictators/warlords tend to give? Theatricality and yes, over the topness, is frequently part of the deal. If you look at old Hitler speeches, he seems like a cartoon character. And yet, he got millions of people to fight, die, and kill on his behalf, despite his ideology and worldview being so overtly twisted and evil.

 

his speech was shrill and crazy like Hitler, but i kind of felt he was a bit much in scenes where that behavior shouldn't be necessary. i think it works because it's a good contrast to Kylo Ren (they're both preening in their own ways), but i don't think it showcased Gleeson's talents much. i don't know the actor well at all, but really liked his work in The Revenant much more than this.

but then Hux is just so hateable, maybe his performance is actually pretty brilliant.

 

Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley and Carrie Fisher.

 

He got my vote too.

 

It worked for Hitler...

Maybe not my number one - due to what little screen time he had - but his scene at the end showed a mastery of the craft that was lacking in the original trilogy. It was Mark Hamill's single greatest performance as the character.

 

Adam Driver was no.1 for me by far. Max Von Sydow and Oscar Isaac were both great. Daisy surprised me a lot. I thought she was pretty good. Boyega actually not really.. even though from the trailers I liked him ALOT.. I thought in the film his character was cartoonish and almost slapstick. Still he is a great guy. Gleeson was nice and also the random young Scottish guy who ambushes Han Solo on the freighter I thought was also a nice surprise!

But Driver by far!

 

adam driver was fantastic. i thought that he had the toughest job, in that he had to show how intimidating he was and how vulnerable he was. this juxtaposition was so fascinating to me.. and i really felt for the character. in terms of layers and history, we were able to imply so much about him as ben solo and as kylo ren. i can't wait until they expand his character in the new canon EU. that being said, john boyega was hilarious, daisy ridley stole my heart, oscar isaac will be a crowd favorite for generations.. fantastic performances all around.

sidenote- i thought general hux was strange.. i love domhnall gleeson, but something about his character didn't sit right with me.