#it's as if ben was just an extension of rey's arc rather than a co-protagonist

[solitarylurker]

quick write-up in no particular order on my feelings for Star Wars: TROS just to get the initial stuff out; will write a longer piece tomorrow

this whole damn film is a travesty of wasted potential

Rey bombed her narrative arc on all levels to the point where i don’t think anyone can save her

she utterly fails to accept the darkness within herself and Kylo, retreating entirely to her golden child “light side only” mentality, which basically renders all her growth in TLJ utterly meaningless; this has the unfortunate side effect of making it appear she only ever loved the figment of “Ben” she imagined in her mind, rather than the very real Kylo who actually did love her and showed compassion and care for her and murdered his former master for her (her not learning to accept both her own darkness and Kylo’s is such a tragedy; it seems she can only “love” Kylo when he behaves how she wants, rather than learning to accept him as he is and help him reach his full potential, as he does in return for her)

she fails to bring back the person who “still could return” and fails Leia’s last wish, which is mind-bogglingly saddening; it’s unbelievable that JJ tried to pretend Rey’s “belonging” was just finding a found family and learning about her parents--as if it hadn’t been expressly set up in two previous films (one directed by JJ!) that Rey’s “belonging” is Kylo

the beautiful chemistry between Rey and Kylo was utterly decimated and reduced to a flat “good/bad” dynamic which truly cut me to the core in a way i wasn’t expecting

the film itself couldn’t seem to breathe and kept adding ridiculous characters no one needed (D-O??? why???)

i actually really liked Zorri, which shocked me as i don’t normally like characters added in the third act; i desperately wish i could have had three films with her, or even two films with her 

Ben being completely abandoned by the Jedi and his family was heart-breaking and didn’t resonate nearly as well as TLJ on this front, though i did appreciate the moment with Han, even if it didn’t its emotional beat properly

i did appreciate that Rey was actually kind to C-3PO, who has always been my favorite droid of the originals

Poe and Finn’s little bromance was rather fun and endearing, and it really makes me wish Rian had gone ahead and let them have the TLJ B-plotline together so their friendship could have been highlighted more, making this film’s dynamic more earned

literally nothing was earned in this film; all the emotional beats missed the mark and nobody seemed in-character or capable of being consistent for more than two seconds (even Kylo had eye-roll worthy moments, which is utterly unthinkable given how much care he was given in the first two films)

all the themes of the film land flat and miss the mark, as expected

ultimately i feel a deep sorrow for the wasted potential of what this story could have been, what it could have meant, and what it could have accomplished for the 9-film saga

probably write a more in-depth post tomorrow, if i’m up to it