As a lifelong film buff, I am a very observant film-watcher. I did catch all of those examples you cited, plus the one IP cited, during my first viewing. And I think Daisy, whom I adore, did a fantastic job delivering every last one of her lines. But the modern pacing of the film, of which I am not a fan, was such that there was little to no time to digest what she was saying, per the writers' attempts to convey to the audience that Rey is as astounded and nonplussed as the audience is, regarding her unprecedented facility with the Force. I heard the attempts, but they were overwhelmed by the pacing.
But even if the pacing was more chill, to allow that stuff to sink in, I still don't like the idea of her being so powerful so quickly. No training, and too little struggling, sacrificing, fearing, and failing. Why does everything in Hollywood movies have to be bigger, faster, badder, louder than the films they get their inspiration (and in the case of TFA, their complete story) from? I don't like that the JP filmmakers felt that T.Rex is no longer big enough or bad enough, that they have to concoct an Indominus Rex! I don't like Rey (regardless of her sex) being without flaws, rollicking through the adventure with such ease and fearlessness. She's not relatable. She's not believable.
I don't care how banged up Kylo was, he should've destroyed Rey in that fight. This idea being propagated by Hollywood and the media that women are just as strong as men is absolutely absurd. Tell me, how many women are in Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL? None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. There never will be a woman in any of those top-level men's leagues, because women are physically inferior to men. Period. Now, I realize Rey lives in a make-believe world where the Force is a great equalizer, but this is all the more reason to show her develop her abilities, before taking on a highly skilled darkside Force villain in close one-on-one combat. But no, a teenage girl can beat down a near-Sith Lord with a weapon she's never wielded and he's highly trained with, just like Ronda Rousey can beat up Floyd Mayweather. Yeah right. You're correct, Dan...Rey is Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Which was fine--awesome, actually--for a campy TV show. But not for Star Wars, a film that's supposed to have a gravitas to it, and relatable and believable heroes and heroines.
Ok. Well, I think we just see Star Wars itself differently. I see it as a grand space fantasy adventure with its own kind of internal "magic" and its own set of in-universe rules for how it should work. For the most part, I don't see how "Rey + some kind of Force surge" being able to beat a heavily wounded and already weakened Kylo Ren violates those rules in the way that the worst Mary Sue does. I don't see the agenda beyond simple inclusivity, of which I'm generally a fan, especially when it's done well, and I think it was done well here.
I do agree that the pacing was more brisk than I usually like, but I also think that it kind of had to be to cover what the film needed to cover and come in under 3 hours. Actually, this issue has become one major reason why I find television to be a much more enjoyable format for storytelling. It allows a much longer tale to be told, allows beats to be appropriately spaced out to allow them to really sink in, and has the potential to really allow for rich, in-depth character development while still providing plenty of meaty plot.
2) If the subsequent films show Rey's limitations, explain the source of her power, and show her doubts, fears, and growth, will I still consider her a "Mary Sue"? It's difficult for me to speculate on that, but if forced to, I'd probably say she was a Mary Sue in Ep. VII, but a flawed heroine in Ep. VIII, etc. I don't know if it will retroactively alter my opinion of Ep.VII. And if it does, I gotta tell ya, Rey being a Mary Sue is one of MANY problems with TFA. If we learn about Rey's unprecedented powers, see her flaws, and witness her growth in Ep. VIII, that will be good, but none of that will change the fact that I hated all of this:
* story is an uninspired, lazy, and cynical ripoff of anh (this demerit alone could fill a page if i broke it down all the ways it ripped it off--but i'll spare you)
* the soundtrack sucked
* ford phoned in his performance
* i didn't realize carrie fisher was a ventriloquist
* chewie mask wasn't right--looked cgi--not a hair outta place--too small--head wrong shape--eyes looked cgi'ed at times
* chewie acted out of character, in egregious ways
* cgi monsters were totally fake looking--that whole scene was embarrassing to watch
* distracting scottish accent
* unnecessary characters (finn: necessary for the agenda, but not the story)
* boring cantina creatures
* poor lighting
* chewie's way underplayed reaction to han's death (he shoulda been ripping stormtrooper arms outta sockets!!!)
* leia snubbing chewie
* chewie's adoring look at rey in cockpit en route to luke...it was cringe-worthy
* poor editing and breakneck pacing
* telegraphing plotlines
* falcon taking no damage (it shoulda been in pieces--regardless of shields)
* ridiculously heavy-handed parallels to the third reich
* hux--annoying as hell
* kylo face reveal premature (shoulda happened on catwalk w/his father)
* kylo helmet heavy as an anvil--so stupid
* driver was miscast (his acting was fine, but he looks nothing like ford or fisher)
* solo and finn spot rey across a huge expanse, and then boom, they find her around a corner
* levity misplaced in perilous moments/scenes that should've been fraught with tension, thus removing all tension. so cartoon-ish.
I know I'm forgetting stuff, but wow, add to all that my gripes about Rey's infallibility, and well, can you see why I didn't care for this picture?
The Wook
I can see that you have a long list of things that you didn't like, yeah. I don't really agree with most of them, but I recognize that you were bothered by them. All I can say to them, really, is "Sorry, man. Hope it goes better next time." I mean that, too. I know what a drag it is to really love a franchise and just feel completely disappointed by the latest entry. I know how it feels when it seems like the franchise that you love is no longer interested in catering to you. I do think, however, that the goal of the Disney-era LFL is to make Star Wars accessible and enjoyable for as broad an audience as possible, and they want to include you, too. Maybe they didn't manage to do so this time, but there'll be plenty more Star Wars coming down the pike, and hopefully you'll be able to enjoy some of it.
Which raises a separate issue, by the way. Even if you really, really dislike this film, the one thing you should be glad for is the fact that it's incredible success -- over $1B domestically at the box office, major merchandising success, and 5 Oscar nominations (including score and several technical achievements) -- basically guarantees the future of the Star Wars franchise for at least another decade, and likely longer than that. What's more, we're not going to see a single, monolithic approach to the franchise. There will be lines within which future directors and writers must color, but we are no longer operating with material provided by a single aueteur. That means some stuff will likely disappoint, well, everyone, but some stuff will also likely end up appealing to everyone, too. Not always everyone at once, of course, but I'd bet that while Episode VII may not have appealed to you,
something in the future will. And that's the kind of franchise we're dealing with now. It's not just a single movie trilogy, plus a bunch of extra material that's mostly targeted at hardcore geeks and nobody else (I'm looking at
you, EU). It's a franchise for all.
I might hate the new Young Han Solo film. (If it stars Miles Teller, I almost certainly will...) I may find Rogue One to be stupid and not in keeping with my notion of Star Wars. Who knows. But the point is that this franchise is going to grow exponentially in the next few years, and that means that there's bound to be some stuff I like and some stuff I don't, and...that's ok.
Right now, there's a lot I'm enjoying. But at the same time, even if there isn't, my experience with the prequels and probably the ten years that followed TPM's release...I've realized I don't need to love everything Star Wars. In fact, it's probably better if I don't, because there's bound to be some real crap in there that it's best I just ignore (Still looking at
you, EU. Yuzhan Vong in particular...). But, you know, I'll always have the stuff I do love, and I can always enjoy that, no matter where the franchise goes. Anything on top of that, as far as I'm concerned, is gravy at this point.
The film was written as a first act.
