I don't understand why everyone needs Rey to be related to the Skywalkers. We still have a Skywalker in this story in Kylo... Rey is just a powerful example that there are still 'light side' force users that aren't related to the 'royal family', so to speak.
Ultimately I'm fine with Rey's "She's-A-Nobody" background.
Regarding my feelings on other stuff:
- Snoke was under developed. He didn't need to be related to anything in previous movies, but he did need to be developed a bit more for us to be shocked, and/or care during the 'twist' at the end. The way he was handled in the two new movies, I was wholly unsurprised when he got chopped in half.
Agree.
- I liked Luke's characterization in the movie. He's always been conflicted and whiny, so why wouldn't he still be after a huge fucking tragedy (which he may be responsible for). My only beef with the way he was presented was the fucking creepy, gross milk scene.
Disagree. Luke is the hopeful one, he never gave up on Vader, there is NO WAY he'd draw down on a sleeping Ben Skywalker. He would sooner eat that blade himself vs harm Leia's child. As well as rejecting the Jedi Order? I don't agree and I don't want to pay to see that story over and over, easy.
- I see bitching about Rey being too powerful, too quickly. Or too capable, or whatever. By the time we see her first in TFA, she's been fending for herself for years. You have to be pretty capable to get to that point. How many complained that baby Anakin won a pod race that no human could win, or Luke was suddenly an X-Wing ace within their first movies? The sexism of the nerds is strong.
Agree.
- Admiral Akbar is overrated. Objectively it makes sense to not give him too much play in his death. But nostalgia wanted it to be him performing the kamikaze. Which, speaking of, was an amazing and beautifully done scene.
Disagree. If you're gonna go through the effort of bringing a much-loved meme'd character back, spacing him without any recognition isn't really winning hearts & minds of the fans.
- I understood what they were trying to do with the slow space chase, but for whatever reason it fell flat for me. It didn't really feel like it built tension very well, and I grew bored of it pretty quickly. I wonder if incorporating some dog fights during the war of attrition would have sold it better. Related, as it was presented, keeping the plan secret from Poe felt off, like they had a main plot and a side plot they wanted to do, and couldn't quite figure out how to make it work.
Agree.
- On the side plot, I liked that we got to see some commentary on classes, war profits, animal cruelty, etc. BUT, their mission also seemed kinda pointless in the end, like it was specifically only there to make said commentary and to find an excuse to have Finn and Phasma square off (another underdeveloped villain).
Agree.
- I have no problems with the Force being expanded on, it's been expanded on over the years in all sorts of media. It started as basically moving things, and using a laser sword. Then we got sparkle hands, super flips and jumps, references to prolonging life or bringing people back from the dead, etc. It's clear that there is much that can be done with the Force, and I'm glad it's not just mild telepathy and telekinesis.
Agree.
Overall I'm very mixed on the movie. I liked the message and story they were intending to go for, but execution fell short in many ways for me. It's not my favorite Star Wars movie, and it's not my least favorite. I am excited to see JJ Abrams back for Episode 9, and I think Rian Johnson could do some really fun things when he's not beholden to existing characters.
Disagree. This trilogy is a mess at best. J.J. is not the guy to run any franchise with lore, obviously. Rian Johnson is equally garbage with lore. Stick to one-shot indie films, kid.
I'd really like to see a big movie trilogy that had nothing to do with the Skywalkers, but gave us expanded lore on the Force, Jedis and the Dark Side. That'd likely need to be well in the past or well into the future of the current movies, but so be it.
Agree.