I aw it again. Went with some friends that couldn't make it on opening night. I was considerate enough not to wail on it to them before they saw it by saying I didn't want to spoil it for them.
It was better for me the second time. I didn't have the baggage of expectations and all of the negative press I had absorbed before I went on opening night.
It is still not a great movie (it is JJ we are talking about after all) and I still stand by most of my earlier criticisms, but I did come away this time finding more about it that I did like.
Thanks to some interesting remarks from xipotec, I found new appreciation for Leia's arc in this. It is interesting how her passing really does bring her son back from the darkness.
With the exception of the worm thing being a flimsy excuse to have Rey show off a new power, I liked the whole Pasaana sequence, including the chase. It did show the team working effectively together, despite the lack of chemistry between them. And how cool was it to see Threepio actually working...translating the female's remarks for Rey...that was cool. And having Lando show up the way he did was perfection, very nice.
The entire sequence on the Endor ocean moon was very good. The Death Star wreckage had some visually stunning moments with the interiors that looked almost old-school matte painting (I mean that a s a BIG compliment) and the duel between Rey and Ren was infused with great emotion. Very well done.
But (and it's a big one) the movie still feels like it's working overtime to stuff as much in and unnecessarily ret-con not only TLJ but a bit of TFA too. It could have been shorter and more focused.
The Palpatine thing just doesn't work. Having Rey be a Palpatine could have been dramatic on it's own without him actually being there. Imagine the tension that could have been present between her and Kylo wrestling with that revelation and Rey countering with Leia's wisdom and feeling. That would have had more impact then the zillion-question raising actual return of Palps did. His actually being there overshadowed everything and shrunk the two leads into nothing more than supporting players. It just become an uninvolving easy way out for the writers.
I can consider this an adequate finale for the sequel trilogy bur NOT for the whole saga. The main issue I will always have with this sequel trilogy is that it was built off of the idea of destroying and devaluing everyone from the OT, rendering their sacrifices in vain and their contributions useless. That could have been barely acceptable if they had moved their story forward in a way that could have provided conflict without deconstructing everything that came before it. A lot of folks like to pin that on RJ and TLJ but it started as soon as Kasdan and Abrams sat down and started working on TFA. There were a few interesting ideas in there, like having an ex-stormtrooper in the story. But there was literally NO follow-through with it. Finn spends his entire arc yelling "Rey" or whooping as he blasts troopers away without a second though or show of remorse or conflicted feelings about it. He ends the trilogy as a vacant bore with suddenly awakening force awareness that felt like too little, too late.
The biggest issue with the sequel trilogy is the lack of vision and planning. Why does this trilogy even exist? When Disney bought Lucasfilm, they jettisoned years of material from the EU that could of at the very least, provided some positive inspiration on where to go. Instead, it just started the long process of offending and shutting out fans, the very ones who helped build the franchise into the cultural icon it is.
I hope Disney keeps it's word on giving movies a break. Come up with a plan and people to carry it all the way through. Don't put it in a mystery box...share some of the development with the fans to spark hope and interest.
In the meantime, let the series on D+ carry the flame...it's been good so far with The Mandolorian finding that right tone of respectful nostalgia aligned with an engaging story. Here's hoping that Cassian and Kenobi continue the quality...
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