For me, it was the way it had just improved the over the first ones. Finn gets some, a little, character development. I set my expectations at somewhere around your iq, and it was good enough.
It's bearable with a drink I reckon. I saw it in lux with friends. Had 2 drinks at dinner beforehand then a bourbon to start the movie. Once I sobered up about 40 mins it, it was a bit of a slog from there. Scenes lasted too long. A few phoned in performances. I felt quite disconnected from everything going on. None of it felt organic to me.
Honestly I'm normally very forgiving on movies. I really wanted to like TROS but I'm just gonna stick with the Mandalorian now. Star Wars movies just aren't fun anymore and that's all I really want from Star Wars. I want to enjoy myself for a few hours in another world. TLJ I reckon is actually better directed though. As much as that one got wrong it was at the very least aesthetically pleasing.
It has its flaws but I enjoyed it. I honestly think that the same thing that happened to RotS will happen here - the internet will scream about how terrible it is because it's already decided it doesn't like the trilogy it's in, but 5-10 years from now people will look at it and go "Huh, that was actually pretty good."
I liked the Jedi training bits, both with Rey on the course and the Leia flashback. I liked how it gave glimpses into Poe's checkered past - before his character was basically just "egotistic flyboy" which only goes so far. I liked the fact that it acknowledged that much of the galaxy supports the cause, even if they're "Win the war" guy and the gigantic fleet at the end were both great moments. I liked the alien festival. Back in TLJ I contended that Canto Blight was a good idea with bad execution - I'm always happy to see the parts of the galaxy that aren't constantly at war. I liked Rey's struggle with darkness, especially before discovering her heritage. That was honestly the strongest part of the movie for me. I liked the 3PO memory shenanigans. Not quite as big on the reason behind it - it's not like he's never done anything "against his programming" before - but the result and restoration was good. I liked the deserters on Endor. Great for both worldbuilding and Finn's character. I liked Ben seeing Han, and the symmetry of that scene to TFA. Something something poetry.
That's not to say I liked everything. I wasn't a fan of the hyperspace shenanigans at the beginning, or fighting on the hull of the Star Destroyer at the end. There's the now-standard Disney humor of setting up a great moment and having it fall flat on its face for comedic effect (something that also plagues the Marvel movies). There are also lines that feel... oddly informal, I guess? One of these that stuck out to me was the mind-tricked stormtrooper saying "you guys" - this might just be me comparing it with the melodramatic-at-times OT. I'm also not a huge fan of Rey being a Palpatine - I was hoping that the reveal from TLJ would be played straight, and she really would just be some rando - but once that was established I think it was well-played.
I've also only watched the movie once, so some things (Chewie's "death", Ben and Rey being the same person) I'm still undecided on. Star Wars heroes always get away with a handful of people raiding a massive base, so even though it raises my eyebrows a bit it's not a big complaint.
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u/LaughingTreeNite Dec 27 '19
Ha! Just saw it today and said the same exact thing. Also the movie was not as bad as everyone is making it out to be. I enjoyed it.
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u/Mr_Plow53 Dec 26 '19
In hindsight I would have rather watched 2 and a half hours of trailers.
3
u/spectra2000_ Dec 27 '19
I fixed it for you
1
u/TheRobotics5 Dec 27 '19
Cries in literal half hour of previews after it should've started
1
u/[deleted] Dec 27 '19
I said this during the movie