I. I thought Force Awakens was fun and refreshing. I thought the (little) character development was good and the action really fun. The escape scene where Rey is flying the Falcon through the remains of the star destroyers was cool. The middle fight where the First Order attacks the tropical Aztec-like planet was a beautiful scene. The final fight between she and Kylo with Finn helping out was dramatic.
II. I thought the last Jedi was okay. I didn’t like how they make Luke bitter. I didn’t find it believable that he’d try to kill his own nephew out of fear he’d become evil when he never lost hope in his father who WAS evil.
This also seemed to drag in for me. Rose added nothing to the movie and her side story with Finn was boring to me.
The final fight was just meh to me.
III. I had high expectations for Rise. I was surprised by the horrible RT reviews. But then I saw it... I saw the disaster. And holy cow, can’t believe it got as high or reviews on RT as it did. I thought it was pretty terrible.
Things I liked:
1. I liked how the added the teleportation power between Rey and Kylo. I wish they would’ve exploited on this...
2. I actually liked the “twist” of making her a Palpatine. I think they should’ve exploited on this more...
3. The special effects were cool.
Didn’t like:
I. I thought the pacing was awful. I’m not sure if I’ve sat in a movie that had so much happening in so little time. I felt like I was light speed skipping with them. They traveled to countless planets and met countless new characters and I don’t remember a single thing that actually happened. I think Rey got a necklace from a Mardi Gras celebration on a desert planet or something. So the pacing was a major issue. It felt like a video game to me.
II. The fight scenes were boring. They were all rushed or uninspiring. We’ve seen them chased by ti-fighters before. Yawn. We’ve seen them chased on speeders. Yawn. And by this time, we know that if Rey and Kylo fight, there’s absolutely no stakes. Neither want to kill each other. Why the hell were they even fighting? The fight onboard the Death Star made no sense to me. Just pork each other already.
Side note: I didn’t understand the love triangle or square. It felt like Finn and Poe both wanted her at times, in a type of Han and Luke way in Hope. But then she really actually liked Kylo? I just didn’t understand this romantic triangle square or whatever the hell they were trying to do here.
III. I believe they failed to play up the Palpatine drama. I don’t think they should’ve revealed within the first 5 mins of the movie that he was still alive. That should’ve only come at the end. To me, revealing that he was still alive so early killed the drama.
IV. The characters and dialog were over the top goofy. I understand Disney. But does a spy who just saved everyone really need to announce, “I’m the spy” like we’re 3 years old and need the explanation?
V. The final fight was too short and boring. Seeing a bunch of x wings fight star destroyers was meh. We’ve seen this stuff before. Like a lot.
VI. Rebuilding the empire to 100x its original strength without anyone noticing I think diminishes from the previous movies. The Death Star from what we learned from Rogue 1 and Hope, is the pinnacle of evil and technological innovation. It was unique because it was so large and powerful. It took years to make. Now every star destroyer is essentially a Death Star? Meh. What’s the point of fighting the empire if in just a few decades two major evil powers will rise Without any problem to strengths that not even Luke Skywalker even knew; the First Order and Final Order? Do the good guys really suck so bad at governing? At this point, shouldn’t the handful of rebels just give up? I’m guessing before Rey even hits menopause there will be yet another evil empire licking its chops for galactic domination. Sigh
And at this point, what empire does the emperor want to rule? He’s blown up all the planets in the galaxy by now, right? How many more planets are left after Rogue One, Hope, Jedi, and Force Awakens? Especially force awakens, wasn’t the moon Death Star capable of blowing up several planets at once? I just didn’t like this.
VII. As I said above, I wish they would’ve exploited the teleportation and Palpatine connection. First, I think the final battle was too dark (couldn't see anything), too confusing (were those spiritual or actual siths in the stadium?), and too short. I wished they would’ve included Kylo more instead of tossing him into a pit. I think it would’ve been far cooler if he and Rey would’ve teamed up and used their teleportation powers to fight the emperor. Mind control a lightsaber here, teleport and kick the emperor there, etc.
To me, the emperor using his force lightning and Rey reflecting it at him was boring. Again, it’s already been done. Sam Jackson did this to the emperor and would’ve saved everyone a lot of grief if would’ve kept reflecting the lighting at him before Anakin could intervene in episode 3.
VIII. Last criticism (for now) I wish they would’ve played up the palpatine family more. Made it more dramatic. Make it so it actually felt like she was tempted. Instead of revealing that Palpatine was still alive at the start, the movie should’ve begun with Rey seeing herself praised and adored by the masses, not as the hero of a rebellion, but as an empress of an empire. Maybe the emperor could’ve tempted her by resurrecting her parents. And they should’ve run with this theme throughout the movie. A previously unknown and unloved girl, sees visions of grandeur throughout the movie leading her to being seriously tempted to join the dark side.
