the plot similarities are definitely there, but i saw it more as them trying to convey the notion that history repeats itself and everything is cyclical rather than abrams ripping off a new hope.
Luke brought his gerbil to the island (don't ask: see also, Boys, Pet Shop). There were penguins on the island that had adapted to the warmer clime. One of the penguins, an Emo-type, strayed from his Happy Feet clan and ran across the gerbil. One thing led to another. Barry White music was played. The resulting penguin-gerbil kid was ostracized by the Happy Feet clan on one side and the gerbil family (when they came to visit: so much for a "secret" island, Luke!) on the other. But the Porg gets the last laugh. He made it into the movie. Even though Chewbacca would force him to show up on set every morning with the box of Shipley's.
which is weird, because they could have just followed one of the novels. like the series by timothy zahn. no need for any new ideas, just follow it like harry potter. weird side note** i was once at half price book store on westheimer which had a pretty big collection of star wars novels. i was intrigued and thought about purchasing one when this weird breh popped up from behind the shelf and started rambling about the timothy zahn book i had in my hand, even telling the life story of mr. zahn. he had the typical mama jeans, black shirt, and long hair tied in a ponytail. i was this close to becoming a timothy zahn fan, if it wasn't for that dude scaring me into leaving the store.
Strongly disagree. Rey grew up scavenging on a junk planet named Jakku, yearning for the return of parents that abandoned her, and dreaming of the rebellion. Even after she is able to leave the planet and see how beautiful other places can be, she yearns to return to Jakku, fearful that she may miss being being reunited with her parents. Eventually she is forced to face the reality of the heartbreaking fact that they are never coming back, and she is filled with the questions of who they were, who she is, and why they abandoned her. Finn has spent his entire life being programmed to be a stormtooper, follow orders, and mindlessly kill when told to. Yet on his first mission, he realizes that he feels different than other troopers: he's not a mindless machine and he longs to live his own life of independence. Without even a name, he faces and accomplishes the daunting task of defecting from the First Order, escaping their control, and joining the Rebellion against the First Order. did you see Annakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones? Kylo was born to two of the great rebellion leaders and The Force was very strong in him. Although he was being trained by one of the greatest Jedi in history, he (like his grandfather) felt the pull to the Dark Side of The Force. He abandonded all that he had grown up with - his parents, the Jedi, and the rebellion, and became a high-ranking member of their enemy, The First Order. He, too, longs to be his own person and to get out from the shadow of his mother (the princess and general) and his father (the rebellion hero). He killed almost all of the remaining Jedi, his father and, in the next movie, he will kill his mother. Yet he feels alone and doesn't feel like he fits with either the First Order or the rebellion. Strongly agree with you on this one.
It's actually amazes me that you can remember anything about them, because they are so poorly showcased in the movie. Cookie cutter is not a strong enough term for two of the most bland characters in the Star Wars Universe, including all the novels. Might as well have been Michael Bay directing. Have you watched the film more than once? I just can't imagine anyone that enjoys the original Star Wars loving Finn & Rey, This is Godfather 3 without Al Pacino. This is a sham to sell action figures to your kids. This film is a cardboard cutout of a film. As an Empire freak it makes me sick. No chances were taken, not one. It is hollywood bullshit to the highest degree. Don't step on any toes, don't take any chances, feed the masses McDonalds and call it a day. In all of that, they were successful. I think you are correct to cite Anny Skywalker in Clones in comparison to Kylo Durant. Very apt indeed.
But hey, at least the new Star Wars gave us the invention of Memberberries. Trey and Matt saved us again.
I have seen the movie more than twice. I agree that the plot of TFA was extremely similar to ANH, so much so that it felt re-hashed and ripped off. I agree that it's not the best Star Wars movies (and that ESB is the best). I agree that, when they made TFA, they were trying not step on toes. And I agree that their choices of cast members were intended to check off their diversity checkboxes. I disagree with your statement that the characters are cookie-cutter and lack depth. I will say that TFA was immensely better than TPM, AOTC, and ROTS. I'll even say that it was better than Return of the Jedi (IMHO).
First spoiler-free reviews are coming in on Twitter.... http://au.ign.com/articles/2017/12/10/star-wars-the-last-jedi-first-reactions-twitter-roundup
Watched part VII again last night, thought it was even better on a second view, especially after watching justice league, you can really appreciate how the dialogue and interactions build the story and characters in comparison. Almost every interaction pushes the plot along. Still bothers me the rahtkar didn’t kill Finn, that Han Solo had never used a crossbow, that Kylo allowed a force sensitive to be alone with a weak storm trooper, and how easy it was for Finn to convince the storm strooper to turn off the shield to the key weapon, but overall, it was sound movie. The character interactions stand out just as they did in episode IV, Finn and Rey are terrific, as is the bar owner, and Han Solo. Liked Han Solo much better on the second viewing than the first where I thought he was a little stiff, I think I was wrong, he subtlety holds the ensemble together. Really liked the cast and characters and dialogue. Think the characters have depth and complexity. Looking forward to part VIII. I’d really like to see Skywalker have a bad ass moment like Vader to build on his legend which seems to have filtered through the universe by this time. Think they do need to explain why Kylo breached the trust of Jedi. I could buy in that he wanted to escape his parents shadow, but think I want more. I bought Vader’s rationale entirely, wanting to control democracy and now lose his wife. But I need to know why Kylo went Solo, so to speak.
Reviews looks good. Lots of people pointing out it has a ton of surprises and doesn’t follow formula of Empire.