Beniboybling
Worst Member
Hmm, it strikes me as odd that whenever something wildly popular and applauded criticism is so often met with hostility, it's almost as if they forget ad populum is still a fallacious argument. Not leveling that accusation at anyone in particular.
And I think that even if they didn't negatively effect you're experience, it's still productive and acknowledge and engage with the films faults.
On topic, and I say it again, I don't think the problem with TFA was it's lack of originality, it's more than possible, even within the scope of the same franchise, to take a concept and repurpose it into something just as creatively compelling, ANH is proof of that.
And I also think that TFA for the most part is largely successful in appropriating ANH into the movie. For example the parallels between Rey's beginnings and Luke's beginnings are there, but Rey's origins are distinct enough (e.g. Rey as a lone wolf/survivor, eagerness rather than reluctance to join the fight, an independent rather than aided escape) to stand on their own two feet. Han Solo as a Ben Kenobi, culminating in his ultimate sacrifice, also has it's own distinct identity, and frankly is a rehash of every other Hero's Journey ever. And Kylo Ren as a reinventing of Darth Vader, but with far greater emphasis put on conflict, and the brand new idea of a developing villain not yet in their prime, makes him distinct and therefore compelling in his own right as well.
The issue that comes with re-purposing existing stuff, making a "retro" movie, is when what you end up with is almost exactly the same, just not as as interesting and compelling as before.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Starkiller Base is a poorly conceived and poorly executed concept. It is a carbon copy of the Death Star, it has no distinct or unique characteristics from a storytelling perspective, and no having a bigger laser does not count. And unlike the Death Star it is next to derivative to the overreaching plot being largely shoe-horned into the story, and is invested with very little emotional significance.
Another example is the Rebels vs Empire dichotomy, which here is rebranded as the Resistance vs First Order. And again, it is a carbon copy with zero distinctive features bar being flashier and more bad@ss (notice the trend), and with next to no political exposition J.J. never gives the concept the opportunity to define itself, and is like Starkiller Base, invested with very little emotional significance.
The result is that these aspects of the film feel hollow, and that negatively effected my experience, though I still enjoyed the movie.