so i wrote a whole bunch of words about this whole thing, but i cut them out, because here's what's important to me and honestly who gives a shit about the rest:
what's in this movie, like really IN it, is aging luke and leia. there is something about the two of them here that touches my soul in a way unconnected to childhood warmth, and it isn't even because they're especially well written or well acted, but because they just ARE, the very idea of luke skywalker alone on that rock after what he has been through, and leia strong and dignified, is fascinating. it's the first time in my life of watching star wars that i could feel that these are actually human beings, not caricatures or archetypes, not action figures or blank slates for us to project our own faces and dreams onto. what happens to a person when your life is dominated by war, when you lose everything you care about? this whole saga has always been about people, the good and evil that exists in everyone, blood family and family cobbled together from rubble, love and hate. but it never felt real to me until the baby-faced protagonists were given this wisdom and dignity, leia a solid and stately woman who is too practical and level-headed to be a goddess, luke a feral monk. here the force feels more spiritual than it ever has, not a super power or a gimmick. the destruction seems real. there are consequences and hard decisions. that's always been the point, but now these silly space exploits have actually defined lives, in fantasy and reality. i have watched these two people age in real time, i am an adult and i actually know what happens to these idols from my childhood. isn't that wild?! the young characters are great, feisty and complicated and flawed, and i'm glad a generation has them to look up to (hey guys you remember these movies are for kids, right? lol) and overall it's as good a star war as can be. but i am obsessed over luke out in the middle of nowhere. i can't stop thinking about it.