Big oof. This rewatch made the issues I had initially more unbearable and also shed light on so much I think I was too culture shocked to see initially. I am not sure what happened. I’ve had friends experience this turnaround with films like Tenet going from hating it to loving it etc…but I’ve really not been one to flip so abruptly. It’s a first, but it’s a needed experience. There is a troublesome amount of hand holding, and an expectation for extra lively visuals and a simultaneous grounded feel to compensate for the lack of even the slightest character development. We see these characters put into situations that do have underlying themes of humanity and the value of life. The idea that we are all flawed, but there is still hope. I stand by all of that being a fresh perspective that I truly admire, the problem is, it’s told, more than naturally expressed. That holds even the core characters back from the depth needed to feel attachment to them. Also, I stand by this: Kingo and Sprite DO NOT work. I’m very bummed. It just all feels like a very odd starting point in general for this side of the universe that is already so dense. Zhao is a visual mastermind, and I know she knows how to tell compelling characters dissection. This just might have been too much to handle for her introduction to such a gargantuan franchise. I wanted to go in and love it or at the least like it the same as I did the first time….but it felt like a completely different experience that I did not enjoy.