Star Wars Speculation: Is Rey A Mary Sue?

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and I'm not talking about Christmas. Yes folks, we're merely four days away from Star Wars: The Last Jedi (or three, if you're gonna get technical about Thursday night premieres)! I'll be working at light speed to ensure my review is uploaded as soon as possible, so I'd say to expect it to surface online somewhere in the ballpark of Late Thursday night- sometime Saturday. It really just depends on what I'll want to talk about, and how I can best communicate those thoughts without spoiling anything. Anyways, this week I'm keeping up my streak of posts defending common criticisms towards The Force Awakens with my take on the Mary Sue dilemma.

As for other developments, I've laid out some semblance of a schedule for releasing my drafted reviews of more recent releases. I recently let you, the reader, vote for the reviews you would be most interested in reading, and I got enough responses to determine a general consensus. Coco was the clear winner, followed by Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Lady Bird, Justice League, and lastly Thor: Ragnarok. I had Blade Runner 2049 listed on the poll, but it was recently announced that the film would be released on digital December 26th, so you can expect to read my thoughts then. Otherwise, I'll see where I can fit other films in to try and avoid releasing more than one film review a day, but there may be some occasional overlap due to the mass influx that's about to it theaters in these last few weeks of December.

Is Rey A Mary Sue?

So, just what exactly is a "Mary Sue?" Well, I'm glad you asked. 

A Mary Sue is an idealized and seemingly perfect fictional character who is usually female, although there's a male term as well (Gary Stu). The reason I'm even invoking this discussion to begin with is because the character of Rey from The Force Awakens came under abrupt attacks for seemingly fitting the mold. 

I, however, venture to disagree with that opinion and feel I have sufficient evidence to do so! 

How is Rey so skilled at so many things?

At the start of the film, Rey has been alone on Jakku for many years. Just taking a gander at Rey's skillset, we know she's a scavenger who knows how to fight with a staff, can speak multiple languages, has some piloting experience, and can repair things. While that may seem like some "perfect person," it only makes sense that she would have picked up various skills in order to survive, especially considering she's force sensitive...

Yes, that's the clincher. Rey is strong with the Force. While that's not my only evidence as to why she's so skilled, I believe it's a contributing factor to her exceptional abilities. I know most people don't like the Prequels, but if you look to that trilogy and The Clone Wars, almost every Jedi in that era has a fairly well-rounded skillset. If you'd rather not look there, Star Wars Rebels and the Original Trilogy also offer plenty of force users with a rather robust skillset. 

But how did she...?

1) Fly the Millennium Falcon

2) Use a Jedi Mind trick

3) Defeat Kylo Ren

These are perhaps the three most cited examples that Rey is a Mary Sue, and I believe all of them can be quickly answered because they're slightly self-explanatory, but I'll break them down one-by-one:

1) How did Rey fly the Millennium Falcon so well through a crashed Star Destroyer?

First of all, Rey mentions that she's flown a Quad Jumper, which just evidences that she has piloting experience.

Secondly, if you're paying any attention at all, you'll notice that the ride's a little bumpy at first as she adjusts to the Falcon's controls having never flown it before.

So, how did she expertly traverse through a crashed Star Destroyer then? Well, as I just mentioned, she has piloting experience and clearly got the hang of things amidst the chase, but there's another piece to the puzzle that's often forgotten by those seeking to whine and complain for the purposes of whining and complaining.

Rey isn't just navigating through some random crashed Star Destroyer. She's flying through a vessel that's been there for the entirety of her life. I'd like to think she knows it like the back of her hand considering she's probably spent years inside the thing scavenging for parts. So I'd imagine her familiarity gave her a huge edge in that chase. Skills and experience truly come in handy when combined, don't they?

2) How did Rey use a Jedi Mind Trick?

I think this one just comes down to the fact that Rey was strong in the Force. Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren even say just that in their conversations after Kylo Ren's interrogated her. I don't believe a force user "requires" training in order to exhibit their abilities. They have the capacity to do these things without the training. The training, to me, is for the purposes of expanding and refining your abilities. It's not the sole determiner of your ability to do something. 

Luke used the Force to destroy the Death Star when he had hardly learned a thing from Obi Wan at the time. Of course, the training naturally helps, but I think it's reasonable to say that a force user strong in the Force can tap into it fairly easily once they set their mind to it. It's a matter of self-motivation rather than having to learn, per say.

For Rey, I believe she simply had a mental block till that point. She had no idea how powerful she was till Kylo Ren opened her eyes to her potential whilst interrogating her. 

Another question related to this that I commonly see crop up is "How could Rey have possibly known about Jedi Mind Tricks when the Jedi Order of old is long gone?" I think the answer is quite simple. Just because the Jedi are gone doesn't mean the legend surrounding them has vanished. Just look to A New Hope, where Han Solo, Luke, and numerous Imperials see the Jedi as a myth and hokey religion (I could cite various quotes, but I won't for the sake of length). When The Force Awakens opens, it's been several years since the Jedi Purge (Order 66) and Luke Skywalker has gone into hiding, so the Jedi practically are just a myth to the average person in the galaxy.

Rey clearly had heard stories of the Rebellion and Luke Skywalker based on her reaction to hearing Han Solo discuss everything. Therefore, I don't think it's a stretch to say she may have heard about the Jedi Mind Trick and just decided to test it out upon learning she was force sensitive to see if the stories were true. On top of that, she wasn't even successful on her first attempt so she's not exactly perfect...

3) How did Rey defeat Kylo Ren?

This is, without a doubt, the most annoying grievance of them all. There are so many contributing factors to this that I don't even know where to begin, so I'll just run through all of Kylo Ren disadvantages.

Does no one remember Kylo Ren getting shot in the gut by Chewbacca's crossbow in Chewbacca's epic fit of rage?

Keep in mind, this is after we've seen the thing blow away Stormtroopers and Han Solo has commented on its power. This hit Kylo Ren directly in the gut... which probably left more than a mark.

While it can certainly be argued that Kylo Ren used this to his advantage by pounding his chest to increase the pain and his connection to the Dark Side, there's no arguing against the fact he was bleeding out and dying. 

That's not to add that right before he dueled Rey, he was fighting Finn. Even though he easily disposed of Finn, he took a nasty blow to his shoulder. So before he's even had a chance to fight Rey, he's already critically wounded.

Oh, and let's not forget that he was under orders to capture Rey and bring her to Snoke alive. Now that we've acknowledged everything going against Kylo Ren in this fight, let's talk about Rey's advantages...

While it may be true that this was her first time ever wielding a lightsaber, she's pretty proficient with that staff of hers, and I don't think it's a stretch to say that the fighting styles would line up closely. Plus, we've already seen she's quick to adapt to things as she fared well piloting the Falcon for the first time.

And once again, her strong connection to the Force was especially critical in this fight. She's only just awakened to this newfound strength in the Force, so it's fair to say she had a slight edge there as well.

None of this is to say that Kylo Ren isn't adept with his saber, because that's obviously not the case. I'm merely supporting why Rey would be able to fight so well with a saber and why Kylo Ren wasn't at his A-game. Also, this wasn't some quick and easy duel for either side. It was a genuine, hard-fought struggle for both of them.

Now that I've offered my insight into how Rey could possibly be so proficient in many areas, I think it's time I defend against the belief she's some perfect character with absolutely no character flaws and who's never been defeated. 

Rey's flawed traits

Rey exhibits two particular personality traits that I believe make her inherently flawed (which is actually a good thing because you don't want a "perfect" character). She's naive in regards to thinking her family will return to Jakku and she's also afraid to embrace the unknown. When the lightsaber shows her various Force visions, she runs as far away as she can get because she's scared to take up some greater calling and become a hero. That's not how Rey pictures herself, but it seems to be her destiny, and she initially avoids it at all costs.

If Rey were truly a Mary Sue, I think she would have been far less reluctant to take up the saber and fight the First Order head on. She would have embraced the calling and experienced no internal conflict. 

Her moments of weakness

For my last hoo-rah against the "Rey is a Mary Sue" complaints, I offer examples of her major moments of weakness...

It's probably easy to forget, but Rey was the one who unintentionally released the Rathtars (the large round aliens from Han Solo's frigate). I don't think a "Mary Sue" would have made that mistake...

The most obvious example of Rey being caught in a moment of weakness though would be when she's easily apprehended by Kylo Ren on Takodana. Kylo Ren uses the Force to freeze her and make her unconscious so he can take her prisoner and interrogate her to learn of Luke's location. She was hardly able to resist whatsoever... 

Conclusion

Ultimately, the reason people are so passionate about whether Rey qualifies as a Mary Sue or not is because fictional characters should ideally not be perfect. Of course, I disagree with the Mary Sue claims, and feel I've reasoned enough of an elaborate explanation as to why Rey is not a Mary Sue that I'm extremely satisfied with her as a character. In fact, she and Kylo Ren are my two favorite new characters in this sequel trilogy if you couldn't glimpse that from this post and my Inferiority Complex of Kylo Ren write-up. So, of course we still don't know what the future holds for Rey, but we'll finally get a taste of that this weekend when Star Wars: The Last Jedi finally hits theaters!!

-As always, May the Force be with you!

Throwback Thursday Review: 'The Room'

Oh, hai readers! If you've seen The Room or even heard of the film, you should get that reference. Otherwise, that's probably the reason you're here! So for those that don't know, The Room is considered one of the worst movies ever made, but has gathered a cult following over the years in spite of that. The reason I'm reviewing it is because The Disaster Artist is set to expand its release this weekend, and that film essentially is all about the making of The Room. As a part of my internship, I got to help host a screening of The Room and it was absolutely bonkers! There were cue cards that suggested certain actions when a particular event occurred onscreen, but the fervent fans in the auditorium already knew what to say or do, and when to say or do it. It was actually amazing, because I've never seen anything like it (Sentiments that definitely double for the film itself). As for upcoming content, my scheduled Throwback Thursday Reviews for the remainder of the year consist of just Looper and Jumanji (1995) and I'll be done with my internship next Wednesday so I will resume reviewing current releases starting with Star Wars: The Last Jedi! At this point in time, I have 15 reviews in draft ready to be published. I recently shared a post on all my social media pages allowing you, the reader, to select the reviews you're most interested in reading, so please go vote if you haven't already!

'The Room' Review

In The Room, a successful banker named Johnny and his fiancé Lisa live happily in San Fransisco till Lisa decides she's no longer content with their relationship and tries to seduce and manipulate Johnny's best friend, Mark. 

The Room is considered one of the worst films ever made and is totally Tommy Wiseau's movie from start-to-finish as he directed, produced, starred, and even wrote the script for the film. The story behind it all was that the idea originated as a concept for a stage play, but Wiseau had difficulty publishing so he instead decided he would adapt the project to film himself to have complete control over his project. I'll skimp on details behind the historically disastrous production for the sake of permitting The Disaster Artist to be full of surprises for you should you choose to see it.

Once you see the film, it's abundantly clear why Wiseau ran into such difficulty publishing. Things happen that make no sense. There are numerous random scenes and characters that come out of nowhere without factoring into the film at all. None of the dialogue sounds natural whatsoever, and the every actors' line delivery is absolutely atrocious. I never thought I would say this, but the performances are so bad that I genuinely apologize for any disdain I've expressed towards any actor or actress in this blog's lifespan. Yes, that even includes whatever Cara Delevigne was doing in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and Suicide Squad.

On top of all that, the film is a technical travesty. The camera's rarely in focus, actors are constantly out of frame while speaking, there are useless establishing shot of the Golden Gate bridge or San Fransisco itself in between nearly every scene, the editing's extraordinarily inept, and there's no attention to detail as props relocate between shots. I could go on and on and on about all the abundant issues that plague this project, but I won't for the sake of length.

It's notoriously known that Tommy Wiseau had extreme difficulty memorizing lines, and it really shows... In fact, his ineptitude in regards to film production shines through every second of The Room. However, this indulges audience with an overbearing amount of memorable moments that likely helped launch The Room to its current cult status. 

Despite everything I've said so far, this film is enormously entertaining when watched with a crowd. Arthouse theaters all around the country play The Room monthly, so you should see it if you can find one playing the film near you. It's well worth watching in spite of its infinite flaws, will go down as one of the most interesting experiences you'll have ever had in a theater auditorium, and leave you sufficiently prepared to watch The Disaster Artist.  

The Room is one of those films that's so bad that it's actually enjoyable to watch. While that could certainly be on account of the screening I was at, I choose to believe the film itself is genuinely that unique. Either way, The Room is easily the best worst thing I've ever seen on a cinema screen!

Film Assessment: F

'mother!' Review

In order to analyze this movie, a spoiler discussion is simply necessary. There will be clear spoiler warnings to mark this as a means of forewarning those who've yet to watch mother! or intend on doing so.

[This review was originally written in September 2017 and is now being published to coincide with the digital home media release. For an explanation of this, visit my Fall 2017 Important Update post.] 

mother! sees a couple put to the test when uninvited guests intrude and upset the balance of their humble home. What then follows are two hours of utter insanity that will definitely divide audiences everywhere, something already evident on the internet through Rotten Tomatoes and Cinescore.

Darren Aronofsky wrote and directed the film, leaning towards being an artistic approach with metaphors, symbols, and allegories galore! Which I'm sure was one of reasons general audiences didn't take to it. Aronofsky is known for creating sick, twisted films like Requiem for a Dream or Black Swan, and mother! certainly falls in line with those. I'm trying to tip-toe around specifics because it's easy to unintentionally ruin the film thanks to the cryptic misleading marketing, but Aronofsky certainly succeeded in translating his dark depraved ideas onscreen.

mother! is one of the most unique experiences I've had in a theater this year, because the film lends itself to extensive interpretation. This is a movie that will get you thinking. Once the credits started rolling, I was swiftly approached by another audience member who asked me for my take on what the heck just happened. We quickly started bouncing our ideas back-and-forth and by the time we were done, we both only had an inkling of what Darren Aronofsky was trying to convey. The last time I saw something even remotely close to this would have been last year watching Arrival and Nocturnal Animals, two thought-provoking films released last year that both happened to star Amy Adams. But even with those films, I felt I had a general understanding of what happened when it was over and was merely curious about the deeper meaning or the film structure.

**Spoiler Warning**

However, mother! is an entirely different ordeal altogether. I was able to follow along fairly well till the floor started bleeding. At that point, I realized Aronofsky was expressing his ideas with strange symbolism. I just didn't know what the symbols represented. After reading some interesting internet articles about mother!, I feel that I have a reasonable grasp of a few different interpretations about was going on.

I still have no idea what the yellow medicine was, but I've gathered that Javier Bardem's character represented God, Jennifer Lawrence represented Mother Earth (Nature), and the series of characters causing mayhem in the house represented various stories from the Old Testament including Adam & Eve, Caine & Abel, Noah & the flood, etc. Although, each were conveyed rather haphazardly with a sloppy frenzy. In the moment, these events felt like random chaotic events with absolutely no rhyme or reason. This may be due to the fact the script was written in five days...

For those that don't know, Aronofsky's an atheist. A general theme present throughout mother! seemed to be that God is a neglectful God, and Aronofsky tries to incorporate specific points of reference with biblical allegories. As a Christian, I can't help but disagree with his viewpoint and that goes without saying. I am of the mindset that if Aronofsky's going to explicitly throw this out there, that he should at least find better support than a surface level glimpse through the Bible. Aronofsky constantly alludes to things, but doesn't ever take the time to accentuate his arguments or fully understand what he's referencing. I think if you're going to make the effort to make such a bold claim, you should at least support your viewpoint with more than an ill-interpreted allegory.

An issue I found in the screenplay was that the writing was rather uneven. The environment is an enigma that's able to be perceived differently on a viewer-to-viewer basis. While that is somewhat fascinating, the lack of any clear definition to the events was frustrating since many of the characters come across as half(or even a quarter)-baked and the circumstances seemed scattershot.

On top of that, Aronofsky makes a clear, conscious effort to include grotesque imagery that's disturbing to say the least. The thing that went way too far in my mind was when he showed the crowd kill a baby... That just seemed uncalled for... I totally get that it was meant to symbolize Christ's death at the hands of humanity, but I feel that didn't have to be communicated in such a heavy-handed manner. If it weren't for A Cure for Wellness, that would have been the most disturbing thing I've seen in theaters all year... 

**End of spoilers**

One nice technical touch that I did actually appreciate was how the camera followed Jennifer Lawrence for practically the entire runtime. It rarely lets up, but when it does Lawrence is always nearby, somewhere in frame or it's shot from her perspective. The cinematography from Matthew Libatique conveys a sense of claustrophobia and pits the audience in Lawrence's headspace so they also feel cooped up. The technique is incredibly effective, because the audience feels thrown amidst the chaos with Lawrence when the insanity piles up.

I'm not the biggest Jennifer Lawrence fan, but I appreciate her when she puts forth genuine effort and roll my eyes when she takes a paycheck gig. In this case, I'm ecstatic to report that Lawrence is exceptional as Mother. She has to slowly and steadily transition from a relatively passive, but uncomfortable protagonist to a woman driven mad by the events conspiring around her, and she pulls it off. It's a pity this performance is buried underneath such a troubled film. Opposite Lawrence, Javier Bardem carries a genuine gravitas that makes Him all the more engrossing of a character. The role's quite intriguing as his character exhibits a charming debonair and a foreboding temperament, so it's difficult to determine exactly what makes his character tick. 

Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer, along with legions of actors, pop by so the fever dream can regularly accumulate. However, Harris and Pfeiffer leave the largest impression as Man and Woman considering their characters were more developed than the supporting stock faces. 

mother! isn't exactly something I'd recommend someone go see, because I think opinions will widely vary from person-to-person. Aronofsky's vision is absolutely bonkers and certainly didn't line up with what I expected going in. If you're looking for an outright horror thriller, you're not going to find that in mother!. This is an artistic intellectual experience that will get you thinking for sure. Whether you will like that or not is completely dependent on your personal taste. Aronofsky's message was too cynical in my mind, but I can't entirely discredit the film as it was competently-made and the cast put forth proficient performances.

Film Assessment: C-

Recollection Reflection Review: 'Interstellar'

This review was originally supposed to be published the week Dunkirk was released, but it just got delayed and delayed and delayed due to extenuating circumstances... However, we can just pretend I'm publishing it now to coincide with Dunkirk's home media release and the upcoming Ultra HD 4K editions of Nolan's films next week. In other news, I'm all caught up with my draft reviews of more current releases (which I'll soon finally be able to share with you) and I'm currently overcoming an illness, so it seemed like the optimal time to finally work on this review.

'Interstellar' Review

Nominated for: Best Visual Effects, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Original Score.

Won: Best Visual Effects.

Recollection- 'Interstellar' Review

Reflection- I can recall seeing Interstellar in IMAX three years back and being blown away by Nolan's mastery of storytelling, both visually and narratively. I'd consider my older review of the film more simple in detailing my thoughts when compared to my more recent reviews, but that's exactly why I started doing these Triple-R Reviews! Anyways, since that review I've discovered more and more to love about Interstellar every time I watch it, so I suspect this review will come across as much more enthusiastic!

Review- Interstellar launches audiences into a future where Earth is experiencing a global crop blight and a second Dust Bowl that are rendering the planet to be uninhabitable. When mysterious forces lead former NASA pilot Cooper to the secluded remnants of NASA, physicist Professor Brand informs Cooper there may be a way to save mankind. Ten years prior, NASA sent twelve landing pods to twelve potentially habitable worlds through a wormhole on a series of missions known as the Lazarus missions. Of the twelve sent, three promising worlds were discovered in one system. Cooper then joins the crew of the Endurance to travel through the wormhole to that system and identify which of those three planets would be optimal for human colonization.

Interstellar was directed by Christopher Nolan, who also cowrote the film's screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan. Interstellar was Nolan's ninth feature length film and his first project following the completion of the Dark Knight Trilogy, but Nolan's auteur fingerprints can still be found all over Interstellar. The film is just as emotionally and intellectually charged as the best of Nolan's work and even features one of his trademark ambiguous endings.

Interstellar's defining characteristic is its determination to tell a personal story on a universal scale. Nolan wisely waits to widen the scope of the character's circumstances till aptly investing audiences in the focal father/daughter relationship between Cooper and Murph. Only then, does Nolan up the ante. Cooper is presented with a monumental decision to choose between abandoning his kids in hopes of saving the human race and staying on Earth to raise his children at the risk of humanity's survival. Objectively, it'd be easy to pronounce a decision. However, in actuality, the alternatives bear fare more weight. By firmly establishing a steadfast bond between Cooper and Murph, the stakes have astronomically risen and audiences understand Cooper's trepidation as he journeys out into the great unknown. From that point onward, Interstellar's anecdotes revolve around perseverance in the face of the most improbable odds, proving that love is the only thing that truly capable of transcending time and space.

Technically, Interstellar is masterfully made in every way, shape, and form imaginable. The visual effects are not only awe-inspiring to look at, they also bestow an authenticity to the incredible and extensive fabric of space. In fact, I can't think of a single frame that looked as though it were captured inside a sound stage against a green screen background. In other departments, the film features stunning cinematography, intense editing, phenomenal production design, stirring sound editing and sound mixing, and another sensational score from Hans Zimmer. I'd daresay it's one of his best film scores to date because each composition not only suits the subsequent scenes, but also stands as an epic piece of music on its own merit. In fact, I often listen to themes from his Interstellar soundtrack because it can be soothing or simply provides a grandiose sound that's difficult to find elsewhere. 

Sure, the sequence inside the tesseract can be a bit of a head-scratcher on first viewing, but I've found it to make much more sense on subsequent rewatches. The sequence really serves as the lynch pin of the entire film, tying everything together remarkably well thematically and narratively. 

As for the cast, Matthew McConaughey turns in one of his most emotionally vulnerable performances yet as Cooper. McConaughey sells Cooper's warmth and trauma equally well with many of his scenes packing an emotional wallop. The sequence where he leaves his family is notably heart-wrenching, as well as one onboard the Endurance when he's watching video messages from his grown children. If neither of those bring you to tears, then you're simply not human. Mackenzie Foy and Timothée Chalamet also deserve some recognition for playing the younger versions of his two children, Murph and Tom. Foy, in particular, shows a lot of promise as an captivating child actor considering she's never overshadowed by McConaughey's larger-than-life screen presence in their scenes together. 

Jessica Chastain and Casey Affleck lend themselves to playing the adult versions of Murph and Tom, and both are quite good, but Chastain takes the cake. Chastain expertly builds upon everything established by Foy and McConaughey to ensure the mature Murph is resolute, intelligent, and headstrong, but believably so. 

As for the crew of the Endurance, Anne Hathaway convincingly captures Brand's intellect and empathy while David Gyasi discerns Romilly with more cerebral sense.

Rounding out the Nolan regulars, Michael Caine offers a solemn, serene performance as Professor Brand with one scene in particular that really shows his acting talent beyond playing a sophisticated British man.  

Last but certainly not least, I must credit Bill Irwin for voicing and operating the hydraulics for the snarky tactical robot, TARS. I think the design of the robot is unique and impressive on its own, but I've found myself gravitating towards the robot every time I watch Interstellar thanks to Irwin's precise line delivery.

Perhaps, three years ago I would have told you that I merely enjoyed Interstellar for Nolan's astonishing craftsmanship and superb storytelling, but it's only now that I realize Interstellar is an film that will endure the test of time for its impeccable example of the resilience of the human spirit. It's emotional. It's intelligent. It's insightful. It's exceptional.

Film Assessment: A+