ST Most Haunting Line of the Film

For me, this is the genius of Kasdan. You don't need to know any, or most, of those details. They are implied, even if vaguely, in the dialogue and in the actor's performances.

 

Thanking his own father for giving him (Kylo Ren) the chance to kill him in a treacherous way and therefore prove to himself that he genuinely belongs to the Dark Side, is astonishingly cynical, and something we almost never witness in family-friendly films. Cynicism, evil and violence are usually extremely impersonal in Hollywood blockbusters, but this film went a step further and applied those categories to a very personal story involving one of the most beloved characters in film history to great effect. Everytime I watch that scene, the more powerful it becomes.

The way Han Solo literally shouts his son's name, contains anger, authority, disappointment and hope. All at the same time. It was an excellent call from J.J. and Ford to execute that line in that particular way.


But the line I find most interesting as well as resonant, was Kylo's first, to Max von Sydow: "Look how old, you've become!"


I find that a very random, arrogant, vindictive and menacing thing to say at the first sight of another person (you obviously dislike) That's in fact, my favorite line from the entire film, which is otherwise filled with awesome lines from almost all characters.

 

Agreed. In fact, I said the same on page 1 of this thread:

 

Correct.

Lots of fans, and even experienced and intelligent film critics who berated TFA for leaving too many loose ends, seem to have totally missed all the hints and implications hidden in the dialogue of the main characters as well as Rey's vision.

We are in fact given a lot to speculate about what came before and what may come after in this film. This was in fact the best way to do it. Imagine if J.J. chose to provide tons of background in direct exposition. If that were the case, the film would have been greatly compromised, if not outright ruined. As things stand, we know enough to make informed speculations for both past and future, while at the same time avoiding the dry explanations that would have taken the magic and intrigue out of the still evolving trilogy.