ST The Force Awakens - casting..

To me Casting is the most crucial element of creating everlasting stories in film and TV. thus the question.. who liked the cast?

Kylo Ren - What an interesting face. I will not forget and he fits the whole lure to the dark side, yet there is a softness that belies his indecisiveness.
Rey - Not such a high recall face, and her accent and size kept reminding me of Keira Knightley. Why is she british? having been brought up on the Planet of Jakku?
Finn - Such a forgetful personality.. Token black presence was it?
Poe - Han Solo personality traits with a soldier persona.. the next American Hero.. But when he disappears from the ejected pod and comes back with a weak - oh I woke up and you werent around - explanation - that was weak.
BB8 - by far the cutest introduction - well thought out, nextgen R2D2.. well rounded character.
Maz - very very cool introduction - nice character - love the glasses and the philosophy rooted in someone who's essentially a trader..

 

Rey has a British accent because likely her mother was from a core world in the galaxy. Those from the core worlds speak with a British accent (aka a Coruscanti accent).

It's likely a clue about her lineage... as even Lucas was very intentional on what accent each character spoke in both the OT and PT. (Note in TPM when Padme switched between hand maiden and Queen presentations, it came with a accent change for her character as well)

 

I think Rey has a British accent because Unkar Plutt has a British accent. She's spent most of her life with him.

 

I didn't like the casting of the guy who played Han Solo.

Seriously though I thought Daisy Ridley was amazing! I can't believe this was her first movie!

 

Why was Finn forgetful? (and calling him a token black guy is kind of insulting) I thought he was sweet and earnest. I like how he risked everything to save Rey because she was probably the first real friend he ever had. And probably my favorite line in the movie was when he told Han they'd "use the Force" and Han snapped, "That's not how the Force works!"

Rey's accent is likely deliberate, but they did the casting call in England, so, both Ridley and Boyega speak naturally with a British accent. And I'm pretty sure they picked Ridley specifically for her similarity to Keira Knightley since KK was a body double for Natalie Portman when she played Padme.

I really liked Poe, but wished he had a bigger role.

As for Kylo Ren, my son summed it up best when he said, "Before he took off the mask I was expecting something really scary, but then, once he took it off, he looked like someone who lives in his parents' basement!"

Totally agree with you on BB8 and Maz

 

Amongst the best lines of the entire film! Absolutely love that line!

 

I liked that they humanized the villain. Such a departure from the way that they portrayed Vader in ANH

 

Daisy really nailed the role of Rey perfectly... Not only did she fit the mould of the tough girl, Daisy also knew when to show her soft side - especially with how she cried after seeing that vision in Maz's castle and also after Han Solo was killed by Kylo Ren.

As for Finn, while he's continuing the benchmark set by Lando (lead black character), so many years ago, the character is a refreshing change from the serious atmosphere of Star Wars. Finn's jovial demeanor and wisecracking one-liners are what made TFA so enjoyable, and it's such a pity that he got badly injured in the end!

And what about the "emo kid" Kylo Ren? Yeah, he definitely got bashed up nicely by Rey during their final fight, but let's not forget that Kylo was already wounded by then - having been shot by Chewie after seeing Han get killed. And what's more, Kylo is still undergoing training, which means he's going to be one heck of a tougher nut to crack, after that is completed!

Looking forward to see what will come up in Episode 8, especially with that new female lead and new villain played by Benicio Del Toro...


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I was left with a lot of complaints and concerns about Rey, but Daisy Ridley is not one of them. She did great.

 

Max von Sydow was great too. Especially with all the pressure to succeed with Ep. 7 such a strong performance at the beginning of the movie was extremely helpful for this episode and the start of the Disney era in general.
All actors were great in my opinion. I had some doubts about Kylo but he grew a lot on me after watching it a second time.

 

Yeah this is the best acted SW film overall, by a lot. And I was really impressed by how quickly I took to all of the new cast/characters. Heck even Hux is entertaining for a blatant "Space Hitler" type of baddie, and his speech was epic.

 

Perfect casting with Driver, Gleeson and Boyega in my opinion


Edit

Just to clarify I loved Oscar Isaac in it but I already liked him as an actor, and the character didn't really require much acting...

The 3 above I wasn't sold on at all prior to seeing the film and all 3 impressed me massively

 

The casting team should get an award. Driver, Ridley, Boyega, Isaacs and Gleeson were all great and have built a more than solid foundation for 8 & 9.

 

I think they nailed the casting in TFA. I have no complaints about any of the actors. I am relieved they did such a good job with it. I care as much about these characters as I did the OT3.

 

Considering that the Phantom Menace had by far the most established cast yet acting wise, this movie leaves that whole trilogy in the dirt says something about the casting in this one.

 

I thought Peter Weller did a fantastic job as Chewbacca, and it explains why he didn't reprise his iconic role in Robocop 3. Adam Sandler was really good as Kylo Ren as well.

 

Out of so many ways to voice an opinion...

 

Are you calling the skywalkers jedi trash?

 

IMO Driver is the one who made the movie... IMO he had the hardest part to play and he SOLD IT... dude clearly is an intense actor who really throws himself into a role. It wasn't just line delivery... his physical acting was fantastic. Next time you see the film watch how he shows the rage boiling up inside him after Rey escapes the interrogation room before he pulls out his lightsaber and goes to town.

Guy does a great job mask on or off... Definitely my favorite new character.


Also one thing to keep in mind in general is that whatever one thinks of JJ he does have a strong track record of getting good performances out of actors. My problems with STID as an example had nothing to do with the acting


I think the director can have a pretty big impact. Look at the OT... It's very noticeable to me how much better the acting is (overall) in TESB compared to the other two films. Kerschner clearly had the best "touch" of any of the 3 directors. I actually kind of think Marquand did the worst... esp considering that ANH wasn't a big budget film with actors comfortable in their roles like ROTJ was... (although Hamill was very good in ROTJ)

 

Personally my favourite bit of the casting was the way they found someone so damn good at rolling their 'r's to play Hux.

It's that and Gleeson's perfect cut-glass old-school British accent that completely makes the character.

 

The casting was great.

The only new character I dislike is Maz, and that's more due to her ugly design than her voice actress.

 

Face it the Kenobis are class. The Skywalkers are just trouble.

 

I guess if you have that kind of perspective, you will think of Finn as being no different from anyone else and just picked out of a crowd for a "token black presence" without even an audition.

The series, or even the Classic Trilogy, doesn't have an overall "serious atmosphere." If we detach ourselves from the hardwired familiarity of The Empire Strikes Back, a lot of Han's lines are goofy, especially with Leia. C-3PO and Yoda add to it. Even then, Revenge of the Sith is the most serious, as anything with laughs is restricted to the beginning.

 

I thought all the new characters were great, but Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver were phenomenal! I wasn't sure about Driver's Kylo Ren the first time, but watching it again found it nearly as compelling as Daisy Ridley's Rey. It was a joy to watch two actors at the top of their game really run with great characters.