I didn’t see The Phantom Menace, so I can’t judge.
Kylo Ren gets points for stopping blaster bolts with his mind.
Jar Jar Binks could try stopping a few (dozen) blaster bolts with his body, and then maybe he’d be a bit more tolerable.
Seriously, this isn’t even remotely close.
Jar Jar. Kylo Ren was meant to not be liked.
Though I was very disappointed he took the helmet off. There was no reason for it. He’s supposed to be the “big bad,” which he was, then he takes his helmet off, because a prisoner asked him to no less, and then it turns out he’s just this dorky looking guy with perpetual constipation-face.
Binks.
I don’t see any reason for the hatred of Kylo Ren (other than him being the villain, and he’s a far better villain than the lame-ass Darth Maul).
Jar Jar out in front by over 12 parsecs!
I don’t think he was supposed to be the big bad. You can’t get the big payoff if he keeps his mask on the whole time.
I liked Kylo Ren. This question is like “what would you rather do, win the lottery or get cancer?”
It shows. Binks was essentially a Rob-Schneider-Level stupid comic relief character that added virtually nothing of value to the movie, while simultaneously throwing the actions of everyone else around him into question - “Wait, why are we taking the idiotic cartoon rabbit with us on this discrete mission?” Not that there weren’t enough phenomenally stupid decisions and people in that movie, but Binks was pretty awful.
Kylo Ren… He’s whiny, self-absorbed, and easy to hate. He’s a pretty great villain, all in all.
Which is exactly it.
The issue isn’t how good a bad guy Kylo Ren is…it’s the ongoing tragedy of Kylo Ren that drives his plot. He’s still a youngish man who made poor choices and hasn’t the wisdom to overcome them. He’s got tons of room for character development in succeeding movies and may come out wiser and stronger.
Oh come on! I loved Jar Jar Binks!
Said no one ever.
I haven’t seen this since opening night, I had forgotten that she asked/told him to take it off.
No that you remind me, I remember that that is the detail that really sold for me. See, as has often been discussed regarding Stormtroopers, the mask affords the wearer an inhumanness which in turn empowers him to commit inhuman acts. With the mask, the wearer never has to truly face his victims, never has to reveal the intimacy of his self-ness/humanity. Thus, committing inhuman atrocities is made easier for those susceptible to a crisis of conscience.
Telling Kylo Ren to take off the mask was a power play on Rey’s part. It was basically, “Come out of hiding and face me if you dare!” I did not expect him to comply. Kylo Ren actually removing the mask was not submission, it was meeting her challenge. It was actually the most badass thing he could have done in that moment.
She thinks unmasking him will weaken his resolve but his response is, “Yeah, here I am. I’m the dude from Girls. Look into my eyes. I still have no qualms about torturing the shit out of you then slaughtering you when you’re no longer of use.”
I had forgotten just why I felt like that unmasking scene was so very effective. Thanks for reminding me.
Qui-Gonnnnn! Slashing Battle Droids! The Qui-Gonator! Qui-Gon Jinn and Tonic! Qui-Gon Lama Ding Dong! Let Qui-Gons be Qui-Gonnnnns! Lighting up his lightsaber! Looking gooooood! Qui-Gonnnnnnn!
Kylo Ren actually has depth. He’s trying to live up to Darth Vader’s legacy, and realizes he comes nowhere close. I didn’t find him annoying at all.
To me, Jar Jar Binks is a cross between Buckwheat from Little Rascals, and Bugs Bunny.
While I like Buckwheat and I like Bugs, Jar Jar is annoying as all hell.
That was awesome. I had forgotten about that Schneider character, so it took me a second. Bravo.
I’m here all week. Remember to tip your waitstaff.
Kylo Ren is a wannabe Darth Vader: he’s dangerous, he’s a torturer and a murderer, he’s an armored menace with dark-side-of-the-force powers – and, sure, he knowingly falls short of the guy he’s trying to emulate, but that’s a high bar.
And when I’m interested enough to root against him, that means he’s doing it right.
Jar-Jar Binks is a wannabe C3PO: he’s awkward and bungling comic relief – who falls short of the low bar of being tolerable awkward and bungling comic relief.
And when I root against him, that means heesa doing it wrong.
Nope. My Number One Nephew loves Jar Jar Binks; The Phantom Menace is his favorite Star Wars movie because of JarJar. His second favorite is Return of the Jedi… because Ewoks.
Yes, I told him not to tell people we’re related anymore.
Not remotely close. Jar Jar is a completely pointless, useless, and annoying character. You would vastly improve any movie he’s in by removing him completely.
Kylo Ren isn’t as badass as his grandfather, but that’s the point. He’s a different kind of villain archetype: the weaselly villain who’s overcompensating for weakness and deliberately striving to be bad. He’s Walter White or Joffrey Baratheon. He’s perhaps even more despicable than Vader because of this. His annoyingness makes him even more hateful.
I figure he’s also a better villain than General Grievous. I mean, yeah, Grievous had the whole more-machine-now-than-man thing going on, and could twirl a lightsaber like a guy who’d killed a number of Jedi Knights, and was otherwise there to stand in for Darth Vader, but there’s just no there there: he’s not mysterious, and he’s not obvious; he’s just the designated bad guy. Why is he doing all this? Does he even know Palpatine is Sidious? Do we care? Could a robot have blandly filled the same role?
Luke’s fights against Vader tell an interesting story about who they are; Rey’s fight against Kylo Ren, that tells an interesting story too, for the same reason. Kenobi versus Grievous? “Yeah, I shot him. Uncivilized, but, eh, whadyagonnado?”