I liked how Rey’s parents are nobodies. It was one of the few “twists” I liked in execution and idea. I honestly wouldn’t believe if they said that she had been trained as a child or a toddler and learned how to do mind tricks then, so I always considered her and this excuse way too unrealistic. She was always unbelievable, but very charismatic, which makes me care for her. I really liked how she isn’t connected to anyone, and the theme of the movie that anyone could be a hero and powerful with the force. They pulled that from The Empire Strikes Back, and it was refreshing. One of the things I really didn’t like about the prequels was how the whole “one must be dedicated to the force in order to connect and be strong with it” was pretty much reduced to “who won the biological lottery”. This movie turned that around. So that was pretty cool.
Sure, but even before the whole concept of midi-chlorians in 1977 George Lucas wrote:
“The Force is really a way of seeing; it’s a way of being with life. It really has nothing to do with weapons. The Force gives you the power to have extra-sensory perception and to be able to see things and hear things, read minds and levitate things. It is said that certain creatures are born with a higher awareness of the Force than humans. Their brains are different. The Force is a perception of the reality that exists around us. You have to come to learn it. It’s not something you just get. It takes many, many years…Anyone who studied and worked hard could learn it. But you would have to do it on your own.”
This has been the basis for the entire OT. Anyone can do it, but it’s not something you just get. You have to learn many years. This is how it was depicted with Luke in the OT, who went from a twenty year old youngster learning a few basics from Obi-Wan to becoming a full Jedi over the period of five years. This is also how it was depicted in the PT, despite midi-chlorians, where there were academies to train young students. The ST ignores all this, by having Rey just being able to perform amazing feats in a matter of days. It just doesn’t sit right with me.
Certainly, I totally agree with you. Theme wise though, I think it was emphasized in this movie the same way it was in the OT, and I quite liked that.
Sure, I prefer the idea of Force potential not being linked to your genetic makeup.