The Force Awakens Adam Driver as Kylo Ren - Part 1

[jaqua99]

LOL. What do you think would be the best profession for them as you say?

Flight attendants

 

[Jaxon]

I think it's very possible. It would tie in nicely with him wanting to be Dark but having trouble committing 100%, especially considering he was also much younger then. Plus I just find it hard to believe that Luke or any of the other good guys would dump Rey on that miserable planet where any amount of terrible stuff could happen to her, without at least making sure she was looked after by a nice couple or something.

I gotta say, I have some problems with the writing for the character, but I thought that the basic idea was genius. No Star Wars villain will ever live up to Darth Vader, so let's do a character who deliberately can't live up to him and get some drama out of that. Oh and good move casting a quirky/nerdy-looking guy rather than a pretty boy.

I'm positive Max von Seedows character was her secret guardian on Jakku

 

[Mrs Vimes]

I'm positive Max von Seedows character was her secret guardian on Jakku

That could be the case, but why did he need to be a "secret" guardian though, instead of looking after her for real? Especially considering how desperately lonely Rey was?

 

[smappy45]

Why Adam Driver As Kylo Ren In 'Force Awakens' Shouldn't Be Ignored By The Oscars
http://www.bustle.com/articles/1327...rce-awakens-shouldnt-be-ignored-by-the-oscars

I have a feeling that he will have the chance to be nominated after VIII...

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

He was freezing laser bolts in mid-air. That type of control is something never seen even on something like Clone Wars. He was trained by Luke and killed jedi. This is not some padawan.

He was injured by a weapon that literally blew other people away. He was bleeding from the moment he got shot, then got another injury from Finn, and then still managed to beat him and fight Rey. This is all after he killed his own father. The guy was emotionally and physically exhausted fighting Rey, yet still only got bested toward the end of the fight.

 

[Havok83]

Hmmm maybe. Vader seemed more in control of his rage though. He'd lose his temper with lowly Imperial Officers... but calmly Force choke the life out of them.

Ren? He'd throw an almighty wobbly and start carving people up with his lightsaber.

Vader was also alot older than Kylo. It makes sense why Kylo is more impulsive and immature

 

[FlareKnight]

In the end while I don't agree with him being impressive in this movie, there is room to improve.

The key is how much he does improve and whether his personality gets a bit more interesting than it currently is. If he's still acting like the spoiled brat after a few years of training that will be disappointing.

If they wanted to go with a guy starting from the bottom then they sure did a fine job there. Still can't really tell how strong he actually is at this point. But they have to give him enough potential to not just be an instantly passed speed bump for Rey.

 

[Marvolo]

The novelization gives a more detail on Bens manipulation by Snoke.

In the book Han and Leia's discussion at the base about Ben goes like this:

Han: We've lost our son forever.

Leia: No! It was Snoke.

Han: Snoke?!

Snoke: He Knew our child would be strong in the force. That he was born with equal potential for good and evil.

Han: You knew this from the beginning? Why didnt you tell me!?

Leia: Many reasons. I was hoping that I was wrong. That it wasnt true. That I could sway him. Turn him away from the darkside without involving you. You had... you have wonderful qualities, Han. But patience and understanding were never among them. I was afraid that your reactions would only drive him farther to the dark side. I thought I could shield him from Snoke's influence. And you from what was happening. Its clear now that I was wrong. Whether your involvement would have made a difference...we'll never know.

Han: So Snoke was watching our son?

Leia: Always. From the shadows. In the beginning. Even before I realized what was happening. He was manipulating everything. Pulling our son toward the darkside.

So Leia knew Snoke was manipulating Ben even before Ben left for the Academy. I guess thats why she sent Ben away to train with Luke. To get him away from Snoke, but by then it was too late and the damage was done. If this doesnt change in Episode 8 then that means that Snoke was someone Leia knew for years...possibly someone involved in government.

 

[Voltron]

He was injured by a weapon that literally blew other people away. He was bleeding from the moment he got shot, then got another injury from Finn, and then still managed to beat him and fight Rey. This is all after he killed his own father. The guy was emotionally and physically exhausted fighting Rey, yet still only got bested toward the end of the fight.

Exactly. He was only operating at maybe 50% capacity of his normal self. At the start of the movie with Poe he was 100%. And once he recovers back to 100% and further training from Snoke, oh oh. I bet we get a rematch in ep 8 where he beats Rey. Then in ep 9 Luke completes Rey's training and Rey defeats Kylo.

I'm positive Max von Seedows character was her secret guardian on Jakku

Or he dropped her off at Jakku.

 

[Bruce Malone]

Anyone hoping that he was going to keep the mask on the whole film?

I really felt he lost most of his sense of mystique once the mask came off and stayed off for a good part.

 

[Mad Ones]

Nothing can compete with Darth Vader's mystique so why bother. I like Driver and his face. He's definitely a Skywalker.

 

[Bruce Malone]

Nothing can compete with Darth Vader's mystique so why bother. I like Driver and his face. He's definitely a Skywalker.

I sort of chalk that up to the differences of times were in. I don't think we could have a villain like Darth anymore unfortunately and if those films were made today he'd have probably lost his mask half-way through the first film.

I think the perception is that people now can't relate to a villain or main character who's face they can't actually see.

I don't know I think it would have been ballsy to keep him in the mask the whole time at least for the first film

 

[Mad Ones]

Maybe if his mask looked completely different to Vader's.

 

[Bruce Malone]

I actually forgot that Bane had a mask on the whole time in TDKR and I thought he was pretty great. He did have visible eyes though.

This is was probably Kylo's saying as well

 

[Shikamaru]

Thematically speaking, revealing his face made perfect sense. He's essentially Luke from the OT if he chose the Dark Side. He's trying to live up to Darth Vader's legacy but the dark side just isn't as strong with him as it was with Vader, and the fact he looks like a prettyboy is meant to symbolize that.

My biggest problem with Ren isn't exactly Ren himself, but with how his character arc affects Return of the Jedi. I buy Vader's turn to the light at the end of the film even less than I did before after seeing this.

First, as I just stated, the film establishes the dark side isn't as naturally strong in Ren as it was in Vader. Yet Ren is progressively getting closer to it with more and more effort. So if a Vader wannabe is supposed to be past the point of no return, as him killing Han is meant to show, how can someone like Vader be reformed then?

Of course, we don't know for sure that Ren won't turn back to the light by the end of the trilogy. At the same time, it feels like a less natural progression for him to turn back. Since his flirtation with the light is meant to mirror Luke's flirtation with the dark side in the OT, downright to rejecting his father the exact same way Luke did, shouldn't Ren succeed at resisting it the same way Luke did? Furthermore, wouldn't it feel redundant if Ren turned back in the final film of the trilogy? And if Ren went as far as to kill his father, what exactly would it take to turn him back?

It doesn't exactly ruin ROTJ overall, but it does make that one aspect of the film far weaker than it already was IMO.

 

[MurkeNyou]

... and the fact he looks like a prettyboy is meant to symbolize that.

Any in typical Star Wars fashion, he didn't stay pretty long.

 

[Mrs Vimes]

Anyone hoping that he was going to keep the mask on the whole film?

I really felt he lost most of his sense of mystique once the mask came off and stayed off for a good part.

They wanted to show vulnerability with the character and that's best done when you can see the face and the expressions etc. The scenes with Rey and Han wouldn't be anywhere as effective if he kept the mask on IMO.

Adam Driver's got a very strange and interesting face, I'm happy to keep looking at it personally.

 

[Shikamaru]

Any in typical Star Wars fashion, he didn't stay pretty long.

Which is another reason I can't see hin turning back to the light.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

I liked seeing him under the mask. I was concerned he was just going to be a Darth Vader clone, and seeing the man and a conflicted man at that was a great decision. My only complaint about it was the timing. I really do think it would have been more effective if they saved the reveal for

Spoiler

when his father asks him to take it off.

 

[Victarion]

What side would Ren be playing for if he were to go deeper into the Dark Side, turn on Snoke, and then go into exile ala Luke rather than fill the power vacuum?

Light Side or Dark Side?

 

[kickass]

If people want to talk about Kylo Ren acting like a "whiny teenager" and "emo", then they should watch Eddie Redmayne in Jupitar Ascending. Holy cow, what a truly awful character and terrible performance.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I remember how people used to always complain years ago in the Raimi Spider-Man films, Spider-Man's mask fell off for the audience to relate more to the emotions, yet it's gotten to the point these days in blockbuster movies as a regular thing. But they've all been for purpose.

 

[Shikamaru]

In Ren's case, the whole "emo" thing they tried with Anakin in the PT finalled worked IMO. I actually bought why he was so emotional and conflicted.

 

[jaqua99]

In Ren's case, the whole "emo" thing they tried with Anakin in the PT finalled worked IMO. I actually bought why he was so emotional and conflicted.

There was something behind the eyes. He seemed to have gotten into character/grasped the concept of the character very well. I've never heard of the guy prior to this, but I was very impressed.

He's a loose canon, he's immature, and emotional. He reminds me of someone with a disturbed mood/emotional slate taking advantage of alcohol, but abusing it. The result, is an alcoholic with probably multiple different mood and emotional diagnoses. Ben is so conflicted and disturbed and his fall to the dark side has only made him worse. His psychology is believable in the situation. We are seeing what type of individual is susceptible to the influence of the dark side, and the effects the dark side has on such an individual in a manner we haven't really seen.

I wouldn't call him "emo", just crazy, "unstable".

 

[Mrs Vimes]

I liked the bit where he's talking to Snoke unmasked and the Space Hitler walks in and you can see Kylo go, oh crap I don't have my mask on he's going to see me without the mask t: