I liked parts of it, but had serious problems with the others.
I read the following in-depth review by John C. Wright, a well-known SF author who is also an unabashed fan of the first two films. (He explains why he is not a fan of the 3rd film, or any of the prequels, in the review.) Mr. Wright is also a very orthodox Catholic, so he is writing from that perspective as well as that of a science fiction fan and author. He put into words a lot of the things that were bothering me, including the use of what is known in fiction writing as a “Mary Sue” character in the form of Rey.
His review is well worth reading.
scifiwright.com/2015/12/the-force-awakens-and-hits-the-snooze-button/
Ehh I’m not going to say the movie was perfect by any means, but the Mary Sue complaint seems a bit unfair. Especially considering this is Star Wars we’re talking about.
Just having a few Mary Sue traits doesn’t actually make a character a Sue, otherwise pretty much any gifted protagonist in a fantasy setting would be one. A real Mary Sue has abilities that don’t make sense in context or appear random, don’t serve a plot purpose except to make her look good, are used in place of actual characterization, and she tends to overpower and sideline every other character due to her awesomeness. None of this really applies to Rey.
The movie says she’s strong in the Force, and it’s heavily implied she’s a Skywalker (she’s a good pilot, like Anakin and Luke, and the Skywalker light saber calls her) which both explain why she’s able to do what she does. Her abilities aren’t really random, no more than Luke’s are anyways. They also aren’t there to “wow” us or make us love her. They have an integral part in the story. (The Force Awakens? Who does it awaken in?) She also says herself she didn’t know she could do those things and got scared when she realized she had the Force. Mary Sues don’t do that. They know how amazing they are.
I think the biggest problem with the “Rey is a Mary Sue” argument though is the fact that Rey doesn’t actually save the day in the end. She was not the one who came up with the plan (she was captured) and she didn’t really have anything to with disabling the shield or blowing up the base. That was all Finn, Han and Poe’s work. She could have not been there and not much would have changed, (except Finn would probably be dead) which again isn’t something that would happen if Rey really was a Sue. A real Mary Sue would have come up with a brilliant plan that nobody thought of yet and then would have been the only one for the job. The other characters would be essentially useless.
Obviously the film isn’t perfect. But to me, the Mary Sue complaint just…doesn’t work. It’s kind of hard to say Rey’s one without saying the same thing about any other Star Wars protagonist. The same traits in Rey are present in Luke, (which again I’m betting were intentional) yet I’ve never seen anyone call him a Gary Stu. I suppose you could say that Rey doesn’t ever mess up or have a moment of doubt or struggle, (even though she kind of does after that vision) but neither did Luke either until Empire Strikes Back. The big growth for his character came in the sequel.
I still think it’s pretty neat that Star Wars finally has a female Jedi in the lead, and one that isn’t hyper-sexualized (like Leia in the bikini) or overly mopey and self-centered. (like Katniss) If I had little girls, I would be completely fine with them wanting to be like Rey just like boys do with Luke and Han.
Smaller than I expected, but still very cool.