Critics talking about Adam Driver's performance in “The Last Jedi”:
**************************** SPOILERS AHEAD *******************************
“Which brings us to Kylo Ren himself, superbly played by Adam Driver. He is now a wounded, damaged figure and he insinuates himself like a sensually predatory Satan into our consciousness in a series of dreamlike cross-cutting dialogue sequences that are the most successful part of the film. What does Kylo Ren want? As ever, the closeups on Driver’s face are gorgeous. He is never the Easter Island statue of hardness that it is possible to misremember: he is tremulous, unsure of himself, like an unhappy teenager, and his mouth seems almost on the point of trembling with tears. That breathy, resonant voice is unmistakable even from behind a neo-Vader mask. This is a villain who seems troubled about the mantle of evil on his shoulders; and, again, there are surprises in store about what Ren has in mind for the future and what his past relationship with his Uncle Luke actually was.” – The Guardian
“Ren makes a much better villain, as does Domhnall Gleeson’s Gen. Hux (though he too often serves as the butt of the script’s jokes), and together, they do more to terrorize Leia’s fuel-starved carrier than Snoke does. As was the case with the young Anakin Skywalker, Ren embodies a mix of ambition and unbridled rage, though Driver makes all that wild energy all the more unpredictable. His is one of the movie’s most challenging and effective performances, and though the internet will distract itself with a moment in which he briefly appears shirtless, it’s gratifying to see such a gifted actor in the part.” – Variety
“The Last Jedi is Driver’s to rule as much as Force Awakens was Ridley’s, and he’s awesome in it — Kylo is blockbuster cinema’s most magnetic and unpredictable antagonist since Heath Ledger’s Dark Knight Joker” – USA TODAY
“With Mr. Driver — who delivers a startlingly raw performance — Mr. Johnson delivers a potent portrait of villainy that suggests evil isn’t hard-wired, an inheritance or even enigmatic. Here, it is a choice — an act of self-creation in the service of annihilation.” – The New York Times
“And even Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver, a truly great actor finding poetry in Ren’s rage and confusion, must face who he is, what made him that way and how he can change the mistakes of the past … if he even wants to.” – Paste Magazine
“If “The Force Awakens” had the tough but rewarding task of winning us over to its new cast, “The Last Jedi” rightly assumes from the outset that we are already invested in what happens to Rey, Finn and Poe — and, yes, Kylo Ren, whom Driver plays with unnerving tremors of anguish, ambiguity and cruel resolve.” – Los Angeles Times
“Our story so far: Rey has found Luke Skwyalker on the sea-planet Ahch-To — actually Ireland — where he’s been wallowing in guilt over his failure to stop Kylo Ren (the ever-amazing Adam Driver) from turning to the dark side” - Newsday
“With the excellent Adam Driver playing Kylo Ren […] the forces of darkness are now dramatically ascendant.” – The Globe and Mail
“Driver’s oddly sympathetic performance almost seduces you into believing that souls are actually at stake.” - AV Club
“Driver is particularly good at the comedic sidelong glance, completely incongruous for a would-be evil lord but perfect for the moment. He remains my favorite part of the new batch of “Star Wars” movies.” – AZ Central
“(…) and fired by the implacable evil of his protegee, Kylo Ren (played with terrifying intensity by Adam Driver).” – Mercury News
“The actors are stellar in big roles and small. Ridley and Driver knock it out of the park as Rey and Ren, two characters drawn together by a Force neither understands.” – Rolling Stone
“Ridley and Driver not only make it work, they make it gripping.” – Empire Online
“Driver’s glare does seem like it could move inanimate object.” – The New York Post
“(…) and the brooding Kylo Ren (a nicely nuanced Adam Driver).” – Screen Daily
“Her narrative isn’t unlike that of Kylo Ren, who is played with a tortured psyche and haunted demeanor by Adam Driver as he strives to please his own mentor, Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis).” – IGN
“(…)Adam Driver, deepening and clarifying his conflicted villain (..).” – Vanity Fair
“Darth Vader heir-apparent Kylo Ren (Adam Driver, who continues to knock it out of the park).” – Vox
“But the core of The Last Jedi — of this whole trilogy, it seems — is Driver’s Kylo Ren, who ranks with cinema’s most fascinating human monsters. He makes his entrance in a skinny black head-helmet, so cute and pathetically hopeful, like an 8-year-old in a Darth Vader Halloween costume. Told by the Supreme Leader that he looks like an idiot (or words to that effect), Driver’s Ren rips off the helmet and — in another of his toddlerish tantrums — smashes it to a pulp. When he and Rey telepathically communicate, he keeps his emotions shrouded, and you never tire of searching that shroud for glimmers of light. Driver’s actual visage — a Modigliani portrait come to life — is more unnerving than the helmet. It’s Vader’s mask incarnate.” - Vulture
“Driver’s Kylo Ren is even more unstable and deliciously demented than before, with his loyalties being pulled in multiple directions and his child-like temperament once again driving him forward. It’s a fantastic turn for the actor who seems to seethe and rage with his entire being.” - Flixist
“Driver, in particular, gives Kylo Ren dimension far beyond that of a spoiled brat villain in over his helmet. As the grandson of Darth Vader but the son of Han Solo and Leia, his allegiance is constantly tested.” - US Magazine
“Heritage characters aside, this is most definitely Adam Driver’s finest hour. His conflicted villain is quite the best new-wave Star Wars creation of them all. Evil emanates from his every pore, despite tiny notes of regret peeping through at key times, and the grim grit he manifests in his beautifully rendered salt desert showdown with Luke will bring audible gasps.” - Radio Times
“Adam Driver gets to do more this time around and he’s terrific.” - The Movie Minute
“The complexities, anger, and manipulation that Driver gives Ren are a major highlight of the movie. It’s far from the only thing that’s impressive, but it’s just refreshing to see a fleshed out villain in this era of blockbusters and superhero movies where the bad guy character feels hastily put together.” - Busines Insider
“On that note, Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren continues to be a standout performer and character in the new trilogy, harnessing his unstable inner good vs evil demons to bring forth a ferociously unhinged personality. Darth Vader was certainly evil, but also understood his goals and purpose with a collected calm; Kylo is unpredictable and doesn’t become easier to read as more details emerge, making him all the more terrifying. Intriguingly, the film successfully adds complexities to the relationship between Luke and Kylo that doesn’t betray Star Wars lore. Up until now, Star Wars heroes and villains generally align on a fairly clear-cut morality spectrum, which is something Rian Johnson shoots into a vacuum. Parts of Kylo are actually sympathetic, and that’s not an easy feat to accomplish factoring in his recent actions.” - Flickering Myth
“Soulfully acted by Adam Driver, arch-emo Kylo Ren confirms that he is more interesting and unpredictable than any other character in the new trilogy, if not the whole trilogy-of-trilogies.” - BBC
“Adam Driver delivers the other great performance in this movie. Kylo Ren initially looked like a cheap Darth Vader knockoff but he’s proven to be the franchise’s most interesting new character. Driver’s astonishing range — he can play a petulant child in one scene, and a sensitive heartthrob in the next — serves Johnson well.” - Screen Crush
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