Look, I’m sorry. I know a lot of you have a lot of opinions about the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and you’re all more than welcome to have them. And while I have my qualms about the way the trio of films ended up (the less said about The Rise of Skywalker the better), I don’t hesitate at all to talk about the sheer brilliance that Driver brought when playing Kylo Ren/Ben Solo for the first time.
Learning about this character in the theater, on opening night, in real time, was a biblical experience, and it was the perfect way to channel the intensity that we’ve talked about so many times on this list. Driver’s very first scene—opposite Oscar Isaac and Max Von Sydow—sets the tone perfectly for the kind of villain he’s going to be, and every other scene in the movie, whether it’s opposite Harrison Ford or fighting Daisy Ridley and John Boyega in the snowy forest, is an absolute showcase. Driver owns his role in The Force Awakens, and had the possibilities for the future of Star Wars, in December 2015, flying sky high.
