So, what did people think of this character? I personally was a little bit disappointed. I figure she'd have a bigger role and lowering the shields wasn't particularly badass. Also, do people think she survived and will come back? Any crazy theories or is she what you find on the tin?
I think she was oversold in the press tours. The powers-that-be were so desperate to make sure we knew there was a great actress in that armor we expected her to do great acting things on screen, and...well... Not that I think she doesn't belong at all. She'll probably evolve into a real menace as the chapters unfold, but this movie was the Rey/Finn Show. They were probably worried she'd steal some thunder. I expect better when ESB 2.0 (Episode VIII) comes out.
It would seem like she survived given Kathleen Kennedy wanted her in the next film. Also one would think the helmet would probably have a comlink in it. She is a little tall for a stormtrooper.
I thought Finn should have taken her helmet off when he took her captive. You know, just to show her after the hard time she gave him.
She's supposed to be this trilogy's Boba Fett.... a character that everybody goes ga-ga about, but doesn't actually do anything special, and just gets eaten by a monster in the end. Kor
I do hope her character returns (I honestly think that she will). The character design is great. And I was certainly interested in the kind of role she was supposed to play in the First Order. Ufortunately, the screentime didn't at all match my anticipation for the character.
Well, she certainly looks cool, but yeah, she's basically this trilogy's Boba Fett. Which is fine, I guess, Star Wars always has a character who is just there to sell action figures, and at least Phasma has a bit more character to her than Darth Maul did, and it's quite as over the top as General Grievous. I'm sure she survived, in fact I doubt she had any trouble getting out of the trash compactor. For that matter, we don't actually see any of the main First Order characters killed, do we? Snoke orders Hux to rescue Kylo Ren, so if Ren is in the next one, Hux should also be there too, right? Might be interesting if they actually do hold on the same lead villains for the whole trilogy, which is something the other trilogies didn't really do. In the OT Vader is the only Imperial in all three, with the Emperor and Admiral Piett in two of the movies. Palpatine/Sidious is the only villain in all three prequels, unless you count the Trade Federation Viceroy, who is never really much of a threat. Count Dooku is in two movies, I suppose, though is role in ROTS is small and most of it was done by a stunt double anyway.
We'll see her best stuff in the extended cut - out this spring on DVD and Blu-Ray. My bet's on seeing some actual defense of Starkiller Base, led by Phasma.
I dunno, I guess I prefer characters whose face is actually seen. I like the actress but the character didn't do much for me. Maybe that'll change in the next movie.
How would they defend against an aerial attack with fast moving fighters? There was no ground battle to speak of so what are infantry good for in this scenario (and man packed AA weapons would be useless when your own Tie Fighters are in the furball too, might shoot down one of theirs accidentally). I agree with the others that she was wasted in this movie.. all she did was walk around, issue an order to Finn and then lower the Shield (without even trying to put up a fight - very weak sauce).
Yeah, I was disappointed by her lack of screen time, but as others have said, the character was oversold by the press. I look forward to seeing more of her in the next film. At least, on the plus side, Gwendoline Christie had more to do here than she did in Mockingjay, Part Two, where the bit we see from the trailers is literally all see we of her! I'm far more interested in Captain Phasma (admitted bias because I like Gwendoline Christie as an actress) than I ever was by Boba Fett. Most overrated character ever. Bleah.
I was surprised that with all the promotion they were giving this character and Gwendoline Christie doing the talk show circuit like there was no tomorrow, we actually saw very little of Captain Phasma in the final movie. I think Daniel Craig had a bigger role. Maybe she had a hot date with Constable Zuvio.
There was a major action sequence cut out at Starkiller Base. In the Force Awakens Visual Dictionary there's a pic of Rey sitting in the pilot's seat of one of those (nearly impossible to spot) First Order Snowspeeders. Something definitely went down. If it wasn't that ground battle specifically, I'm sure there were other scenes where Phasma was a badass - but none of those scenes 'made it' in.
Personally, I think she was only in TFA to introduce her character. We know that she's supposed to be in VIII, so she obviously survives. Assuming she's going to run into Finn again, she's going to be *PISSED*. (At least, that's my hope for that part of the story.)