StarWars; Spoilers there maybe

Just came home from The Force Awakens. Very good, I give it 9/10!

I saw most of the plot coming though, except one major point.

It is in many ways a modern remake of A New Hope, the story line is very similar.

 

 

 

They spelled "passed" wrong.

Just saw the movie best one yet what a amazing movie

 

 

Thanks! I'm so psyched for this movie. I haven't been this psyched since I saw Episode 1, even then, I wasn't this enthusiastic.

 

I'm going to see it tomorrow. People keep posting Spoilers on the internet. Why are people such assholes!?

 

 

Definitely a great movie. Certainly worth seeing.

Very well done. A homage to the original trilogy.

Enjoyed it. There were many similarities to part 4!

Saw it last night.

***WARNING***

****SPOILER CONTENT FOLLOWS****

Sorry dudes, I'm going to rain on the parade. I think once the fervor dies down, people will see it more clearly. It's easy to enjoy it on the first day, but once we live with it for awhile, it will wear out. I'm a huge fan of the original trilogy -- because it was awesome. This movie was proof that it's likely impossible to recreate that. The Force Awakens was ok, but it wasn't anything inspiring, motivating, or even captivating. TFA inundates you with parallels and repeats of A New Hope (EPIV) events so much that it was terribly mechanical rather than free-flowing art. Very predictable to say the least, there was very little suspense when there should have been. It became obvious that Abrams didn't own this property and was merely dabbling in it. Also obvious was that things were included because they worked once in 1977, but the trick is that it worked then because all those small things combined to create a whole. My final take on it was that it was more like a YouTube fan film with an enormous budget. Oh well.

 

I went to the pre-release last night. We had three kids in our group, and none walked out of the movie saying "THAT WAS AWESOME!!!" That's what kids are supposed to do walking out of a Star Wars movie. There was no magic, nothing epic or mythical. Just a movie. The kids weren't excited and actually seemed more like they got kicked in the junk with so many deaths to deal with. I honestly thought Transformers was more fun. My son's summary (spoiler): Han Solo is dead, Leia is fat, and Luke is a psycho. Those don't really sound like the words of someone who was pumped up about it.

 

 

The ups:

 

The visual effects, props, costumes, and wardrobe were outstanding. Top shelf. The sound was just as great. It was technically well executed, but, admittedly nothing that hasn't been seen in Lord of the Rings, Jurassic World, Star Trek, The Avengers, or any upcoming features. The crew paid a lot of attention to using technology well and everyone pretty much knew they would be doing this going in.

 

There was very little in the way of space battles, but plenty of flying. All the fighting was either on the ground or atmospheric. Lucas referenced WWII dogfight footage for his X-Wings vs. TIEs, and Abrams obviously referenced Top Gun. A few frames looked like direct pulls from that, except with an X-Wing rather than a Tomcat. But that's a good thing. The cinematography of Top Gun was huge and never done before and Abrams obviously learned what looks cool.

 

The humor throughout was very stylish. Everyone liked it and it was the first thing everyone mentioned afterward. It wasn't too campy or clunky. It flowed well, and even though it wasn't like the humor in any other Star Wars film, it worked really well. That was the only surprise for me.

 

The downs:

 

The characters.

 

Finn is fun, enjoyable, and you can get behind him to some degree, but he just wasn't believable as a Stormtrooper. His integration into the plot was good as someone who just gets swept up by the action, just like Han Solo in the old days. But Finn was way too cool, likeable, and socially well adjusted. He was no soldier. Even if that was the point...that he was different...how would anyone growing up in his shoes become who he was in the movie? I'm not buying it. Regardless, you need to push the I-believe button to stay behind him.

 

Rey is probably the highlight and is the closest TFA has to a protagonist. Also likable, but still comes out of nowhere and her lines were so short that it shallowed her out and I couldn't get into her plight. Her development felt rushed. Obviously, she'll be pivotal in the next film, but man, she needs more than what they gave her. Short lines and minimal screen time are for characters like Boba Fett, where they make the case for a mysterious character. She is supposed to have a huge role and we need to root for her to struggle and conquer all. We do root for her, but weakly.

 

Kylo Ren (spoiler) Han Solo's son. Sort'uva cool guy mid-stream, they tell us the backstory that he fell away from Luke's training, Luke exiled himself overcome with grief and failure, as Kylo aligned himself with a new dark side honcho "Supreme Leader Snoke." I actually liked the acting from Adam Driver. At first the voice had me thinking he was too bizarre, but he became more real and believable half-way through the movie. Eventually, I was buying into his character.

 

Supreme Leader Snoke. Holy what-in-the-Harry-Potters-fcuk-is-this-Lord-of-the-Rings-bullshit??!? WHAT THE FCK!? This character was so annoying, utterly not believable, disgusting, and backwards. He was 100% in the wrong movie. Gollum's long lost grandpa, he was a jackass that needs to die as soon as possible in the next film just so we don't have to look at him anymore. This character sucked shit. I can't fcuking curse enough about this jacked up shitstain. So fcuking stupid. Beyond fcuking stupid. Holy shit it was fcuking stupid. Abrams has reincarnated Jar Jar on the dark side. Where would someone so omnipotent have come from anyway in the shadow of the previous Sith Lord(s)? I don't want to kill him because he's evil. I want to kill him just to erase him from the story. He's ridiculous. That is all.

 

Han Solo & General Leia. Well, good to have 'em back, but age has battered their ability to generate facial expressions. Han is somewhat ok, has more screen time, and still owns the character. Unfortunately, Carrie came off stiff, much like Karen Allen (Marion) in the last Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. I understand her reason for being there, but it felt forced and she was too much herself...too relaxed.

 

Chewbacca kicked ass in the end. Good job Chewie.

 

Luke. We shall see, as he had no lines and is only a stepping stone into the next movie. I was actually impressed with how much he looked like Luke. From the pictures of Mark Hamill at this age on the internet, he doesn't look much like his younger self, but in the movie you could see Luke's face in him. That was actually a highlight.

 

General Hux, Captain Phasma (the chick Stormtrooper OIC), and other assorted First Order dork officers. Hux is a pissed off childlike personality at best. Who the hell were these people? I have no idea. Screw them, don't care. They didn't have any credibility. Give me some hard working men like General Veers or Admiral Piett all day long. Men who obviously worked their way to the top in a realistic functioning system like normal human beings.

 

The Events:

The entire film so was buried in EPIV ripoffs and re-imaginations that it started getting old fast. The whole foundation was of a galaxy where the old empire was toppled, a new system of order put in place, and all'uvasudden there's this First Order hold-out and the "resistance" is a loosely organized band of freedom fighters? What? How does that work? How are they the underdog? Who are they hiding from and why? The rebellion against the Empire won the war to the approval of everyone, remnants of the Empire would be either re-appropriated or become unfavored minorities of the newly validated government and targeted with high-budget organized military power because the majority of systems are against them. So how the hell did this First Order remnant/upstart organize a construction project bigger than everything the entire Empire could muster in three movies and deconstruct an entire planet to do it? Not believable. Besides, are we really going to go battle a galaxy-altering super-weapon in EVERY movie? Are we really going to blow it up in nearly the same way [unashamedly] every time too?

 

Since when did the Force become invested in inanimate objects, aka lightsabers? This was a pivotal plot point. We can get super mystical with this stuff, but we've got to draw the line somewhere. The sky's not the limit or else we don't have a struggle or a story at all. Since when did non-trained or non-Force users become adept at not cutting their own arms off with lightsabers? Worst lightsaber battles ever. I hate to say it but Darth Maul beats the hell out of these goat-rope saber fights. Sure, maybe the Jedi aren't in their heyday anymore and their training is lacking, but here we are back in YouTube fan film territory where the participants go at each other with all the grace of a comic-con VIP. Finally, the whole map to find Skywalker cornerstone was like something out of a video game. Who thinks this stuff up?

 

Style:

How many times does the Millennium Falcon have to run into something, hit something, or skid across something? C'mon guys, just fly casual.

 

The settings were varied and interesting, but ultimately couldn't hold up the story as they are simply a base element.

 

The in-your-face intra-personal interactions were back in full Empire Strikes Back-esque form, which was great to see even if they got too close at times. I would pull it back just a tad, but nowhere near as far as the prequels. Speaking of which, at least the movie is much better than the prequels. But making a Star Wars movie is a tall order. Of course tickets will sell and it will be profitable, but people talking about it thirty years later is what's really on the line.

 

Summary:

It's a must see, but only because it's mandatory fun pop culture. I hate saying it because I wanted to like it and I wanted the kids to like it, but I gotta be honest with myself. I'll still tip my hat to the crew...a solid sequel effort, best to date. But it sucked.

***WARNING***
****SPOILER CONTENT FOLLOWS****

Supreme Leader Snoke. Holy what-in-the-Harry-Potters-fcuk-is-this-Lord-of-the-Rings-bullshit??!? WHAT THE FCK!? This character was so annoying, utterly not believable, disgusting, and backwards. He was 100% in the wrong movie. Gollum's long lost grandpa, he was a jackass that needs to die as soon as possible in the next film just so we don't have to look at him anymore. This character sucked shit. I can't fcuking curse enough about this jacked up shitstain. So fcuking stupid. Beyond fcuking stupid. Holy shit it was fcuking stupid. Abrams has reincarnated Jar Jar on the dark side. Where would someone so omnipotent have come from anyway in the shadow of the previous Sith Lord(s)? I don't want to kill him because he's evil. I want to kill him just to erase him from the story. He's ridiculous. That is all.

Agree on this part, he was annoying.

So Rey is probably Luke's daughter, but who is the mother? Maybe Luke was impregnated by midi-chlorian and gave a man birth Schwarzenegger style?

And did Han Solo pull a Gandalf?

Saw it, loved it. Def a very fun, well done movie. Sure there where some minor things, but over all it it's nice to see that Star Wars is great again

👆🏿he mad

I don't like how this movie portrays me

I don't like how this movie portrays me

 

That heating element above your head, is it really necessary?

Saw it and I couldn't be happier. The only character I didn't like from the movie was Captain Phasma. I just thought it was a poor character and was expecting a chick with a more badass attitude like Boba Fett or someone. The majority of the movie was awesome when it came to special effects. I felt like there could have been more costumes in the movie than there was but was surprised they didn't pull what Lucas did with the first three.

fcuking loved it

 

Yeah, but the band of rebel insurgents he joins are devoted to stopping an evil empire bent on slaughter, not themselves attempting to establish said empire and slaughter and oppress people. Remember, the Jedi are truly a religion of peace. The Sith are the evil version. Anakin Skywalker would be analogous to someone who became a peaceful Muslim and then turned into a violent Muslim.

I have read it blows the prequels out of the water. Can't wait to see it! Some wonder if J.J. Abrams doesn't actually consider the prequels as canon because he said that the originals were what they really viewed in particular as canon in making the film. So he didn't per se say that the prequels were not considered canon as well, but at the same time, he indicated that the prequels were not per se considered canon either. So some think he kinda-sorta sniped but did not snipe at George Lucas.

I have read it blows the prequels out of the water. Can't wait to see it! Some wonder if J.J. Abrams doesn't actually consider the prequels as canon because he said that the originals were what they really viewed in particular as canon in making the film. So he didn't per se say that the prequels were not considered canon as well, but at the same time, he indicated that the prequels were not per se considered canon either. So some think he kinda-sorta sniped but did not snipe at George Lucas.

 

What the actual fcuk did you just say?

Say canon one more time!

What the actual fcuk did you just say?

 

:lol2: Well it made sense when I was writing it, now it is confusing me though in re-reading it. Let me try again:

 

1) Some wonder if J.J. Abrams basically said that in making the film, they didn't regard the prequels as canon in developing the story (so the prequels basically, as far as the Star Wars universe in this film is concerned, would never have happened).

 

2) Some wonder this because Abrams said that in making the film, that they "really considered the originals as canon."

 

3) So then does this mean that they didn't much consider the prequels as canon?

 

4) Thus some see it as a possible indirect snipe at George Lucas, a way of saying, "We didn't use what I saw as your stupid-kids movie prequels as canon in the story of this film," but without actually saying it directly.

Well it made sense when I was writing it, now it is confusing me though in re-reading it.

 

 

Wheels, your words above have just become your best and most coherent post ever on this forum. Huge congrats!!!

:lol2: Well it made sense when I was writing it, now it is confusing me though in re-reading it. Let me try again:

 

1) Some wonder if J.J. Abrams basically said that in making the film, they didn't regard the prequels as canon in developing the story (so the prequels basically, as far as the Star Wars universe in this film is concerned, would never have happened).

 

2) Some wonder this because Abrams said that in making the film, that they "really considered the originals as canon."

 

3) So then does this mean that they didn't much consider the prequels as canon?

 

4) Thus some see it as a possible indirect snipe at George Lucas, a way of saying, "We didn't use what I saw as your stupid-kids movie prequels as canon in the story of this film," but without actually saying it directly.

 

This.... This... Made it worse.

 

Say canon one more time!