Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens (Abrams 2015) -- SPOILERS THERE ARE.

[Morris Schæffer]

[Morris Schæffer]

This is very good, hugely entertaining, not devoid of powerful moments, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega are very convincing, Ford is indeed in fine form as Han Solo, BB-2 is the good side of cute, but but but I'm having trouble getting over how similar this feels compared to A New Hope. Nonetheless, even that can be defended. I mean, compared to 30 years ago we're stilll driving cars except they've been perfected, become sleeker, more powerful, it stands to reason that people build upon that which came before and so it feels in Star Wars The Force Awakens. The space battles lack the purpose and climactic feel of the original trilogy, some plot developments, while pretty fucking shocking, feel like they've been carelessly chucked in there because Abrams felt he wanted to have some of that too, because hey, the old trilogy had that too! Still, that gets redeemed quite a bit later on in a rather emotionally gripping sequence. The final shot is really outstanding.

One moment where one of the characters uses force powers to escape was funny, but felt unearned. With Obi-Wan you know there was training and experience beforehand and thus you accept it. Here it felt almost like a spoof rather than something which awes us.

[transmogrifier]

This was basically A New Hope Reloaded.

[transmogrifier]

The first half is significantly better than the second half, which flattens into a dull retread of A New Hope with larger but less coherent action scenes. Before that, I was right on board with the introduction of the new characters and the character beats they are given; it's a deft mix of humor and place setting. The acting is much better than anything in ANH (except Gleason, who is terrible) with Driver in particular doing well with a more complicated take on Darth Vader. But man, does it ever end up taking all these great ingredients and creating a flavorless retread of previous glories in the second half.

I think the sequel holds a lot of promise now that the self-conscious fan service has been covered....

[Henry Gale]

I ain't reading none o' this 'til I see it Saturday.

Read the first line of your posts before thinking, "Nope!".... but I'm sure they're good thoughts.

[Mr. McGibblets]

All 4 of the new main characters are really good. Needed a lot more of Isaac and Boyega together.

[transmogrifier]

All 4 of the new main characters are really good. Needed a lot more of Isaac and Boyega together.

Didn't like what they did with Isaac's character story-wise.

[number8]

I don't think you guys can understand what a big deal it is for me to see Indonesian actors in a real STAR WARS movie.

[number8]

Didn't like what they did with Isaac's character story-wise.

The reveal landed so softly I thought they all just got bored with the whole thing.

[TGM]

Again, like at Mockingjay, I find myself a bit surprised by the turnout. The theater was only about 2/3 full, if that. Hrm. :/

As for the movie, I'm gonna have to let it sit. There are certainly aspects that I really liked, and Rey could very well end up being my new favorite Star Wars character. But on the whole I'm not particularly blown away by it. Hmmm...

[number8]

The first half is significantly better than the second half, which flattens into a dull retread of A New Hope with larger but less coherent action scenes. Before that, I was right on board with the introduction of the new characters and the character beats they are given; it's a deft mix of humor and place setting. The acting is much better than anything in ANH (except Gleason, who is terrible) with Driver in particular doing well with a more complicated take on Darth Vader. But man, does it ever end up taking all these great ingredients and creating a flavorless retread of previous glories in the second half.

Interesting because I pegged it as a retread right away. The first half I thought was even more beat for beat following ANH, with Kylo's introduction matching Vader's and the important resistance information stored in a wayward droid found by a peasant. The second half actually mixed in some Empire that alleviated the remake feeling a bit.

The casting definitely did most of the heavy lifting in making it feel fresh. All cynicism I kept holding onto even right through the opening crawl disappeared completely as soon as Poe and Finn started interacting. This exchange happened:

"Good to meet you, Finn."
"Good to meet you, Poe."

Aaaaaand I'm all in.

I think the sequel holds a lot of promise now that the self-conscious fan service has been covered....

Definitely true.

[Morris Schæffer]

For those that have seen it, how come [

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R2D2 suddenly started to come alive by the end when an hour earlier he seemed to be inoperational?

]

[TGM]

Having slept on it, I DO very much like this movie, but pretty much all of its glaring flaws stem from its over-familiarity with A New Hope. Sorta like how Into Darkness felt like it was more interesting in recreating Wrath of Kahn as opposed to telling a new movie, this one, too, feels more worried about throwing in references than it does in telling a whole new compelling story, which actually started to make me groan at points. That said, the cast very much DOES make this movie work, but I'm not sure Abrams was the right man for the job after all.

[Morris Schæffer]

Having slept on it, I DO very much like this movie, but pretty much all of its glaring flaws stem from its over-familiarity with A New Hope. Sorta like how Into Darkness felt like it was more interesting in recreating Wrath of Kahn as opposed to telling a new movie, this one, too, feels more worried about throwing in references than it does in telling a whole new compelling story, which actually started to make me groan at points. That said, the cast very much DOES make this movie work, but I'm not sure Abrams was the right man for the job after all.

I feel very confident giving this a ***½, but that does have somewhat to do with the fact that I've become more lenient, more aware of a general decrease in quality of major tentpole movies. I think this movie has an edge, something extra, a real heart, it's not an empty spectacle, but you are right about the bit I've bolded. The problem I think is actually even bigger than that. [

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Not only does it ape many of the moments from the original trilogy, not in the least the final X-Wing attack on a Death Star-like structure but that it doesn't even manage to come close to A New Hope, let alone Return of the Jedi in the space battle stakes is bothering me. Apart from some dated miniature work in those movies, the special effects during those attack runs are far more memorable, inventive with better spatial coherence and a far bigger sense of stakes and urgency. By repeating this element so rigidly here the outcome is entirely pre-ordained. We know precisely what's going to happen and it does without exception, without surprise. The concurrent mission with the principals remedies that quite a bit thank God because here it's kinda awesome and chilling, but the Space Battle attack on the Death Star was extremely poor. It's 32 years later since Jedi, why does this look worse?

]

[Irish]

HOT DAMN THAT DAISY RIDLEY. FUCK EVERYONE ELSE. JUST MAKE MOVIES ABOUT HER CHARACTER.

I agree with what everyone said so far. A lot of this plays like highly polished Star Wars fan fiction. They were shameless about it, and I think in the long run that hurts the film. Every time there was a chance for this movie to distinguish itself, it falls back to fan service.

That leads to a secondary problem: There are too many characters, and a lot of them overlap narratively. All of the new people are badly established and given very little context. What context they do have (Ridley is waiting for her family, Boyega is a traitor), doesn't really seem to matter. There isn't a clear protagonist either, which I guess matters less because there isn't a clearly defined story.

I loved the first hour or so, mostly because of Ridley, Boyega, and Isaac. Every time they were on screen it was tons of fun. When Solo showed up, I feel like they just tossed the script out the window and relied waaaaay too heavily on Harrison Ford's star power and the fan love of that character. It wasn't long before I began to actively began to resent his presence. Fuck Han Solo, I want to know more about Rey and Finn.

Favorite part: On that first planet, when Boyega moves to rescue Ridley, and then stops because he realizes that she doesn't need rescuing. The follow up was priceless -- "What are you doing? Let go of my hand!"

Weirdest part: Kylo Ren and some rando stormtrooper both yell "TRAITOR!" at Boyega like they're really pissed at him for running away. Guys, he was the fucking janitor. The guy who cleaned your toilet quit his job. Get over it.

The last hour was so much duller than the first, but that last shot --- man, I almost stood up in the theater and yelled, FUCK YEAH LUKE!

[

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Also, gotta add: HOLY SHIT WATASHI WAS RIGHT ABOUT ALMOST EVERYTHING

]

[TGM]

HOT DAMN THAT DAISY RIDLEY. FUCK EVERYONE ELSE. JUST MAKE MOVIES ABOUT HER

This, so much!

[Watashi]

Wait. What? What was I right about?

[Irish]

Wait. What? What was I right about?

[

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You were right about Han, and iirc, a few details about Luke.

]

[transmogrifier]

This, so much!

She's great, but I started to get distracted after a while by how much she looks like the lovechild of Keira Knightley and Jude Law.

[Wryan]

Geez, this won't earn any marks for innovation, that's for sure. But the cast is what makes it soar when it does. Really, if young dudes don't come out of the theater pining for assured, strong, resourceful, gorgeous Rey, they broken, yo. Also, when so much of the movie has such tremendous physical presence, Supreme Leader Snoke looked awkward by comparison (although Maz was much better as far as that sort of thing goes). Loved the erratic energy that Boyega brought. The snappy dialogue and "let's keep this thing moving" pace was appreciated. Good lord, Gleeson was turned up to 11 for that speech. I will say, though, that I walked out absolutely restless to see where it goes next, so that's a success.

EDIT: Also, what the fuck, Leia is a toadstool--not helped, either, by the way they shot her.

[Wryan]

Also, I have to wonder what George was thinking while he was watching this.

Probably, "What the fuck, guys?"

[Wryan]

[

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Also, how are they sucking up a sun, for god's sake? Talk about glossing over technical details. I feel like that's a MILDLY significant technical achievement, possibly even more so than the weapon it powers, and it's just sort of slipped under the door. Is the sun dead afterwards? Does all light go out in the system? Does the sun re-power later? Are there multiple suns nearby they can Kirby? The planet can't fly over into another system to find another sun-battery.

EDIT: Also, Simon Pegg was the big alien inside the pawnshop cage. Daniel Craig was the stormtrooper in the mind trick escape scene.

]

[Dukefrukem]

Meh. Reluctant Yay. Seriously the retreads are getting so old with J.J.

I mean, Okay... it's great that we have new characters to play with. But when your villain is just another Vadar, and your super weapon is just a bigger Death Star, and your master mind is just another Emperor ..("OOh lets rename him supreme leader!") It's just the same movie over and over again.

I'm guessing we'll find out who Rey's parents are eventually. BUt did anyone else find it odd she went from just hearing stories of "Luke SKywalker" and the "force".... to using every aspect of the force across 2 scenes. (which took MASTER Luke 3 movies to accomplish)???

Gwendoline Christie, completely underused. Why bother with that casting.

Leia looked awful. Plastic surgery right? Jesus Carrie just age normally. Ford looked great.

Best part of the movie for me: Mention of the Jedi Temple which was a huge story-line in the KOTOR and Dark Forces games.

Going to bed. Will sleep on it. But I wasn't really all that impressed and it didn't leave me wanting to run out and see it again.

[Dukefrukem]

Also the ending musical credits should have started right when Luke removed his cloak. There should have been no other scenes involving lightsabers or cameras panning around from a helicopter. Luke should have sensed her coming and known shy she was there.

/closed circle fade to credits

[Dukefrukem]

All 4 of the new main characters are really good. Needed a lot more of Isaac and Boyega together.

Needed a whole lot more of everyone together. I hate them being apart! Isaac was basically removed from the entire major plotline.

Funniest moment: BB8 giving the thumbs up?