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

[transmogrifier]

A couple of weeks on, I can now say that I'm astounded at the number of people who have had A New Hope blatantly fed back to them with little in the way of true craft or inspiration (but certainly a little stupider), but are still willing to proclaim this as something amazing. The last half was interminable and the clumsy, lazy way all the plot conveniences have been written off as "we'll learn that in the sequel" is simply asinine.

[Lazlo]

A couple of weeks on, I can now say that I'm astounded at the number of people who have had A New Hope blatantly fed back to them with little in the way of true craft or inspiration (but certainly a little stupider), but are still willing to proclaim this as something amazing. The last half was interminable and the clumsy, lazy way all the plot conveniences have been written off as "we'll learn that in the sequel" is simply asinine.

Be astounded! It's amazing!

[Spinal]

A couple of weeks on, I can now say that I'm astounded at the number of people who have had A New Hope blatantly fed back to them with little in the way of true craft or inspiration (but certainly a little stupider), but are still willing to proclaim this as something amazing. The last half was interminable and the clumsy, lazy way all the plot conveniences have been written off as "we'll learn that in the sequel" is simply asinine.

Yeah, five days after seeing it, it's deflating to realize that virtually nothing about the film, apart from perhaps Adam Driver's performance, has really stuck with me.

[number8]

Driver was my biggest takeaway in the first viewing, but on my second I was actually appreciating Ridley more.

[Henry Gale]

Driver was my biggest takeaway in the first viewing, but on my second I was actually appreciating Ridley more.

Same. I found her even more charming and gripping in all the right places that second time. The inner battle of her sorrow and hope and where she wants to continue with them (particularly post-Force awareness) comes through in her performance more and more. And it made her and Kylo's final fight even more potent, both in the moment and realizing how it would extend into the future.

Plus Boyega, who I felt was funnier and more emotionally strong, but I honestly think after seeing him do so much press + seeing Attack The Block so many times, it mainly took me a while to readjust to him speaking with an American accent on that first viewing. And now seeing him in more interviews, it's throwing me off all over again. It'd be a fitting homage to the originals if they pulled a Leia with the future episodes. (Drop the accent entirely.)

Still really wish they'd had more of Isaac. Doesn't help that both times I've seen it, the X-wing stuff was conceived and edited in such a way that my brain tuned out. As they pulled away, I went, "Oh, I guess they did it."

[TGM]

Still really wish they'd had more of Isaac. Doesn't help that both times I've seen it, the X-wing stuff was conceived and edited in such a way that my brain tuned out. As they pulled away, I went, "Oh, I guess they did it."

Yes, this stuck out especially the second time around. When he was flying through the trenches and taking out the Starkiller Base, it was like watching a brand new scene that I had never seen before. I was like, "... huh, did I really tune out that much the first time I watched this?!" I literally didn't recall any of it. o.O

[DavidSeven]

I feel like the prevalent argument that the film is a regurgitation of ANH are a little overstated. There are some obvious call-backs, but the larger, more affecting narratives are new. The journey of a conflicted Storm Trooper is at the core of this thing -- and I really think this was a fun and interesting place to go with the larger mythology. Remind me what that's aping from Episode 4? (I could honestly be overlooking something.) Kylo Ren is infinitely more interesting than the first incarnation of Darth Vader, who was little more than a slightly embarrassing cartoon occupying a few minutes of screen time in the first movie. It wasn't until Empire that they fleshed Vader out, shot him in a more interesting and intimidating way, and made him crucial to the overall mythology. I think Ren is already the best villain they've written and one of the best blockbuster villains we've seen in a long time.

Also, to me, arguments about wanting to see more with this actor or that actor don't seem to speak to the merits of the movie, just that the critic is a fan of that particular actor. I guess if they did anything wrong in that regard it's that they cast popular actors in minor roles. On the page, I doubt anyone's thinking that they're really "under-utilizing" Captain Phasma. Watching it, I didn't even know who was playing that character and didn't think twice about wanting to see more of her.

Above all the character stuff though, I think this is just a really well-made movie, which seems to be getting lost in these arguments against how creative the plot is or how progressive the casting choices actually are. The film features an excellent integration of grounded VFX, a dynamic camera, some really cool performances and character design, and, IMO, a well told story (even if it is slightly familiar). I won't claim it's high art or the greatest sci-fi adventure of all time, but within the modern "blockbuster" category, I think it does more than enough to set itself apart and warrant some acclaim.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I feel like the prevalent argument that the film is a regurgitation of ANH are a little overstated. There are some obvious call-backs, but the larger, more affecting narratives are new. The journey of a conflicted Storm Trooper is at the core of this thing -- and I really think this was a fun and interesting place to go with the larger mythology. Remind me what that's aping from Episode 4? (I could honestly be overlooking something.)

This was a pretty idea, but I thought they stopped Finn's arc way too soon in pursuit of a much more traditional coward-to-hero thing. The second you meet him, he's terrified and wants to escape, which made little sense to me given his backstory of no prior violations and a long life serving the Empire. I actually thought they missed a great opportunity to pull Finn's story back and parallel him against Rey. She's a girl who dreams of something more (sort of*), and what if we started with him as a grunt Trooper who hears kickass stories from his peers, gets his first opportunity to serve the Empire, and ends up in the middle of Desert Planet My Lai?

That would've fucked up the plotting, since he has to meet Rey at the appropriate time to group together, but basically starting with him at a certain ground level, the way we do with prior Star Wars characters like Luke and Han in IV, instead of in the middle of some enormous transitional moment, would've helped the story. Maybe it wouldn't've taken much time at all. Five minutes? I'm happy to move real estate from that useless Starkiller bullshit to more character-building at the beginning.

*I found Rey bewildering. Ignoring the Mary Sue arguments online, her main motivation early on is that she wants her parents to return to Jakku, which is why she's still there. Okay. We have no sense of her backstory, just that there is one, but okay. Also, her enthusiasm to hear about the Jedi and Luke is palpable, but it's never made clear that her interest extends beyond childlike enthusiasm into a real desire to be that kind of person, the way it did for Luke (there's no "I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi" beat to bring it home). The back half of her story has little to do with the start, probably because Abrams and Kasdan thinks it's more interesting that we don't know the details of her family issues, so it becomes all about her Force powers increasing. Oddly, this power increase doesn't pay off or complicate anything. It doesn't pay off a question about her line, it just re-raises the question. It doesn't pay off an emotional issue, because her empowerment isn't a story response to earlier feelings of disempowerment (she's already a tough, morally upright girl).

My frustration reached a fever pitch when we got to her dream sequence, which is basically the antithesis of the dream sequences in Empire and even Sith, where what we see is immediately clear and establishes a crucial anxiety (Luke's volatility compared to Vader, Anakin's fear of losing his wife). Instead, Rey gets a flurry of context-less images that we'll need further sequels to clarify. And we already needed those sequels to clarify not only her lineage but the impact of her childhood abandonment beyond her sticking around to wait. Star Wars doesn't need to play this game with its characters. Part of the fun is that the originals were mercifully clear about what their heroes were all about.

[Dukefrukem]

$20 more mil and it will become the all time highest grossing domestic take ever.

It would need to earn another $1000 mil to become the highest grossing domestic take accounting for inflation.

[Morris Schæffer]

Just a heads-up, today Avatar will be surpassed!

What Avatar made in 70 days, 760 mil, SWTFA did in 16!!

EDIT: Lol, you could say we now have teaser posts for posts.

[number8]

Hasbro releases an official statement explaining why the new Star Wars Monopoly doesn't include Rey.

The Star Wars: Monopoly game was released in September, months before the movie’s release, and Rey was not included to avoid revealing a key plot line that she takes on Kylo Ren and joins the Rebel Alliance.

????

[D_Davis]

How are you working out the time frames on that one? Ghost Ben out on the prowl?

Well, uhm, the power of myth....

[Spinal]

Hasbro releases an official statement explaining why the new Star Wars Monopoly doesn't include Rey.

Anyone who couldn't figure out that plot point from the trailer most likely wouldn't care if it was spoiled.

[number8]

Anyone who couldn't figure out that plot point from the trailer most likely wouldn't care if it was spoiled.

Nevermind figuring it out, I don't think there was ever any indication that Rey was a villain in the first place. Even so, it's fucking Monopoly player tokens, what does her alignment matters? The player tokens even include Kylo and Vader, so that explanation makes no sense whatsoever.

[Spinal]

Nevermind figuring it out, I don't think there was ever any indication that Rey was a villain in the first place. Even so, it's fucking Monopoly player tokens, what does her alignment matters? The player tokens even include Kylo and Vader, so that explanation makes no sense whatsoever.

What? Vader? So is it a game for the whole saga and not just this movie?

And yes, it's hard to imagine who they thought would be satisfied by that explanation. Maybe they thought they could use a Jedi mind trick.

[Spinal]

OK, I looked into this. Their problem is that they only have 4 tokens and are trying to represent both the old trilogies and the new trilogies. If they left out Finn, they would have been accused of being racist, not sexist. Just make more tokens! Since when does Monopoly have 4 tokens? Also, have you not paid attention to social media for the past 5 years? Silly.

[D_Davis]

The worst part of all of this is that people are still playing such a shitty board game, especially when we're right smack in the middle of the greatest era for board games ever.

No one, ever, should buy or play Monopoly.

[number8]

Also, have you not paid attention to social media for the past 5 years? Silly.

This is the bizarre part to me. How does a giant toy manufacturer not pay attention to societal trends? Toys R Us was all over the news last year for getting rid of gendered aisles, for chrissakes. It's not that hard to figure out.

[Spinal]

In discussing this on FB with a friend, we decided that the Dark side should be Kylo Ren paired with a really evil thimble.

[Irish]

This is the bizarre part to me. How does a giant toy manufacturer not pay attention to societal trends?

They're not paying attention to a trend unless it shows up on a report, as a specific metric, from a trusted third party.

Twitter chatter and a #hottake in HuffPo doesn't count.

[Dukefrukem]

The worst part of all of this is that people are still playing such a shitty board game, especially when we're right smack in the middle of the greatest era for board games ever.

No one, ever, should buy or play Monopoly.

Ooooo I want to neg rep you so hard.


Monopoly is my favorite game. Ever.

[Irish]

Duke is that kid who always insists on being the goddamn banker.

[number8]

Better game: http://www.amazon.com/University-Gam...dp/B0007Q1J9I/

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Show Spoiler

The irony of the link is intentional, in case you're wondering.

]

[megladon8]

Still wonderful the second time.

Not a thing I didn't like.

[D_Davis]

Ooooo I want to neg rep you so hard.


Monopoly is my favorite game. Ever.

There are literally a thousand better games with similar themes.

Have you played any of the European economic/trading games?