Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (USE SPOILER TAGS!)

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by supersix4

I absolutely loved the movie. I think the greatest thing I could say about it was the scope and scale. Having watched the OT over the last 2 days, you can tell how limited they were back then for movie making vs. today. I think that this is where the movie hit a home run... Where the OT was huge in scale to the crowd of the 70s JJ Abrams was able to recreate that in a-way that 1-3 wasn't able to do even with the newer technology [I think it speaks to having a good director running the show].

So I think this movie will draw a whole new generation into the franchise, and yes because of that scope and scale that was felt [at least to me]. It was nostalgic the same way Jurassic World and the completed park showing the scope of the finished product felt comforting.


I think we all need to realize we can't rest on the OT characters to forever play the parts, and the casting was EXCELLENT. They could not have hit more home runs with the cast. I did though not enjoy Adam Driver as Kylo Ren. He came off as a spoiled child, and just wasn't good to me, hopefully he'll leave the mask on forever lol. He was my only Meh about the movie...

Its a home run in my op. It could not have been a better MOVIE, now when this story is complete will I look back and enjoy it more than one set over another... Its hard to say, but at least for the foreseeable future I like the direction of the franchise and am VERY excited.

I do hope they don't continue to kill characters off and I feel like 1 is enough and you can't keep playing that card each movie to hit a nerve with the audience, it'll lose its impact and grow stale.


4.5/5 but I rounded up to perfect.

I am starting to agree with those that say Rey and Ren are an intentional dichotomy and those two characters will no doubt be the focus of the new trilogies. They (from what I hear) embody the two different halves of Anakin Skywalker's personality and since that is the best SW character ever, I'd say they chose well.

[CinemaBlu]

I just got back from seeing it. I wouldn't recommend the 3D version. It's not Avatar-quality 3D and it kind of diminished the picture quality. There were times I took my glasses off and the picture was better than when they were on. It really lessened my enjoyment of the film. I have to see it again in 2D before I can make a true assessment of the film.

A few thoughts:

-I wish there was more of Poe Dameron in it.

-This is easily Chewbacca's best film.

-Can someone tell me how anyone can understand what BB-8 was saying? Didn't astromech droids need a translator in the other films?

-I hope the next film explains

[Show spoiler]how Rey was able to use the force so easily. It took Luke two films and training from two of the best jedi masters ever to be able to just move rocks. Rey goes from thinking Luke Skywalker is a myth to immediately and inexplicably being able to use jedi mind tricks and telekinetically pull a lightsaber away from a guy who can freeze blaster fire in mid-air. Force sensitivity isn't the same as force ability.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

I am starting to agree with those that say Rey and Ren are an intentional dichotomy and those two characters will no doubt be the focus of the new trilogies. They (from what I hear) embody the two different halves of Anakin Skywalker's personality and since that is the best SW character ever, I'd say they chose well.

Ren though just didn't work for me and maybe its Adam Driver... Idk, I still enjoyed him with the mask on and can't wait I think i just dislike Driver for the roll...

The only way I could see people not liking the movie is if they are so sold on the marketing literature, stories they've been sold by Lucas for the past decades that they can't accept Abrams inventing new ways to take the franchise or something like that [I have no idea how accurately this story reflects Lore of books, or comics, etc.]

But as just a fan of the series I love the movie

[Col. Zombie]

Originally Posted by Bluyoda

How you haven't been banned yet is beyond me.

You're joking, right?

[Tony208]

Originally Posted by supersix4

Ren though just didn't work for me and maybe its Adam Driver... Idk, I still enjoyed him with the mask on and can't wait I think i just dislike Driver for the roll...

The only way I could see people not liking the movie is if they are so sold on the marketing literature, stories they've been sold by Lucas for the past decades that they can't accept Abrams inventing new ways to take the franchise or something like that [I have no idea how accurately this story reflects Lore of books, or comics, etc.]

But as just a fan of the series I love the movie

I liked his mask voice. It'll never top Vader but it was good.

[Bruisermoore]

Originally Posted by CinemaBlu

I just got back from seeing it. I wouldn't recommend the 3D version. It's not Avatar-quality 3D and it kind of diminished the picture quality. There were times I took my glasses off and the picture was better than when they were on. It really lessened my enjoyment of the film. I have to see it again in 2D before I can make a true assessment of the film.

It sounds like you were in a bad theater honestly. I saw it 4 times, once in normal 3D, and three times in an XD theater (similar to Imax), and I never once had that thought, I felt the 3D was perfectly done, very subtle as to not take you out of the story, but there were a few scenes where it enhanced it quite a bit.

[Col. Zombie]

Originally Posted by CinemaBlu

-I hope the next film explains

[Show spoiler]how Rey was able to use the force so easily. It took Luke two films and training from two of the best jedi masters ever to be able to just move rocks. Rey goes from thinking Luke Skywalker is a myth to immediately and inexplicably being able to use jedi mind tricks and telepathically pull a lightsaber away from a guy who can freeze blaster fire in mid-air. Force sensitivity isn't the same as force ability.

I wonder if we're going to find out that Rey is a

[Show spoiler]Skywalker. Perhaps even Luke's child. Those visions she had when she touched the light saber may have been a triggered memory that had been erased. I think we will discover that she had the force powers she had because she had been previously trained in some way.

But then again, all of that could be a bunch of bs.

[CinemaBlu]

Originally Posted by Bruisermoore

It sounds like you were in a bad theater honestly. I saw it 4 times, once in normal 3D, and three times in an XD theater (similar to Imax), and I never once had that thought, I felt the 3D was perfectly done, very subtle as to not take you out of the story, but there were a few scenes where it enhanced it quite a bit.

I saw it in Liemax. Not true Imax but better than the average theater. A couple of the 3D effects were good, but not worth the degradation in image quality throughout the rest of the film. That's my opinion.

[CinemaBlu]

Originally Posted by Col. Zombie

I wonder if we're going to find out that Rey is a

[Show spoiler]Skywalker. Perhaps even Luke's child. Those visions she had when she touched the light saber may have been a triggered memory that had been erased. I think we will discover that she had the force powers she had because she had been previously trained in some way.

But then again, all of that could be a bunch of bs.

[Show spoiler]Yeah, she must have had some training that was buried in her subconscious or something.

[NzYme]

Saw it this morning and going back tonight for a second viewing with my son! Freaking loved it!!!

[Blu-Benny]

[Show spoiler]maybe luke did some kind of jedi mind-trick on her. put those memories into her subconcious to be unlocked at some point. and she ends up being his daughter, he trained her but when Ren rose up, he wiped her memory and dumped her on Jakku to keep her safe??

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by Tony208

I liked his mask voice. It'll never top Vader but it was good.

Yeah the masked voice and way he carried himself was good.. But helmet off I was just like damn he needs to get the S* slapped out of him, such a baby, and while its a trait Driver does well lol not exactly what I was looking for from the revival of a Sith Lord.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by supersix4

Yeah the masked voice and way he carried himself was good.. But helmet off I was just like damn he needs to get the S* slapped out of him, such a baby, and while its a trait Driver does well lol not exactly what I was looking for from the revival of a Sith Lord.

But that's the point: he's

[Show spoiler]not a Sith Lord, he's just a quasi-trained Force user with some serious Daddy issues

.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Jumpman

[snip]

Sorry for the rant.

No need to be sorry, I agree with a lot of it.

Just got back from this, and it's fair to say I'm feeling kinda underwhelmed. Not because I'm a secret Lucas Kool-aid drinker and think the prequels are God's gift to humankind, but because JJ's delivered yet another efficient blockbuster that stands on the shoulders of giants, updating past glories with modern whizz-bangery without adding much (if anything) new.

Yeah, I got a chill down my spine when the title hit (interesting that there's not even a fanfare on the LFL logo) but after that those chills were few and far between. Adam Driver's brilliant and Daisy Ridley wasn't as wooden as I feared she'd be (although there's plenty of clunky dialogue doled out to all:

[Show spoiler]was it really necessary for Han and Leia to continually refer to Ben as "Our son" over and over and over just to save the reveal for the chasm scene?

) but I just didn't buy into the rest of them, not even Han and Leia. Threepio looks very weird, his plating is this plastic-looking shit rather than that beautiful metallic gold sheen that he once had and that's not a bad metaphor for my reaction to seeing the old crew: it's them, sure, but in a fake, overly forced (heh), ersatz kinda way. Perhaps it's just been too long for me to get my head around it?

I feel the same "meh" way about the score, too. DO NOT GET ME WRONG: if I were to meet John Williams I would fall to the ground and kiss his feet for the services rendered to cinema, but I cannot remember the last time I heard a new score of his and was moved by it, or can recall even one or two cues offhand; can't recall a single new thing from what I just heard. His sonic wallpaper is better than most people's best scores, granted, but he's just not able to draw on leitmotif as he once did. Yeah, I KNOW he's getting on a bit but I'd put him out to pasture sooner rather than later. Says it all that the only other spine-tingling moment I felt was when Rey

[Show spoiler]clasped the lightsaber and that classic cue swelled up all gorgeous like.

Speaking of Rey, as Jumpman said she's easily one of the more interesting characters almost by default because of her mysterious background, and the montage when she

[Show spoiler]touched the lightsaber at Maz' castle was particularly interesting, not just for the Empire callback but the voice that said "Rey!" which sounded a lot like Obi-Wan to me. She may not yet be the scion of a Skywalker...

So yeah, a fun bit of fluff to woo the prequel-dislikers back with, but it's nowhere near the top of my SW ranking.

ANH
ESB
ROTS
ROTJ
TFA
TPM
AOTC

PS

Oh, one more thing: it's funny that I keep hearing all these 'rumours' about DanielCraigTrooper, saying he might be here or there, but it's blatantly obvious which one he's playing if you actually watch the film. Apologies if that's already been discussed at length, but I'm not about to trawl back through this thread uncovering every spoiler post!

[Rodney-2187]

Originally Posted by CinemaBlu

-This is easily Chewbacca's best film.

He did have more stand-out moments in this one. His face and eyes were more expressive. CGI?

Originally Posted by CinemaBlu

-Can someone tell me how anyone can understand what BB-8 was saying? Didn't astromech droids need a translator in the other films?

Luke could understand R2.

[Nightrunner]

Originally Posted by snobird

Got to see it for the 4th time yesterday, really looking forward to the upcoming movies.

Is someone forcing you to see it?





Just kidding.


If I had the time and money I would see it every other day.




------


Unlike some people, I actually liked the nods to the OT and PT. I was not looking for a non-Star Wars movie. The movie did not have a slow or uneven moment.

[Show spoiler]Well, the gangs on Han and Chewie's cargo ship were one dimensional but they served their purpose. My only wish was they were not so humanoid. GotG had that problem with the prison scene too.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

But that's the point: he's

[Show spoiler]not a Sith Lord, he's just a quasi-trained Force user with some serious Daddy issues

.

I guess that would help if I saw the whole story.. It seems like that will be the end result

[Show spoiler]by movie 3 or 4 he'll be crying that he's not all powerful like a spoiled baby and that'll be that.

Personally I would have rather had a much much more menacing Sith like the way Maul carried himself.

[Rodney-2187]

Originally Posted by supersix4

I guess that would help if I saw the whole story.. It seems like that will be the end result

[Show spoiler]by movie 3 or 4 he'll be crying that he's not all powerful like a spoiled baby and that'll be that.

Personally I would have rather had a much much more menacing Sith like the way Maul carried himself.

Kylo is mental. He has lots of issues. Once he completes his training, I could see him becoming very menacing. It's the crazy ones you have to really watch out for!

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by Nightrunner

Unlike some people, I actually liked the nods to the OT and PT. I was not looking for a non-Star Wars movie. The movie did not have a slow or uneven moment.

[Show spoiler]Well, the gangs on Han and Chewie's cargo ship were one dimensional but they served their purpose. My only wish was they were not so humanoid. GotG had that problem with the prison scene too.

Agree I think you have a few reasons people were detracting or like myself in love with it

Detracting:
-Too hung up on the Lucas merchandizing/Lore over the last few decades and need it one way to justify all that
-Trying to hard to recapture life when they enjoyed it
-Generally unable to enjoy things lmao

Loving it:
-It did recapture something that made me love the series
-Introdced to the WOW factor the movie definitely has for the first time the way someone was in the 70s, which having just watched the OT you can tell how small they feel vs. TFA [but again almost 40+ years of film advances will do that lol]
-Enjoyed it for what it is entertainment

Now again there are exceptions to all of that and none of the movies are without some faults lol.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by rodneyfaile

Kylo is mental. He has lots of issues. Once he completes his training, I could see him becoming very menacing. It's the crazy ones you have to really watch out for!

Again I just think its my personal issue with Driver in the roll. He does that roll well its just not what I wanted for my next up after Vader...

Maul didn't say a word and had more presence, and stature and poise than Kylo...

I just wished for more, and I just feel like we'll get a very anti-climatic setup from Kylo with

[Show spoiler]next movie he'll come back stronger and be a big bad A$$$, final movie or part we'll see how weak he is he'll piss and moan and that'll be it.

I'm happy with the writing and the powers, and what I saw.. Must just be a personal thing with Driver lol