The Force Awakens: Official Review Thread - ** SPOILERS ** — Page 2

towne32 said:

Also, did everyone else not get trailers? Was this them trying to make it like a 1977 experience? Were there trailers after the film? I was really surprised to have it start immediately after the lights went down.

I thought that my midnight showing was going to actually be just after midnight. In fact we had to sit through a load of crap adverts and trailers, the only trailer worth watching was Captain America Civil War.
The adverts went on and on and people were getting quite vocal about it. When the copyright card came up, everyone thought that the film was going to start…nope, we had another long trailer about some video game. By this time people were shouting to get the film on, enough is enough.
So, about 12:40 the film started. I got home at 03:30.
Thanks Cineworld.

RU.08 said:

Actually I do apologise, there is in fact ONE throwback to the prequels in TFA. Is it one of those moments we loved from the prequels? HA! Nope! It’s Anakin’s archaic hairstyle from Episode III and his child-like demeanour from Episode II. It’s exactly what we hated in the prequels!

Are you talking about Kylo Ren? Having him throw a tantrum would have been extremely risky in light of Episode III, were it not for the fact that it was executed fucking fantastically. And his hair isn’t allowed to be long, either? He didn’t have a PT mullet.

I think the main thing this film has convinced me is that people on this site love to hate films. Especially Star Wars. That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of valid criticisms. But, I think we do get pretty neurotic about ridiculous things around here at times. Myself included.

Wolfman said:

towne32 said:

Also, did everyone else not get trailers? Was this them trying to make it like a 1977 experience? Were there trailers after the film? I was really surprised to have it start immediately after the lights went down.

I thought that my midnight showing was going to actually be just after midnight. In fact we had to sit through a load of crap adverts and trailers, the only trailer worth watching was Captain America Civil War.
The adverts went on and on and people were getting quite vocal about it. When the copyright card came up, everyone thought that the film was going to start…nope, we had another long trailer about some video game. By this time people were shouting to get the film on, enough is enough.
So, about 12:40 the film started. I got home at 03:30.
Thanks Cineworld.

Thankfully our theater had the good sense to start the advertising while they were seating everyone. They tend to go on for about 45 minutes before the film and repeat the same ads at least 3 times, there was so many people talking you really couldn’t hear them last night though. My favourite pre-film conversation had to be the guys directly behind us all trying to quote the “I don’t like sand” line as poorly as it originally sounded.

Now, on to the movie itself. I really, really enjoyed it. Is it a flawless, perfect film? Not by any stretch of the imagination, but the good far surpasses the bad and makes for an enjoyable film experience. The main characters are so likeable and vibrant that it was easy to accept them alongside the returning cast members. The pacing was breakneck, which after the prequels was a warm welcome and worked overall but only hurt a little as a few secondary characters like Poe and especially Captain Phasma were left with little to nothing to do in the script. Daisy Ridley was great as Rey though, she really held the movie together with her performance. It’s also nice to see that John Boyega does a bit more than pants and sweats throughout the film. He’s really funny in all the right ways and charming as Finn. Kylo Ren may be the best character in the film though. The idea of Han and Leias son being obsessed with the dark side and Vader is not wholly original but logical and seeing Adam Driver pull this character off with his struggle with keeping in the dark side while being tempted by the light is a joy to watch. The main thing that really hurt this movie for me was that it really was a glorified remake of the original film. I really wish they could have found a better plot point than yet another planet destroying superweapon, it felt tacked on and not nearly as important as the drama between Han and Kylo and the rest of the cast. This along with a few ‘what a coincidence’ moments and some really sloppy editing in the Han and Leia reunion scene are my only real big complaints with this film storywise. Overall I was really impressed with the cinematography though as the decision to go as practical as possible payed off big time and JJ kept his love of shaky-cam and lens flares in check and we got lots of wide sweeping shots that look fantastic. The use of so much practical effects do make some of the cgi stand way out though. Those creatures on Han and Chewie’s ship stick out and Snoke looked Hobbit level bad, though to be fair he was a hologram through the whole film so I’m hoping they can refine his look when we see him in Episodes 8 and 9. Maz Kanata worked though, she looked great if not 100% past that uncanny valley yet, it’s never jarring though.

Overall, I had fun with it, it was what it needed to be which was good, if a bit safe and overly familiar. I’m going to see it again tomorrow night and see how well it holds up on a second view.

RU.08 said:

towne32 said:

Are you talking about Kylo Ren? Having him throw a tantrum would have been extremely risky in light of Episode III, were it not for the fact that it was executed fucking fantastically. And his hair isn’t allowed to be long, either? He didn’t have a PT mullet.

Well he’s Han and Leia’s son, so he should remind me of them - not of Anakin!

I think the main thing this film has convinced me is that people on this site love to hate films. Especially Star Wars. That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of valid criticisms. But, I think we do get pretty neurotic about ridiculous things around here at times. Myself included.

Well I remember saying not too long time ago in a thread not too far away, that I like quite a lot of the prequel trilogy content. Not as much as the average TFN member, but certainly more than a lot of other members here. They have their flaws, and they have their good points.

TFA is a good movie in its own right, but, it is at the end of the day just a direct remake of Episode IV - with a few things from V and VI thrown in. I can watch Star Wars and get the same story that I saw watching Episode VII. To me that makes VII pretty redundant and unnecessary. I mean, Death Star III - really? They even compare “Starkiller Base” directly to the Death Star in the movie itself. I thought the “New Order” was going to be more different to the “Galactic Empire”.

Yeah, I didn’t mean to pick on you specifically. Just a general statement about us cranks. No one else gets as upset about silly things like color timing, etc. 😛

As for Driver’s looks. When he was face to face with Han, I actually found myself noticing a surprising, though slight, resemblance. Not to young Han, but to the man on screen.

I was fine with most of the ‘throw backs’. Despite the many parallels, I never felt like I was watching ANH/SW. I liked that a 1000 year old creature had a bar. And I liked the idea of Maz in general. But I think that was slotted into the Cantina part of the story too easily. I would have rather had it be something fresh (the promo pics of Maz’s castle were more promising). And I wish we learned more about her history with Han, while he was alive, to add some weight to her character. Wonder what spinoff media we’ll learn about her cloud city adventure?

I completely agree about Starkiller, though. I think that’s one near-consensus between nearly all the reviewers. As I said in my review ramble, the threat in this story was Kylo against Rey and against potentially Luke. The Starkiller stuff was just background nonsense to get some X-wing shots in. I did like the base’s imperial-esque interior a lot, though.

OK, guys, I have some questions.

Full disclosure: I have not seen the movie. So I am trying to be fair.

But isn’t this a case of the Emperor is wearing no clothes?

It seems pretty clear that the plot on paper is just a blatant carbon copy of the original movie. Sure, there are some tangential differences, but the essential elements of the movie are identical to the first film.

So knowing this, how can anyone still say this is a good movie?

I understand the practical effects are great, the costumes are great, the special effects are great, and that it’s better than the prequels. I get that. But even knowing and accepting that, how can a carbon copy movie be considered “good”? Aren’t those concepts mutually exclusive?

Why isn’t there more outrage? Why isn’t there a sentiment that, “Hey! We’ve been ripped off! Conned!”

Isn’t this very much a case of parents re-wrapping last year’s Christmas presents?

I’m not being facetious. I’d really like to understand the perspective of other fans, especially those who agree with me that the movie is a copy of ANH but still say it’s good.

I think the ANH similarities are just something you’ll either be bothered by or you won’t. I thought Starkiller Base took it a bit too far, but other than that I had no qualms. I think the people throwing around the term “remake” are mischaracterizing it. Many of the beats were the same, but the movie had its own vibe that no one’s going to mistake for Episode IV. Of course, originality wasn’t at the top of my list for what I wanted for this movie, so I may have gone in predisposed to be more accepting than some others. I think the main thing this first film of the Disney era needed to do was to get the tone back on track, and I think it did that wonderfully. I’ll be disappointed if further entries play it this safe, but as far as TFA is concerned, I’m just happy and relieved that Star Wars feels like Star Wars again.

Also, this is neither here nor there, but I got serious chills when Rey pulled the Skywalker saber out of the snow and the Force theme kicked in with that exact arrangement from the burning homestead scene.

If you go in expecting an ANH rehash, as I did, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how original a lot of the film is, and how fresh and new everything seems.

It’s a lot less of a remake than some are saying. Some of the beats are the same sure, but with so many new characters and environments, having similar beats helped to establish that this is still Star Wars, that while the galaxy turns, the mythos stay the same.

DominicCobb said:

If you go in expecting an ANH rehash, as I did, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how original a lot of the film is, and how fresh and new everything seems.

It’s a lot less of a remake than some are saying. Some of the beats are the same sure, but with so many new characters and environments, having similar beats helped to establish that this is still Star Wars, that while the galaxy turns, the mythos stay the same.

Well said. I respect Lizard’s right to be critical of these issues, but I think he should save some of the judgement until he actually sees how the film comes off in non bullet point form.

This is more of an in-universe question than an examination of the movie, but I’m seeing it in comments sections on a few different sites that Hosnian Prime was the current seat of the New Republic and that the government moved to a different planet every several years like the Olympics. Where is that info coming from? Was there a line in the movie I didn’t catch? I read all the Journey to TFA books from Force Friday and it wasn’t in any of those. Is it in that Before the Awakening one that came out today?

Hal 9000 said:

jedimasterobiwan said:

han is killled by his son ben aka kylo ren and luke is in at the end

I’m not sure what to make of you.

Anyway, I found TFA overwhelming on first viewing and need to see it again before I can really render any sort of assessment. It was full of surprises, to be sure, and raised an awful lot of questions. The ending was an enormous tease! I really could have done without the whole doomsday device component, because it felt tacked on.
Like I said, I’m gonna need to see this again to really process it.

sorry read the topic too fast didn’t know it was a review topic

Overall I liked the film a lot and it was the first film in a long time I actually got emotionally invested in (cried a few times. Only slightly ashamed). There were a few things I didn’t like but overall I thought it was a damn good reintroduce to the Galaxy. I won’t rehash a lot of the things that have already been said about it though.

Two points: to those complaining about Hans death not being fitting or heroic enough, I disagree completely. The way he died was a fitting end to his character arc. When we meet Han he is selfish “better her than me”. He cares about himself and nobody else save chewie. In this film he dies directly as a result of him caring for his son. He does because of his compassion. He doesn’t need to go down in a blaze of heroic glory, that isn’t what his character is about. He goes down because he’s trying to save his son on the inside. He dies because of his love and because he cares about others. I don’t see how you could say that isn’t a fitting end for his character. Tragic as all hell, but fitting.

Apart from star killer base, the only major complaint I have is that we didn’t see any interaction between Poe and Rey. I know the story they set up made that impossible but if these are our new “big three” (Fin, Rey, and Poe), than you should show us the dynamics of all of them together. We got a good amount of Poe and Fin together, a lot of Fin and Rey, but no Rey and Poe. I just think it was a slight missed opportunity to allow us to get invested in them as a group, not just as individuals, and I think the personalities of those two would have played off in a very entertaining way together.

I enjoyed the movie and thought it was a fun film that recaptured a lot of the Star Wars magic. It certainly has it’s flaws but was a fun experience. I really liked the new main characters and the parts were well acted and the dialogue and the banter felt more authentic than anything in the prequels. I actually felt emotionally invested in their fate and that alone makes this movie better than any of the prequels in my opinion.

I loved Kylo Ren for the most part. It was nice to have a new Star Wars villain with a bit of personality. It worked having him be Han’s son so far as I could imagine a young Han Solo with force powers that turned to the dark side behaving in a similar manner. I thought they nailed it with some of his smug and blunt dialogue. Rey and Fin’s parts were well portrayed and they have great potential as characters and I am looking forward to seeing how they are developed as the story continues.

I enjoyed Poe’s character too and found him to be reminiscent of Han Solo. I wish he was shown a little more in the first half of the movie. We all know he didn’t die in the crash and it would have been interesting to see what was happening to him. Instead we just kind of forget about him until he just shows up out of the blue.

People have complained that Han’s death wasn’t heroic enough, but I didn’t really have a problem with it. It was an interesting twist and gives us more reason to despise Kylo Ren as a villain. Maybe if this movie was made 20-30 years ago I would have felt differently, but Ford is old and Han Solo’s run has to come to an end at some point.

Some of the things I initially am finding lacking or am not so fond of:

The story was a bit rushed and overwhelming at some points and as has been stated there is a lot of rehashing of the first Star Wars movie, although I think they managed to keep it fresh enough that I still found it enjoyable.

There isn’t really any explanation on the current state of the galaxy. Apparently a new republic does exist and ends up getting destroyed? Is the First Order in control of some or much of the galaxy or is it more like a small terrorist group? Is the Resistance the army of the republic or is it independent of the republic and in control of their own systems as well? I know they were probably apprehensive about putting any politics in after the prequels but some expository dialogue like the scene in the Death Star conference room or even something in the title crawl could have given us a quick and sufficient explanation.

I was let down by the music on my first viewing. Even the prequels had some spectacular new arrangements that gripped me immediately. It could just be that I am not as familiar with the new score, or perhaps that I was having more fun with what was being shown on screen that I just didn’t notice the score as much.

Kylo Ren’s powers were very inconsistent. In the beginning of the film they introduce him as someone who appears to have mastered the dark side of the force. We see him do something that has never been done in stopping a blaster shot in mid-air and holding it for an extended period of time and are told that he killed all of the new Jedi that Luke was training. Then later in the movie it is revealed he is not fully trained and Finn and Rey are able to hold their own against him. I found that to be a bit of a stretch, although it was hinted that Rey had some Jedi training as a very small child that she had just repressed which she then rediscovered during the fight so that makes a little bit of sense I guess.

Not sure how I felt about the force having a lightsaber calling out to a specific individual, that is something we haven’t really seen before and I found it a bit distracting. It wasn’t that big of a deal when Luke lost it… he just built a new one and moved on. It seems that the saber’s importance and the entire story of how Maz came into possession of it will end up being a mystery we will never get an answer too. Although the movie does end with Rey presenting it to Luke so possibly some of those questions will be answered in the next film.

I wasn’t to impressed with Carrie Fisher’s performance… very monotone and sounded like she was just reading the script, but her part was minor enough that it didn’t take away from the overall enjoyment too much.

Kind of nitpicky, but did anyone else think some of the blaster sound effects didn’t sound quite right?

Overall though, I enjoyed it after my first viewing. It was an overwhelming experience for sure and I am looking forward to seeing it again to see if any of my thoughts change and am already excited to see where Episode VIII takes us.

Great points all around, hydrospanner.

I am not sure that Kylo is that inconsistent, though. What he has in sheer power and connection to the force is not the same as discipline. This is, of course, the Dark Side. What we’re led to believe is an easier and faster path to raw power. And Finn only probably only lasted as long as he did in the saber battle due to Ren being severely injured by a blaster in a moment when he was surely distracted.

I’m also looking forward to VIII. Rian was apparently on set for a good deal of TFA filming and in direct contact with JJ, and even made some suggestions to make his life easier later. I hope he goes nuts with it in his own way, while keeping these characters as human and enjoyable as JJ/Kasden left them off.