[SPOILERS] Star Wars: The Force Awakens - It's True. All of it.

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the ending was bullshit. Mark Hammil said something along the lines that he has a huge secret that he's keeping and why he's not being shown in the promo material..... Then we get.. fucking nothing. She goes up the hill, shows him Anakin's lightsaber... cut to credits. Wtf. Not even a bit of dialogue about him recognising her or some shit (so obvious she's his daughter). Kinda sick of movies these days drawing out these questions over several films. Fucking annoying. Enjoyed it otherwise, but still. Really disappointed with Luke's reveal.
Almost as if it's the first movie in a new trilogy. Of course questions are drawn out over several films. They should be

Stuckman's review said it well. Essentially, if you left the movie wanting more, then the ending and film did its job as a first movie in a new saga
 
I agree with you here, but I'm also left wondering what the point of the Not-Death Star was. It's a bigger, more powerful death star that gets taken out by some other characters while Rey and Finn fight Kylo Ren. I don't think the movie needed the scene where it was destroyed because it's such a powerful thing but also completely insignificant.

The point: Remove the Republic for the trilogy, setting up a new conflict. And to provide a sense of immense danger for the Resistance.
Once it had done its job, it had to be disposed, world-building-wise, because otherwise it would tip the balance of power too much.
 
Wow....
Some harsh critics out there over this film so far.

I haven't seen it yet, but I'll say this.

If you love brunette's, and you haven't been on a date in 10 years, and you meet a hot brunette who's single ( and for some reason actually LIKES you ) and you take her out on a date, are you going to come home and bitch that she's not what you thought she should be, because she's still a brunette, and she may have said somethings that might have been a little predictable, but damned she was pretty when she said those predictable things?

This is frigging Star Wars, people...you're wanting WAYYYY too much outta this.
Can't you just enjoy it?

I 'm one of the world's biggest SW fans, and was there from day 1 in 77, but I learned my lesson well from the Prequels.
I'm just going to enjoy the SHIT out of this movie, and like it! : )
 
The point: Remove the Republic for the trilogy, setting up a new conflict. And to provide a sense of immense danger for the Resistance.
Once it had done its job, it had to be disposed, world-building-wise, because otherwise it would tip the balance of power too much.

Alternatively: Because everything the main characters of the OT fought so hard for was apparently able to be destroyed by the power of space lasers, thus rendering the achievements of the OT moot.
 
the ending was bullshit. Mark Hammil said something along the lines that he has a huge secret that he's keeping and why he's not being shown in the promo material..... Then we get.. fucking nothing. She goes up the hill, shows him Anakin's lightsaber... cut to credits. Wtf. Not even a bit of dialogue about him recognising her or some shit (so obvious she's his daughter). Kinda sick of movies these days drawing out these questions over several films. Fucking annoying. Enjoyed it otherwise, but still. Really disappointed with Luke's reveal.
So you don't like basic telling of plot over the course of multiple chapters?
 
Alternatively: Because everything the main characters of the OT fought so hard for was apparently able to be destroyed by the power of space lasers, thus rendering the achievements of the OT moot.

The weapon destroyed ONE system.
Hardly everything.
It was said it was only just operational as well, so it sure wasn't the reason the First Order existed in the first place.

I actually didn't like the explosion for the star killer. It kind of indulged in the grandeur of the planet blowing up. I would have rathered a quick kaboom.

It got turned into a new star. It didn't really blow up...
 
The point: Remove the Republic for the trilogy, setting up a new conflict. And to provide a sense of immense danger for the Resistance.
Once it had done its job, it had to be disposed, world-building-wise, because otherwise it would tip the balance of power too much.

I think they could have just disabled the gun or something. It just feels wrong to me that the First Order's most powerful weapon was destroyed so easily and with such little fanfare.
 
Knew this was coming.

I've given this score like 5 listens today, and I feel like Williams just doesn't do this kind of score so well anymore, PLUS Giacchino is so tapped into Abrams, and knows how to pull that extra emotion out of what he's doing onscreen, plus he's a fucking WICKED mimic (that Incredibles score of his is the best Bond score in the last 25 years, easy) that I think whatever Giacchino would have done with this pictures mixtape/greatest hits flavor would actually have fit better than what Williams went for.

It's a good score. Don't get me wrong. I like it for what it does. But I think maybe Abrams should have given Michael and his puntastic titles a call.
 
Wow....
Some harsh critics out there over this film so far.

I haven't seen it yet, but I'll say this.

If you love brunette's, and you haven't been on a date in 10 years, and you meet a hot brunette who's single ( and for some reason actually LIKES you ) and you take her out on a date, are you going to come home and bitch that she's not what you thought she should be, because she's still a brunette, and she may have said somethings that might have been a little predictable, but damned she was pretty when she said those predictable things?

This is frigging Star Wars, people...you're wanting WAYYYY too much outta this.
Can't you just enjoy it?

I 'm one of the world's biggest SW fans, and was there from day 1 in 77, but I learned my lesson well from the Prequels.
I'm just going to enjoy the SHIT out of this movie, and like it! : )
Nope. I enjoyed this silly comment though.
 
Almost as if it's the first movie in a new trilogy. Of course questions are drawn out over several films. They should be

Stuckman's review said it well. Essentially, if you left the movie wanting more, then the ending and film did its job as a first movie in a new saga

Phantom Menace didn't have this level of 'lol come back next time' questions. Surely a film should be one cohesive story. This felt like an ESB cliffhanger, nothing was really wrapped up. Leia and Rey's hug? Can no one who works on Star Wars ever possess the ability to write good dialogue?

I don't mind unsawered questions but there's teasing and leaving stuff for the next movie, and then there's that. I felt like I learnt very little. Kylo Ren heritage confirmation was cool but outside of that? Sigh

Mark Hamill was clear that people should not get hyped about Luke, that he wouldn't have a big role in the film. And he was right.

I was well aware that that one scene with Luke is all we'd get, but him removing his hood and that's it just felt like a fuck you.

So you don't like basic telling of plot over the course of multiple chapters?

I'm perfectly fine with that. But each movie should stand on it's own. Ironically, A New Hope is one of the only films to achieve this perfectly yet it's the 4th chapter in the series (and yeah, I'm aware that's because it was the first one and sequels weren't guaranteed). Although I think Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith achieve it as well.
 
Was it me or were the first two acts of the film basically "scene" -> "not-Empire arrive and screw stuff up" -> "scene"
Don't really see how that's a complaint. Boiling film plots down to things this simple always look bad.
Also, was it me or did Kylo Ren have the capacity to teleport at will? He was badly wounded, but managed to ambush Reye in the forest in the final act.00
Force jump and force speed probably.
Also, wasn't it a bit of an omega-tier coincidence that the forest planet had the the Resistance base on it when Han only landed there to hand them off to people who could get them to the Resistance?
They were different planets weren't they? After Leia arrives, there's another shot of the Falcon flying to another planet.
Also, why should I care about the Republic being nuked? We never see them in this movie other than the being nuked bit, which is also a rip off of ANH.
I agree that it didn't have the impact they wanted, but it was mainly to show the threat of the weapon. Say it with me now: Like in A New Hope.
Also, if the not-Empire had a giant evil space laser which could obliterate the New Republic homeworld, couldn't they just bloodlessly take over the New Republic? They can kill them at will, and they just nuked a major city world place.
Where do you get that implication from?
Also, why are most of the character backstories either not-existent or just told to us?
Not really true at all. You learn quite a bit about the main characters. Enough to realise their arcs at least.
Also, why bother have Poe 'die' when the X-Wing crashes when it's not only incredibly obvious that he's not going to have died (Hey, Finn, you found the jacket the dude was wearing OUTSIDE OF THE SHIP, SANS BLOOD OR BODY PARTS.) but it's actually way more interesting if he and Finn buddy up.
Probably to push Rey and Finn closer together quickly. Maybe coulda been handled better.
Also, if Finn was programmed from birth to be a soldier, why did he actually decide not to be evil? Act of God willed it?
He didn't have the guts for it and after he decided to run Poe and Rey pushed him in a particular direction.
Also, if the giant map that R2-D2 has is just the map of the galaxy, how on earth does it make sense that the fragment of map that BB-8 has is unknown?
It's an unknown region of the galaxy.
Also, how does the Empire apparently have all of the rest of the map, if the not-Empire managed to get it? If the Empire was destroyed before Luke went into hiding, how could Empire archives give them the rest of the map?
They assume he's hiding at an ancient Jedi temple like Leia and Han do. The Empire probably had it from the Jedi archives.
Also, why does R2-D2 only have all of the map but one bit?
To make it harder to find him.
Also, how did the map fragment actually come into the possession of the old man from the Civilisation V cinematic, and what is he doing in this movie?
Doesn't really matter. He's an ally who found it he dies/
Also, how did Finn manage to wander through a totally empty desert and manage to find his way to a settlement?
They were probably heading that direction anyway. Poe was looking for BB-8.
Oh man, this movie's plot...
Hope I got you to enjoy the film a bit more.
 
The weapon destroyed ONE system.
Hardly everything.
It was said it was only just operational as well, so it sure wasn't the reason the First Order existed in the first place.

Apparently it also nuked the entire Republic fleet. There's nothing in this movie that hints at the Republic being any more than one system.
 
Phantom Menace didn't have this level of 'lol come back next time' questions. Surely a film should be one cohesive story. This felt like an ESB cliffhanger, nothing was really wrapped up. Leia and Rey's hug? Can no one who works on Star Wars ever possess the ability to write good dialogue?

I don't mind unsawered questions but there's teasing and leaving stuff for the next movie, and then there's that. I felt like I learnt very little. Kylo Ren heritage confirmation was cool but outside of that? Sigh

But the entire point of the prequel trilogy was to show Anakin's transformation to Darth Vader and that certainly didn't happen in Phantom Menace
 
Just got home from seeing it. It's 3am, and I'm still taking it in, so I'll imagine my views will change and adapt. I'm due to see it again in 12 hours, so I'll get a chance to explore it a bit more.

Overall, I loved it. It's the film Star Wars needs, going into a new trilogy. They basically condensed 4-6 into one story, showcasing the new generation of fans what makes Star Wars what it is. It just about stayed on the right side of call backs, though there were a lot. I never felt fatigued with it, and I was suprised about the things that weren't what I was expecting, and yet I loved in a different way than I thought I would.

Case in point, Kylo Ren. I thought he'd be this devote Vader groupie badass, but instead we got something far more interesting. Driver was great IMO, and I like this insight into a dark side user from a slightly different angle. Instead of viewing the dark side as the temptation, he sees the light as the thing he needs to be wary of. He's raw, and emotional, but it felt far more chaotic and well handled compared to dark side Anakin.

Ridley, whom I had doubts about, nailed it. Boyega was far more comedic than I thought he was, but I loved Finn as a character.

It felt like Star Wars, which is great. I don't mind the things they didn't explain, but I also felt like they showcased stuff that didn't need showcasing. Snoke shouldn't have been so prominent; they didn't NEED to shout about him, and he didn't need that sort of exposure. I felt the annihilation of the Republic systems was odd too; it's not as straight forward as the destruction of Alderaan, because that doesn't have a massive effect on the galaxy as a whole (apart from striking fear into all who oppose the empire). More should have been made of the impact of that attack.

It felt a bit....messy in places. No where near as simple or straightforward as ANH, but then it had a lot to accomplish. I said before I saw it, that it had to tie the OT generation, the PT generation and a new generation entirely together in a near a package to go forward into 8 and 9, and I think it did a great job at juggling all those balls. It dropped a couple at times, but on the whole it was thoroughly enjoyable. My knee jerk reaction is that I prefer it to ANH, but it probably stands behind it in terms of viewing strictly as a piece of cinema, and not an entry into a massive franchise like this (if that makes sense).

There were only two things I actively dislike; Gleeson'a accent (apart from the rally speech, that was awesome), and Poe's final run on the oscillator was a bit much.

I don't think for a second Finn will be force sensitive, and never thought that going in anyway. I was sure Rey would be a Skywalker, but I think there's enough wiggle room to allow her to be someone else, say a Kenobi. I do think though, that there's a suppression of her heritage in the character, and the awakening is very literal in her case. She's turning over bits of the puzzle throughout the film, and whilst the final scene was a bit awkward, it felt like she was committing herself to Luke as a student of something she already knows.

I also hope with Kylo, that he continues his battle with the light, and views it as an evil influence. I don't really want a redemption arc with him, because it's when he's being tormented that it's most interesting, and from a completely different angle to what we've seen before. I loved the idea they played with that he's been allowed to roam the First Order as the attack dog, but really he's just an unstable kid who has been frying ants with a magnifying class. Whilst on paper it looks like Finn (and to a certain extent Rey, though more was made of her "waking up") shouldn't hold a candle to him, you can see the emotion in the character and how rocked he is by Han's death (loved that scene by the way; was expecting it obviously, but still got nervous).

I'm kinda rambling, so I'm just going to go to sleep and see it again tomorrow. Star Wars is back!!
 
Oh, I didn't catch that. That makes more sense I guess. Thanks.

My brother didn't either. I was surprised.

But yeah, it implodes, and it hasn't used up the energy that it drew from the star. So what happens? The energy gets released but the mass of it seems to form it as a star again.
Neat, IMO.
I was fearing we'd get one of those boring shockwaves again.
 
Just got home from seeing it. It's 3am, and I'm still taking it in, so I'll imagine my views will change and adapt. I'm due to see it again in 12 hours, so I'll get a chance to explore it a bit more.

Overall, I loved it. It's the film Star Wars needs, going into a new trilogy. They basically condensed 4-6 into one story, showcasing the new generation of fans what makes Star Wars what it is. It just about stayed on the right side of call backs, though there were a lot. I never felt fatigued with it, and I was suprised about the things that weren't what I was expecting, and yet I loved in a different way than I thought I would.

Case in point, Kylo Ren. I thought he'd be this devote Vader groupie badass, but instead we got something far more interesting. Driver was great IMO, and I like this insight into a dark side user from a slightly different angle. Instead of viewing the dark side as the temptation, he sees the light as the thing he needs to be wary of. He's raw, and emotional, but it felt far more chaotic and well handled compared to dark side Anakin.

Ridley, whom I had doubts about, nailed it. Boyega was far more comedic than I thought he was, but I loved Finn as a character.

It felt like Star Wars, which is great. I don't mind the things they didn't explain, but I also felt like they showcased stuff that didn't need showcasing. Snoke shouldn't have been so prominent; they didn't NEED to shout about him, and he didn't need that sort of exposure. I felt the annihilation of the Republic systems was odd too; it's not as straight forward as the destruction of Alderaan, because that doesn't have a massive effect on the galaxy as a whole (apart from striking fear into all who oppose the empire). More should have been made of the impact of that attack.

It felt a bit....messy in places. No where near as simple or straightforward as ANH, but then it had a lot to accomplish. I said before I saw it, that it had to tie the OT generation, the PT generation and a new generation entirely together in a near a package to go forward into 8 and 9, and I think it did a great job at juggling all those balls. It dropped a couple at times, but on the whole it was thoroughly enjoyable. My knee jerk reaction is that I prefer it to ANH, but it probably stands behind it in terms of viewing strictly as a piece of cinema, and not an entry into a massive franchise like this (if that makes sense).

There were only two things I actively dislike; Gleeson'a accent (apart from the rally speech, that was awesome), and Poe's final run on the oscillator was a bit much.

I don't think for a second Finn will be force sensitive, and never thought that going in anyway. I was sure Rey would be a Skywalker, but I think there's enough wiggle room to allow her to be someone else, say a Kenobi. I do think though, that there's a suppression of her heritage in the character, and the awakening is very literal in her case. She's turning over bits of the puzzle throughout the film, and whilst the final scene was a bit awkward, it felt like she was committing herself to Luke as a student of something she already knows.

I also hope with Kylo, that he continues his battle with the light, and views it as an evil influence. I don't really want a redemption arc with him, because it's when he's being tormented that it's most interesting, and from a completely different angle to what we've seen before. I loved the idea they played with that he's been allowed to roam the First Order as the attack dog, but really he's just an unstable kid who has been frying ants with a magnifying class. Whilst on paper it looks like Finn (and to a certain extent Rey, though more was made of her "waking up") shouldn't hold a candle to him, you can see the emotion in the character and how rocked he is by Han's death (loved that scene by the way; was expecting it obviously, but still got nervous).

I'm kinda rambling, so I'm just going to go to sleep and see it again tomorrow. Star Wars is back!!


You did a great job putting together your thoughts thanks for the review!
 
Phantom Menace didn't have this level of 'lol come back next time' questions. Surely a film should be one cohesive story. This felt like an ESB cliffhanger, nothing was really wrapped up. Leia and Rey's hug? Can no one who works on Star Wars ever possess the ability to write good dialogue?
Lot's of great dialogue in here imo. The Kasdan is strong.
 
Don't really see how that's a complaint. Boiling film plots down to things this simple always look bad.

I'm not boiling it down to simplicity, I'm pointing out that the structure is quite repetitive in the first two acts:

Poe gets map from old man. Empire attack and shoot up the place.
Map goes to Raye. Empire attack and shoot up the place.
-End of first act-
Intermission: Han finds Falcon, mooks find Han. Mooks killed by token monster.
Gang go to forest planet. Empire attack and shoot up the place.
- End of second act -

What.
How the fuck are you so literal minded? Star Wars is a FUCKING BIG GALAXY.

Does the movie ever actually say there's more than one system controlled by the Republic? Does it ever show this?

Maybe I missed something - but according to the movie, they just nuked the Senate, the capital and the entire fleet. The Republic is dead regardless, thus rendering the achievements of the characters in the OT totally moot.
 
The first time we saw Snoke and his huge fuck-off size, I was blown away

and then it turned out he was only giant because it's a hologram. He still looks awesome though
 
So just got home, thought it was fantastic, loved Kylo Ren and Poe Dameron.

So glad I watched the midnight showing, being spoiled about Han Solo's death would have pissed me off
 
My brother didn't either. I was surprised.

But yeah, it implodes, and it hasn't used up the energy that it drew from the star. So what happens? The energy gets released but the mass of it seems to form it as a star again.
Neat, IMO.
I was fearing we'd get one of those boring shockwaves again.

Yeah, that's rad alright. But man. I love me them shockwaves.
 
I'm not boiling it down to simplicity, I'm pointing out that the structure is quite repetitive in the first two acts:

So?

HOW WELL does it do what it's doing is the question. Or did you stop caring about how it got done the second you realized what it was doing?

The idea people being chased by the First Order would continue to be chased because they weren't caught yet doesn't seem particularly out of bounds. Especially if the character building that occurs during the course of those chases (and the moments of respite between) is good and interesting.

But Trek 09 is the better movie!

TELL DE TROOF
 
I agree with you here, but I'm also left wondering what the point of the Not-Death Star was. It's a bigger, more powerful death star that gets taken out by some other characters while Rey and Finn fight Kylo Ren. I don't think the movie needed the scene where it was destroyed because it's such a powerful thing but also completely insignificant.

Of course it's insignificant compared to the power of the force!
 
I've given this score like 5 listens today, and I feel like Williams just doesn't do this kind of score so well anymore, PLUS Giacchino is so tapped into Abrams, and knows how to pull that extra emotion out of what he's doing onscreen, plus he's a fucking WICKED mimic (that Incredibles score of his is the best Bond score in the last 25 years, easy) that I think whatever Giacchino would have done with this pictures mixtape/greatest hits flavor would actually have fit better than what Williams went for.

It's a good score. Don't get me wrong. I like it for what it does. But I think maybe Abrams should have given Michael and his puntastic titles a call.

I haven't heard it beyond a couple cues in the 60 Minutes segment, but judging from the reactions to the score so far throughout the internet (namely the fact that nobody is talking about it really), I imagine yours will eventually be the general consensus in a couple months.

Sometimes I feel like Giacchino tries too hard, but Williams hasn't been at the top of his blockbuster score game for a while now. This will be an interesting conversation to have after the wave of hype over Williams' involvement dissipates.
 
I'm glad you see my point that the movie uses the same plot device multiple times.

It's not "the same plot device multiple times." It's just the one "plot device." They're being chased by the armed forces of an entire government.

Or would you consider Empire Strikes Back to be "multiple plot devices" as the Falcon leaves Hoth, flees into an Asteroid Field. flees out of an Asteroid Field, flees into Cloud City, and flees from it? Are those "plot devices?"

You're kinda coming off like a bit of a dilettante here, really. I'm not sure you quite understand the things you're attempting to criticize, you just seized on the fact you noticed some things, and by dint of the fact you noticed them, they must be bad. Which isn't necessarily a criticism of the film at all, but kind of a shot at yourself, if you really think about it.

Now, if you'd suggested that they'd handled any of the characterization, editing, direction, acting, badly in the course of going on these chases, then there'd be something to work with. But right now all you've really said is "The people who are being chased keep running because they haven't been caught yet."

Well, okay.
 
I thought it was a superb joke.
They've known each other for... i don't know, 40-45 years and only know he tries out the gun?
Hilarious!
One of the funniest jokes in the film IMO.

For all the stick people give Ford outside of the movies for seeming 'disconnected', he gave his all in the movie, loved his performance.
 
I missed the dramatic John Williams music during the bridge scene and fate of Han Solo (JW should have made a dramatic music track like order 66 for that scene).

Also no epic Duel music like Return of the Jedi Final fight music or Battle of Heroes, Duel of Fates.
 
I won't give a half asked review of episode 7 as it's nearly 4am and I'm shattered.

What I will do is predict stuff for episode 8.
I think Rey and Kylo Renn are brother and sister (because of the leia hug) and I think luke will train Rey to become a jedi.

That being said, I also think he is actually the man behind the Snoak hologram and will also train Kylo.

I think he'll make them fight and pick the best as his apprentice as a new sith Lord. I'm so convinced luke will turn out to be a baddie it's unbelievable.
 
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