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[Granadier]

Where did you read that?

The original article I read that dated him at older than Maz was a tad misleading it seems. It's leading heavily on a quote from Andy Serkis

“No, he’s a new character in this universe. It is very much a newly-introduced character,” Serkis says. “He’s aware of what’s gone on, in the respect that he has been around and is aware of prior events. I think it’d be fair to say that he is aware of the past to a great degree.”

Bolded is where I think they got the "older than Maz" assumption from. It could be stretch, but it could also mean that he really is that old. He comes off as a shadow puppet to a degree beyond Palpatine.

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/11/12/star-wars-andy-serkis-supreme-leader-snoke

 

[Omega Ultimus]

He's the new Wedge. He just can't die.

Oh, wow, I didn't even realize he was in ESB and Jedi.

I hope Poe gets a bigger spotlight role than him!

 

[UraMallas]

One of my biggest question coming out of this: Can/Will Ben Solo be redeemed?

I mean killing Han Solo seemed to seal the deal here right?
Even if they ever capture him alive, I'm pretty certain that the Republic will execute Ben for all he has done up to this point, which even Leia won't have the authority over such matter.

Also, when Snoke said "complete his training", does that imply that Ben now gets a Darth title and becomes a full-fledged Sith Lord?

I am extremely intrigued in what they will have in store for Ben going forward...

My gut says the type of character they are trying to portray Ben as being is a character that will not get redemption.

 

[JB1981]

Maskless Adam Driver at the end as he's fighting Rey super cringe. Luke is just one big macguffin. That level of teasing really got to me by the end. Why do we have to sit through one movie to see the "real" story? This isn't an introductory film, this is a sequel

 

[bounchfx]

Loved it.

stuff that stood out to me most:

how fucking much blue and red lighting was used. jesus fucking christ. It was a pretty movie, and I'm sure they're playing off the lightsabers colors, but I felt that a contrasting lighting environment was almost overused.

almost all of the locations and effects were fucking AWESOME. the only one I was 'eh' on was the short lady (hans friend), though I did like her, and the new supreme leader, who was honestly a complete joke to me. I didn't like how he looked, the graphics looked too obviously cg, and his design and attitude were all meh to me. we'll see how I feel about him in future films but right now it's like... you're following THIS guy?

I really liked all the designs. Like holy fuck, talk about taking the original trilogy's design methodology and adapting it forward in a believable way (unlike whatever the fuck trainwreck was happening in the prequels). Genuinely impressed by a lot of the choices in clothing/buildings/ships, etc.

I feel like the lead up to the new planetary destroyer death star thing happened super fast, pacing wise it felt a bit too quick but it was still really great.

I appreciated the call-backs to the previous films. Someone was right when they said this was pretty much episodes IV and V combined. I think there might have been a litttttle too many but at the same time, I honestly think they handled it well. None of them really felt forced to me outside of how many obvious occurrences there were. But fuck it, was dope.

LOVED LOVED LOVED luke's look. He looks like a fucking baller ass Obiwan 2.0 with his own skywalka flava
- - -
as for rey, I like the theory that she's not really his son so much as an early student prodigy. If she was his son though, that would actually explain her insane power to me just as much if not more. she's gonna be a fuckin adept.

I also really liked Finn. Good humor in this movie, although obviously modern humor. I can't wait to see how he progresses as a character. I foresee a lot of growth in his future. Stoked.

carrie fisher aged badly , her voice weirded me out. she did a good job though.

and lastly, I think the way they handled Han and his end was good. I feel like it would have been a cop out if his son just gave up and was like 'oh dadddy ive been so bad'. This builds his son's character even more and shows us just how much he wants power/to prove himself worthy more of the dark side. Though part of me was wishing he would become a good guy early on and another baddie would show up in VIII.

The music was fucking awesome.

9.5/10

 

[Sectorseven]

Poe just showing up back at the base felt kinda...weird. He's capable of it, and he's a character I want to show up more (a bit disappointed that he didn't get more dialogue), but the explanation felt offhanded. It's a super minor nitpick, obviously; I was just wondering if anyone else thought it was awkwardly done?

That bothered me too. They could have shown that visually. Maybe instead of the TIE crashing and them blacking out, Poe blasts Finn out in an escape pod, saying "I'll draw their fire, you have to complete the mission" or something, I don't know.

 

[Bobby Roberts]

Also, maybe the biggest hints that Rey is a Skywalker:

Her vision when she touches that saber - complete with Obi-Wan/Yoda voices
Her victories tend to come with the Star Wars theme (Luke's Theme) attached.
The music tracked in from Star Wars when she catches the saber is the same music that plays when Luke decides he's going to go with Ben, as he watches the homestead burn.

 

[UraMallas]

I don't. I want a shot of Ren & Hux (and maybe w/ Phasma onboard) in a shuttle for 1-2 seconds as the planet is transforming into a sun. So we know for a fact they got away. Sorta like how you got a shot of Vader in his spaceship for 1-2 seconds after the Death Star blew.

Imagine the end of that movie without that quick shot of him rebalancing and retreating into space. It would seem weird.

Like this does.

You think they died off camera? There was no need for the shot, imo.

 

[foxtrot3d]

I don't understand why you are so fundamentally confused and hung up on this. The fighting force is almost all clone troopers in the PT. They dwindle in number due to any number of reasons and so the Empire ramps up their numbers through any means necessary and so most if not all of their fighting force are not clones. The First Order is implied to be zealots, conscripts and volunteers, (some of them DO have names), forced laborers (FN the sanitation worker), new clones, etc.

For some crazy reason, you are reallly hung up on the baby thing. I don't fucking get it. Literally no one else is talking about this. It's a theory you made up in your head to explain why you hate the stormtrooper killing as if its some sort of violence glorification that is alien to the past 6 movies. You're bizarre and officially done indulging your delusions of what you imagine happened in TFA.

Hux and Finn explicitly state that they kidnap babies and raise them to be Troopers. Finn never even had a name. Were you not paying attention?

 

[rekameohs]

He's the new Wedge. He just can't die.

Man, I hope Poe appears a lot more than Wedge did. He's just great.

 

[Meowster]

Poor Leia's just going to take a beating throughout this trilogy, isn't she? I hope for her sake she can get son back but that ain't looking too likely..

 

[philz]

Gonna be even better to see the salt flow from the bigoted nerds swooning for Rey when she ends up with the slickest motherfucker in the galaxy. That's if racists can even hate on Boyega after seeing him in this. See you in 2 years my dude.

Not to derail, but why is this in this thread?

Overall thought the movie was great, but agree with those who say Kylo getting his ass handed to him by a newb was pretty weak. Not sure why but the Snoke = Plagueis speculation is really compelling for me. Can't wait for the next one.

 

[Mdot]

Just got out and I fucking loved it. Just fun and intense in the ways that the prequels never achieved. It felt like a true SW movie within the first 10 minutes. Definitely worthy of comparison OT quality imo and they set up a great future with characters to care about and some interesting villains. Better than I expected by far.

 

[lastplayed]

I don't. I want a shot of Ren & Hux (and maybe w/ Phasma onboard) in a shuttle for 1-2 seconds as the planet is transforming into a sun. So we know for a fact they got away. Sorta like how you got a shot of Vader in his spaceship for 1-2 seconds after the Death Star blew.

Imagine the end of that movie without that quick shot of him rebalancing and retreating into space. It would seem weird.

Like this does.

I see where you're coming from, but Snoke telling Hux to grab Ren was enough to know they both got out.

 

[Nyanmaruz]

No, they aren't Sith.

Oh really? I know Ben is not a Sith, but he could still potentially become one right? And has it been confirmed that Snoke is not a Sith Lord?

 

[Mr. Smiley]

next film should just be FinnxPoe buddy comedy, with BB-8 in tow

why would you suggest that

now it's all i want

 

[higgsboson1997]

What did you guys think of Poe? I really liked him from the brief amount of screentime he had?

 

[Kagari]

Man, I hope Poe appears a lot more than Wedge did. He's just great.

He needs more screen time for sure. I would have been okay with less Han screen time for more new character screen time.

 

[ZZMitch]

Is the guy who Poe meets at the beginning to get the map fragment anyone from the original series/important at all?

 

[Kin5290]

I can't believe people are saying that the lightsaber duels at the climax were weak. Those lightsaber duels between Ren and Finn and Ren and Rey were amazing, and better even than those of the original trilogy. It looked as though the saber strikes actually had weight to them, and the choreography made it look like two people trying to kill each other with swords, not two people engaged in an elaborate routine of "hit the other guy's oversized glowstick".

Also, Rey is easily the best out of the new characters, followed by Poe. I love how Finn was mooning at her Rey was trying to get shit done the whole time.

Cons: Some of the exposition, particularly that of legacy elements (yadda yadda Millenium Falcon, etc.) was a little weak, and the climax makes too much use of "_______ is a free action", (particularly with Rey's "getting back in touch with the Force" moment, they could have used a time dilation moment or something to show that all this is happening very quickly from a frame of reference that's not her). Finally, I'm a little annoyed that the New Republic is apparently gone, and hope that there are still remnants, particularly fleet assets, that escaped the devastation.

 

[jmelons]

I hope for her sake she can get son back but that ain't looking too likely..

The dude committed patricide. Not sure she would want him back after that.

 

[Mega]

Fuck they better have a compelling story then.

There's a theory that there's a third party further in the shadows than even the Sith and who plays both sides... whoever wins or loses, regardless of the shifts of balance in power, that power persists. Hence the explanation of why it seems like nothing has really changed since the Emperor and Vader died. This being is just continuing on with its plans.

I dunno if it's true, but it's compelling. Reminds of me Starcraft and the true nature of the Zerg.

 

[Tcab96]

So were there any spoilers, prior to the movie's release, we thought very likely to be true recently proven false?

Just a yes or no, please.

 

[A Link to the Past]

Fairly good film. My first impressions are that it feels very much like it belongs in the Star Wars verse, and it might be better than Jedi. Finn is my favourite character.

When the Han death scene came up, I knew exactly what was going to happen (I haven't been following the leaks/rumours/etc.), but I was still feeling really tense.

Is Finn implied to be Force sensitive? I didnt understand how he could pick up a lightsaber out of nowhere and be able to fight in two different scenes.

Liked the film but had some pretty glaring problems with it. I yelled NO!! at that cliffhanger-ass ending in the theater lol

Stormtroopers are showed to have some training with their own weird energy sword thingies, so it's likely that his first use of the lightsaber was more competent than Rey's (who only becomes particularly solid when she taps into her force abilities more).

 

[UraMallas]

I see where you're coming from, but Snoke telling Hux to grab Ren was enough to know they both got out.

Oh, yeah. That too.

 

[Sectorseven]

I kinda hope Rey isn't related to the original cast. Her and Kylo being related just feels kind of, I don't know, obvious? On the nose?

 

[Meowster]

The dude committed patricide. Not sure she would want him back after that.

That's why I said it wasn't looking likely. It's a hard thing to overlook.

 

[jmelons]

Is the guy who Poe meets at the beginning to get the map fragment anyone from the original series/important at all?

He's clearly important, since Luke entrusted him with such an important message. I'm sure they will give him a backstory during Rouge One.

 

[lastplayed]

Oh really? I know Ben is not a Sith, but he could still potentially become one right? And has it been confirmed that Snoke is not a Sith Lord?

Well I suppose you can speculate that Snoke is Sith, but there's nothing to indicate he is.

 

[foxtrot3d]

I can't believe people are saying that the lightsaber duels at the climax were weak. Those lightsaber duels between Ren and Finn and Ren and Rey were amazing, and better even than those of the original trilogy. It looked as though the saber strikes actually had weight to them, and the choreography made it look like two people trying to kill each other with swords, not two people engaged in an elaborate routine of "hit the other guy's oversized glowstick".

Truth.

 

[Prof. Bathtub]

But real talk, both of Giacchino's Trek scores wipe the floor with Williams' TFA one. >_>

I dunno, how did the ID score build on Trek 09? I'm not so certain. Giacchino seems up to the task of incorporating new motifs in with the old, but I can't really recall any original score from him since Ratatouille juggling a lot of motifs. The score as it is was better than I expected. No way was Williams going to deliver anything on par with the previous entrees, but he was a vital link to have.

Anyway, Michael provided some extra voices for the film, so he's still in it.

 

[gutter_trash]

I give it a 7.5/10

It's better than the prequels but it doesn't touch the originals

the thing that was off putting was the cinematography, it was too different and JJ used cold filters which doesn't fit because SW movies were always warm lit.

And what is up with the CG character Mos? Did they really need to create that character?

Mos is the worst of the movie.

Everything Mos said, Leia should have been the one delivering those lines to Rey.

Who the fuck is Mos?

-------

I find also the other thing that was off putting was trying to relate elements of Earth history into that Galaxy like making the New Empire Nazi looking which was weird. Seeing Troopers doing a fist up was odd.

-------


Rey saves the movie. If it wasn't for Rey, then I would have given it a 6. Rey is the main character that drives the story forward.

Finn needs more development. They made him one dimensional. He needs depth. I liked Finn, but he needs more.

Po was cool but was overly too enthusiastic during a war setting lol. but he was cool

BB8 was great, love BB8

New Sith Aprentice Guy... not sure if I feel him. He is surely not likeable

New Sith Lord.... barfff. just like Mos. He is is a complete miss

*somebody needs to make an edited version with Mos erased from the movie

 

[Pineapple]

What did you guys think of Poe? I really liked him from the brief amount of screentime he had?

I thought Poe was great. In fact, I think Poe, Finn, and Rey were all brilliant characters and well acted.

And the team struck gold with BB8 - everything about this little droid is absolutely perfect.

 

[Subpar Spatula]

The scene where Finn and Poe exchange names is the best in the entire movie.

 

[JB1981]

I really don't see where you guys are getting this from.

The film has so many direct parallels to the OT it seems the obvious answer is what we're going to get.

Luke hid her on a desert planet to keep her safe and left her with a trusted old dude to watch over her. You know, just like what happened to him.

Leia embraces her because she knows she's family, not random cadet from Luke's Jedi factory.

Hmmm so Von Sydow is the old dude who watched over her?

 

[A Link to the Past]

I kinda hope Rey isn't related to the original cast. Her and Kylo being related just feels kind of, I don't know, obvious? On the nose?

Yeah. I don't want it to go anywhere further than Han being her father figure.

 

[Matticers]

Just got back from the movie, it was awesome as hell but had some weird things happen in it. Why was Rey suddenly so skilled in the mind trick? It was weird but I ignored it. Also even though I was thinking "How does he know how to use a light saber?" The whole time, Finn going 1v1 with Kylo was awesome. Either way it was a good movie and I'm hyped for the next one.

I think my main question with her wasn't why is she so skilled with it. It was "how does she even know to try that?" I guess she might have heard in the past that jedi can do that? Or just because he was trying to extract information from her? I don't know, maybe I missed something. The fact that she was able to do it wasn't surprising. Once she was able to resist him, it seemed kind of normal for her to try new things like that.

But that lightsaber force pull moment where they're both going for it was predictable as hell. You just knew it was going to her the moment Kylo put his hand out to draw it. lol. Another little knock I have against the movie.

 

[rekameohs]

Finally, I'm a little annoyed that the New Republic is apparently gone, and hope that there are still remnants, particularly fleet assets, that escaped the devastation.

It's pretty convenient that the First Order just immediately wipes out the New Republic to start the new trilogy, but I really like the idea of a power struggle between factions to control the remnants of whatever the Empire left. A lot more than just "now the good guys are in control", at least, so that'll be nice if they go that route.

 

[B_Spooky13]

why @ that helicopter shot at the end tho

reminded me of all those abominable helicopter shots in LOTR

I agree... It should have ended with them staring at each other.. But I'm not going to gripe over it. It was weird but I can understand they wanted a "grand" ending type of thing

 

[jmelons]

And the team struck gold with BB8 - everything about this little droid is absolutely perfect.

Let's just hope Disney doesn't "Minions" the shit out of him; or, it.

 

[Mr Cola]

I dont know much about Rain Johnson but is he considered better hands for the next film? I heard he is both writing and directing.

 

[hirokazu]

These jedi don't look or feel powerful. Ren using the force to push and pull people is awesome. I wish that was incorporated more into the duels similar to how KOTOR's first trailer did it. That has good choreography, easy to follow, and is quite the visual piece. Jedi and Sith in this appear to be jobbers when they fight saber to saber.

None of the duels in this movie featured true Jedi or Sith.

 

[Whaleman]

Not to derail, but why is this in this thread?

Overall thought the movie was great, but agree with those who say Kylo getting his ass handed to him by a newb was pretty weak. Not sure why but the Snoke = Plagueis speculation is really compelling for me. Can't wait for the next one.

I didn't find it weird that she won against Ben after all he was seriously hurt by that point and had bled a lot. You guys also keep forgetting that the force is not simply a tool. The force has a will of its own. It searches for balance and in that moment it decided to empower her to win the fight. This has happened several times in Star Wars.

 

[golem]

So is Ren's full name Obi Wan Solo?

 

[phazedplasma]

I dont know much about Rain Johnson but is he considered better hands for the next film? I heard he is both writing and directing.

I have more faith in him than any director alive today.

 

[Tabris]

When is Episode VIII scheduled? 1 or 2 years from now?

 

[CloudWolf]

Is Finn implied to be Force sensitive? I didnt understand how he could pick up a lightsaber out of nowhere and be able to fight in two different scenes.

Liked the film but had some pretty glaring problems with it. I yelled NO!! at that cliffhanger-ass ending in the theater lol

A lightsaber is just a weapon, everyone can use one.

I dont know much about Rain Johnson but is he considered better hands for the next film? I heard he is both writing and directing.

He's a love it or hate it kind of writer/director. I'm personally pretty worried since I didn't like Looper at all. In fact, it was probably one of my least favorite movies that year.

 

[JB1981]

What did you guys think of Poe? I really liked him from the brief amount of screentime he had?

Head and shoulders the best actor in the movie

 

[Chuckie]

Just saw the movie. I loved it!

I really dig the new characters, Rey, Finn, Poe and Kylo a lot.

Captain Phasma was.... underwhelming..they didn't use her at all.

I was really disappointed with Snoke though. I said to my brother that he looked like a fucked up Gollum (only to find out later that he actually was Gollum!)
Hopefully it will look better when you see him for real.

But besides that I really enjoyed it a lot!


PS: BB-8 is awesome!

 

[MetatronM]

I like that Kylo Ren's character is LITERALLY "shitty bootleg Darth Vader" as an actual plot point. I actually feel like that makes him even more believable as a villain and will go far towards his inevitable development into becoming an actual badass as the trilogy goes on, as opposed to the try hard "I really wanna use the Dark Side" kid that he is in this movie.

To me, the movie's major weakness is pacing. The entire first act is terrific, and they were really smart in allowing the new characters to carry the movie entirely on their own throughout that whole opening third. Things start to accelerate once Han and Chewie are introduced, but then for the last third or so of the movie things are just moving way too fast, basically from the moment we meet Leia on. Jumping from too many plot points too quickly, characters magically catching up to one another illogically just because they have to in order for the plot to continue, and so on. The film doesn't take any time to breathe in these sequences, nor do they really fill in any of the missing pieces such as, I don't know, "who the fuck are the First Order anyway?" Or "what the hell is a Supreme Leader Snoke?"

I suspect Episode VIII is going to have much more of this exposition to fill in a lot of these blanks.


Now, having said all that about the film's flaws...it was pretty fun, right? And most importantly, all the major new characters are super likable and/or entertaining, which is a MASSIVE step up in and of itself from the prequel trilogy. Finn, Rey, BB-8, Kylo Ren, Poe, etc. All characters I can't wait to see more of. That's a good sign.

This movie was sort of like a "Greatest Hits of the Original Trilogy," and you could certainly do far worse than that. I feel like they did this not just for the sake of nostalgia but also to allow the rest of the trilogy to go in its own direction. It's easy to forget that this was ultimately just the opening act of a three part story.