So some random thought about this movie...
- It's so fitting that Kylo Ren is a devout follower of his grandfather, in the context of the prequels. He is petulant, angry, over confident... this dude is 100% the descendant of Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker.
- Speaking of Kylo, they actually cut the bit in the movie where he slams his foot down and unleashes his saber during the fight with Finn. I could not believe it.
- Was pretty annoyed at how lazy the script was. The Falcon just happened to be on that planet? With everything else happening there? Maz the Cantina owner also just happens to own a storeroom of antiques including Luke's saber? It's a bit too much.
- I don't agree that this movie feels like the OT. It doesn't, beyond superficial reasons. That's not necessarily bad though, as it should have it's own identity. That being said, once it gets going, its just too much. Action to action to action. I feel there is far too little time for the characters to breathe so that we can really get to know them better, could have used an extra 10 or 15 minutes.
- I don't feel as though they didn't properly establish the state of the universe as well as they could have. There's a new Republic, yet there's a resistance? I mean, doesn't resistance imply they are fighting the people who are in power? Rather than another faction trying to regain power? Again, just a lazy script.
- I love Rey, she is awesome and was immediately endearing as a character. I don't think she just out of nowhere got force powers though. I think she had them before but her abilities were locked away when she was hidden on Jakku. I think story wise she should be Luke's daughter, but I feel they are going for a twist where everyone expects that, but turns out she isn't. I guess we'll see.
- The design for Snoke is a huge disappointment. I don't feel like the design belongs in this universe, and was wishing for something more esoteric. A missed opportunity for showcasing something new and not seen before.
- For all the wanking about practical effects, the movie still has tons of CG, and honestly some of the practical effects should have been CG. That one alien horse thing that the alien who caught BB8 was riding looked and moved worse than anything in the OT.
- Ending was perfect and seeing Luke there, wearing traditional Jedi robes was amazing. Makes one truly exited for Episode 8.
- Lastly, this might just be a form of confirmation bias, but I couldn't help but feel in the back of my mind that I was watching what someone else's vision for Episode 7 was, rather than the true Episode 7.