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[Solo]

The funny thing about the prophecy and the chosen one is that Vader was supposed to bring balance to the force. Which he did when he redeemed himself.

But said balance lasted like way less than 30 years. What a crappy prophecy. "Anakin, you will bring balance to the force. For 25 years, anyway. Then we are all boned again."

 

[jstripes]

- Kylo Ren isn't the son of Leia and Han. He is adopted, which explains why he doesn't look his biological parents (black hair, different face features). And may explain why he went bonkers in the Jedi academy with Luke.

The line "He has too much of Vader in him" shoots down that theory in flames.

 

[Blargonaut]

The movie was pretty good overall, but I have a few personal armchair nitpicks off the top of my head:

• Finn's combat scene with the CQC Stormtrooper should have been Finn vs. Phasma there. Since Phasma actually knows Finn, it would've lent more weight to the "TRAITOR!" call-out, and would have given Phasma some much-needed extra screen time. Her character was seriously underutilized.
  
• I really didn't like Han Solo and Chewie suddenly happening upon the Millenium Falcon out of nowhere; that whole encounter felt so contrived just for the sake of getting those characters back into the story. I don't recall any justification whatsoever behind how they tracked and found the Falcon so quickly? This could've been avoided by showing something like a simple scene of some kind of hidden tracking device within the Falcon suddenly remotely-activating after Finn and Rey's getaway from Jakku, perhaps triggered by the hyperdrive's activation. This would have signaled Han and Chewie to come looking, and they could have acknowledged this to Finn and Rey in a simple throwaway line or two. It would have been a neatly concise way to dispel that handwave of an entrance.
  
• If the First Order's whole gimmick is that they learned from the mistakes of the Empire, then why go putting all your eggs in one basket again (apparently) and build an even bigger Death Star in the form of the Starkiller Base? Starkiller Base was just another huge boring weak point.
  
  I would have preferred it if the First Order's primary strength on display was simply being an autonomous battle-hardened armada, a handful of elite and specialized Destroyers armed with experimental tech.; with their select specialty being planet-killing through more subtle and economical means, rather than just another giant gun. The concept of the First Order's founding should have been that they disdain the wastefulness of single superweapons like the Death Star after witnessing that program's spectacular failures, and instead have trained themselves to be masters of using weird experimental and "smaller-scale" doomsday shit; stuff like mass-scale asteroid bombardment via tractor-beam slinging, deploying opaque force fields to block a star's rays from shining on a planet thereby freezing all the inhabitants to death, inducing solar flares, etc.
  
  Basically, I wish the First Order was something like a wandering and secretive Imperial splinter fleet, like a roving band of rogue nuclear submarines, with all their members truly embracing shipboard life and adaptability. For the First Order members, their Destroyers, not any worlds, would be their homes for all their Imperial-indoctrinated life, and so they'd be experts in their handling and thus truly fearsome to engage in ship-to-ship fighting, and this would explain a total apathy towards planet-dwellers?
  
  I dunno, after all this time, something more imaginative for the antagonists would have been nice. It would have been more of a terrifying and novel spectacle to see those New Republic planets simultaneously glassed to death in multiple perfectly-calculated and executed ways that truly highlight the terrifying potential in space-based warfare. But instead, we got Empire Lite and Giant Beam 2.0. If it ain't broke etc. I guess.
  
  It could have been anything else than just another Death Star, I was just really disappointed with Starkiller Base being the crux of the First Order's unveiling. As soon as I saw it appear on screen, I was instantly fatigued.
  
• I wish Kylo Ren was a little more ghostly-pale in complexion; not Kratos-level or something, mind you, but I think this would have made him look a bit more menacing, and could be justified due to him spending so much time in his masked suit, thus keeping the sunlight off his skin for long periods of time, in an effort to emulate Vader as much as possible like the fanboy he is. And it would be a neat little symbolic visual to how haunted he is by his past? Some deep, brooding eyebags would be good too. I dunno, he just looked too friendly to be a villain IMO.
  
• I wish there was a scene showing how Poe Dameron got off Jakku after the crash.
  
• What's with the gross amount of times some character was "furtively talking into radio to inform someone else of the protagonists' whereabouts"? :/

So there's my fanfic, I guess.

 

[pringles]

Where were the Y-Wings when they had to do a bombing run on the oscillator?

Probably gathering dust in some hangar because they suck. Poe Dameron in an X-wing is worth 20 Y-Wings.

 

[Ishida]

Just imagine how much money Mark Hamill made on those 10 seconds.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Really? I thought it was scarier that he just a guy. Not some sort of deformed scary looking creature as siths tend to be. Its easier to think that "oh some scarred up freak or red eyed monster guy is a bad guy", but him just being a normal looking person hits that nerve of the darkside can get to anyone.

scary? I was waiting for his voice to crack when he was confronting Han

"SHUT UP DAD I DON'T WANNA DO MY HOMEWORK GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWD"

 

[Lord of Castamere]

Just realized how dumb the Luke vs Rey lightsaber training argument is.

When was Luke ever trained to use a lightsaber? Off screen by the 60 something Obi on the trip to the Death star(Blaster deflection training doesn't count), or off screen by the 900 year old Yoda who didn't have a lightsaber?

 

[WadiumArcadium]

Was chatting with my friend who also saw this movie and we came with a couple of interesting theories.

- What if Rey is the Chosen One? The one that Anakin was supposed to be, which could explain Rey's ability to do Jedi stuff without training.

- Snoke is actually the same size as Yoda, and thats why they made Snoke CGI because he is actually the same size as Yoda. Everybody thinks he is a giant but the hologram might just be scaled a couple of levels.

- Kylo Ren isn't the son of Leia and Han. He is adopted, which explains why he doesn't look his biological parents (black hair, different face features). And may explain why he went bonkers in the Jedi academy with Luke.

Snoke is about 7 ft according to Serkis.

 

[meanspartan]

You know, it would have been a hell of a lot cooler if Luke had appeared when Finn was knocked out and kicked Kylo's ass six ways from Sunday, instead of Rey doing it and Luke being wasted on a cameo/setup for the next film.

I am so fuckin relieved they DIDNT do this. We don't need to repeat the prequel's fan servicey errors.

 

[shoreu]

Snoke is about 7 ft according to Serkis.

I thought snoke was a Rakattan but he looks nothing like one what the hell is she.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Forgot to mention a time I giggled by myself in the film

When the first order is having that speech with the troops and it's super black white and red.

I looked at my friend like "they better not be Space Nazis"

and then the salute was a fist raised up. We both chuckled.

 

[sphagnum]

I thought Darth Sidious made up that prophecy.

Sidious has nothing to do with the prophecy of the Chosen One, that was an ancient Jedi prophecy that (at least in the old EU) came from the Journal of the Whills.

 

[johancruijff]

I expect that to some extent, he would become his own thing now having "surpassed" Vader, and also because you don't have a lead actor wear a mask all the time. Plus he's scarred now, etc. Although for plastic crap selling reasons, he'll probably wear an helmet in some occasion.

maybe a half mask like the guy from KotFE

 

[-Plasma Reus-]

You know, it would have been a hell of a lot cooler if Luke had appeared when Finn was knocked out and kicked Kylo's ass six ways from Sunday, instead of Rey doing it and Luke being wasted on a cameo/setup for the next film.

This is a bad idea.

 

[Jacksinthe]

Nope.

OK, a majority saw the mirroring. Like 99% of people. There were even memes replacing ANH's story line with the new character names.

Pretty much everyone saw the repetitive mirroring throughout. I didnt read all 20k posts, though. But that's the impression I was left with: everyone saw it as ANH reskinned.

 

[MisterHero]

Probably gathering dust in some hangar because they suck. Poe Dameron in an X-wing is worth 20 Y-Wings.

but the x-wings only carry like 3 proton torpedoes

did they even use torpedoes

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

Poe Dameron and the 20 good X-Wings.

 

[VistraNorrez]

You know, it would have been a hell of a lot cooler if Luke had appeared when Finn was knocked out and kicked Kylo's ass six ways from Sunday, instead of Rey doing it and Luke being wasted on a cameo/setup for the next film.

They could have pulled something like this off if they removed Starkiller Base and kept the plot solely focused on finding Luke. If the First Order and the Resistance/Republic discovered the location at the same time, it would have been a race to find Luke instead of another countdown to destroy the big weapon. Both sides could have arrived at Luke's planet around the same time and a similar spaceship battle to what we got could occur above the planet while Rey and Kylo raced/dueled to find Luke.

Kylo (apparently) defeats Rey and goes on to find Luke. Luke would feel as if the end was near. He gives up, drops his saber like in RotJ. Elsewhere the Resistance/Republic would appear to be losing to the First Order. The classic good guys look like they are about to be defeated. Then Rey shows up to Kylo about to kill Luke, yells "No " and tosses Luke his old saber back. This reinvigorates Luke and he goes on to defeat Kylo. Sort of the opposite of Kenobi sacrificing himself in ANH. Meanwhile the Resistance/Republic finds a weakness in the FO fleet and wins the space battle. Poe and Finn, who were fighting in the space battle, fly in and pick up Luke and Rey. But Kylo Ren is not killed, Snoke shows up and takes him away much like Vader at the end of RotS.

I know this would mean earlier parts of the film would have to be changed too (Hand would still need to killed by Kylo), and I have ideas for that if anyone would like to read them. This is just a bit of fun as I'm pretty happy with what we got.

 

[Estocolmo]

The line "He has too much of Vader in him" shoots down that theory in flames.

Thats what everyone thinks, because officially he is known as the son of Leia and Han Solo. Besides, I think he lives the lie that he is the outcome of Leia and Han Solo just so he can have a connection to Darth Vader, claiming to be his grandson.

Snoke is about 7 ft according to Serkis.

Thats what they want you to believe Snoke is? If the Jedis have tiny masters, why wouldn't the Siths have one aswell?

 

[Nostremitus]

Nope.

OK, a majority saw the mirroring. Like 99% of people. There were even memes replacing ANH's story line with the new character names.

Pretty much everyone saw the repetitive mirroring throughout. I didnt read all 20k posts, though. But that's the impression I was left with: everyone saw it as ANH reskinned.

The first thing my wife said after the movie ended... "I didn't know they were remaking A New Hope."




Also, Snoke is Darth Jar Jar after barely surviving the Death Star explosion. His ears were burned off and his face mangled. The smoke inhalation damaged his vocal cords giving him a throatier sound.

Spoiler

In my headcanon.

 

[bananafactory]

[*]I really didn't like Han Solo and Chewie suddenly happening upon the Millenium Falcon out of nowhere; that whole encounter felt so contrived just for the sake of getting those characters back into the story. I don't recall any justification whatsoever behind how they tracked and found the Falcon so quickly? This could've been avoided by showing something like a simple scene of some kind of hidden tracking device within the Falcon suddenly remotely-activating after Finn and Rey's getaway from Jakku, perhaps triggered by the hyperdrive's activation. This would have signaled Han and Chewie to come looking, and they could have acknowledged this to Finn and Rey in a simple throwaway line or two. It would have been a neatly concise way to dispel that handwave of an entrance.

I don't understand why every thing that happens in a movie needs someone to explain or show to the audience how it happened.

My impression was that Han has been hanging out around there running jobs and the only reason he didn't pick up the Falcon sooner is because it was dormant (Rey even says it hasn't flown in years). As soon as the ship fired up he probably got it on his tracker. It's not a hard leap to make, they don't need to waste screentime on that

 

[meanspartan]

OK, a majority saw the mirroring. Like 99% of people. There were even memes replacing ANH's story line with the new character names.

Pretty much everyone saw the repetitive mirroring throughout. I didnt read all 20k posts, though. But that's the impression I was left with: everyone saw it as ANH reskinned.

That was my first reaction but after seeing it again, while it is still a bit lazy to use yet another Death Star, in ANH the climax was all about blowing up the death star. In this film, it is just a plot device to get to the REAL climactic confrontation.

Yes, it does borrow heavily from ANH. But people are understating the substantial differences.

 

[Sulik2]

Just saw it a second time I swear you hear an Alec Guiness sound alike say Rey during the force vision.

 

[Prompto]

Just saw it a second time I swear you hear an Alec Guiness sound alike say Rey during the force vision.

You heard correctly.

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/12/20/jj-abrams-reveals-obi-wan-and-yoda-are-star-wars-force-awakens

 

[Ether_Snake]

The funny thing about the prophecy and the chosen one is that Vader was supposed to bring balance to the force. Which he did when he redeemed himself.

But said balance lasted like way less than 30 years. What a crappy prophecy. "Anakin, you will bring balance to the force. For 25 years, anyway. Then we are all boned again."

I don't think so. I think this is what this story is about actually. The force is precisely trying to remain balanced, and this is why Rey is going overpowered and all that. I'm sure Luke looking for the first temple is him looking for answers about this. The Force Awakens, the line that was cut from the trailer "an awakening in the force, both the light and the dark", etc.

 

[brandonh83]

Just saw it a second time I swear you hear an Alec Guiness sound alike say Rey during the force vision.

He did. Ewan also had a line.

 

[bananafactory]

Just saw it a second time I swear you hear an Alec Guiness sound alike say Rey during the force vision.

It's confirmed. They recorded lines from Ewan for that but JJ used an altered line from Alec saying "afraid" and cut it to say "Rey"

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

The Millenium Falcon "garbage"gag and the BB 8 Thumbs up got the most amount of laughs out of my audience. We cheered at Han and Luke, but that was it.

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

I don't understand why every thing that happens in a movie needs someone to explain or show to the audience how it happened.

Not everything needs an explanation. Some things do.

JJ's just terrible at differentiating between the two

 

[DarkHeartedKill]

scary? I was waiting for his voice to crack when he was confronting Han

"SHUT UP DAD I DON'T WANNA DO MY HOMEWORK GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWD"

"THIS IS FOR NOT LETTING ME GO TO THE CONCERT, DAD! GAWD YOU RUINED MY LIFE!"

 

[El Topo]

Didn't they specifically mention some tracking device that one of the owners had installed? I could've sworn they mention that they caught some signal and that if they could track it, others (or I think specifically the First Order) would be able to do so as well.

 

[Haribi]

I really enjoyed the movie overall but there were a couple things that really bothere me.

First of all the whole deathstar story. There being a 3rd deathstar at all was lame as hell and the resistance finding it's weak spot and making and executing a perfect plan within minutes of finding about it was kind of ridiculious.

Also there were too many oneliners and funny moments in the movie for my liking. Most of them were indeed funny but I just didn't think they belonged in the movie, at least not with this high frequency. It just takes you out of the moment when there is a seroius and dangerous situation going on and suddenly one of the characters says something funny.

Also thought the Kylo Ren vs. Finn fight should've been way more onesided.

 

[bananafactory]

Didn't they specifically mention some tracking device that one of the owners had installed?

Han said they needed to find a "clean" ship. So yes.

Not everything needs an explanation. Some things do.

JJ's just terrible at differentiating between the two

True - it's just that this is one of those things that really doesn't.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

"THIS IS FOR NOT LETTING ME GO TO THE CONCERT, DAD! GAWD YOU RUINED MY LIFE!"

F is for Star Wars

 

[PopeReal]

Forgot to mention a time I giggled by myself in the film

When the first order is having that speech with the troops and it's super black white and red.

I looked at my friend like "they better not be Space Nazis"

and then the salute was a fist raised up. We both chuckled.

Omg you guys must have been a laugh riot in the theater!

 

[Synless]

Where are you guys pulling those random book quotes?

 

[MisterHero]

I don't understand why every thing that happens in a movie needs someone to explain or show to the audience how it happened.

My impression was that Han has been hanging out around there running jobs and the only reason he didn't pick up the Falcon sooner is because it was dormant (Rey even says it hasn't flown in years). As soon as the ship fired up he probably got it on his tracker. It's not a hard leap to make, they don't need to waste screentime on that

There's 30 years of continuity to make up for and they didn't do a good job of catching up.

It's alright for people seeing TFA as their first Star Wars, but it should be disappointing for people who waited decades for certain characters to return only to die in the next few movies

 

[Brakke]

lmao "20 good X Wings"

I don't understand why every thing that happens in a movie needs someone to explain or show to the audience how it happened.

My impression was that Han has been hanging out around there running jobs and the only reason he didn't pick up the Falcon sooner is because it was dormant (Rey even says it hasn't flown in years). As soon as the ship fired up he probably got it on his tracker. It's not a hard leap to make, they don't need to waste screentime on that

Han didn't know where it was, it was stolen several times after it was stolen from him. He says it has a tracking signature or something, that's how the space gangsters show up subsequently.

It's dumb because space is apparently like two miles across. The movie has no sense of scale at all and it makes the thing feel weightless.

 

[WadiumArcadium]

Thats what everyone thinks, because officially he is known as the son of Leia and Han Solo. Besides, I think he lives the lie that he is the outcome of Leia and Han Solo just so he can have a connection to Darth Vader, claiming to be his grandson.



Thats what they want you to believe Snoke is? If the Jedis have tiny masters, why wouldn't the Siths have one aswell?

They're not Sith for starters and a midget villain just isn't menacing.

 

[Fj0823]

The first thing my wife said after the movie ended... "I didn't know they were remaking A New Hope."




Also, Snoke is Darth Jar Jar after barely surviving the Death Star explosion. His ears were burned off and his face mangled. The smoke inhalation damaged his vocal cords giving him a throatier sound.

Spoiler

In my headcanon.

My girlfriend said the exact same thing at the end and was specially annoyed at the third death star.

 

[bananafactory]

There's 30 years of continuity to make up for and they didn't do a good job of catching up.

It's alright for people seeing TFA as their first Star Wars, but it should be disappointing for people who waited decades for certain characters to return only to die in the next few movies

Well I mean, the movies are about a new set of characters. This isn't meant to tell the story of what happened to everyone else since ROTJ - that would have to be an entire film on its own. Instead we get to see them again and are given brief hints as to what they've been up to. Whether or not that's what people wanted is certainly up for debate - but that's what the intent of the film was and not filling in all of the gaps isn't a failure.

 

[Nostremitus]

There's 30 years of continuity to make up for and they didn't do a good job of catching up.

It's alright for people seeing TFA as their first Star Wars, but it should be disappointing for people who waited decades for certain characters to return only to die in the next few movies

It's better this way. Just like the original trilogy. They didn't over explain shit. Feels good not knowing.

 

[Davey Cakes]

Just saw the film. Of course, it was GREAT.

Definitely hit a lot of the same beats as ANH. Maybe that's a good thing, but I can see why people may have taken issue. That said, this movie felt way more like what I think Star Wars should be than the prequel movies. It was modernized well.

My nitpick meter was going off the charts with two things:

1) Snoke being a giant CG humanoid. Not imposing at all.
2) The lack of emotional reaction to all those planets being destroyed. Like, mass devastation has no impact on anyone? It's like we're all supposed to see Leia and suddenly everything is fine. Didn't buy it.

As for Han Solo, it was a necessary sacrifice in order to magnify Kylo Ren's villainy. It was also done well.

They NAILED the aesthetics of the Starkiller base.

They NAILED the lightsaber dueling 100%. I mean, perfect.

The action is general was well shot and intense.

Probably and A- in the end due to some of the "little things" that bug me about today's movies in general that made it into this movie, such as unconvincing animated characters and minor plot conveniences.

 

[PopeReal]

There's 30 years of continuity to make up for and they didn't do a good job of catching up.

It's alright for people seeing TFA as their first Star Wars, but it should be disappointing for people who waited decades for certain characters to return only to die in the next few movies

Lol you guys want that explained in 2 hours? All while introducing new characters?

Holy shit.

 

[Miracle]

"Would look really silly if there wasn't for the music (and badass sound effects)" is Star Wars in a nutshell.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Tj-GZJhfBmI

 

[140.85]

You know, it would have been a hell of a lot cooler if Luke had appeared when Finn was knocked out and kicked Kylo's ass six ways from Sunday, instead of Rey doing it and Luke being wasted on a cameo/setup for the next film.

That would have been cringeworthy. So glad that didn't happen. That scene is about Rey's awakening. That would have ruined it.

 

[Boke1879]

There's 30 years of continuity to make up for and they didn't do a good job of catching up.

It's alright for people seeing TFA as their first Star Wars, but it should be disappointing for people who waited decades for certain characters to return only to die in the next few movies

You're not going to get 30 years of exposition in a 2 hour movie. I think they handled it all well. You know why Han doesn't have the falcon anymore. If you want all the post-ROTJ stuff. That's stuff a book or comic will handle. Thats honestly how it's always been.

 

[Lord of Castamere]

There being a 3rd deathstar at all was lame as hell and the resistance finding it's weak spot and making and executing a perfect plan within minutes of finding about it was kind of ridiculious.

To be fair, they didn't find a weak spot Han and Chewy just cracked the armor from inside.

I agree though. The resistance should have been a distraction for the ground team to blow up a reactor or something. It felt forced.

 

[Synless]

My girlfriend said the exact same thing at the end and was specially annoyed at the third death star.

Not a single person I know thought it was a remake in any capacity. How is it that a ton of people on Gaf are getting this impression?

 

[foxuzamaki]

I JUST got out of yhe theater after watching thr movie and I have to say I'm kinda buttburt that they killed off Han solo but I kinda understand it, Harrison Ford being the oldest there's no guarantee he will be in the best shape througout the rest of the trilogy