The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPEN...

SERIOUSLY. ONLY CONTINUE READING IF YOU HAVE SEEN THIS OR JUST DONT GIVE A SHIT.


I know there's already chatter on the other star wars thread, but this thread is just for the movie. Keep all that silly toy/clickbait/meme heavy posts in the other one.





The irie vibes in the cantina throwback scene!

I love that Finn's character finally gave some human emotion to storm troopers even though he bails on the first order. Also, the backstory of how he was taken from birth & given a number instead of a name gives more insight into why there are so many storm troopers willing to fight.

I wish Captain Phasma had way more screen time. You can't make the most badass looking storm trooper ever and only give her 5 mins max of screen time.

Kylo Ren, although having great power of the force is in a real power struggle for leadership within the first order. Also, his baby temper tantrums were obviously a show of how immature he is. How did he end up with Vader's Helmet? Gift from the parents? Steal it from Luke? Oh yeah and killing his pops kinda set him over the top as #1 star wars villain ever.

The light saber battle scene was classic star wars, full of human emotion. Like when Luke was just hacking away at Vader in ROTJ. None of that fancy footwork choreographed somersaulting Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Darth Maul bullshit. When Kylo was trying to get Luke's light saber, but blows past him & into Rey's hands! Kinda predictable, but still so fucking good.

Who's grave was Luke standing over in the end?


What else?

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

Knowing it was JJ Abrams...I had a feeling that the story would take elements from the Original Trilogy and it probably wouldn't be an original film and so I was okay with it. It looked very similar to A New Hope in the trailers.


With that said...I thought it was great. A good balance of humor and emotion.


If I had to nick pick things...AND I mean nick-pick.
Snoke...not sold on the cgi...I get that it's a hologram but I don't get why they couldn't use traditional make up. He's sitting in a chair. They could have enlarged it.
Phasma...looked so badass in the trailers but was way underutilized.
Han... I thought they would have some sort of moment (not a funeral) but some moment to acknowledge him.
Starkiller Base...SHOULD not have been destroyed. They should have just done something to disable the weapon.

Poe Dameron...I wanted more screen time.. He was great.

^^
All the above I could let go because I really enjoyed it.
Biggest gripe...And I don't know why this irks me but the last shot of Luke and Rey. All I could think was cool..they are in a helicopter spinning around them.

With that being said..it's pretty entertaining. My 9 year old and 6 year old loved it. (Although my 9 year old thought General Hux's speech was hilarious...I'm not sure why but he was cracking up.)

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

loved it as well enjoyed every second and will watch it again once the crowds die down. I could have sworn I saw a Fett when Rey was having her vision when the lightsaber was "calling to her". I openly gasped and got goose bumps when - they caught me off guard and introed the Falcon- when they showed Vaders mask- and Hans death. I know its what he (Ford) wanted but I thought for sure he'd be in the next episode. It just felt so right to see him next to Chewbacca. Just sat in disbelief- I still can't believe I won't see him in SW again.

All in all I'm glad I avoided all the talk and expectations/theories. Boy was it worth the wait.

my 3yr old and 7yr old couldn't stop giggling when Rey used the Jedi mind trick on the StormTrooper and made him drop his gun... they just kept giggling- little weirdos.

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

I agree that there could have been more of Poe ... fantastic character, great acting by Llewyn Davis. The new Han Solo, in a way. The appearance that he'd died and then was unexpectedly back in the action could be seen as a plot hole, I suppose, but OTOH the overall plot lines were too many and too complex for everything to have been pedantically explained without dragging the movie down. (Maz Kanata says as much about how she came into Luke's saber, but I took that line to be a wink and nod to the audience about unexplained details in general.)

The Cantina vibe at Maz' castle that Joe had mentioned was literally irie ... the music had a reggae beat at one point LOL.

As I'd said in the other thread I loved Kylo Ren. His immaturity and inner conflict are the character's strength and depth, but I couldn't help wondering ... what is the cause of the intense personal pain? Was it because his parents didn't stick together? Ye olde absent father issue? Guilt over having been seduced to the dark side and having betrayed Luke? Perhaps we'll eventually find out. I'm assuming he escaped Starkiller Base in time to carry on.

Speaking of Luke, I loved that look on his face when we finally see it, but it also spoke to volumes of personal anguish. It'll be fascinating to learn what that's all about.

Very much liked that General Hux' speech at the Starkiller Goebbels rally was so Hiterlesque. Clearly intentional. Classic cinematic hyperbolic overacting for evil effect.

As one of countless details, I liked that the language spoken on Jakku didn't seem to be Huttese, which makes sense of course. It was very "Star Wars," but sounded like something we haven't heard before.

I loved that the lightsaber duels looked freaking dangerous this time. There wasn't the marital arts assurance and style that we saw, for example, with Maul vs. Qui-Gon. The fact that Rey and Finn had no training with the weapon made their fights downright scary.

 

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I thought the storyline was basically the same as the original Star Wars. I liked The directors take on Star Trek better.

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

ok. here's my two cents that are worth maybe zero cents in the end.

First... LOVED IT!!! There was that same magic in air that hearkened back to the original films. I seriously haven't had that much fun at the movies in as long as I can remember! Between waiting for this to come out, waiting in line to get into the theater, and then the goosebumps when the lights went out. Awesome film and an awesomely good time!

Now for my turn to be nit-picky....

I totally agree that Phasma was WAY underutilized! I think we missed out on what could have been a killer character development, and an opportunity to build out the secondary story-line of Phasma's failure to keep Fin in his place. But it wasn't a 4 hour movie and still a cool character non the less.

My biggest issue was with Kylo Ren. Now don't get me wrong, I actually LOVE this character. But that fact that he removed his mask without even fighting it... just lame in my opinion. If we needed to see his face, there were WAY better opportunities to make that reveal. Whether is was on the bridge before Han confronted him, or at the end during his fight with Rey. It just seemed to easy to me. But the acting was great! And the tall, purposeful, yet anxious movement of the character gave us a great tie-back to how Vader was. I just loved it!

Lastly, Han. I just don't know that I could see past Harrison Ford's hissy-fits about being part of this franchise again. I tried, and it was fun seeing Han back in action with Chewie, but damn. All I could think the whole time was when is Han going to die.

Again, I really enjoyed the film. Finally nice to see the franchise back and bringing the magic back as well.

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

I thought one of the more fascinating aspects of the story was Kylo Ren's internal fight with and eventual triumph over the light side of the force. He's been ready for Sith-hood for the longest time, but the light was holding him back. Thought it was a nice contrast to Luke's opposite struggle in the original trilogy.

 

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Also...It was absolutely great to see Harrison Ford acting again. After phoning in performances and looking bored as hell for the last 20 years...he was great.

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

I liked Rey a lot. She reminds me of Miyazaki' heroines (Nausicaa predominantly).
As of drawbacks, I was suprised that Chewie didn't bit the dust, following Vector Prime story continuity.

 

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Rey should've never been able to master the force so quickly. It took Luke and anakin two movies to do so.

 

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If the theory that Luke is her father pans out, it could be because she had prior Jedi training before being dropped on Jakku (and mindwiped? Can Jedi do that?). OR the force may be stronger in Rey and Ren because there are so few people in the galaxy using it at this point.

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

if rey is lukes daughter then she is the grand daughter of one of the strongest jedi/sith in the series being darth vader and shes also dealing with a not so strong sith in training so her force powers are not too far fetched. rey and ren are both still young and have a lot to learn

also just my take on the phasma thing. i too was disappointed of her role but if you think about it boba fett wasnt a huge character in the OT either yet hes one of the most iconic characters in the star wars saga

if you havent seen the movie for a second time definitely check it out again my second viewing was a lot different than my first and the taste of it being a rahashed episode iv is kind of gone

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

Aren't Jedi supposed to be like celibate monks? If that's the case, then Luke can't be Rey's father. Does she have to be a relative of the Skywalker family? Who would her mother be?

Any character under-development, I just chalked up to them explaining in future movies.

 

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I love this theory that the force is like the internet. The more people using it, the less bandwidth there is!

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

M'thawts:

-One especially noticeable element of suspension of disbelief in the SW universe, now, is that it could be so greatly technologically advanced/technologically-driven… and yet lack a standard of networked communication and biometric or automated security comparable to Earth 2015. Three or four troops are sent to the ground on Jakku to chase after Finn and Rey on foot through the market? Anybody can get into and crawl around Starkiller, and not be picked up 8 ways to Sunday by some continuous biometric auto-scanning of the premises? I know, I know all the reasons things must be that way… it’s just funny.

-The first scene with Snokes snapped me abruptly into a “Marvel movie” feel... I know I’m not alone in that. It was somewhat relieving when it was finally revealed to be a hologram. Prediction: Snokes is actually Yoda-sized.

-Chewie. CHEWIE. I love him all over again. The suit looked great and his movements were pretty spry- I don’t know how that was frail, be-caned Peter Mayhew in there the whole time… guessing it wasn’t.

-The space-reggae in this film’s “Cantina moment”… light facepalm. It’s so easy to imagine and arrange something that has relatable earthly musicality, even a groove, but actually feels more “alien”. And I'm sorry to be that lefty-liberal curmudgeon pointing out that this is using a black musical form to signify the non-human or Other, and that's retrograde and lazy... but yeah, that's me... not really sorry...

-So many silly tricks and grand moments that, chuckle or roll yr eyes as you might, you COULD NOT HELP but be taken right in by. R2 revealed like a new car on a 70s game show prize package stage. Rey and Chewie at the controls of the Falcon, Rey the new female Jedi version of Han. HA. It all GOT me.

-I thought the Luke-reveal at the end was GREAT. So effectively dramatic. Hamill conveyed more silent gravitas than I thought he was capable of. HEAVY. I loved it.

-I assume Rey's background will be delved into in the next installment (and I don't think she's Luke's daughter).... but also, I think it's going to be interesting to see if/how the one-offs, TV series, etc, explore and expand upon threads introduced in these core films. I feel like many doors to that were opened here... Maz Kanata's acquisiton of Luke's saber... Threepio's red arm... Captain Phasma's background or even what exactly happens to her after we're to assume she's pushed into the trash compactor (I actually thought we would see something of that...)

-Anyone who complains about this as a rehash... really consider the enormity of the moviemaking task set before Abrams and his team. Yes, another giant spheroid weapon-base was blown up by highly skilled X-Wing pilots. The movie winks right at this- the familiarity of the situ is even mockingly acknowledged by Han. Yes, other things are very familiar. SO. WHAT. Close to ten compelling minor and major characters were introduced. Everything was excellently, clearly shot. Great acting throughout, and well-written, non-wooden, non-Lucas dialogue. Aesthetics not just nailed (naturally I'm talking aesthetic tone set by eps 4 - 6... the aesthetic blandness of the prequels was just about the saddest thing about them, to me), but expanded upon nicely. And, as noted here previously, the hand-to-hand fights felt human-scaled, dangerous, and real- I HATED the sterile martial arts crap of the prequels (not at all opposed to well-choreographed and shot martial arts sequences... but that's not what those were).

This was JJ taking the whole thing out for a spin, very consciously using familiar elements to keep us comfortable and ease us in to this new phase of other people helming SW... and MAN do I look forward to the next one!

 

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I think the best theory so far, and possible saving grace for the questionable 3-D that is Snoke, is that he is actually Darth Plagueis. It would bring everything full circle and be a fantastic connection to the skywalker story (Plagueis possibly being the creator of Anakin, who has no father).

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

I was blown away by something i read (all theory)
WARNING Could ruin future episodes

Spoiler

that Ben Solo is pretending to be Dark so he can kill Snoke.
Reason for his struggle, reason for asking Vader for help(who tried the same), reason he asked his dad for help to do the deed.

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie over the weekend. Lots of elements from the original were done well. I think the only thing I would have liked to see differently would be the destruction of starkiller base. Couldn't they just have disabled it instead? It was too massive and awesome to just have the one job of wiping out the republic. Also, since the base was destroyed wouldn't mean the first order army was severely crippled? Aside from that detail, everyone's performance was stellar. May go back in a few weeks to rewatch it!

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

Alien like the Benny Goodman swing jazz in the original Cantina scene?

I agree that we'll learn more about Rey's background. I suspect that the "waiting for my family" bit was foreshadowing.
I liked that some of the other Stormtrooper names that we heard were resonant of "TK-421" (or whatever it was) in the original movie, which if I recall correctly was "THX 1138" in the novelization.

Questions, sorry in advance if they're dumb:

- Was that supposed to be Coruscant that we saw destroyed by Starkiller? I kinda hope so. I always hated that overcrowded Art Deco Buck Rogers planetwide-city setting as the home of the Jedi Temple. Disappointed that Uncle George didn't come up with something less sterile and more "Buddhist" for the HQ.

- Did Han Solo know that he was helping Kylo Ren with what he was really helping him with, or did he mistakenly think he was taking the lightsaber away from a prodigal Kylo Ren?

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

I didn't say that that was any more "alien"... but that one gets a pass!
Nearly 40 yrs ago, fer chrissakes!

HA! Agreed on all points, and hope so too!

I think the latter, myself...

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

That's what I thought and she said she thought Luke Skywalker was a myth, which might suggest her early memories were suppressed. Then when Kylo Ren tries to read her mind the memories seem to return.

I could be missing something, but the movie was a lot to take in...and I was drinking.

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

Cool questions that I think I know the answers to because I've read every single info dump on the internet.

• That was NOT Coruscant. The Senate was relocated to Hosnian Prime by the time TFA starts (the senate moves around from planet to planet in a rotation).

• I think Solo knew that his death was a risk, but ultimately wanted to deliver on Leia's request to bring their son home.

 

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After all the hype about no CGI, I was surprised to see complete CGI characters. The worst was the Snoke guy. Looked like the Prometheus alien's creepy uncle.

I though they built a full scale Falcon too, some of the ones they showed parked looked really CGI.

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

Well we all know how I feel about CGI. That said the battle scenes with ships I enjoyed. That Snoke- Supreme Leader whatever he was is the worst offender though! OMG why oh why must they make every CGI character in the history of film look the same? Tiny little slit nose and giant eyes. Every time! I prefer Palpatine! He is the evilest looking fuck in the history of the franchise. Nothing scary about a giant CGI Avatar leftover!

I also disliked most of the characters/ complete mis-cast of the dark side/ first order. Adam Driver? For real? He's a goofy looking hipster. Doesn't really say dark side to me. I think Domhall Gleeson is an excellent actor but was awful as the uptight General Hux. He walked like his hands were permanently tied behind his back and just didn't scream 'Hitler' type to me during his nazi speech.

The resistance leads were all good, especially Oscar Issac who played Poe.

Anyhow enjoyed the movie, despite my nitpicks, I especially recommend seeing it in IMAX 3D. Can't believe I got Kim to go. She absolutely loathes sci fi and joked "if you can't beat them join them" this morning.

 

Re: The Force Awakens - UNTAGGED spoilers inside. DO NOT OPE

This. I still can't figure out how he was the chosen one to be the "evil" villain. I loved the movie but really, him? They couldn't have gone with LITERALLY ANYONE ELSE? He's a good actor and might have made a decent member of the rebel alliance but the leader of the first order? Come on!

Spoiler

Also, did anyone find Greg Grunberg as an X-Wing Fighter Pilot a little odd? I know him and JJ are good buddies but couldn't they fit him in a better role... literally and figuratively ? Again, pretty decent actor, IMO, but a fighter pilot?