Saga Rewatching the Star Wars saga after many years - Thoughts and views

Cant wait for your empire and jedi review SW saga fan.

 

I've liked you're reviews so far. I considered making a thread just like this a few weeks ago, when I re-watched all six films, but I decided against it since most of my star wars opinions are wildly unpopular and tend to illicit arguments from other posters . So I figured there wasn't a lot of point if I couldn't be dead honest. Instead, I just made a really lengthy post in the 'pick something you liked and didn't like about each film' thread. And even that must have annoyed a few.

In any case, you seem pretty fair in your reviews(More so than I would have been anyway), so I'm looking forward to the rest.

 

Yesterday evening and last week-end I've watched The Empire Strikes Back. With my busy schedules and my other occupations, it was a bit hard to take the time to write this review.

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - My thoughts and views

The last time I’ve watched The Empire Strikes Back was 7 years ago. Rewatching it today has made me understand why it is considered the best Star Wars movie by many people and fans. Watching this movie after A New Hope (the original Star Wars) has demonstrated me that George Lucas and the other people with whom we was working with really got rid of a burden when making this movie. This burden felt to be very present when they were making the first movie: if I have to compare A New Hope with The Empire Strikes Back, it does feel that, when watching the first Star Wars from 1977, they were really facing many constraints and limitations. Certainly Empire is a better made movie than the original Star Wars from 1977. As I’ve mentioned it in my previous review, many scenes feel more dynamic and wider than the previous movie and we have some better action scenes, particularly during the battle of Hoth.

When I was watching it for the first time on Blu-Ray on a 1080p, I noticed that this movie still holds up very well, much better than A New Hope. But on some scenes, the movie also begins to show its age. There’s this particular scene on Cloud City, after the Falcon has landed, where I’ve never noticed before that it was a matte painting on the background when watching this movie on DVD. But now it really becomes obvious when a matte painting is being used in certain scenes since it seems to clash a little bit with the sets and the characters on the forefront:



On this movie, I certainly cared a lot more about the main characters than in the original movie, particularly Luke. Mark Hamill has certainly provided a better acting in this movie than in the first one. I loved every scene when Luke was on Dagobah. I think that the scene on Dagobah is my favourite part of the entire movie. When Luke was about to leave his training in order to save his friends on Bespin, despite the objection of Yoda and Obi-Wan, you really have a sense of the seriousness of the situation and the other issues involved, especially after watching all the events that have occurred on the prequels. For a first time viewer, if you watch the movies in chronological order, you can feel that there is some tension on this scene and you can ask yourself: “Will he follow the same path as his father?” That was my reading when I’ve watched this movie for the first time 10 years ago.

It’s especially in this movie that Vader takes his full extent and becomes truly the incarnation of evil. He’s better illustrated as a formidable opponent than in A New Hope. I liked very much the scene where we have a quick glimpse of his broken body, reminding us, not only what has occurred at the end of Revenge of the Sith, but also that there’s always a heavy price for evil.

Speaking of Luke and Vader, there has been something that has always bugged me during the scene in the magic cave on Dagobah. Does this face really look like Luke Skywalker’s face?



The first time I’ve watched this movie, I was really wondering what the meaning of this scene was. I had to read the manga adaptation made by Toshiki Kudo, released at the same time as the Special Edition in 1997, in order to finally understand that it was Luke’s face:



Anyway, this movie certainly has made the universe of Star Wars, which was initially introduced in A New Hope, much wider, with a variety of different worlds and locations (Hoth, Dagobah, Cloud City) while in the first movie, most of the story and action has occurred on Tatooine and we only had a short view on Yavin at the end. There’s a sense mixed between mystery and adventure in this movie, particularly during the scenes occurring on Dagobah, making the viewer more engaged in the story, discovering at the same time as the main character the meaning and the mystery behind the Force. Some people say that Han is the most important and likable character in the movie since he softened himself and his fate was left unknown at the end of it. But I rather relate more to Luke in this movie.

Certainly The Empire Strikes Back is a better movie than A New Hope. The reason why I said, in my previous review, that A New Hope has a charm that none of the other Star Wars movies has, even Empire, is because within the sense of mystery in this movie, there’s an aspect of this movie which feels more “metallic”, if I could call it this way, which I still like very much. But even if the tone of this movie is darker than A New Hope and remains an important episode in the Star Wars saga, it hasn’t the same serious and darker issues and themes as Revenge of the Sith. Revenge of the Sith has much more interesting and fulfilling elements in its story than Empire, which is why it is one of my favourite Star Wars. But I will admit that it does feel that The Empire Strikes Back is a better made movie that Revenge of the Sith, most of this can be associated to its slower pace, making the viewer feel that everything has been carefully calculated when making the movie.

To conclude, Empire remains one of my favourite Star Wars movie along with A New Hope and Revenge of the Sith. But if I have to rank it in my favourite Star Wars list, it is more than likely that, this time, I’ll rank Empire over A New Hope while before it was the reverse.

I’ll give The Empire Strikes Back a rating of 9.5/10.

Certainly it is the best made installment in the entire franchise. But I wouldn’t call it the best movie (in general) ever made since there are better movies out there that I can mention as The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather or Ben-Hur.


Next week, if I have the time, I’ll be watching Return of the Jedi and I’ll share my thoughts and views about it.

 

Re: that matte painting in Empire... I bet you didn't notice that the roof of the Falcon is also part of the painting (a favorite little detail of mine). McQuarrie didn't think the lighting on set looked good enough in that shot, on the Falcon, so he took matters into his own hands.

 

Makingstarwars.net just posted this link to Sky Movies showing the Saga in December.

http://makingstarwars.net/2015/12/sky-movies-star-wars-trailer-is-beautiful/

The beauty of the advert sums up my feelings about rewatching it.

 

I've seen the advert. It's a very terrific one! The best way to celebrate the entire saga.

 

Great trailer... but no Vader?

 

This evening I've finally watched Return of the Jedi, the last chapter in the original trilogy and the original saga (if I can call it this way) made by George Lucas.

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi - My thoughts and views

Return of the Jedi may be the less solid instalment in the original trilogy, but a part of me still has a very soft part for this movie. My appreciation towards this movie comes from the fact that 10 years ago, when watching all the Star Wars movies for the first time, I had a bit of excitement for the ending of the entire saga, but also because this movie has a happy ending and completes perfectly the circle that was traced in the five previous movies. Today, the reality that I have to accept is a bit difficult with the release of Episode VII: The Force Awakens in less than 2 weeks. Three years ago, when it was announced that a sequel trilogy would be made, the first thought that came to my mind was: “Why? The story has already been completed with the happy ending of Return of the Jedi.” I was reluctant about the idea of a seventh Star Wars movie mainly because I liked very much Return of the Jedi, and since I’ve always thought that it was a great ending. Today, what I keep telling myself is: “it was the end, but now it’s no longer the end…” It’s a strange thought which keeps crossing my mind as I wait to see The Force Awakens, if you understand what I mean.

As the two previous instalments in the original trilogy, this movie also betrays his age, but more obviously than A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. As I said in my previous review, The Empire Strikes Back is the one which holds up better, especially the effects. The effects in Return of the Jedi don’t hold up as well as Empire, especially on a high resolution on Blu-Ray. Part of the reason why it appears more obvious that the effects are old is because there are more used in this movie than the two previous chapters of the trilogy. Indeed, in this movie there are more actions scenes and many other scenes with a much larger view of the scenery like the scenes of Jabba’s palace in the middle of the desert, the sail barge going through the sand dunes, the scene after the arrival of the Emperor inside the Death Star or the scenes in space in which we have a greater number of star cruisers and ships:









George Lucas and the people behind this movie certainly wanted this one to be more spectacular than the two previous ones. But since it wanted to be more spectacular, this is the reason why this movie doesn’t age as well as A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. It’s because the effects weren’t still as advanced as it should have been. When watching it on DVD, the flaws in the special effects were already apparent. The difference on the Blu-Ray is that the matte paintings are now more apparent in many scenes. But still, the fact that the special effects don’t hold up very well doesn’t prevent me from liking this movie. The old effects somehow provide to this movie a 1950’s or 1960’s feeling.

From the beginning of this movie, the rhythm of the story is faster than the original Star Wars movie and Empire and the scenes are much more dynamic. There are more things happening in this movie and the story is somehow more interesting to follow. As a member of the audience, when watching this movie for the first time, you can still wonder: “how all of this is going to end?”

I like how, in terms of scenery, this movie completes the circle of the saga: in Episode I, we started on the green lands of Naboo, in Episode VI, we are ending with the green forests of Endor, meaning in a certain way a return to time of innocence and freedom. The reconciliation between Vader/Anakin and Luke, the destruction of the oppression and the return of freedom reinforce this image of the circle being completed. The reconciliation between father and son is one of my favourite scenes in the movie. My other favourite scenes would be when Luke and Leia both learn that they are brother and sister on Endor. Leia’s character has grown more inside of me because of this scene and I cared more about Luke and Leia’s relationship now that they know that they are brother and sister.

But, watching this particular scene today while keeping in mind that another movie will follow this one, I’ve begun to wonder about something. If the sequel trilogy was made immediately after Return of the Jedi, could Leia have been the main character in the ST instead of Luke? I’m asking myself this question because of the way I read Luke’s lines now, when he says: “The Force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. And… my sister has it. Yes, it’s you Leia.” It was like if Luke passes the torch to his sister in order to continue the story now that we know that the ST will be released. It’s just an assumption, but I think that the question can be asked.

The scene on Dagobah in which Luke learns from Yoda that Vader is his father is, I think, much more powerful than the revelation at the end of Empire. The reason behind is because he learns it from someone that he trusts and you can really ask yourself now that he knows the truth, how will he deal with it.

My two personal least favourite parts of this movie might be the Ewoks and the scenes with Jabba the Hutt. Personally, I don’t hate the Ewoks as I don’t hate Jar Jar Binks. There’s a little part inside of me who likes them, but I still have some difficulties to accept the fact of how a primitive and cute specie has managed to beat an advanced society and army as the Empire. Concerning the scenes with Jabba the Hutt, I’ve always found the scenes in his castle to be a bit silly with all the puppets and many different species of aliens. Certainly Jedi Rocks is the worst soundtrack in the movie. But even by watching the original scenes, the scene when people are dancing and singing still looks silly to me.

To conclude, I like very much Return of Jedi, but not as much as A New Hope or Empire. It has a certain charm, but it is maybe too smooth when compared to A New Hope. I still think, even if The Force Awakens is being released, that it is a great ending to the entire Star Wars story. That’s why I think that The Force Awakens (as I’ve mentioned it at the end of my review for Revenge of Sith) needs to stand on its own by starting a completely different story with new departures, new themes, instead of being a rehash of A New Hope or Empire. It is much harder to extend the circle that has already been completed 10 years ago, when Sith was released, than starting a new one. And I hope that the people behind the story of The Force Awakens were aware of this.

I’ll give Return of the Jedi Back a rating of 8/10.

Concerning my review for The Force Awakens, I won’t be able to watch the movie at its opening day and during the last two weeks of December since I’ll be travelling. I wish I was able to watch it on December but all the tickets in the theaters of my home-town have been sold. So I will only be able to watch the movie at the beginning of January, after I will come back. This will also avoid for some people to be spoiled if I was able to give my review immediately after the opening. And I will also avoid spoilers since, during my travel, I will be completely disconnected from the internet.


So I’ll come back on this thread in January 2016. May all of you have a good screening of the movie. And may the Force be with us all on December 16 (for European countries) and 18.

 

More than 3 weeks after its initial release, I’ll be giving my review of The Force Awakens, the seventh chapter in the Star Wars saga and the first Star Wars movie to be made without the involvement of its creator, George Lucas.

I’ve watched this movie for the first time on IMAX 3D with two of my friends and my brother last Tuesday, and I’ve watched it again this Friday evening, this time on 2D.

Episode VII: The Force Awakens - My thoughts and views

Warning! This is a very long post! And spoiler elements are exposed.

After months of waiting, discussions and apprehension for a number of reasons, the seventh movie of the Star Wars saga had created, and was going to create a huge debate among fans. On my side, I had difficulties to accept an Episode VII since I’ve always taken for granted thatReturn of the Jedi was the perfect conclusion of the Star Wars saga and the Skywalker family overall. I’ve never approached, and never cared about, the old Expanded Universe, which is composed of comics and novels, telling the story that could have taken place after Episode VI. The other reason behind my difficulties to accept an Episode VII was because this movie would be done without any involvement of the creator of the saga, George Lucas, and without using any of his ideas and treatments for the Sequel Trilogy (ST). But this latter fact still needs to be verified since it is still not clear how much of his ideas for the ST were used, or developed by other people after the sell to Disney.

Having watched The Force Awakens has somewhat appeased some of my fears regarding the Sequel Trilogy. Despite a promotion and a speech in order to sell the new movie to the fans and to the general public which were at the limit of criticism, I didn’t let myself be bothered by these when watching the movie. I let myself be absorbed by the movie as I did with all the previous Star Wars movies and appreciate it for what it was.

I’ll tell this immediately before I get into a deeper analysis, but I really like and enjoyed The Force Awakens. I think that this movie has allowed the Sequel Trilogy to have a good start. My second viewing experience has allowed me to fill some of the holes I felt were present when watching the movie the first time, and it allowed the movie to grow more inside of me. But what I’ve noticed, as many others, is that this movie marks somewhat a rupture between the six previous Star Wars movies and this one. I feel that it’s a rupture both in terms of storytelling and visually.

In terms of storytelling, this movie, from the beginning to end, has a very fast pace when you compare it to Episodes I to VI, something that I really like, but at the same time, when I think about it again, bugs me a little. It doesn’t waste time to go to the action and there were very few times to take a break, and that’s one of the things that have bugged me a little during my first viewing. It doesn’t take time to make a pause and expose the context for the Star Wars universe during the sequel era, except maybe for the opening crawl. But even in the opening crawl, there were very few things that indicate the context of the galaxy: we only know that there’s a New Republic, A First Order which has remerged from the old Empire and a Resistance supported by the Republic. But even with that, those elements weren’t enough fleshed out when I compare it to how the context of the galaxy was introduced in both Episode I and Episode IV.

In Episode I, despite the heaviness of its script, we were given a good idea of the context of the galaxy and what was going to lead the Old Republic to its fall later on, when Palpatine was talking to Padme. In Episode IV, Obi-Wan took the time to expose to Luke what were the Jedi, that there was an Old Republic before the Empire and even gave some backstory regarding Vader. In Episode VII however, many of the backstory or context elements are concentrated around the main characters only (especially Kylo Ren) and are given pieces by pieces as the film advances. Where I feel that some context elements have been put aside and not touched upon was around key characters as Snoke, Maz Kanata and maybe the character played by Max Von Sydow. These characters had a certain importance around the context of the story and even had an influence on the main characters as Kylo Ren and Rey. But I feel that they were given not enough screen time and key elements regarding their personal backstory were dismissed.

I can see how, leaving plot elements as mysteries, can make the audience and the fans wanting more and eager to watch Episode VIII and IX. But at the same time, I feel that there are too many questions left unanswered for one movie: what is Rey lineage? Who is exactly Maz Kanata? How does she know the secrets towards the Force, the Jedi and the Sith? How did she get Anakin’s/Luke’s lightsaber lost in Bespin in Episode V? What happened to her after the attack of the First Order on her castle (after the attack, she has completely disappeared from the screen)? Who’s exactly Snoke? How did he influence Ben Solo to become Kylo Ren?

Of course, if we look back at the previous movies, especially The Empire Strikes Back and Attack of the Clones, there was some sort of cliff-hanger at their ending and there was questions unanswered. If we take a look at the end of Empire for example, the questions left unanswered were mainly: is Darth Vader truly Luke’s father? What will happen to Han Solo? Of course we can’t really compare two different movies made by two different directors, it would be like comparing apples to pears. But where I’m trying to get at is that for each of the six previous movies, the story felt self-contained, letting very few questions unanswered.

The six previous movies supported each other in a way that they expanded the Star Wars universe and its mythology, making the universe larger than it was initially introduced in the original Star Wars from 1977 (A New Hope), without letting the audience ask itself too much questions at the end of each movie, or without feeling the need to watch all the other movies to have its questions answered regarding the film’s self-contained story. And that, to me, almost made me feel the Star Wars universe being smaller than expanding it in The Force Awakens.

In The Force Awakens, the rupture is also in the fact that you can almost watch this movie without having to watch necessarily the previous six movies. It’s mostly because, since the context was almost not deepen and there was no link or very few links to the context of the galaxy 30 years ago, the celebration and all of the fight that has occurred at the end of Return of the Jedi felt to be without any consequences on the current context of the story of the new movie. Fans of the Star Wars saga may recognize elements and characters from the previous movies, especially the Original Trilogy. But for new viewers and people who have never watched a Star Wars movie before, they won’t feel the need to watch the previous movies. But on the other hand, the audience, as well as fans, will feel the need to watch the sequels of The Force Awakens in order to have many of the questions I’ve asked above answered, which I hope it will be the case.

I’m not saying that the story is bad, I really like the story and how it introduced new characters. It’s just that the movie and its story don’t feel self-contained and there are too many holes in it, many questions that need answers while it didn’t feel the same with the previous Star Wars movies. As many, I also share the feeling that this way makes the movie, and its sequels, look more like a TV series episode, except that the next episode in which we’ll have the answers is not tomorrow, but in less than two years… And because of that, I also feel that it’s too early to judge the film’s and it story’s real values until Episode VIII or Episode IX is released.

Regarding the movie’s plot and characters, I heard many people saying that the movie was more a remake of A New Hope. When I was watching the movie, that’s not the feeling that I got, and I do not feel that this movie is a carbon-copy of A New Hope, except some elements like a Death Star III (Starkiller Base) being once again destroyed at the end of the movie or a droid carrying secret plans. Despite that, I really like the story and the way the new characters are introduced. The movie starts on a very good note with a ground battle introducing two of the main the characters, Kylo Ren and Poe Dameron, and with a little touch of humour when Poe says to Kylo: “So who talks first? I talk first or you talk first?” The characters as Poe, Finn and Rey are very appealing with an interesting backstory, particularly Rey and Finn, and it was a very good thing that they kept the main characters of the Original Trilogy on the background, with the exception, maybe, of Han Solo. They didn’t even give much place to R2-D2 and C-3PO, the famous duo, and instead it was BB-8 who stole the show, which I think is a very good thing. I really like BB-8!

Rey and Finn are certainly my favourite characters of the movie and it is clear that Rey is the main character of the movie, and surely, of the entire Sequel Trilogy. I like Daisy Ridley’s performance as Rey and I easily attached myself to her character from the moment she was introduced. My little qualm was how the old characters (Han Solo and Chewbacca in this case) and the new characters (Rey and Finn) have met each other, and how the Millenium Falcon was rediscovered. The following of the events seemed to me, when I first watched the movie, too accidental (a little bit like when Anakin accidently destroys the droid control ship in Episode I) and too quick. But that might be from a fan’s perspective who already know everything about the Millenium Falcon and who Han Solo and Chewbacca are. But for a newer viewer who has never heard about Star Wars at all and for who The Force Awakens represents its first Star Wars movie, it may not appear accidental at all.

Overall I really like the film’s sense of adventure, and its two main characters (Rey and Finn) may have become among my favourite Star Wars characters.

Regarding Rey’s character, when Maz Kanata insisted that she should take Anakin’s/Luke’s lightsaber and told Finn to give it back to her, despite having kept locked inside a box and hidden for years, she seemed suddenly opened to give it to another person: Rey. This surely indicates that Maz knows Rey’s origin. There’s especially that line Maz said, interrupting Rey when she told her that she has to go back to Jakku: “Yes, Han told me”, meaning that she surely knows how Rey was abandoned on Jakku. This may, or may not, indicate that Rey is certainly part of the Skywalker lineage, a theory which, in my opinion, seems more convincing than others which have kept multiplying and spreading around the internet.

Regarding Kylo Ren, I’ve seen in many criticisms of the movie that people were claiming that this is how Anakin’s character and internal conflict before falling to the dark side should have been illustrated. On my part, I think that those criticisms are just baseless and don't make sense (or critics were just taking another chance to shoot at the prequels and George Lucas).

My reading of Kylo Ren’s character is that he’s more confronted to the legacy left by his grandfather (Anakin/Vader) and by his parent’s (Han and Leia) actions when they were fighting against the Empire. Therefore, because of this poisoned legacy (if I could call it this way), he might be wondering which side is the "good" (as Palpatine said in Revenge of the Sith: "good is only a point of view, Anakin"). That was, I think, perfectly demonstrated in the scene when he talks to the Vader's helmet and that scene might be indicating that he may be ignoring that Anakin/Vader was redeemed at the end of Return of the Jedi, and thus, Vader was wrong to choose the dark side. The other scene demonstrating that he was torn between which paths to choose (his parent’s side or his grandfather’s side) was when he kills Han and he “thanks” him for releasing him from “his pain”. Besides, there’s more behind Kylo’s motivations to choose the Dark Side that we still don’t know (apparently, Snoke was behind it also) and we might not know before Episode VIII. Therefore, I don't think that his characterization or his portrayal could have been the same as Anakin, or in the reverse, that Anakin's portrayal or internal conflict could have been illustrated the same way as Kylo Ren.

I may get off topic here. But as I’ve already described it in my review of Revenge of the Sith, Anakin’s motivations for choosing the Dark Side were completely different. Anakin was confronted to the loss of both his mother and Qui-Gon Jinn (who would have been the perfect mentor for him instead of Obi-Wan). He had to face a very conservative Jedi Order and a very strict Jedi mentor (Obi-Wan), which clearly contrast with a softer and more compliant mother and mentor (Qui-Gon). After having experienced both losses in his early life, the greed grew in him, especially when he had those visions of losing Padme. It might not be clear for everyone because of the subtext, but during the scene when Padme asked Anakin about those visions, Padme's initial reaction when Anakin told her that she would die was to ask him: "And the baby?" She was not worried for her life at the first place but rather for her child's life. But Anakin was just dismissive and told her that he didn't know and immediately told her "I won't lose YOU the same way I've lost my mother". That meant that it was not just because of love he wanted to save Padme, but his love became at that moment greed, two things he didn't know how to differentiate since greed was something he was never familiar with, as mentioned by his mother in The Phantom Menace. Anakin's motivations to choose the Dark Side were clearly because of greed and fear, in addition to being confronted to a very conservative Jedi Order, while Kylo Ren's motivations seem to be because of the legacy left by his grandfather, making him wondering which side is the "good" or the "bad".

Regarding the visuals and the staging of this movie, as I’ve mentioned it in my previous paragraph, there is a rupture between this movie and the previous six movies.

Regarding the planets and the locations, I felt that there was nothing really new. There were almost the same environments introduced in this movie as in the originals: a desert planet, a forest planet and an ice planet covered with snow. It seemed to me that the crew behind this movie wasn’t really innovator by trying to introduce some unique planets and environments since, with each new Star Wars movies, Lucas and its crew managed to introduce more and more new planets and environments. Even if in Episode IV most of the story took place on a desert planet and on the Death Star, it was in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back that the Star Wars universe was expanded by introducing more planets and different locations, when compared to A New Hope, as the ice planet of Hoth, the swamp planet of Dagobah and the city in the sky of Bespin. In Episode I: The Phantom Menace, even if we are taken back to Tatooine, we were introduced to new planets and environments as Coruscant and the underwater city of Naboo and its palaces and cities with classic architecture reminiscent of the Renaissance. The universe of Star Wars was then further expanded with the other two prequels. This is also one of the reasons why I felt that, instead of expanding the Star Wars universe further as it was with each new Star Wars movie, in The Force Awakens, the universe was instead shrunk.

There’s definitely a huge difference between the visual style used in both the prequel and the original trilogies and the one used for The Force Awakens. Even if Episode V and VI had other directors than Lucas, in the previous Star Wars movies there was always this kind of “classic” feeling regarding the staging and how scenes were introduced on screens. There was always a certain noble and posed side regarding the way many scenes were introduced, leaving the audience a certain amount of time in order to admire certain scenes and their grandiose side as the ones below. That was because Lucas was immensely inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s style which was very academic and in which his scenes were rather stationary.

Episode I




Episode II


Episode III


Episode IV




Episode V


Episode VI


In The Force Awakens, the way many of the scenes are introduced seems to be more action-oriented. At the beginning of the movie, right after the opening crawl, I really liked the way we see from the bottom the First Order’s Star Destroyer passing under the moon and hiding it. And then, immediately after we have the camera focusing on the stormtroopers’ helmets (as shown in the picture below) as they are landing aboard their ships on Jakku’s planet surface. My immediate reaction, during my first viewing was: “Oh! That’s rather different way to start a Star Wars movie.” I was almost completely sold when the movie started this way and ready to get into the action.



But as the movie passes very quickly and the scenes are much more dynamic, it doesn’t leave the time to the audience to admire its grandiose, or there were very few memorable or iconic scenes as those ones:





Even if I admired by those scenes above when there was the third international trailer of Episode VII released, I do feel however that they weren’t used at their full potential, or didn’t really fit at the moments when they appeared, maybe because of the fast pace of the movie. I feel that what JJ was trying to do, when he made those scenes, was somehow to combine his style, which is more action-oriented, with George Lucas’ style in which he takes the time to show big and beautiful scenes. The qualm that I had regarding the way certain scenes were introduced was at the end of the movie, when Rey finds Luke. When the camera flies around them and views them from above in that last shot before the credits role, I fear that this scene was rushed since it seems that it was filmed with a drone because the image is shaking. I’m really under the impression that this shouldn’t have been the way the movie ends.



Besides, it’s another rupture with the visual style since every Star Wars movie ended with an iconic scene which was fixed, allowing the audience to admire its grandeur:













Regarding the staging of the movie, there was however one scene that has struck me and reminded me of one of the previous Star Wars movies and which seems very similar. It was the moment when Rey was fighting Kylo Ren in a lightsaber duel. The way the camera moved from left to right and we see Rey and Kylo duelling, behind the trees and their movements all seemed very similar to the scene when Luke was fighting against Vader in his anger as shown below:





To finish about the visuals of the movie, regarding the scenery and the costumes, it does have more of a monochromatic and modern style when we are in The First Order space ships and base, while in the Empire era, everything looked stark, stiff and gloomy and in the prequel era everything looked shiny and lively.

The last point I want to talk about is the music in the movie. Regarding the music, I’m under the impression that John Williams didn’t push himself this time, which surprises me a lot, since there isn’t a memorable theme or score as Duel of the Fates, Across the Stars, Battle of the Heroes,The Binary Sunset or The Imperial March. Even if I had the chance to listen to the soundtrack collection of The Force Awakens before watching the movie, I didn’t really remember much more of the music after listening to my disc or watching the movie. There’s Rey’s theme that I like very much and which reminds me a bit of Anakin’s theme in The Phantom Menace and Luke’s theme in A New Hope. My guess towards that is since the pacing of the movie is very fast, it doesn’t allow the audience to admire the music with a beautiful staging which makes the utility of the music more as a dressing role, rather than being used for the staging.

To conclude this review, some of you may think, after all the things I’ve described in the previous paragraphs, that I find this movie not to be good. It wasn’t at all the goal of my review, I really likeThe Force Awakens. I only wanted to bring interesting points and elements that I’ve noticed in the movie and why this movie marks a big difference between all the previous movies which had more of a “classic” feeling. There were many things that I liked, especially the story occurring around the main characters as Rey and Finn, the humour, the pacing and some of its action sequences (even if I felt the pacing was too quick and too action-oriented), while there were others for which I was more mixed, regarding the visuals and the staging, and a bit disappointed, especially the music, the exposition of the context of the galaxy and its expansion. For me, this movie didn’t really feel ambitious or was trying to push forward some boundaries as it was the case with all six previous movies.

But overall I think that The Force Awakens is a very good starting point for the Sequel Trilogy and I’m looking forward to Episodes VIII and IX, even if I didn’t leave the theater super-excited and eager to watch all the Star Wars movies as I did when I’ve first watched Revenge of the Sith10 years ago. I feel that this movie true value can only be judged once the entire Sequel Trilogy will be completed by 2019.

I’ll give The Force Awakens a rating of 8/10.

After my first viewing, I did not consider to put this movie among my favourite Star Wars movies as Episodes III, IV and V. But after my second viewing, I might be willing to consider it as one of my favourite. It might depend mostly on Episodes VIII and IX.

 

Nice review SW Saga Fan

On the comedy segment, when poe was joking with Baby Ren, there was a massacre that happened and we had just watched Finn's scene of him refusing to shoot. They didn't let the viewers sink in that scene because a little bit after that, Poe makes a joke JUST after the viewer witnessed mass deaths. That scene was way of for me.

 

Not for me. He wasn't making the joke for laughs. He was standing up to Kylo & being defiant.

 

My stance, too. I was actually a bit surprised when my audience laughed, though I see now how it can be interpreted that way

Oh, and SW Saga Fan - how many times have you seen it, btw? The most interesting point your review, I believe, is your take on the score. I, too, was rather disappointed upon my first viewing. However, I listened to the OST a fair bit between then and my second. By then, I could recognize all the motifs and themes. By third viewing, a good deal of scenes gave me chills just as the other six
Only thing I can't say I particularly like is tracking "Burning Homestead" when Rey gets the lightsaber, and that wasn't even a decision of Williams

 

I, my friends and the audience also laughed a bit at Poe's joke when I saw it the first time on IMAX 3D. But when I saw it the second time on 2D, there was lesser people and I haven't heard people laughing.

I saw it twice only. I will now wait for the DVD/Blu-Ray release.

I wouldn't say that I was disappointed when I saw it the first time. When I got out of the theater, I had a good feeling towards the movie and I liked it whereas, there was another part of me which was more mixed. I felt that there were holes in my first viewing and felt that I really need to give it a second viewing. It was on my second viewing that I liked the movie more than the first time although there is this little part of me which is more mixed.

It's not an extraordinary or ambitious movie and I didn't left the theater blown away and super-excited as I was when I've first watched Revenge of the Sith 10 years ago. But I feel that it's a good and enjoyable movie and I love its main characters.

In a certain way, I feel that once again it's more an introductory movie to a new trilogy as The Phantom Menace and A New Hope instead of being a direct continuation of the six previous movies, hence the reason why my score is a bit lower than Empire and Sith. But when I take into account the other trilogies, it has always been their middle and ending parts which better and richer than their introductory parts, and I hope it will be the case with Episodes VIII and IX.

 

THIS is actually why I still love this film together with ESB the most. I'm a child of the 1970's but the thing is that ANH takes the time to successfully immerse me in the scenery and story. Nothing is rushed to the point were you start to wonder whether you missed something and the great landscapes and matte paintings still make me feel like really being there in a galaxy far, far away.

Both with the PT and especially TFA there is that feeling that everything is just in a "darn hurry". The adverse effect TFA had on me is that in hindsight I seem to "remember" watching a film that was maybe 60 or 90 minutes long. In ANH they had a couple of minutes of this mundane Lars Family breakfast scene and still the entire film "feels" like two hours (or even more) to me (the same also applies for the dinner scene in TPM and the film as a whole).

 

it's both, isn't it. he's cocky and disrespectful, he probably knows ben from some time ago ... but also it's a nice joke. i tink they made quite a lot of jokes that were taking the mickey out spaceballs style.