ST Post your own personal REVIEW of The Force Awakens here!

I'm sorry, I just cannot let this one slip by. Some People are actually criticizing TFA for paper thin story and plot contrivances , and yet somehow decide to turn their brains off for all the "paper thin story and plot contrivances" of the OT. I can't say I'm surprised. And this just proves that no matter what Lucasfilm comes up with in the future, some people will over criticize, over analyze and hate on it.

As for my view on TFA?
The best acted of all 6. The best dialogue of all 6. The best cinematography of all 6. The best effects of all 6 (obviously). The best humor of all 6. Daisy is a better character than Luke in ANH. Fin is awesome. Kylo is not a Vader ripoff and is a much deeper character than Vader is (during ANH/ESB at least).And we actually get some humor from him, which was a nice surprise.BB-8 evoked more emotion in me than R2D2 ever did and made me not miss R2D2 one bit.

Is the movie as the original as the first two from OT? No, it's not, but it more than makes up for it with all of the above and some new stuff.
Let us not forget that ROTJ borrowed some stuff from ANH as well. The same goes for TPM. Don't not pretend this is something new and that Disney is ripping George off.

9/10

 

I am slowly coming around on some of the music of the film. Absolutely loving Rey's motif and the Jedi Steps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

i really dont get this stuff about cowtowing to marketing. id point out why i think thats' hypcoritical but suffice to say i think most know why.

 

There are 7 sw-movies now . Definitely acting was better than in most SW-movies- but still ESB is almost at the same level in dialogue IMO. And about CGI-effects they really were not as good as they could be by now (better than in older movies obviously) but they focused on props and masks so there was only a little CGI in the first place. I'm going to watch movie again as 2D- I didn't really like 3D-effects.(it was mistake to go to 3d anyways)

 

I absolutely LOVED it. I went to watch it Thursday at 7 PM. The theater was jam packed with so many people dressed up. It brought tears to my eyes as it's amazing to be part of such an amazing fandom. When the opening crawl came on, everyone in the sold out theater cheered. Words cannot express just how amazing this movie was. It was simply amazing in every single aspect. Star Wars is LIFE!

 

the acting in rotj is awful. harrison didnt want to be there. carrie was high most of the time. ironically i think mark delivers his best performance there. i think AOTC has the worst acting overall (yes, worse then jake lloyd)

 

I loved this movie, it's in my Top 3 of SW movies.

Positives:

- The most quick 2H15mins ever, it just flew by.
- The new cast is awesome, perfect casting.
- of the good guys, I think all of them were great, Daisy was amazing, Poe is so badass, probably will go with Finn, he brought a vulnerability and heart to his character that I loved it.
- Loved Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. I wish Anakin was portrayed like this in prequels. The conflict, the anger. A very tragic character indeed.
- best Han Solo since Empire, the banter with him and Chewie was on-point. You could definitaly tell that it was Kasdan writing those dialogues and Harrison was having so much fun going back to that character again.
- Loved Chewie's bowcaster having such a larger role, in the OT we only saw him use one or two times, here it almost takes center stage.
- BB-8 is cuteness overload, he made me not miss the old droids. love the little fella.
- Probably biggest surprise was Carrie Fisher, at first I was afraid that she was still capable of being Leia again but I loved her and the scenes with her and Han are lovely.
- The competition with Kylo and Hux to gain more influence with Snoke was quite interesting, would love to see more of it in EPVIII.
- Of course the practical effects were amazing, the creatures in Jakku and in the Cantina were awesome. The location shootings, I don't think I have a moment where I said, "yep that's definately green screen." The combo of practical/CGI was flawless.
- The dogfights were cool, not as great as Return of the Jedi space battle, but still entertaining (the long shot of Poe taking down Tie fighters while Finn is watching was awesome)
- the humour. Now this is how you make humour in a Star Wars movie, not with poop jokes but with clever dialogue perfect timing in awkward situations. The scene with Finn and BB-8 in the Falcon was gold.
-The lightsabers, loved how it was used only when it was needed to. And the fights were awesome, agreesive and raw and not flashy.

The less positive stuff:
- Of the new characters, probably Hux was the least good. If he had died in this movie, I don't think he would be missed in the upcoming movies.
- Also lack of Captain Phasma screentime. Hope to see more of her in EPVIII
- Very poor use of the Raid 2 actors, would have love to see them doing hand to hand combat, hopefully we would see more next movies.
- John Williams score, maybe I need to get used to more listenings but it felt very generic to me
- the movie clearly needed more 15/20 minutes to breathe a little bit. But there so much you can do with 30 years of time between EPVI and EPVII in 2h15mins.

Of course the main criticism I'm seeing is stating that TFA is basically a rehash of ANH. I understand and I saw that in the movie, but truth is, it didn't bother me at all. I had fun, the sense of adventure was back, loved the characters, specially the new ones, can't wait to see EPVIII where I believe Rian Johnson will take to new stuff.

I'll give TFA a 9/10

 

What cgi do you think could have been done better? I think 95%% looked photorealistic.

 

After seeing the movie a second time I definitely thought it was better on a repeat viewing. Some things I didn't quite know how I felt about seemed good this time. Currently I rank it close to ROTJ. 3 or 4th best. I won't be able to determine that for certain for awhile. It's good enough I know I will see it a 3rd time, maybe more.

 

Always based my SW rating on the three components:
Director's Work - Characters - Plot/Story/Worldbuilding
TFA demonstrated Excellent Director's Work, Not Bad Characters and Bad Plot/Story/Worldbuilding

Spoiler

Pros:
-Rey. Sympathetic girl. That what the all stories need. Not more, not less.
-Han Solo. Ford acted as Han Solo, not as old tired Ford. After 30 years he still remember how to make Han Solo's mimic. The only negative thing is that he didnt look like a good father. He didnt show enough passion to save own son. It looked like Leia forced him to do this.
-BB8. He is one of the best, if not the best character. And i doubted him before, ha.
-VFX. Not the top, but pretty good. Juicy.
-Cinematography. Very good. Rare scene left me feel myself uncomfortable and strange. Abrams was really good.
-Camera work. Great shots. Good angles.

Neither pros nor cons:
-Maz Kanata. Nothing special. Strange persone.
-Poe Dameron. Not enough screentime. Also, his chemistry with Finn is too fast and obvious. They hugs and Poe drops "Keep that leather vest. You looks good in it". What? It sounds strange.
-Leia. Not enough screentime. Acting is not bad. But screenwriters make her relationships with Han underwhelming and underused. I didnt believe in her, Han, and their love for Ben Solo.
-Battles. Most of them looks juicy and bright, but when i came to home and thought about the scene that id want to rewatch, just one scene came to mind - Falcon vs Tie-Fighters. Nothing else. Lightsaber battle was not bad at max. Final air battle was underwhelming too.
-Finn. On other hand he wasnt annoying at all. He was sometimes funny. But sometimes he looks like too modern guy, its hard too believe that he is from fairy tale'sgalaxy far far away.
-Music. Williams made the weakest soundtrack for SW. Sad but true.

Cons:
-SKB. Star consuming? Penetrable deflector shields, when the spaceship uses lightspeed? Dozen of Tie-Fighters as the defense? 10 X-Wings did the job against planetsize military base? Detonation of the planetsize base because of detanation of 1/1000 part of it? Transforming into the new star, and spaceships managed to escape its' explosion? Thats just plain bad.
-Villains. Dooku and Maul > villains of TFA. Ren was just a madman who turned into 2.5Ep Anakin without any proper reason to be him. Phasma did nothing except saving own life with the cost of lifes of the thousands people. Hux was just bad and cartoony. And Snoke escaped from the Jack the Giantslayer.
-Plot. Find Nemo. Oh, sorry, i mean Luke. It was just weak and uniteresting foundation for the story. I mean, you can use that concept to show the adventures of heroes in the different new worlds, with different life and creatures, with fresh events happened to them. And you can use that concept to show how another squadron of X-Wings destroys another Death Star. Boring and uninspiring.
-Powerscaling. Kylo was able to stop laser in midair and push peoples in the beginning. Kylo couldnt get the lightsaber with the Force. What? The same with Rey. Her powerups were ridiculous. Especially in the end, when Kylo mentioned Force, Rey was like "Oh, exactly! The Force!" and then she upped 100 level and went beast mod. I know, that there may be something that will be revealed in the next episodes. But right now it looks bad and silly.
-Setting. Oh my god, thats was my main gripe. They made SW Universe bland and boring. It was especially noticeable if we will compare it with EU. In the EU the Holy Trinity during 30+ years have taken the part in many wars, met many enemies besides Empire, changed, felt emotions, interacted each other. In TFA Han and Leia basically decribed the 30 years of Canon Universe: a) Luke tried to teach the forceusers, but failed and hide; b) They were married and it was bad and not so bad; c) Han did almost nothing for the Republic. He was just a truck driver; d)Empire still the main enemy, and nothing changed besides the name.
God, that was just the spit in the face of fans. In TFA the story/screenwriters in few strokes made the 30 years of the history bland and boring. There the first one character did just general stuff, the second just did driver stuff, the third hide somewhere. The biggest change is Resistance and Republic unreasonable separation, and renaming of the Empire. No explanation. The lack of Lucas, not the best director, but one of the greatest worldbuilders in the history, was noticeable. TFA lack of creativity. In TFA among the rare new things we have weird Maz Kanata with bland backstory, and Kanjiklub. Few time when they mentioned Kanjulkub, i heard that some people laughed in the audience. The members of the smugglers looked like characters escaped from TV-Series like Firefly, Andromeda and Battlestar Galactica. Their weapon, clothes, language, even race looked alien to the SW universe. I swear, the scenes with smugglers and monsters on the ships looks like the scene from another sci-fi flick. And thats what they brought here.

Given all of that, i rated TFA as 7/10.
Overall my top is:
ESB 10/10
ANH 9/10
ROTJ/ROTS 8/10
TFA 7/10
TPM 6/10
AOTC 5/10.

 

Here's mine. If you're looking for an actual grade, I'd go with an A-

REVIEW

 

double post

 

"There's a wealth of camera movement but it feels motivated." Okay, what's "motivating" that pointless aerial spiral shot of Luke and Rey at the end? Lots of pointless restless ADD camera movement in the movie IMO. Not as much as I'd feared, but it's there. Lucas has a much better sense of when to move the camera than JJ, IMO.

 

I certainly agree with you there. I guess what I'm saying is that it's much more of an improvement over JJ's other films as opposed to an improvement over Lucas' eye for composition and camera movement. I was as confused as you were about that final helicopter shot as you were. JJ could have easily gone for a wide shot of both characters in profile rather than spinning around them.

 

Rakhtars or whatever those space monsters were in Solo's ship looked bit off. Maybe it was 3d though not cgi that caused the effect. I guess there were top animators of the world using the latest techniques. Also it may be the fact that so much was not done by cgi that cgi starts to stand out more. I dunno- maybe I was imagining things or it was that 3d-effect that bothered me. Minor thing anyways- nothing in effects to complain about .

I agree about this completely. I think Lloyd was pretty good as a child actor compared to Hayden and Natalie in AOTC. Especially that awful fireplace scene and their first kiss

 

Long time occasional lurker but finally decided to make an account because I couldn't contain my excitement for this film! It was such a fun movie that I loved every bit of it!

Watched it on IMAX and everything looked great. I mean, I loved some of the imagery and environment plates used in the sequels but this one feels like the originals and in such a good way. I see it as a homage to ANH and I don't get what's wrong with that.

Han and Leia. I clapped with the audience when they finally made their appearance. And Han, I knew it was coming but when he fell I was heartbroken. Childhood hero right there. I've come to terms with it but I wish they could've given him a more 'flashy' exit. I also wish there was more of Leia so here's hoping she'll have a bigger role in the next one.

The newbies. I have my reservations concerning our new heroes but thankfully, my fears are unfounded. I usually don't like overpowered and seemingly flawless characters, but damn, Rey is an awesome and endearing lead! On paper, it's easy to see why some people would consider her 'annoyingly perfect' but seeing her on screen is a different thing. Daisy Ridley nailed it. For all of Rey's bad-assery, you can still see how vulnerable and confused she is, and not to mention incredibly lonely. Her intro scene made me feel for her. All alone... scavenging... that sorry looking pilot doll... her first friend being a droid (how cute is her bonding with BB8?)... Why did you leave her there Luke! (Me thinks she's a Skywalker). She has so much potential and I can't wait for Episode VIII for more of her.

Finn's character was not what I expected. Happily surprised! Like Ridley, Boyega did an awesome job. I was rooting for him every time he's on screen. I find his humour very fitting with his trooper past. Who says only Skywalkers get to have internal struggles with the dark side? With rumours that Phasma's coming back, I wonder if she's going to be Finn's nemesis.

Kylo Ren. Though I couldn't quite forgive him for killing Han, I did like his character and could his intro get anymore epic? Stopping that blaster fire mid air truly set up what he's capable of. I love that for all his villainous showmanship... behind that mask is an insecure young man. I find him childish and it adds to the complexity of his character. I hope he keeps his unpredictability and rawness even after his training, more of that wild lightsaber technique please.

Rey vs Kylo. When the fight started I was thinking, "Rey cannot win against Kylo this early! She needs training!" But again, given that Kylo was injured and Rey seems fully charged with the force, I can accept the outcome. Also, on a story telling point of view, I'm willing to give this narrative route a chance. Kylo will be furious and will be back with a vengeance. Ray? I'm not sure how she'll really be feeling after taking down (and almost killing) a feared force user. So much to look forward too!

I know this movie is not perfect but man, what an uplifting start to another trilogy

 

Long time, no post! Seems like an appropriate time to return to these boards.

I felt like this was both a Star Wars film, and a J.J. Abrams film. It's extremely energetic, it's fun and funny. It has great new characters, and is well-directed. But it's also filled with convenience, and sometimes moves to a new scene in jarring ways. It even becomes self-aware that it lacks in explaining things -- Han utters something like "escape now, explain later" at one point. The fast pace of the film seems like it's there to intentionally not allow the viewer time to think about things. Episode 8 and 9 are going to have a LOT to address...

Rey, Finn, and Kylo are all great characters, well acted and well directed.

Rey is the one that's going to have to be explained the most in 8 and 9. She clearly has repressed memories, and presumably had exposure to Luke's training in the past (uh, I think?). I really really need to see the "vision" sequence again. The sudden return of her powers felt like it could be one of the bigger aforementioned conveniences, but it's one I'm willing to let wait until the entire trilogy is out there.

Finn is a lot of fun. It's hard to be sure if there's some latent connection to the force with him, or if his scene against Kylo just comes from military training and Kylo's injury. Good to have a little mystery there.

Kylo is surprisingly fun too. His temper tantrums were kind of hilarious. We got to see a very different style of force powers, which was kind of neat.

I'm willing to wait for explanations on the more sweeping story elements... Luke vanishing, origins of Snoke and the First Order, general state of the galaxy, Maz having possession of Luke's saber.

My remaining over-arching issue is with convenience within the story itself. There are a few that stand out right now:
- Han Solo happens to come across the Falcon first after it escapes Jakku.
- R2 stirs to life because... why?
- The ground splits between Rey and Kylo purely in order to resolve their battle.

I'm also having trouble remembering if it's explained what happened to Poe between his crash on Jakku, and his appearance later on Maz's planet.


If I'm comparing my experience to back when The Phantom Menace was released, it's almost a similar reaction. With Episode I, my reaction was hushed more because of the poor direction and so much focus on Jar Jar flopping around. With Episode VII, it's a different sort of hush -- I feel like it's not as cohesive a story, it has too many conveniences, and the final battle isn't as epic. But it's certainly more fun and better crafted as a film. If 8 and 9 can fill in some gaps in a satisfying way, I'll probably like it better. Maybe repeat viewings will help me decide.

 

In all honesty, I thought it was fantastic and better than the PT and ROTJ. Now for my gripes:

-How the hell did Poe escape Jakku?
-Science of the Starkiller is wonky (where did all the mass of the sun go?)
-Phasma
-Score is serviceable but cannot remember any themes
-Max Von Sydow is barely in it

 

Overall, loved the movie. Glad the Wars is back on the big screen. That said, I could have done without a few things. The movie felt dangerously close to being a greatest hits collection of moments and beats from the OT. However, it was done so well that I can look past it.

The only things that really bothered me were Starkiller Base, and Rey's Jedi mind trick.

The ultimate planet killer weapon theme is just played out. It felt like a throw away edition. Especially when the Resistance destroys it so easily and quickly.

Captain Phasma was also a bit wasted. I would have rather her be the Stormtrooper who fights Finn, just to let her do something more substantial than lower a shield. But, I digress.

Rey being able to do a Jedi mind trick felt unearned to me. I would have preferred her to try and fail, and have to escape a different way. Feels like a mind trick ought to require some training, or at least some time to experience using the Force.

Otherwise, I have only a few nitpicks.

Finally, and this last isn't a criticism, just an observation. I love and loved Williams music. That said, after two viewings, I don't find that there's a standout musical theme, a la your Imperial March or a Dual of the Fates. Still, will be adding this soundtrack to my collection.

So, to sum up. Loved it, but feel like there are a few things that keep it from pure greatness.

 

For me this is easily the worst of the Star Wars movies. They went safe and basically copied the plot of A New Hope. I would've respected them much more if they tried something new and unique and failed, then what they did which for me was still a failure.

Pros:
+ Acting with a few exceptions was largely good, Ridley, Boyega, Isaacs were all very good in my opinion.
+ I was expecting to hate the return of Han since I didn't really want to see washed up Han Solo but was pleasantly surprised, wished they gave him better dialogue though
+ Visuals were excellent, the imagery of the crashed star destroyed in the desert is maybe the most beautiful shot in any of the movies, also loved the shot of the Tie Fighters flying with the sun behind them
+ Most of the dialogue was very good and few if any scenes ruined by terrible dialogue
+ Rey was a very good lead character
+ First 40 minutes or so was perfectly fine, movie began to fall apart once Han and Chewie showed up (not due to them but due to where the story went from there)

Neutral:
+/- Han's death, I randomly got spoiled on this by an internet troll so I knew it was going to happen taking away any shock value though I suspect the scene would've been predictable but I'll never know. I don't mind Han getting killed, but not sure if I like the actual death scene or not
+/- Maz Kanata, the character itself was fine I guess, I'm just not sure if she was needed or served any point other than she randomly has Anakin's original lightsaber
+/- Thought Carrie Fisher was unrecognizable as Leia

Cons:
- As I stated above the movie contains nary an original idea, a copy of the outline of A New Hope and that is not at all what I wanted and it makes the whole movie predictable
- Finn, while I liked Boyega's performance the character doesn't really make any sense. He quits the First Order essentially b/c he doesn't want to kill and then all of the sudden he is just killing them with no reservation at all? Not sure how believable that leap is, granted they were trying to kill him. Also would someone who has been trained since birth to be in the First Order really be throwing out one-liners? Not very likely
- Kylo Ren, didn't like him at all, I like my villains threatening and he lost that aspect as soon as he has his first lightsaber tantrum. Not convinced at all by Adam Driver, just not sure he has the right look for the part in addition to maybe not being a good enough actor
- Snoke, as a villain we don't know much which is fine, but as a CGI creation he is a monstrosity, for a movie with this kind of budget there is no excuse for such bad CGI on your biggest villain, and for a movie which has been heavily promoting how they tried to use as little CGI as possible it seems odd that a humanoid character like this would be CGI.
- Hux, I really don't know what they were trying for this villain but it didn't work at all, they cast an excellent actor but someone who doesn't look remotely threatening at all, then they have this excellent actor deliberately over-acting, poor casting and a waste of the actor's skills, should've played a different role more suited to him
- The action scenes were entirely lacking in tension, a first for a Star Wars movie in my opinion. in particular the X-Wing battle at the end which was anti-climactic
- Minor quibble but what exactly are the Resistance resisting? They seem to be aligned with the Republic which seems to be the ruling body
- Gang fight scene was totally filler and had no reason to be in the movie, not sure how out it made the final cut
- Han finding the Millennium Falcon was a little too convenient and dependent on pure luck for my tastes
- Not having Chewie embrace Leia after Han's death is a minor quibble but I instantly noticed it
- Starkiller base randomly destroying a planetary system, the shot of the planet made me feel like it was Coruscant that just destroyed which would have been a monumental event, instead it is some system that the vast majority of the audience has never heard of. More of a problem is the fact that this should still have been a monumental event but it was treated as a total after thought. Part of the problem being we have no idea the real significance of the system being destroyed, nor much of a clue about where the Republic, First Order and Resistance stand in the galaxy
- Overpowering of Rey at the end. Seems unlikely that she could hold her own with Ren in a lightsaber duel when she had never used the weapon before. Either that or Ren was massively overpowered with his ability to use the force throughout the movie only to then be a complete amateur using a lightsaber.
- Starkiller Base/plot line, probably the worst aspect of the film for me. First of all we didn't need a super weapon part 3, secondly the relative ease with which it was defeated was entirely unconvincing, 4 people and about 10 X-Wing fighters destroying the base stretches the limits of credibility


I probably have a lot more cons that aren't coming to mind at the moment but those above sum up my major issues with the movie. It is the first Star Wars movie I saw in the theaters that left me not wanting to see it in the theaters again (saw the prequels in the theaters, saw the OT prior to the prequels on VHS and then in the theaters for the Special Edition). At the moment I doubt I'll go see it again. It is never fair to judge a movie on one viewing admittedly but I can't see myself ever truly liking it. I'd give it a 6/10 rating, not crap but totally lacking in inspiration and originality in my opinion. Glad Abrams won't be directing any more of the movies. I'm looking forward to the one-shot movies much more than the remaining two films in the new trilogy, which was true prior to this movie as well though.

 

I'm really trying not to dump on this movie, I enjoyed it and will see it again soon. But what I'm seeing in these reviews, positive and negative, really highlights how little it is the majority of the audience wants from a SW movie. Zingers and banter, old characters and stuff from the OT, some "b/a" action, a small group of freedom fighters battling a big bad guy etc. It doesn't matter if it makes sense, is well structured or has any depth (three things TFA is lacking IMO). It just kind of confirms suspicions I've had for a long time. Maybe GL should have cranked this stuff out first before doing the PT. Dunno. He might have had a more receptive audience if he'd given them what they wanted first. I see all the elements here but. . .they're not very thoughtfully assembled -- they're just there -- but 99.9% of the audience seems Okay with that so what do I know?

 

I think it was a great movie & epic on the big screen. I like the characters a lot. I'm not good at reviewing so I'll stop.
My score: 9/10.

 

I am planing on seeing this a few times over the Holidays! but next month when some of the hype dies down I am going to the AMC In Sarasota Florida to see the film in IMAX 3-D can anyone tell me how It looks in 3-D I-Max ? Does any one know when the novel comes out?

 

Hey fellow SW fans, I've been reading the comments and spoilers ever since they came out this week and, as a fanfic writer and, I will admit, still miffed EU lover, one question keeps spinning in my mind as I can't understand why, once again, those details that have been pointed out by a minority of fans, seem to be completely OK by most of the others...

Hmmmm, you might have guessed by now that I am a moderate fan nowadays and that I haven't partaken yet in the latest offering on the screen, mostly because I have been waiting for fan reactions to make my decision wether I was going to pay 20$ for a movie even if I don't agree with the direction they are taking those sequels...

So, anyway, here is my question, and please, remember that I am trying to understand my own lack of excitment to overlook the flaws that follow, and nothing else. (I felt the same with ROTS and didn't find the answer then, so I'm hoping that you'll be able to help me now ;P

So, here we go : considering that 'they' will make billions out of the box-office and merchandise just because they stuck the name Star Wars to their production, hence that they should deserve that much of our collective hard-earned money by delivering a movie where originality and excitement go hand in hand with the signature landmarks of the SW universe (lightsabers, spaceships, alien and exotic worlds, good old friends (that could also have come from the favorites of the books) and references to past events), and that the story should be at least up to par with good fanfiction and past novels/comic books, let alone beyond bad fanfic in any way... How come most fans seem to completely overlook the following details that just have me revising my intention to pay to see that movie :

- The lack of training of the new Jedi and her abilities to even beat a partly-trained dark Jedi? (In any fanfic, this would be a big no-no)

- The repetition of the Death Star for yet another time, and yet another big explosion when the sky was almost the limit for this new opus? (And the books were filled with examples of other designs of Superweapons that they wouldn't have had to think up either yet would have been a breath of fresh air on the screen... and for the years of repeated watching to come)

- The lack of proper mourning of Han's passing between Leia and Chewie when they mourned as if he were dead in ESB... (to me, emotions and empathy have always been the fabric of that universe and in that group of heroes... and in fanfic, what do we do but stretch, reshape and exploit that fabric because it matters so much to us all... yet here, nope, it's mostly skipped by yet it's ok...)
THe same also seem to have happened about that planet they destroyed... Another planet? And the Senate if I understood well? How come this doesn't rock the boat? And that it's not rocking the boat flies by us fans easily enough that they pay to see it repeatedly?.. Such a major plothole wouldn't stand in any other movie... (ex. : Jupiter Ascending and it's lame-a** ending)

- The lack of any back story as to why they are almost still at the starting point even though thirty years have gone by... I find the excuse of 'it's coming in part VIII' disturbing... Not to mention yet another bait already laid for us fans to bite on and guarantee them even more billions... Yet we aren't that naive, are we?)

- The separation between Han and Leia, the couple of the OT that had overcome all obstacles, even Daddy Vader being in the family... I call this OOC and don't read that kind of fanfic for free, so to pay to see that on the movie screen?.. And some even do more than once? Is that really what we wanted? What those iconic favorite characters deserve even long before they kill Han?

- The blatant mistake about Luke's lightsaber being blue instead of green... I don't understand how the fanboys that made that movie, as the whole crew were that, could make that lame a mistake in continuity... Or how it hasn't irritated more viewers to at least limit their viewing to once only and then wait for the bluray to come out...

- The unevolved x-wing and TIE designs when, in RJ, they had already evolved into TIE interceptors, B-wing and A-wings designs... Again, this kind of lack of continuity, especially from pros that get payed to do that when fans do it perfectly for free in fanfilms and other love-born offerings... It just rankles me and I don't understand why it hasn't come up by several other fans by now... From the non-fan viewers of the critics, I didn't expect otherwise, but from us nitpickers about details on models, and in drawings, paintings, costumes and what not... Truly, I'm confused...

- The mercantile placement of plotwise pointless characters such as Phasma when they didn't even bother to flesh out favorites from the comic books and books that have already earned their place in the hearts and minds of the fans, hence would have also won the general public over 'and' would have made great merchandise as well... but at least with backstories and a little more fleshed-out character to feed on... I haven't studied in marketing but after falling for the hype with TPM and the books and comics until I understood what was going on vs how things were back in the OT time, I can just see plain as day through their strategies to draw the money in... and milk the cow for all its worth and them some... WAsn't that what we rebuked Lucas for? Yet they are even worse than he is and seem to flock to the bait begging for more... Did they create a drug-like effect that blinds most fans from what they wouldn't accept from any other source? Or am I just toooooooo nitpicking for my own good? I mean who cares about original characters in fanfic, in general? Only a minority, and those OC still have something to do in their stories, in general... Yet here, OCs without any function are created and embraced, or at least don't bother enough to limit the viewing to
one?

- The lack of originality... I always said that JJ was either keeping things under wraps to wow us better... or because, from what I gathered from the trailers and the posters, he knew all too well that they moment that the words Planet destroyer, droid on a secret mission to find a Jedi master, and hunt for that little droid would be out, the presales would not be happening all that much... I was saddened to discover that I had been guessing right about the story, yet that repetition of nothing new doesn't seem to phase most fans who multiply the visits to the theater... Are we really that desperate for SW on the big screen? Shouldn't we instead send a message that it was borderline acceptable plotwise for that one as it still placed the new characters in the universe and amongst the original characters, but that they had better not repeat that exercise with the next one or they would lose more money? Isn't a ticket = a vote for more of the same?.. That, personnaly, is why I am still unsure as to whether I will make a detour to see it on the big screen... I want quality, originality, and intelligent entertainment that respects, truly respects, not only the OT but it's set-in-stone continuity by avoiding the kind of mistakes that is all over the place in this one... I look for it when I start reading a new fanfic, I write keeping that in mind for my readers, so I really, really expect nothing less from those who will make billions from their own take on the universe... I must be too perfectionist, still...

- The plot device that they answer almost no questions about the past, how they got there and who the newbies are, leaving everything in the open, for part VIII, granted, but come on... They don't give just a little bit... THey give nothing so, of course, people are eager for part VIII and some answers, but... is that good storytelling? Matrix revealed a lot in its first installment yet left questions to answer, Jupiter Ascending did as well, and even TPM, the most revelled TPM, gave us some answers while setting up the future... Kylo being Han and Leia's son is an answer, I agree, but... in the grand scheme of the past thirty years, how the Rebellion became the Resistance while there is now a Senate, how the First order managed to enslave its stormtroopers when they were surely harrassed by the Rebellion into a quarter of what they used to be, resources included... Ooops, I"m repeating myself, but that really bugs me personally. As a writer, and an avid consumers of stories in general, this just strikes me as lazy writing...

- The Falcon, which has always been clunky and faulty, just flies without a hitch even in blast-off after more than thirty extra years of life? How long do ships last in GFFA? And after being exposed to sandstorms and whatnot on Jakku, shouldn't it have had hiccups and fail them? It barely made it off Hoth, remember? And Han was flying it and maintening it back then. It was also old already, back then... OK, I will admit to totally understand the nostalgic value of that iconic ship, and seeing as they bet almost everything on that particular strategy, they 'had' to include it in the movie... but again, continuity, logic within the set universe... What we eventually saw clear as day as lacking in the prequels, we don't see now?.. From the first teaser that they served us?

And... I think I've gotten out most of my answerless puzzles... Now, I just hope that my fellow fans can help me understand why I'm so 'not' into this hype yet again and how I can fix it to at least enjoy the movie once on the big screen and not feel, instead, like I should have gone and seen Point Break instead... (a remake, yes, but that assumes everything that it is at least, and that seems to have pushed the envelope even though it's a remake... Even the latest Bond was filled with winks to the past, yet the story was original and the treatment of those winks, full of surprises with twists that gave them new humor and/or flavor Aaaaaanyway, I'm sure you see the pattern now, so I will shut up. And since no one else can help me with my questions/observations above, you, fellow SW hardcore-fanfic-lovers, are my only hope

Love
Mireille
-

-

 

I posted this in the TV forums, but well, here it goes. I just came back from the after party, I need time to reorganize all my thoughts about the movie. But I think it would be interesting to share the general thoughts of all the people who went to see the movie with me. It was a group of eight people, half were SW fans and the other half just casual movie watchers, not SW fans. This is what we all liked and disliked about the movie:

++++ Finn was awesome and he was everyone’s favorite character. For all of us, SW fans and non-SW fans alike, he was the star of the movie.
++++ Finn: “We’ll use the Force.” Best line! And the humor, man, they got the humor right! So many laughs!
+++ That random stormtrooper with the cool blaster who fought Finn. Man, you could hear the entire audience in the theater gasping at that scene, and considering this is Japan, where people are dead silent during shows, it was quite a feat. It just looked so freakin’ badass. Easily the best one-on-one fight of the entire movie.
+++ The emotional highlight of the movie was when Han died. We all shed a tear, even those who had no previous emotional connection to the character. Adam Driver’s performance was also great. The setting, the photography, the acting, was all great. The only complaint we all had was that the drama went on for a bit too long and it started bordering on melodrama.
++ Old Han Solo was still the same Han Solo as ever. Even the those who did not remember nor watched the original trilogy, still loved his character.
++ The dogfights looked amazing. We all loved the cinematography of the flight scenes, and we all loved the designs of the ships, even if they were pretty much the same X-wings and TIE fighters of the OT but with a new paint job. It still looked pretty awesome. Everyone’s favorite dogfight scene seems to be when they went through the Star Destroyer wreckage.
++ General Hux’s speech and the way Gleeson delivered it was pretty damn good. His accent and his overall intense “Nazi vibe”, made him such a great watch. We all enjoyed his character very much.
+ The first half of the movie was the best one. The plot went a bit downhill after Rey was captured.
+ We all want a droid like BB-8. Also, Poe was a nice character, but his screen time was too short, and his bond with Finn could’ve been more explored.
+ Rey was so cool and so interesting in the beginning. Then in the latter half of the movie, she started getting a bit overpowered… I’ll get to that in a moment.
+ Leia and Chewbacca had the best hair of all the movie cast. Yes, this was an important thing. We’ve spent like an hour discussing just how Luke and Kylo could’ve used a better hair stylist.

Now, the negatives:

--- The politics. While the prequels suffered from too much political intrigue and exposition, TFA suffered from lack of explanation. Things just…randomly happened! Aren’t the Rebellion aligned with the New Republic? Why are the called the Rebellion/Resistance-whatever? Who is the new official ruling power? And where does the First Order come from, do they even have allegiances with other star systems? It kinda felt that the First Order was the one rebelling in the movie, which is why we were all confused (especially the non-SW fans) with their political role in this movie.
-- Where did the First Order get their financial support to build a ginormous Death Star like that? The superweapon felt nothing more than just a mere, out-of-nowhere plot device. And the way it destroyed the New Republic planets was like, wait, what? Replay that again? That's the New Republic? That's all that there was of the New Republicor there is more?
-- The destruction of Death Star 3.0 was a bit anticlimactic and rushed. Way too easy, and nothing memorable about it. They should’ve kept it for the following movie (maybe just destroy the main weapon, but keep the station still functional for future improvements?)
-- Captain Phasma was severely underused! We were all disappointed at her lack of feats and how she was so easily subdued by Finn. Even when she was disabling the shields, we were still hoping for a twist in there, but there was nothing.
- Rey was overpowered in the last half. During the first half, when she managed to pull that stunt with the Millennium Falcon in the Star Destroyer crash site we were all “Wow, totally unexpected, she’s awesome!” But at the end, when she manages to defeat Kylo Ren without no previous lightsaber training (albeit he was injured, but still), it just felt like they were going a bit over the top with her character, and none of us were really pleased with the way it was presented.
- Kylo Ren was defeated too easily. That last lightsaber fight cheapened his menace and he doesn’t look so threatening anymore.
- Luke Skywalker’s reveal at the end felt flat. There were too many things going on in the movie, too much information, to the point where when third act came we no longer cared if they were still searched for Luke. Looking back, the whole premise of the movie felt like a Macguffin. And when Luke finally appeared, all dandy and fine, we were left wondering “Why was he hiding? What’s with making them go through all this trouble to find him with nonsense treasure maps?” The ending just felt, well, “that’ it? okay.” Also, his hair looked like ****. Yeah, we had lots of drunken discussions about the hair situation in TFA.
- Okay, this is not a problem with the movie, it’s Japan-only issue. The subtitles. The font they used was distracting, and I’m not sure if they were even accurate. I tried not to look at the subs, well, until my friend suddenly jerked in the middle of the movie: “That’s not what he said!”. Japan, you gotta fix those subtitles.

Some points of disagreement between the non-SW fans and SW fans regarding the movie:

+/- I don't know, but for me, and the other SW fans, it felt a bit too over-dramatic in some parts. The scene between Kylo and the captured Rey was awkward to say the least. I wasn't the only one who thought there was some weird sexual tension going on there. Also, it was too much ANH rehashed. The non-SW fans had no complaints in this regard however, they enjoyed the plot overall and they liked the drama.
+/- Snoke’s appearance. I, and my fellow SW fan friends, liked his appearance. The non-SW fans however were “meh” about him, they felt him to look too much like Voldemort and they were confused about his actual size: was he a giant, or was he just a projection? And if he was a giant, why was he just sitting in a throne and not doing anything?
+/- Kylo Ren’s character. Well, the SW fans were disappointed at his apparent immaturity and how he was nothing like Vader. I do think Kylo Ren should be a different type of villain, but in a movie that was such a straightforward rehash of the ANH, where we have hero characters acting like a Luke and Han, or even like Obi-Wan (the old guy in the beginning?); where there’s even a Tarkin-type of character and even a new “Emperor”, Kylo Ren just sticks out in the middle of this rehashed cast like the character who failed to be the new Darth Vader. I personally don’t think it was much of the character’s fault as it was the rest of the plot and characters being too much a reminder of ANH. However, the non-SW fans were pleased with his character and thought him to be very interesting.
+/- Finn vs Rey as the new Jedi. Let’s just say, two of the non-SW fans who tagged along with us knew very little about the saga. They knew Jedi were like special people wielding (generally blue) lightsabers. So they were convinced that Finn was going to be the Jedi in this movie because of the promotional posters. And they were a bit disappointed at the end, as it seemed that the plot was leaning toward Rey becoming the new Jedi, not Finn. They loved Finn’s character in the movie (credits to John Boyega for bringing so much personality to Finn) and while Rey was fun, they weren’t just as engaged in her as they were with Finn. We the SW fans were already expecting her to be the one to carry on the Jedi legacy, because well, she’s white and she looks like Natalie Portman, so we were all convinced from the start she was a Skywalker.

So yeah, these were all the main topics we discussed. There are a few things I am still unsure what to think of, particularly regarding the way the villains were presented in this movie. But overall, even though I was disappointed with some parts, I enjoyed the movie.