Star Wars: The Force Awakens

[kelric]

I agreed with almost all of the points the video-maker in Crabs' link mentioned. I guess I should put this in spoiler tags...

The thing that the video-critic mentioned as the biggest disappointment was the story. I couldn't agree more. The prequels were, in many cases, executed extremely poorly (particularly the dialogue). But the story, in broad strokes, was quite good. The fall of the Republic and Jedi mirrored with the fall of Anakin, combined with Anakin's personal story *could* have been executed in a way to make it an award-winning series. It wasn't. Not even close. But the foundation was there.

The Force Awakens didn't have that. The plot was pure rehash, but with so many plot holes and unexplained coincidences that it came across more like a compilation of unrelated action sequences than a unified story. I've been a fan of the series since I was a kid (loooong ago )... but the fan-service was too much. Abrams needed to focus on the story first... and I feel like it came last.

The thing I remember thinking when I first saw the Phantom Menace in the theater was that it "felt" like Star Wars. The music, the effects, the lightsaber battles, the Jedi, etc. *felt* like Star Wars, even if the child Anakin and Jar-Jar hi-jinks were weak. A lot of this was the music and the flow of the story. I never felt that in the Force Awakens. In comparison, it seemed like just another hectic plot-poor action movie, with Star Wars props and costumes.

Don't get me wrong - I had fun, and I'm glad I went to see it. But it left me sort of flat. I chuckled at Han's death scene... given that his character was originally supposed to die on his mission to detonate charges and bring down the shield generator protecting the planet-destroying superweapon from the X-wing fighter fleet in Return of the Jedi. 32 years later... it came to pass.

One character I did like was Kylo Ren... his character was one of the few things that the movie did that didn't mimic the original trilogy. I like the idea of seeing how a character driven by his own insecurity and fear of failure is taken advantage of and dragged down. You could say that is sort of like Anakin's story, but Anakin was never insecure... if anything he was too arrogant. Ren's more real to me, and hence more interesting. Rey's backstory (which we didn't see) could be interesting too, if explored in the later movies. Finn was fun, Poe was just sort of there. But overall the new characters were a plus... I just wish we could have seen more of their motivations and story, and less random stuff blowing up.

 

[GarrotTheThief]

We're basically all agreeing that this movie was enjoyable to watch but generally sucked and was over hyped.

 

[highlander]

We're basically all agreeing that this movie was enjoyable to watch but generally sucked and was over hyped.

I didn't think it sucked. I just think the criticisms are valid. A thing can have flaws and still be good.

 

[Betty Blue]

We're basically all agreeing that this movie was enjoyable to watch but generally sucked and was over hyped.

I thought it was freakin awesome. I didn't see the hype though... & never watch trailers ... so ... could be why i didn't get the hype.

 

[Kas]

Soo coming back to my constructive review. Here are some random thoughts.

There is atmosphere similar to old movies which I like. Emphasis on the characters, dialogues and action.

The plot is a bit lame. I mean it’s quite simple, they try to find Luke and bad guys are trying to kill them. I laughed a little that 2nd part will be on the hill with Luke and 3rd will be Luke coming home.
Still it didn’t bother me much, because it was fun.

I liked seeing old characters, still hoped it will not be mostly about them, it could destroy the new film. I think though they balanced it well enough. It was tribute to old trilogy and their fans, but hopefully started something new too.

I see some plots are repeated, what's more I think that new characters in the way are replacing old onces.
Ray is suppose to replace Luke.
Poe is suppose to replace Han Solo

(practically after he appeared I somehow thought that he will come back and Han Solo will die )

Ben/Kylo Ren is clearly a replacement for Anakin/Dark Vader. Will he come to the light side and die too? Very likely
Finn is something new , which is good.
There is no replacement for Yoda. I kind of have some hope that Maz Kanata survived- she looked as someone weird and funny enough (sorry Master Yoda). Apparently saying that she woke up somewhere and there was no one would be explanation good enough, so…

Aw the new robot is cute.

Also I hope that Ray isn't the Luke daughter (too much of family story) and she is just new strong force in the universe, but we'll see.

To sum up, the plot is far from being perfect, but it’s still good movie and promising beginning of the story.


Edit: Also I'm not sure how someone as emotionally unstable as Kylo Ren is able to use any force...

 

[lowtech redneck]

I saw it in 3D yesterday, and the effect was very well done....I would highly recommend people watch it in imax, even if they've seen it already.

Brief thoughts: WARNING, MINOR SPOLIERS

I'm glad I was already burnt out on certain George Lucas and EU plot elements, I was able to watch it without my inner fanboy raging at any of the changes or plot decisions. In my mind, there is no longer any canon, just alternate realities.

Poe seems like a combination of Han Solo and Wedge Antilles....I'm cool with that, I hope he gets a lot more screen time in the sequels.

I love Rey, but I confess I often have a thing for Mary Sues. Anyway, she's my favorite new character (Poe and the impractically designed robot are tied for second).

Finn was okay, I liked the less-than-bad-ass direction they took, but he also had some....questionable moments.

Ben was underwhelming, I hope he becomes a Dark Side bad-ass after committing a certain act.

Very much like Episode IV; there will probably be a backlash for towards the thin characterization, moral simplicity and regurgitated elements.....but there was no Jar-Jar Binks or emo adolescent Anakin Skywalker to poison most of the movie. Not as good as the originals, but better than the prequels (aside from the lightsaber duels).

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I liked Kanata. As I said, the movie is at its best when it really embraces the new characters. It dragged when it focused too much on old characters.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

When Han was using Chewie's blaster, that was another instance of fan service where I felt Han was playing the role of fanboy thrown in the film. I found it hard to believe he'd never once used Chewie's rifle after decades together.

 

[SearchingforPeace]

When Han was using Chewie's blaster, that was another instance of fan service where I felt Han was playing the role of fanboy thrown in the film. I found it hard to believe he'd never once used Chewie's rifle after decades together.

That annoyed me. That was JJ Abrams being himself.....

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

When Han was using Chewie's blaster, that was another instance of fan service where I felt Han was playing the role of fanboy thrown in the film. I found it hard to believe he'd never once used Chewie's rifle after decades together.

It never occurred to me, but it is extremely unlikely. He would have used it at least once. But yeah, I think the stuff with Han Solo is the biggest problem with the film.

He's put in there as an answer to fan complaints about the lack of a similar character in the prequels, but the way it's written doesn't really make sense to me. His entire character development is just ignored and he's basically the way he was when he first met him. It felt off to me. I don't buy the fact that he went back to being a smuggler. They just put that in there because that was the version of the character the fans most wanted to see... the guy that would "shoot first."

 

[violet_crown]

Also I hope that Ray isn't the Luke daughter (too much of family story) and she is just new strong force in the universe, but we'll see.

I read a theory somewhere that she's a Kenobi.

 

[Seymour]

It's a Te/Fe thing. Te users enjoy the prequels because the total lack of characterization and interpersonal relationship dynamics doesn't bother them. They're more interested in broad, diverse, political dynamics (see also: game of thrones). To Te/Fi users 'more information in general' is more important than how, or how much of it, is presented. I got into an argument with an INTJ over how interesting of a character qui gon jin was. He seemed to have some pretty in depth knowledge on the character after having researched him through means I'm unaware of, and building an idea of the character in his head based on his role, his actions, and so forth. As a derpy Fe user, all I can use to get information on a character is how they interact with other characters. There is so much more of this going on in the Force Awakens than any of the prequels. I think you're generally likely to find the divide between favoring TFA/the original trilogy and the prequels to be along Te/Fi - Fe/Ti lines. [...]

I disagree with your generalization in that just about every scene of the prequels was actively painful because of the bad writing, acting, and lack of enough portrayed humanity to even approach being relatable fictional characters. I did get that there was complexity on a big scale going on in the prequels, but I couldn't bring myself to care. "The Force Awakens" at least manages to introduce characters I care about. (And some of my FJ friends seem to be more forgiving of what I consider to be bad acting or unrealistic characterization than I do... but perhaps that's more about me than my type?)

I do agree with critiques about the plot being overly derivative. I also agree that there are FAR too many fortunate coincidence. Some might be explained away by Finn being force sensitive (so is guided by the force, even if he doesn't control it). I also agree that Rey seems overly accomplished... some of that can be explained by her having to learn to survive on her own, and I could also see a backstory in which she was one of the children who received Jedi training when very young. Alternatively, she could just be a supremely gifted "natural" in the force (which should prove to have its own problems).

At any rate, I enjoy TFA a great deal, even though I thought it was flawed in some ways. Certainly miles ahead of the prequels in all the ways that count.

 

[GarrotTheThief]

[MENTION=8936]highlander[/MENTION]

I mean I feel like the movie was fun to watch but I would probably never watch it again.

 

[anticlimatic]

I thought the most annoying fan service moment was when Han corrected Rey on exactly how many parsecs he made the Kessel run in. I assumed the kessel run was some kind of smuggling route way back in the day (before even IV), how the hell does Rey even know about it- let alone know enough about what it entails to be impressed? How is it still relevant at all? It was just thrown in there so the nerds could beat off to a moment of watching their hero be like them and correct other people's quotes.

 

[Kas]

I read a theory somewhere that she's a Kenobi.

I like this theory better.

 

[Crabs]

I'm glad that Hayden Christensen is rumored to be in Episode 8. May the Force be with him.


I love how whiny people get when complaining about how whiny Anakin was.

I read a theory somewhere that she's a Kenobi.

Wouldn't that mean that Obi did the dirty and violated Jedi regulations to abstain from secks?

When Han was using Chewie's blaster, that was another instance of fan service where I felt Han was playing the role of fanboy thrown in the film. I found it hard to believe he'd never once used Chewie's rifle after decades together.

I thought the same thing when I saw that scene.

On a random note, the actress who plays Rey reminds me a lot of Kiera Knightley, particularly her smile.

I'd also like to see the Star Trek Federation enter the Star Wars universe in some sort of interdimensional rift.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

That annoyed me. That was JJ Abrams being himself.....

exactly.

 

[violet_crown]

Wouldn't that mean that Obi did the dirty and violated Jedi regulations to abstain from secks?

According to Reddit, Jedi are unable to marry, but aren't technically prohibited from boning.

Here's the article I read about it: Rey is a Kenobi.

 

[Crabs]

According to Reddit, Jedi are unable to marry, but aren't technically prohibited from boning.

Here's the article I read about it: Rey is a Kenobi.

So the Jedi can have as much casual, meaningless sex as they want, as long as they don't fall in love or become emotionally attached?

I think Anakin was right about the Jedi. THEY are the agents of the dark side.

 

[violet_crown]

So the Jedi can have as much casual, meaningless sex as they want, as long as they don't fall in love or become emotionally attached?

From now on, instead of some long-winded, half-hearted excuse for my emotional unavailability, I will simply start telling people, "Look, I'm a Jedi. I should have been more upfront about how strong the Force is in my family."