92 replies to this topic

[Alteran195]

I loved the film.  I really had no issues.  The main reason Im posting is because of the petition online to bring Lucas back to SW.  These are the same people Im sure that shit all over the prequels.

...What? A petition to bring Lucas back? Hahaha. People make petitions for everything thinking they'll accomplish something.

[Gothneo]

Some People are really that upset with this movie that they want Lucas back??!! I guess that really proves you can't please everyone!

No movie is perfect, including this one. It has its issues, they are fun to talk about, but it's still a great effort and allot of fun!

[Alex]

Okay, since we're ranking the films, my take is below. Be warned, my views are likely to be a bit blasphemous around these parts.

 

1. Episode VII: The Force Awakens
2. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
3. Episode IV: A New Hope
4. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
5. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
6. Episode II: Attack of the Clones
7. Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Please don't force–choke me after reading that. ANH and RotS could easily switch places, but I put ANH above RotS just because it was the first film and the fact that it was even possible back in '77 was almost miraculous given the obstacles the film had to overcome at the time. RotJ had always been my favorite SW film until I saw TFA, as I just loved the story behind it and felt like it ended the original trilogy nicely, told a wonderful story, and avoided leaving unnecessary loose ends. (I'm also partial to the Ewok Celebration scene and song of the same name, even if said song was incredulously removed from the film when things that weren't broke were fixed until they were.) I left the theater after seeing TFA the way I wish I'd left the theater after seeing TPM, which is part of the reason why I rank TPM so low.

 

So,Han dying. No wonder Harrison Ford has been so happy and all smiles lately! He got his wish to be killed off. A lot of fans believe he's still alive though,y'know.....no one dies in sci fi movies and so on,LOL!

 

And Luke not saying one single word?! And not enough R2 in there either.

Han as we knew him, as a "human person," is most definitely dead. However, this is Star Wars, and I would not put it past J.J. Abrams to turn him into a force–ghost, and would honestly be fine with him doing so. Sure, Han might not have really been in tune with the force, but I could see Luke finding a way to connect to him in future films, and if you believe Obi–Wan in ANH, the force is "in everyone and everything," which would imply that this isn't as far–fetched as it sounds, even for Han. Besides, I find it hard to believe that Ben Solo/Kylo Ren's strength with the force came solely from Leia. I could see Han having more of the force in him than we initially thought. There's no way Han as we know him is alive though, even if his body landed somewhere and was recovered before the planet exploded, there wouldn't have been much of a body to save. For arguments sake let's say that First Order troops recovered a body or pieces of Han's body though. At most the only way he'd be back in "physical" form would be as a clone of some sort, and that raises the question of why the First Order would want to clone him in the first place. I can definitely see using Han as a force–ghost, but I'm going to have a harder time buying a "clone Han" just because of what it would entail.

 

Also, I know I'm going to get a lightsaber to the head for this one, but Luke not saying a single word was fine with me. He didn't need to utter so much as a syllable, and I actually think the silence in that scene made it more impactful, as J.J. Abrams decided to just show rather than tell as films should. I'm also fine with Luke's role in TFA being very minimal, as I think more focus on him actually would have detracted from the film and ruined it's pacing. As much as I hate to admit it, I think minimizing R2's involvement wasn't necessarily a bad thing either, as it gave BB–8 a chance to shine without being overshadowed by his counterpart. While I know something needed to be done to C–3P0 to make him look "different" for this film, I do hope he gets his arm eventually restored to its original gold color.

 

Han is dead... He was stabbed through the chest, fell down a shaft, and then the planet exploded. You don't come back from that.

Agreed. See my theory above though, I could totally buy him returning as a force–ghost, so while Han as we knew him is gone, I could buy him being "gone" the same way that Obi–wan was "gone" in ESB and RotJ.

 

Not afraid to say I cried like a little girl when Han died. I just watched it again and liked it a lot more. The Rebel Fanfare playing when you see the "garbage" is one of the many musical high points. A lot of my friends played in the orchestra on the soundtrack so I'm very jealous they were a part of it all.

It was a bit like a re-tread of A New Hope for sure. Jakku might just as well have been Tatooine. Kylo is basically Anakin minus some force points. The question is will he turn to the light eventually?

I held back tears when Han died both times that I saw the film; it's easily one of the most emotional scenes in the movie, and I kind of had a feeling that he was going to die before he ever stepped foot on that bridge. As soon as he handed Chewie the detonator, I pretty much knew it was all over for Han, even though I had my suspicions before that. (It was sort of like seeing that "individual emergency transporter" in Star Trek: Nemesis, I read the script for NEM before it hit theaters so I knew who was going to die, but my father didn't, and as soon as he saw that thing he knew that only Picard or Data was going to make it out alive, and began trying to figure out who wouldn't.) Oh, and I can only imagine how cool it must be to have friends who played in the orchestra for the film's soundtrack! I intend to pick it up very soon on CD as I enjoyed it quite a bit.

 

Yes, the film definitely borrowed heavily from ANH, and I did admittedly wonder why Jakku wasn't just Tatooine, but I actually didn't mind this. What sets TFA apart from Star Trek 12: The Rehash of Khan, is that J.J. Abrams actually seemed to learn his lesson from that film, and to make it rather obvious that the story he was telling was very similar to a story that had been told before. Maz sums this up in a nice and somewhat subtle way during her speech about looking into a person's eyes, but Han makes this clear much more overtly, often with some of the film's best lines. Case in point: "How about garbage chute; is there a trash compactor around here?" The film knows it's operating under the Steve Jobs adage of "good artists copy, great artists steal," and it steals wonderfully from ANH. (In contrast, STID copied TWOK, and did so poorly.)

 

Also, it's worth pointing out that what separates TFA from Star Wars Episode 1: The Boy Hope, is that unlike TPM, which is also arguably a remake of ANH, TFA isn't predicated on a series of coincidences. (This is why I rank ESB as low as I do, as the entire film is a string of coincidences, just as TPM is.) Yes, there are some coincidences in TFA, (the Millennium Falcon just happens to be on Jakku, and Finn just happened to have been stationed at Starkiller base at one point, but for the most part, the characters actually did something to cause the events in the film to unfold the way that they did.) In TPM, everything was a coincidence though: Qui–Gonn and Obi–Wan just happen to wind up on Tatooine, where there just happens to be a boy whose strong with the force, who just happens to be an awesome pilot who can win some parts for their ship in a podrace. Then, that same boy just happens to fall into the cockpit of a Naboo Starfighter, which he just happens to pilot at the Trade Federation ship, where he just happens to do a trench run and blow up the Death Star Trade Federation Ship, despite having never flown anything other than a pod racer before. While TFA had a trench run on the exhaust port oscilator, it's worth noting that there wasn't a huge focus on the "trench run" itself, (most of the time was spent focusing on Han, Rey, Chewie, and Finn,) and that we saw very little of Poe Dameron throughout the film, with the trench run simply serving as proof that he really was "the best pilot in the Resistance." Simply put, TFA felt intentional, while TPM felt like it had unintentional coincidences, just as STID did, which makes me wonder if Lucas would have learned from TPM the same way that Abrams learned from STID.

 

I cried when Han died also.... It was a very tragic ending for the rogue Hero.

In my opinion Kylo Ren destroyed Ben Solo the moment he killed his father. There is NO coming back from such a hideous act.

As mentioned above, I held back tears in the theater. When I watch this at home after the Blu–Ray comes out, I will very likely bawl my eyes out like I did when Captain Sisko died at the end of DS9. (Speaking of the Blu–Ray, I'd really like to know if Disney is going to do a billion different editions before I pre–order what's listed on Amazon right now. I'd hate to pre–order a "normal" edition only to see something fancier available right afterwards.)

 

Prometheus, I completely agree with you about Kylo Ren destroying Ben Solo the moment he killed his father. To me, that's what sets him apart from Anakin, and makes him a far more loathsome and fearsome villain. Anakin was a deeply tormented person, who ultimately wanted to do the right thing, but who wasn't afraid to use vigilante justice to accomplish his goals. Anakin's real "problem" was that he had control issues; he had to be in control at all times, and when he wasn't in control of a situation, he would turn to the dark side to regain control of the situation. Sure, he came across as whiny, bratty, arrogant, and dangerous, but most of the time his heart was in the right place early on even when his head wasn't. It was only after he seemed to feel that he'd lost everything that he really went off the deep end and turned entirely to the dark side. What made him redeemable is that most of his heanous and not–so heanous actions were driven by the fact that he cared for his family, whether it was the slaughtering of the sand people, or throwing Palpatine down that shaft in the Death Star II. In contrast, Kylo Ren cares only about himself and about power, and he will do anything to get and keep it. He doesn't have an issue with being in control of a situation, he has an issue with being a power–hungry tyrant. He's bratty and arrogant, just like his grandfather, but he's also far more impulsive, and more willing to throw a temper–tantrum than to try and regain control of a situation. To me, this makes him even more dangerous than Darth Vader, because Darth Vader wouldn't kill his son, and certainly wouldn't have killed one of his parents. Kylo Ren on the other hand had no problem decieving his father for the sole purpose of slaughtering him, and to me that made him go from being a whiny wannabe Vader to a serious threat who could be far worse than Darth Vader himself was. I also think Rey's line about him "being afraid that he won't be as powerful as Darth Vader" speaks volumes about just what motivates Kylo Ren. Anakin was Darth Vader as a means to an end in his mind, whereas Ben Solo is Kylo Ren simply as an end in and of himself. I see him as being irredeemable, and think that could potentially ensure that episodes VIII and IX don't retread ESB and ROTJ.

 

I disagree here, his score for the prequels and original trilogy were far more memorable than what was in The Force Awakens. For me there wasn't any song that really stands out like there were in the others, and there were a lot of OT themes. Hopefully 8 and 9 are better. I'll be seeing again tomorrow so i'll pay more attention to the music, maybe my opinion will change.

While there was no song that was promoted as "the song from The Force Awakens" as there were for all previous SW films, I'd argue that The Scavenger was a highly memorable track, and easily this film's Duel of the Heroes or Imperial March.

 

I heard Yoda but not Obi...maybe on my third viewing I'll catch it

I need to see that scene again. It's comes at you so fast and is intentionally confusing, so it's hard to tell whose saying what, but if Ewan McGregor came in to record a line for it, that's definitely something to pay attention to in my book.

 

My first conclusion is that 3D movies suck, I saw my first 3D movie with TFA on Thursday, and saw it normally today. It was MUCH better in a normal format.

I'm honestly surprised to hear you say this, as I'm typically the person railing about pointless post–conversion pseudo–3D, yet I actually felt that the 3D version of this film added quite a bit to the experience. I saw the film in IMAX 3D first, and as a "standard" 2D digital "35mm" DCP the second time, and definitely felt that the IMAX 3D was well worth the extra cash. The regular version of the film felt like I was watching a really awesome movie, while the IMAX 3D version felt like I was part of a really awesome movie. In fact, this is one of the few times (if not the only time) where a movie that was actually shot on film and post–converted to pseudo–3D for IMAX hasn't made me cringe at the quality of the conversion. When I saw STID in IMAX 3D it looked like pure crap, (which wasn't helped by the fact that I wasn't fond of the film as a whole,) as have most post–converted pseudo–3D films that I've seen. Even seated in the center of the theater, (which is necessary for the 3D effect to really have the most impact possible,) most of these films have been seriously lacking when it comes to decent 3D. In contrast, I was seated way off to the right of the theater for TFA, and even off on a side images were popping off of the screen in a way that felt immersive and interesting. I also didn't notice any pointless changes in framing or use of alternate takes to play up the use of the pseudo–3D, unlike when Disney released Marvel's Avengers and ruined the shot composition for the sake of showing off pseudo–3D effects. Now to be fair, I always pay for IMAX 3D when I watch a 3D film, so it's possible that if you saw a Disney "Real–D" 3D print, your experience might have been different from mine, although I've heard mostly positive comments about the Real–D 3D prints as well. I personally have not seen the film in Real–D 3D yet, but am considering doing so soon since I do want to see it for a third time, and figure I might as well see it in a third format. (Of course, I also want to see the 70mm print of The H8ful Eight that's playing at my local movie theater, but that's because I like large format films, and IMAX itself is a 70mm format, albeit one that's frequently used to show 35mm "enlargements." I'll probably stretch my wallet a bit thinner than usual on the grounds that most years I see almost no movies, and this year I'm probably going to see several, so it evens out over time.) I'm not sure why you didn't like the 3D version of the film, but I have to wonder if it was the way your theater calibrated their projector that ruined the experience for you, or if it was something else. While some people do get motion–sickness from 3D films, (in which case I can understand hating them,) I've yet to hear anyone else who doesn't have such experiences mention that they didn't enjoy the 3D print, so I would love to know what you disliked about it. My only issue with the IMAX 3D showing was that it was packed to capacity whereas the standard 2D showing I saw was a midday matinee on a work day, so there were almost no people in the theater, which gave my father and I a nice choice of seats to pick from, and a perfect dead–center view of the screen.

 

lol! love the rationalzation, but Its fantasy, thus its not rational. If it were rational, one might argue you wouldn't ever have light act the way Kylo Ren's saber did.

The effect stood out and my  comment is I like the clean saber effect used in all the previous episodes better.

Gothneo, for what it's worth, it seemed like the original films had the same "rough" saber effect before Lucas decided to start "fixing" everything. When the FX were re–rotoscoped to match the prequels, the blades were made much sharper and "cleaner," instead of having that "hazy," rough look. Personally, I like the effect in the new film, but I can understand why the sharper, "clean" effect is preferred by some. I personally think it worked in the prequels because the prequels were slick and slick sabers fit the style of those films; in this trilogy, and the original trilogy, I prefer the "hazier" look that seems to fit the "used universe" aesthetic.

 

ha! Colbert says its one beam. Done on purpose.

 

http://www.cnet.com/...ate-disturbing/

As far as Kylo Ren's saber guard is concerned, I actually had what was essentially the same theory as Stephen Colbert's, weeks before he ran that clip. Some cameras use a pentaprism mirror to split incoming light into red, green, and blue primaries, so I could see some sort of pentaprism crystal or mirror–type device in Kylo Ren's lightsaber being used to turn one beam into a beam and a hilt, which would certainly allow for light to act the way Kylo Ren's saber did. Of course, now that I know he cracked his crystal, and that his saber is the way it is because it's unstable, I actually feel that it suits him even better than before; an unstable lightsaber for an unstable individual. I still like the theory that it's one beam, done on purpose though. Then again, after seeing how Rey weilds that staff, I'm kind of hoping that she'll be the first protagonist to have a double–bladed lightsaber, even if it's just to show that "someone other than Darth Maul uses one of these."

 

So,EVERYONE is returning for the next movie. Guess the Han scenes must be in flashback or something,unless they come up with a REALLY good explanation on how he survived,lol! And TWO actors played Chewie this time around,which is understandable as Mr.Mayhew isn't all that agile these days.

See my comment above; I still think it's possible that we could get some sort of force–ghost Han Solo, even though I don't think there's any way he survived that death scene. While it's also possible that his body was recovered and he was cloned by The First Order, I'd have a tougher time swallowing that as I can't imagine why they'd want to clone someone who was easily a major thorn in their side, especially given that Kylo Ren is the one who killed him.

 

Anyone who actually thought Disney, or even Lucas if he kept the rights, would make new Star Wars movies that followed the expanded universe were kidding themselves, there was just no way that would happen

While I agree with you that there was no way Disney was going to follow the expanded universe, Lucas was pretty adamant that he considered the "Thrawn Trilogy" to be Episodes VII–IX, so I could have seen him adapting it with very minor modifications if he had retained the rights to the films, even if the rest of the expanded universe was ignored.

 

Can anyone tell me more about "Starkiller base" (is that the official name?  is that even stated in the film?)...

 

I mean, is it a planet/moon that was converted into a weapon, or are we supposed to be like "wow, the weapon is so big it developed its own atmosphere and it started snowing and trees somehow began growing on it"?  I would have to lean toward the former.  I suppose there is a 3rd option..."they tried to disguise it as a planet"...in which case I would just have to facepalm.

Starkiller base is referred to as such in the film repeatedly, so that's definitely the official name. As for what it is, it's a planet with a weapon built directly into it, which is why destablizing the planet's core was a concern in taking out Starkiller base. (And what ultimately happened when Chewie hit the detonator. The core of the planet destablized and we got that wonderfully large explosion.)

 

Some People are really that upset with this movie that they want Lucas back??!! I guess that really proves you can't please everyone!

No movie is perfect, including this one. It has its issues, they are fun to talk about, but it's still a great effort and allot of fun!

No, nooooooooooooo, big Luke Skywalker nooooooooooooooooooooo! Lucas shouldn't be anywhere near a director's chair on a Star Wars film unless Abrams does something that sends audiences fleeing from theaters, and even then I'd want him under strict supervision from someone who could overrule him. To be totally honest, I wouldn't mind bringing Lucas back for the sole purpose of adding a bit of a "political" framework to future films, which this movie seemed to lack with the way it handled The First Order, the Resistance, and the Republic, but that should be done in the form of having him onboard as a consultant, and having him limited to that specific aspect of the story. He shouldn't have any real power, and definitely shouldn't be directing. While I do think that the next film needs to be original and unique from its predecessors, I'm fine with the way this one was handled on the grounds that Star Wars needed a film that felt like a Star Wars movie, and TFA delivered that in spades. Now if Episode VIII is another ESB, I'll definitely have a gripe with it as there are plenty of directions that the next film can go in that there's no reason for it to mimmick something that we've seen before.

[djc242]

Here's a link to download the soundtrack that is being considered for an Oscar:

 

http://www.jwfan.com/?p=8489

 

It has a few extra minutes of music not on the regular release and omits some that is on the CD.

 

I love the score and listening to it on its own instantly results in my imagination recreating the film in my mind.  John Williams is one of the best at doing that.  There are just things about it that make it feel a little less like the other 6 Star Wars soundtracks.  While the First Order = Nazi imagery was extremely obvious I felt that in the music at times also.  Kylo Ren's theme could be for a dastardly SS officer and the Starkiller music could work over images of the Holocaust.  It will be interesting to see where Williams takes the new themes in the future.  I hope this one wins an Academy Award.  He's the most nominated person living but hasn't actually taken a statue home since 1993's Schindler's List.

[robster]

Still trying to figure out why I was so bored watching this movie.

 

J-R!

[Gothneo]

Maybe because there isn't much new in it Robster? I liked it, but I didn't think it was anything revolutionary. I don't find it unwatchable like JJ Trek ( sorry to those that like them).

[Alteran195]

Still trying to figure out why I was so bored watching this movie.

 

J-R!

You pretty much knew the entire movie before you went to see it.

[WORF22]

Did anyone catch the stolen seen from BSG- BAC? Remember when young Adama took the Raptor in the the F.T.L  tube? 

 

 

 

Ray pulls the same move on the tie fighter 

[Alteran195]

I forgot about Blood and Chrome... I really wish that had became a series, seeing Galactica in combat during her prime would have been amazing. 

 

I doubt they stole the scene, but I certainly do see the similarities. 

[1701D]

Saw it at the weekend and loved it! It was everything you'd want from a new Star Wars movie.

Rey is everything you'd want from a modern day heroin and each of the new characters were so lovingly developed by the writers and just brilliantly fleshed out by some wonderful actors.

It made me feel though as a Star Trek fan, cheated and let down by Paramount for making Star Trek an overly generic Hollywood blockbuster. Star Wars was such an awesome ride in that it was so faithful to the original trilogy, the original characters and in creating new characters. The way it looked, the way it was filmed and cut together in post production, the way it was written. A pure masterclass in how to do a proper Star Wars movie.

It made the new Star Trek movies look like cheap, generic imitations of Star Trek, movies that at their best are great science fiction block busters and at their worse are so far removed from the original source material they claim to represent...

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was superb in every sense of the word and made me, a staunch Star Trek fan, for 2 and a bit hours, fall in love with everything Star Wars related (apart from the prequels which were just a damn mess).

[robster]

Yes,I knew the whole movie before I saw it,but was still bored. What's your point? lol! I always know the whole movie before I see it.....IF it's a movie that sounds interesting or looks like fun,and STILL enjoy the heck outta it when I see it,even see it multiple times,like the last two Trek movies,which I enjoyed a lot more than this. I know a few other people who did as well,lol! And yeah,one of the reasons is probaly what you said Gothneo. I'm not gonna pick this movie apart since I usually don't do that,and there are plenty of others online who's picking this movie to shreds,lol. I just didn't enjoy it the way I was certain I would,plain and simple. Here's hoping the next one will be.......something I'll enjoy more.

 

J-R!

[Gothneo]

When that happens to me, its usually because I set my expectations too high... and sometimes if I just don't connect to the characters, I'll be bored. I got that way a few times the first time I saw it... then the second time, since I knew what was going to happen... parts of it I just found comical and couldn't help but laugh... when Han gets killed by reylo... I was saying "Don't go on the bridge! Its a trap!"... all my friends had seen it too... so they all laughed.

 

I hate to say it... but when I approached it more as a comical farce... I really enjoyed it much more!

[robster]

That's the thing though,I had no expectations whatsoever since I knew everything that was gonna happen. But I think I might enjoy it more if I see it again,now that the initial disappointment has more or less settled. Actually don't mind that I didn't go all gaga over the movie,saves me buttloads of bucks I would've spent on merch,lol! I got the the two items I wanted the most long before I saw the movie,still adding some of the HW character cars,and that's about it. NEAT! More to spend on Trek,Who,and Spidey stuff! And Comic Con! And trips to the US and UK! Nice. lol. I did like Driver as Kylo Ren though,his tantrums were.....extremely funny,LOL!

 

J-R!