Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Reviews & Discussion *Pew Pew*

[Crabwalk]

*Pew Pew*

A big

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spaceship

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flies over your head shooting

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lasers

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at your

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father

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.

Use 'the force' of your critical opinion here once you've seen the film, so that the other thread doesn't get blown up with spoilers.

My colleague watched the midnight screening and says it's

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really good

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.

I'll be going on Monday night, dressed as my favourite character G'rald Sin-Stad, so I'll return to this thread on Tuesday morning.

*Pew Pew*

[samadriel]

Speaking as someone pretty much entirely divorced from the series, post-prequels, and who never defined himself by his enjoyment of the originals, I really liked it; for once I went to a genre movie and didn't feel that it dragged towards the end. I'm used to being annoyed by several main characters in these kind of films, but TFA left me unmolested by John Boyega, Daisy Ridley et al. It might not quite be as purely focused as Fury Road, but it held its own, and for the first time I'll probably buy a Star Wars movie when it is available.
As I said in the other thread, I liked that Kylo Ren was

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played by a young Steve Coogan. Fernando Ren!

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[greenman]

Are we keeping spoilers covered?

[alan nagsworth]

Are we keeping spoilers covered?

I am, to be safe.

I'm definitely looking forward to the next film after seeing it, but wow, there were some real stinker moments. How many fucking back-slapping callback moments? How much shitty humour injected into action scenes?

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The Nazi-esque First Order with the pathetically bitter twat lieutenant guy foaming at the mouth during the hate speech with the big red white and black flags and the defiant fist-raising salute, and that fucking garbage Supreme Leader Orc/Voldemort thing with the scarred face that had absolutely zero impact on the film at all.

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Not to mention the huge amount of tedious dialogue.

It's weird, because I feel like the only reason I care about it is that

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it's a gigantic mirror of A New Hope

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, and yet I can't deny that this element of it sucked me in like the fool I am, and deep down I did really enjoy a lot of it. As soon as

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Han and Chewie split up to plant the bombs, I knew Han was going to die. It was painfully obvious and the drama of the death scene was underwhelmed by the fact that I didn't know enough to really care about Rylo's relationship with his parents. I felt like if Rylo had just walked away and then we learned more and then he kills Han in the next film, it would have been justified.

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As it stands, though, it was a very busy film and you can tell they tried to cram as much in as possible to please everyone, and in this case, it didn't really work. I wasn't gripped... but I wasn't bored, either.

I feel weird.

[greenman]

Sadly rather inline with my expectations from Trek, not quite so obviously ADHD but lacking in character relative to those films without the already established ones as leads.

The main positive for me is that I don't think its killed off the possibility of something excellent being created with the sequals as it still leaves things very open ended and what looks like the new lead and villain both seem like decent actors with characters that I think could go something in more skilled hands.

Really though Abrams should have done a vastly better job of that himself given that this film is mostly focused on introducing them with a rather cheap action climax shoehorned in.  That would have needed to cutback on the massive overload of 80's nostalgia, largely aweful "cool dry wit" and totally unmemorable action scenes. So we get the typical  Abrams reach for high drama that mostly fails because he's done so little to build it up previously.

[MojoJojo]

Are we keeping spoilers covered?

Lets say we're going to, then don't.

[greenman]

. How many fucking back-slapping callback moments? How much shitty humour injected into action scenes?

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The Nazi-esque First Order with the pathetically bitter twat lieutenant guy foaming at the mouth during the hate speech with the big red white and black flags and the defiant fist-raising salute, and that fucking garbage Supreme Leader Orc/Voldemort thing with the scarred face that had absolutely zero impact on the film at all.

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Not to mention the huge amount of tedious dialogue.

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You wonder just how bad Lupita Nyongo must have been to get cut when the Imperial Nazi/Ginger school bully remained, the Scottish smuggler was just aweful as well. Abrams sticking to his "keep everyone under the age of 35 if you can to keep the kids happy" Trek style casting seemingly  and didn't know when to stop with the cutsy Lucas lite names either, "supreme leader Snoke? oh dear. Still it was just a hologram so that does leave room to drump it as cover something less shit. A lot of the Aliens where rather more prequalish than than they were original trilogy as well and the with more sensible ones seemed to actually be aiming to make the prosthetics look crap as some kind of nostalgia trip.

Its probably best that he didn't even try and attempt to explain it as it leaves room for someone more competent to do so in the sequals but what the heck was going on with the politics? the Republic looks to be free from Imperial influence yet there's still a "rebellion" and there only vaguely connected with the Republic? no problem with keeping things vague as in the original films but that just didn't seem to make any sense.

It was quite amusing after all the "respect the original film" that Abrams then killed Han Solo seemingly for being too old or making the younger cast not look very good and then blew up Coursant and the Republic(that seems to be about 5 worlds now that just happen to be visable) with about 2 mins buildup. Not that I'm really against killing of Han, you could argue it should have happened in Return iof the Jedi as Ford requested but really it was rather weak wasn't it? such poor buildup for what should have been decent drama depending on a quick bit of exposition.

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[Gulftastic]

I really missed the 20th Century Fox fanfare before the main credits.

Delighted that

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not one mention of fucking 'midichlorians', nor any atrocious comedy character like you know who.

It looked and felt like proper Star Wars, and just really shows up the appalling over use of Green Screen stuff in the prequels.

Really enjoyed it. Delighted that the lassie got to be the hero. I half expected Finn to pop up and shoot young Steve Coogan in the back to end the sabre duel. I blame years of Hollywood.

Haaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnn!

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[Gulftastic]

Oh, and 2.30 showing, film began at 3.05 thanks to loads and loads of shitty adverts (including one with James sodding Corden front and centre) and trailers. The only one I really gave two shits about was the new X Men one.

[greenman]

Delighted that

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not one mention of fucking 'midichlorians', nor any atrocious comedy character like you know who.

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Instead we had someone learning to be a Jedi in the space of 5 mins and a endless selection of tedious comedy Alien cameos not to mention endless dreadful failed "zingers" from almost everyone.

[Gulftastic]

My feeling was that years of basically surviving alone on her wits gave her greater insight into the force. And Prat Vader was injured when they fought, so wasn't up to speed.

[Jack Shaftoe]

Some problem with the projector in our cinema, which led to us being able to go straight into the film with no trailers or ads, hurrah!

I flippin' loved it, way more than I expected. I only went to an early showing because I was free, kids are off school Friday, so I felt I could treat myself a bit. Great pace, surprised myself by how much I loved the new characters, loved the dialling back on green screen stuff a bit, really looking forward to more.

This is well nerdy, but it really felt like I was in the middle of a tabletop rpg campaign run by someone who really got the old films, but was quite happy to let new characters do their thing.

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The plot was a bit 'oh it's this again', but the pace was great, so I didn't mind it that much.

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[greenman]

My feeling was that years of basically surviving alone on her wits gave her greater insight into the force. And Prat Vader was injured when they fought, so wasn't up to speed.

That's getting a bit more specific in spoilers.

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This wasn't even vaguely hinted at whilst on Tatooine(I'm sorry changing the name doesn't make it an original location) when it really should have been. It was par for the course though with Finn getting very little buildup and going from a scared child solider to a wisecracker in an instant.

The whole story of Luke training Jedi and having Solo's son turn to the dark side just seems vastly more interesting than what we got, instead that was covered in short bit of verbal exposition. Luke failed and ran off leaving a treasure map to find him and R2D2 pining in "low power mode".

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[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

It was a fairly enjoyable action adventure, but it wasn't Star Wars. Abrams may have reined in the lens flare, but his overly frenetic style was all over the film like a damned rash.

Amongst all the incessant references, was it meant to be a joke that seasoned voice actor Hamill didn't say a word?

[Skip Bittman]

He was actually saying what a big influence Malick was on the film and how he was going to let scenes breathe. Anybody notice any Malickian scenes breathing?

Hamill must've really enjoyed that first reading of the script, huh?

[greenman]

It was a fairly enjoyable action adventure, but it wasn't Star Wars. Abrams may have reined in the lens flare, but his overly frenetic style was all over the film like a damned rash.

Amongst all the incessant references, was it meant to be a joke that seasoned voice actor Hamill didn't say a word?

You make sure you direct films where poor previous entries in a franchise have dropped expectations low enough and that seems to be enough for you to be viewed as some kind of god not a rather hackish maker of merely competent diversions.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

You might say that my reaction to the film was Luke warm.

[Replies From View]

I bet this film isn't as good as the James Bond film 'Luke and Luke Die'!!

[Noodle Lizard]

Surely given the frenzy people have been working themselves into over it, we're not going to get a properly honest review for a few weeks at least.  I mean, imagine if you busted your arse to get pre-sale tickets, took two days off work to go and sit outside a theatre in a stupid costume with a bunch of other dorks for the best part of 24 hours, then finally got to watch the thing in a cinema packed to the brim with cunts applauding every time they see anything they vaguely recognise ... you're not going to come out and say "yeah, not really worth it" after all that, are you?  Especially not when you take into account the internet hyping you've been up to for the past two and a half years.

Jurassic World was similar.  It's hilarious to remember how positive the general reaction was compared with what it was a week or so later.  Didn't The Guardian give it 4/5?

[mobias]

Saw it earlier this evening. I'll need to gather my thoughts a bit more before posting a proper review. Generally I loved it though there are a few problems here and there. The two scenes that I thought were real clangers happened in the last 5 minutes of the film. I really didn't like the ending much. Great performances though. I thought that was the best thing about it actually, which is where it differs from the original trilogy. It is Star Wars through and through, though I agree it missed having the 20th Century Fox fanfare at the start. It was telling they didn't have either the Disney intro or the Bad Robot one. 

[Steven]

Jurassic World was similar.  It's hilarious to remember how positive the general reaction was compared with what it was a week or so later.  Didn't The Guardian give it 4/5?

All the early more recognised press twats who get to see massive budget shite like this will be have been pre-vetted and compromised by being given gifts and royalty treatment to make sure they ameliorate their review, I imagine. Don't matter on word of mouth cos the early reviews are the early propaganda campaign. It's only later on then the much lower down spod blog cunts get to give a more honest opinion.

[Mr. Etiquette]

Anyone who knows me will know I've awaited the new Star Wars film with feverish anticipation since it was announced a little over 3 years ago. The Force Awakens was to be my Christmas present - so I have an awful lot to say about it. I saw the midnight screening last night and was ready to love it.

I'll begin by saying DO NOT, under any circumstances see this film in 3D, as it predictably distracts from the picture in such a negative way to be hugely off-putting (I'll be going to see it again in 2D on Saturday).

The film begins with much promise; the opening 20 minutes or so are beautifully shot and illustrated, with Scavenger girl Rey (wonderfully played by Daisy Ridley), knocking about on the desert planet Jakku, basically being a scavenger - simple, nuanced, delightful; some great practical effects and anamatronic beasts - these opening scenes feel like Star Wars of old, they really do. I was sold.

I won't go over the plot, but a little later on Rey and Finn (a defected Stormtrooper ably played by John Boyega) manage to escape the wasteland in the Millennium Falcon. Again this character works well and the relationship between the two is amusing and real - in fact there's a lot of humour in this movie, it's very light stuff, perhaps a little too breezy but most of the time it works.

Unfortunately it's when they meet Han Solo & Chewbacca that the film begins to lose its way - nothing wrong with their characters (Harrison Ford is on form throughout as an aged Solo), but a jarring action scene in a pirate frigate; the first scene in the movie which, to me, didn't feel like Star Wars, but more like one of Director JJ Abrams' 'Star Trek' reboots. Not a good thing.

Many other characters pop up along the way; some great, some good, others entirely superfluous. Whilst Adam Driver's Kylo Ren is an intriguing villain (a Darth Vader fanboy with some deep personal issues), CG motion-cap aliens Maz Kanata & Supreme Leader Snoke appear rather two-dimensional and disappointingly generic. On the other hand, 'Chrome Trooper' Captain Phasma (basically a female stormtrooper), played by an utterly wasted Gwendoline Christie, has all the menace of an armoured Jar Jar Binks.

Many have been saying The Force Awakens maintains the feel & aesthetics of the original trilogy, but unfortunately for the most part it doesn't; abandoning the cinema verite style of George Lucas for the swooping, flying cameras of JJ Abrams - there was times I was internally yelling "keep the bloody camera still!" Scenes and shots are all too often not given time to breathe, whilst some characters and their plights seem sorely underwritten. One almost feels that too much was crammed into this picture. The idea of the evil First Order to build what is essentially another Death Star is an idea which should not have made it past the first draft, in fact this plot point detracts from & muddles the film in a big way. It was too much.

For the most part, The Force Awakens proved many of my biggest fears; that with JJ at the helm it would be fun, the political mumbo-jumbo of the Prequels would be gone - but it would descend into somewhat empty, crowd-pleasing fan service - 'by the numbers' fare. The pacing for a lot of the film is off, and at odds with previous entries in the saga.
Whilst this film certainly doesn't feel like the prequels, it does feel exactly like a JJ Abrams film - and as the hype dies down, the rave reviews will perhaps lessen and that, in fact, could turn out to be it's biggest sin.
It's sadly worth noting too that C3PO & R2D2 are reduced to cameos with the former spouting some odd dialogue, and the film-makers even manage to botch the look/voice of Perennial fan-favourite Admiral Ackbar (think Yoda puppet from Phantom Menace).

That's not to say it doesn't reach some exciting highs though - Han & Chewie are great throughout. The climatic duel in the snowy woods is atmospheric and beautiful. Most of the film looks very nice. Carrie Fisher is largely fine as Leia.
But its parts, its scenes, are more satisfying than the whole - the film zips along at such breakneck speed that I never had to time to stop and wonder. To care.

It will be interesting to see what Rian Johnson can do as director of Episode VIII. I would love a Star Wars movie with a bit of subtext next time, as this entry is - despite some very dark themes & scenes - a little on the light side. As said, I will go see it again in 2D. My opinion may change a little. Right now I would probably rank it at 5th in the overall saga, but this may change too.

In summary then, if you are a casual Star Wars fan and loved the recent Star Trek films, you will doubtless love this. If you were expecting a Star Wars film with the depth & magic of the originals (namely The Empire Strikes Back), this may not be the film you were looking for.

For me, it was a crashing disappointment. And I've barely scratched the surface.

[Dannyhood91]

It knocked me for six when Han Solo

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spent 45 minutes explaining to Chewy why Britain should leave the EU.

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[Pijlstaart]

I really liked it, but knew it was a fundamentally bad movie at the same time. As said earlier,

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it's the New Hope redone. I was at peace with some of the homages, but they come at you thick and fast, pretty much every action sequence is a redoing of one from the original trilogy. When it seeps into the plot it becomes unwatchable. Same death star, blown up the exact same way. Fucking Cantina scene. 
Scottish pirate guy was very jarring, mostly because he reminded me of Jamie from The Thick of It. That's my prejudice though, my failing, I act like myriad english and american accents are perfectly fine, but a scottish man in space!?  The space hologram guy looks like Roger from American Dad, which looks shit.
C-3P0 introduction had me in stitches though, and I sat there with a big dopey grin on my face for half the film

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[spoiler/]They're all related, Finn is R2D2s father/niece-in-law, and Luke watched him being conceived using his Force TV[spoiler/]

[thugler]

I thought it was pretty good  and very enjoyable, especially considering how bad the prequels were.

Few things I had an issue with.

CGI aliens right next to puppets, which look far more real, and fit with the rather retro look of much of the film. The CGI aliens had perhaps a little more flexibility in facial expressions, but that's about it.

Needlessly changing the rebellion to the resistance, and the empire to first order. Why!? They seem to be exactly the same.

Lack of subtlety in places, for example the obvious nazi style first order rally.

Story, while fairly derivative of the original star wars zipped along well and was exciting.

Some of the smaller scale action scenes were great, really reminded me of the original series, rather than the prequels cgi overload and ridiculously massive scale everything.

The look of the thing was pretty much perfect most of the time, the ships/uniforms/locations were pretty spot on.

Supreme leader Snoke - rubbish. Looked like something out of a very different film, Harry potter or LOTR's or something. Why is he so massive? No backstory at all. Just looked out of place and silly. Kind of hoping they retcon the whole thing since they show he's a hologram at the end.

The acting - Mostly fine, think Daisy Ridley looked a bit out of her depth at the beginning, but had a few better scenes later on.

The humour, this was always in the original trilogy! and it's very much of the same spirit. Liked this. Nothing too cheesy.

Overall it's a very fun experience and bodes well for the series.

[TIAL]

How come the official US release date is tomorrow (Friday) but loads of people seem to be seeing it tonight?
Also is queuing up for films a bigger thing over in the States? Hasn't everyone already bought their ticket online?
Oh and yeah, I loved the film. But surprised to see lupita nyong'o playing such a throwaway character though.

[BritishHobo]

Is it not shit that they're basically

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fighting Darth Vader and blowing up a Death Star?

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What is point?

Also Kylo Ren's

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name is Ben. His name is Ben fucking Ren. What a massive prick.

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[Glebe]

Here's my little review from the Star Wars News thread:

Saw it in IMAX today. Rollicking great ride, lots of fun and adventure. Lots of call backs to the original trilogy, but the new characters and charming and things are set up nicely for the following movies. Some of the original trilogy cast could have done with a bit more screen time, and

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the Starkiller Base is another fucking mickey mouse Deathstar yolk with a weak point for the goodies to exploit

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, but otherwise a pretty fine job from Abrams. Nice.

To be honest I was/am still to tired to do a proper critical review, but I'll probably end up doing a U-turn and tearing it to shreds tomorrow.

[Bad Ambassador]

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His name is Ben Solo. He took the name Kylo Ren as one of the Knights of Ren.

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Max von Sydow

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didn't get much to do. Utterly wasted.

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[Mr_Simnock]

Just come back from watching it. Just a few thoughts for now (nead sleep). I'll give it 8/10 and it was far far better than any of the prequels.

The film begins with much promise; the opening 20 minutes or so are beautifully shot and illustrated, with Scavenger girl Rey (wonderfully played by Daisy Ridley), knocking about on the desert planet Jakku, basically being a scavenger - simple, nuanced, delightful; some great practical effects and anamatronic beasts - these opening scenes feel like Star Wars of old, they really do. I was sold.

I agree with that totaly, for that first half hour it very much felt like the first trilogy, if it could have kept that up it would have been incredible. I too didn't like that bit with the scottish bloke chasing after solo, it did feel like something out of another film. I did enjoy it overall though, despite a few issues I have with it I did enjoy about 90%. All the x wing battles were great, really like Finn and Rey too looking forward to seeing how they develop. One thing that has stuck with me is the sence of how much things have moved on since Jedi,

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I'm glad in a way that solo died his character had had it's day and Ford played it like the character was tired in a way, knew things were probably coming to an end and I like that aspect of the film a lot.

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The humour, this was always in the original trilogy! and it's very much of the same spirit. Liked this. Nothing too cheesy.

Overall it's a very fun experience and bodes well for the series.

Agree, can't wait for the second film

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and Luke coming back out of the cold to once again help with the force.

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