Star Wars: The Force Awakens reviews *SPOILERS*

[zinfamous]

So I seen the movie today and it was.....
.

I seen the movie today

I Seen the movie

I seen

I Seen

Seen

D:

 

[Kaido]

So I seen the movie today and it was OK I guess. Felt like I was watching episode 4 again but this time the villain was a putz.

First few scenes he seemed like a real bad guy, but then he had a temper tantrum and it ruined his whole vibe. Then comes his big scene that is suppose to show his complete fall to the dark side and... no eye color change. Above all that I just couldn't stand the actor, he sucked the big one.

There's a lot of online justification for him as a villain, and from a written perspective, I agree, but in watching the film itself, they didn't pull it off. It didn't work because the way they did the face reveal & the way they killed Han Solo made him seem like a rebellious kid who threw temper tantrums instead of a bad guy who was growing more powerful. Like I've said in other posts, if they had done something like not revealing his face during the interrogation & if he had killed Leia first on accident, while trying to kill Han, and then killed Han on the catwalk, it would have changed the entire feel of the story. So I know what they were trying to do with the film, but the effect didn't work. He just came across as a weak kid.

 

[Kaido]

I seen the movie today

 

[CZroe]

Did... Did you just use the I'm rubber and you're glue argument?

Nope. I facepalmed and explained that that was what I was saying from the very beginning and then people started going off the rails with "ZOMG! How did you miss that he idolized Vader?!" How could I have missed the very thing I was criticizing (along with the people who accept it)?!

I mean, I don't even...

No wonder your bro just stays out of these things when you go off.

What are you talking about? A picture of Boba Fett doesn't change anything. Not sure how anyone can think I'm losing this argument.

​Me: Childish explanation A for thing B is stupid, therefore, thing B is also stupid and anyone who accepts thing A is stupid.

Others: Nuh-Uhh! Thing B isn't stupid because it's explained by thing A. How did you miss that?!

Me: What did I JUST SAY about people who buy that stupid explanation?

Others: You're obstinately refusing every valid point we make.

Me: No. You ignored my criticism of the movie's explanation and simply repeated it. You haven't made a single new point. Who is being "obstinate", again?

Others: [Pictures of the helmets which only prove my point.]

 

[zinfamous]

This is the gift that keeps on giving.

Happy New Years, CZroe!

 

[Phoenix86]

​Me: Childish

:whiste:

 

[Charmonium]

​Me: Childish explanation A for thing B is stupid, therefore, thing B is also stupid and anyone who accepts thing A is stupid.

Babies come from a cabbage patch and a stork delivers them. Therefore babies are stupid.

 

[blankslate]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTm_hyOVudE

Rebel Rebel... your face is a mess...



_________________

 

[Bitek]

Also, did Kylo get hit in the face at all during any of the fight scenes? Dude needs some scars to give him street cred. He needs a blaster or lightsaber scratch or two to make him look legit

I thought he got his left ear cut off. It was subtle, but Rey slices at his head in one of the last swings.

He gets hit and falls to his knees, and you can see locks of hair in the snow and smoke coming from that side. I took it as toned down for the kiddies.

He sorta got the shit beat out of him

 

[blankslate]

He sorta got the shit beat out of him

When gut-shot by an upgraded Bow-Caster you are... fight as well, you will not.


________________

 

[zinfamous]

I thought he got his left ear cut off. It was subtle, but Rey slices at his head in one of the last swings.

He gets hit and falls to his knees, and you can see locks of hair in the snow and smoke coming from that side. I took it as toned down for the kiddies.

He sorta got the shit beat out of him

Oh he got a nice slash across his face. When getting up from the snow, you can see the large cauterized dark streak from eye to chin.

I saw it at the Lockhead IMAX at Air & Space museum over the weekend, and noticed on 2nd viewing that he took quite a bit more damage than I first thought.

I actually like that character a lot more now. Still agree that the mask should have stayed on until he kills papa, but overall I think he was put together quite well. I don't think of him as all that emo anymore; but he's clearly below his game. His shitty sputtery light saber, weakness with the force in comparison to Rey, internal issues (he does fear that he has too much light in him--so the mask is crucial to keep that turmoil hidden from himself more than Snoak).

Snoak tells chief Nazi to bring the battered Kylo to him in order to complete his training. I think he's going to get his ass kicked a bit.

 

[phillyTIM]

I guess we can expect a much more ominous, badass Kylo in Ep. 8?

That being said, I think they played him well in TFA; I actually liked him much more than I went in thinking that I would. The sound of his voice when the mask is on is awesome, and the multi-dimensional person behind the mask was quite intriguing and gave depth to the character.

I'm anxious to see his transformation in Ep. 8.

THAT being said, I hope they don't over-play the symmetry too closely with previous Star Wars films. They kinda milked the Ep 1 & 4 storylines a bit much in TFA.

 

[Kaido]

Going back to the prequels, they have an interview with the guy who played Jar Jar Binks:

http://io9.gizmodo.com/this-interview-with-the-guy-who-played-jar-jar-binks-is-1752488488

Dang, I've never really thought about his position...his work has been constantly criticized & belittled from the beginning. That's a hard thing to live with. I feel bad for him, having to deal with that...he obviously did his best & he didn't write the character in, you know?

 

[RichUK]

Meh

 

[Homerboy]

Going back to the prequels, they have an interview with the guy who played Jar Jar Binks:

http://io9.gizmodo.com/this-interview-with-the-guy-who-played-jar-jar-binks-is-1752488488

Dang, I've never really thought about his position...his work has been constantly criticized & belittled from the beginning. That's a hard thing to live with. I feel bad for him, having to deal with that...he obviously did his best & he didn't write the character in, you know?

I read that article too today.

Thing is nobody is really ripping on his acting -- they are ripping on the character as a whole. I don't think anyone is blaming him per se. Still it's got to be hard to have a character that you brought to life and made your own so universally loathed. (Imagine the resume... "Oh, so you played Jar Jar? I fucking HATED Jar Jar!!!! NEXT!!!").

I do like the point (excuse?) that is made that they were more or less breaking new territory too with this type of CGI created character -- and maybe they were so focused on literally creating the character, that they didn't realize what they were creating sucked.

 

[Kaido]

I read that article too today.

Thing is nobody is really ripping on his acting -- they are ripping on the character as a whole. I don't think anyone is blaming him per se. Still it's got to be hard to have a character that you brought to life and made your own so universally loathed. (Imagine the resume... "Oh, so you played Jar Jar? I HATED Jar Jar!!!! NEXT!!!").

I do like the point (excuse?) that is made that they were more or less breaking new territory too with this type of CGI created character -- and maybe they were so focused on literally creating the character, that they didn't realize what they were creating sucked.

Did you see the video in the comments? "How George Lucas discovered Hayden Christensen"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHBw3TBeU4M

Amazing

 

[Kaido]

Thing is nobody is really ripping on his acting -- they are ripping on the character as a whole. I don't think anyone is blaming him per se. Still it's got to be hard to have a character that you brought to life and made your own so universally loathed.

See, and it's exactly the opposite for the characters that people liked. Here's the who played Darth Maul doing some sick moves with Kylo Ren's lightsaber:

https://youtu.be/uTxTkXL8mFI?t=214

Everybody loves it! I'd imagine it's really hard to deal with the fact that as Jar Jar, people hate his character, so even though it's not you they're taking it out on, it is...kinda. So all you hear is negativity all the time. Dang.

 

[Phoenix86]

I guess we can expect a much more ominous, badass Kylo in Ep. 8?

That being said, I think they played him well in TFA; I actually liked him much more than I went in thinking that I would. The sound of his voice when the mask is on is awesome, and the multi-dimensional person behind the mask was quite intriguing and gave depth to the character.

I'm anxious to see his transformation in Ep. 8.

THAT being said, I hope they don't over-play the symmetry too closely with previous Star Wars films. They kinda milked the Ep 1 & 4 storylines a bit much in TFA.

I think Ren and Rey will follow the Luke style arc of growing in 8 and be fully BA in 9.

 

[Sonikku]

Maybe for Kylo, but Rey is already on RoTJ Luke's level.

 

[Phoenix86]

Maybe for Kylo, but Rey is already on RoTJ Luke's level.

I'd say they are both closer to Empire. Kylo had good use of the force, opening scene, but he clearly isn't fully grown. He can't channel his emotions into the dark side so he has outbursts. Rey struggled as well, barely got off that mind trick and clearly struggled with the light saber. Depending on what memory she lost either hasn't been trained much or certainly wasn't finished.

So their starting point is much further along than A New Hope, but they aren't at Empire level either. I still think the next step is training for both, which follows Empire leading to full trained by Ep9. Of course they could go a different direction and do a little montage/fast forward at the start of 8 and be fully trained early in the movie.

 

[akugami]

There's a lot of online justification for him as a villain, and from a written perspective, I agree, but in watching the film itself, they didn't pull it off. It didn't work because the way they did the face reveal & the way they killed Han Solo made him seem like a rebellious kid who threw temper tantrums instead of a bad guy who was growing more powerful. Like I've said in other posts, if they had done something like not revealing his face during the interrogation & if he had killed Leia first on accident, while trying to kill Han, and then killed Han on the catwalk, it would have changed the entire feel of the story. So I know what they were trying to do with the film, but the effect didn't work. He just came across as a weak kid.

Kylo Ren's identity was revealed way too early. He started off as a badass who could freeze a blaster bolt to some angst filled dweeb grandson of Darth Vader. Later in the movie we find out he is the son of Han and Leia rather than Luke. They could have shrouded him in mystery until the final minutes of the movie when he kills his father.

 

[Remobz]

How many kids did Han Solo have and how many are good and bad?

 

[Phoenix86]

How many kids did Han Solo have and how many are good and bad?

Assumption is just the one, but the door is slightly open for others. It'd kind of feel funky if there were more and they didn't bring them up during the Han-Leia meetup.

 

[Torn Mind]

I watched the movie last Saturday. When Rey Jedi mind -tricked that stormtrooper, my suspension of disbelief paused right there and I am feeling the how? question in my mind.

They left plenty of ambiguity as to Rey's parentage. Kind of lack Squaresoft games, they dropped plenty of discussion fodder.

Yeah, some were a see bit too close to A New Hope. Death Star, old guy dying.

I will say that the planets being blown up does make one feel gloomy and sad very well.

While Han's death felt a bit forced, nevertheless, it feels like somebody just died to me. You still think Solo is alive and kicking and you have to mentally kick yourself to remind yourself he is now canon dead.

 

[Torn Mind]

If they wanna be bold, make Rey the surprise villain.

The next movie better not be some mishmash of The Empire Strikes Back and Episode III, complete with Lando being coerced by another Dark Jedi who grows more crazy and murderous day-by-day. These sequels would be formulaic copycats of the original trilogy.