Star Wars: The Force Awakens reviews *SPOILERS*

[norseamd]

You were right.

If Jar Jar was a little bit more intelligent and the grown up version of Ani was replaced with someone else, the series would have been fine.

SMH the more I think about it the more frustrating it gets. I mean, all the actors are still alive and had plenty of room for back story and leading drama. I guess the "typical American" for action response should be inserted here

The overall plot of the prequels is actually quite good, but the dialogue and acting are kinda terrible. Basically George Lucas needs to do what he is good at, which is Executive Producer and Creative Lead, and find a top of the line director and some good writers. He needs to let them do their thing, and not let himself start overreaching into everything. To be fair there are a few problems with A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, especially with some major plot elements, but because of nicer dialogue, acting, and aesthetics, and also an authentic soul, they tend not to get noticed as much.

 

[Bitek]

Yes, the assumption that Han Solos son, trained by Luke has some skills. Enough to beat the average joe or initial recruit. You can't use the force like he does earlier in the movie and lose badly like he did.

Luke was the direct son of Darth Vader... I'm willing to go with you on the first shot ordeal, but I remember in the movie stating he can do it and has done it on his home planet.

Not trying to pick a douchy nerd fight with you, but would like to challenge the context of the harsh criticism.

We all know now Luke's heritage and story arc, but at the time of ep 4, we knew nothing of Luke other than being an orphan farm boy who's father was a pilot in the rebellion who was killed by Vader. As he's flying down the trench, best we know at that point Luke and Porkins could be long lost cousins.

We don't even see too many force powers in ep4 for that matter. Just Obi wan's stories, Vader's force choke, and Luke getting shot in the ass by the practice droid when he's trying out the light saber.

In fact, Luke is a whiny Debbie Downer most of the movie, one exception for the part he's at the rebel base and spouting off how he can pull this shit off even though he's only ever shot giant rats from a puttering landspeeder on a planet he never left until two days prior, let alone a hyperdriven x wing.. in space.. being shot at by cannons and tie fighters.

I'm sure all the other veteran xwing pilots were wondering "wtf invited this hayseed jackhole kid?! God I hope he's not in my wing."


This is where we are at in the story. These are truly the first new stories and characters we've seen since 1983. Everything since has been fleshing out a story and outcome we already knew.

Give it a chance. Much is to be revealed.

 

[Childs]

Thought it was kinda bad. The lows weren't as low as the ones in the Prequels, but the highs in the Prequels were done much better than in Force Awakens. And aside from Han and Chewy, the characters in Force Awakens were fairly forgettable. Adam Driver was terrible.

It had some funny moments, but in general the movie just seemed like too much was missing story wise. Or the story is just bad, not sure which. I might seem better in time when you add in the follow up movies, but as a standalone it was fairly derivative of New Hope. I almost think I need to see it again just to make sure this is how I really feel about it, and to get more value out of those Storm Trooper 3D glasses I bought at the theater. But in a way I dont really want to see it again. Probably wait till it comes out on Blu-ray.

Anyways, 5/10.

 

[cubby1223]

I saw this movie last night, and it just reminds me why I hate J.J. Abrams. This movie is not a story. It is a mindless action flick full of continuity problems.

I'm not a nit-picker either.

It took three movies and a crap-ton of training for Luke Skywalker to develop his skills and face Darth Vader. It takes a sanitation worker all of about two seconds to be able to learn how to be a light-saber master and give the main dark-side villain a good run for his money.

Really?

What's-his-name was able to use the force to prevent everyone else in the movie from moving then walk right up and kill them. But this former stormtrooper with no force abilities? Why are you fighting him? Why are you allowing him to injure you? Just kill him. Stop suggesting I as a movie viewer am an idiot believing this scene to be exciting.


And then, pretty much the entire movie was a piecing together of bits from the original trilogy. Death-star but supersized. Crucial information stored in a droid. Land on the planet surface, disable the shields, and the fleet attacks the main weapon. The list goes on...

And the resistance has all that they need to go find Luke, but oh wait, R2D2 is emotionally depressed and that's why they can't proceed?


Saw this movie once. Will never see again. Just like the prequels.

 

[Spydermag68]

The Starkiller
By the way it was stripping away the sun looks like the way a blackhole or another high density star would do. I could accept that it could be possible to do given the other technology that has been shown in the movies.

Rey
I think she is the daughter of Luke. When Kylo destroyed the Jedi school that Luke created, Luke fled with his wife after leaving the map and abandoning Rey on the planet. Rey was trained from birth so she has knowledge of the force. She most likely has used the force with out knowing it. She has learned to fight from the environment she grew up in. When Kylo was trying to read her mind, it unlocked the early memories and triggered the Jedi powers. Also the reaction when she saw Luke's face, she new she had found her father.

 

[Childs]

What's-his-name was able to use the force to prevent everyone else in the movie from moving then walk right up and kill them. But this former stormtrooper with no force abilities? Why are you fighting him? Why are you allowing him to injure you? Just kill him. Stop suggesting I as a movie viewer am a dumbass who enjoys this.

He caught a blaster shot in mid air, which was cool and it makes you think this guy is a real bad ass, but yeah, it was like he never learned how to use a light saber. And force wise he was apparently at a lower level than Rey. As an antagonist he is the worst out of all the movies.

 

[zerocool84]

Just got out of it and I'm kinda disappointed with it. Couldn't they come up with a new ultimate weapon? Hell, they used the exact same trench scene. Geez JJ, nods are good but mesh in some new ideas.

Also the movie started out really really slow for me. I didn't start enjoying it until halfway through. Not horrible, better than the prequels, but not as good as everyone has been saying.

 

[ctark]

Another tidbit I just found out. When Rey grabs the lightsaber you hear someone who says "Rey!". Turns out it was Ewan Mcgregor. So maybe she's a Kenobi, or she has some type of connection to him.

 

[Aikouka]

The overall plot of the prequels is actually quite good, but the dialogue and acting are kinda terrible.

The prequel plot is good? Not really. It's mostly boring politics, which is probably why they need those crazy Wushu action scenes -- to keep people from falling asleep! The entire ending also makes no sense at all. "Hey, Anakin. If you use the dark side, you can save Padme!" "Sure!" ... "Hey, Anakin. Padme is dead. Woops!" Vader just kinda shrugs it off and goes about his way being all evil and stuff.

 

[cronos]

He stopped a blaster shot in mid air, which was cool and it makes you think this guy is a real bad ass, but yeah, it was like he never learned how to use a light saber. And force wise he was apparently at a lower level than Rey. As an antagonist he is the worst out of all the movies.

I think people who are surprised how wimpy Kylo Ren turns out to be missed the revelation throughout the movie that while the viewers were initially led to think that Snoke-Kylo is a badass Sith Lord-Apprentice combo in the beginning in the movie (and in the hype promo posters/trailers/etc), they turned out to be not.

This seems like an intentional misdirect by the movie, as by the end of this episode the viewers could clearly see that this is not the case. We still don't know who Snoke is, but Kylo Ren is clearly not a proper Sith apprentice (or even related to the Sith at all).

Kylo Ren is simply a temper tantrum-prone Vader fanboy who is force sensitive, left his Jedi training (or possibly kicked out by Luke, we'll probably find out in the next movie) early on, with only a basic understanding of how to manage the Force. It really isn't a surprise that he still could not use his powers efficiently, much less using it to fight against other Force users.

Rey's background, on the other hand, is still in question and therefore all that are out there right now are speculation. So here's mine: I think the way the viewers are sort of pushed to guess that she's Luke's daughter is another red herring. I would rather speculate that she's basically (in terms of background) Anakin 2.0, a kid with an off the chart midichlorian count that are randomly (or maybe not so random?) discovered by Luke at a very young age (possibly much younger than Anakin) while he traveled around the galaxy attempting to find potential fresh new members to rebuild the Jedi order. So she trained with Luke probably since she was a baby, together with Ben, and then somewhere along the line something happened (probably the same something that got Ben kicked out/ditched his Jedi training) that Luke decided to block her memory and drop her off in a random planet to protect her (from what? not sure).

My gut feeling also says that Rey and Ben are not the only two of Luke's trainees. When Luke's new 'Jedi Academy' was 'disbanded', there were a few more of these Force-sensitive young boys/girls Jedi to-be that he scattered around the galaxy with their memories blocked. These few will probably come out in the next movies as the conflict between the Resistance and the First Order is heightened. I could see a few more young Force users (former Jedi trainees) coming out, some may ended up being drawn to the Dark side.

 

[Aikouka]

Kylo Ren is simply a temper tantrum-prone Vader fanboy who is force sensitive, left his Jedi training (or possibly kicked out by Luke, we'll probably find out in the next movie) early on, with only a basic understanding of how to manage the Force. It really isn't a surprise that he still could not use his powers efficiently, much less using it to fight against other Force users.

I'd have to watch it again, but that's not what I took from it. I didn't get that Luke kicked Ben out, but rather that Ben revolted after succumbing to the Dark Side. They made it sound like Ben effectively destroyed the academy whether that means physically (the building and/or the other students) or mentally (simply made Luke give up). To me, it sounded like Ben killed the other students (pulled an Anakin in Revenge of the Sith), but I'm not 100% sure.

Rey's background, on the other hand, is still in question and therefore all that are out there right now are speculation. So here's mine: I think the way the viewers are sort of pushed to guess that she's Luke's daughter is another red herring. I would rather speculate that she's basically (in terms of background) Anakin 2.0, a kid with an off the chart midichlorian count that are randomly (or maybe not so random?) discovered by Luke at a very young age (possibly much younger than Anakin) while he traveled around the galaxy attempting to find potential fresh new members to rebuild the Jedi order. So she trained with Luke probably since she was a baby, together with Ben, and then somewhere along the line something happened (probably the same something that got Ben kicked out/ditched his Jedi training) that Luke decided to block her memory and drop her off in a random planet to protect her (from what? not sure).

I have no problem with Rey being powerful with The Force, but that they're doing all this stuff with absolutely no explanation. What we'll end up getting is a convenient answer in Episode VIII or IX, and honestly... that's kind of lazy. It's far harder to present a backstory that helps define a character and have their growth/actions adhere to what you've defined rather than have the character do a bunch of things and then create a convenient narrative that fits.

 

[norseamd]

The prequel plot is good? Not really. It's mostly boring politics, which is probably why they need those crazy Wushu action scenes -- to keep people from falling asleep!

Yeah some real unimportant stuff right there, what would that ever have to do with a future galactic civil war.

The entire ending also makes no sense at all. "Hey, Anakin. If you use the dark side, you can save Padme!" "Sure!" ... "Hey, Anakin. Padme is dead. Woops!" Vader just kinda shrugs it off and goes about his way being all evil and stuff.

And tell me what could be more sensible than that? Anything else you can think of that would be as powerful in turning someone to the dark side? You also are missing a whole element of the downfall plot.

 

[ctbaars]

Just finished watching episode 4.
I fell asleep. Terrible dialog. Slow moving the first half.
The best thing about it. The sound track / music ...

 

[Childs]

I think people who are surprised how wimpy Kylo Ren turns out to be missed the revelation throughout the movie that while the viewers were initially led to think that Snoke-Kylo is a badass Sith Lord-Apprentice combo in the beginning in the movie (and in the hype promo posters/trailers/etc), they turned out to be not.

This seems like an intentional misdirect by the movie, as by the end of this episode the viewers could clearly see that this is not the case. We still don't know who Snoke is, but Kylo Ren is clearly not a proper Sith apprentice (or even related to the Sith at all).

That actually makes it worse. The child of Han and Leia should be a badass. Obviously getting a little more back story on what caused Han and Leia to split up and what made Ren turn would have cleared things up a bit, but instead we had a movie with no real threat. Once you saw the starkiller base you knew how it was going to end, since they already did it twice before in the first three star wars movies! And I'm not sure if its something I thought internally or it was actually in the movie, but I think they even mentioned that they were going to do the same thing to starkiller that they did to the deathstar when they were discussing it. :biggrin:

I don't think Rey would be Luke's kid, because Jedi aren't supposed to have kids. This is assuming Luke was teaching the old ways. And really, anyone can be a Jedi. Although him having a kid and others finding out could be something that could make someone question his teachings. And its strange that Ren and his buddies were able to take down Luke and a bunch of students at various skill levels.

 

[Ichinisan]

Thought it was kinda bad. The lows weren't as low as the ones in the Prequels, but the highs in the Prequels were done much better than in Force Awakens. And aside from Han and Chewy, the characters in Force Awakens were fairly forgettable. Adam Driver was terrible.

It had some funny moments, but in general the movie just seemed like too much was missing story wise. Or the story is just bad, not sure which. I might seem better in time when you add in the follow up movies, but as a standalone it was fairly derivative of New Hope. I almost think I need to see it again just to make sure this is how I really feel about it, and to get more value out of those Storm Trooper 3D glasses I bought at the theater. But in a way I dont really want to see it again. Probably wait till it comes out on Blu-ray.

Anyways, 5/10.

Exactly how I feel.

The story seems to be missing things that are necessary to tell a story. Why does she assume the droid doesn't belong to that other guy? Why does he let her "free" it? Why does it want to follow her after it was previously instructed to "go as far away as possible?" Why is Kylo Renn (spelling?) so upset with the storm trooper defector that he yells "TRRRAY-TARRRRR!!!"-? Didn't Kylo himself become a "traitor" when he turned to the Dark Side? Why does he wear a helmet at all when he doesn't need it?

The shifting tone / attitude of the commander/general type person is also confusing and strange. Then Rey does the Jedi mind trick immediately as soon as she starts to suspect she might have some force abilities? No sabbatical with Yoda in the Degobah system required. No extended apprenticeship with a wise master like Obi Wan Kenobi. Nope. Just immediately pulling off the Jedi mind trick and force pulls without any training whatsoever.

They said Luke went away because he was ashamed/dismayed when Kylo turned to the dark side. So he left when the Republic needed him most? Planets were destroyed. Countless innocents lost their lives. You're a real asshole, Luke!

I felt like the story was broken because it was designed by a committee, rather than written. That would be expected after Disney pays billions for the property, but I'm not 100% convinced that's why it's bad. The story was almost as flawed as the last JJ Abrams movie I watched (Into Darkness), and the flaws just seem all so similar.

 

[dud]

When will discount matinee tickets be available ... and how cheap do you think they will be?

 

[norseamd]

Yes Jar Jar Abrams has a lot of responsibility in this, but Kathleen Kennedy and Disney are just as bad if not even worse for the outcome of everything.

 

[cubby1223]

Yes Jar Jar Abrams has a lot of responsibility in this, but Kathleen Kennedy and Disney are just as bad if not even worse for the outcome of everything.

The movie will make untold profits, according to the studio this will be a massive success. We're all suckers who will buy a ticket to anything even marginally reminiscent of our past. It's exploitation at its worst

 

[SKORPI0]

When will discount matinee tickets be available ... and how cheap do you think they will be?

$5.00 tickets every Tuesday at the local cinema here. $3.00 additional for a RealD 3D movie for the glasses.

 

[cubby1223]

I think people who are surprised how wimpy Kylo Ren turns out to be missed the revelation throughout the movie that while the viewers were initially led to think that Snoke-Kylo is a badass Sith Lord-Apprentice combo in the beginning in the movie (and in the hype promo posters/trailers/etc), they turned out to be not.

What?

It wasn't a revelation, it wasn't a clever setup. It was a major continuity flaw. Someone who just sent another who is powerful with the force flying 50 feet back slamming into a tree... then turns around and can barely withstand another who has absolutely no force skills and but a half-day use of a light-saber?

The movie begins with him having a ton of very powerful force skills. By the end he has none. This wasn't clever deception, this was poor story-writing.


Couple months ago I saw the latest Transporter movie. Tons of bad story-writing and impossible action scenes. But I enjoyed that movie. Because I went into it not expecting it to be anything but a mindless movie. Star Wars is supposed to be better. It is supposed to be a deep story, something we appreciate for years to come. It's not. It's a mindless action flick now. Nothing special about it, this new movie falls right into the watch-once-and-forget-it-tomorrow category.

 

[cronos]

I'd have to watch it again, but that's not what I took from it. I didn't get that Luke kicked Ben out, but rather that Ben revolted after succumbing to the Dark Side. They made it sound like Ben effectively destroyed the academy whether that means physically (the building and/or the other students) or mentally (simply made Luke give up). To me, it sounded like Ben killed the other students (pulled an Anakin in Revenge of the Sith), but I'm not 100% sure.

I don't think this is completely out of the realm of possibility. I've read in several places that this was what many people have been speculating as well. I simply didn't take it like that.

I have no problem with Rey being powerful with The Force, but that they're doing all this stuff with absolutely no explanation. What we'll end up getting is a convenient answer in Episode VIII or IX, and honestly... that's kind of lazy. It's far harder to present a backstory that helps define a character and have their growth/actions adhere to what you've defined rather than have the character do a bunch of things and then create a convenient narrative that fits.

I really can't argue with you on this. I guess we'll see.

That actually makes it worse. The child of Han and Leia should be a badass. Obviously getting a little more back story on what caused Han and Leia to split up and what made Ren turn would have cleared things up a bit, but instead we had a movie with no real threat. Once you saw the starkiller base you knew how it was going to end, since they already did it twice before in the first three star wars movies! And I'm not sure if its something I thought internally or it was actually in the movie, but I think they even mentioned that they were going to do the same thing to starkiller that they did to the deathstar when they were discussing it. :biggrin:

I really don't see what's 'bad' about that that you think it's 'worse'. So Han and Leia's son turned out to be a wimp. So what? Maybe it's the pressure being the offspring of one of the most powerful couple in the galaxy? (oh the drama ). You remember the scene of him praying on Vader's helmet remains? That is clearly a guy torn between good and evil, with a tendency towards good ('calling of the Light'), but for some reason wanting so damn much to be evil he had to take the drastic measure of killing his own father to get over the hump. The way I see it, there's a fascinating story behind what drove Ben this way that I'm really looking forward to. Having said that, now that he's completely into the Dark side, he should be a better bad guy the next time we see him.

I do agree with you (and in fact it's pretty much exactly the summary of what I wrote above) that there may not be real threat thus far in the story. Or at least the real 'big bad' hasn't even shown up yet. Even Snoke could be a red herring 'big bad'. But I'm okay with that.

I don't think Rey would be Luke's kid, because Jedi aren't supposed to have kids. This is assuming Luke was teaching the old ways. And really, anyone can be a Jedi. Although him having a kid and others finding out could be something that could make someone question his teachings. And its strange that Ren and his buddies were able to take down Luke and a bunch of students at various skill levels.

Yeah there's simply not a lot of information that we can gather right now regarding this. I guess we'll just have to wait to find out.

 

[cronos]

What?

It wasn't a revelation, it wasn't a clever setup. It was a major continuity flaw. Someone who just sent another who is powerful with the force flying 50 feet back slamming into a tree... then turns around and can barely withstand another who has absolutely no force skills and but a half-day use of a light-saber?

The movie begins with him having a ton of very powerful force skills. By the end he has none. This wasn't clever deception, this was poor story-writing.

I agree that they could show it better, and I'm not saying the story is excellently written, not at all. All I'm saying is that some people wanted so bad for him to be this evil badass that they couldn't see that the story being told right in front of them is showing that he's always been this weak/tortured young man (who frequently throw a temper tantrum if he didn't get what he wants) who want so bad to be evil but didn't really have it in him. He's basically like angry/whiny Anakin in episode III but without even a tenth of Anakin's natural power.

 

[Childs]

I really don't see what's 'bad' about that that you think it's 'worse'. So Han and Leia's son turned out to be a wimp. So what? Maybe it's the pressure being the offspring of one of the most powerful couple in the galaxy? (oh the drama ).

Worse in that we go from Vader to Emperor to Darth Maul to General Grievous to Dooku back to the Emperor/Vader as big bads in these movies. Then then have a punk kid that can barely beat a coward storm trooper, and loses to a force noob. Oh, and this is the guy that kills Han Solo. I'd say thats worse! :biggrin: Even Captain Phasma was a disappointment. A battle hardened storm trooper essentially causes the destruction of the base because someone put a gun in her face.

For all the faults of the prequels, there was eminent danger for everyone in the movies because the antagonists were bad asses. Even in the original trilogy the minor bad guys like Boba Fett, Jabba, and even the other bounty hunters that don't say anything appear tough.

 

[Bitek]

I think people who are surprised how wimpy Kylo Ren turns out to be missed the revelation throughout the movie that while the viewers were initially led to think that Snoke-Kylo is a badass Sith Lord-Apprentice combo in the beginning in the movie (and in the hype promo posters/trailers/etc), they turned out to be not.

This seems like an intentional misdirect by the movie, as by the end of this episode the viewers could clearly see that this is not the case. We still don't know who Snoke is, but Kylo Ren is clearly not a proper Sith apprentice (or even related to the Sith at all).

Kylo Ren is simply a temper tantrum-prone Vader fanboy who is force sensitive, left his Jedi training (or possibly kicked out by Luke, we'll probably find out in the next movie) early on, with only a basic understanding of how to manage the Force. It really isn't a surprise that he still could not use his powers efficiently, much less using it to fight against other Force users.
...
Snip.

That actually makes it worse. The child of Han and Leia should be a badass. Obviously getting a little more back story on what caused Han and Leia to split up and what made Ren turn would have cleared things up a bit, but instead we had a movie with no real threat. Once you saw the starkiller base you knew how it was going to end, since they already did it twice before in the first three star wars movies! And I'm not sure if its something I thought internally or it was actually in the movie, but I think they even mentioned that they were going to do the same thing to starkiller that they did to the deathstar when they were discussing it. :biggrin:

I don't think Rey would be Luke's kid, because Jedi aren't supposed to have kids. This is assuming Luke was teaching the old ways. And really, anyone can be a Jedi. Although him having a kid and others finding out could be something that could make someone question his teachings. And its strange that Ren and his buddies were able to take down Luke and a bunch of students at various skill levels.

Obviously I'm more with chronos on this one, and I like the way they presented Rey.

His entry mirrors that of Vader in ep4. You are intended to think that he's Vader 2.0, and the blaster freezing, interrogation of Poe and even the mask reinforces this. That is the figure Rey wants you to believe he is.

Then it gets peeled away. It's a misdirection. He's young, unsure, and untested. He's uncontrolled. He's vulnerable. He's paranoid and afraid. IMO, this makes him far more dangerous.

I see him as the anti-Luke. He's estranged from his parents due to Vader, but by choice. He's trying to find himself and destiny, but driven by the dark.

He's even been confronted by his father to turn, just as Luke was, but did not show mercy and selfishly murdered him. (Interestingly, Vader had the reverse choice with Luke, but also repeatedly chose mercy, sacrifice and family.) Ren has already shown far more evil than Vader ever did.

Ep8 I think for Ren will be the flip side of ep5 for Luke. He will be taken to his master and rebuilt, raw talent trained to be in service for his chosen side of the force. I imagine the story will turn dark and we will see just how vicious, dangerous and evil Ren can truly be.

This movie is meant to lay the groundwork for the following episodes, and serve as a transition from the old guard.

 

[Childs]

Then it gets peeled away. It's a misdirection. He's young, unsure, and untested. He's uncontrolled. He's vulnerable. He's paranoid and afraid. IMO, this makes him far more dangerous.

Snapping Finn's neck with a twist of his wrist would have made him feel dangerous. But once you see Finn hanging with him with no apparent sword training, any credibility went out the window. Whats dumb about that whole sequence is that he force throws Rey into a tree and knocks her out. He could have just done it again to Finn, or force grabbed his saber like Vader did to Han.

Vader was killing his own people, and to be honest, their failures weren't even really their fault! haha Anyways, Ren needed skill to make him feel like a threat, then his emotional issues would have made him unpredictable and something to fear. Anyways, for them to build him up catching blaster shots to how he ended up was a major let down.