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It felt like an extended teaser for episode VIII, to be honest. I'm not entirely sure what the main arc of the story was supposed to be. Was it the search for Skywalker or was it to stop the supersized Death Star?
If it was the search for Skywalker then I felt a bit cheated. If R2D2 had woken up when the BB-8 ran into him then that would have solved that mystery pretty quickly.
If it was to blow up the 'not-the-Deathstar' then that was a bit disappointing too. When they dropped the first lot of bombs and one of them said, "But we didn't do any damage." and Poe said, "I know, we'll just have to keep bombing it. It might take a while... oh shit, here come some tie fighters" then you knew there was no clear plan. Things were just going to carry on until the Kylo Ren/Han Solo thing was finished.
Which brings me to Han Solo's death. I was surprised that I wasn't really bothered by it at all. I'm not sure why, if you told me that he was going to die beforehand I reckon I'd be a bit choked up but the way it was done just left me feeling meh.
Ren kind of annoyed me. He reminded me of Anakin in II and III. The bit I found weird was when he was sitting talking to his Darth Vader helmet saying he felt the light side calling him. Darth Vader kept his conflicts buried deep.
Saying all that, it was OK.
One thing I'm looking forward to is what happens with Leia and Ren. I got the impression that Solo already knew that Ren was too far gone to be saved. If you're going to slaughter entire villages it must be pretty hard to come back to the light side. She seemed to be blinded to this by a mother's love. Now that he has killed Solo this could be setting us up for some decent drama in the next film.
Ok so was it just me that thought Anakin / Lukes lightsabre was lost down the toilet chutes when Vader cut off Luke's hand on Bespin? I assume wrinkly 1000 year old woman retrieved it.
Otherwise excellent, saw in it 3d imax on Saturday, booked months in advance for number 2 off spring. Saw it in 2d again on Sunday when offspring number one decided she wanted to see it as well. The X wings across the lake was awesome.
Awesome, love it. Some loathsome cheese, holes in the plot too but who cares!
Loved it. Think the trailers promised a little bit more however, which is why it was a bit of a shame to see Phasma brushed aside so easily in favour of the nostalgia and old characters/plot.
BruceWeeOne thing I'm looking forward to is what happens with Leia and Ren. I got the impression that Solo already knew that Ren was too far gone to be saved. If you're going to slaughter entire villages it must be pretty hard to come back to the light side. She seemed to be blinded to this by a mother's love. Now that he has killed Solo this could be setting us up for some decent drama in the next film.
All of which might be very hard to sell with a rubber face. No harm to her but Carrie Fisher was painful to watch. As I said earlier I think the whole Kylo Ren / Han / Leia drama seemed like a misfire. Kylo Ren should have killed Leia in a flashback or something, I can't see her doing much in upcoming films.
Kylo Ren should have killed Leia in a flashback or something
They could have done something a bit more enigmatic with Luke too. I don't think anyone would really have believed he was dead, but the 'we just don't have the map to his seaside retreat' thing was a bit clunky.
Isn't Carrie Fisher alcoholic or something similar these days? Might explain the lacking acting ability. I thought Mark Hamil did a better job.
I thought Carrie Fisher was ok, bit too much botox admittedly. Doesn't take herself very seriously now, she was pretty funny on Graham Norton the other night.
Just back from seeing it. I thought it was great but my enjoyment was overshadowed by the abysmal 3D that made me feel like I've been smoking crack! Dreadful. I have no interest in 3d just I'd have had to wait another half hour for 2d - won't make that mistake again...
Isn't Carrie Fisher alcoholic or something similar these days
Years of drug and alcohol abuse plus she's also bipolar
Well, I gave it a go. Not for me, I assume it's for kids and fans of the 1st films. I even watched the Family Guy Star Wars in anticipation so I'd know what was going on.
Everyone else seemed to enjoy it and the lad playing Fin was very good.
Just got back from this now... and I am surprised to see that my 'meh' feelings on this are pretty well matched with what others have said above. Thought I'd be the only one! Even down to the WTF? Red Dwarf?? Bit. Eh?
Likewise, I'd really stopped caring by the point Han Solo got shafted. Some bits felt a bit Harry Potter (why is professor Snape wearing a mask?) and the sense of a coherent Star Wars 'universe' seemed to have been lost most of the time. Made all the more grating by the creaking old rubbery actors reprising their roles in a fairly lack lustre way.
I thought all was lost, at the point I found myself idly botanising the plants on the clifftop path to Luke's hangout - sea campion anyone? And wondering whether those really were Star Wars universe sea birds?
Until... the last 30 seconds of the film, that were briefly utterly captivating and emotionally nuanced. Unfortunately, also leaving me hungry for more.
I'm hoping Mark Hammill can rescue this.
Well he did a sterling job in Wing Commander III 😉
He was OK in Kingsman.
I think its worth remembering that part of the job was to engage us older fans, at the same time as bringing on new fans to the franchise.
"We" needed to continuity of the original cast, but thats done now and we been nicely led onto the next movie, whereby with the exception of Mark Hamil, Chewbacca and the droids who appear timeless, I'd expect Ford & Fisher to be dropped and so we move on.
I could see the captivation in some of the kids eyes at all the space/tiefighter/xwing type stuff, and like Empire before it I hope that some new fantasy vehicles are rolled out to keep that captivation. I know - although I won't take him - my 6yo would have been goggle eyed at the movie.
In my eyes then, its worth remembering how we all felt when we saw Episode 4 for the first time, particularly how ground breaking the Special Effects were at that time; something this film isn't able to achieve in these current era, which no doubt lessens the impact somewhat.
Lets not forget that JJ is probably slight been backed into a corner with this one, lets face it, Disney probably stated the type of characters and age range and violence/topics to be covered & to prop it all up for another 2 movies - we had most of the cast looking below 21 and
english white female
african-american
italian-american
american-white male-hunk-bad
and the usual disney's good 'v' bad type of plot
and also he couldnt even touch on anything that were in the prequels - or anything similar plotline wise because thats just too toxic to touch (i.e. the backstory to Ren is actually so similar to Anakin, would we want to see/be reminded of that all over again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
given all that, i think he did a great job!
Agree it makes more sense as a transitional movie, it doesn't justify how average it was though. Lots of repetition to:
Young, poor person on a desolate planet who has the force - been done
Father and son conflict - been done
Destroying a planet-killing weapon - been done
Evil character struggling with good conscience - been done
and lots more besides
I think the most interesting part could have been Fin's story but it wasn't really covered, just a rudimentary village butchering scene to set the stage for him deserting.
Although in his latter years he comes across as a bit of a dick (in real life) I think the best parts were Han and Chewy's interactions, bit of humour and action mixed together reprised their original roles well.
Watched Guardians of the Galaxy again last night - stands up much better as a decent sci-fi film with humour, I even cared more about most of the characters than in Force Awakens.
african-american
John Boyega's from Peckham, bruv.
I thought it was fantastic! Better than I was expecting, although my expectations were pretty high.
It wasn't perfect, but the bits I thought were weak didn't detract from my enjoyment of the rest of it that much.
The main niggles I had were:
The story was so similar to A New Hope, it felt like a lazy attempt at a plot - but I can see how they may have intentionally wanted to re-create the original film's feel.
I thought Snoke & the rathtars were a bit rubbish and too CGI.
Rylo Ken was way too uncharismatic an actor - it was a let-down when he removed his mask.
That's about it. The rest was awesome! The new characters were great and it would still have been a decent film even with much less Han & Chewie.
I much prefer the gritty, more realistic, less-CGI heavy settings and less OTT action sequences when compared to the prequels. This film is firmly back on track IMO.
Oh, and Luke Skywalker absolutely stole the show! Not bad, considering he was on screen for about a minute tops!
Rylo Ken was way too uncharismatic an actor
funny. I thought he was brilliant.
funny. I thought he was brilliant.
I wish I had. I felt a tangible drop in tension when he revealed himself.
I felt a tangible drop in tension when he revealed himself.
For a film that paid so much homage to the original trilogy, it seemed odd that they couldn't come up with a big 'I am your father'-esque unmasking moment. The fact he didn't need the mask was a brilliant bit of misdirection, and Han calls him out for doing it to idolise Vader, but it was a bit of a damp squib in the end. It should have practically written itself even: Ren 'killed' Ben who was also a student of Luke. The grief drove Han and Leia apart. All signs point to a revenge showdown between Han and Ren, but when the moment comes he instead tries to turn him back and that's the big reveal. The rest of that scene was perfect as is. Instead we get Han and Leia (awkwardly) playing the concerned parents of a moody teenager like they think he's on drugs or something.
I was 7 when Star Wars came out. Just got back from seeing TFA.
While it's clearly partly a cynical exercise in getting us 'first generation' fans back on board while engaging a new lucrative pre-teen market, I think it's also a pretty effective love letter from Abrams and Kasdan to the original three films.
Yes, it's a bit of a rehash of episode 4 but that makes weird sense to me both commercially and as part of the 'new' story arc.
Whatever its shortcomings, it 'felt' right to me as a Star Wars film. Enjoyable mix of action, classic good vs evil, humour and some decent acting (for me notably from Boyega and Ford). Nothing groundbreaking but then I don't think that's what anyone really wants from the franchise.
I was disappointed with the low number of lens flares though...
Was that freema adjeyman on the balcony that the death star thing blew up? And when will they learn not to build a trench just big enough for an x wing that leads straight to the critical point of failure that those imperial architects always leave in?
Just came back from it. Loved it.
Slightly embarrassing to say out loud: "That's bloody Falcon Crag!". X-wings over Derwen****er, fab!
Kids loved it too, which is the main thing.
Just got back from seeing it. What a load of stupid rubbish.
Gun fights where only the baddies get shot; sword fights with big pauses so that the baddy loses; chases with people RUNNING away from rocketships that completely miss them; the whole stormtrooper army hunting for a "girl" in a PLACE THEY LIVE in, can't find her, but a bunch of goodies find her straight away without looking... so much arse like that over the 2 hours. I was ssooooo bored.
Oh and what's this thing where they are flying at a million miles an hour in rocketfightingships and they shout "Watch out!" WTF? "he's behind you??" its so stupid.
colournoise wrote:
Whatever its shortcomings, it 'felt' right to me as a Star Wars film. Enjoyable mix of action, classic good vs evil, humour and some decent acting (for me notably from Boyega and Ford). Nothing groundbreaking but then I don't think that's what anyone really wants from the franchise.
In a nutshell, really. 🙂
(I was 7 in 1977 too.)
I think some people are slightly over thinking the film. George has always said he makes films for kids and so does Disney. Its a total fun fest, loved it.
Looking too deeply into the scenes and holes in the plots kinda means your missing the point and taking it all just a little bit too serious.
Hopk1ns
I think some people are slightly over thinking the film. George has always said he makes films for kids and so does Disney. Its a total fun fest, loved it.
Ah yes, the Phantom Menace defence. You think my film is shit? Well it's not for you, it's for children. Dumb, ignorant children who enjoy any old shit.
Looking too deeply into the scenes and holes in the plots kinda means your missing the point and taking it all just a little bit too serious.
It's not necessary to look deeply to see flaws, they're obvious.
"Slightly over thinking"?? Not really though eh? Thinking AT ALL!
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And there are two perfect examples of what I meant by overthinking it all. Seriously chill out its just a film. (for kids)
Maybe the film needs some Trolls in it. Then you'd be happy 😉
Great film, loved it.
I really enjoyed it.
I am in the camp that firmly believes is isn't Sci Fi, more like an adventure/action story with added space ships, so dumb religious stuff, Scooby Doo endings and B movie ripping off of other films just add to the fun.
Lots of references to proper Sci Fi films - which was cool. The aforementioned Red Dwarf, the monsters on Han Solo's ship were straight out of a classic episode of Space 1999 and there was a robot from Silent Running in the market on Jakku !
Nice touches.
Oh - and JJ Abrams has clearly read Dune - the ship being swallowed by the sand was definitely by a worm, hell, the whole hokey religion angle of the first films was a celar rip-off. OK I will shut up now - pompous lecture over.
Went to see it in 3d last night: I'd give it 3.5/5. It's just far too similar to Episode 4 to warrant higher marking. I guess they did it that way to act as a kind of reboot for newer generations who weren't brought up with the original films. However, it is still far far better than Episodes 1-3 and I have hope that the subsequent films will be less derivative.
Hopk1nsAnd there are two perfect examples of what I meant by overthinking it all. Seriously chill out its just a film. (for kids)
This is idiotic.
Watched it last night. I think this summed it up well for me...
It felt like an extended teaser for episode VIII, to be honest. I'm not entirely sure what the main arc of the story was supposed to be. Was it the search for Skywalker or was it to stop the supersized Death Star?
For the majority I was absorbed into it, lots of great moments. But then there just seemed to be massive skips and jumps in the 2nd half of the story which kind of made me lose connection with it. Kind of disappointed in a story sense but happy enough with the good bits that id go to see it again as a fan of the series.
I hate to say it but really felt like it was a 2 parter chopped down to fit 1 film.
I love the bit where the rebel leaders show you the old Death Star - and this is the new Death Star, and it's MUCH BIGGER. Phwoarh - check it out !
Kenny Everit could have written that scene.
Look and feel: 10/10
Story/plot: 6-7/10
It did what it needed to do and did it well enough, while managing to be a quazillion times better than Lucas managed with the prequals...
I love the bit where the rebel leaders show you the old Death Star - and this is the new Death Star, and it's MUCH BIGGER. Phwoarh - check it out !
"There's got to be a way to blow it up. There's always a way to blow it up..." or something like that. Made me laugh :).
For my contribution - I thought it was awesome. Right mix of humour, action, atmosphere and nostalgia. I will probably go and see it again - and probably in 3D again.
"There's got to be a way to blow it up. There's always a way to blow it up..." or something like that. Made me laugh :).
If there was a moment that summed up the whole film, that was it 🙂
Maybe the film needs some Trolls in it. Then you'd be happy
Stick James Bond in there and you can get away with Deathstar sized loopholes and illogicality but nobody bats an eyelid. 😉
I do get the feeling the people who didn't at least enjoy it weren't going to be happy regardless. Assuming they aren't just trolling.
It did what it needed to do and did it well enough, while managing to be a quazillion times better than Lucas managed with the prequals...
Amen.
Oh - and JJ Abrams has clearly read Dune - the ship being swallowed by the sand was definitely by a worm, hell, the whole hokey religion angle of the first films was a celar rip-off. OK I will shut up now - pompous lecture over.
from an interview with JJ..
[b]Well, yeah. I think maybe a better way to express how I feel about those movies is that they had a certain knowingness, because of the way the characters are, so archetypal, and the way they reference a lot of film history, like Luke gazing out at the two setting suns the way someone would in a John Ford Western. That was such a part of the whole “movie brat” thing in the 70s, that George Lucas was a part of. Did you fool around with any of those kinds of nods at movie history?[/b]
[i]There are a few specific references that are kind of my own little stupid, secret ones. But I will say that because the world is a different place now than it was when that movie came out, we can’t come out with the same thing and expect people to react as if they hadn’t seen it before. I’m not sure we could count the movies that have, since 1977, tried to embrace a similar mythic quality and in some cases a similar aesthetic or even humorous approach to a space adventure.[/i]
So you could be right, although Sarlaccs weren't his creation.
[i] weren't going to be happy regardless. Assuming they aren't just trolling.[/i]
I certainly wouldnt pay the extortionate cinema fees unless I thought I was going to see a decent film.
and...
Trolling? you do realise this isn't a thread entitled "Star Wars fans this way"?