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the whole hokey religion angle of the first films was a celar rip-off
What's 'celar'?
A typo. I meant "clear". A new type of Jedi, it is not.
🙂
I can't believe that, after all they've been through with the flooding, the Cumbrian locals had to put up with the First Order destroying Maz Kanata's castle on Derwen****er as well. J.J.Abrams has a LOT to answer for!
What's 'celar'?
It's where she was hiding the lightsaber. Do keep up.
Do you think Han Solo took his MTB to The Lakes with him?
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Ouch, sounds painful.
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.
Not being funny DezB, but you HAVE seen Episode 4? I'm not sure what part of the above would be a surprise to you or why you'd go to see it if you had and didn't like go for sort of thing.
'Bit too much like IV' is valid criticism but all of that is basically 'I don't like Star Wars' so I'm puzzled why you'd bother.
Not being funny DezB, but you HAVE seen [s]Episode 4?[/s] any blockbuster movie? I'm not sure what part of the above would be a surprise to you or why you'd go to see it if you had and didn't like go for sort of thing.
FTFY as they say. 🙂
Yes and they usually bore me! This was soooo built up though. And my son wanted to see he (he found it pretty silly too). And my brother said it was good
I loved it. There were tears when the Falcon appeared, tears when Han and Chewie appeared, tears when Luke's Theme played when Rey was introduced, tears when Luke's lightsabre appeared, tears when the TIE Fighter started up, tears when the X-Wings appeared, tears when Artoo powered back up, tears when Han died, tears when Kylo and Rey were fighting... I loved it! 😀 😀 The nods to A New Hope were really nicely done too.
Curious one this. I had reservations as not a JJ fan and have a strong dislike of what he did to Star Trek, even if those films looked good. Or rather what he did to Star Trek fans, pretty much a middle finger up at them.
However I went in quite positive from everything I'd seen and a lot of hope that this will be better than the prequels, and I was definitely right. Overall I was glued to it and fascinated. A number of fan-**** moments that I loved. Sat through all the end credits which is rare unless I really like it. Left thinking "wow!".
But then after my mind is picking holes in it.
That's the thing. It's very good. It's just not perfect. It's no piece of art. It won't win any Oscars. It's not as good as the original trilogy.
It comes across to me as a very big budget fan movie. Story is much like some of the books.
The problems with it though...
Plot is recycled, and fairly Episode IV. Though you can't really claim any of the other films have amazing plots. Though the originals are enjoyable adventures.
Ford and Fisher are too old. That was always going to be though and I suppose either they just make a cameo appearance or you do something for them to hand over the reins, even if that means offing one of them so they're not going to be hanging around in the following films.
Another friggin Death Star bigger than before. Please. And do they never learn to not put in obvious vulnerabilities? ! One review I read asked why it was really necessary when the film could really stand on its own without having a big thing to blow up.
New Order commanders / actors are a bit naff. Just seem like a bunch of pompous managers.
Kylo Ren - mixed opinions on him, but at present he's just another whiney brat having temper tantrums. Though he doesn't seem as annoying as Anakin. The mask though... why? Especially the crap voice changer.
Suddenly it's possible to become a master of the Force and use of a lightsaber within a few minutes (Rey), instead of having to bog off and spend time with Ben or Yoda to learn this stuff.
Supreme Leader Snoke - stupid name and seems straight out of Harry Potter.
Luke's gone off in a huff. Hmm, right.
I don't know now. At the time watching it I loved it. Now I look back on it I see all these flaws yet I still generally like it. Maybe I'll watch it again and see how I feel. I'm hoping this is just the set up film getting the fan **** out of the way and deliberately echoing Episode IV to sort of say what goes around comes around, or something like that. Then next film we get into the serious stuff.
Anyway, there's a lot to like. Visually excellent. Nice use of real locations rather than all green screen. The Falcon stuff is great. For all their age, seeing Han and Chewie is great (and Peter Mayhew did indeed play him, at least for parts with no action). Rey is excellent.
Loved it. A return to the star wars of my childhood. Saw the 3D one, which I thought was worth it.
The unmasking of Hans son was a disappointment. There must be better unknowns than Marilyn Manson lookalike.
And mon the girls.:-)
In a word, underwhelmed. I was 4 when the first one came out, and I have been a huge fan ever since. I was just the perfect age to get into the whole thing.
The prequels were awful, but I had high hopes after the positive reviews. I so much wanted to love it.
Too much time spent in decidedly earth-like planet surface environments. It all just looked like a fancy dress party had arrived in the Lake District, in Ireland, at Greenham Common etc. Lacked the escapism of the original which was absolutely set in space.
Han and Leia didn't work well together (and Leia could barely talk thanks to her plastic surgery), and Han was almost too desperate to crack funnies.
Snoke/Voldemort didn't need to be CGI.
Kylo Ren didn't need the mask (Vader clearly did, but there was no real reason given for why Ren needed it).
On the other hand Chewie rocked (although he had some rather worrying blonde highlights).
Because his grandfather wore one, and he worships him.no real reason given for why Ren needed it
Just a guess.
OK. Just back from seeing it in IMAX 3D. I liked it, quite a lot. Yes the plot was rubbish. Yes, the science is abysmal. Yes, Carrie Fisher doesn't/can't act.
But it's very good humoured, visually and sonically impressive, I like the jokes, and the time in the cinema passed very quickly. My son, who is a trainee thespian spotted loads of well established British stage actors in cameos. To me, it's rather like Pirates of the Caribbean in space.
I wish the science was better - the total disregard for gravity or atmosphere, the fact that they clearly have anti-gravity (Rey's tractor thing) yet most people and droids walk everywhere and they have stairs, they have a faster than light technology but can't build a gun that can hit anyone, stormtroopers wear armour that has the protective value of a pair of pyjamas, sound carries through space, a low level troop commander has sufficient knowledge and security clearance to turn off the shields etc etc etc. The fact that it isn't clearly shows that you can't take it seriously and have to treat it like a comic book. And on those terms, it succeeds.
Because his grandfather wore one, and he worships him.
Exactly this. It establishes him as a Vader wannabee - not the real deal - yet. Just as Annakin wasn't the real deal until after his fight with Obie-Wan.
I forgot to list the humour in the negatives.
Well actually I did chuckle at most of them, but it just made the whole thing feel less Star Wars with obvious jokes and audience laughing littered about. May as well watch Space Balls.
From my thoughts and other comments here, again have to say it's flawed, but if you can look past all these things it's enjoyable and impressive. If you critically look at the originals there are bucket loads of terrible holes in them, but we love them.
I really enjoyed watching it. On reflection I realised where holes could be poked into it but Star Wars is not a thing that's supposed to be reflected upon deeply. It's 1930s Flash Gordon adventure serials for more recent generations.
One of the strands of my particular brand of geekery is that I like to understand the wider setting of things like Star Wars. All the background detail about the ships and vehicles and so on can draw me in. With the Force Awakens I was left a little bemused by the Republic/Resistance/First Order. Is the First Order a relatively local problem, which is why the Republic didn't face it head on? But if that's the case why does blowing up one planet and a few ships seem such a significant event? The Star Wars galaxy has always seemed huge and very heavily populated but it now looks like the Republic had a fleet containing about 6 ships. Presumably how it fits together will be explained in further movies or in other media but it left me a little confused. More confused than "big Evil Galactic Empire vs small Rebel Alliance" did, anyway!
I liked how initially the returning characters were mainly there to support and steer the new heroes but towards the end of the movie Han in particular started to overshadow Finn and Rey. It would have been difficult to avoid given the Solo family drama that was going on though, and hopefully the handover to the new generation is going to be maintained in episode VIII, with Luke being present as a mentor but not a prime protagonist.
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My star wars name is 'Mawer Muder' !? 😯
This is why Star Trek is better
Did anyone see the fan theory that Ren was going to the darkside in order to defeat Snoke. When Han says he will do anything, that included giving his life.
This is why he is being torn apart because its pulling him both ways between the light and dark.
Theres a better explanation somewhere online, but it fits!
Also where did Snoke come from??
It won't win any Oscars
I wouldn't bet against it.
😀 Reading some of the posts has made me feel more nostalgic than actually watching the film... lucky for some of ya it sounds like the force is still strong 8)
Youngsters enjoyed it but I thought it was poor :(.
Right I've seen it now and have switched the internet back on. Quite good. Anyone explain who the first order are, who the republic are and who the rebels are fighting. I didnt really get it.
Snoke/Voldemort didn't need to be CGI.
I'm betting (as we only saw a hologram) this is some sort of elaborate disguise.. the old hiding in plain sight thing.
It's probably Jar Jar Binks 😯
Anargallis: The yellow text scroll explained that bit, the republic are the rebels, the first order are the resurgent empire but not fully formed
Whether the senate from ep1-3 has been resumed and if it backs the republic isn't clear (let's hope it doesn't start consuming story time like before...)
Oh right so after ROTJ not much changed? Bit like when Blair woon the first time?
TWELVE parsecs! TWELVE!
🙂
Love d the film. I go to be entertained and that did the job perfectly. Bit of a lump in my throat as the Falcon spluttered into life and tingles down my spine as the X Wing squadron approached.
Couple of things to note:
When they took off to find Luke, Rey was in the pilots seat. The Facon is hers now. Chewie is her buddy now.
Who wouldn't feel better after a temper tantrum like that?
"Please can turn it off and back on again sir?"
"Errrrr no. I hacked it to bits with my light sabre.... Sorry."
When the baddies were getting instructions from the big hologrammy Voldemort thing, I think they should have finished the conversation with: "Yes, Lord Sugar". I may even have said it for them. Out loud.
But yes, very entertaining.
When Rey was down the hatch fixing the falcon she should have asked for a hydro spanner
We went yesterday. Kids first trip to an IMAX. I was a big fan of the first three (well 2 of them anyway), never watched the prequels all the way through. I thought it was fab as did the two teenage kids and my wife - none of whom are big star war fans. It reminded me - in a good way - of being 8 years old when the first one came out and staring at the screen in total fascination.
Yeah there are holes in the plot and it's a bit derivative and self referential but I don't care. First film I've seen this year I wanted to go straight back in and watch again.
Thought Harrison Ford signed off well since he's wanted to be out of it since Epi 5!
Only disappointment was no one said 'look at the size of that thing' !
We (the family) went today. I had very low hopes for this and it was .... Well, ok I guess. Thing is that after the whole prequel shite and this huge build up I think I might just be done with starwars. I was a fan back in the day but it all feels well flogged to me now.... A bit like bond, time to wind it up and make way for other stuff. I preferred guardians, the Martian and interstellar more.
Watched it a few hours ago and have been mulling it over. Really enjoyed it, but wondering how low my expectations were after ep1/2/3.
First half had the better scenes IMO, better landscaping and character building, but I think I have more grumbles than positives..
The star killer planet thing, for whatever reason, wasn't terrifying or even interesting.. I couldn't wait for them to blow the bloody thing up.
Kylo, way too inconsistent. Shoulda left the helmet on methinks.
Leia, rubbish
Soundtrack, no advance on original I could spot.
Chinese lizard woman thing, wtf? Was like an Incredibles character.
Poe, was a great character sorely underused.
The shiny female storm trooper, again massively underused.
The whole rehash of Death Star scenario was completely underwhelming, and way too easy to destroy.
Why didn't they just take the chip out of BB8 and send it somewhere else?
Snork - too Prometheus'esque, and too CGI'd
Rey - single handedly defeated the baddest exponent of the dark side with her first fondle of a light sabre - bit much?
On the other hand, when Rey flipped the falcon to shoot the tie fighter.. That was awesome.
Rey, Poe and Fyn seem worthy additions.
Great to see Luke back
Proper gutted when Han took one for the team, like, I'm still in denial - trying to work out a way for him to have survived.
New canteena scene was cool
X-wings were cool
Overall, looking forward to more of the same but really surprised that JJ seemed to have edited a few basic mistakes into the mix, IMO
Did anyone else think of cable actuated disc brakes during the film?
Star Wars Ep VIII
Ren (for it is he): [i]"Ray, I am your second cousin once removed, search your feelings, you know it to be true"[/i]
Ray: [i]"Noooooooo!!!!"[/i]
Poe, was a great character sorely underused.
The shiny female storm trooper, again massively underused.
I think these two will feature in the spin offs
Shiny female trooper is woman in not so shiny armour in Game of Thrones I believe.
Poe just seemed like a classic cheesy 80s hero.
Finally seen it... I can join in.
No ewoks or binks #MostDissapointed
The more I think about the plot holes, the more I think JJ has rushed this project - particularly the 2nd half of the movie. It's a good ripping yarn but not so solid movie
We dont know if the are plot holes or points to be explained later, if it was a stand alone film they would be holes.
[i]Rey - single handedly defeated the baddest exponent of the dark side[/i]
And how?! "Hang on mate, can you just pause with me on the edge of this precipice so i can close my eyes and summon up some special powers that you know all about and then I can like you know kill you rather than you kill me? Cheers!"
I see a lot of questions (we did the father son one but lots more) hopefully to be answered right in the next 2.sad to see han go, hopefully hamil can act.
I saw it having not seen any other SW films bar the Directors Cut (or something) of the first three many years ago.
I thought it was exactly what I expected.
I don't really like the universe or the conventions, I find it silly and not at all believable.... Buuut... What do you expect?
It seemed to me that they have done an excellent job of making *that* movie. I'm not very keen on that movie's universe, but they did it great.
Overtaking I enjoyed it, and found myself routing for the goodies and hoping the baddies got what they deserved.
I was genuinely upset Han dies.
7/10, probably more if you're a fan.
Not reading this thread, as I haven't seen the film yet and I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but it seems an appropriate place to tell this tale:
I presented our 7 year old nephew with a large talking Star Wars action figure on Christmas Day, saying [i]"Look it's Kylo Ren"[/i]
To which he instantly replied, [i]"No, it's Ben Solo"[/i] 😯 👿
I loved it
As a trip down memory lane
As a standalone film
As something you could just switch off and immerse yourself in without thinking about
As something I can (by the time the next one comes out) share with my 5 year old daughter and both enjoy for separate but shared reasons
Then I read all 8 pages here
And it's ruined,
people think about things way too much why can't you either just enjoy it, or ignore it?
I enjoyed it but not as much as Star Trek.