Star Wars: The Force Awakens [SPOILERS ABOUND]

I saw it last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Well, almost thoroughly. There was the wacky plot coincidences that all Star Wars movies have. But for me, it captured magic. Not all the magic, but i know my little girl will grow up wanting to be the main character. She's not quite old enough to see it, but she's going to be playing with the actions figures soon. And I've kept thinking about the movie all day, in a good way, not a frustrated way. It's not a 95% movie. But its a really healthy way to fix/restart a franchise. (I went into it spoiler free and avoiding trailers fwiw.)

Yeah, I was a total Star Wars geek as a kid. But not the geek who has read all the fiction and comics. And I'm taking my wife to see it tonight. Its a nice recovery from the prequels.

 

It's fun and I actually liked that Darth Toddler was a wimp. The final battle just felt like they needed to blow something up at the end like superhero origin movies rather than Luke's Death Star trench run being the climax of the original Star Wars.

 

After all the hype I heard, maybe I was expecting too much... Meh... not bad, maybe better than some of the early 2000 revivals, but a galaxy away from the impression I got seeing the first movies, back in the day. The analogy that comes to mind is the Ford Escort of the 90' - a car made by committee. Competent but uninspiring.

Special effects are quite good but the whole construction felt limp and the producers busy checking boxes. This scene for this audience, this one for the other, this character for this audience and the other for the other if you know what I mean.

The evil is sooo evil, it becomes comical: scenes seems to be ta parody of news footage during WW2. The audience gasping for air at the timely victory of the good reminded me of watching another favorite Disney production: Tom and Jerry.

 

Great review here^

Saw the movie yesterday on a curved screen with recliners. Counted 40 visible speakers in the theater and whatever was behind the screen. From someone who went to go see it more for the effects and entertainment, it definitely did not disappoint and is worth the admission. As a matter of fact I'm going to go watch it at the Boeing Imax at the Pacific Science Center before they get rid of it. 4 story screen and even better sound system there.

If you do watch in 3D, make the effort get middle of the theater seats.

 

I like JJ Abrams movies, but he was way wide of the mark on this one. I thought I was the only one disappointed in this episode, nice to see I'm not completely nuts (on the other hand, this is SBAF ).

More than disappointed actually, kind of depressed because (warning: soapbox moment) I think this represents another step away from value based storytelling in our culture. I know, it's just a movie, entertainment, etc, and Star Wars was hardly a cornerstone of serious cinema. But, still, it was Star Wars and I believe it made such a huge impact because at its core was the Force. It turned on a whole generation to the idea of "something" bigger, several generations actually, practically a pop culture religion. That's what gave it it's staying power, IMO.

This movie had none of that. Even the prequels respected the core of the franchise, this one is just a run of the mill special fx movie filled with one dimensional characters, plot holes the size of the Grand Canyon and completely forgettable.

.... ok, I'll shut up now.

 

Yeah, when I first saw Star Wars, I thought I knew what it was, because my mom had bought me the novelization at the store. I read the blurb on the back (something about "light sabers") and quickly tossed the book aside, because I wasn't in the mood for any medieval stuff. I only saw the movie several months after it came out, under protest...and yeah, sat there going "holy schiit," with my mouth open the whole time. It reset the bar for special effects, and introduced many of the SF tropes that continue to this day (how many SF movies/series have a "cantina scene," for example?)

This new movie, while not bad, does not have the same impact. Of course, I didn't expect it to reset the bar for effects, but any iconic scenes it had were simply rehashes or bigger versions of what came before. And nothing--absolutely nothing--was "turned up to 11." Mad Max, despite its faults, turned a whole lot of stuff to 11. And I suspect it sets new SF scene tropes in many instances.

And, while I'm at it (spoiler alert), what the hell were the OG bunch doing during the 40 years of the New Baddies' rise? Sitting on ass? Watching television? They're all a little sad and used (perhaps like all of us once we reach a certain age). I probably would have preferred not to see them at all. Probably. And when it came time to blow up the big bad, how did someone magically pull out of their butt "well, they must be using an oscillation overthruster (or whatever it was they said), you take that out and and we're all good." But I'm nitpicking.

Again, not a terrible movie, certainly worth spending a couple hours of your life on, but oh, the missed opportunities.

 

I've probably managed to escape a lot of the massive lead-up hype being where I am, but it was still quite tiresome. Saw it with someone visiting from the States yesterday (in 2D, can't stand 3D). Seems like the whole point was to connect the original gang with the new blood, of which we still don't know that much about. Not as bad as the end of the 2nd LOTR installment, but you still leave feeling like you'll have to come back again and again just to get the rest of the story. And (spoiler alert) some big plot holes/implausibilities, like bringing that wanted droid into the new-style cantina where EVERYONE could see it ... <facepalm>. I'd really like to go through Rey's hand-on-sabre scene frame-by-frame for some clues about who she is though. And is the mask cuz he wants to be just like grandpa? Hopefully we'll find out in 1.5 years.

Still bugs me how the Kessel Run record is in units of distance rather than time, but maybe I just don't understand hyperspace.

 

He wears the mask as he's some wimp with a mullet who wants to appear more intimidating.

 

I avoid 3D all the time (well, two pairs of glasses).

 

I watched the MI5 a few weeks ago, out of curiosity, I selected the commentary track, Tom (also as the producer) said he did the motorcycle scene cos "it's pretty pretty safe"...

 

Actually I am really longing for the Episode VIII. The "Ozymandias" ep in BrBa was directed by this Rian Johnson guy. That ep blow my mind...

 

I'm probably going to get killed for this but I don't think any of the movies were that great. I supposed the original was mind blowing for you old farts, but I thought it was boring as hell when I watched it as a kid. The Star Wars universe on the other hand is pretty cool and I think the modern ones captured that but had so many plot holes and bullshit.

Actually this new one didn't annoy me as much. Actually it' a bit funny that the new Sith is a weakling. Ever notice that you could kill any force user with an obsolete flintlock pistol? Should have Indiana Jones in Star Wars blasting a Sith as a Sith pulls out a lightsaber for a duel.

I'll leave this here: http://imgur.com/a/xNGNO

 

I took my nephews to see TFA. They never cared much for the original trilogy or the prequels. Seeing their reaction to TFA was priceless though. They both agreed that X-Wings are the coolest things ever framed on the big screen, and that Kylo Ren is a whiny, emo bitch.

I enjoyed the movie, but I haven't deconstructed it like others here. It was mindless entertainment. A fun, movie-going experience heightened by how much my young nephews loved it.