Film Star Wars VII

[NidoKingdra]

So I saw this last night. I won't spoil anything of course, but I liked it. I was worried when I found out that they didn't go with the script Lucas had intended, but the movie was still quite good.

If you're worried about the direction Disney might take Star Wars, well, I'll admit I was too. That said, they did a really good job with this one (even if I felt like there were at least a few inconsistencies, but that's bound to happen when a series changes hands)

Go see it, and tell everyone what you think about it!

Remember, no spoilers!

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

There were long lines outside my local theater for the advance screenings of the movie yesterday, and we had to wait in the cold afternoon/evening to get inside. They definitely didn't screw it up like Episode 1, and just like Jurassic World, expect a lot of callbacks to a New Hope. Cheers to hoping this film beats Avatar as the highest grossing film of all time.

 

[Sir Codin]

I was worried when I found out that they didn't go with the script Lucas had intended, but the movie was still quite good.

Really? When I heard they didn't go for what Lucas wanted, I was even more excited.

People letting Lucas get what he wanted was the biggest reason why the prequels were so awful.

 

[Nas160]

I'm a monster and an abomination of mankind, so I've never in my lifetime seen all six of the original movies. {XD} But after having gained somewhat an appreciation for the franchise, its massive lore, and just how timeless and popular it is, I got all of them on Blu Ray about a year ago in hopes of watching them someday, but I never got to it.

Now that a new one is out, I felt it was a better time than ever to finally do so. I saw IV last week and V just now, and I am absolutely loving it. :) Slowly all of the puzzle pieces of lore and whatnot I already do know of the series are coming together for me, and I'll be able to fully enjoy the new one whenever I watch it, which I plan to in a couple weeks or so, whenever tickets become available {XD}

But yeah, I'm loving the movies so far (not gonna go into detail about what I like and dislike, but there's just so much of it that's so damn good), I've gained a lot of respect for this series, and I'm really happy it's as alive and kicking as it was 30 years ago; it really feels like one of those few things that everyone experiences at one point or another. I'm hoping that once I'm all caught up I'll enjoy this new one, and I hope all of you guys do too :) One of the biggest media franchises of all time becoming acquired by the biggest media company of all time has opened up many many more possibilities, I'm really happy to see that it's turning out well so far :) Can't wait to finally experience a Star Wars movie in the theater.

Unfortunately, earlier tonight while I was Googling Star Wars-related stuff, one of the autofill results was something that implied something heavily, heavily spoilery happening in the new movie (I'm not going to describe it here, obviously), and I'm filled with a bit of regret from seeing that... :( Regardless if it was true, I'm really hoping that thinking about it doesn't deter from my experience of watching it at all, but all I gotta say is, be very, very weary of sites that could potentially have spoilers. In times like this it's like a minefield trying to avoid them, they even come up when you least expect it. :(

 

[Eruption]

I definitely agree that it's probably better that they abandoned Lucas' script for this. I think Lucas is a perfectionist, which isn't always necessarily bad but it means he likes having the power to make loads of changes to his initial ideas. If they had used his script, obviously he wouldn't be able to do that and he may have ended up unhappy with the finished product.

Please don't click my spoiler tag unless you have seen the movie.

Spoiler:

I'll even double spoiler it in case you clicked by accident.

Spoiler:

Right so on to what we actually did get in terms of the film.

- Rey as expected was the best new character. I'm reasonably happy letting the old guard go if Rey is leading the next two films.
- Speaking of letting the old guard go, it seems like this trilogy will attempt to break from those characters. Obviously Han's story has now wrapped up, Leia was more of a background character in a way and Luke was missing until the very end of course. I feel like Leia will continue to play a smaller role in the next two films whilst Luke will probably die by Ren's hand after training Rey in the next film.
- I like the theory that Rey was already a Jedi in training before being implanted with a false memory for her protection. One of my small gripes with the film was her using her force powers despite having no training so hopefully this theory turns out to be true.
- Any theories around her parentage are less fun though. I feel like every seemingly unrelated character being literally related to each other is a bit overplayed at this point. That said, it's obviously going to be the case that she's Kylo's twin or Luke's daughter which is a shame.
- Han :'(
- I had Han's death spoiled for me unfortunately, but I was already a believer in the theory he would die in the film so it wasn't the worst spoiler in the world. Was his death obviously coming to those who didn't have it spoiled?
- Poe Dameron was pretty cool. I'm glad they didn't kill him off near the start of the film. Hopefully he plays a bigger role in the next two films than he did in the second half of this one. Maybe him, Finn & Rey as the new main trio (Han, Luke, Leia) would be good.
- This film might have some of the best dialogue of any SW film. A common complaint of Lucas was he was poor with dialogue and it seemed to show here because we got some brilliant humour. Finn & Han's exchange at Starkiller base being a particular highlight.
- Captain Phasma seemed a bit underutilised for all the hype. Hopefully she returns with a more important role in the next film. Silver armour is awesome though.
- Not too fussed on Supreme Leader Snoke at this point to be honest. At the very least, I hope he isn't twenty foot tall like he is in his projection.
- This is nothing to do with TFA, but please don't bring Boba Fett back. It's annoying enough that Darth Maul surviving TPM is 'canon'.

Anyway, overall I really enjoyed the film. The only negative thing is now we have to wait so long for all the loose ends and whatnot to be tied up. Also I might have to spend some money on seeing it again because it was so good.

 

[Austin]

jfc i am in love with this movie

my thoughts on things. spoilers ofc

Spoiler:

-I loved the opening scene with the stormtroopers and Kylo Ren. You could immediately tell that this First Order was very dangerous. The blood on Finn's helmet was dark. But very effective at helping us understand Finn's terror.
-Poe seems like a very standard, brave pilot. Fairly unremarkable other than his insane piloting skills.
-I LOVE Rey's character and her development. Daisy Ridley did such a good job in the film.
-Rey is totally a Skywalker.
- I actually really like Kylo Ren as a character. He seems like he's trying so hard to be big and bad, but you can tell there is a lot of inner conflict. His fits of rage where he slices everything up shows that he's not completely mature. And when Rey tells him he'll never live up to Darth Vader (or whatever she said exactly), you can see the frustration in him. I love how he's trying so hard to prove himself as a bad guy.
-Han :'(
- Chewie's roar after Han was stabbed broke my heart. Han was his best friend and partner so many years. It's sad to think that he's on his own now (I mean, it looks like Rey will be Chewie's new friend, but...Han :'("
-Han :'(
-Leia had such a minor role : ( But then I guess they're trying to focus on the new characters more, so it makes sense.
-Captain Phasma seems pretty cool and I'm excited to see more of her.
-I can't say much about Snoke since there's so little information about him. But he seems to have plan.
-Han :'(
-I want to know how Maz obtained Anakin's lightsaber, but that might be revealed in the future.
-I liked Maz. She reminds me of a female Yoda in a way. But she's even older than Yoda apparently. So that's cool.
-I was expecting Rey's vision when she picked up the lightsaber to feature Darth Vader in some way.
-Han :'(

I am most likely going to see it again soon because it was just so good.

 

[Flowerchild]

That movie did more to establish its protagonists as interesting characters than Phantom Menace did in the entire movie. I really enjoyed it.

My only question. Not really a spoiler, but just in case you want to know absolutely nothing before going to see it.

Spoiler:

How did they get Luke's old lightsaber? Is that not the same one that's at the bottom of a pit in Cloud City?

 

[Aquacorde]

*sucks in breath* yikes

so first off, im coming from a standpoint of
- my grandparents christmas tradition is watching the original trilogy
- my boyf being literally the biggest star wars nerd ever
- being exposed to and interested in expanded universe stuff
- swearing complete loyalty to timothy zahn
- being highly affronted that they chose to eradicate his novels from canon

from a pretty objective storytelling standpoint, this movie was highly predictable and very slow. i honestly believe it could have been condensed into an hour and would have been a much more interesting film for it. that also would have left them room to, you know, get on with the story.

there wasnt actually much substantial plot to it. it was literally all setup, which was obnoxious. even a setup movie should have an enclosed plot for it to be worth something.

it was basically ep 4 again, let's be real.

there was no exploration of culture and zero explanation of what the current status of the galaxy is in terms of political control?

basically it was nothing new. not in terms of storytelling nor in terms of the franchise.

also finn's behaviour and dialogue dont match his backstory and the language style is very 20-teens Earth and it's super jarring

also i did a podcast on it if you want a more in depth rant. we made sure to have a very obvious spoiler mark so dont worry :D https://thenexus.tv/episode/so3/

also totally talk to me about all of it yay

 

[Klippy]

Thought it was fantastic. Not as anal about the thing as some people have been though, as I know a lot of people are whining about aspects of it, but to me it was the perfect way to bridge the Original Trilogy and the Prequels.

Spoiler:

It had intense saber battles that were grounded in reality (which the PT lacked with all its flipping and whatnot, whereas the OT had realistic sword fighting). It had great humor like the originals and I found myself smiling at almost everything, from the Falcon's appearance to Han/Chewie showing up, and especially at Luke's reveal.

I knew something bad happened prior to watching and, for some reason, anticipated Chewie dying (both because it would be a huge blow to lose a him and because of Mayhew's health), but as soon as Han stepped onto the bridge, I knew he was done for. Felt it was an appropriate consequence in terms of story-scope (plus knowing Ford wasn't too interested in doing more kinda makes it make sense).

My one criticism would be some directorial decisions and "leading" the audience. I felt they could've saved the Kylo reveal for that bridge scene instead of advertising it all over prior to that. Similarly I would've enjoyed Han/Leia departing for the last time and him saying, "I love you" with her responding "I know". Would've been a great callback.

Overall it was a great homage to the six previous movies and inviting to new fans to enjoy. Even my dad, who has never enjoyed Star Wars, is asking to watch the films. New fans and old fans can completely enjoy the experience without having to have invested time for the other movies previously - and it will get them interested enough to go check them out.

Also I actually believe and hope Rey is Luke's daughter. I don't know what the issue is with that concept to people. Star Wars has been about the Skywalkers (and now Solos) from the very beginning. It makes absolute sense to continue with a third generation Skywalker.

 

[Eruption]

Something I've seen since my first comment in this thread has me really interested. Spoiler tag again, but really it doesn't spoil anything as long as you already know of the characters that are going to be in the film.

Spoiler:

So basically the theme for Snoke composed by John Williams has been found to be very similar to the music played in the background of Palpatine's discussion with Anakin about Darth Plagueis during Revenge of the Sith. Coupled with Kylo calling him wise in the film, it seems like these are nods to him being Plagueis. This would make Snoke a lot more interesting straight away for me.

Spoiler:

How did they get Luke's old lightsaber? Is that not the same one that's at the bottom of a pit in Cloud City?

That seems to be a question I haven't seen answered yet. Hopefully we get an explanation on that one, it's the only one not easily explained away.

 

[Sir Codin]

Overall, I really enjoyed the film.

I'm not going to spoiler anything because I don't want to write anything extensive, all I will say is that after the tragedy that was the prequels, this movie is at the very least a SOLID step in the right direction. It's got its flaws, which makes me the think the current Metacritic rating of 81 is appropriate, but overall I liked it. I'll see it again.

If anybody has a problem with it, just do what I did with the prequel trilogy....ignore it.

 

[Sylphiel]

Saw this on Sunday. I was basically told before I went that it was a good movie, but that there were some...parts that definitely required suspension of disbelief, probably a little more so than normal. Not so much related to the actual Star Wars universe, but to sci-fi conventions in general.

Probably doesn't need a spoiler, but I'll include it in one just in case:

Spoiler:

Paraphrasing the biggest example I was given: "Comms should not work while in hyperspace! It's a well-known fact in sci-fi that that shouldn't happen!"

Stuff like that. Although I'm not as much into the genre in general, so I would have thought nothing of it had I not been told that, heh.

While the movie might not have been anything groundbreaking, I still thought it really was enjoyable. So much better than the prequels, by far (let me tell you about how I can't watch AotC because I always fall asleep trying to watch it even if I was awake enough beforehand). Seeing this makes me excited to see what they'll end up doing for the next movies, definitely.

 

[Sir Codin]

Just got back from seeing Star Wars 7 for the second time in theaters. Second time is better than the first and my already favorable opinion of the movie is now even more favorable. The same cannot be said for the people who were in the theater with me though. If these people weren't tourists, then I am now of the opinion that Nevadans and Utahans are shittier movie goers than Californians.

A few ground rules when going to a theater:
1. Shut up
2. Seriously, shut the **** up
3. Turn off your cell phone
4. Either eat something before seeing the movie or leave. Chewing popcorn and opening candy wrappers is louder than you think.
5. If you have kids, take them to a showing earlier in the day
6. I'm not kidding...SHUT. THE. ****. UP.
7. Don't ask questions about the plot until AFTER the movie is over
8. If you are watching a sequel and don't know what happened before, get out of the theater and go watch the previous movies before seeing this one. Otherwise, you run a great risk of breaking rules 1,2,3,6, and 7.
9. If you are not interested in seeing the movie and feel the need to break rule 3 because you're bored, LEAVE
10. Don't kick the seats

Obey these rules and you'll lower the chances of someone (namely myself) becoming tempted to kick your ass.
I will now present more information in the form of two PSA's that like-minded individuals have made:

Spoiler:

Now, onto a comment on people's comments about the film:

Seeing people's irritation at how The Force Awakens is too similar to A New Hope is just totally funny to me. Some of these same people probably also shitted on the prequels for being "too different." It reminds me of the Zelda fanbase - when a "classic Zelda game" comes out, people criticize it for not doing anything new, then when something like Majora's Mask comes out, people criticize it for being "too different to be a Zelda game." Granted, Majora's Mask is better written than all three Star Wars prequels, but the same vibes are still there.

People wanted a return to "classic Star Wars," that's what we got. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, it could've been worse - George Lucas could've directed it. Plus, now that all the "classic Star Wars" notes have been hit and rekindled in JUST THIS FIRST MOVIE, we now have the second and third movies in this new trilogy for the two other directors (IIRC, Abrams isn't doing Episodes 8 and 9) to expand upon. I pretty much knew this film was going to be similar to the original Star Wars and I still enjoyed it.

It's not just a sequel - it's also a reboot.

the language style is very 20-teens Earth and it's super jarring.

I don't think it's jarring at all. In fact, I think it makes things less awkward and more relatable - this entry has probably the least amount of awkward dialogue of any entry in the saga.

If you think it doesn't fit with the universe, look at it from this perspective - it's been 30-35 years since the end of Return of the Jedi in-universe. Language and dialects change over time - the new characters' way of speaking being different than the OT characters' way of speaking is similar to how younger people today don't speak in quite the same way as their elders did back in their day. The way people spoke in 1977-83 was different than in 2015 and that can extend to the Star Wars universe as well.



ONE LAST THING:
People seriously need to get the hell over Ren's crossguard-claymore lightsaber.

I'll admit, I thought it was stupid at first too, then I actually saw the film and I thought they did a good job with it, especially considering the more natural sword-fighting style they used in this film compared to the stupid twirly-flippy "all flash, no substance" duels of the prequels. I gave it a chance and I was pleasantly surprised with how well it was handled.

 

[Amore]

Haha I had issues with numbers 1-7 and 10. Saw it at around 9pm at night and a little kid was doing most of that stuff behind me. Although his excitement meant I kinda forgave him.

Some spoilerific thoughts below, but I would like to point out that if you divide the film into 3 main acts MY HOMELAND IS THE THIRD ACT'S PRIMARY SETTING!!!
The lake was filmed in two locations, both of them within 20 miles of me, I grew up walking those hills (its the Lake District in England). I've actually nearly drowned in a movie set :P

Spoiler:

The overall plot - probably borrows too much from the others, in particular IV. Although I did appreciate them calling themselves out on the whole "destroy the planet-destroying base" thing. There were a few similarities to the supposed "leaked episode VII/VIII/IX scripts" I read online when I was around 10 years old.
Rey - honestly don't care if she's a Mary Sue, it works, the mind trick makes sense as she had heard of the Jedi. Although I am concerned they may have to go far too similar to Empire Strikes Back in order to keep her from being basically unstoppable by mid-way through the next movie considering the only thing stopping her killing Ren was faulty geology (get it! I'm so funny).
Finn - most likable character in the series. Loving John Boyega getting a shot in the big-time, I know him from the same film Abrams had seen him in, Attack the Block, which is great and he's great in it. His uselessness at most things is pretty brilliant - you could tell Ren was toying with him with the lightsaber fight.
Kylo Ren / Ben - saw a few reviews questioning the name choice. It's Harrison Ford's real-life son's name. Also I'm going to call him Darth Snape, because he does look like Snape in the Star Wars universe. I guess by the end he got an excuse for his mask now, so he'll be happy
Han Solo - probably two movies too late, but I'd hate to imagine what they'd have done instead were he dead before this film's beginning. Also, saw it coming the second they revealed Ren's parentage. The death scene was slightly too long I think. Without Chewie there it wouldn't have had any emotional effect on me.
Ren-s lightsaber - some people speculate it's poorly-made and may let him down at some point. I could see that, especially if his "Master" isn't actually a Sith (because who the hell trained him if he is). But the cross-guard works really well, it burning Finn is what gave him the upper hand.

Also, figured out who Rey's parents are - its Wedge Antilles and here's why;
- X-Wing pilot helmet. Wedge was a fighter pilot.
- British accent. Wedge is Scottish, actually Ewan McGregor's uncle (because the whole family connections thing has to go outside of the film's universe too :P )
- Dark haired.

That's about it, but I like it better than either being Ren's twin or Luke's kid

 

[moon]

i agree with Anna that ep7 was basically a mix of eps 4 and 5 again. But that was mostly just endearing with all the callbacks. I'm sure they only made ep7 so on purpose and will have more original plot in eps 8 and 9.

Also Finn, yeah, he was kind of awkward as a char while I loved Poe from the first few minutes already. Abd Rey was the total star of the show. I had this theory for most of the movie that she was Ren's sister and ther would eventually be a sibling drama. She'd still be a Skywalker, you know, since Leia was one! But Leia and Han never mentioned another child so it's probably more likely that she is Luke's. Because obviously she will be a Skywalker.

The best part of the movie was that the trailers and posters made it seem like Finn was the forcey one. There has never been a main char girl jedi, Leia and Padme were just pretty princesses with guns. But Rey got it, and I was soooo pleased. Rey. Hell yeah.

Ok scratch that, BB-8 was the star of the show. I don't care for those who say "not ANOTHER robot" because he is love.

 

[Sydian]

I'm going to keep it brief, but I just saw it tonight and I haven't left the theater that satisfied with a film in a long time. It was fantastic.

Spoiler:

Also, as soon as Han called Ren's name and stepped on that bridge, I was just like "...there are no guard rails...and this is Star Wars...he's gone." Even with that anticipation though, just...ugh...my heart.

 

[Nolafus]

I thought the movie was really good. I'll echo everyone else and say that it was basically a copy of the original Star Wars movies, but they wanted to get back to basics, so that's forgivable.

However, I actually found Finn the more interesting character out of the two. I thought the concept for his character was really good, but the execution wasn't stellar. Rey I found to be a little too perfect, and the inner struggle they put inside of her didn't do much to affect her. Well, it affected her, but I thought the amount that it affected her was a stretch. The two main characters carried the weight of the movie very well, but the execution left something to be desired. I'm mainly talking about the dialogue, as it was a little sketchy at times, but Star Wars has always had that problem.

Also, the fact that George Lucas wasn't directing it was a huge selling point for me. I'm sorry, but I really don't like him as a director.

Also, when is there going to be a main alien character? They killed off all of the alien pilots, and that's probably what I'm most disappointed about, haha.

 

[Loriania]

Show the movie on Monday... finally. I really liked it, but some things reminded me of Episode IV. Rey is a cool character, I like her. And more Poe in the next movies, please.

 

[Sir Codin]

I'm going to defend the "similar to Star Wars" criticism here and say that just because it has similar elements and plot structure that doesn't make it bad. Even if a story has been told before, it can still be interesting if told in a different way. Many tales throughout the ages have been retold using different methods, so Abrams did the same with Star Wars. Even then, there was enough new stuff introduced in this movie that it made the retelling fun and exciting. It was the classic space fantasy adventure that I felt was missing from a lot of things regarding Star Wars for the past 16+ years.

Let's not forget that Star Wars itself was an homage to classic adventure serials like Flash Gordon.

 

[bobandbill]

I saw it the previous weekend with a friend. I quite enjoyed it. Sure, I have some criticisms (e.g. the similar bit - it did borrow too much from other films, or one in particular), but they didn't ruin the movie and did well also in laying the groundwork for the next two films.