The Force Awakens [SPOILERS, probably]

[Laurens]

So I like most people in the world saw Star Wars this weekend. I was caught up in the hype, but was also consistently reminding myself of what happened last time I got hyped up about a new Star Wars trilogy. I must say it did not disappoint.

It's pretty much a homage to Episode 4 in terms of the basic story. Abrams seems to have captured that perfectly. It seems as though he paid attention to what makes Star Wars great, as well as everything people hated about the prequels. Having said that it does ad a quality of fourth wall breaking self awareness, but I can put up with that. It's certainly more tolerable than the ham fisted pointless fan service in the prequels like having the kids train with the same device that Han Solo happened to have knocking around in the Millennium Falcon in Episode 4.

The new characters are great, the acting is great. The old characters are great too, and do not overstep their supporting roles leaving the new folks to take centre stage. The villain Kylo Ren is great and is set up to have a character arc and motivation, which is something lacking from the prequels---which killed off the only promising bad guy in the first movie. I felt the pacing was a bit fast, but there was a lot of ground to cover, hopefully it will allow for a bit of a slow down in the next one.

It's definitely not a perfect movie, but it's a good Star Wars film. I really enjoyed it, and can now get over the trauma caused by the prequels...

 

[Dustnite]

Spoilers Ahead!

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Overall, I thought it was awesome. I actually did a Star Wars marathon event in the movie theater starting at Episode 1 and going all the way through. I won't ever do that again, but it was awesome seeing Episode IV in theater for the first time!

 

[Laurens]

Spoilers Ahead!

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Overall, I thought it was awesome. I actually did a Star Wars marathon event in the movie theater starting at Episode 1 and going all the way through. I won't ever do that again, but it was awesome seeing Episode IV in theater for the first time!

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[Mr_Wilford]

Seems like everyone liked the film, from what I'm seeing.

I saw it last night with some friends, and honestly, I actually left right after the part where the two people stole a battered old space ship from some desert planet. Not much was really memorable. This is probably partly due to the fact I've never seen the originals. I mean, I've tried, but I could never get more than an hour in at best to any of them. I really, really am not a fan of the Star Wars series. Something about them just bores me to tears. And seeing all the hype on my Facebook makes me feel like a bit of an outcast.

I ended up just walking in to the next showing of In the Heart of the Sea the same day, and loved it. So it wasn't a complete waste of $15.

 

[Laurens]

Seems like everyone liked the film, from what I'm seeing.

I saw it last night with some friends, and honestly, I actually left right after the part where the two people stole a battered old space ship from some desert planet. Not much was really memorable. This is probably partly due to the fact I've never seen the originals. I mean, I've tried, but I could never get more than an hour in at best to any of them. I really, really am not a fan of the Star Wars series. Something about them just bores me to tears. And seeing all the hype on my Facebook makes me feel like a bit of an outcast.

I ended up just walking in to the next showing of In the Heart of the Sea the same day, and loved it. So it wasn't a complete waste of $15.

The thing with Star Wars for me was that it totally captivated me as a kid. I loved it, and it was the source of a lot of cherished memories, not just of watching them, but running around in the woods with sticks recreating the battle of Endor or pretending to be on Hoth every time it snowed etc.

I can fully see that if I watched the original trilogy now without that nostalgia it wouldn't seem so great. It would just be a hammy 80s sci fi series. So I can totally see why some people just don't get why it's so popular.

It's also the reason why the prequels are so hated. Not just because they are bad films but also because for many people they ruined the universe that they inhabited in their childhood imagination.

In my opinion Star Wars is totally about that nostalgia and that is why the new movie is great, because it paid attention to what the fans who grew up on it wanted (having been made by those people). But for that reason it probably will fall short for people who have never really been that bothered about Star Wars.

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[he_who_is_nobody]

I just watched The Force Awakens and I still cannot believe that Abrams was able to finely make a good movie. That is the most surprising part!

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I ended up just walking in to the next showing of In the Heart of the Sea the same day, and loved it. So it wasn't a complete waste of $15.

You are dead to me.

 

[Mr_Wilford]

You are dead to me.

Fugg :ddd

 

[Visaki]

Saw it last week and I have to say I enjoyed it. I'm not a huge Star Wars fan but Force Awakens was actually a pleasant surprise. The characters, plot (as much as it borrowed from New Hope), the CGI, the lack of Jar-Jar Binks and everything else made it a nice sit through.

The only thing that annoyed me a bit is that the light saber fights were... well I know people who do boffering that would have taken Kylo Rens head off in about 10 seconds, force user or not. Also, how many non lethal wounds can people do in a light saber fight? That blade is known to melt durasteel with ease after all.

 

[Laurens]

Saw it last week and I have to say I enjoyed it. I'm not a huge Star Wars fan but Force Awakens was actually a pleasant surprise. The characters, plot (as much as it borrowed from New Hope), the CGI, the lack of Jar-Jar Binks and everything else made it a nice sit through.

The only thing that annoyed me a bit is that the light saber fights were... well I know people who do boffering that would have taken Kylo Rens head off in about 10 seconds, force user or not. Also, how many non lethal wounds can people do in a light saber fight? That blade is known to melt durasteel with ease after all.

Well they have to make a trilogy out of it

Mind you that didn't stop Lucas from killing the only potentially interesting antagonist off in Episode 1

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[SpecialFrog]

HWIN,

With regards to your first objection:

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Not that I've been thinking too much about this movie, or anything.

 

[he_who_is_nobody]

HWIN,

With regards to your first objection:

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{TEXT}

Not that I've been thinking too much about this movie, or anything.

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[Laurens]

I really like Rey as a character, it's awesome that we have a female Jedi in the lead role.

What is less awesome however is the absence of her from a lot of the merchandise. http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/06/462144156/-whereisrey-shes-on-her-way-says-hasbro

I don't get how they could have under estimated the popularity of the main character in a Star Wars movie. Unless they are operating on the dual faulty notions that Star Wars is for boys and boys don't want to play with toy girls. It's either that or no one knew she was a main character, but that doesn't excuse excluding her from the monopoly set, from the trailer you could tell her character was important if not the lead role.

It's great to see a progressive Star Wars movie, especially after the racist characters like Watto and Jar Jar from the prequels. It's sad that the merchandising appears to be lagging behind...

Apologies for the poor grammar. I'm on my phone

 

[SpecialFrog]

Only tangentially related to TFA but thought this was worth sharing.

No spoilers in this video, except for what might be hiding in the bushes of love

 

[Laurens]

Only tangentially related to TFA but thought this was worth sharing.

No spoilers in this video, except for what might be hiding in the bushes of love

I love Bad Lip Reading. My favourite was the governor's song from the Walking Dead bad lip reading. So funny

 

[Prolescum]

I couldn't help but notice that everyone in this galaxy is a massive gossip. Everyone knew where everyone else was within about five minutes of someone moving location.

 

[Visaki]

I couldn't help but notice that everyone in this galaxy is a massive gossip. Everyone knew where everyone else was within about five minutes of someone moving location.

In our galaxy (well, planet) it's called "social media".

 

[SpecialFrog]

SpaceBook or ForceBook?

 

[Laurens]

There's a deleted scene where Han and Chewy take a selfie after he says "We're home"