Star Wars: The Force Awakens Reviews (SPOILER EMBARGO UNTIL 12/21)

[Smoot Point]

NO SPOILER IN THIS ORIGINAL POST... NO SPOILERS IN THIS THREAD UNTIL AFTER 12/21...

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Oh, man... from the outset the movie gives you the feels. the opening crawl is excellent & sets up the movie (and the new trilogy) perfectly. You won't be disappointed by mentions of "trade federations" crap. No politics anywhere in the movie, no circle jerk meetings in senate or jedi council chambers. No awkwardly forced slapstick comedy with CGI characters like JarJar or Watto... This really felt like the 1st Indiana Jones movie to me... Very fast paced, extremely good characters to root for and against. Awesome special effects & realistic fight sequences. The fight sequences are more like "the Raid" in tone and grit. This isn't like Episodes I-III with Errol Flynn style swashbuckling sword dancing. If you look closely, you'll even see the guys from "the Raid" in the movie & it's clear they will have an influence on the fighting going forward. While the fight sequences weren't "epic" (like in Empire & ROTJ), they had that feeling of a real death struggle to them. You won't see anyone swinging a lightsaber in this movie and a Jedi avoiding it by jumping over the blade (no dance moves like that).

The new characters did an awesome job... I hear Bill Hader contributed to the "voice" of BB-8, and BB-8 was awesome. They wanted BB-8 to make sounds that people could mimic, so they used humans to make the sounds. That's the kind of thinking that goes into this type of movie... How awesome is that? John Boyega (Finn) and Daisy Ridley (Rey) gave really great performances and "evolved" well in this movie. Ridley gives me a young Keira Knightley vibe & I think she could be heading in that trajectory with her career. Can't say enough good things about Oscar Isaac & Adam Driver. Poe really is a good character... Kylo Ren isn't just a Darth Vader rip-off... He is complex. Phasma & Hux were spot on. Snoke & Maz Kanata are intriguing. I'm looking forward to learning more about all the characters that survive this film moving forward...

Han Solo really stole the show... Interactions between Solo & Finn were a real highlight. There is one interaction between Solo & Finn that to me was probably my favorite scene. You'll know the scene, because Han & Finn talk about what Finn's job was at a particular facility. The exchange is classic, IMO.

If there are any negatives, they are somewhat nit-picky... I can't argue with anyone who thinks it borrowed too much from the Original Trilogy. However, it was successful in reminding everyone of the movies that happened 30 years ago and helping them forget the movies that happened just over a decade ago. There was a scene just after Han Solo enters the movie that involves a lot of CGI and I wasn't a fan of that... However, it served a purpose in the development of the relationship between the old characters and the new. I think the movie might be too fast paced for some and they might want more character development for some of the characters that didn't get as much screen time. However, there are at least 2 more movies with this cast. This isn't a stand-alone movie, but it did separate itself from other Star Wars movies in the past and is completely watchable without knowing anything about the previous movies.

I think you will love this movie... that's all I can really say without giving away spoilers. I tried to be extremely vague. I'd like to get impressions from others who have seen it. I hope you found this review fun & spoiler free.

 

[Henry]

Saw it last night too. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The new kids did an excellent job. I really liked Boyega.

I agree with your nits, and I have one or two others which I can't say until we've all seen it, but all in all they are pretty minor.

Can't say much more right now, but it's been 12 hours since I've seen it, and given time to mull things over, it is just getting better.

 

[Fear The Spear]

Warning : Spoiler contained ahead...........

 

[DixieFlatline]

I'm with y'all. I really enjoyed it and thought it brought back the old feel. The acting was spot on. There were things where I had some questions and I thought didn't exactly make sense, but I started reading the e-Book last night to see if that may give me any clues.

 

[stevenaa]

I enjoyed it. Nothing groundbreaking new, and similar theme to first trilogy, but I'm not a purist. I liked all 6 previous episodes. I wonder if there will be another "prequel" after this trilogy is complete to fill in the gaps with what happened, or if they'll cover it in flashbacks. It was fun seeing the old characters and my bunch are already anxiously awaiting the next one.

 

[Elephant]

It...was...awesome!!!

 

[Special K]

Saw it Wednesday and loved it! Saw it again last night with my family and friends and loved it even more!

Not surprised it is shattering all box office records: JJ Abrams did a masterful job realistically weaving all the old characters into the lives of the new characters in the new story line. I've never seen a movie more than once in the theater, but I had to qualms about paying for a second experience.

 

[Boone]

Finally got around to seeing it today in IMAX 3D with my son. Very well done. The Hans Solo thing was pretty predictable, reminiscent (I'm sure intentionally so) of Luke/Vader. Loved the end. I guess it's Luke's turn to reprise his role the next time, assuming he takes that lightsabre in his hand that is. Anyway, well done. Nice to see them get back to the magic that made the first 3 so wonderful.

 

[Win4us]

I thought Rey & Fin were excellent in it. She (Daisy Ridley) really held her own on screen. Just the right amount of comedy too, especially Chewy. I'm interested in the snoke dude and the dark side's angle. Is that a whole new lineage or is that the one who trained Palpatine?

I'd say my only gripe would be better casting for Kylo Ren. He seemed more douchy than badass in training.

 

[Win4us]

For those of you with Twitter accounts this one is kinda funny. Dude set up a fake Luke Skywalker one.

Someone Made A Twitter Account For Lonely Luke Skywalker And It's Hilarious

 

[MikeSr619]

Kylo may be emo NOW...but he is going to become a pretty badass dude...I can't wait to see how much he progresses.

 

[Win4us]

I agree he's got some ridiculous future potential. That was a great scene he stopped the blaster in mid air. Also taking Chewy's blaster in the stomach then fighting 2 saber duals afterwards was pretty tough too. Really there were 2 scenes that turned me off from rooting for him.

One was when his subordinates gave him bad news and he flipped out smashing up the control center with his lightsaber. funny, especially when the other dudes rounded the corner and weren't gonna speak to him, but unjedilike with the tantrum.

The other was when he was welling up interrogating Ren. I get they were trying to show his conflict but just wanted to see him keep it more hardcore is all.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Granddaddy, that mean girl beat me up and took my lightsaber.

 

[Win4us]

You guys hear about Rogue One? Im not sure what to think of it.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) - IMDb

 

[Shi no Tenshi]

One was when his subordinates gave him bad news and he flipped out smashing up the control center with his lightsaber. funny, especially when the other dudes rounded the corner and weren't gonna speak to him, but unjedilike with the tantrum.

Well, he isn't wanting to be a Jedi, and that sort of angry outburst is quite Sith like....

 

[Win4us]

Well, he isn't wanting to be a Jedi, and that sort of angry outburst is quite Sith like....

True he isn't wanting to be a Jedi, but the outburst imho shoulda been aimed towards younglings or storm troopers. The IT guys are gonna be working the next couple weekends from that shit!

 

[Shi no Tenshi]

True he isn't wanting to be a Jedi, but the outburst imho shoulda been aimed towards younglings or storm troopers. The IT guys are gonna be working the next couple weekends from that shit!

Hey, he was pissed, and took it out on the nearest target. He's still learning to focus, which is why he isn't Darth something or other yet. I'm sure his targets will get increasingly squishy over time. He already moved on to patricide after that!

 

[Win4us]

Lol true

This is going to be a fun set of movies. Sooooo glad they resurrected this storyline.

 

[MikeSr619]

Hey, he was pissed, and took it out on the nearest target. He's still learning to focus, which is why he isn't Darth something or other yet. I'm sure his targets will get increasingly squishy over time. He already moved on to patricide after that!

he isn't a jedi, period. He was an apprentice in training when he did what he did and disappeared. Snoke just took him off "to complete his training" and he will come back better and badder. Its also why his lightsaber is so drastically different...the crystal is cracked and he cant focus enough to keep it right.

 

[Shi no Tenshi]

he isn't a jedi, period. He was an apprentice in training when he did what he did and disappeared. Snoke just took him off "to complete his training" and he will come back better and badder. Its also why his lightsaber is so drastically different...the crystal is cracked and he cant focus enough to keep it right.

You are correct, sir. He's going the Sith route, and given what was done with his character in the extended universe, and how much they have borrowed from that...he may have some bad things happen with that saber.