Star Wars (Spoilers)

[PorkChop]

Just saw it, I've had a few pints as well so I'll try to explain this as best I can. I was really cautious as there was a chance this couldve turned out to be shit, but I really enjoyed it. Abrams did a wonderful job, and the cast were fantastic, particularly Rey.

Positives: Almost all of it. Wonderful final scene, excellent cast, great effects, basically everything.

Criticisms: I really didn't feel any sort father/son connection between Solo and Kylo Ren. The fact that Ren is the son of Han and Leia is a huge, huge part of this film (and the others to come) and I really didn't feel any sort of connection between Ren and Solo (or Leia, but less so) at all. Han and Ren felt like two very distinct characters with very little in common - nothing about them screamed father and son at all. I would've liked to have seen their relationship built up a bit more other than a few fleeting mentions in conversations that Ren is Solo's son. That wasn't enough for me to get emotionally invested in their relationship. Ren's past will probably be covered in much greater detail the coming films, but I really think they should've explored it more in this one.

I didn't like Solo's death scene at all - it was painfully clear that Ren was going to kill him and throw him off the edge, so it wasn't particular shocking or emotional when it happened as you could see it coming from a mile off. It was a very cliche Star Wars death. I had already prepared myself for Han's death and the manner in which it would happen right as the scene began, so it kind of undermined his conversation with Ren. I couldn't immerse myself into the most emotional scene in the film because I was already counting down the seconds to the lightsaber stab (I also wasn't particularly invested in the father/son angle). Han Solo is a fantastic character and he deserved better than a cliche death at the hands of a character he had very little chemistry with.

Overall though, solid 9/10. Wonderful film and it really brought the magic back to the Star Wars franchise.

[SortaCreative]

I've had some time to think about it. Coming to this as a massive, massive, massive, massive fan since childhood. It's difficult to overlook the utter fanboy moments I had.

I was tearing up at the opening credits. As soon as the music hit my entire body started shaking. That's how much I've lived with Star Wars. As big as a fan I am, I went into this film wanting them to earn it. I'd been burned far, far too many times. There's more bad Star Wars films than there are good, so I went in demanding for them to earn it. And they did.

The cast is probably the most impressive part of this film. Rey, Finn, Poe and Kylo Ren are all really well cast. They were utterly fantastic. Daisy Ridley especially who draws you in with every scene. I really enjoyed the fan service in this film and I felt like it was fan service done right. It wasn't as ham fisted as the prequels and they were added in at just the right moments. It felt like a handing off from the old guard to the new cast. I was surprised by the amount of Han Solo there was in the film. This first installment is essentially a Harrison Ford film. He has a lot of scenes and is integral to the story.

I actually felt like his death worked even though we (and he to some extent) knew it was coming. As soon as Ren entered the same facility as Han, I knew Han was going to die. I actually felt like the relationship between them will be expanded upon in alter films. Adam Driver is the person they needed back when they made the prequels. He does "an Anakin" for lack of a better description better than any one else that has attempted. I bought the anger, the frustration, the fear and the insecurity. I bought the childish nature of his decision to rid himself of the light side and I fucking hated him for it. I wanted him to die even though I knew he wouldn't. It got a visceral emotional reaction from me which is what Han's death needed to do.

I could sit here and type out every little positive. What i'll just say is that bar the small criticism's i'm about to make, the rest I loved. I loved everything about it.

What didn't sit right for me was:

1. This is essentially the 4th time we've seen this type of movie. It's a New Hope, Jedi and Phantom Menace all over again, structurally. Ending with a similar climatic scene as all the others. I will actually say though, it's the best version of this story.

2. The questions. I have so many questions coming out of this film that I really felt like I wanted a few answers. I'm glad we got the answers to Kylo Ren's origin nice and early. But Rey's origins, The First Order, the Resistance, the political climate, what happened with Luke (more details), how did the lightsaber end up where it did, Snoke. At a certain point, I can get with the fact that answers are coming. But I just wanted more, I know it's petulant and really a none issue but I didn't want it to end.

The final shot was pretty cool. Mark Hamill had one look, he had to sell so much with that one look but he did. I read into his face a sense of relief, hesitation, resolve and finally acceptance. There are so many questions I have about him and Rey that it's unreal. She has to be a Skywalker though right?

[SlightlyJames]

Man, this thread looked awfully similar to the non-spoiler version at first glance...

[Everlong]

I'm absolutely blown away. Didn't expect the movie to live up to the hype at all, but it did and then some.

The only real complaint I had was that there were a fair amount of plot points rehashed. We've seen them blow up a big space station. We've seen the young, force adept hero come out of the desert to explore the wider world. But given how well it was all done, that complaint doesn't come anywhere near hampering my enjoyment of the movie. While they covered a lot of well worn territory, they breathed new life into it. And having those similar themes came off as being poetic rather than lazy because of how they handled it.

So here we go.

First of all, my biggest praise for this movie is that it's completely carried by the new characters. And that's saying a lot, because having Han Solo and Chewy play major roles is a huge deal. And Harrison Ford was fucking brilliant, it was really like seeing Han again rather than an aging actor saying "fuck it, why not," which is what I was worried would happen.

The biggest problem with the prequels was the lack of any remotely interesting characters. This one brings in a bunch of new compelling characters... Rey, Finn and Po are all fantastic, and the new droid is a great addition too. I LOVED the shot of Rey sitting by herself, with no music in the background, only the wind. Before she ever even says a word we get a great sense of who she is, and we're rooting for her. It's done so simply yet so powerfully, showing a mastery in character development that was never even sniffed in the prequels. Havnig characters we can root for was what made the Original Trilogy so much fun, and we already have three new heroes to get behind.

I also really appreciate how they were able to make Rey such an interesting female lead without having to go overboard with selling people on the idea of HAVING a female lead. You know why? They didn't try to make her an interesting female character. They just made her an interesting CHARACTER. So many action movies and superhero movies try to push the "badass chick" trope so much that it just comes across as being disingenuous. Rey is already an outstanding movie hero, and it's because they gave her traits anyone can relate to.

The new villain is outstanding. Kylo Ren has so much more going for him than any of the prequel villains. We know his backstory. We know that he has some inner conflict himself, which makes his story going forward rather unpredictable. They set up rivalries with him vs. Rey and him vs. Finn beautifully, giving us just enough clash between the two to whet our appetites but leave plenty of room for more.

The couple lightsaber fights they had were the best since the original trilogy. The prequel lightsaber fights were overly choreographed spectacles that had no soul. Kylo's stomping of Finn, and then the clash between him and Rey had so much tension, it was perfect.

The visuals were gorgeous, and SURPRISE, it's because NOT EVERYTHING WAS DONE IN FRONT OF A GREEN SCREEN! There's so much more vibrance to this environment.

I don't have a problem with there being a lot of questions going forward, because there's plenty of time for answers. This was all about beginnings. Getting new characters established (HUGE success), reintroducing old characters (thankfully they weren't reliant on them, which I was worried about) and yeah.

Luke was handled perfectly too. His presence was felt the entire movie, even though he was completely absent. The last shot was one of the best of the entire Star Wars series, that's going to be iconic.

Finally, as awesome as Han Solo was in this movie, I'm glad they had the balls to kill him off. It legitimized Kylo Ren as a villain, especially when you consider how he's still "in training," they can't sell him as the superpowered machine like Vader or the all-knowing, fully evil Emperor. Sure, it became predictable, but they handled the moment really well I thought and Han's death HAD to happen as a sort of "passing of the torch" moment in this franchise.

I'm just so, so happy right now. I never thought the movie would be this good, ever. They blew my expectations out of the water. Can't wait to see it again.

[Everlong]

Another really cool thing about Kylo is the dynamic with Vader. Clearly he's a Vader wannabe. Dresses in black, wears a mask, fucking prays to the guy. But he completely misunderstands who Anakin ultimately was. He doesn't seem to realize Vader had doubts himself. And he's not even succeeding at copying Vader other than playing dressup. While Vader was very much a machine, very stable, very collected, Kylo is barely holding it together, he's totally unstable. That is a really cool dynamic to have in the big villain this time around.

[Daz]

My lasting thought coming away was that it was heavy on the homage without being derivative.

My only real negative feeling towards it are, that some of the dialogue, especially between Rey and Finn was a little bit too modernistic and didn't really suit the film. Also, Daisy Ridley was out acted by BB-8 at times. Little bit stilted in her delivery, but tended to do a really good job in the bigger moments. I'm sure she'll only improve before the next instalment. The last negative is how often Kylo Ren took his sodding helmet off. Dude just doesn't look intimidating without it, and I'm sure that was the point, given the narrative of him being torn between the light and the dark sides of the force, but I can't help but feel some moments in the film would have been improved tonally if he had kept the cool as shit helmet on.

Other than that, I thought it was pretty terrific. Also, BB-8 was the shit.

[Everlong]

My lasting thought coming away was that it was heavy on the homage without being derivative.

Yeah, this is a good way to sum it up. There is a lot of stuff that definitely feels like "we've seen this before," but I always got the sense that it was done tastefully. The only thign I wish could have been avoided is having yet another Death Star-ish weapon. Hopefully we're done with that now.

[Everlong]

Ha, I had no idea that the stormtrooper who was guarding Rey in her torture chamber was Daniel Craig

[Everlong]

Jesus, so many contrarian fuckheads out there already talking about how "terrible" this movie is because of a few small flaws.

Yeah, the movie has flaws. Nobody's gonna disagree with that. All the OT movies had flaws too, that didn't stop them from being great.

[Everlong]

HEre's my review for Novacritic: http://novacritic.com/star-wars-episode ... franchise/

[UTK]

I thought J.J. Abrams' remake of A New Hope was fantastic!

[Everlong]

I thought J.J. Abrams' remake of A New Hope was fantastic!

OOh wow that's a hot take I haven't heard that one yet

[JDD]

I loved it. Saw it twice already. Yeah it had flaws, and yeah alot of the plot was the same but that didnt stop it from being awesome. And the new cast are the best actors this series has ever had imo. They were awesome. The chemistry between Fin and Rey was great. That, more than the Han Solo parts, is what kept me invested. Kylo is a cool villain, and definatley more complex than most star wars billains. I really enjoyed it and hope the rest of the trilogy is as good.

I wonder how the hype for episode 8 will be. Does anyone think it will be anywhere near the excitement for this movie?

[Everlong]

Does anyone think it will be anywhere near the excitement for this movie?
0

It will never match the hype for this one simply because it's the first movie of a new trilogy, nobody knew what to expect. It'll be a ton of hype still though, and a different kind of hype, because now we know to expect awesome stuff.

[RatedRBowler]

Saw Star Wars Friday and I fucking loved it! Man it was the most fun I've had in a looooong while. I've been really depressed for awhile and for two hours I completely forgot about everything else and had a great time. I'm gonna edit this later with some analysis cause I really wanna talk about it (not to mention see it again lol).

[prophet]

I saw Star Wars on opening night and loved it, I'm going again tomorrow and couldn't be more excited. To have such high expectations going into something only to have them exceeded is a beautiful thing, I'm so happy. I'm in love with Daisy Ridley, John Boyega is hilarious and Oscar Isaac is superbly cast despite being underutilized somewhat. Harrison Ford is the man, btw.

My only real gripe is how quickly Rey understood her powers after suddenly realizing she was force sensitive. The scene where she escaped her capture forced me to suspend my disbelief quite a bit more than I was comfortable with (even for Star Wars) but if that's the one issue to have with a film I'll take it. Actually I also didn't like how totally irrelevant to anything Captain Phasma was, hopefully we see that character more going forward.

LUKE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

THAT FINAL SCENE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MARK HAMILL >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[UTK]

I thought J.J. Abrams' remake of A New Hope was fantastic!

OOh wow that's a hot take I haven't heard that one yet

Sorry. I FUCKING LOVED IT IT WAS FANTASTIC. BLEW MY EXPECTATIONS OUT OF THE WATER. WOW. 10/10. Better?

I honestly did enjoy it, and I definitely will be seeing it again, but it wasn't that great of a film. It satisfied me, but Jesus if it didn't follow ANH to the tee. Main character has valuable information, realizes they're about to be caught, puts the information in a droid. The droid winds up wandering around a desolate desert planet until it happens to come across the lead character. Our lead bonds with an older, wiser character from the previous generation and gets attached to them. Then the main bad guy kills the older character in front of our lead, which angers them and gives them a real reason to despise the main bad guy. Meanwhile, the Death Star / Starkiller Base is blowing up entire planets. The film ends with an assault on the Death Star / Starkiller Base where blowing up one thing causes the entire thing to explode. Obviously there were variations, but it was just so close to ANH. Honestly, the duel between Ben and Rey was basically the duel between Vader and Luke in ESB (angry Luke fights Vader with all his might in the name of Obi-Wan / Rey fights Ben with all her might in the name of Han...Vader tries to convince Luke to join him and be trained by him / Ben tries to convince Rey to join him and be trained by him), except Ben wasn't nearly as powerful as Vader was so it was a much closer fight. And next film we'll have a great powerful Jedi master who has been in exile for years train our lead...much like ESB.

The similarities were just too strong for my liking. But I still enjoyed it. There was only a hint of sarcasm to my original post. I legitimately still liked it and it was amazing to experience another Star Wars film in theaters.

[Hanley!]

I thought J.J. Abrams' remake of A New Hope was fantastic!

A lot of people are focusing on this, but I don't see the similarities as a bad thing. After all, A New Hope is really just the Heroes Journey. This story structure is not unique to Star Wars, not by any stretch of the imagination. There were some more referential moments such as the droid carrying important information for the heroes and the new Death Star, but I thought it was all done in a way that made sense, and with enough of a twist to not be too derivative.

When the reviews first started coming in, I wasn't worried at all about them copying some of the story beats from the original film. What I was worried was that we were going to get a load of this nudge nudge wink wink referential meta stuff that popped up so often in the prequels and in most Marvel movies. Thankfully, there was very little of that here, and what little they did include wasn't distracting.

They copied enough from the original trilogy just enough to make it feel like a Star Wars film, which none of the prequels ever did. So I was happy with the approach here. And Abrams isn't an original director anyway, so if he's going to copy something, I'm happy that he took from a film that's both brillaint and relevant.

There wasn't much that I didn't like about the film, but I did have a few minor problems with it:

- - The map to Luke Skywalker made no sense to me. Nobody alive knew where he was, but there was a map to his exact location? This was too contrived. There are ways of explaining the logic behind this, but I think it needed to be in the film.

- - I don't think they should have used Luke in the first film at all. I would have saved him for the next film. The last shot was great, but the last minute still felt a bit tacked on to me. I think it would have been more effective as a cliff hanger, where the film ends with them knowing Luke's location, and Ray starting out on her journey to meet with him.

- - When the ground opened up between Rey and Kylo Ren, that was too contrived for me again. I thought there was an opportunity for a great character moment there for one or both of them. Maybe Rey can't quite bring herself to kill someone when she's looking them in the eye, maybe Ren wins the encounter but senses a familial bond between the two of them (given that's probably the way it's going) and lets her live. Would have added nicely to his inner conflict. I think that was a missed opportunity and a disappointing end to an otherwise great scene.

- - This last one is my fault and not the movie's, but it was hard to get out of my head and stop analysing the film as it was still running, due to all of the hype and speculation over the last couple of years. Even though the analysis was mostly positive. I feel like I'd enjoy the film even more on a rewatch as a result. I'd probably be able to immerse myself in it a little more.

Onto the good though, and there's a lot of it here. Most importantly, this film has a lot of personality. The new group of heroes are all great. I instantly felt invested in all of them, and instantly liked all of them. Rey has the potential to be a better version of Luke in these films. She's really compelling. Finn had a nice character arc in the first film and his backstory is something new and interesting for these films. I thought the battle scene where he decided to leave the First Order was extremely well done. Poe was great too, although we didn't get much of him in this film. Hopefully they expand upon his character next time around. Not having too much of him in this film was the right call.

I liked and believed the relationships between the characters too. Finn and Poe's immediate bromance was adorable. Really made me like both of them more. Finn and Rey had great chemistry too, and nothing seemed too forced between them. Rey wasn't irrationally angry when she found out Finn had been lieing to her, just disappointed and maybe a little hurt. And when he came back for her, I think her reaction was warranted. They could go friendship or romance between them in the next two films after that setup, I think either way works. Han worked well as the mentor figure too, and I thought his interactions with Leia made a lot of sense given both of their characters and what they'd been through.

There was plenty of personality on display on the villain side too. Kylo Ren's inner turmoil made him a much more interesting villain than he could have been, and it'll be interesting to follow him going forward. I loved that the two main faces of the First Order clearly didn't like each other. Adds an extra dynamic. Even the storm troopers seemed much more human, from their body language to their reactions. They're raised into conformity, but there's a part of them that are still individual.

The movie was surprisingly funny. The jokes weren't cringe and almost all of them landed with me (and the rest of the packed cinema where I saw it). They were also done at the right times. There were no stupid quips in the middle of the most tense, dangerous moments of the film.

The lightsabers were fucking great, and done just perfectly. They didn't have them in the film too much, like they did in the prequels. The fights weren't overly choreographed like they were in the prequels. Each character fought with actual personality. If they weren't trained, they fought badly, if they were angry they lashed out more violently. Rey was a staff wielder, so she used the lightsaber a bit more like a staff. All great stuff. And while I usually don't care about CGI as much as a lot of people, I thought the lightsabers themselves looked better than they ever have. There was a weight to them that made them feel more dangerous to me. It didn't feel like just watching lights on a screen.

The old characters weren't overused, and I love that they had the balls to kill off Han Solo. It was the right call. Gives you a reason to hate the villain that much more. It was the best way to get the fans to invest emotionally going forward. To compensate they gave Solo a lot of time in this film, and he rose to the occasion.

This was a really well done film. I'd say it just about cracks my Top 10 of the year (and this has been a strong year). This is an 8/10 from me. Might even be more on a rewatch. It more than met my expectations. It's not as good as The Empire Strikes Back, but it might just about rival A New Hope, and it's certainly better than Return of the Jedi.

Thumbs up.

[Ali]

Okay, I saw this last night, and here are my thoughts.

I loved it.

To be a bit more specific, I love how much this movie felt like a Star Wars movie. One thing I think gets overlooked is that is that the original trilogy was actually very dirty in its presentation. It was grimy, rough, unpolished, and that's one of the things that made it unique and special. It was science-fiction where everything wasn't shiny and perfect, and that made it much more relatable. That's one reason among many that I think the prequels weren't as good, because everything there looked too clean and fake. This movie, in large part due to using more practical effects than CGI, goes back to that feeling of realism and grittiness that worked so well.

Now on to the meat of this review, the characters and story.

Daisy Ridley is a STAR. Good lord, she commands the screen every second she's on it. Her performance is outstanding, and I can't wait to see more out of this actress, both in Star Wars and in other films. The character of Rey is great, and I can't wait to see how she evolves into a Jedi, and what her relationship to the other characters is. Is she Kylo Ren's sister? I honestly doubt it... I actually think she might have more to do with the Kenobi bloodline than anything else, but that's my own crackpot theory for another time.

John Boyega as Finn is by far the heart and soul of the film, and hopefully the whole trilogy. While Rey is kind of the focus of the story, Finn is more of the backbone and the catalyst for the plot. The idea of a Stormtrooper, theoretically raised to be an evil, ruthless machine, actually being human, realizing what he's part of is screwed up, and rejecting it is incredibly refreshing. It raises some interesting questions, and, in a way, gives something about the prequels a bit more credibility: why use humans and have the possibility of a traitor when a Clone or Robot will obey unconditionally? It's a legitimate question, one they briefly bring up, and one I hope they explore more. I want to see how Finn grows, how he becomes a hero and gains more confidence, and maybe find out more about himself.

Poe doesn't get much screen time here, but I don't think thats a bad thing. Oscar Isaac is more of a proven actor, and Poe seems to fit that Han Solo mold. An ace pilot who is so sure of his abilities, very charismatic and quick-witted, but with a bit more of a heart than Han Solo. Han was selfish and kind of had to be coaxed into helping the Rebels, while Poe is a soldier doing his duties. He's also a lot more trusting and friendly right off the bat, which makes him more approachable. Han was too cool for you, Poe is right on your level. My one problem with him is that, well, he is an obvious replacement for Han Solo. Even though I've said a lot of differences between them, you can see that they are very similar archetypes. I would've liked to see Han and Poe interact a bit more, so we could establish more character, but I look forward to him in the future films.

So now lets talk about the returning original trio. Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill. Well, Luke Skywalker has about a minute of screen time and no dialogue, but it was powerful to see him on screen again. Leia, honestly, she felt a little flat to me, like she wasn't super into it, but whenever her and Han Solo were interacting, that chemistry was there. You felt it. And as for Han Solo, this is his movie. He fits that role of gruff mentor perfectly, and as the older mentor, he HAD to die via Lightsaber. Obi-Wan Kenobi died in front of Han and Luke, Qui-Gon Jinn died in front of Obi-Wan, and now Han Solo dies in front of Finn and Rey. The Mentor has to die in front of the Trilogy's heroes. It's a rule. And while I am going to miss Han Solo and Harrison Ford in the franchise, it had to happen. He was the biggest name, and if they didn't kill him now, he would've probably just swallowed up the whole franchise. It wouldn't have even been his fault, but he has to step aside in order for the new stars to shine.

And now, the thing I can't stop thinking about... the villain is FANTASTIC. No, I'm serious, I love Kylo Ren, Ben Solo, he's a terrific character. And what I love about him is that he is a NEW villain... and not just that he's not Darth Vader, but he's in a stage we didn't see with Vader, which is his desire to prove his loyalty to the Dark Side. In the prequels, Episode III in particular, we saw how an emotional Anakin Skywalker gave in to the Dark Side. In the original trilogy, we saw Darth Vader as very controlled and calculating. He'd still have the occasional outburst, but he would focus it more and not let it get the better of him. Kylo Ren is right in between. He's given in to the Dark Side, but he's not fully sure of himself yet, and he's so worried that if he doesn't pull off everything perfectly, he'll end up disappointing his masters. So when things don't go his way, he loses it and rages into temper tantrums. I can totally see a young Darth Vader having the slightest failure and going crazy about it. What happens between the impetuous brat turning evil and the almost-infallible Sith Lord? I hope we see more of it with Kylo Ren.

I loved this movie. Is it perfect? No. Is it the best movie I've seen all year? No. Is it an incredible science-fiction thrill ride that lives up to the memories of the Star Wars that the world fell in love with? Hell Yes! I am excited for where this goes, and I will be there every step of the way.

Just one question... where the Hell is Lando Calrissian? Come on, bring Lando back. Billy Dee Williams did it for The LEGO Movie, he'll suit up for sequels!

[Hanley!]

I don't think we need Lando Calrissian, much as I like him in The Empire Strikes Back. I was actually a bit bugged by R2D2 and C3P0 being in the film. Some characters should disappear, utilising all the same characters before makes the universe seem smaller. Which really isn't a good thing in a space movie. I love all the new characters they added here and think they should do more of that, rather than focusing on more older characters.