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The Force Awakens Reactions Thread(SPOILERS AHEAD!)
thegrandnagus1
Member Posts: 5,166 Arc User
If you have seen the movie, share your reactions here. As the title says, spoilers are ahead, so don't say you weren't warned.
Also, just for fun, here is a poll:
http://strawpoll.me/6317626
Also, just for fun, here is a poll:
http://strawpoll.me/6317626
Post edited by thegrandnagus1 on
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I grew up in the 80's and 90's, and love the Original Trilogy, I must've watched them hundreds of times in my very early teens.
I was pretty much Star Wars obsessed, and went on to read the first 30 or 40 Expanded Universe novels (Approved by Lucas).
So one could say, I was a super fan. Its a time in my life I'll fondly remember.
Then sometime in 95' (or 96') to my great delight, news came that Prequels were indeed on their way, and set to be released in 99'.
The wait was long, and the hype was huge. I devoured even more EU material.
Finally the day had arrived, I was ready, packed with all the knowledge of the Star Wars Universe, and a great hunger to see the series anew.
What happened next, was one of the most unfortunate occurrences in life, when one of your passions finally comes to an end.
The movie was awful in my mind, and was incongruent with a lot of what I had read in the EU.
Simply put, it did not feel like Star Wars to me.
I was confused and lost, eventually turning away from what I had so loved.
The remaining 2 episodes of the Prequels, did little to rekindle my love of Star Wars.
I went so far as to exclude them from what I called Star Wars. While still loving the Originals, I turned away from the Universe at that point.
Many years have past, and I'm a grown man now.
Seemingly out of the blue, Lucas sells his IP to Disney in a blockbuster deal.
The rumours emerge, and a hype campaign like we've never seen is assaulted on the public.
There will be another Star Wars: The Force Awakens...
Something "awakened" in me at that point. I was ready to forgive.
Shortly after the reboot was announced we also heard that the EU was being relegated to "Legends" status.
So for someone like myself, who'd read many of them, I felt slightly betrayed.
But, I was willing to admit, it might work out for the best. (Even though it annoyed me they would do that to a fan base, by telling them, "No, none of this ever happened" even though the EU was approved by Lucas as Canon - but that's another conversation for another thread).
I was still pretty excited.
It was a New Hope for the franchise, and it was one more chance to recapture some of the old fan base who'd left.
After seeing it tonight, I can say, I genuinely love the new protagonist characters, Finn and Rey.
They will carry the series for the next generation.
There was more then its fair share of fanfare, and nods to the Originals, and even some to the Prequels, which for the most part were done tastefully, if a bit over the top at times.
The atmosphere and scenery really did feel like (Original) Star Wars for the most part.
Though, slightly new, for a new generation.
Abrams even went so far as to add in a Cantina scene that featured plenty of Puppet prop aliens, as seen in the original cantina.
While also mixing in some newer CGI animations.
I think that was a very nice nod to the Original trilogy. And the magic those puppet had on the screen.
While the castings seem to be more millennial oriented (like you would see in the Hunger Games/Twilight), it wasn't as "Twilighty" as it could've been. Thankfully, the younger cast don't go to far down that path.
Though, I would've preferred a darker, less hipster feel to some of the characters.
Excluding Finn and Rey of course, they were truly amazing.
The story itself is fairly predicable, and feels somewhat rushed. There's just so much happening in such a short time, and such large plot holes, that it would be impossible to do it justice in it's fairly short screen time.
With the next 2 films they should be able fill the very large plot gaps and question marks, but they've got a lot of ground to cover yet. So it's quite possible they may not stuff it all in without rushing things along.
The pace of plot is dizzying, and is enough to make a Wookie's head spin. Hopping from planet to ship to planet, in a seemingly non-stop action sequence. Barely taking the time to enjoy itself.
At times it seems as if they are trying to keep the audience from getting bored.
Coming to the conclusion of the film, I was thinking this had been a fairly solid offering.
And then I saw what I didn't ever need to see....The death of Han Solo.
At this very moment, I'm still in shock.
I'm upset in the way they wrote him out, I'm upset the end for Solo is uninspiring, and flat. I'm upset the scene itself, elicits almost no emotion, other then "Huge Mistake JJ"
I'm upset that his death was so uninspiring that I felt almost nothing, other then confusion.
In the end, there are 2 sides of the coin to Star Wars The Force Awakens. A light side and a dark side.
There was good and bad. And the end result comes out Grey.
And while much better then the Prequels IMO, I still say long live the originals.
If you're an old Star Wars fan like myself, you might just feel that this series is better left to a new generation.
That's who it's certainly aimed at. The death of Han only cements that, effectively splitting the link to the past, so a new story can continue.
One which I may watch and follow along, but will never appreciate like my first true love, the Originals.
May the Force be with you.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
Well, you're not alone with that sentiment.
I did like the movie but when I left the place I kinda felt "underwhelmed". Obectively it's a good flick, not a great masterpice (nostalgia goggles aside neither are the originals, they do have some problems admit it or not) but still good. But it was awefully predictable because it's more like episode 4.5 than 7. Yes it was nice that they took inspiration from the originals and made strong (and meaningful) references but my problem is that they gone so far that it feels more like half a remake/reboot than a proper sequel.
There really are a bunch (too many, for my taste) of scenes & plot points that feel like they were ripped straight out the the others only with a small visual update.
I really facepalmped at the trench run at the end..... I mean it's the goddamn 3rd death star (yeah, call starkiller all you want it's just another friggin death star again) and they blew it up the same friggin way as the others. Shoot into the weakspot hole to make it go boom. >< I swear if EP9 has starkiller base 2 I'm gonna go crazy...
Also WTF was the heavily fueled hype for Phasma for? She had like 10 (irrelevant) lines and Gwendoline Christie didn't even get a single scene of face time. Also is she dead now? Admittedly it was hilarious when Han was asking about the garbage compactor but was she actually stuck there when the place went boom?
As for Kylo Ren, he seemed pretty pathetic for a "villain", it's like prequel Anakin all over again. Saw someone else calling him "the Jar Jar Binks of Sith" but that's too harsh.... Still he either needs tremendous character development or exed off in favour of someone of Vader's or Dooku's caliber.
Again I liked it and it was worth the midnight screening but the problems it has, imho, do stick out like a sore thumb.
That sounds about right - the same conclusion was reached on the SWGEmu forums:
Infinite possibilities have implications that could not be completely understood if you turned this entire universe into a giant supercomputer.
What I liked:
What I did not like:
All said, what I liked outweighed what I didn't like, and I do want to see the movie again. If I had to rate the movie, I would probably give it a 3.5/5.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
Dazzling ship to ship battles... Interesting to watch mostly within an atmosphere this time...
Though I found JJ's techniques of filming the ships (and the battle scenes) very lacking compared to Lucas' style...
The lightsaber battles are interesting to say the least...
It's very obvious that none of the characters Dark or Light, have the training to wield the weapon effectively...
Though I suppose that is part of their development we'll see in the next episode.
After the final battle, Rey has essentially created her own "Darth Vader" much the way young Obi Wan did.
The new characters are quite fascinating... The old characters squeezed in nicely...
Rehashed plot devices... Cleverly done, but still...
Hans death poignant... Killed by his own son... But NOT a very fit ending for the character (IMO)...
BB-8 cute (not a girl, they call it a "HIM" several times)... Disappointed in the throw-away use of R2 & 3PO...
Actually found Mas Katana much more interesting than Poe Dameron...
So many things left hanging... Lots of story bits left to the imagination, rather than showing us...
Overall, I found it, lacking...
I much prefer Lucas' way of filming the story... Even if he's not all that great at directing the actors, his style gives much more depth to what your mind takes in.
JJ's style seems to be get the shot and move on... I noticed this especially at the beginning...,
The opening shot of the Star Destroyer blocking out the planet would have been so much better if the view hadn't been so far away and had lingered a bit longer...
I guess to me, it feels as if many scenes are rushed through just to get to the next one.
The one exception being when Han first learns that Rey and Finn are looking for Luke...
The long pause as he thinks about the past and his friend was quite emotional.
I was planning on seeing the movie again this weekend, but I think I'm going to take a few days to digest what I've experienced first, then perhaps see it again sometime next week.
At this moment, I give it a 6 out of 10.
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
Han's death was kind of interesting. On the one hand, it seems like he should go out in a blaze of glory, but on the other hand, it was a very personal scene, and (for me at least) it carried a great deal of emotion. The action seemed quite appropriate for Ren, considering his near-worship of Darth Vader. I'm looking forward to how they develop his character, but I think it's most likely he's going to follow Vader's path pretty much to a T (scarred in lightsaber duel, wears mask, turns back on/kills father figure, etc.).
IMHO, the acting was by far and away the best acting the movies have seen so far. I also happen to be a fan of JJ's cinematographic style, so I absolutely loved the visuals. I really enjoyed seeing the fighters get some atmospheric combat.
And of course, my biggest takeaway from the film was, "the Force is OP, plz nerf."
8/10, hungry for more.
Your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mother's, and yours.
I dare you to do better.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
I was thinking he looked more like a Kaminoan with small eyes, but he does bear a passing resemblance to Mas.
Addendum:
I wonder what the relationship between Snoke and Hux really is?
Perhaps General Hux is the only one who knows that Snoke isn't really as imposing as his hologram might suggest.
Would be just like JJ to create this all powerful character and then show him to actually be no bigger than Yoda.
Also, the Supreme Leader obviously has more faith and trust in Hux than he does in Kylo.
Random thought...
How does one aim a planet bound gun?
And how does one re-fire the "planet gun", when it takes the only sun you've got, to fire it once?
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
No idea. The same way you generate a "faster than light" beam that moves visibly slower than light, I suppose.
Your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mother's, and yours.
I dare you to do better.
Good questions. Whoever Snoke is, he has been training Kylo in the force/dark side. So even if he is hiding his true identity, he is definitely a powerful person.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
Loved Ridley and Boyega, very likeable duo along with their cute droid. Luke's reveal at the end was suitably epic. The whole movie felt very similar to A New Hope but I dont think that felt forced or too intentional.
My main criticisms are the lack of screen time for Captain Phasma, and how easily Leia and Chewie (after landing) seemed to overcome Han's demise, and that odd embrace between Rey and Leia. For a while I thought it would be revealed that Leia was her mother, even though up until then the movie had been kind of indicating that she was Luke's daughter. Now I think its neither of those, would be a bit lame anyway to tie the new cast to the old that tightly.
There were 2 key scenes in the movie that pretty much prove she can't be Luke's daughter:
1) she thought Luke was a myth, not a real person
2) in her flashback seen, she is a young girl when her parents ship flies away leaving her on Jakku
Combined, that means she would have been old enough to remember Luke was her father, if he actually was. So unless he did some kind of Jedi mind-wipe, they would be contradicting those 2 points if they reveal him as her father later.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
Your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mother's, and yours.
I dare you to do better.
His long pause of just staring at her in the final battle is most apropos, because it finally dawns on him that no matter how much he trains, he will never have that same level of mastery in the Dark Side as she has Without Training, in the Light Side.
IMO, the main idea to take away from this movie is that Rey is A FORCE to be reckoned with, not just part of THE Force and Snoke realizes early on that she is the key to making His "New Order" as powerful (if not more so) as the Empire used to be.
I also think that the long shot of Luke staring at Rey at the end, is to show him sensing just how powerful she really is and wondering how the hell and why he didn't "sense" her before hand.
The next episode will probably show us Luke training Rey on that island, like Yoda trained Luke on Dagobah.
Kylo is essentially a puppet at this point, doing Snokes bidding just so he can learn how to master the Dark Side.
(I think he knows this too, even though that doesn't really come through in the dialogue)
His battle with Rey is his defining moment, but it's also the point where he begins to truly realize that the path he chose isn't going to be an easy one.
He's all cocky and full of himself through most of the movie to hide the tiny bit of doubt he has in his abilities.
But ends up using that cockiness to fool his father into believing there's a chance he could be turned away from the Dark Side.
It's obvious that his hate for Han, is probably what put him on this path to begin with, and his defeat by Rey is what will be the cement to its continuation and ultimately, even though he doesn't know it yet..., his downfall.
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
I think there's more to it than that just because of the way he laid there just staring at her after the ground split.
He realizes that he did more than just underestimate her, he actually started her on her path to possibly being the one who destroys his goals.
She also came to the realization that he will never be a true threat to her anymore and by glaring back at him showed that he didn't scare her anymore.
Her real "battle" will be in deciding whether or not she has enough faith in herself to become the one to defeat "The New Order" and Snoke.
Luke will have to die in front of her, in order to cement that faith.
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
My character Tsin'xing
Your last sentence doesn't make any sense.
Though I suppose you meant that the Star TREK movies have discouraged you from going to see "A Force Awakens"
In this particular case, comparing the two is a bit like apples and oranges...
Paramount gave JJ free rein to do as he pleased, so he did.
Disney gave him a bit of free rein, but it's pretty obvious he wasn't allowed to make drastic changes to what had gone before.
Nothing in "A Force Awakens" contradicts the first six episodes.
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
To be clear, I'm not saying you are wrong. What I am saying is that you are trying to guess what a fictional character is "thinking" when it is not actually stated in the movie, and therefore there is no "right" answer. The only way we will actually know is if the novel clarifies, or JJ says what his intention was, or it is stated in the next movie. Until then, one fan's theory is no more right than another's.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
Oh yeah, I get that...
It's just fun to speculate and anyway, with a different director coming in for the next one, I know I could be way off base.
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
My character Tsin'xing
It had to have made sense, otherwise you would not have been able to make sense of it. Your ploy was a childish attempt to get the upper hand on this thread. Such attempts from children I have gotten used to on the forums. As for your actual point that JJ had free reign to do as he pleased with Star Trek and not Star Wars that is a logical argument. To be honest I can go with that, but its still not going to change how I feel about this new Star Wars movie.
Your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mother's, and yours.
I dare you to do better.