Talk about new Star Wars movie, do not read if you have NOT seen it

[Woolyniner]

I've just got back from watching it with all the family and I really enjoyed it. Now I could criticize it for this and that, but I've learnt in life just to answer the bottom line question, was it fun watching it? and the big answer is yes.

I loved BB8, I thought the new leads were great, and the minimum CGI gave it a nice earthy feel. It won't touch the OT because of the emotional connections I (and all of us) built up when we were kids with Luke, Leia, Han and the gang. But it was still fun.

 

[Grant_C]

3rd time.

Gets better and better.

 

[jesterhud]

Saw it 4 times on the opening day, that was a test of endurance in Cinema seat I can tell you...

Was it just me or do you hear Ben and Yodas voice in one of the Forest scenes ? I think the weird dreamy scene after Rey touches the Lightsabre for the first time.

 

[Jez]

First post in this Film section:
I am absolutely in love with this film, it's wonderful. It stirs so much emotion in me and the way in which it does it is so clever.

I've now seen it 3 times, and it just gets better and better. First was in 3D (which adds nothing), i (like most) loved it but was so caught up in the whole hype and fear moment i couldn't take it all in. Second time in 2D made this grown man all emotional on several occasions. Now, having watched it for the 3rd time, i found myself welling up on about 8 occasions, whats wrong with me? Nothing! It's because i'm such a fan of the OT, this is my perfect stepping stone into further adventures.

The principal actors and their characters:
Boyega: Finn is such a great character and he brings him to life in such a well constructed way. Funny when he needs to be funny, but not Jar Jar slap stick. Heroic, passionate, and loyal. My kind of guy.
Ridley: Stunning, yes, but a fascinating girl to watch. She has the whole package. This is her film.
Isaacs: Oscar was great in Anaheim and he has created a cracking Aviator in Dameron. It's great to have an awesome pilot on the films.
Driver: Adam has created a wonderfully confused and angry character with KR. I love the Jekyl and Hide character, who has his own flaws, acknowledges them, and gets even more frustrated by them. His power of the Dark Side is phenomenal.

For those who have an issue with Finn and the lightsaber, why? He is a trained warrior, but here is the clever part; he is useless with the lightsaber. If you watch it you'll see the Riot Stormtrooper kick his ass, only to be saved by Han. Next time he takes on a seriously wounded KR (Nowcaster wound), he gets a hit on target but again gets his assed whooped.
Rey showed from the very beginning she is a fighter.

BB8 is a very cute, an excellent droid. The imagination of this movie and the fresh ideas is awesome.
All of the new characters have been wonderfully cast, i love them all.
Ford: He put so much more than i expected into this movie. He really did it justice and i thank him for that. The chemistry he shared with Fisher was really warming.
Fisher: She truly appeared regal. Her performance was spot on and she looked great.
Hamill: I'm so glad he took the back seat on this one. Not much more i can say really. The ending was perfect.

The direction & production: I knew when Kathleen Kennedy took over it would be stunning. JJ has done a great job but without KK we wouldn't have been blessed with this movie. It's fast paced but the balance is perfect.

Score: I bought the album yesterday. I've not had the time to listen to it yet but it is very good. Christmassy at times (Rey's theme in particular). The weaving of old themes into a new score is very cleverly done. Adding to the sentiment and emotion which really gets the hairs on your arm raised. There is elements of Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park and Harry Potter, but what would you expect? The differences between ANH, ESB and ROTJ are vast. This is no different. It is Star Wars, and you definitely notice the music more with each sitting.

Yes the whole "They've just remade the original", well what about most James Bond Films? Goody, Baddy and a big bad plan. Jaws, Rocky, Rambo.

You get the message, i love it. For those who've seen it once and aren't 100%, give it another go. The 2nd time was such a great experience. For those who say it's not Star Wars because its not George Lucas, does that mean none of Pierce Brosnans Bond films weren't Bond because they were Fleming novels? Skyfall (box office breaker) isn't a real James Bond film?

This has completely re-energised the story (i don't like the term franchise). We should all be delighted that our hobby has fresh lifeblood and is really healthy.

We love the OT because they were our child hood films. We won't ever really slag off the plot issues or poor Rancor effects etc so we shouldn't try to rip apart this.
My son absolutely loved it, he said its the best film he's ever seen and has now overtaken ESB as his favourite.
This is the first movie since Episode IV that you can watch without having seen any other SW movie. It will guide along the complete SW virgin, whilst also treating the complete nerds like us. To do that is extremely clever.

 

[palitoyjunky]

Bit of a late post as I saw it opening day.
Anyway great movie overall I have to say-well done JJ :wink:

Have to say though v similar to Ep 4 in many ways, don't know if that's a positive or negative :?: :!:

Loved BB-8, loved the other characters 8)
Absolutely gutted Han was killed off Harrison u finally got ur wish :x
Did not like Kylo Ren removing his mask so early on in this new trilogy :!: Then again I can sort of see the logic as we found out who Ren is so early on.
Didn't get how scavenging nobody Rey could kick the arse of a trained knight of the first order :roll:

Anyway the Falcon was awesome-made me want to start a Falcon focus :lol: X-Wings and Tie Fighters Kool as always and the battle scenes in the skies looked fantastic 8)

Looking forward to Ep VIII.

 

[Jez]

Didn't get how scavenging nobody Rey could kick the arse of a trained knight of the first order :roll: .

He had previously been hit by Chewies bowcaster.
I would say that would have a big affect on KRs ability to fight 100%.

 

[DARTH VADER]

When casting, they made it very clear that the young female had to be street...because that is exactly what Rey is...she can handle herself...not saying she knows how to wield a lightsabre like a Jedi in his (or her) prime...but she shouldn't be underestimated...especially with the Force on her side...

 

[Pomse2001]

is it just me or does it look like kylo is not very strong with the force ? Rey beat him and finn could fight with him in a saber duel. I am pretty sure vader would have destroyed them both, even darth maul looks stronger in the force.

But it also looks like they continue with slow jedi like ben, vader and luke in episode 4,5 and 6 because there was not many jedi left so they were not fast like they were in episode 1, 2 and 3 because there were many more jedi in those movies.

 

[S117]

is it just me or does it look like kylo is not very strong with the force ? Rey beat him and finn could fight with him in a saber duel. I am pretty sure vader would have destroyed them both, even darth maul looks stronger in the force.

But it also looks like they continue with slow jedi like ben, vader and luke in episode 4,5 and 6 because there was not many jedi left so they were not fast like they were in episode 1, 2 and 3 because there were many more jedi in those movies.

Kylo clearly hadn't been fully trained. He'd been pulled to the dark side at an early stage during his force training, as far as I'm aware. Someone like Anakin was pulled while he was a fully trained Jedi Knight. But yeah, I'm not sure what to think of Kylo's skills. Perhaps he wasn't trained at all for lightsaber combat.

 

[Jez]

He had been shot by Chewie! :lol:

 

[Joe]

He had been shot by Chewie! :lol:

This!

The guy took a shot from Chewie's bowcaster right in the side!! That had to take the wind out of him! Wasn't that thing catapulting Stormtroopers in the air moments before?? haha

So he's an unpolished Sith (or is it Jedi?) whose emotions and inner conflict won't allow him to utilise his skills properly..and he just got shot! I think my granny could have had him at that point :lol:

 

[Leemcl]

Second viewing today. Much better experience for me. I think the reason was that the nostalgia and expectation had dimmed and it was a chance to just enjoy the film. Which I did, very much. Little bits I did not really absorb on Thursday morning made much more sense this morning and almost all aspects of the film hold tight enough plot wise.

I still can't agree that Han needed to die. However, Ford's performance was exceptional so I am thankful to see him one last time. Weirdly I noticed his age and lack of mobility a lot lot less today too, not sure why that is really.

 

[Ian_C]

Okay, my kids broke me down, and I saw it tonight. So....no more criticisms that I haven't watched it and therefore don't have a valid opinion. This is my honest opinion after sitting through it. I won't go into many details. Most of my criticisms were covered when I read the spoilers, and not too much has changed. Finn isn't as much 3PO level comedic relief as I expected, but it was still far too much for my liking. Poe's one liner to Kylo at their first encounter made me feel the same way about him, and as much as everyone else loved Poe, I could never get into him after that. And Maz Kanata may not have spoken is as many riddles as I was led to believe, but she is definitely filling the Yoda/old Oi-Wan role of guiding the young hero to their destiny. I was shocked once the goggles came off how much she looked like E.T., to the point, I was expecting her to tell someone to phone home. Anyway, those are the only changes to my earlier criticisms.

My thoughts after sitting through it.

Effects - 9.5/10. Would have been 10 if not for the horrible CGI tentacled things. The other characters didn't bother me, not even Snoke.

Acting - 6/10 - All over the place. Ford was terrific. Most was "okay". Rey was great at times, bad in others.

Script - 6/10 - All over the place. Too many jokes. Han and Leia scenes were awkward. Most of it was fine, but some scenes stood out as "meh". Not enough time given to character development in place of action scenes.

Plot - 8/10 - Of course it ranks high on plot. It borrowed 99% of it from the original films which are all 9/10 or 10/10. As a result, it had the feel of the OT - but in some sort of superficial way.

Originality of plot - 1/10 - Self-explanatory.

Score - 8/10 - I don't agree with score criticisms. Nothing really wrong with it. If anything needed to be rehashed, it was the score in places where it was necessary - Han & Leia's theme, things like that. The new bits were not out of place. I do think that playing Luke's theme over a few of Rey's scenes essentially confirm she's related to him, and almost certainly makes her his daughter. Playing Palpatine's ROTS music over Snoke makes me suspect Snoke may actually turn out to be Palpatine himself, somehow surviving DS II but even more deformed and much older. Besides, to command the entire FO, it HAS to be someone with the credibility to be accepted in that role.

Overall enjoyability - 5/10. If I had never seen the OT, it would have been great. It was visually spectacular. But I just cannot get over how much was taken from the originals. For some, that's not an issue, and great for them. For me, it was a deal breaker (as I expected), and took away from any enjoyment. Makes me feel it was a Marvel movie with lightsabers. Be happy - my feeling going in was going to be 2/10.

For the record, my wife had some plot issues, but otherwise really liked it.

My 13 year old thinks the same as I do.

My 7 year old gives it 10/10. He loved it.

My 5 year old fidgeted nonstop, and was utterly bored.

My rankings.

ESB
ANH
ROTS
ROTJ (yes, you read the last two right - at one time I had ROTS #2 to ESB)
TPM & TFA (somewhat tied)
AOTC

So, I put it above AOTC, barely. However, since I really see it as EU material, this will be pretty much the only time I put it into a list with the others.

Oh, and I was stunned at the theater reactions. We had two local theaters showing it, on 10 screens total. Only the 11 pm 3D showing at one location had sold out - on the Saturday of its premiere weekend. That was weird. I bought tickets 2 hours before it started, and there were empty seats. But the crowd.... It was silent. No cheers, no clapping. Nothing. There was a brief murmur when Han appeared, and that was it. Deadest crowd I've ever seen for a premiere weekend for any movie I've attended. Even Jurassic World had cheers when the end came. The PT had an explosion of cheers for all three when they ended. This was NOT what I expected at all. I wish I had recorded it as proof, because I doubt anyone will believe me.

Ian

 

[jimmyp]

Oh, and I was stunned at the theater reactions. We had two local theaters showing it, on 10 screens total. Only the 11 pm 3D showing at one location had sold out - on the Saturday of its premiere weekend. That was weird. I bought tickets 2 hours before it started, and there were empty seats. But the crowd.... It was silent. No cheers, no clapping. Nothing. There was a brief murmur when Han appeared, and that was it. Deadest crowd I've ever seen for a premiere weekend for any movie I've attended. Even Jurassic World had cheers when the end came. The PT had an explosion of cheers for all three when they ended. This was NOT what I expected at all. I wish I had recorded it as proof, because I doubt anyone will believe me.

Ian


Ian I totally agree with you.

I went to see the film tonight for the first time and it was not sold out for an 8pm showing on the opening weekend, WTF!!! :shock:

Only the centre rows where full, the sides and the front rows nr the screen where all empty

It felt like I was seeing the film after it had been released 2 weeks ago.

Very strange and maybe everyone has gone to see it straight away on opening night 12am viewings or where out on the piss for the last Saturday before Christmas. :lol:

 

[Ian_C]

It wasn't even the empty seats that really struck me. The bottom two rows, no one likes those seats, as it makes you strain your neck to watch. The rest of the seating was more a few seats here and there. With so many screens, and many having bought tickets for the two previous days though, I can sort of understand it.

It was more the silent reaction that floored me. It was like having a theater full of people with my pessimistic attitude. Just weird, and highly unexpected. I expected a much more boisterous reaction the first weekend, with what I saw happening a week or two from now.

Ian

 

[jimmyp]

I thought the film was brilliant, 8.5 out of 10.

Im glad to say the film looks like a Star wars film, sounds like a star wars film and feels like a star wars film. This is the film star wars fans have waited 32 years for and what we have all wanted since Return of the jedi ended back in 1983.

This film is a definite grower and I can't wait to watch it again.

The best bit for me was when Fin said "why don't we take that ship over there" and Rey says "because its old junk".

The ship they are heading to gets blown up and Rey says "the junk it is then"

The camera pans around and WOW!! Its the Millennium Falcon (FU** BRILLIANT)

The other part that I really liked and which stood out for me was obviously Hans Death Scene. Which I could tell by the way it was being set up in the film was coming but I didn't want it too happen. My heart was pounding when he stepped onto that ramp and I could feel it coming but so didn't want it to happen.

The reaction from Chewie was the thing that sent me over the edge and I have to admit I broke down at this point and started to cry. A real moving scene and one of the best the Star Wars Trilogy has "EVER" produced. Brilliant!!

I still don't know how to feel about this even now, hours after seeing the film. I just can't believe Han has gone and we aren't going to see him and chewie together again. They where by far the best thing in this new movie, gutted

I can't help thinking that this is a mistake by the film makers but hey its done now and we'll have to wait and see how it all pans out.

I agree the film was or seemed a little too fast paced and maybe could have done with a few more scenes to slow it down a little. I would have liked it too have been longer perhaps another 10-15 mins. But maybe im feeling like this because it was all so much to take in and when ive been and watched it a few more times my feelings on this may change. Or maybe they will release a extended version of the film like the LOTR Trilogy of films ???

I think the film offered a perfect mix for the old and new star wars fans to grab hold of and there's a lot of unanswered questions for the future. So this also bodes well for the future as the story moves on and you find out more about the characters. I also don't think that some things are as clear cut as we think. For instance, I don't think that Kylo Ren is Han and Leia son and that he maybe was adopted by them for some reason. Kinda like the uncle owen, aunt beru situation.

Anyways, all that's for another time.

I just wanna say that this New Star Wars Film made me laugh, smile, cheer and cry, just like the original films did all those years ago.

So for me it was a brilliant addition to the Trilogy and one I will enjoy watching for may years to come.

 

[cracatilla]

The best bit for me was when Fin said "why don't we take that ship over there" and Rey says "because its old junk".

The ship they are heading to gets blown up and Rey says "the junk it is then"

The camera pans around and WOW!! Its the Millennium Falcon (FU** BRILLIANT)

You see the falcon in the background during that running scene :roll:

 

[chiffy]

Just wanted to echo Ian's thoughts re the half empty cinema. I went to the 2nd showing on Thursday and it was 3/4 full. I bought tickets 2 months in advance and i saw a hell of a lot of other peoples photos of their tickets. And the atmos was like a graveyard. It felt like everyone was stunned then dissapointed at the end. There was 1 family of about 5 that clapped at the end but then felt a bit silly as everyone stared at them on the way out like ' you ****in divs '. Anyhows, i too expected lots of noise from the crowd but it was flat as a pancake. PS I cant wait to see it again, in 2d tho next time.

 

[Caswellbot]

Saw it last night with my wife. Overall I thought it was fantastic. It felt like star wars again. I dont care what anyone says, the prequels really were garbage. Never felt like they captured the essence of star wars.

Sure there were probably one too many nods to the old films in TFA but it had to hark back and most of those moments bought home a great feeling.

My crits were:

Snoke seemed poor. They need to do a lot more with him in the next one. Just seemed like another emperor hologram sitting in a throne room. Not as menacing and too much like Gollum from Lord of the rings.

Phasma was totally underused. Again I hope for a bigger part in next film.

The final scene was definitely a bit Samey. Having seen the blowing up of the death star twice it just seemed too obvious. I guess the empire/ New order need a superweapon to keep all the planetary systems but felt like this was a bit lazy.

The Nazi referencing during the speech was so blatent. Red banners, straight arm salutes. Ugh

I loved:

Relationship between fin and Rey. It worked well and was believable. More believable than any relationship in the prequels where it felt impossible to buy in. I thought both these characters were great.

Chewie was awesome. Good to see him coming to the fore and tearing it up a bit.

Kylo ren was great. His final meeting with Han worked for me and was believable. The hesitation was necessary. He was overcoming inner conflict. He looked like he was struggling and then as soon as his grip tightened on the sabre you knew that was it for Han. The film needed darkness like that to make kylo ren a more tenable villain and to show his total conversion to the dark side. Han tried a little sweet talk but the situation proved too big even for him.

Leia and Han would never have worked long term as much as we would have loved that fairy tale. He was a scoundrel and always would be . That was his appeal to her.

lots of other great things too but won't bore you all anymore.

Want to see it again to digest more. Lots of scope for the next film and things are left quite nicely poised.

 

[Cazza]

Agree about the atmosphere. Expected the midnight screening to be really lively, but it was very subdued. Empty seats is mo surprise- people think it's booked out, so will go later. Most people at work said they were not going to go for a week or so. It's also showing on a crazy amount of screens.

Already taken the single day record and looks on course to comfortably take the opening weekend here and in the States. Many thought the Jurassic World record would be unbeatable in December.