Star Wars: The Force Awakens [Spoilers]

[Rudolph Quin]

This thread is for those people who have seen it to talk about it and share their thoughts and impressions about the films.

As in the title, there is also a general [ SPOILER ALERT ] cast over the entire thread to let people know that the film will be talked about openly here. Just so that if anybody opens the thread, they know exactly what they're getting into.

If you're like me, someone who doesn't mind spoilers and prefers to know a lot about a movie before seeing it, then venture forth and use these opinions and impressions to tantalize yourself. We can also discuss here the general overall hype and marketing surrounding the newest addition to the saga.

Speaking of, have not seen it, don't care about being spoiled, but while Christmas shopping in Wal-Mart, I saw 5' tall Darth Vaders being sold in the toy section. Is he in the new film? Didn't he die in episode VI?

 

[darkangel76]

All you see of Vader is a very melted mask. That's it. <.<

Anyway, I loved the film. I will say that I'm completely ignorant of expanded universe though. Well, not wholly ignorant. But mostly. As such, I was hardly bothered that it was all pretty much thrown out the window. Really, I had only one true gripe and that had to do with the First Order's ultimate weapon. My inner nerd was like.....hell to the fuck NO that sooooo would NOT work, not to mention just charging it would decimate everything, so why the overkill? >.< Still, if you let go of that, it's cool. But ummm....just impossible, over the top and kind of a huh? factor.

The characters...oh, I sooooo loved them! I really did! They're a great bunch and the chemistry was solid. It's going to be nice watching them develop over the next couple movies. As for the graphics, I was happy to see that they didn't over do the CGI. It was a nice blend. I also appreciated that the film stayed true to having 'three theaters' and its traditional 'monster sequence'. Just nice to see things like that remain constant. The dialogue from episodes 4 - 6 returned and having Han, Leia and others from episodes 4 - 6 were the icing on the cake. There were some scenes that were predictable, however it didn't detract from seeing them executed in full despite anticipation. Yes, there was a scene or three that made me cry. >/////<

The ending left things open for the next installment. There are questions and speculations and it's going to keep us all occupied until the next movie comes out, lol! Anyway, definitely a great movie. Disney did a good job. Much better than I'd have expected. I'm glad to see it going in the direction it is. This movie is probably my second favorite Star Wars right after Empire Strikes Back. : )

 

[Squishypink]

My one big gripe was that Phasma didn't do much on screen. Cool character, great actress who we already know can fight. That "Traitor!" stormtrooper could have easily been replaced with Phasma and she could have had a cool lightsaber duel. I kinda want her armor to have a cortosis layer so that it shorts out lightsabers on contact.

 

[Chai]

I loved "The Force Awakens" even more than the original Star Wars films. Like DA, the one thing that didn't make sense to me was the ultimate weapon. Wouldn't the planet be destroyed? Didn't they already take one sun from the system, and now they're taking another sun? Wouldn't it take longer than 15 minutes to charge that shit up? But most of the audience doesn't think like that while watching the movie, so it's excusable.

The characters, even minor ones who had maybe 3 or 4 seconds of screen time, were absolutely phenomenal. Each character seemed genuine, even the troops, who we generally see to be mindless killing soldiers. They were given individuality in this film, not just from Finn, but when that one trooper calls Finn a traitor. They were brothers in arms and had gone through the same shit, so he yelled like it actually hurt that Finn ran away. And we perceive the troopers to be genuine people when Kylo Ren is slashing at everything in his rage, and those two troopers slowly back away and turn around. They have fear.

And the acting was fantastic. Daisy Ridley's eyes are just captivating. I loved how the director really utilized the close-up shots of her face, especially because her features were so expressive. The small movements of one eyebrow, the half-smirk, the sense of wonder in her eyes even when battling Kylo Ren in the snowy woods--I think she's the best actor or actress in the series thus far, and she definitely surpassed Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman from the prequel trilogy.

Also, Kylo Ren is everything Anakin should have been. And I'm talking just in the acting. Hayden Christensen was alright, and although his lines could have been delivered better, I understood why Christensen portrayed Anakin that way. But with Kylo, I had no complaints at all. He's got an almost seductive quality to his voice, shown when he's trying to persuade Rey to tell him what BB-8 showed her, yet that voice that initially seems so sure of himself also turns weak when he sees his father. He portrayed that vulnerability much better than Hayden as Vader. And you can see that Kylo almost worships Vader, but still has ambition to be greater than Vader and be a force to reckon with all on his own. He's filled with ambition and wonder, but he's also afflicted with doubt and some fear that he'll never be "good enough" to be part of the dark side. I love how he's a villain that's not too "villain-y". Good and bad, light and dark, aren't as black and white as we often think they are, and I think Kylo Ren portrays that perfectly.

And don't even get me started with the film score. Just fucking amazing, especially Rey's Theme. The movie definitely lived up to the hype for me.

 

[Revelations]

My one big gripe was that Phasma didn't do much on screen. Cool character, great actress who we already know can fight. That "Traitor!" stormtrooper could have easily been replaced with Phasma and she could have had a cool lightsaber duel. I kinda want her armor to have a cortosis layer so that it shorts out lightsabers on contact.

TR-8R as i'm just gonna call him was probably the best part of the movie to me. Just a random one off scene where a nameless stormtrooper decides he has fucking had enough about stormtrooper jokes and decides to fuck up one of the protags. And he does it! The absolute madman!

I liked the movie, I can't say I loved it, but as far as popcorn movies that involve laser swords, improbably huge ships, and turning planets into overcompensating weapons, it's great. This probably sounds like a slam against the film but it's not. It's no high cinema, but it is highly enjoyable. There were so many nods to the original trilogy that its' fantastic. From Finn tossing the droid Luke trained with in A new hope, to how the chess board figured looked like claymation right out of the first film.

Phasma really didn't get used much, which is a bummer (but she has a bigger presence in the sequel it seems!) and Kylo is a bit of a weenie, but being a bit of a weenie is part of his character. Still, there were some lines of his that made me feel like I was gonna strain my eyes rolling at them (That 'I can feel the light side pulling me back' line. C'mon, really? REALLY?). Also, unlike the original film, Chewie actually does shit, and that shit he does is just totally fuck up stormtroopers, and it's perfect.

 

[Squishypink]

You know, everyone is calling Kylo a bitch but the dude was pretty awesome as a Dark Side character. Everyone is laughing at him for being a little emo and throwing tantrums, but remember that Anger and Pain are elements that the Dark Side of the Force feeds off of. The more in touch Kylo is with his messed up emotions, the more he can use that to amplify his connection to the Dark Side. Example: he takes a shot in the stomach from Chewie's bowcaster, which is basically a rocket launcher, and he only drops to one knee, holds his guts in with the Force and then runs out into the snow to fuck up a pair of rebel scum, one of which is a newly awakened Jedi of apparently ridiculous power, whilst *punching himself in the seeping gut wound*. Personally, I loved the character and while the angry emo Kylo jokes are hilarious, they're really missing the mark.

 

[Chai]

You know, everyone is calling Kylo a bitch but the dude was pretty awesome as a Dark Side character. Everyone is laughing at him for being a little emo and throwing tantrums, but remember that Anger and Pain are elements that the Dark Side of the Force feeds off of. The more in touch Kylo is with his messed up emotions, the more he can use that to amplify his connection to the Dark Side. Example: he takes a shot in the stomach from Chewie's bowcaster, which is basically a rocket launcher, and he only drops to one knee, holds his guts in with the Force and then runs out into the snow to fuck up a pair of rebel scum, one of which is a newly awakened Jedi of apparently ridiculous power, whilst *punching himself in the seeping gut wound*. Personally, I loved the character and while the angry emo Kylo jokes are hilarious, they're really missing the mark.

The "Emo Kylo Ren" Twitter page @KyloR3n LMAO.

"*approaches you at party*
*clears throat*
has anyone ever told you your eyes are the color of Darth Vader's helmet glinting in the moonlight"

"dear diary
this one idiot ewok tripped and got a bucket stuck on his head
uncle lando goes "look, ben! it's you!"
he is the literal worst"

"*constructs a new lightsaber to cut the crusts off his sandwiches*"

"uncle lando said my helmet made me look like a depressed lampshade and then everyone laughed and high-fived him
i hate this family so much"

I'm crying lmaooo. But really, I agree with you on his character. I never took him to be this flat, evil character. He's obviously conflicted with messed up emotions, which is why he makes a great villain. He's relatable, and it's a nice progression of his journey into the Dark Side. That was one of the things I liked about TFA. The characters seemed so genuine, like actual people rather than just characters.

 

[Squishypink]

He does have a richness to his character that's a lot deeper than most of the Star Wars folks, who are mostly just walking tropes. He's still unintentionally hilarious, though.

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuL4fKoQ0UE[/video]

If anything, I hope that in the sequels they write him freaking out even more, and just turn him into an unmitigated disaster of a human being.

 

[Revelations]

You know, everyone is calling Kylo a bitch but the dude was pretty awesome as a Dark Side character. Everyone is laughing at him for being a little emo and throwing tantrums, but remember that Anger and Pain are elements that the Dark Side of the Force feeds off of. The more in touch Kylo is with his messed up emotions, the more he can use that to amplify his connection to the Dark Side. Example: he takes a shot in the stomach from Chewie's bowcaster, which is basically a rocket launcher, and he only drops to one knee, holds his guts in with the Force and then runs out into the snow to fuck up a pair of rebel scum, one of which is a newly awakened Jedi of apparently ridiculous power, whilst *punching himself in the seeping gut wound*. Personally, I loved the character and while the angry emo Kylo jokes are hilarious, they're really missing the mark.

He's not quite a bitch, but he is still a Weenie. In a sense, he's a perfect example of a sith and a complete 180 from his hero. He's passion and rage and all the good stuff the dark side speaks about, but he has barely any control over those emotions. He lashes out wantonly upon hearing bad news, comes close to killing the messenger of said news, engages in a petty rivalry with Hux, and lords his power over his captives. If Vader was a majetic and fear inspiring presence, a dark figure amongst the empire, Kylo is a diseased, rabid dog. He's unpredictable, a skulking figure who few want to deal with, but must. Interestingly, Kylo is seen as quite skilled in the force in areas where Vader was not. That trick where he held the blaster fire in place while having a casual conversation for some minutes, much better at wrenching information out of the captives of minds. (Interestingly, he even pulls out Lukes location from Rey's mind... only to disregard it as useless information.), and he's still a capable fighter considering he took a show from Chewie's bowcaster, and was still somewhat holding his own against Rey (Who while more familiar with staffs, is still competent in a fight) even after a further injury from Finn.

He's still a weenie though, he has those Skywalker whining genes.

Funnily enough he may also be subtly canoninzing KOTOR though, as the art book for A force Awakens says that he was inspired in his saber from The Great Scourge of Malachor - AKA Malachor V.

 

[Squishypink]

Not sure he would be so different from Anakin if Hayden Christensen could act his way out of a wet paper bag. The lack of emotion there wasn't because Anakin was this calm, composed individual, it's because homeboy had no range of expression. Portrayed by a competent actor, I think Anakin would be a mirror image of his grandson.