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Just saw it. A little slow in places, and a lot of time spent on character development (a criticism of the original trilogy), but overall enjoyable. Lots of throwbacks to earlier installments and an overwhelming sense of history not necessarily repeating, but definately rhyming.
Spoilers
Count me among those who believe Rey to be Luke's daughter. The flashback scene had as much subtlety as a sledgehammer. The Rey character has a definate resemblance to Natalie Portman. Ability to pilot a strange plane and defeat trained Tie Fighter pilots. Ability to resist a mind probe executed by a Dark Lord and then read the mind of the inquisitor. Ability to master a Jedi Mind Trick. Ability to summon a light saber by force kinesis. Ability to use said light saber to effectively defeat a Dark Lord.
Now who is her mother ?
Follow Ups:
Geoff I think that review got it just about right on.
My lovely wife and I just got back from seeing it on New Years day.
Full of cliches, repeats, unexplained stuff (why did the evil son have a lousy imitation of a Darth Vader helmet? Bad acne under there, or what?) and what really got me, the 3D did NOTHING to enhance the plot of the film.
And the next time some dip of a filmmaker thinks good 3D technique means putting everything in close-range in-your-face and OUT OF FOCUS I'm going to hunt'im down and strangle him/her. Do your eyes work like that? Mine sure don't.
The Darth Vader helmet is suggested to be (in fact) Darth Vader's helmet. And Kylo Ren, the 'new' evil lord is son to Han Solo and Leia...which makes Kylo Anakin Skywalker's grandson. In one scene Kylo talks to the helmet as if to his dead grandfather lamenting why he doesn't command the same level of power as did Vader/Anakin.
Or did I miss that you saw this but simply don't appreciate the connection?
Thanks for the comments re: 3D. I saw it 2D but up on the IMAX. Not all 3D films have worked well for me either. Actually, only 2 that were worth the bother...Avatar & Guardians of the Galaxy.
Best explanation of the series I,vet come across and just as entertaining.
LA Times movie review,Admit it: 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' stinks -- and here's why
"On Christmas Day, I fulfilled my duty as an American consumer and took the family to see the new "Star Wars" movie. The excursion solved a mystery: Why do so many of the reviews, even the enthusiastic ones, carry an undertone of disappointment?
The simple answer is that "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," is not very good. It's professionally made in the sense that it displays an industrial level of Quality Control. But it's depressingly unimaginative and dull in long stretches, and -- crucially -- reproduces George Lucas' original 1977 movie slavishly almost to the point of plagiarism.
This isn't to say that it's not an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. If you're among the millions who plainly have done so, bless your heart. The issue, however, is whether "The Force Awakens" even deserves to be considered as a movie, because it's not. It's the anchoring element of a vast commercial program, painstakingly factory-made for maximal audience appeal, which means maximal inoffensiveness. The result tells us a lot about the state of entertainment today, and about the future of Hollywood."
Edits: 12/29/15
IMHO, it's an accurate review. I'm a Star Wars fan and this latest movie was a huge disappointment. The amount of plagiarizing from the original is laughable. It was dull and boring at times and some of the new characters were just not that interesting and/or irritating. They did very little in the way of filling you in on what happened after Return of the Jedi. $200 million was spent making the movie and they couldn't come up with an original ending?! One that had already been done much better. The praise hoisted on this movie is just bewildering.
I would say the audiences have grown up but the film did not. I can barely watch the original because we have all become perhaps more cynical with age. I am pretty sure the people who made this film at Star Wars fans. They were paying homage at every turn to Star Wars lore. They brought back the original cast....The problem for any movie franchise like this is that it has to stay within the trope of the prior films. They can't turn it into a Blade Runner bleak film....it's a science fantasy not a science fiction film.
Like Empire...we can all hope the second film will be better...it has a chance because there won't need to be a lot of character introduction. They will likely follow the same arc as Empire with Rey being trained by a certain Jedi Master to harness her raw talent.
Daisy Ridley was the best thing about Force Awakens...The second movie may be able to now move away from this first entry in a set of three.
The Force Awakens is vastly better than all three prequels combined. I'd argue it's better than Return and has better pacing than the original....which is difficult to sit through.
I would have preferred some originality...but never forget that all Star Wars ever was was white hat VS black hat...set in space. There's only so much that can be done within the confines of this genre. And strictly looking at it as a Star Wars film within the world of Star Wars I enjoyed it enough. Ridley has a highly watchable quality...and I don't mean just looks. She carried the film for me enough to give it a thumbs up.
Movies are a lot like high-end audio. Now matter how mediocre something is, there are going to be those people who think it's great.
George Lucas was recently interviewed and referred to Disney's acquisition of the Star Wars franchise as "white slavers". He went on to say that "American filmmakers don't have much freedom because Hollywood has to adhere to a very narrow line of commercialism. The other thing that got abused -naturally, in a capitalistic society - especially in the American point of view- the studios said Wow, we can make a lot of money. This is a license to kill. And they did it. And of course the only way you can do that is to not take chances. Only do something that's proven. They went on to do a retro movie."
RGA states: "The Force Awakens is vastly better than all three prequels combined. I'd argue it's better than Return and has better pacing than the original....which is difficult to sit through."
RGA, you got to lay off that crack pipe : )
I think most reviewers agree that this is a better film than the three prequels that Lucas put out - see rottentomatoes as evidence to this effect. Return of the Jedi was the weakest of the three original movies - I just rewatched the three originals this past weekend - and actually I would reverse my stance on the original - it was rewatchable surprisingly.
Lucas' indictment on Hollywood where he made his billions is a bit laughable. He's a terrible director and the prequels episode 1-2-3 were unwatchable. I actually walked out of the Phantom Menace - one of the only times I've walked out on a film it was so obnoxiously bad. And I sat through "I Spit on Your Grave."
This is the typical summer blockbuster released over Christmas to make a killing at the box office where there are no other big blockbusters. This is a blockbuster spectacle based movie - it's no deeper or shallower than any of the previous entries. Star Wars never was - for that Star Trek the TV series was vastly more thought provoking.
Not sure what you were expecting from a Star Wars movie - high expectations is a mistake from such kinds of movies. For what it is it's well done - and like the original 3 films doesn't get bogged down by long tedious senate discussions and lack of character development.
The review that summed up the Phantom menace and the prequels to a tee.
I guess Disney/Lucas designed episode VII for the already existing fans craving yet another Star Wars.Yes. Incorporated are many of the plot elements from episode IV. As reboots go, this is probably a good starting point to build upon.
The original characters have mostly aged out. New characters must be developed to replace the old. This would account for the 'slow' portions of the film. Getting to know the newbies. Gaining awareness of the landscape and politics of the worlds surrounding this episode.
Perhaps screenplay writer Kirchner gave his perceived audience enough credit to have an attention span greater than 3 minutes. Beyond that of your pet cocker spaniel. Some dogs having an attention span of ~27 seconds. Some Chimpanzee's have been tested to have better memory recall than many humans. So I presume Kirchner settled on pacing his film so that a chimp could follow it.
I'm not sure where that puts me but I was able to stay with the film during the 'slow' portions that exist between the action sequences.
All in all I thought the dialog was written quite a bit better than in episodes IV through VI. I perceive it was not so much written for 12 yr. olds as were the originals.
-Steve
Edits: 12/29/15 12/29/15
..Dolby Atmos, too. I thoroughly enjoyed it, alto the map-in-a-'droid and a deathstar/planet with a particularly vulnerable port were rather repetitive of (read 'copied directly from') episode 4. I think Daisy Ridley as Rey was excellent and is a perfectly capable replacement for 'Luke Skywalker', altho I felt John Boyega as Finn was rather wimpy.
Will see it a few more times in January, I imagine.
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Tin-eared audiofool, large-scale-Classical music lover, and damned-amateur fotografer.
William Bruce Cameron: "...not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
...it was so exciting that I fell asleep, then popped awake and walked out.
:-(
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Tin-eared audiofool, large-scale-Classical music lover, and damned-amateur fotografer.
William Bruce Cameron: "...not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
What a pity I cannot watch 3D.( Chances of Migraine or Vertigo) I dont know what to do. Have to find a non 3D theatre where the movie is playing.
Bill
"What a pity I cannot watch 3D.( Chances of Migraine or Vertigo) I dont know what to do. Have to find a non 3D theatre where the movie is playing."
I found one. Saw it IMAX (no 3d). I was blown away by the big screen just fine. It was in a Regal 16 Cineplex in Everett, Wa. (Everett Mall)
It was a Monday matinee showing. The line getting in was not horrible.
I imagine this movie will play in the theaters through out the Holidays.
-Steve
It was so good it almost makes me forget about those hideous prequels.
I look forward to the next one ...in a few years.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
It's already in production.
Big J
"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."
I have 1 thru VI on DVD. So Tuesday eve I pulled out episode 3 to watch. I thought it was the most watchable of the prequel trilogy. The previous two episodes (1&2) served to set the scene for the final act(episode3). I thought there were some monumental payoffs on this one. The making of Darth Vader. The tragedy of Darth Vader. Though it pales in comparison to episode 5 and this current episode (7).
-Steve
I'd imagine we will need to see episode VIII to find out the answer to Rey's ancestry. Certainly she does indeed seem to be strong with the Force. More than strong. Perhaps a strength on the level of Anakin.
That last scene with Rey facing Luke on that mountain top; Not a word is spoken - yet it strongly implies there is a sequel coming.
Loved it.
-Steve
...she received death threats.
Are you sure this is not a bait?
...I'll bet Fox "News" reporters get those all the time.
liberals have a hard time being criticized, that would not surprise me.
Doubtful that liberals would waste their time watching Faux News. The list of things worse than liberal Star Wars fans is considerable.
Oh, if that were so. Too many of those I know watch it so they can scream at the television. They seem to feel a need to punish themselves. I guess it is sort of like driving like an idiot to confront the other idiot driver on the highway.
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