Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII)

[Dback Jon]

Stoked for this movie. Seeing it on Saturday morning.

One of my five-year-old twin daughters has Autism and she is fixated on Darth Vader. She cried hysterically at the end of Return of the Jedi when they burned Vader.

She wants to see the movie, but I've had to prime her that Vader isn't in the movie, only his destroyed mask, and that Kylo Ren is the new Sith Lord and he's just like Vader.

She still knows the entire series and can tell you the difference between the Empire and the Rebels.

Probably then skipping this yulelog video is best for you.

xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Probably then skipping this yulelog video is best for you.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVJzibVS2YM

We had an IT Department meeting/potluck yesterday and showed this during the entire thing.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

I really hope Jar Jar Binks has a prime role in this one.

Hopefully, his grave does.

 

[BillsCarnage]

I really hope Jar Jar Binks has a prime role in this one.

As much as there is hate for Jar Jar, he is the one that single hand-idly started the whole fiasco in a galaxy far, far away.

 

[Chaz]

Awesome, is all I can say.

JJ and the team at Disney and Lucasfilm deserve kudos.

 

[Shane]

Be in the Theatre in 2.5 hours

 

[TJ]

Probably then skipping this yulelog video is best for you.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVJzibVS2YM

Yeah, I'll probably not show her that.

 

[Stout]

Awesome, is all I can say.

JJ and the team at Disney and Lucasfilm deserve kudos.

Agreed. They had some big brass ones, and it paid off.

Spoiler

Of course, as feared, that idiotic lightsaber didn't get the comeuppance it deserved. Cripes, that's how she should have defeated him, by shearing that stupid cross guard off! Didn't ruin the movie, though

 

[Bert]

OMG, all I can say is wow just like Chaz.

I dont want to elaborate or post any spoilers, just seriously, wow. It was so much fun and awesome, I felt like I did when I was seeing the ORIGINALS in the theater. So cool, so fun.

Loved it.

 

[asudevil83]

Yeah, this was awesome. Almost perfect, but not quite.

This was completely different that the Prequel Trilogy.....the atmosphere and story were hands down amazing tonight.

I'll be seeing this one again and again.

 

[Stout]

Yeah, this was awesome. Almost perfect, but not quite.

This was completely different that the Prequel Trilogy.....the atmosphere and story were hands down amazing tonight.

I'll be seeing this one again and again.

Bingo.

 

[Zeno]

What a good movie, the right amounts of humor and action, no slapstick stuff, no truly cringeworthy dialogue, proper balance of CGI and practical effects. The only actress that may have struggled was Carrie Fisher, she just seemed a bit stiff to me.

I will say there really is no benefit to seeing it in 3D unless you really like that format.

Can't wait until Episode 8 in May of 2017.

 

[Chaz]

Now that I have had time to digest a little.

Wow an actual protagonist and antagonist, clear motivations; you know, a coherent story.

Fisher's Leia seems to be getting some derision and not just here but I thought it came off pretty well. She isn't a 19 year old firebrand, she is a war weary general. While there was little 'pop' to her performance I thought she had some good scenes.

Spoiler

The good.
Ridley as Rey - A really nice performance for the new hero of the Star Wars universe. A little hesitation on her developing force powers so quickly already being an expert pilot (Shades of Anikin anyone?) but we still don't really know who she is. I was expecting them to reveal a brother/sister link at the end but nice to leave some mystery going into Ep8. Great themes on Poe going back for BB-8, Rey waiting for family to come back, Finn going back for Rey.
Driver as Kylo Ren - Hard to do much acting with a mask on but I thought once removed he was captivating. He really displays the conflicted emotion thing really well. Had real range and feeling in the scene with Ford/Solo.

Nitpicking:
Same "blow up the deathstar" device although they raised the stakes and that gave it something extra. Definitely shades of Ep4 with Leia at the base waiting to find out if the kill shot was on the way. ( "The deathstar will be in range in 30 seconds" )

While watching I was having to suspend some disbelief about how everything worked to get everyone together so perfectly but after I had to chalk it up to "the will of the force". I am also kind of geeking on "Luke's plan" to basically trust the force. As I understand it he tried to rebuild the Jedi order, it blew up in his face big time, so he disappeared and waited for a worthy student to come to him.

Still don't even want to type out the big reveal.

Excited for the people that haven't seen it yet.

 

[UncleChris]

We're waiting till just after Christmas and going with the eldest son, wife and grandkids to Prescott at the new Frontier theater (recliners). Merry Christmas to us!!!

 

[Zeno]

I am seeing it again tomorrow with my wife, she wanted to see the movie just not on opening night.

Lots of good reviews overall out there but some genuine dislike too...some think it is too much a rehash of A New Hope, others don't like how it almost ignores the prequels (they see that as a snub of Lucas), others upset because they didn't feel all the original characters got equal treatment.

It isn't a perfect movie by any means but how many Sci Fi adventure movies truly are? You have to suspend disbelief going in to films like these.

 

[asudevil83]

There was one thing i was worried about before watching the movie

Spoiler

I was a little apprehensive about the cameos from the original stars. I didnt want Solo to be in this just because, and the same with Leia. But they completely delivered with Solo, and almost as well with Leia.

 

[Chaplin]

So what trailers were in front of your showing? Curious if there were any that haven't been released online yet.

 

[BillsCarnage]

Wow, just wow. This might be the best movie of the franchise. There were only two maybe three small parts I thought they could have done better with, but they were minor in the scale of the movie as a whole.

Abrams really hit this one out of the park.

Was really impressed with Boyega and Ridley was equally as good.

The way the new base works is pretty sweet!

I'm going to spoiler tag even though I don't think any of these things are necessarily spoilers..

Spoiler

Was not a fan of Driver w/o the mask. He lost the voice and I think he would have been better being scruffy. Just too clean cut.

Not liking Snoke and hope he's not that big once he shows himself - probably yoda sized The facial closeups, I just kept seeing Golum.

I have no problem with what's old being new again. I mean that's the essence of the SW story. Good vs Bad.

I took it as Ren - aided by Snoke - rebelled against and the Knights of Ren. Leia had a line that about Kylo that alluded to this.

Still think Rey and Kylo are related. Ren is going to take the dark side farther than we've ever seen it.

I wasn't expecting much from Fisher as her better days are behind her.

Also like to listen to the chatter as I leave the theater, but it was fairly quiet. I think most were still stunned.

 

[BillsCarnage]

So what trailers were in front of your showing? Curious if there were any that haven't been released online yet.

The only one was the first trailer that I hadn't seen and don't remember the name of the movie, and Kungfu Panda 3.

There was a new one for Zootopia that is hilarious.

Civil war.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

I will see this at least 5 times in the theater. Just so well done. Finn is my favorite character since Luke. Ranks second to Empire to me.

I loved the way it was filmed. Less CGI and no shaky cam

 

[Bert]

I will see this at least 5 times in the theater. Just so well done. Finn is my favorite character since Luke. Ranks second to Empire to me.

I loved the way it was filmed. Less CGI and no shaky cam

I AGREE!

This felt more like Star Wars than ANY of the freaking garbage Prequels. They did Lucas way better than Lucas the second time around.

Spoiler

I seriously cant believe how good this was, I am demanding that the rest of my family see it with me asap. My daughters are going to love Rey I cant wait to show them this badass girl just killing it on screen! WTG star wars!!!!

 

[Chaz]

So what trailers were in front of your showing? Curious if there were any that haven't been released online yet.

Warcraft

finest hours? (coast guard sea rescue)

gods of egypt

angry birds

 

[Covert Rain]

Took the son after midnight to IMAX 3D version. Was pretty epic in IMAX 3D. My son says this is his 3rd favorite. He still puts Empire and ROTJ ahead of this one. I can respect that. If I took ROTJ nostalgia into account I probably agree. However, the movie introduced some great new characters, added some actors that can actually act and yet payed what I thought was a good homage to original cast members.

Definitely a must see for Star Wars fans and even non-Star Wars fans would like this.

Spoiler

*****SPOILER ALERT******

The Good:
I really liked the new characters. Definitely likable and a good cast to carry the torch. I really was rooting for Rey, Poe and Fin throughout the film. Great cast to pass the torch too. Also, BB8. I don't know if this is good or bad even though R2D2 is one of my favorite characters I didn't really miss him thanks to BB8.

Loved how they handled the return of the original characters (for the most part). It was so awesome to see Han and Chewie back in action. Not to mention that Han's sense of humor and sarcasm made the movie for me. It was so great to see Harrison back in the role. Also, the other older characters were handled with class IMO and not cameos for cameos sake.

The FX were out of this world. Just top notch. Everything from the battles to the sets. No more all green screen sets. I thought they did a great job picking their places where CGI was used. Return to more practical FX made this feel like Star Wars again.

Overall the action was top notch and the story although with some regurgitated plots pieces was pretty engaging and definitely left the movie with you wanting more. May of 2017 can't come fast enough.


The Bad:
I had some nitpicks like all the "coincidences" and a rehash of the major plot lines from 2 of the previous original trilogy films with yet another death star type weapon. I mean they couldn't think of a fresher plot line?

As much as I liked Rey I thought they made some mistakes with her "awakening". Her having a natural resistance to Kylo's mind probe made sense. Her having the visions made sense. However, she could control the mind of a stormtrooper just after an awakening? Maybe I can buy that but that's pushing it. However, the part that bugged me the most? Kylo trained with Luke, trained with Snoke and yes he was only partially trained.....but Riley could hang with him in her first lightsaber battle? Dumb. Kylo should have made quick work of her just like he did Fin. Yes, even though he was bleeding and wounded.....it shouldn't have mattered.

Snoke....I felt like I was watching LOR every time I watched him on screen. Not really liking the design much. Also, Snoke appears to be the new Sith Lord. If there is only ever one plus an apprentice...who trained him in the ways of the Dark side?

Captain Phasma - I thought she was underutilized. I really never got much of a sense why she was supposed to be so great.

Luke....not that it wasn't unexpected...again but it really sucked having him the last minute only of the film. That completely sucked.

Destruction of the Jedi Order (again) - So...Luke attempted to rebuild the order. Kylo is not fully trained. Yet somehow Kylo, the Knights of Ren were able to defeat Luke and all of the Jedi's in training. Nobody survived but Luke. Come on.

Questions/comments:
I think Rey is Luke's daughter? I don't think she is related to the Solo clan because they would have mentioned how they lost both of the "kids" not one as indicated in the scene between Lan and Leia.

Ben Solo - probably named after Ben Kenobi?

Knights of Ren vision scene - I am going to see it again today...but....did anybody notice all the bodies on the ground when Kylo and the Knights of Ren were standing in the rain? I think those dead bodies on the ground were all the Jedi?

Also, the one planet that was destroyed by the base...was that Coruscant?

 

[Bert]

Took the son after midnight to IMAX 3D version. Was pretty epic in IMAX 3D. My son says this is his 3rd favorite. He still puts Empire and ROTJ ahead of this one. I can respect that. If I took ROTJ nostalgia into account I probably agree. However, the movie introduced some great new characters, added some actors that can actually act and yet payed what I thought was a good homage to original cast members.

Definitely a must see for Star Wars fans and even non-Star Wars fans would like this.

Spoiler

*****SPOILER ALERT******

The Good:
I really liked the new characters. Definitely likable and a good cast to carry the torch. I really was rooting for Rey, Poe and Fin throughout the film. Great cast to pass the torch too. Also, BB8. I don't know if this is good or bad even though R2D2 is one of my favorite characters I didn't really miss him thanks to BB8.

Loved how they handled the return of the original characters (for the most part). It was so awesome to see Han and Chewie back in action. Not to mention that Han's sense of humor and sarcasm made the movie for me. It was so great to see Harrison back in the role. Also, the other older characters were handled with class IMO and not cameos for cameos sake.

The FX were out of this world. Just top notch. Everything from the battles to the sets. No more all green screen sets. I thought they did a great job picking their places where CGI was used. Return to more practical FX made this feel like Star Wars again.

Overall the action was top notch and the story although with some regurgitated plots pieces was pretty engaging and definitely left the movie with you wanting more. May of 2017 can't come fast enough.


The Bad:
I had some nitpicks like all the "coincidences" and a rehash of the major plot lines from 2 of the previous original trilogy films with yet another death star type weapon. I mean they couldn't think of a fresher plot line?

As much as I liked Rey I thought they made some mistakes with her "awakening". Her having a natural resistance to Kylo's mind probe made sense. Her having the visions made sense. However, she could control the mind of a stormtrooper just after an awakening? Maybe I can buy that but that's pushing it. However, the part that bugged me the most? Kylo trained with Luke, trained with Snoke and yes he was only partially trained.....but Riley could hang with him in her first lightsaber battle? Dumb. Kylo should have made quick work of her just like he did Fin. Yes, even though he was bleeding and wounded.....it shouldn't have mattered.

Snoke....I felt like I was watching LOR every time I watched him on screen. Not really liking the design much. Also, Snoke appears to be the new Sith Lord. If there is only ever one plus an apprentice...who trained him in the ways of the Dark side?

Captain Phasma - I thought she was underutilized. I really never got much of a sense why she was supposed to be so great.

Luke....not that it wasn't unexpected...again but it really sucked having him the last minute only of the film. That completely sucked.

Destruction of the Jedi Order (again) - So...Luke attempted to rebuild the order. Kylo is not fully trained. Yet somehow Kylo, the Knights of Ren were able to defeat Luke and all of the Jedi's in training. Nobody survived but Luke. Come on.

Questions/comments:
I think Rey is Luke's daughter? I don't think she is related to the Solo clan because they would have mentioned how they lost both of the "kids" not one as indicated in the scene between Lan and Leia.

Ben Solo - probably named after Ben Kenobi?

Knights of Ren vision scene - I am going to see it again today...but....did anybody notice all the bodies on the ground when Kylo and the Knights of Ren were standing in the rain? I think those were all the Jedi?

Also, the one planet that was destroyed by the base...was that Coruscant?

Spoiler

you're just being impatient! Lol . They didn't say How he destroyed it all, just that he destroyed it all. They didn't say he single handedly defeated all the Jedi and Luke. One would assume he had help and all will be revealed later!

And Rey I think that she is truly the person from the original prophecy. Not Annakin, or Luke, maybe she truly is the one to bring balance to the force but that's just a guess. I think her hanging with Kylo was about her being a force user but she's also a badass fighter already just on her own remember she took out 3 guys on her own?

Regardless I love that we have all these u answered questions! The prequels were weak for many reasons but one of them was that there were zero surprises or suspense we knew exactly where it was all going and how it would end. This is like experiencing the first trilogy all over again I can't wait to see where it goes!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BillsCarnage]

Not sure if this is a spoiler per se, but I'll tag it.

Spoiler

Daniel Craig's Stormtrooper role has been revealed. Pretty cool which one.

Replies to Covert Rain's Q's

Spoiler

Questions/comments:
I think Rey is Luke's daughter? I don't think she is related to the Solo clan because they would have mentioned how they lost both of the "kids" not one as indicated in the scene between Lan and Leia.

- I actually think they're cousins and Rey is Lukes daughter. Luke and/or Rey's mom hid Rey from Snoke just as Luke and Leia were hidden from the Emperor.


Ben Solo - probably named after Ben Kenobi?

- Yeah that's my guess too.


Knights of Ren vision scene - I am going to see it again today...but....did anybody notice all the bodies on the ground when Kylo and the Knights of Ren were standing in the rain? I think those were all the Jedi?

- I didn't get the impression all the Jedi were killed. But that particular scene was brought up in a trailer break down, so it's possible. I didn't think the Knights of Ren were actually Jedi, but more like a security group for the Jedi. So breaking down the family tree; Leia is the dark side and Luke is the good


Also, the one planet that was destroyed by the base...was that Coruscant?

- Yup that's what I thought too.