Since the movie comes out in a number of European countries today, I thought it was time for this thread. Post your personal opinion on the movie and make sure to use spoiler tags if you really need to talk about spoilers.
Absolutely incredible, I gotta eat first, but I'm still processing it. I just rewatched the OT the three days leading up to today, I'll gather my thoughts later.
Ok, let's do this. I've been a Star Wars fan forever, I collected figurines, even glasses, I was 10 when The Phantom Menace was released and I remember seeing it like 5 or 6 times in the movie theater.
Naturally, I was more of a fan of the PT I think, even though I realized eventually that nothing touches the OT. Phantom Menace for me is a decent movie with some incredible moments such as the pod race and the duel of fates. AOTC is fairly mediocre. ROTS I find very good, easily the best of the PT.
I rewatched ANH, ESB & ROTJ in their glorious despecialized editions to get the full experience, or at least in its purest form. ESB is the best of all SW movies as mostly everyone says it is, ANH is excellent, but I'd put ROTJ above it just for the sheer awesomeness of the last third (Emperor, Vader, Luke, Lando in falcon, etc).
So my ranking before TFA goes ESB > ROTJ > ANH > ROTS > TPM > AOTC.
Needless to say I have been waiting for this day ever since Disney announced it had acquired Lucasfilm in late 2012, I had never dreamed there would ever be another Star Wars film, but then again, it makes sense, I dabbled in the universe with stuff like Star Wars Force Unleashed, but I was never into Clone Wars or anything like that.
I have never been more psyched for a film ever, the only one coming close was Avatar. I managed to limit my exposure to only about 3 min of footage, ie teaser trailer, main trailer, and japanese trailer, that's it.
I usually watch every bit of footage for every movie out there before seeing it, sometimes even reading the script for smaller ones. I wanted to preserve the experience, go back to those old days (even though I wasn't born ) of going into the theater not knowing anything about what was to happen.
I have no doubt this made the experience today that much more special, not knowing where anything was going, even though I had read one spoiler like a year ago which was speculation, but turned out to be true, so I kinda saw where that one was going. But otherwise, tons of stuff I wasn't expecting.
In short: JJ slayed it, he motherf**** slayed it big time. I've always been a big JJ fan, whether from his LOST pilot, ST, ST ID, Super 8, his other stuff too, and when his name was announced, I knew in my gut he was perfect.
Many have doubted him, and many will be eating crow. I was glad to see early this morning unanimously terrific reviews (I expected it to be in the 90's on RT but not this high with such a rating !).
I saw it in 3D, I wanted to see it in 2D, but I'll have to wait next wednesday for that, the 3D is quite good but not the best way to experience the beautiful visuals.
The opening is just perfect, it's sheer perfection, especially when you get to Rey, Jakku, I saw that Malickian vibe JJ was talking about, it just FEELS right. The cinematography is beautiful, Dan Mindel does a fantastic job and JJ's dynamic filmmaking is exactly what this needed.
It quickly gets going and it rarely lets up. ONE thing that just makes me fall in love with The Force Awakens is the characters. I knew Rey was going to be my favorite ever since the main trailer, yes, she's beautiful, I'm a big Daisy Ridley fan now, she's a stunning revelation, determined, fierce, brave. God, I LOVE her !
Finn is fantastic too, it is so refreshing to see diversity with John and Daisy, a breath of fresh air, he's his own entity, very funny, brave, loyal.
POE I love, god, what a great character, has some of Han Solo in him imo, and Oscar Isaac is just so damn likable all the time, he nails it, badass.
Kylo Ren, in my mind, is just as great of a villain as Darth Vader, Adam Driver is an exceptional actor and he brings his quirkiness to Ren, iconic villain, absolutely. His demeanor is brilliant.
Having him be completely unstable and throwing fits with his lightsaber is just a great trait, I loved also how powerful he is
Gosh, so fantastic.
Harrison is in great shape, it feels just like coming home, seeing him, Chewie, Leia, gosh. That's what's so great about The Force Awakens, it's nostalgia fueled but in the best way, it feels just like the OT, only more dynamic, with more urgency, more flair, and of course, today's advancements in VFX.
It does not feel like pandering, it feels like its own entity as well, and gosh, you will be left wanting more, and just wishing May 2017 could come sooner. There are so many unanswered questions
Who are Rey's parents? I thought (from the rumors) that she was Kylo's sister, but Leia & Han only speak of their son. Maz speaks of Luke as the one closest to her or something like that, and Rey has all those visions of the future when she touches Luke's lightsaber, what does this all mean?
She has got to be related to Luke in some way. Also, who is Snoke? He looks HUGE but I wonder if it's deceptive or he really is that big in reality, or can change sizes or something, and WHAT is he exactly?
How are they going to deal with you know what ?
The screenplay is wonderful, truly, it moves along gracefully, great pacing, very funny, very emotional at times, it is what we've all been waiting for, what an achievement !
Also, the dogfights are fantastic, even though slightly too short for my taste. I also wanted some hardcore lightsaber action and let's just say that when it comes, it ABSOLUTELY delivers, best duel for me, just f yes.
So brutal, especially Rey vs Kylo, so fricking awesome, surprised she bested Kylo
I wanted to see most of all when JJ was on board how he was going to shoot lightsaber duels and gosh, I got what I wanted. Over than that, everything is top notch really. I liked Domnhall as Hux as well, everything.
Seeing all those practical creatures, and effects, just astounding, the two mo cap characters look very good and work very well by the way. Musical score fantastic as always, notably Rey's theme.
I'm out of ideas, ask me questions, I'd be happy to answer them to the best of my abilities !
Best Star Wars movie for me, hands down, can't wait to see it again.
For many of us this is our first genuine Star Wars experience in the cinema. By the time the movies were re-released back in 1997 most of us had seen the original trilogy either on TV or home video, and the prequels told us a story whereby the outcome was already known. The Force Awakens is the first time for more than 2 generations that we had no idea as to what was going to happen walking into the theatre, and the closest many of us will get to experiencing what it was like back in 1977, and man it does not disappoint.
Overall, the story itself has a sense of familiarity to it, and shares many themes with what has come before. I wouldn't go so far as to call it simplistic, but there's a certain level of comfort in this movie. This isn't necessarily a bad thing however, it is very much still its own film and manages to develop its own emotional core as the film progresses. The most important thing is that the story feels like it fits organically with what's come before, there's nothing inherently jarring or questionable, for lack of better phrase, it just feels like Star Wars.
The cast is fantastic. Daisy Ridley is going to be an absolute star, she is an amazing talent who is going to win over legions of fans and be a role model for young girls for years to come. John Boyega is also great, he shares about equal screen time with Daisy, the two of them have great chemistry. Adam Driver is great as Kylo Ren, a very tortured character and a worthy villain for the series. Oscar Isaac has great energy but wasn't in the film as much as I anticipated. In terms of the original cast, Harrison Ford slips into Han Solo like a comfy pair of slippers and Carrie Fisher feels like she picked up almost exactly where she's left off after Return of the Jedi. Everyone nails their role which is important moving forward.
The action is great, although there's nothing inherently new going on. To be fair though even The Force Awakens was always going to struggle to stamp its own mark in todays climate. The lightsaber battle in the final act feels raw and rough but not in a bad way, given who the characters are and the level of training they have wielding the blades it makes total sense in the context of the film for the fight to not be the amazing display of swordsmanship that took place in the prequels. The space and arial battles harken back to the original films but are still thrilling.
On the negative side of things the story, whilst good, does take a little time to find its feet, not unlike the A New Hope, and some of the new supporting characters feel a little underwhelming. Whilst the film does a good job adhering to practical effects there is a little bit of noticeable CG work which didn't look as good as it could have, but they are really minor complaints.
Simply put, JJ Abrams has delivered. He managed to make Episode VII feel completely natural and more importantly, he brought back what was great about those original films. The characters, the story, the world, the emotional journey, it's all there. Your heart will probably skip a beat when the Lucasfilm logo appears and once you see the text crawl and the title 'Episode VII - The Force Awakens' on screen you're going to do nothing but smile for the next 2 hours and 16 mins. Enjoy it.
Right now, I do agree with the "Very good, not great" vibe I was getting from the early reactions. For me, this is down to two (maybe three) things.
1) There were a few too many out and out fan service moments. One even gets a close up.
2) Much of humour felt too contemporary, too Earth 2015. It was funny! And that's the most important thing.
3) Here's the big one-- You can absolutely feel this is the first Star Wars without George Lucas. I mean that in kind of a bad way. I mean, most shcokingly of all, it's only been a couple an hour since I saw it and I already appreciate the PT more than I did.
I mean, it's what-- arguably-- a modern SW movie should be, and I'm glad each trilogy will feel distinct from each other... But I do miss George now. We who didn't love the PT but adore the OT have tended to downplay his importance in recent years, but I don't think we can do that. He IS the heart of SW.
BUT-- Overall? Exciting. Beautiful. Funny. Emotional (I promise you, the things you spoiled yourself rotten for a year or more ago... That doesn't affect the emotion of actually witnessing it).
The new cast-- Brilliant. Great acting. Great characters.
The legacy cast-- Everyone brought it. Everybody was clearly who they were meant to be-- But with an extra thirty years of growth and baggage.
Cinematography and SFX-- No complaints. Looked huge. Looked old. Looked new.
The Lightsaber duel-- Everything I've been wanting from a lightsaber duel for ages. The moves and the weapons themselves have weight, power and danger to them. It's an epic.
The last scene-- Jesus. Yes. Yes.
There's more, but I'm tired and in a hurry... to sleep.
The new characters - By far the best thing about the movie are the new characters, especially the ones on the good side. Rey, Finn and Poe are extremely likable. Perfect casting. The villains I'm a bit more on the fence about, but more on that later.
The mix between humor and drama - The humor in this movie hits it out of the park every time. The movie is funny without being goofy and dramatic without taking itself too seriously.
The lightsaber action - The lightsaber fights are a perfect blend of OT and PT. Not wooden but not too flashy either.
The cinematography and overall look of the film - The film looks gorgeous. The CGI is great for the most part (more about that later), the colors pop, the set and costume design are great.
Cons/doubts
The ties and nods to the OT - Obviously I knew there were going to be nods to the OT, the biggest ones being the old characters. I just feel that JJ went a little overboard sometimes with the "look, I'm using practical effects!" and "remember this?" moments. Story-wise, there are so many nods to A New Hope that it becomes a bit predictable.
The pacing - The movie takes a while to get going, much like A New Hope (a conscious parallel?). On the flipside of that coin, I feel like some scenes could have had a bigger impact if JJ had taken his time a bit more.
The music - Obviously the score is not bad, because come on... it's John Williams. I am disappointed, though. Every single Star Wars movie so far, including I-III, have been a hotbed of amazing musical themes and leitmotifs. In this movie, I feel like there is not one fully fleshed out new theme. Yes, there are hints of a Rey theme and hints of a Resistance theme but they never come in full force. As far as I could hear, the First Order didn't have a recognizable theme at all. The callbacks to the OT are fun to hear, but they only highlight the lack of new themes.
The villains - Adam Driver did a very good job as Kylo Ren, no complaints there. I do feel his character is underdeveloped. Next up is Captain Phasma, who has preemptively been called the Boba Fett of the sequel trilogy. In a sense that's correct because she doesn't get much screentime at all. Her costume is very impressive and her toys are selling like hot cakes, but she adds almost nothing to the movie. Lastly, Snoke..... let's just say I do not like the way he looks. Judge for yourself.
Overall, I really enjoyed the movie. It's not perfect, but it serves well as a bridge between the OT and the ever expanding post-OT universe.
Okay, been out of my screening for about 30 mins or so. Got home and settled and it's after 3am here so just some thoughts. I'm not one for typing up big long reviews anyway.
Loved:
All the characters. Daisy Ridley is FANTASTIC. Boyega and Isaac could have their own damn movie and I'd pay all the money to see it. The old guard are on point and for any doubters of Ford's acting in this, he delivers, oh man he delivers.
Adam Driver reigns supreme for me. He was PHENOMENAL. Talk about range. Kylo Ren shows such a wide range of emotions and even has a funny line or two, which surprised me. Gleeson's Hux seems quite an unstable character also, at one point has this look in his eyes that's scary.
John Williams score was top notch. I loved the little nods to the old and the new is really damn good too.
Disappointments:
I'm not entirely sold on Snoke yet, there's something there but it needs time I guess.
Gwendoline Christie isn't anywhere to be seen I'm afraid and I'm quite sad about it. Maybe I built up the character too much in my head. Seems like a bit of a misfire.
I enjoyed a lot of the humour, but it did become a little too much at times.
Okay, been out of my screening for about 30 mins or so. Got home and settled and it's after 3am here so just some thoughts. I'm not one for typing up big long reviews anyway.
Loved:
All the characters. Daisy Ridley is FANTASTIC. Boyega and Isaac could have their own damn movie and I'd pay all the money to see it. The old guard are on point and for any doubters of Ford's acting in this, he delivers, oh man he delivers.
Adam Driver reigns supreme for me. He was PHENOMENAL. Talk about range. Kylo Ren shows such a wide range of emotions and even has a funny line or two, which surprised me. Gleeson's Hux seems quite an unstable character also, at one point has this look in his eyes that's scary.
John Williams score was top notch. I loved the little nods to the old and the new is really damn good too.
Disappointments:
I'm not entirely sold on Snoke yet, there's something there but it needs time I guess.
Gwendoline Christie isn't anywhere to be seen I'm afraid and I'm quite sad about it. Maybe I built up the character too much in my head. Seems like a bit of a misfire.
I enjoyed a lot of the humour, but it did become a little too much at times.
Well, there's a difference between the humor in the original Star Wars movies and the the type of nonstop "jokiness" that's permeated films such as The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor: TDW, etc.
I trust JJ completely to get the tone right, but it is just a bit surprising to see the humor coming up fairly consistently in reviews as if it plays more of a role than it did previously.
There's a total earnestness about Star Wars in spite of its humor- JJ himself specifically noted that. It's not winking at the audience- which is what Marvel does all the time with its humor. That's what I hope to stays out of it.
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) of going into the theater not knowing anything about what was to happen.
t:
that's what I'm thinking as well. Expecting my ranking to be ESB, TFA, ANH, ROTJ 
