The Force Awakens Post YOUR review of 'The Force Awakens' (NO SPOILERS)

[Quasimod0]

This rivals the Avengers for me as the best movie-going experience of my life. The crowd applauded every time an original character came on screen, and at all the right times. It was just fantastic.

And the movie was everything I had hoped and dreamed it would be. Personally I have less problems with this movie than I do with A New Hope and Jedi. I'll post my more detailed thoughts tomorrow. I'd probably rank the episodes like this:
1. Empire Strikes Back
2. Force Awakens
3. A New Hope
4. Return of the Jedi
5. Revenge of the Sith
6. Attack of the Clones
7. The Phantom Menace

 

[kedrell]

Just saw it. I'm rather indifferent to it, truth be told. I'll chew on it for a while but as of right now it's getting a 7/10 from me. I have absolutely zero nostalgia towards this franchise so showing me old actors reprising their old roles isn't going to go far in my book.

 

[Super Kal]

I'm old enough to say that i was able to watch the Special Edition releases of ANH, ESB, and ROTJ in theaters in 1997...

having said that, i found this film to be very enjoyable...

I laughed.

I cried.
I cried angry tears.

i was at the edge of my seat, hopping up and down... yes i still do that...

... and I giggled and squealed like the nerd that i am.

the music was absolutely beautiful. i truly enjoyed the new themes that they added. i was slightly bummed about the resistance theme... it wasn't "bad" by any means... but i was personally hoping for more of a "militia" feel, if that makes any sense. it was still good though, just not what i was expecting...
concerning the use of the original trilogy motifs, but i can understand why some people would have some problems... in truth, it really didnt bother me that much. i knew that would be reusing a lot of the same motifs from the old movies, and I'm okay with that. listening to the music, it felt like John Williams was in familiar territory, and I'm cool with that.

as far as too many references to the original trilogy, to me, it didnt seem as though there were that many... yes there were some, but when reading some of these, i was expecting a smorgasbord of OT references, and i do mean a HUGE smorgasbord, but it's definitely nowhere near as many as i thought there would be... so if you're worried about that, dont be worried about it

the lightsaber duels are awesome, dont get me wrong, but i did grow up with the PT, and i have to say i did like the over-the-top lightsaber dueling... and i did kinda miss it a bit, but i can understand why they chose not to do it. im not saying it's bad, in any way... i kinda liked the more quickly flowing duels, but that's just a really small thing, and nothing to cry home about...

the arial fights... absolutely stunning. B-E-A-utiful. i couldnt keep my eyes away and i didnt want to blink because i thought i would miss something. my only complaint- and i do mean only complaint on this- is that i kinda wished there was more. ever since i watched star wars as a kid, the dog-fighting, x-wings vs TIE fighters, has always been my favorite... i remember just wearing down my VHS copies of watching those scenes over and over again as a kid.

the story is wonderful. it really does feel as if im finally watching a sequel to the original trilogy, and i LOVE that. this story makes me beg for more, and the ending just left me like:
"it's over? that's it? no more? i have to go home? "

i cant wait for the sequel.
i hope they put as much love in the sequel as they have for this one.

8.75/10

 

[godisawesome]

A strong return to the screen for the franchise, with exceptionally strong mix of serious drama and strong humor. The entry contains strong acting from all hands, fantastic effects, and enjoyable character arcs. It's only real problem is when it apes the original Star Wars film a bit too much in plot and universe dynamic.

First, the flaws I saw in the film:

- The Starkiller base is just the Deathstar on steroids; the only attempt at really differentiating it in the story is by making it marginally harder to destroy and upping its fire power. As such, there is a. Moment in the climb where you leave one confrontation which is beautifully shot and acted to see something that is ultimately predictable and a little banal for the series.
- There is a feeling as though nothing has really changed between the OT and the ST. There's no real perspective on how large the First Order or Resistance are, and the New Republic makes one bare appearance before being apparently removed from the equation, and the overall effect can feel as though nothing was really won in ROTJ. The film does a great job of making the worlds and characters it shows awesome; there's just a few moments and plot points that seemed design to reset the universe into the OT's status quo with a few hand waves and quick moments instead of crafting a new one in fertile ground. This seems possible to change in the next film.

Now, for the major advantages of the story:

+ Finn's character arc is the best defined of the film, and it is very good. His transition from Stormtrooper into hero is a treat, and very well acted by Boyega, whose emotive performance latches onto the viewers and makes you care about the entire conflict.
+ Rey does seem to be the new main hero, and her story arc is a bit more subdued but equally enjoyable to Finn's. There is a feeling of destiny to the character that feels like a combination of Anakin and Luke's journeys, but with her already being altruistic and aware of the true evil in the galaxy.
+ Kylo Ren is an emphatic but still despicable villain, and his fanaticism makes him compelling in its own way.
+ Ford rocks as Solo. That is all.
+ While I don't think the Starkiller destruction will be talked about much, the lightsaber duel in the snow will. The use of the lighting with the sabers and the choreography creates a rougher, more tense sequence than I'd say just about anything short of the Empire Strikes Back fight.

Overall, I'd say this film stands with Return of the Jedi. What Jedi lacked in execution, it has over Force awakens via scale and ambition, but there both very good movies.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

My random thoughts:

- I had to fight the tears many times during this movie. Partly because of the drama and partly because I was watching a real Star Wars movie for the first time since ROTJ was in theaters.

- There were many laugh out loud moments which kept the charm the originals.

- The nostalgia was well crafted as was the dialogue.

- The visuals were pure joy.

- I need more viewings to honestly evaluate the replay value and the iconic moments.

Overall, it sits among the quality of the OT. Which is quite the accomplishment considering how well regarded the OT is regarded by myself. I was very skeptical whether this was possible. Well done Abrams/LucasFilm/Disney!

 

[rnewbz]

My review: http://newbyfadeto.blogspot.com/2015/12/star-wars-episode-vii-force-awakens.html

 

[rogbngp]

Here's the capsule: I love the new characters Rey, Finn, Poe, BB-8, Maz, Kylo Ren, and Snoke, and the chemistry between them. Excellent performances by all the actors for those roles. It doesn't bother me that TFA is so heavily modeled after ANH. ANH is my favorite film from the original trilogy. I can forgive a few relatively minor things that perhaps the film could have done better. But ultimately they're inconsequential. I enjoyed this film immensely.

Same as I feel about the Star Trek reboot, I'm very pleased to see this universe updated with state of the art CGI and better writing (in the case of SW than we got with the prequels). TFA is now roughly tied with ANH as my favorite SW film--although, honestly, for now I'll give the slightest of nods to TFA just because its fresh.