Was anybody impressed by Star Wars?

originally posted by: Swills
a reply to: Bluntone22

JJ won't be directing the next two films. The man who directed Jurassic World will be directing the 3rd trilogy movie.

I'm not sure that directing is the problem. Finding an orginal and unique story line is the issue. Constantly trying to connect the story line with the orginal / 2000 films is the problem. At least in my opinion.

I thought the cinematagraphy was great in the new film. I thought the director connect each shot well. I don't know much about film, but I enjoyed that part of it.

I just had a problem with overall storyline. The constant throwbacks were anti-imerserive. I was looking for a new adventure and world. Yet all I got was a nice skin of the original.

Not impressed at all!
So many things to list on why it wasn't up to par with the other star war movies.

#1 the sound. Say what you will about the prequels but the sound was just so much better on them.
Its an aspect that is often other looked but new sounds and music are important to the movie. I often found my self questioning the sound choices as they didn't seem to fit or they didn't get close "loud" enough to draw you into movie.

#2 the plot. Wow a new hope! The story lagged at times, made no sense at other times and just seemed thrown together. The scene with storm troopers which looked like a nazi rally was stupid with the general doing his best at a Hitler impression without a podium. When did force sensitive people need to force choke information out of people instead of just sensing it, "kylo ren" Its too Trekkie Vulcan mind meld then jedi/sith sensitive. Then amazingly the sensitivity gets turn on high blast when Rey learns to use the force instantly "wtf". Then Rey beats a jedi trained sith "kylo ren" in a light saber battle " Major WTF moment".

#3 physics. The light saber can burn through anything but in this movie it cuts like a knife "really". Rey should have halved kylo ren and kylo ren should have made Finn a quadriplegic at best and at worst split him in halve .

#4 Finn. Really? Trained from birth to freak out at the first battle and jump ship "sure". Hes a bumbling fumbling fool of a storm trooper. His decent from the dark side could have been put together much better then what it was

I watched a new hope the day before I went to see TFA, a new hope, has a magic to it that can't be repeated, but I still enjoyed TFA. Even if it lacks some of the innocence

a reply to: TzarChasm

I thought that was a very powerful scene and one that Harrison Ford had requested back in Episode VI.

Ren was not a Sith and I am sure Rey's ability to confront him and not be killed has something to do with her lineage.

Did it pull a lot from the original trilogy, yes, of course. But, look at it this way. A brand new company purchased the rights to a massive, MASSIVE franchise. It's decades after the original trilogy, and several good years after the new trilogy (may we never reference them again).

Of course they pulled a lot of iconic references from the originals, it was a requirement for the newer generations to get introduced to the franchise and be able to go back to the originals and become more easily accepting of them (despite easily spotable, old-tech filming techniques).

The thing is, it still felt like Star Wars. It didn't feel like something totally out of place and part of something completely different and forgettable. It's original themes still had the same epic feeling you got when watching the originals, and for a new rights-owning company to achieve is absolutely amazing. Were we not all expecting Disney to have a high potential for completely destroying the franchise?

Is Kylo Ren scary? I personally don't think so, he's too childish for that. however, I don't think that's what they are going for here. The reason he exists is to show how much of a struggle for him it is to really turn to the dark side.

SPOILER ALLERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The entire film is based around how difficult it is for him. He saw Fin reject direct orders to kill innocent civilians and turned away. He asked his own father to help him kill him. He showed an intrinsic struggle to go dark throughout the film, and it was something we have never experienced in the franchise before.

Unless you count Anikan in episode II and III, but that was the quickest and least intense flipping of a switch that I had ever seen.

END OF SPOILER ALLERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In conclusion. The force awakens was a fantastic addition to the franchise. Easily within my top 3 Star Wars films. I Cannot wait until the next two come out, and everything else in between.

a reply to: ketsuko

I read a series of books that continued on after the return of the Jedi. Han and Leia have twins a boy and a girl and Uncle Luke teaches them. So I am thinking Kylo Ren's sister too but it could be Ren's sisters kid because Han and
Liea didnt recognize her . Who dropped Rey off on the desert planet? I liked the movie, yea it was a rehash of New Hope. Luke is the mysterious Jedi that went into hiding like Yoda.

I would take movies like Independence Day and Pitch black,Battle for Los Angeles over Star Wars, and Star Trek.

Seven days of the week, and twice on Sunday's.

a reply to: miniatus

Wow, you saw a lot more in Ren than I did.

I saw it twice and I enjoyed it. It was a Star Wars film and that is exactly what I wanted as a fan of the series. I thought it was as good as Episodes IV and V.

Pretty much have to agree. And rewatching it, you catch even more and more. After analyzing Han and Leia's acting nuances, it definitely seems like they know who Rey is, which upon more viewing, is seeming more and more like she is Luke's daughter, vs. Han and Leia's (even if allowing a memory wipe theory). Plus, there's the fact that Kylo Ren seems generally surprised by this girl's ability, whereas if his sister, he'd know.

Of course, possible the Rebels, the Empire, or someone else (like finding his severed hand) used Luke's DNA too. But I guess we'll find out in the next movie.

I'm not a fan of Star Wars, I like it, but I don't love it or anything. Having said that I really enjoyed the new one, and I would actually say it's my favourite of them all.

originally posted by: Gazrok

Pretty much have to agree. And rewatching it, you catch even more and more.

I have now seen it three times and I agree, particularly if you pay attention to the score as well.

The only thing that makes we question whether Luke or Han and Leia is her parents was the 'Han and Leia' theme playing when she firsts meets Han Solo.

If you think about it, all of the films have always centered around the Skywalker lineage, so that alone makes perfect sense if Rey is Luke's daughter.

I almost want to make a list of all of the subtle acting nuances in this movie though, where the actor's expressions said more than any dialogue. There are SO many in this film....and it is what makes it fun to rewatch it. Like Poe's expressions when going past his frozen blaster bolt. In that one moment, you can see his surprise and realization that Force powers are not only real but incredibly powerful.

a reply to: Gazrok

Start a thread. I would jump in there and add my own observations.

I hope J J Abraham's hangs his head in shame after watching this movie last night , what a piece of rubbish 1/10

Yet he scored 10/10 with star trek

Maybe he is a secret trekkie

It's a conspiracy me thinks

Just watched it, am still deciding on my final verdict to be honest.
I thought it lacked some of that magic especially in the first 30 minutes or so. But that could be just for having too high expectations based on the hype and generally great reviews the film has received.
It improved considerably once Han and Chewie showed up, and the constant references and little easter eggs scattered here and there.
I liked Finn, he's got potential to become a great character, even though I agree his escaping the Order and switching sides was way too easy and contrived, considering he's a trained Stormtrooper supervised by Phasma and all. Maybe having taken more time to explain his point of view would have helped.
I'm not too impressed by Rey, for her acting and also for the sudden and contrived discovery of her powers, c'mon Luke had to train with Yoda for I don't know how long and even then had his hand chopped off. But Rey just becomes a pro just like that, and almost kills Kylo Ren? hmmm
I feel that there was a bit too much crammed in this film and some points could have been explored with more care and maybe carried over the next film.
I blame the writing for that, and Disney obviously, all they are interested in is cashing in anyways.

Thinking about the villains retrospectively, I thought they were more interesting characters psychologically than the heroes.
I quite liked the angle they went for with Kylo Ren and General Hux.
Adam Driver pulls off the tormented Darth Vader wannabee quite well, and his childish temper tantrums just add to his instability and dangerousness (apart from being some of the funniest scenes in the whole movie)
Domnhall Gleeson is pretty good as Hux, and likewise I liked that he also showed some nervousness and humanity. After all they have a lot to live up to.
Hopefully they will both grow and be more defined in the next few films.
But then again I always secretly root for the tormented 'bad guys' for some reason.

RIP Han, what oh what will Chewie do without you?
And by the way don't Wookies age?

JJ did a good enough job, but I'm happy to see the next director take it on.
Rian Johnson, who did a great sci-fi flick called Looper, and directed a few awesome Breaking Bad episodes.

Haven't watched any one of them.
Just don't know what's this all bustle about?

a reply to: AnnaMaria

Probably too young.

Thing is, as a kid in the 70's, this film completely REWROTE the book on what a movie can be.
These days, believable special effects, and other worlds in a movie, are a dime a dozen, but this just wasn't the case back then.

The original film inspired many of today's hottest movie makers and movie industry luminaries.
Sure, looking at it now, compared to what came after, it's hard to understand it, but you have to realize that this film (for those of us who were around when it came out), was actually life-changing in our whole perception of reality. I know that sounds a bit deep and maybe exaggerating, but it really isn't, at least not for me.

It was also the first major merchandising effort of a film or property, so you got to kind of stay in that moment, playing with the figures and ships, etc. This simply wasn't possible before. Lucas was a genius there (and pioneered the idea).

That all said, I think this movie did EXACTLY what it was supposed to do.

1. Fit in with the other films.
2. Get us excited about the next one.
3. Make us forget how bad the prequels were.
4. Recapture that moment when we first saw the first movie.

There's a reason grown men (myself included) teared up like little girls upon seeing the first trailer....