*** Official Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[Steve Christou]

Mild Spoilers Ahoy!


I finally saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens last night, has anyone on the forum seen it yet? I really enjoyed it. I think it's going to be a big hit. JJ Abrams did everything he could to remind audiences of the original Star Wars trilogy. He must have sat down with his writers and jotted down a list of things they must include - the Falcon, check, a desert planet, check, silly cute robots, check, Han, Luke & Leia, check, a bigger better death star, check, a bigger better death star with an exploitable design flaw, check. Even the holographic chess game makes an appearance!

Looking back on it the new story was pretty basic and very straightforward, the much maligned prequels were far more complex and epic in scope than what we have here, searching for Luke Skywalker and the rise of a new deadly threat - The First Order, that's basically the entire story. Mercifully no trade federation malarkey or political machinations by shady senators in this one.

I liked the new characters - Rey, Finn and Poe. With Daisy Ridley, a new star is born, she and Keira Knightley should play sisters in a movie, she even has the same smile.

Carrie Fisher looked older than her years, is it the make up? Even her voice. She's only 59. The death of one character near the end of the movie was regrettable but oddly enough didn't move me. I must be made of stone.

The main villains are Kylo Ren and his mysterious master Snoke, the supreme leader of the First Order. Nope not Darth Snoke, just Snoke. This is a Darth-less picture, we've had Darth Sidious, Darth Maul, Darth Tyranus and Darth Vader in previous films. Abrams decided to give Darth a rest, at least for this one movie.

And to keep it in line with George Lucas's original galactic vision all the major characters of this trilogy will of course end up being related to one another. It's a small universe after all.

I enjoyed JJ Abrams two Star Trek films and I'm glad he was picked for this film. I had more fun watching this movie than any other this year and thus my rating is 5 out of 5.

Looking forward to episodes VIII and IX, and the various spinoffs.

 

[Mikey1969]

I've seen it twice and loved it. I was of the original generation and saw the first films in the theater and was very happy to see the spirit of the original film back again for the first time in many years. Is it a perfect Film? Absolutely not. It is very derivative of the first film and some of the plot points are clumsier than they really should be. It's hard to judge this film fairly in comparison with films that we've lived with for 40 years. This is also only the first film of a trilogy and I suspect the significance of some of the events in the film may not be clear until we see episode 9. I think the unsung heroes of this film are Lawrence Kasdan who provided an excellent script with actual dialogue that we didn't have to wince through and for providing new characters that we actually cared about, and John Williams who rose to the challenge of providing us another excellent score with many memorable themes.

 

[JeremyR]

Just got back from it and I enjoyed it. I hardly think it's the second coming like some reviews seem to say, but I do think there are some amazing aspects, mostly from the cast (Ford and Ridley in particular). I'll enjoy following them along into Episodes VIII and IX. I also really like the light saber stuff towards the end and the music gave me chills multiple times throughout. But overall I still think the movie could've been better with a director other than J.J. And I was pretty numb towards all the X-Wing action.


I did enjoy it none the less and I'd give it a B+

I'm kind of with you on it. After two viewings... the second one didn't hold up as well as the first. This is a B or B- for me. Abrams gets a D for creativity though. I'm becoming more disappointed in Abrams' treatment of franchises that I adore. He's very talented, don't get me wrong. But let's be honest here.. his treatment of this movie against ANH isn't entirely unlike his treatment of Star Trek: Into Darkness against Wrath of Khan. I'm frankly a little disappointed. On it's own it's a good movie, I'll give you that. There are some plot issues I have with it for sure, but Han Solo was fantastic to see on screen again.. and Harrison Ford despite his age.. well.. he was fricking Han Solo again. In fact.. he was perhaps a better Han Solo in this one then in the earlier movies, a testament to Abrams directing ability. I left Star Trek: Into Darkness feeling a bit like I how I felt when I left Superman Returns. The movie was.. okay. But Abrams suffered perhaps from the same problem Singer suffered from.. perhaps a little too much reverence to the Donner/Reeve films. In Abrams defense however.. he never advertised Star Trek as anything other then.. essentially an alternate story line over the same time period as the original cast films/movies so some similarities are to be expected. Singer said Returns was basically... Superman III. The Force Awakens, this movie.. well.. considering it was set 30 years after Return of the Jedi.. I felt like I was watching ANH.. again. And it's just not nearly as good as ANH. The more I think about it.. the more.. meh I kind of was.

 

[DaveF]

Per Post 2 this is a Review thread. Meta discussion goes in the discussion thread. (Two posts moved.)

 

[Robert Crawford]

To echo Dave's post, too many posts have been moved or deleted from this Review Thread to this Discussion Thread.


Again, this Review Thread is for Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens reviews only. If you want to discuss a point from a posted review in this thread then do so in the Discussion Thread. Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

A very good movie. Not a great movie. I enjoyed it, but woke up this morning mulling over three major issues:


It was WAY too derivative of the original film. An homage is one thing; far too many of the sequences here were practically a remake. I knew exactly what was about to happen much of the time, because I'd seen it before.


I really wish they'd simply told a story that began 30 years after Jedi, instead of coming into the middle of what feels like events well under way. From the opening crawl, I was rolling my eyes at the thought that there'll be an animated TV series or, god forbid, another prequel (midquel?) trilogy to fill in the backstory.


The prequels, stupid as they were, were ten times as imaginative as this film. Here we have New Tatooine, and New Hoth, and New Endor, and New New Death Star, and New R2-D2, and New Emo Darth Vader. The most creative ideas here were making New R2-D2 roll like a ball and giving New Emo Darth Vader a lightsaber with a funky hilt. (I guess there was one new alien, Maz, who amounted to more than just a costume.) Heck, the first half-hour of Phantom Menace had more ideas than this entire movie. Naboo felt like a unique place, with two somewhat fleshed-out civilizations. And thinking about the whole prequel trilogy, there were Coruscant, the clone planet/ aliens, and other things that felt interesting and new. General Grievous was far more imaginative than any of the characters here. (I liked the main characters, but they were just, well, people.) Hopefully episodes 8 and 9 will have more spark.


OK, make it four things: I would also say that the action sequences looked cool but lacked the story sense of the action in the other trilogies. The battles and fights in the old films had a sense of progression to them, where the new film's action felt like people/ vehicles just running around shooting at each other. Think about the original Death Star attack, the Imperial assault on the Hoth base, the battle for Naboo, or the classic lightsaber duels. Those sequences felt like *stories* about battles, with beginnings, middles, and ends. Most of the fighting in the new film is show up, pew pew pew, the end. Often it just felt like background noise to something the main characters were doing. Or so it felt to me.


Anyway, I liked it and appreciated the general lack of Stupid. Will comment more after I take my kid. . .

 

[BobO'Link]

I went on a family outing with my son, his wife, and the two oldest grandkids (girl age 9, boy age 12). My grandson is a huge SW fan as is my son. I'm more a "casual" fan but *do* greatly enjoy the first trilogy having seen IV and V first run in the theater (with V I was so mad about the "ending" that I refused to see VI for ~10 years, something that's colored my opinion of the franchise ever since).


In spite of its flaws, which were legion, I enjoyed the film giving it a 3 out of 5 score. As soon as the credits rolled, my grandson said it best: "Well... it's better than I-III but not as good as IV-VI." I fully agree.


I got exactly the movie I expected from J.J. Abrams and Disney, a safe but action packed reentry into the Star Wars universe designed as much towards a marketing eye as to please filmgoers. With a huge case of Déjà vu hitting me every 5 minutes or so I truly had a "been there-done that" feeling for most of the films' running time.


While I enjoyed the new heroine of the series I felt there was just a bit too much deus-ex-machina in her efforts and solutions to problems. Carrie Fisher was a total drag, seemingly phoning in her performance with little emotion or empathy. Harrison Ford actually seemed to be enjoying himself, a surprise considering how he initially felt about the Han Solo role. Chewy's reaction to a special event is the absolute high point of the film. I find myself somewhat ambivalent towards the Storm trooper who defected and laughed when Kylo Ren first removed the helmet thinking "*This* is what they're afraid of?"


Episodes I-III are *far* more creative but they suffer from poor scripting and dialog, something which this film somewhat redeems in spite of being highly derivative of the first trilogy, especially episode IV, and having a few too many head scratching or they expect us to buy "that?" moments. In spite of its flaws it still does a respectable job of setting up the next film, something I expect was chief in the overall plotting and design.


I have *no* plans to see it a second time in the theater. Once is enough and the film makers don't deserve that financial reward, at least from me. However, I *will* pick up a copy once it's available for home purchase on physical media and the price drops a bit.


Recommended with reservations.

 

[SilverWook]

Saw it twice at the IMAX dome in San Jose, and wish I could go back and do it again. It felt like I was in the movie. More immersive than any 3D presentation I've seen lately. All the stress of opening weekend and spoiler avoidance behind me, I just kicked back and had a good time. Star Wars lives!


I even wore my 10th anniversary shirt for the occasion, which amazingly still fits after all these years.


Other people can nitpick the movie to death, but I'm not. I got my money's worth.


And seeing honest to goodness film, and hearing a projector whirring somewhere in the dark just put a big smile on my face. I don't think any other venue is going to be quite the same for me next time out.


BTW, was the site tweaked while I was away? It looks different now...

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Followup review: I took my son to an FDX showing at Frank Theaters -- 2D, HUGE screen, and Atmos. I was able to turn off my Nitpick Computer and use the Force to just relax and enjoy myself. The movie definitely held up to a repeat viewing. And it didn't hurt that Atmos truly lived up to the hype. No joke -- Atmos is the SHIZZ!!!

 

[Bryan Ri]

I'm happy to finally getting around to writing my review of The Force Awakens. I saw the film in IMAX 3D on opening weekend, and then in regular 3D a couple of weeks later. I will preface this review by saying I found the IMAX experience better than a regular screen. Spoilers will follow in my review:

When I first left the theater after my first viewing, my initial reaction was "Wow." I stayed away from spoilers for Episode VII from early on, a stark contrast from my approach to the prequels. For me, this paid off big time. When I read the first line of the opening crawl "Luke Skywalker has vanished" I was hooked into the movie 100%. I found this to be a great concept for the driving force (no pun intended) for the plot of the film. I know some may say that

The new characters/actors were absolutely terrific. Not for one second before watching the film did I think I would love Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo Ren as much as I did. I love that Kylo Ren is still learning how to be a Sith, and isn't this polished veteran from the getgo. It makes for a much more interesting character. I also like how his family origins are revealed relatively quickly- no need to drag that one out. I thought Poe was a boatload of fun every time he was on the screen- I really look forward to more of him in the coming films. Finn had the perfect balance of flawed, reluctant, and heroic combined together. I love the misdirect in essentially all advertising that he would be THE hero moving forward. I can't wait to see how has character unfolds. And then, last but not least, we have Rey. My goodness, what a terrific job the writers and JJ did with creating a vulnerable character that was so likable and so interesting. My theater was cheering her during the finale, and rightfully so. Her path seems very obvious moving forward, but I'm curious to see if there will be any surprises along the way.

One cannot write a review of the Force Awakens without mentioning Harrison Ford. Has he looked like he has had more fun than this in decades? Not by my count. He did kind of take over the movie at times, but not to the point of turning me off from what was happening. His death seemed more and more inevitable as time went on, but to me it made perfect sense within the plot, and within the development of Kylo Ren. Chewie's reaction, was priceless.

Some of the wow/Star Wars moments for me: 1. "That ship is garbage!' Call me naive, but I was so caught up in that scene that it didn't occur to me that they were talking about the Millennium Falcon. Great reveal, in my opinion. 2. Rey using the Force to grab the lightsaber. The whole moment with the music, the leadup, etc was just wonderful. Literally had tears in my eyes. 3. The Luke Skywalker reveal. Simply put, it was perfect. 4. The Finn/Poe escape- just great fun. 5. The Falcon/Tie Fighter chase. There are many more, but those are just the things that stand out.

I am a bit worried that some of the plot threads left open might create a problem in future installments. Van Snydow's charater, Snope, Rey's past, etc.; I am hopeful, but nervous, that the payoff will not be satisfying.

The Force Awakens is not a perfect film, but my goodness I can't think of the last time I had that much fun in a theater. I know the biggest complaint is that some plot elements are close to that of the original trilogy.However, are those complaints coming from the same people that felt the prequels were not enough like the OT? Hmmm...

Finally, I want to give a big thank you to JJ Abrams. Writing and filming a sequel to Return of the Jedi was an impossible task. Do you make the movie you want to make, or the movie you think fans want to see? Should it be all about new characters, or do we just get a reunion with the old characters? In my opinion, JJ nailed it. Thank you, JJ Abrams, for giving me a memorable movie experience, and hopefully setting up another fantastic trilogy.

Grade: A

 

[Tim Glover]

Excellent review Bryan...just nearly echoed my sentiments as well. Greatness!

 

[BerginiusAandahl]

This is by far the best adaptation JJ has ever made in the Star Wars franchise. I've read some twists here and there and the story is becoming more interesting.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I really enjoyed this movie and I can not wait for the next installment! I couldn't wait for this movie to hit home video and I honestly thought it would go straight to 4K UHD but it didn't. This is one of the titles I will not purchase till it gets released on 4K UHD, I can not longer justify buying movies over and over so even though it looks very good on 1080p blu-ray I will wait, and hopefully around Christmas this title will see 4K UHD.

 

[TJPC]

I really enjoyed this movie and I can not wait for the next installment! I couldn't wait for this movie to hit home video and I honestly thought it would go straight to 4K UHD but it didn't. This is one of the titles I will not purchase till it gets released on 4K UHD, I can not longer justify buying movies over and over so even though it looks very good on 1080p blu-ray I will wait, and hopefully around Christmas this title will see 4K UHD.

I feel exactly the same way as far as 3D is concerned. This movie was released in 3D, and the fact that there is no 3D Blu Ray baffles me.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I feel exactly the same way as far as 3D is concerned. This movie was released in 3D, and the fact that there is no 3D Blu Ray baffles me.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Star-Wars-Episode-VII-The-Force-Awakens-3D-Blu-ray/64238/

Doesn't sound like you will be waiting long for 3D. I however will be waiting for the 4K UHD Blu-ray.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Star-Wars-Episode-VII-The-Force-Awakens-3D-Blu-ray/64238/

Doesn't sound like you will be waiting long for 3D. I however will be waiting for the 4K UHD Blu-ray.

While I am still personally anticipating a 3D release, that page does not at all verify there is one coming.

To me, that simply looks like a placeholder.

There has been no official announcement from Disney yet.

However, again, I am still in the believers camp.

 

[TJPC]

While I am still personally anticipating a 3D release, that page does not at all verify there is one coming.

To me, that simply looks like a placeholder.

There has been no official announcement from Disney yet.

However, again, I am still in the believers camp.

Yes I agree. That page appeared before or on the same day that the movie was released on blu Ray. When you Google "Star Wars: The Force Awakens -- 3D Blu Ray" it is the first that comes up.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Sorry did not realize that this release information had been up before. Hopefully it does get released in 3D as I think it would be great as a 3D blu-ray. If Disney is not going to support 4K blu-ray then at some point I think I would want it as a 3D/2D blu-ray release.

 

[Tino]

There's a rumored 3D box set containing all three prequels and TFA coming in the fall per Bill Hunt at the Digital Bits.

 

[Brett_B]

I am in the "I won't believe it until I see it" camp.

This situation is reminding me of Disney's "Frozen" release.