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Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread — SPOILERS

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Old 12-17-15, 10:19 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
Originally Posted by Matto1020
You can put this in spoiler tags if you want, but do they use the Fox Fanfare at the beginning or a new orchestrated piece?
Spoiler:
No Fox Fanfare. Just opens with the Lucasfilm logo. No Disney or nothing. Kind of snuck up on me after the trailers.
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Old 12-17-15, 10:20 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
Originally Posted by Matto1020
You can put this in spoiler tags if you want, but do they use the Fox Fanfare at the beginning or a new orchestrated piece?
Neither. Skipped completely. Was surprised there was no branding at all other than Lucasfilm.
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Old 12-17-15, 10:36 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
3.5 out of 5. Was definitely better than the previous 3 and I was entertained. The complaints of no originality do ring true, but it was well executed. I wonder how I will see it after another viewing. Not going to bother with a 3 hour round trip to see a 70mm showing now. Go see a 2D showing.

Spoiler:
Got a kick out of it when none of the crowd clapped or cheered when Luke showed up. For every other original character, the crowd went bonkers when each first hit the screen. I think the kick in the gut over a certain character was still lingering at that point. The crowd did cheer at the end though.

3PO's voice seemed off.

Didn't like the scene with the 2 smuggler groups and the escaped monsters.

Adam Driver is so damn gumpy looking. Keep the helmet on.

Thought I wouldn't like BB8, but I dug him.

Surprised how little Phasma, or what ever her name is, was used.

Solo definitely looked 70, but I enjoyed him.

Leia's voice is horrendous.

QUIT CALLING EVERY STAR THE SUN!
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Old 12-17-15, 10:39 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
Saw it tonight "normally", going again on Saturday morning in IMAX-3D.


Spoiler:
Some things I found interesting. Chewie getting shot. I think this is the first time he was ever "vunerable". We've seen him held captive before (in Cloud City & in Jabba's Palace), but never physically hurt.

LOVED seeing Nien Numb and Admiral Ackbar.

Going into it, I had a feeling that one of the big 3 wasn't going to make it past this movie. Halfway thru, I figured Kylo killing Han was inevitable. Especially right beforehand, when the others stopped to "watch" Han and Kylo Ren. Reminded me of "A New Hope" when Darth took out Obi Wan.

Because Kylo is Han and Leia's son, had the feeling he wasn't going to die. I thought Adam Driver was great.
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Old 12-17-15, 11:07 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
I only annoyed by a couple things slightly other than that, it's exactly like TomPus said.

"For the most part it felt like Star Wars again."

Now seriously after watching this , now think about the prequels ....omg how much do they suck, Seriously.
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Old 12-17-15, 11:14 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
Really enjoyed it but wasn't blown away. Repeat viewings should grow on me.

Was not too impressed with the score - I didn't pick up on any new themes. That was one thing I thought was great about the prequels - all the new themes stuck with me.

And did I hear Han correctly:

Spoiler:

Did he yell "Ben" at Kylo Ren?
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Old 12-17-15, 11:16 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
Originally Posted by bunkaroo
Really enjoyed it but wasn't blown away. Repeat viewings should grow on me.

Was not too impressed with the score - I didn't pick up on any new themes. That was one thing I thought was great about the prequels - all the new themes stuck with me.

And did I hear Han correctly:

Spoiler:

Did he yell "Ben" at Kylo Ren?
Yes
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Old 12-17-15, 11:17 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
Yeah I really dug it... It's hard to give much of a review after coming down from the high but it was great to have Star Wars back. Thought the new cast was superb and can't wait to see the next how ever many movies we get. It was also great taking my little girl to her first star wars in the theatre experience. Going again to see it in 3D IMAX on Saturday so I'll have more of an open mind then but at least I can say it was one thing the prequels never were. Fun.
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Old 12-17-15, 11:18 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
Originally Posted by bunkaroo

And did I hear Han correctly:

Spoiler:

Did he yell "Ben" at Kylo Ren?
That's what I heard too.
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Old 12-17-15, 11:19 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
I loved it. Reminded me of the original film's fun with the intensity of the Luke vs Vader in the Emperor's throne room of Return Of The Jedi.

Adam Driver was fantastic as was Daisy Ridley.

I went to an 8:30 showing and we could hear the clapping and cheering from the 7:00 show their viewing ended.

Felt like Star Wars and I had a smile on my face so big I was afraid I was going to swallow my head.

Works really well as part one of a trilogy and can't wait until the next one.

Now I need to get some sleep because I have tickets for 9am tomorrow with some family.
Last edited by stvn1974; 12-17-15 at 11:26 PM.
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Old 12-17-15, 11:23 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
I liked it a lot. The best part was having actual characters I cared about. Rey is a great character and the highlight of the movie.
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Old 12-17-15, 11:26 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
I still need to search my feelings, and also see it a couple more times, but I definitely left the theatre in a more positive mood than any of the prequel films.
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Old 12-17-15, 11:31 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
BTW, was I imagining things or

Spoiler:
did the Starkiller weapon blow up Coruscant? I don't recall the planet being named, but it kinda looked like it. If so, that's a cause for celebration among the prequel haters.

EDIT: Nevermind. Wikipedia says the destroyed planet was called Hosnian Prime.
Last edited by joe_b; 12-18-15 at 01:58 AM.
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Old 12-17-15, 11:37 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
Originally Posted by Gooter
10/10, 5 stars, 2 big thumbs up. Simply amazing on all fronts! THIS is a freaking Star Wars movie. See it as soon as you can.

I actually liked the homage or callouts to the original trilogy. Was very entertaining and used to good effect.
Could not agree more. Applause at my theater as well.
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Old 12-17-15, 11:38 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
How does the movie open?
Spoiler:
Hopefully not with Luke's hand and lightsaber floating in space?
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Old 12-17-15, 11:40 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
Originally Posted by joe_b
BTW, was I imagining things or

Spoiler:
did the Starkiller weapon blow up Coruscant? The don't think the planet was named, but it kinda looked like it. If so, that's a cause for celebration among the prequel haters.
I think so.

Huge improvement over the prequels. Most of us knew that would be the case though. I could nitpick a few things, but it doesn't affect my overall enjoyment of this film. Very happy with the humor in the film.

Spoiler:
My one big complaint was the Han and Leia conversation which basically just existed to fill the audience in on what they'd been up to for the last few years. Kind of took me out of the movie. Just didn't feel or sound natural.
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Old 12-17-15, 11:41 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
Originally Posted by joe_b
Gotta say, I didn't love it. I liked a great deal of it. The first thirty minutes or so was pretty darn blissful.

PROS:
The new cast was great -- and surprisingly well suited for light comedy. Boyega seemed like he improvised a few bits and it really got a great reaction from the crowd. Maz, Hux and Phasma were neither here nor there (none of them do a heck of a lot)... but I have no major complaints about those characters.

CONS:
Spoiler:
Han Solo. Sorry, I thought he came off like an old geezer. Leia didn't fare much better, but there was still a glimmer of that great chemistry they had together. I did choke up a bit when they had that exchange about how she hated to watch him leave... especially knowing what would come next. When that moment came, I surprisingly felt very little (when it should have been gut-wrenching).

The Kylo Ren parent reveal felt clumsy and forced. Thank goodness for Adam Driver's performance, because that whole scenario reeked of cheese. "There is still good in him... we can bring him back." I was eye-rolling hard the entire time (and half expecting Ren to say "It is... too late for me... father.")

Snoke looked like a CG Harry Potter villain reject. No wonder they didn't want anyone seeing the character beforehand. There was no way they couldn't achieve that look without motion capture? Give me a break. Very much disliked what they came up with there. Considering how much Abrams was copying the OT aesthetic, why didn't they at least make a hologram image look like a classic blue hologram?

After waiting all this time, we still get no solid answer about Rey's family? Despite (I believe) Ridley stating that the question would be answered in this film? I was so happy that I had avoided having that reveal spoiled, but it turns out there was nothing there to spoil. I realize there will be umpteen sequels to expand on this topic, but it still felt very anticlimactic.

Artoo finishing the map and Leia's reaction to knowing her brother had been found... it all felt flat to me. The movie is trying so hard to stir emotion in the audience and I just wasn't feeling it. And yes, the rumors are true about Luke only showing up at the end. At least Hamill looked great (and appropriately sullen) but that end sequence left my audience with one big collective "Uh...." before the credits appeared. There was scattered applause and a few mutters between people, but no standing ovation. I completely understood why.
In the end, I did not find this to be a better film than Jedi. It's certainly breezier and more eager to please than any of the prequels. If you go in ready to have good time, you probably will... even if you can see the faults (or choose to overlook them).
You obviously went in expecting way too much. The general public is going to love this thing.
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Old 12-17-15, 11:43 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
While I certainly enjoyed it and it was great to see the original cast back in action, at least most of them, but I had a big sense of "been there, done that" to it. The first 30 minutes felt like a remake of the first 30 minutes of A New Hope and while technically it wasn't a "Death Star" it was basically just a Death Star they destroyed at the end.

With that being said the new cast was wonderful. Adam Driver was great and Daisy Ridley is about to be the object of nerd lust all over the world. It felt like the Star Wars films we grew up with and is what we should have gotten 20 years ago instead of the shit prequels. That's really all I can ask.
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Old 12-17-15, 11:49 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
I thought Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley & John Boyega all did a great job. I loved that there was so much humor in this.

Han Solo seemed really old at times, which he is, but he had plenty of great one-liners as well.

Leia didn't have much to do, and that's fine. They did their best having her lose some weight and using heavy makeup to allow her to look somewhat presentable. (drugs etc. have fucked her up)

Looking forward to seeing this again.
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Old 12-17-15, 11:51 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
Absolutely loved it. Beginning to end it just felt right and left me wanting more. I could have watched it again right after it ended. I was worried that I hyped myself up too much and would walk out slightly disappointed but Abrams and company knocked it out of the fucking park. I won't say it's a flawless film but I heard another reviewer describe my thoughts which is for any flaw I found there were about five things I loved. Such a step up from any of the films in the Prequel Trilogy and I felt like I was watching a true Star Wars film again rather than some poorly acted, lifeless CG fest.

The new characters were all great and I worried a bit that Abrams might rely a bit too much on nostalgia (which there are definite elements of in the film) but overall I felt like there was a good blend of nostalgic and new elements. Daisy Ridley definitely was the show stealer as Rey, but I liked Finn and Poe a bunch too. BB-8 was cutesy but not overly in your face and annoying. Also though Ford did great and he definitely still was able to play the part of Han rather than sleepwalking his way through the motions like in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Last edited by Mike86; 12-17-15 at 11:56 PM.
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Old 12-17-15, 11:51 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
I thought it worked great as the opening film in a trilogy. I am also glad they didn't try to shoehorn in everything that has happened since Jedi into one film. Will be better to let it all unfold over the next two.

Is it me or was the opening crawl about the length of the other six films put together?
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Old 12-17-15, 11:52 PM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
Originally Posted by Mike86
Absolutely loved it. I won't say it's a flawless film but I heard another reviewer describe my thoughts which is for any flaw I found there were about five things I loved.
Strongly agree with the bold part.
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Old 12-18-15, 12:04 AM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
Originally Posted by stvn1974
Is it me or was the opening crawl about the length of the other six films put together?
Pretty sure it's just you. All the films are about three paragraphs of text for the opening scrolls.
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Old 12-18-15, 12:04 AM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
I can't believe they KILLED Obi Wan Kenobi. Never saw that coming.
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Old 12-18-15, 12:06 AM
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Abrams, 2015) — The Reviews Thread
oh sorry, wrong thread.
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