Star Wars: The Force Awakens (reviews/discussion)

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c_nordlander
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Star Wars: The Force Awakens (reviews/discussion)

Post by c_nordlander » Tue Dec 29, 2015 12:24 pm

The short: it's a good film. Not the best Star Wars film evar, but definitely more on a par with the original trilogy than the prequels.

The long: this is gonna require some spoiler tagging.

Stuff I liked:

The protagonists:
Spoiler
The visuals and mood:

It feels like Star Wars again. And without forcing in a bunch of location from the original trilogy, the way the prequels did. (Though admittedly, Jakku is essentially Tatooine in all but name.) Using real sets and practical effects means that stuff gets to feel used and worn, instead of just glossy. The stuff that's supposed to look impressive... does. The music is great, of course.

It strikes me as being one of the darker films in the saga. No over-the-top darkness like in Revenge of the Sith, but we get blood and slaughter of civilians. Funny that it took freakin' Disney to make it.

Some of the bad guys:
Spoiler
Random cool stuff:
Spoiler
More things than I care to mention.

Things I didn't like so much:

Plot-related:
Spoiler
Some characters:
Spoiler
Things I'm not sure about:

The title. It's... just a title. Not bad, but not good either. It essentially says "Star Wars Episode VII: This One Will Have a Jedi in It", which... isn't really distinctive, you know? Still, the film was good, which I guess proves Graham's Theory of Inverse Quality of Star Wars Titles (i.e. the worse the title, the better the film and vice versa).

Serious spoiler:
Spoiler
Spoiler
Things I hope to see in the next two instalments (or rather, things I hope to not see):
Spoiler
So yeah. Good characters, good visuals, parsec ahead of the prequels. I may have some nitpicks, but that in itself proves that the film was worthy of something other than "this stinks!" If you're a Star Wars fan... well, you've probably already seen it. But it's good.
Last edited by c_nordlander on Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (reviews/discussion)

Post by gkscotty » Tue Dec 29, 2015 6:11 pm

Don't have a post like that to put up, but saw it yesterday and liked it very much. All leads were really interesting and fun, the new robot was cute and personable, and while it was in many ways "Episode 4 but bigger" but that didn't bother me.

Was already spoiled about the big, big spoiler, but it was a pretty good scene. All that bothered me was something of a lack of followup for it. Like, it happened,... and then is was almost forgotten.
Image

It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone’s fault. If it was Us, what did that make Me? After all, I’m one of Us. I must be. I’ve certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We’re always one of Us. It’s Them that do bad things. - Jingo, Terry Pratchett
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (reviews/discussion)

Post by c_nordlander » Tue Dec 29, 2015 6:37 pm

You pretty much sum up all my feelings about the film.

And I'm glad it didn't let you down.
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (reviews/discussion)

Post by D.B. » Thu Dec 31, 2015 8:32 pm

I enjoyed it. I'd say that if episodes 4-6 were albums, then this would be the 'best of' compilation. Featuring such hits as orphan on a desert planet, aerial battle on an ice planet, a giant doomsday weapon which people fly spaceships inside to blow it up, and many more. Yes, it felt like some parts happened a bit quickly - but it was fun, and now they've re-established all the tropes I think it'll give them a really strong base to work from in the next film.
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (reviews/discussion)

Post by c_nordlander » Mon Jan 04, 2016 5:22 pm

Continuing a tradition older than the internet: doesn't this film get a lot better if you replace some words in the script with the word "pants"?

Had to jigger the grammar a couple of times to make it work, but *so worth it*.

Some very slight plot spoilers (about pants), so I put it under the cut:
Spoiler
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (reviews/discussion)

Post by Stretch_Dude » Mon Jan 04, 2016 10:18 pm

Spoiler
I memorized "Holy Grail" really well
I can recite it right now and have you ROTFLOL
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (reviews/discussion)

Post by c_nordlander » Mon Jan 04, 2016 10:31 pm

Heh, yeah, I heard about that. Apparently his character's name was JB-007. :D
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (reviews/discussion)

Post by Stretch_Dude » Tue Jan 05, 2016 10:21 pm

And apparently one of the other stormtroopers is TR8R. Guess which one. ;D
I memorized "Holy Grail" really well
I can recite it right now and have you ROTFLOL
- "Weird Al" Yankovic, "White and Nerdy"

"Any pile of stunted growth unaware that entertainment is just that and nothing more, deserves to doom themselves to some dank cell, somewhere, for having been so stupid!! Movies, books, T.V., music - they're all just entertainment, not guidebooks for damning yourself!" - Nny

I draw too, dammit!
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Re: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (reviews/discussion)

Post by c_nordlander » Tue Jan 05, 2016 10:48 pm

^I'm jealous of the person who came up with that one...
Pretty little baby
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Went to the good school
Left with honours
Brand new tycoon
Sitting with a harpoon


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