Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

[sayde]

I appreciate your honest spoiler-free impressions GHDpro. From the sounds of things, I think I'm gonna enjoy episode 7 a lot.

[JagdPanther]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

Jumping the gun a bit considering that the various anthology films and Rebels could easily bring in anything from the old EU as long as it isn't about the Heroes of Yavin. In fact they have been sneaking stuff into the Clone Wars and later Rebels since 2008. Who knows what they could try to pull off after The Force Awakens.

Well, yeah. The Prequels were full of stuff from the EU. But the thing is that what they really did (and do with Rebels) is take the general idea from the EU and bastardize it into something completely different. Take Dathomir, for example. The Clone Wars absolutely ruined what was a phenomenal and interesting idea. The Dathomir you see in TCW is nothing like what is seen in the books or other media of the EU.

[OH&S]

[spoiler free]

Just came back from watching it at the cinemas.

Just wow. This was one of the heavily hyped films that actually managed to deliver (kinda like the Avengers did a few years back). I have to applaude J.J. Abrams for keeping my full attention from start to finish.

I'll follow GHDpro's lead and not go into the plot details or specifics.

The soundtrack, cinematography, comedy, nostalgia and new characters all receive 5/5 from me.

As for the plot direction, I can agree that it was definitely building up to a sequel movie/s. I'm not too surprised by this as compared to the original trilogy, the sequels were guaranteed from the outset. But regardless, its the beginning of a new story and works fine even as a standalone film, let alone a Star Wars film.

In short, miles ahead of the prequel trilogy. Definitely up there with the likes of the original trilogy, probably not better than Episode 5 but it would certainly give Episode 4 a run for its money.

8.5/10 (Not that a score means anything, I'd give it full points for simply not being shit).

Very ballsy moves Abrams. Kylo Ren is such a douche.

[TinyRedLeaf]

These are my opinions:

> This is THE best Star Wars movie since Episode V.

> JJ Abrams deserves my worship for having set two "Star" franchises ablaze for new generations to come.

> Daisy Ridley reminds me a lot of Emma Watson. The classical English rose. I like! Looking forward to seeing more of her, and the rest of the cast, in the next two movies!

[MeoTwister5]

Just came back from the theater.

All I can say is that, regardless of whether you loved it or not, I guarantee that a certain scene in the film will become one of the biggest controversial events in cinema history for years to come. I was in a packed cinema and the entire damn theater gasped in collective unison when it happened, young and old alike. I think the father in front of me was crying seconds after it happened.

My jaw just dropped when it did... just... completely ballsy move by the screenwriter and director. I may or may not have felt a tear come down my eye.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

All I can say is that, regardless of whether you loved it or not, I guarantee that a certain scene in the film will become one of the biggest controversial events in cinema history for years to come. I was in a packed cinema and the entire damn theater gasped in collective unison when it happened, young and old alike. I think the father in front of me was crying seconds after it happened.

My jaw just dropped when it did... just... completely ballsy move by the screenwriter and director. I may or may not have felt a tear come down my eye.

Thanks for that hint. If my guess is right about what actually happened in that scene, I think there's some truth to the leaked script.

[GHDpro]

Originally Posted by Obelisk ze Tormentor

^ GHD, are you familiar with the leaked script from MSW? If so, is the story the same as (or similar to) the one in the actual movie?

I had to look that one up as I hadn't heard of it (nor would have read it if I did)

Spoiler:

I just skimmed through it a bit, but it looks to be largely correct. The differences are in the details.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by GHDpro

I had to look that one up as I hadn't heard of it (nor would have read it if I did)

Spoiler:

I just skimmed through it a bit, but it looks to be largely correct. The differences are in the details.

Ah, I thought so. Some details are indeed a bit lacking in it I thought. But it turns out to be true in general. Thanks for the confirmation .

[B214]

Yeah just saw the movie. Definitely an enjoyable watch, had some great emotional moments, a good fight just good though not great. And the characters seem to be developed quite well.

[Der Langrisser]

Just saw the movie too, it's a great Star Wars movie, with likeable new characters, and Kylo Ren is definitely a douchebag.

[AntonKutovoi]

Just came back from the theater.
First I have to say that I am one of those few people that considers prequel trilogy to be great.
Did I found this one to be better than prequels? No. It is a good movie though. But hardly great.
Main characters are good, but villians are EXTREMLY weak. Kylo Ren is just pathetic little b*tch with anger issues and his boss looks like a "Hobbit" reject (this one have a little screen time, so it's not fair to judge yet, though). There's no excise for Kylo Ren though. As soon as his mask was off, he turned from intimidating person into more annoying version of Anakin.

[MrTerrorist]

Just got back watching the movie.

My opinion? Awesome!

It mixes what's best of the Star Wars films with a great story, new characters, great special effects and awesome music. There are a lot cool and funny moments in film, even sad ones.

Despite what all the trailers shown us, nothing gave us the hint of what film story really was. So prepare for some revelations and twists.

All in all, everyone should watch this movie. Here's hoping the sequel is great as well.

[Tormenk]

Just saw the movie. Rey and Finn both made for good protagonists with solid developments for both of them. Kylo Ren certainly will get you invested into him, whether you like him or not by the end of the movie.

[GundamFan0083]

Originally Posted by AntonKutovoi

Just came back from the theater.
First I have to say that I am one of those few people that considers prequel trilogy to be great.
Did I found this one to be better than prequels? No. It is a good movie though. But hardly great.
Main characters are good, but villians are EXTREMLY weak. Kylo Ren is just pathetic little b*tch with anger issues and his boss looks like a "Hobbit" reject (this one have a little screen time, so it's not fair to judge yet, though). There's no excise for Kylo Ren though. As soon as his mask was off, he turned from intimidating person into more annoying version of Anakin.

Thank you.
Glad I'm not the only one that has those feelings.

However, as a counter point, John Williams score for the movie is awesome (as usual), and the CG is amazing.

It's still a good movie (better than most) in my opinion, but I agree it is on par with the prequels not the original three (ep 4, 5, 6).

[GHDpro]

Originally Posted by AntonKutovoi

his boss looks like a "Hobbit" reject

That's not far off actually as he is portrayed by Andy Serkis (Gollum).

Spoiler for minor spoiler - do not open if you haven't seen it yet:

As this is an anime forum - my first impression of his boss was "Zentradi" (not-micronised, particulary how Exsedol in Macross 7 looked). In the end it looks like his size may or may not have been an illusion though

[JagdPanther]

While I'll be waiting a few weeks (on purpose) to see the movie, I am reading peoples' comments, to an extent. I've read a lot of comments that there is a LOT of Episode IV in the movie, even some things I hadn't read about through magazine articles or gleaned from the trailers. My concern for this movie is only growing.

[OH&S]

Originally Posted by JagdPanther

While I'll be waiting a few weeks (on purpose) to see the movie, I am reading peoples' comments, to an extent. I've read a lot of comments that there is a LOT of Episode IV in the movie, even some things I hadn't read about through magazine articles or gleaned from the trailers. My concern for this movie is only growing.

Its certainly true but I don't think it hurts the movie as much as you fear that it might. I think its the characters that pull their weight to make this a great film. Even Kylo Ren.

[Yui Is My Wife]

What the fuck, Swordmaster CC Smith and Mr Abrams

There was NO reason you had to drag the Swordsmanship of the New Trilogy from the Epic Majesty of "Wuxia" Cinema back down to the sleep-inducing antics of Erroll Flynn pirate movies.

It may have been at times unrestrained, yes, but Mr Lucas finally SUCCEEDED in creating the mythical Space-Wuxia Saga that Star Wars was meant to be with his manic but well-meaning prequels

This is something that both MR CC Smith AND Mr Abrams FAILED to realize: they gave us merely a competently made but restrained War Movie with a few laser swords rather than the Space Wuxia Epic that Star Wars is MEANT to be.

Shame on you both.

[larethian]

Originally Posted by AntonKutovoi

Just came back from the theater.
First I have to say that I am one of those few people that considers prequel trilogy to be great.
Did I found this one to be better than prequels? No. It is a good movie though. But hardly great.
Main characters are good, but villians are EXTREMLY weak. Kylo Ren is just pathetic little b*tch with anger issues and his boss looks like a "Hobbit" reject (this one have a little screen time, so it's not fair to judge yet, though). There's no excise for Kylo Ren though. As soon as his mask was off, he turned from intimidating person into more annoying version of Anakin.

Originally Posted by GundamFan0083

Thank you.
Glad I'm not the only one that has those feelings.

However, as a counter point, John Williams score for the movie is awesome (as usual), and the CG is amazing.

It's still a good movie (better than most) in my opinion, but I agree it is on par with the prequels not the original three (ep 4, 5, 6).

I'd say it's a great movie rather than good, personally speaking, partly because of the nostalgia. But objectively speaking, since I rewatched the previous 6 often enough, I don't particularly find it better than the previous 6.

Spoiler for contains plot spoilers on some areas in comparison to the previous movies:

Storywise, I have to reserve my judgment for now until I see the big picture. For the previous films, I like the overarching story between Anakin and Luke. This one looks like we are going to get 'redemption' as well with a stronger element of family added to it. Episodes 4-6 are still my favorite in terms of story at this point in time, and I don't know how to describe this accurately, but 1-3 seems to have the best/smoothest 'flow (unfolding of events and transitions)' to me, and 7 seems to have the worst after the beginning. I'm not saying it's bad, but just that it doesn't 'feel' as good as the previous under Luca's direction, comparatively speaking.

Totally in agreement with (bolded) points stated by AntonKutovoi.

I also prefer how Luke and Anakin got introduced to the Force before getting thrown into light saber fights.

1-3 still have the best choreographed lightsaber fights in my book. They were literally sword dances and simply took my breath away. And I still find the broadsword lightsaber kind of cranky In the prequel, I love how they swing and flip/juggle their lightsabers in a sort of pre-dance before engaging, and you can't really do that with the broadsword saber In short, lightsaber fights were lacking in episode 7 and there was not much use of the force in conjunction with their sabers as well.

Large scale fights were great and nothing to complain about. I kind of like how they preserve the old targeting system

Music was awesome definitely. Also no complaints on that.

For the 'shocking' development, I'm quite surprised that many were surprised. First off, I was never spoiled and didn't know about any leaks. The only 2 things I looked up were: first trailer when it was first up, and I googled to check for existence of post-credit scenes before going into the theater. I didn't even read this thread after the first trailer. So I went in spoiler-free (didn't even read any background info). But given the age of the franchise, I've already expected some kind of development along this line (for both Han and Luke), so when the build-up scene came, I already expected it.

Finn was great, Rey was great, Paul was great, BB8 was great! Han, Chewie, Leia were great. But everyone from the First Order was just meh. The stormtrooper cap, did she not get brainwashed and have blind loyalty as well? Why would she listen to the good guys and take down the shields to save her own skin? Having Han's group linking up with Rey and getting her to mindcontrol the cap seems more believable

All in all, 8/10. I'd say I still have good expectations on what's going to come, but to me, it's over-hyped and over-praised.

Just my opinion and how I perceived it.

In terms of sci-fi movie of the year, I'll rank Martian as number 1 and Star Wars as number 2

[Xellos-_^]

just watch

8/10 nothing original, sorta a remake of ep4 but executed well. The ending was pretty obvious halfway through to anyone with a bit of imagination.

Spoiler for speculation for ep8:

expect Luke to get it in the next movie