bob Posted December 10, 2015 Posted December 10, 2015 Watch them all! They're worse than you remember, but still essential viewing! We've still got to cram in the last 3 before next week somehow.
Dog-amoto Posted December 16, 2015 Posted December 16, 2015 Seems to be getting positive reviews. Love how the plot has been so secretly guarded, a day before release and I still know next to nothing about it. Going seeing it on Friday as I'm at work tomorrow. Gonna avoid the Internet till then I think! Don't want any of this.
Hero-of-Time Posted December 16, 2015 Author Posted December 16, 2015 Just under two hours to go. My hype levels are rising at an alarming rate...
Mr-Paul Posted December 16, 2015 Posted December 16, 2015 Just under two hours to go. My hype levels are rising at an alarming rate... It's been all i could think about all day! Just arrived at the BFI IMAX, having a pre film pint to relax before the film of the year! See you on the other side guys
Sméagol Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) Entertaining, but not fantastic. But it certainly did things better than the previous trilogy. Edit: I am going to see it a 2nd time though.. I'm curious to see laser projection in action, and visually the film was (generally) great, so there's no better excuse. Edit 2: Favourite moment was the "thumbs up" moment. Edited December 17, 2015 by Sméagol
Dcubed Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 Plot Convinience: The Movie. I have many more things to say, but that is my one overriding thing I have to say right now :p
Hero-of-Time Posted December 17, 2015 Author Posted December 17, 2015 Loved it. Absolutely loved it! It perfectly recaptured the look and feel of the original trilogy and while I do enjoy the prequels, there was that original Star Wars magic missing from them. I honestly had to hold back the tears as I seen a childhood hero ( Solo ) killed off. You knew it was coming but it was still difficult to watch. Daisy Ridley was fantastic. Her character was great throughout the movie but once she started to embrace her powers she hit a whole new level of hype.
The Peeps Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) Overall I loved it. A nice homage to the original trilogy with some really cool moments. The first half of the film was brilliant and I can't fault it... it's a long exposition to set up all the characters and where they're all at, but I think once everything is established it tries to do too much. There's a moment where they literally just discover the 'starkiller' (I think they called it that?) and they instantly have a full diagnostic of it. They bring up a schematic and go 'oh here's the weakspot, destroy the shield then blow it up. Ok let's go!' It's too quick and easy. I can let that go because the following scenes with the x-wings were really awesome but it was all the other stuff that I thought let the film down. Rey getting her Jedi 'awakening' was good for the first five minutes but they whacked her up to Jedi master so quickly! There's no way she should've been able to last against Kylo Ren, let alone defeat him. Wasn't he supposed to have been trained by Luke? So we can assume he's been using the force for quite some time. When Luke first faced off against Vader he lost his damn hand! I was half expecting her to somehow be Han and Leia's daughter though :p It's hard to seperate this film from episode IV. All I see is Han in Obi Wan's role, Rey is Luke, Finn is Han and Luke is now Yoda. I'm not really sure if that's a good thing or not. It was a good film but it was basically the same story. It felt more like a remake than a new film. Criticisms aside, I did really enjoy it - especially all the dogfight/chase scenes. Edited December 17, 2015 by The Peeps
Mr-Paul Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 Loved it. Need to watch it again to know just how much I loved it. Why oh why did it have to end? I WANT MORE. Bloody love Rey. Daisy Ridley is fantastic.
Hero-of-Time Posted December 17, 2015 Author Posted December 17, 2015 @The Peeps Kylo had been shot by Chewbaccas bow blaster and hit by Finn in his lightsaber battle. Dude was already a little beaten up. Rey was shown to be pretty handy with a staff, so does have some fighting skills. As for her powers, she clearly has a strong bond with the force. I mean she had visions when getting close to Luke's lightsaber, something he didn't even have when he seen his fathers for the first time. Also, Kylo just seems to be pure raw energy. It looks as though he has little control and just lashes out. I take it he didn't finish his training with Luke and this new big bad said he needs to finish his training. He's very much an unfinished product, held back by his fear of not being good enough.
The Peeps Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 Now that you mention it, I hadn't taken her prior fighting skills into consideration. It really did have that Star Wars feel to it and it reminded me so much of episode IV that I just took her to be as naive as Luke was when he started out. I know Ren was injured but he didn't really show much/any of it during the fight - unless it was that weird chest pounding he was doing. We did see that he was bleeding before the fight but you'd think he'd show some actual weakness or at least frustration. I don't think Finn should have been able to land a hit on Kylo Ren either :p but maybe I was expecting Ren to be worse or more fearsome than he actually was. Or as you say, he just lashes out and leaves himself open because he attacks with raw energy/anger.
Cube Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 For the lightsaber fights, remember that the film showed multiple times how powerful the Bowcaster is, so Kylo Ren was suffering from that and the intense emotion of what he had just done. Speaking of that - the lighting of that scene was brilliantly well done. I really enjoyed how childish and conflicted he was without the mask on, he's much better than how Anakin was shown in the prequels. Overall, I absolutely loved the film. They did a poor job at explaining a few things like the old guy at the start and the planet they blew up, which most people would assume is Corustant (it wasn't). Also, Phasma was awful.
Mr-Paul Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 Plot Convinience: The Movie. I have many more things to say, but that is my one overriding thing I have to say right now :p Most movie plots are convenient! The only part that really stood out to me as 'convenient' was The chasm appearing between Kylo Ren/Rey after their duel so she couldn't finish him off. Very convenient!
Dcubed Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) Most movie plots are convenient! The only part that really stood out to me as 'convenient' was The chasm appearing between Kylo Ren/Rey after their duel so she couldn't finish him off. Very convenient! True, but this movie is just a complete pisstake when it comes to Deus Ex Machina! Rey conveniently learning how to use the Force out of absolutely nowhere at perfect times, despite having no formal training whatsoever, R2D2 conveniently waking up from deep slumber at JUST the perfect time (oh and of course he just happens to have the rest of the map on him ), the Millenium Falcon just so happening to be in the right place at the right time... The list is endless! I did enjoy it overall, even if it doesn't really feel like Star Wars; it's Nu Trek through and through - especially the pacing! No shot seems to last for more than 3 seconds! Abrams even pulls the same trick that he did with Trek 2009 again and blows up Coruscant as a big Fuck You to the prequel trilogy :p And everything moves at a million miles an hour. But despite how safe Abrams played it The plot is basically a remake of A New Hope with bits cherry picked from Empire and ROTJ it's still a fun romp with some cool characters and a few neat new concepts (especially with Finn). Harrison Ford really stole the show though, he did a great job reprising his role! Finn was great as well and I liked Poe as well, for what little we ended up seeing of him anyway :p Really, having a think about it. I'd say that it stands as the polar opposite of the Prequel Trilogy movies; both the good and the bad. What the PT gets right, Force Awakens gets wrong and vice versa. Edited December 17, 2015 by Dcubed
Cube Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) I did enjoy it overall, even if it doesn't really feel like Star Wars; it's Nu Trek through and through - especially the pacing! No shot seems to last for more than 3 seconds! Abrams even pulls the same trick that he did with Trek 2009 again and blows up Coruscant as a big Fuck You to the prequel trilogy :p It's not Corsucant that was blown up. But it the film does have the same problems as his Trek with how small space feels. Edited December 17, 2015 by Cube
Shorty Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 Opened this thread and then tabbed away. Came back to it after a minute and absent-mindedly opened HoT's spoiler tag. Oops v_v
killthenet Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 Worst thing about it is Greg fucking Grunberg. I just rewatched Heroes so i'm sick of him. I really enjoyed it. It's definitely Star Wars, but you can tell it's JJ Abrams. Disappointed that nobody in the cinema booed the Star Trek trailer.
Cube Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 Disappointed that nobody in the cinema booed the Star Trek trailer. We didn't get a Star Trek trailer when I saw it. I wanted to see it on the big screen.
Shorty Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 @Shorty Why the hell did you open this one? It's a sickness
dazzybee Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 The film was amazing, seeing it again tonight and I'm pleased as... I too was unsure of the ending with Rey almost beating Ren. I can make sense of it like Hero says - he was weakened, Rey is obviously very good, also a surprise factor/complacency, but Ren was such an amazing Villain, I didn't like him being weak, I think I'd have much preferred him almost destroying and her holding her own (which would've still been impressive) and them being separated. Would have been much better, then her being trained by Luke makes it more exciting, train her up to have another crack. As it is, her becoming even more powerful... I don't know. Something about it just didn't quite work, but maybe on another viewing it'll work better. I think the story is at times contrived, but your examples are not them, she gets force powers when she most needs them - doesn't that answer the question itself why they actually come?! Not contrived, it's her realising she has something and then pushing it, and the force helping her. R2 waking up - well I got the sense that he was instructed to wake up when someone was worthy to be trained by Luke, or, presuming this is the case, if his daughter ever turns up. And of course he had the rest of the map, Luke wanted to be found at some point... The millennium Falcon being on Jakku was a big contrivance, but it was so casually and funnily done it kind of worked. It being found by Solo was a little off but they explained it well enough Not sure on the Rey being quite so good. In general not enough light sabre fights. The sequence when Han first comes in and the two gangs and those weird monsters was completely UN Starwarsy. Worst bit for me. Rey getting the cuffs off using mind tricks. Just didn't work seeing it play out. I'd have preferred after she tries and fails, she just stares at him as she does, the we cut away - we know she did, but actually seeing it felt a bit campy. The bit were Finna dn Rey did the millennium falcon fight thing and came together like children - you were amazing, you were, how did you do that, I don't know, oh my god... Felt a bit much. The parallels to A new hope were excessive, but only repeat viewings will say whether this is a good or bad thing. The very worst thing about the whole film, and I knew he'd be shit, was Hux, Gleeson just isn't very good in general I don't think, but oh boy is he awful in this, camping and gurning through everything. I knew a new hope is quite similar, but the style jarred more in this. Hated him. Everything else. The first half an hour was just utterly perfect pretty much up to the aforementioned un star wars bit, sagged a little with the exposition and Maz kicking in and then lifted again. All the action was great. Kylo was amazing. Han was amazing. The droids were brilliant - every thing C3PO said cracked me up I think. Actually in general it was much funnier than I expected to be, and most off it work. Finn was very good in his Han role. Can't wait to see it again. And so pleased we only have to wait 18 months for the next one. Oh, and the very end was just absolutely perfection. The shot, the location, and Luke just looked perfect!
Esequiel Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 Calling it now, the next movie will be a lot more flash back regarding what happened to Kylo (Ben) and the big reveal goes like this: Kylo- "Luke didn't tell you what happened to your family did he? Rey - "He told me you killed them!" Kylo - "No Rey, I am your brother" Rey - "Nooooooooooooooooo" ------------------ They are setting it up that Luke is her Father, the direction in TFA stuffs it down your down your throat! Flashback at the lightsaber, being left on a desert planet, Kylo seeing the ocean and island in her mind and R2D2 waking up..... I think that Kylo is this way because of jealousy as alluded to by Rey when she reversed into his mind "Your scared you will never be as powerful as Darth Vader". So Kylo has a famous Mum, Dad and uncle. He is strong but not as strong as Luke and then his 3 year old (just a guess) sister joins the academy and instantly outshines him. His little sister is better in every aspect than he is, Snoke gets into his head and offers to teach him to be stronger than them, that the dark side can help. And then he murders all the Jedi, but he couldn't find his sister. The first order bomb the temple and Snoke tells him that they are all dead. I also think that they have another brother who was a baby and will be introduced in the next movie. Anyway after this happens, Luke turns Obi Wan and splits the young children up sending them to separate planets with people they know as they are going to be the only hope for the future. On Jakku the guy who has Luke's map is the same guy that tells Rey in her flashback to "Come on girl". I think that Leia will be killed in VIII by Kylo and I think that Luke will die in episode 9 by snoke. I really hope that Snoke is as big as the hologram as well and has a snake like body :p Yeah so I loved the movie, very similar to ANH but in the best way possible. My thoughts in the spoiler!
ReZourceman Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 It's not Corsucant that was blown up. But it the film does have the same problems as his Trek with how small space feels. How come? What was it?
killthenet Posted December 17, 2015 Posted December 17, 2015 I just typed a tonne about the film and then tried to open a new tab to spellcheck and ended up closing the tab I was used Hopefully I can remember most of what I wrote, here we go again. I agree with you about Gleeson. I liked him in 'Ex Machina' so I was hopeful he'd be good in this, but his hammy acting really grated didn't fit within the film at all. Oscar Issac was great though, I thought his character could have fit straight into the original trilogy. You're right about the humour in it too, it's the polar opposite of the Prequel trilogy in that regard. With the prequels, Lucas basically decided to put all of the humour into one character, which left the film feeling totally robotic. The humour in this though feels completely natural because the film is so invested creating believable characters. It means that even when there are obvious contrivances, like the moment you mention that Rey and Finn find the Falcon, it's completely forgivable because it's done in such a fun and entertaining way. I totally disagree with you about the lack of lightsaber duels though. I thought there was a perfect amount of it, the prequel trilogy went completely overboard with lightsaber duels so I was really happy to see that there was only a few minutes of well choreographed fight sequences. Also, the biggest fuck you to the prequel trilogy is the complete disregard for fucking midichlorians. That is something that is really going to please hardcore Star Wars fans, the force is actually a FORCE and not some biological nonsense. Probably a silly question, but I was wondering if anyone knew what details were leaked before release. I'm assuming a lot of you did what I did and avoided all news stories about it over the last few months, but I was curious to know if any of the major plot details got out. Obviously the major point about Han's fate remained a secret, but what about Kylo Ren being Han and Leia's son? That was probably my favourite plot point and allowed Harrison Ford to give a more nuanced performance than we're used to from him. Were people aware that Rey was Luke's daughter? I had assumed she would be the daughter of one of them but had any concrete details about that leaked before release? All I knew about the film going into it was that Luke was missing, everything else was a complete surprise.
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