Star Wars Talkback: SPOILER ALERT

[dschroll]

I'm going to say this once, this thread has SPOILERS. DO NOT read any further if you have not see Star Wars The Force Awakens.


SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER



Ok, so let's use this thread as an opportunity to discuss the newest in the Star Wars movies.
I must say, I really really enjoyed the movie a lot and it was everything I wanted from a Star Wars movie.
I had a minor gripe here or there, but overall, it was a lot of fun.

But, since this is a talkback thread, let's talk about those minor gripes

1) Rey is picking up the Force stuff REALLY FAST. I mean, Luke had undergone training with Obi Wan and Yoda, and still was rusty. Rey seems to pick it up without any training whatsoever...

2) Rey beats Kylo Ren in lightsaber fight. Now, I can understand if she has unlocked her Force Powers that the power is raw and unrefined, so in the heat of battle she might nail him with a force push or something. But, Kylo Ren was schooled in the ways of a lightsaber. He knows how to use it. Rey is picking one up for the first time. Yet, somehow she beats him in their duel? I can see her beating him with the Force, because as I said, in the heat of battle she could do some cool things. But not with a lightsaber against someone who has been handling one for a long time at this point...

3) The Empire made ANOTHER death star? I mean, when are they going to learn? I can see it now, "Hey guys, remember how spent all this time and money building those 2 battle stations and each time the Rebels blew it up? Well, I've got an even better idea. We're gonna do the same thing, but make it BIGGER! It'll still have a small section that if destroyed will blow up the whole thing, but who cares about that because it'll be BIGGER. And this time it will have foliage on the surface.

4) Can someone explain the foliage on the surface of the new battle station? I'd say it was a planet, except that thing thing sucks all the energy out from whatever star they are near. Last I checked, most plants need sunlight to survive, so if this thing sucks all the energy from a start, how do those plants continue to live? Are they fake plants? Did the First Order decide to do some landscaping on this battlestation before putting it into action?

OK, so those are just some of my nitpicks. Of course, there are many many things I loved about the movie. But, let's start with this and see what kind of conversation we can get going.

[fatty]

Not being a big Star Wars fan (I learned that Hans Solo's ship was the Millenial Falcon in TFA), I found those points you mentioned odd as well.

1. For Rey just hearing about stories and legends about the Force being true and confirmed from Hans Solo, I found her learning it as fast as she did when she was tied up in the chair to take away the impact from the amount of time Jedi's had to take to learn it. So yeah, I agree 100%.

2. At the time when watching it I didn't think too much of it as I figured Kylo Ren was injured from the shot he took after the crucial encounter with his dad. But I definitely see your point. As a side note, I thought the earthquake splitting the ground where they couldn't fight anymore was kind of goofy.

3. Yeah, and to top it off how they could figure out how to take it out as quickly as they did. And to put that trust in Finn to know that he knew a way to stop it so easily. And that thing was huge, for how it went down it was a bit disappointing.

4. This one I'm not sure. I didn't really think about it until you brought it up haha.

My minor gripes (in addition to your points of 1 and 3) are:

R2-D2 only responding at the very end with providing the rest of the map. It was like "oh, R2-D2 has decided to wake up now and share the rest of the map that completes the puzzle!!" How convenient.

Kylo Ren becoming a lot less intimidating after the removal of the mask. Reminded me of Keanu Reeves a bit.

That boss stormtrooper with the silver armor, she was presented as being a strong character but then she easily rolls over for Finn and lets him bring the shields down. The lack of development for this character was a let down after the potential I saw from the beginning of the movie.

But those are nitpicks, I really enjoyed the movie overall and I appreciate that I didn't need to know a lot of the background to understand the story.

[NoThru22]

1. Who says that was the first force training she received? People seem to think she was at the Jedi Academy when she was a little girl. Possibly, Kylo Ren is the one that saved her and stranded her on that planet because she's his cousin and he didn't want to kill her.

2. Same, they played up his abdomen injury in that scene.

3. Nothing to say to that one.

4. It was definitely a converted planet, and I guess it was only meant to fire twice.

Once again, with Phasma, they tried to explain her turning so quickly with the "You think my men will let you escape alive?" line so it didn't matter, but I didn't buy that either.

[reaper]

I saw Star Wars a couple nights ago with my family. I thought I'd write a few of my thoughts down.

Downsides:

1. The movie seemed to contain too much re-use. I was all excited for a completely new adventure done with taste and humor and excitement. I wanted to see new worlds and battle new enemies. Instead, we essentially saw Darth Vader, a death star, a Cantina scene and Tatooine (seriously, why does every star wars movie seem to involve a planet that is almost 100% desert?) Yes, I know they gave these things different names this time but they were all so similar it might as well have been the same.

2. Kylo was too conflicted to be a serious bad guy. He seemed pathetic.

3. The idea that they would have no idea where Luke was wuth only a "part" of the map... showing 1000 planets and stars seemed silly. I mean... oh there's star Omega. Type that into google maps... ok, he's in this area. I mean what?

4. It was too obvious that Han was going to get killed by Kylo. I was just waiting for it to happen and as soon as Han split from Chewbacca, I knew it was about time.

Upsides:

1. The effects were pretty awesome. I didn't really see much that looked super fake. It had a tangible feel across the film and I think that paid off well.

2. The humor was fun. I loved seeing Indiana Jo... erm Han Solo running away from the rolling ball monster. I liked the comments about the trash compactor.

3. The BB8 was cool. I like the new robot.

4. The new characters are good. I liked Rey and Finn and want to see more of them. Rey is cute and not over sexualized. She is powerful without having to use her body in a bikini so far.

5. I liked how they held Luke till the end but still let us get a glimpse of him. I think it would have been too much of a cliffhanger to not even see him at all this movie. Loved the beard.

6. The action was great. Lots of good scenes with chases, light saber battles, ship battles, etc. The adventure of exploring the crashed star cruiser was cool but they should have shown a little more of that. It was over too quickly.

Overall:

I was smiling through the whole thing. I understand some comments about Rey picking up the force too fast. I think there is one of two explanations... you're right, it was too fast or she is super duper extra powerful in the force. If so, then maybe she can learn super fast. Kylo did seem afraid of her power. So, I am hoping she's some crazy good Jedi. The story could have used something more but overall, I think it was a nice transition into what I hope is a bunch of new movies with all new adventures. I think it was a good way to introduce us to new characters, remind us of some old characters and set the stage. I think the next one will blow the lid off but this one was worth seeing.

[reaper]

Read this:

www.facebook.com/notes/matty-granger/at-long-lastmy-star-wars-episode-vii-review-the-force-awakens-the-rise-of-idiot-/10153163095086277

[fatty]

Saw this yesterday and thought it was pretty neat: