Your immediate reaction? Best/worst part?

[Saul Grimtye]

Just saw the movie, wanted to come to the most concentrated zone of SW fans I could think of to say what I think. This will likely be incoherent babbling.

First of all, the casting was atrocious for Finn and Kylo. And the First Order ginger general. Finn gave off this constant I'm a little boy in a Star Wars movie! vibe and Kylo was some deformed emo who looked so boyish and unscary that I had to hold back laughter when he first removed his mask. That said, his acting was top notch but that face is just not Sithly at all. And I doubt it could ever be, his ears are far too big, his teeth are stereotypically english and his jaw is skewed. Han and Leia would make a much more handsome son. Lastly, the First Order general, how is someone so young and, again, boyish, general of the First Order? Also, his acting was rather bland. My girlfriend and I reckon he'd be perfect in a role suited to informing Kylo of bad news and subsequently being destroyed in a fit of sithly rage.

Secondly, forced humour, forced humour everywhere. Too many jokes or awkward moments packed too closely together. Don't get me wrong, some moments made me chuckle but most of it made me cringe slightly. And I hate BB-8 with a passion, never liked the thing ever since I saw it in the trailers. It's far too childlike, which begs the question; "why would a seasoned veteran pilot program his companion to behave that way?"

Thirdly, the story was basically a progressive 'A New Hope'. Strong female lead who don't need no man? Check. Black comic relief lead? Check. All villains white dudes? Check. New Hope plotline? Check. And don't get me started on how characters who've known each other for half a day form bonds as strong as you'd expect from friends since birth. What the hell was up with Finn and Poe running to each other and hugging it out like a soppy romantic reunion after the Resistance saves the day? A knowing nod, a smile and a handshake/pat on the back would've sufficed. Yes, Finn thought the dude had died, but jesus, they literally knew each other for ten minutes before the crashlanding. Just all felt very forced.

Speaking of forced, Rey being able to use the force so proficiently out of nowhere pissed me off. I'll let the mind trick go, but wrestling the lightsaber away from Kylo Ren, a guy trained since birth, who was both closer to the lightsaber and trying to pull it first, was ridiculous.

Lastly, why on earth is the Resistance's 'fleet' literally a couple handfuls of X-Wings? The rebels in the original trilogy had a proper fleet. It should have been the new Republic and the First Order duking it out, not some ragtag group of X Wing pilots.

I'd give the film a 6/10, held up mostly by stunning visuals and Luke's cameo. Still better than Phantom Menace, probably as good as Clone Wars.

 

[Gabriel Sionoma]

Movie was a solid 9/10. Was more than what was needed to return to the true form of Star Wars, casting a large shadow over every prequel.

I was giddy when I got to the movie, I was giddy when it was over. I'd go see it again if I could but instead, ill just mark my calendar for when the blue ray comes out.

My only gripe: Some portions seemed rushed. Every other thing that's been nitpicked on sites like reddit can quickly be counter argued with the context of the movie itself.

 

[Selena Halcyon]

[member="Saul Grimtye"] Some people can just never be happy I guess.

 

[The Traveler]

[member="Selena Halcyon"] EU fans will never be pleased

 

[Selena Halcyon]

I enjoyed EU. But I love that it is dead, and the present canon is the best. [member="The Traveler"]

 

[Saul Grimtye]

[member="Selena Halcyon"]

Just a matter of personal opinion!

For the record, the original trilogy and ROTS made me happy! As did the two KOTOR games and various SWTOR storylines!

 

[Rusty]

"Show me on the doll where the movie hurt you."

*Touches physics book.*

Starkiller Base made no sense. At all. Not even a little. Been dissecting that with a friend all day.

That said, the movie was fantastic. Perfect? No. The pacing was a little rushed in places, and I thought they could have safely ended with Rey going off to find Luke. Would have been much better, but I suppose the cameo at the end was contractual. Minor gripes, really.

I loved how Poe and Fin hit it off right away. After the wooden dialogue and failed humor of the prequels, it was nice to find myself laughing uncontrollably just a few minutes in. They were instant bros, IN SPACE.

I liked how they handled Kylo Ren. A Sith shouldn't be some brooding High Priest of Bowflex. It makes perfect sense that a scared, insecure, funny looking kid with daddy issues would fall to the Dark Side. He was practically begging for it. I liked how Chewbacca nailed his ass, which made the final fight a lot more believable.

Rey was everything we could have hoped for in a female protagonist. She was strong, smart, resourceful, all without seeming like they were trying too hard to make her something she wasn't. They didn't try too hard to make her a STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER. Instead, she was a strong character who happened to be female.

Fin was a blast. Badass without being a walking action movie trope. Funny, occasionally slapstick, but not farcical. Bonus points for a set of brass balls that had to have clanked when he walked. Facing down a pissed off Darksider with a lightsaber with no training and no Force isn't something everyone can do.

Han, of course, was everything I was hoping for. His death was telegraphed from a mile away, but it still managed to hit home. Harrison Ford does not get enough credit for his acting chops. If he had just shown up for a paycheck, this movie would have fallen flat on its face.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

SPACEBROS

They didn't try too hard to make her a STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER. Instead, she was a strong character who happened to be female.

THIS

 

[Matsu Ike]

"Show me on the doll where the movie hurt you."

*Touches physics book.*

Well isn't like the series hasn't beaten physics with a metal bat... The iconic sounds a tie makes it them flying through space.

They didn't try too hard to make her a STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER. Instead, she was a strong character who happened to be female.

Yeah it felt more organic and well kind of cool... also space bros hahaha

 

[Zonia Kalranoos]

Sometimes we forget there are several types of people who watch the movie through radically different eyes(in order of increasing fandomness)

• people simply like SF movies
• people who like Star Wars movies, but never showed interest in EU
• people who played the games and know some EU lore
• people who played the games, read the comics and books
• people who played the games, read the comics and books and dress up as a Jedi during Comic Con week
• people who post on this forum

For the first three type of people, TFA was amazing. Why? Because the movie is space opera, always was. You know, fantasy, in spaaaaaaceee....

Alas, most people don't know it takes 1500 posts to master Djem So. So, cut the movie some slack...

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Absolutely 9/10

I was so giddy during the trailer section and was simply overjoyed the entire movie through.

At the end of it all I was left exhausted, and that's a good thing!

 

[Via Dolorosa]

I have to disagree....saw it twice already (second time was a freebie) and hoped the second time around would help me find something positive to say.

1. I like Finn....his comical addition is nice.....especially the part where he is talking to Han and doing the chin thing when he is trying to explain his plan. Positive.

2. Didn't care for how Finn and Rey automatically knew how to use a lightsaber and hold their own (Rey defeating Ren at the end) agaianst someone that was probably training with one for awhile. Negative.

3. I liked Ren in action.....hated him in line speaking. Negative.

4. Surprised they killed Han. Positive.

5. General overview of the movie. Negative,

I felt the movie was catering to a new generation of SW fans (which I'm sure was the purpose) whilst feeling they (Abrams/Disney) where trying to push the old guard (old school SW fans out) with the movie. In summary.....I thought Jar Jar Binks was bad....compared to the Force Awakens.....he's an icon. 3/10.

 

[Selena Halcyon]

Yet another person displeased over the dumbest things. Not surprised.

Also, how can you say that the movie was trying push out the old guard. If anything it was pandering the OT fans. Hilarious.

 

[Gilamar Skirata]

Honestly, when- stopped the- mid air I was just like "be still my beating heart you are a beast!

EDIT:

On a side note, maybe we've been giving the Force and Jedi too much credit. The way those two used the lightsaber makes me think that all that "special training" and "forms" etc. was just an exercise in control and technique. Despite all the mysticism around the iconic weapon of the franchise maybe its really not as hard as we thought to not cut off your hand with a lightsaber. This is how I thought of them anyways and its good to see the big screen agrees. A weapon is a weapon.

 

[Selena Halcyon]

^ you get it. It is a weapon. They wielded it like a sword. And it is not like they were proficient with it. Furthermore, I am okay with Rey beating Kylo when he was short in the waste, stabbed a couple times. It is not like he was in peak fighting form.

 

[Amari Vessia]

This could’ve been said before but I wanted to randomly say things too…

Spoiler: Ren…

the whole he got beat by Rey while he was trained and she wasn’t. It another reviewer for me to go “well I didn’t think of that… it could hold some weight.” And that remark was about Ren with some friends (flashback scene) ended the New Jedi Order so from that moment to the duel with Rey, who would push him and force him to get better? No Jedi order/ Luke was coming for him, none of the First Order is going to anything when he takes his anger out on the iMac and iBeTortour chair. He was an apprentice turned to the dark side and long as he peacocked around, no one was going go question it. Also, we know Snoke smoke la saber to the skull hologram was not going to train him. Why do that if you going to toss him to the side once his usefulness came to an end.

Spoiler: Regarding Luke…

If you were taking care of your niece or nephew and something bad… very bad happen to them on your watch. How would you feel… Ashamed, failure, horrible, or another bad/ negative feeling? Could you look your sibling and best friend in the eyes again? Wouldn’t it be easier to put some distance between you and them so the reminders would be less? How would you deal with it? Now Luke’s only examples from Jedi when it comes to failures are two masters that fled and hid until the time was right again to right those wrongs. Only other Jedi that correct their failure was his father tossing the man that corrupted him to the darkside. Not all great people to follow but he did what they did minus the person tossing. Place faith in the force, the force will lead those to him when it was time for mistakes to be corrected like it did with his life.

That is all… turkey sauce and ice cream fighting… heart, heart with X’s and O’s

 

[Rusty]

A lightsaber is a fancy sword. It requires no mystical skill or ability to use. Force use and training might make you use one well, but it doesn't stop you from picking one up and going to town.

Look at Fin and Rey's movements. Fin is a trained fighter. He knows how to handle himself in combat, but he moves like the weapon is unfamiliar. He can stick it through a normal stormtrooper just fine, but doesn't last long against someone with training.

Rey knows how to handle her staff, and her form reflects it. She moves like someone used to a spear. She's clearly not yet comfortable with the weapon, and is on the defensive the entire time until she learns to calm her mind and listen to the Force.

Meanwhile, Kylo was hurt. He had just taken a shot from a weapon that had, until that point, routinely sent stormtroopers flying through the air like they'd been kicked by a coked up mule. Despite what people on Chaos seem to think, you don't get a wound like that and keep fighting like everything is fine. A burn like that literally cooks your insides a little. He was losing blood, dehydrated, probably only fighting off shock with the Dark Side, and had just killed his father. I think maybe we canbut him some slack on not being at the top of his game.

As an aside, anyone else notice how the lightsabers were more dynamic than they were a decade ago? They looked so much better, and they interacted with the environment better as well.

 

[WolfMortum]

*Exhales slowly* Where to start here...

I'm not going to go into what happened but I want to take a look at the whole thing and give something of a vaguely detailed yet thorough view of my opinion on this movie. Take note: This is coming from a collector/avid reader of the EU novels and a lover of the OT (Original Trilogy).

To begin with I had so many doubts that Disney would live up to deliver us something so good as the Original Trilogy, despite the Prequels offering nothing to the standard of satisfaction/love that I gained over episodes IV, V and VI (Personal opinion!). I've seen so many Disney movies and don't get me wrong, they rarely offer a bad experience yet JJ.Abrams I couldn't wrap my head around after the way he did the Star Trek movies and though I'm not a Trekky, I've watched plenty of it with my ex to know he took steps away from what was expected by devout fans (Such as many of us are for StarWars). I went in with expectations that were most thankfully crushed, spat on and cast aside by what proved to be an amazing watch and reminded me of the first time I saw A New Hope in Cinema's.

Rey and Fin: I loved these two new "hero's" (Good characters, protagonists etc). Fin was brilliant in his acting and his parts in the movie offering a humorous few anecdotes while also portraying the seriousness believable in what he was facing. He was fearful of the New Order yet believed in enough, more than himself to face it all and arguably only for Rey. He weilded a lightsaber well, though it's already been said above...

Rusty: Look at Fin and Rey's movements. Fin is a trained fighter. He knows how to handle himself in combat, but he moves like the weapon is unfamiliar. He can stick it through a normal stormtrooper just fine, but doesn't last long against someone with training.

In comparison to Rey who was also quoted by [member="Rusty"] in just equal opinion to how I perceived the battle between her and Kylo Ren, injured and putting up a good fight but in an obvious disadvantage.

Luke Skywalker...-To me he looked as if he was broken from failing Kylo Ren. His eyes held a huge amount of guilt behind them and I wondered just how much of his personality will show a doubt in his views over the light and dark sides of the force since the Original Trilogy where he was such a 'white knight' against Vader.

Leia? She's still a babe...-She's older but that woman will always have a place in my heart.

Han? He should've shot first...

C3PO...-Still the character you love to cringe over but it wouldn't be StarWars without him. I've a love/hate relationship with this droid. I hate nothing yet can't find myself thinking he's anything but annoying yet strangely iconic and original. He is my beloved contradiction in views over the Star Wars movies.

The Special Effects are without saying the best in the movies (all of them). No horrible amount of lens flares yet everything looked so amazing and sounded even cooler than what we know Star-wars to already have delivered in sound effects and musical scores.

Over-all this movie blew my mind and it's only been an hour since I left the cinema's from seeing it if that's any indication of my hype towards this flick. I have always loved A New Hope above all the others but seeing this that seemed to pay so much homage towards the Original Trilogy, while I cannot tear myself away from claiming Episode IV was the best movie I've seen in my life, this ties it over and I have to say, I've been proving seriously wrong in what doubts that I did have before seeing it...

 

[Dion Kayl]

My immediate reaction was that I enjoyed the new Episode, but as a movie it felt very different from what I have come to expect: specifically, it left a lot of open plotlines and ended on a cliffhanger much like TV shows these days, and you're left itching for the next episode because you have so many questions.

What I wondered most when I left the theater was about Fin, who was such a pivotal character that added a lot of dimension to the plot by being a stormtrooper: What made him so unique that he was the only one to rebel against the First Order? Do other stormtroopers have his sort of goofy personality? (he really humanized the stormtroopers by being so personable, but is he an anomaly?) What was his relationship with the stormtrooper who wiped the blood on his mask? (in a way I see how this doesn't really matter and leaving it open to speculation is effective, which is probably why it wasn't explored in this episode, but I wonder if we'll learn more in the next one?)

Anyways, it really was a thrill to see Star Wars again, and my favorite part was Fin and Rey's escape from the desert planet (action-packed, humorous, very Star Wars-y all around). My least favorite part was probably the little ginger Hitler blowing up the planets, that felt very forced and awkward and happened so fast that it's significance felt completely lost.

 

[Asemir]

Just saw the movie. Overall, I enjoyed it and thought it was quite good. Very good. So much better than the prequels. 8/10. That said, I have some issues/observations because, well, I'm a nerd. Like everyone else here.

Spoiler

1) Kylo Ren. Man, when he unmasked himself, I was like, haha emo kid. He just looks like it. He definitely does not have the Vader menace. But a poster above brought up the idea that Ren perhaps isn't supposed to be a Dark Lord of the Sith. Perhaps he's just a Sith Knight. Snoke even said that Ren's training isn't complete. So, if that's the case, then everything else makes sense. How he doesn't carry Vader's charisma. How Rei (Rey?) beat him in a lightsaber duel. And so forth.

2) A super Death Star? That blows up three (or more) major planets? Why isn't the Republic (and Imperial Remnant) going all crazy about that? They'd have mobilized and wiped out the First Order instantly. As I understand the new canon, the First Order (and Resistance) are actually fairly tiny warlord groups out in the fringe of the galaxy. The Republic doesn't really care about them. It's sorta like the Taliban and 9/11, actually. As soon as the Taliban destroyed those towers, the US up and annihilated them.

3) I actually thought BB-88 (or whatever) was pretty good. Not a Jar-Jar but an Artoo. Neat.

4) Captain Phantasma (or Phantom or whatever her name is) was a disappointment. I thought she'd at least have a cool fight scene. Nope!

5) Does anyone else think that Rey may be Luke's daughter? That explains a lot of the super-Force stuff, including the visions. She also has flashbacks of being abandoned, of seeing an island, and all that. It'd make sense.