SW Force Awakens - Review w/ spoilers (Don't read until after you see it)

[DarthGrumpy]

So, I just saw it. What did everyone think? I like how the movie was story & character driven and not driven by special effects. There was some adult themes under the surface; but, it did not take away from the core of the story - good guys v. bad guys and the character's choices determine which side he/she is on.

Was not a big fan of the concept of Star Killer base. Basically Death Star III or roids and it was blown-up the same way as Death Star II with a good trench run thrown in.

Kylo Ren is going to be a very interesting character going forward. He real name is even a tribute a 'Legends' Character.

Fin was a character that everyone can relate to. Just a regular Joe/Storm Trooper trying to do the right thing. Not sure if he is force sensitive or not, though.

Poe is one heck of a pilot in the old Han Solo/Maverick from Top Gun mold. Cocky; but delivers. That one sequence where he shoots down 6 (I think) Ties in a row and scrapes off a few Storm Troopers off of Han and Fin's back is nuts

Rey. Still have no idea is she is or is not related to one of the core characters; but, I though she was well played showing a tough; but vulnerable/alone young woman who can kick some major arse.

Minor not, anyone catch who the old guy that Poe met in Jakku was before Kylo cut him down. He knows Luke and the force; but, not sure if he can use it. I link he was called a general. Maybe Wedge? Maybe Kanan? That detail is going to drive me nuts.

I go over more spoilerish details later. I need to see if without the kids to make sure I catch everything.

 

[Jarhead_1775]

So, I just saw it. What did everyone think? I like how the movie was story & character driven and not driven by special effects. There was some adult themes under the surface; but, it did not take away from the core of the story - good guys v. bad guys and the character's choices determine which side he/she is on. Was not a big fan of the concept of Star Killer base. Basically Death Star III or roids and it was blown-up the same way as Death Star II with a good trench run thrown in. Kylo Ren is going to be a very interesting character going forward. He real name is even a tribute a 'Legends' Character. Fin was a character that everyone can relate to. Just a regular Joe/Storm Trooper trying to do the right thing. Not sure if he is force sensitive or not, though. Poe is one heck of a pilot in the old Han Solo/Maverick from Top Gun mold. Cocky; but delivers. That one sequence where he shoots down 6 (I think) Ties in a row and scrapes off a few Storm Troopers off of Han and Fin's back is nuts Rey. Still have no idea is she is or is not related to one of the core characters; but, I though she was well played showing a tough; but vulnerable/alone young woman who can kick some major arse. Minor not, anyone catch who the old guy that Poe met in Jakku was before Kylo cut him down. He knows Luke and the force; but, not sure if he can use it. I link he was called a general. Maybe Wedge? Maybe Kanan? That detail is going to drive me nuts. I go over more spoilerish details later. I need to see if without the kids to make sure I catch everything.

I loved it. I like the continued story line from 456, my only gripe is that it's a bit too much like 4.. Death Star, cute droid has secret map, family ties everywhere, cantina scene, falcon tie fighter shootout, etc. That said huge thumbs up anyway. Watching Rey fly the falcon all over was killer. Our theater was like watching a women's game though. I wanted cheering when Han came aboard the Falcon. Bad as ever.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I loved it. I like the continued story line from 456, my only gripe is that it's a bit too much like 4.. Death Star, cute droid has secret map, family ties everywhere, cantina scene, falcon tie fighter shootout, etc. That said huge thumbs up anyway. Watching Rey fly the falcon all over was killer. Our theater was like watching a women's game though. I wanted cheering when Han came aboard the Falcon. Bad as ever.

My theater was a little more rowdy. People started booing after 2 previews. It was really loud after the 6th, which thankfully was the last. Hg cheering during the final scene and dead silence during Han's final scene.

 

[Penfield]

Minor not, anyone catch who the old guy that Poe met in Jakku was before Kylo cut him down. He knows Luke and the force; but, not sure if he can use it. I link he was called a general. Maybe Wedge? Maybe Kanan? That detail is going to drive me nuts.

His name is listed as Lor San Tekka on IMDB. I thought your guess of Kanan was interested since it sounded like there would be some sort of connection between The Rebels tv show and the movie, but it might not be that complicated after all.

 

[Scalito]

@FfldCntyFan --- I agree with what you said in the non-spoiler thread about the climatic scene being easy to see in advance. That being said, I dunno how you make that much harder to predict other than by hiding the identity of Ren until the scene itself unfolded because (1) Abrams followed the original movie's story arc (a good thing) and (2) Han stole the lion's share of the original casts' on screen time (a good move by JJ Abrams trust Harrison Ford, by far and away the best Star Wars actor ever, to right the ship), making him the Obi Wan to the younger heros story arc. If Ren's identity was hidden, maybe you figure Han can buy his way into Episode VII and IX before being offed, but die he must in order to further the development of the new heros. Just like Obi Wan, Qui Gong and every other mentor of every hero dies in every other myth.

So should Ren's identity have been hidden better? Maybe. I lean yes, at the moment. But the only way you do that is by making Han the only original cast member (not counting robots and wookies) to make a significant appearance in Episode VII because you can't have Princess Liea and Han Solo interacting and failing to discuss that little fact. And if Abrams had dropped Liea, he loses the ability to say the original cast is returning. Because it isn't. Han's returning with a Luke cameo . . . . That's a difficult trade-off to consider, so I give them a whatever, we'da feared his demise no matter what anyway.

 

[Penfield]

What I loved:

Rey & Finn - Just pure chemistry between the two. Great casting and I can see bright futures for both actors. Over the 2+ hours I genuinely came to care about the characters - more than I expected going into it. They are going to carry this franchise going forward and I can't wait to see what happens to them next. In some ways I am more exited to see them again than seeing Luke in the next movie.

The moments of pure joy and awe - Stuff like the first Tie Fighter chase was just plain fun to watch. Seeing Rey scavenge in a downed Star Destroyer and living out of an old AT-AT walker. The dog fights. Kylo Ren stopping the lazer blast w/ the force.

Comedy - most of it was spot on. Maybe there were a couple moments where they could have dialed it back a bit, but it made the movie feel like Star Wars and not Space Balls. C-3P0's introduction was just about the best thing I could have imagined. Cut the tension perfectly. The comedy was all about timing and banter instead of fart jokes like the prequels. BB-8 giving Finn "thumbs up". Chewie flirting with his nurse. Han telling Finn "thats not how the force works". All good stuff.

Kylo Ren - I think he is going to make a very interesting villain. I like that he is raw and flies off the handle. Basically what Anakin should have been in the prequels.

The sets and costumes - You could tell the people that made this movie poured every ounce of their being into making the world feel real. They truly cared and I have no doubt the franchise is in great hands.

Overall it was just a fun ride. It had everything the prequels were missing.

My Gripes and my morning after thoughts:

The story was a little too similar to A New Hope. It didn't ruin anything, but I would have enjoyed a little something different. My brother did make a good point after the movie though -Didn't you expect that one day they would re-make Star Wars? Yup. Well, wasn't it better this way than actually re-making the first movie? OK, I can live w/ that.

How are they going to follow up what was essentially the Death Star 3 that was able to take out a couple planets at one time? And did the First Order really destroy Coruscant? It was kinda like "Well that just happened".

Why does Poe tell Finn right off the bat that he has a map to find Luke Skywalker? Maybe he should have gotten to know the former storm trooper a little better before giving up his secret mission?? I think that if Rey and Finn had no idea why they needed to get BB-8 back to the Resistance but just knew they had to do it - wouldn't have taken anything away from the story and would have added a little surprise for the characters. This also could have fixed the whole R2-D2 "waking up" at the end thing.

Why does Finn know anything about Han Solo & Luke Skywalker. Shouldn't his character essentially be a brainwashed soldier that was told how evil the Rebels & Resistance were his entire life? Wouldn't Kylo Ren not want his troops to know who Han Solo is? I feel like Finn was supposed to be the audiences window into the world and they could have used the character a little better to explain things - especially to non-fans. Overall not a big deal though.

My biggest gripe - They should have revealed Kylo Ren's origins later on in the movie. I think the Han and Leia scene still could have worked with out being so upfront about it. Leia (side note - Carrie Fisher partied hard didn't she?) could have basically just said "If you find him please bring him back". The back story could have come during the confrontation between Han and Kylo. I think it would have just added a lot more tension to the scene. Maybe it's because I had heard rumors, but I thought it was very obvious what was about to happen to Han. I wanted it to feel like I got punched in the stomach, but it didn't. I think JJ really missed something here w/ the set up. It was right for the story, but there could have been a little more feels to it. I also probably would have left the story of Kylo betraying Luke for the second movie. Would have made for much more of an "Ahhhh that makes sense" sort of thing.

I will chalk up the last 3 points to the fact that regardless of who people want to think the target audience is, that Star Wars needs to be appealing to children. If it isn't, then I don't think it's Star Wars. Maybe JJ and Kasdan made some of the decisions they did because of this.

Final Gripe - Rey learned how to use the force pretty quickly & powerfully. Luke couldn't use the whole mind control trick until ROTJ. How can Finn use a lightsaber, let alone to battle a trained force user? Maybe the next two movies will shed some light on this stuff, but I probably would have held off a little bit that's all.


Reading this it might seem like there was more that I disliked than liked, but I wouldn't say that. I would give the move a solid B, and I can honestly say I cant wait to see what happens next. When the movie ended I was ready to watch #2 immediately and in my book that means it was a win. The cast was awesome, and JJ really nailed the feel of Star Wars. I think this is a movie that will grow on me as opposed to me distancing myself from - like the prequels. I was a pretty big Star Wars nerd as a kid - like read a bunch of those terrible books kinda fan, but after watching Revenge of the Sith, I was ready to move on from Star Wars and "kids stuff". The prequels killed my fandom, but this movie has sucked me right back in.

What do I expect next:
I think that we are supposed to see Kylo and Rey as somewhat equal in their powers, even though Kylo has some prior training. Movie 2 - Kylo will go off to finish his training with Supreme Leader Snoke. Rey trains as a Jedi with Luke, and we will find out her backstory. Movie 3 - Sith vs Jedi again. Cant Wait.

 

[Jarhead_1775]

Penfield,
I thought about Finn being able to use a light saber, too. But don't forget he is a trained soldier from birth. No doubt they'd be very well versed in all kinds of fighting styles. Lol, despite the fact that they've clearly never heard of duck and cover... Pretty basic. They seem to die in droves.

 

[Penfield]

Penfield,
I thought about Finn being able to use a light saber, too. But don't forget he is a trained soldier from birth. No doubt they'd be very well versed in all kinds of fighting styles. Lol, despite the fact that they've clearly never heard of duck and cover... Pretty basic. They seem to die in droves.

Well at least the Storm troopers seemed a little less bumbling than the original trilogy right?? haha

I know the Finn thing is my super nerd coming out. It's the type of thing only a true Star Wars fan could get annoyed about.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

His name is listed as Lor San Tekka on IMDB. I thought your guess of Kanan was interested since it sounded like there would be some sort of connection between The Rebels tv show and the movie, but it might not be that complicated after all.

Commander Jun Sato was the only clear character from Rebels used in Force Awakens outside of R2 of course. I still think there is more to Lor San Tekka. Somebody had to raise Rey earlier on as there is no way a 5/6/7 year old girl could survive on Jakku without someone's support.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Penfield,
I thought about Finn being able to use a light saber, too. But don't forget he is a trained soldier from birth. No doubt they'd be very well versed in all kinds of fighting styles. Lol, despite the fact that they've clearly never heard of duck and cover... Pretty basic. They seem to die in droves.

Remember the Storm Trooper with the Stun Stick (?) that Fin went up against with this saber? Likely, all Storm Troopers are trained to varying degrees in melee weapons and a lightsaber is a melee weapon. Also explains a bit how Rey was able to use a saber at first as her staff would give her some of the basics, and she was able to kick butt using that, too.

I am not sure if Finn is force sensitive, though. He did not show any abilities that I saw along that line.

Storm Troopers are not the brightest. Trying to take on X-Wings that are in the air and moving (versus one parked on the ground) and armed with anti-starship level weapons with rifles is not so smart and they went down in droves.

PS - Anyone see that Poe's first X-Wing had a drop-down, anti-personal blaster included? That was cool.

 

[Penfield]

Commander Jun Sato was the only clear character from Rebels used in Force Awakens outside of R2 of course. I still think there is more to Lor San Tekka. Somebody had to raise Rey earlier on as there is no way a 5/6/7 year old girl could survive on Jakku without someone's support.

I mean I wouldn't be surprised if there were more to him considering he was played by one of the original cast members announced - Max Van Sydow.

To be honest I have not watched a lot of the Rebels show, but will probably check some more of it out now. Was that character referenced by name or was it just known that he was one of the characters in the movie?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

What I loved:

I give it a 4 of 5. My own biggest gripe as noted was the use of Death Star IV.

Couple of responses to you notes, which are good by the way.

Star Killer did not blow-up Coruscant, though, which I what I thought at first. It blew-up the Hosnian system, of which Hosian Prime was currently serving as the New Republic Capital. The capital apparently rortaes plants every few year and is no longer on Coruscant. Maybe Coruscant is a 'open' planet, i.e. its neither New Republic nor First Order based on the current peace treaty between the two. That said, it looks like a lot if not all senior New Republic leadership was wiped-out along with a sizable chunk of their Navy. My guess is that a subplot to the next movie will be the Republic absorbing the Resistance back in now that the treaty has clearly be shredded and Leia will rise to the level Chancellor/President and try to put the Republic Back together again in the face of a emerging military threat.

I see you point on the map. That said, advising that it held the key to finding Luke, who is basically a myth/symbol not, was to provide extra motivation for the two key characters to try harder.

I am sure that Finn and most of the First Order grunts know about Luke; but, from a certain point of view. Said view is that Luke was an assassin who killed the beloved Empowered who had previously brought peace to the Galaxy and who killed several hundred thousand good, loyal Imperial citizens by blowing-up 2 death stars. Water cooler talk likely added the Force, killing Vader (doubt Vader killed Palpatine got out), etc. That is alluded to on the recent young adult novel, Lost Stars, which is actually a decent read. I highly doubt that outside of the Skywalker/Solo clan and maybe a few key leaders on both sides that anyone knows about the Kylo/Han connection.

Rey obviously learned some martial art skills on her time in Jakku. Who took care of her while she was young is a big question of mine. I think she is very powerful in the force and it comes to her naturally to a degree, which is why she maybe Luke's offspring. Doubt she is from Han & Leia as neither acknowledged such when they met. After the Academy fell (I really want to see a move covering that along with how Kylo was turned), I can see someone, say Luke, putting a Force block on her. When Kylo tried to interrogate her, he broke that lock, and it opened her-up to the force, which then then fully embraced during their duel. Some combat training could have been embedded in her mind for later use. It would explain how she was able to push back against Kylo's interrogation enough to read him, i.e. 'You'll never be a strong as Vader' and then mind trick the Storm Trooper (who may have been Daniel Craig). I mean, she has fought before; but, she has never seen anyone use the force to mentally persuade someone. How did she even think to do so unless the idea was already there? It has also been suggested that R2 was programmed to awaken when he comes in contact with Rey as its a single for Luke to come back.

As for next, I think it maybe time for Empire Strikes Back II. I think we will catch-up to Rey and Kylo at the end of their training. Then, Finn gets into trouble and Rey dashes off to save him only to be captured by Kylo and Snoke. Snoke in turns tries to convert Rey. Knowing that Rey is not ready to face Snoke, Luke rushes in and sacrifices himself to save his daughter; but, manages to turn Kylo back to the light and back to Ben Solo. That leaves Episode IX as a Rey/Ben tag team fight against Snoke for all of the marbles. I just don't know if Fin will be a Jedi too or not by Episode IX. Oh, and to really mess with us, after Luke dies chasing off Snoke, Rey and Kylo are injured. Captain Phasma, who may be a redhead under that shiny helmet, comes into to finish the job only to realize that Rey is her daughter and helps the pair escape.

 

[Penfield]

@Mr. Conehead

1st - thanks for your responses. Looks like I have some reading up to do to fully understand the backstory. I had read some synopsises of the lead up material but didn't realize the politics were so complicated.

2nd - I think a couple of your points about Rey and Finn make sense, and we will all find out eventually. In regards to Rey's force powers, I just wouldnt be surprised if JJ and Kasden didnt think that far into it and just decided to make a fun movie. If the next movie reveals some prior changing or not I will be ok with it. If I had to guess she is a Skywalker, although I was kinda hoping only one of Kylo and Rey would be part of the family.

3rd - I hope you haven't been reading any spoilers for the next movie.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

@Mr. Conehead

1st - thanks for your responses. Looks like I have some reading up to do to fully understand the backstory. I had read some synopsises of the lead up material but didn't realize the politics were so complicated.

2nd - I think a couple of your points about Rey and Finn make sense, and we will all find out eventually. In regards to Rey's force powers, I just wouldnt be surprised if JJ and Kasden didnt think that far into it and just decided to make a fun movie. If the next movie reveals some prior changing or not I will be ok with it. If I had to guess she is a Skywalker, although I was kinda hoping only one of Kylo and Rey would be part of the family.

3rd - I hope you haven't been reading any spoilers for the next movie.

Thanks.

On the spoilers, I was doing a lot of reading up to about 3 months ago and just stopped. I wanted to be surprised, though a lot of the plot was already out by then.

The plot I listed for VIII & IX is strictly of my own making.

Looking at all 7 movies to date, remember that R2 has been 'handed' down from Anakin to Luke and now to Rey since Episode I and the lightsaber from Episode III (Anakin's prior lightsaber was destroyed in Episode II) from Anakin to Luke via Obi-Wan and now from Luke to Rey via Maz. Plus all Skywalkers have shown to be innately very good pilots. Through in the parallels between Luke and Anakin's youth on Tatoonie and Rey's youth in Jakku, just too much to be coincidence.

Rumors that Captain Phasma could be Luke's wife (or ex) have been around since Gwendoline Christie was cast in the role and before she known to be playing Captain Phasma. It has to do with the Legends story where Luke's wife was a former force sensitive agent for the Emperor who eventually turned the light, married Luke, and together they had a son named Ben Skywalker (there won't be a Ben Skywalker as the name Ben has already been taken). Mara Jade is my favorite Legends character and one a lot of people are made basically got erased when Disney threw the books into the trash compactor. Timothy Zahn, who created Mara Jade via the Heir to the Empire novels, which many give credit to bringing life back to Star Wars (Jedi was in 1983, the first book was in 1991) spoke at a book store and noted that while Mara Jade and others are likely gone in terms of name, similar characters may show-up in the new movies. Thus, as soon as Christie was known to be playing an imperial agent, the rumors that she was Luke's current or former spouse immediately arose.

 

[Penfield]

@Mr. Conehead I'll just say that captain phasma was originally going to be a man until the initial cast was revealed and people complained there were not enough women. The script was already written when they cast Gwendoline Christy. I'm just going to guess she isn't Luke's baby mamma but who knows haha

 

[FfldCntyFan]

With a few small exceptions, the first being that it was at times too formulaic (with the formula being episode IV) and the second letting the cat out of the bag on Kylo's heritage far too early. When Kylo said to Solo "I know what I need to do but don't know if I have the strength to do it" I turned to my son and said "He's going to kill Han Solo". Within a couple of minutes he did. If they could have made that scene more of a surprise it would have had a tremendous dramatic impact.

I spent most of the day thinking about what they could have done with the prequels and getting more ticked off about how that opportunity was wasted. I don't see why Anakin needed to be so young at the start of the trilogy, why Jar Jar was part of it, I don't get why Amidala's character was never really developed, why more attention to detail wasn't given to the villains and why more of the storyline wasn't devoted to Yoda. That series appeared to be little more than a money grab with a lot of flashy effects. Their target audience was a bunch of kids who would pester their parents to buy merchandise, not adults who would appreciate a well developed story.

I'll add more about the Force Awakens later but I don't see how Kylo was capable of stopping a blaster shot and suspending it in mid air (something few characters we've seen to date had enough mastery of the force to accomplish) yet was not able to handle Rey in a light saber battle (which logically should have resembled the first meeting of Luke and Vader).

 

[Tommyboy]

I loved it. But what was the best was seeing my eight year old so giddy when those x wings came screaming up over the water. Brought me back to being the same age in the theater during ROTJ.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I loved it. But what was the best was seeing my eight year old so giddy when those x wings came screaming up over the water. Brought me back to being the same age in the theater during ROTJ.

Absolutely. My youngest son is about the same age I was when I saw the original for the first time and he has been wound-up for months over seeing this movie. Defiantly a good father/son bonding night.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I'll add more about the Force Awakens later but I don't see how Kylo was capable of stopping a blaster shot and suspending it in mid air (something few characters we've seen to date had enough mastery of the force to accomplish) yet was not able to handle Rey in a light saber battle (which logically should have resembled the first meeting of Luke and Vader).

Abrams has said an it showed in the movie that Kylo is very unbalanced and I think this also reflects in his training. A lot of raw power (like Anakin Skywalker) but, he can lose focus. Powerful enough to freeze people and blaster bolts; but, he may lack dueling experience because who is left to lock lightsabers with with Luke MIA? Also, remember, before battling Rey, he was rattled by her ability to hack into his mind while he was trying to hack into hers, just killed is Dad and took a bolt from Cheewie's bowcaster to the side near his kidney (considering Han shot a few Storm Troppers with the thing that sent them flying) for that and dueled Finn who did get a shot or two in, including a hit to the shoulder. And, its clear he winldly underestimated Rey and paid for it.

Speaking of which, did Kylo lose a limb, possible part of an arm or a leg as he could not get up after in addition to taking a slash to the face?

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Abrams has said an it showed in the movie that Kylo is very unbalanced and I think this also reflects in his training. A lot of raw power (like Anakin Skywalker) but, he can lose focus. Powerful enough to freeze people and blaster bolts; but, he may lack dueling experience because who is left to lock lightsabers with with Luke MIA? Also, remember, before battling Rey, he was rattled by her ability to hack into his mind while he was trying to hack into hers, just killed is Dad and took a bolt from Cheewie's bowcaster to the side near his kidney (considering Han shot a few Storm Troppers with the thing that sent them flying) for that and dueled Finn who did get a shot or two in, including a hit to the shoulder. And, its clear he winldly underestimated Rey and paid for it.

Speaking of which, did Kylo lose a limb, possible part of an arm or a leg as he could not get up after in addition to taking a slash to the face?

Fair points.

I could be wrong but I thought he lost part of his arm.

 

[CL82]

The story was a little too similar to A New Hope. It didn't ruin anything, but I would have enjoyed a little something different. My brother did make a good point after the movie though -Didn't you expect that one day they would re-make Star Wars? Yup. Well, wasn't it better this way than actually re-making the first movie? OK, I can live w/ that.

@Penfield This is a great observation:

 

[UCFBfan]

Just got back from seeing the movie and wow. Even my wife said she loved it and she's far from an avid or even regular fan. The movie was really well made and I loved the battle scenes in the air. This was always my favorite parts of the movie as opposed to the light saber duels that the prequels seemed to be more focused on. Some of my thoughts.

I too, was wondering who the person was that Poe met on Jakku at the beginning. I felt like I should have known who it was and felt like my Star Wars fandom would need to be revoked. Glad to see it wasn't just me who didn't know!

I thought the casting was awesome. All actors were believable and played their roles very well. Rey reminded me a lot of a young Keira Knightly and it wasn't just because of her accent. Thought she and Finn had great chemistry and pulled it off very well.

Kylo Ren was also done well and I agree I would have liked them to hold off a bit on the revelation that he was Han and Leia's kid. For the longest time I expected him to reveal to Rey that she was his sister. Thought Leia would drop the line when they returned after Han died and she embraced Rey. I didn't think of it while watching but I agree with the observation that some of the things he did seemed very advanced considering how he seemed to be presented as still learning and not a dark lord or Jedi master.

Rey was great and I'm convinced she's Luke's daughter. Almost thought the movie would end with him saying something along those lines. We'll have to see. Once again, I agree that she seemed to know too much with the force considering she never knew it was part of her. Will be very curious to see what happens with her story line.

Poe was great and a bad ass pilot but I still miss Wedge. He was by far, my favorite character in the series and I loved the X-Wing series books my Michael Stackpole that focused a lot on him. Wish they brought him back but seeing how they advanced the timeline so much, he wouldn't fit into the notion of being a fighter jock still.

The old school characters were good. I saw Han dying around the same time @FfldCntyFan did. That answered how they were going to handle the age of the old characters. Leia looked old. Luke actually looked the best out of them all but for the 2 minutes he was in the movie it's hard to get a good read. Will be interesting to see how it all develops.

The one thing I was glad to see was that they didn't end the movie the same way they ended Empire Strikes Back. I thought they were going to end it with Rey talking to an injured Finn and then leaving on the Falcon to find Luke just like Leia talked to Luke before Chewie and Lando (maybe Leia too? can't recall at this moment) took off in the Falcon to get Han back.

The trench scene was a great blast from the past but could have done without the third death star gig.

Overall it was awesome and I can't wait to see it again next week when maybe the theater won't be filled with kids.

 

[UCFBfan]

Forgot to add about the humor. I felt that it was a tad over the top. It wasn't detracting entirely but I thought at times it was a little too much. Sometimes made me lose the feel for the scene because it was serious and developing the story line and then lost with the attempt at humor. The lines from Han were appropriate due to his character and the stuff with the droid was good too but some of the stuff from Finn near the beginning of the movie was a bit over the top.

Really my only true negative and even that wasn't a big detractor.

 

[8893]

Really liked it. My wife and I brought our nine year old daughter only because our older daughters wanted to shop (middle daughter saw it last night with her cousins) and we had nothing else to do with her while we saw it. She was totally ignorant of any of the backstory, having seen none of the others, and thought she'd just tolerate it. She loved it, which is really a testament to the movie and the franchise.

I was 11 when I saw the original in the theater and like everyone else I was totally taken with it and The Empire Strikes Back, as well as Return of the Jedi. I never saw any of the prequels. This one took me back to when I was that kid, but I'm a sucker for movies as escapism and always have been. I thought they did a great job of bridging the old while creating a new generation and story line.

My wife and middle daughter both really liked it, too, but like a few of you they also thought there was a little too much humor and also questioned how Rey and Finn were able to handle the light saber so well so quickly. I made the same suggestions above, but I'm more willing to make leaps of faith like that in a movie like this.

I really liked Rey and, as the father of three daughters, was glad that they had a heroine like that. Of course, my middle daughter then surprised the hell out of me when she said thought it would have been "more kickass" if it was a male lead instead. Go figure.

We arrived shortly before 6:00 for a 6:20 3D showing and were surprised that: (a) our theater was less than half full; and (b) the 6:50 2D showing at the same theater was already sold out, with a line to get in that extended past the entry to our theater. I would have thought that the 3D would be more popular for this movie, but the person selling tickets said that a lot of people are apparently bothered by 3D. I liked having the 3D for this (especially a few cockpit scenes when I felt like I was sitting in the back seat) but don't think it was essential.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

A few things to add:

I thought it was great that Han Solo never stopped being Han Solo. A space pirate at heart who while not being evil, basically fell into a situation where doing the right thing took precedence and would do so grudgingly (and with a bit of sarcasm) only because of the seriousness of what was going on around him. It was sad to see him go but thankfully they didn't ruin the character in the process.

I agree with UCFB on Rey being Luke's daughter as little else would make any sense. I still believe however that the fight between her and Kylo should have somewhat resembled Luke's first encounter with Vader (but with each participant being less experienced/skilled than their counterpart from Empire).

I want to see (hopefully they'll get to this in episode VIII) what happened that led someone to hold a grandfather he never met in such reverence while also being capable of killing his own father. I also am a little curious as to how a Jedi who returned to the light (Vader/Anakin) and supposedly can through the force reappear to other Jedi wasn't able to at least attempt to convince his grandson to remain in the light.

As difficult as it is, I will accept that some logical inconsistencies will be necessary for dramatic effect. This (the remainder of the series) should be a fun ride. If only they could erase episodes I, II & III.