"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" Thread.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I thought it was just incredible.

That opening shot of the trashed star destroyer...

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Well, I think the extended teaser we got last spring was catered more to the die hard fans and drew very heavily on nostalgia. But Disney knows the die hards are going to go see the movie multiple times no matter what, so this trailer was more about motivating Joe Blow to go see the film... hence the emphasis on more generic action.

But the serious geeks did get a few shout-outs. I especially loved the new version of "Han and the Princess" that they placed with the one Falcon chase scene. Also the dialogue from Han about the Jedi being real was especially moving considering his doubts in ANH about it being "hokey religions and ancient weapons."

I liked the earlier teaser better too, but this has me sufficiently pumped. I've already ordered my tickets for the 7pm showing on December 17th. Front and centre IMAX.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I liked the earlier teaser better too, but this has me sufficiently pumped. I've already ordered my tickets for the 7pm showing on December 17th. Front and centre IMAX.

Wiki says the North American release date is the 18th.  Did they bump it up a day, or is that a special preview showing?

I think it's something they've started doing lately in response to the popularity of midnight releases. Rather than having folks go in and see it at 11:59:59 on the 17th, they've just moved the release ahead a few hours to 7:00 p.m. This way they also get to have a 10:45 p.m. showing too.

But I may be wrong on the reasoning. I just know this was the earliest I could get.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Yes, I would agree that it was kind of like a Star Wars grab-bag. Which meant it played well emotionally but didn't really go anywhere deep. In fact, I actually felt like it got a little cluttered and lacked focus. It's like there were too many MacGuffins or something. And because there was so much going on with all these characters to worry about, I felt like the characters never really grew organically or revealed their motives organically. I'll try not to spoil the movie when I say this, but I think Kylo Ren, for example, didn't get enough time to exhibit his inner conflict...  so his "big moment" on the bridge at first didn't seem so genuine. I could have done with a bit more backstory here too.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll fall in love with it after I see it a few more times, but I don't know if I'm feeling it yet. It was a simple movie in some ways but over-stuffed in others.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

----->Exactly. I mean, we saw five Republic planets get blown up basically at once and there was no opportunity to register the significance of that. In A New Hope Alderaan was important because we knew it was Leia's homeworld, because Ben Kenobi "felt" the suffering through the Force, and because it was where Luke and co. were headed to deliver the plans in R2. It mattered. These five Republic planets should have mattered too, but as you said... we really don't even understand the Republic's role in this conflict through the film.

In terms of Kylo, I want to think his confrontation with Han was meaningful, but again, the film did a poor job of explaining what actually happened. We are just supposed to trust that Han and Leia love their son, but we never got to see that emotional connection until the final confrontation, which made it feel forced. I read something interesting from a fellow fan on this topic, and I'll paraphrase here because I agree with him. Basically, this person suggested that the emotional pay off of Han's death would have been better if, prior to Han intercepting Rey and Finn, he had been on his own quest to find Luke in the hope that he, being the last Jedi, could successfully turn Kylo back towards the light. I like this plot better because it would have shown Han's dedication to his son. Otherwise, the family connection just seems kinda... shoe-horned in. I dunno.

Other thoughts in no particular order:

- Where did Maz Kanata disappear to after her bar was blown up?

- Why was there no First Order cruiser waiting for Rey and Finn after they blasted off from Jakku in the Falcon?

- This was one of John Williams' weaker scores.

- R2 suddenly waking up at the perfect time was silly.

- The planet where Luke has been hiding for all these years looked way too much like something on Earth and totally un-Star Warsy.

- Didn't like that there was basically a third Death Star.

- I said the film felt unfocused earlier because I'm not sure what it was supposed to be about. At first it was about finding Luke, then it was about delivering the map back to the Resistance, then it was about destroying the First Order's Starkiller Base, then it was about this lightsaber they found, then it was about this family drama... I just don't know. A New Hope flowed much more logically, but I digress.

Anyway, I guess that's it. I know it will grow on me, because I was totally overcritical of the last Harry Potter movie at first and now I love it, but... it will take time for me to get totally on board with this one. <-----

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Yeah, I guess the stakes have really been raised for the Republic. The Republic will no longer be able to hide behind the resistance after, uh... what happened. We could be looking at full-on war for Episode VIII (and that's what I'm hoping for, personally).

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I didn't mind Kylo so much. He's a very different kind of villain. Much more desperate to prove himself; he's on his own journey and way more human than Darth Vader ever was. When we first met Vader he had already established himself as THE VILLAIN. Kylo has a lot to live up to, and I think he's embarrassed because he knows there's still good in him. I've actually read some very interesting theories about the possible backstory that makes Kylo one of the more interesting elements of the new trilogy for me.

One theory is that Rey is Luke's daughter. She was at the academy when Kylo and co. destroyed it and killed all the aspiring Jedi. But the fan theory is that Ren killed everyone and couldn't bring himself to slaughter his little cousin Rey. So instead he dumped her on Jakku with a scrap dealer. The result is that today Rey embodies the worst reminder to Kylo of his failure to be a true agent of the Dark Side. I love it.