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Trailer: Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erLk59H86ww)
Opens in theaters December 18, 2015
Let's see how J.J. Abrams does this. Can't be worse than George...
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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B3jSNVfIcAA2Bjm.jpg
Besides this, I'm really loving what I'm seeing so far. Even that sword makes sense lore-wise (Jedi/Sith create their own swords, so there bound to be some crazy designs.) It seems more Star Wars than Phantom Menace. :V
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I was about to say that the lightsaber laser hilt kinda makes sense since both Luke and Anakin got their hands sliced off. But then I noticed that the emitter stuck out a little from the hilt, defeating the point. Seems like I could injure myself more than my opponent. Still looks cool though.
And that new lightsaber ignition sound was badass.
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man i loved that lightsaber
that sound
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Actually, this is a teaser for the trailer; not a trailer itself. It's just designed to show the tiny bits that are already done - the trailer is to come later. /nitpicking
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, the 12-year-old in me that saw the original three in the theatres was overjoyed to see the Millennium Falcon and such. I still have memories from Return of the Jedi as well, so seeing the continuing adventures is something I really look forward to. I think the prequels were ... subpar at best, so this being in the hands of someone else - even JJ Abrams under Disney - might be a breath of fresh air. Plus: soccer ball droid.
Also, no one anywhere on the internet can stop talking about the light saber crossguards. This is an issue that will divide the planet!
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Those flight sequences look pretty sick.
Star Wars doesn't have the kind of prestige it had before the prequels anymore, so maybe it'll be easier to enjoy it if it ends up being dumb :V
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Star Wars doesn't have the kind of prestige it had before the prequels anymore, so maybe it'll be easier to enjoy it if it ends up being dumb :V
Original trilogy die-hards will love to tear it up and prequel fans will be able to argue that there's a trilogy that comparatively sucks more. They would be able to please all sides of the fan base that way!
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Hype as fuck.
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Look let's be honest no matter what the trailers look like I'm still going to see it midnight like I did for the prequels anyway :V
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Kyle Katarn where.
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Look let's be honest no matter what the trailers look like I'm still going to see it midnight like I did for the prequels anyway :V
Yes. Even if the trailer to come shows it stars Hugh Grant and that ape who plays Thor in a space love triangle with Sarah Jessica Parker with frequent cameos from Macklemore as whatever species Jar Jar was and the entire score composed by Taylor Swift, I am still handing my money over to Disney so I can yell "YEEEEEEEEEHAW!" the moment the Falcon first appears.
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Also, no one anywhere on the internet can stop talking about the light saber crossguards. This is an issue that will divide the planet!
I noticed this when I was linked the trailer, and then I scrolled down into the YT comments and then I realized just how much of a shitstorm I stepped into :fail:
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Why would you ever scroll down to the comments?
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(http://img.pr0gramm.com/2014/11/30/5b6b59cf8a7d047c.jpg)
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I wonder if any of the Jedi would make a light whip or any other weapon out of whatever light sabers are made of.
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Yes. (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lightwhip)
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another pic
The nunchakus are the best
(http://img.pr0gramm.com/2014/11/29/77d601fb1b2782f4.jpg)
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The light saber toothbrush: not so good an idea.
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Light saber razor seems all right.
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Light saber razor seems all right.
How many blades?
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How many blades?
Always two there are, no more, no less.
By Gillette.
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How many blades?
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a79/ron_k/razor.jpg)
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(http://i.imgur.com/dyXyXLI.gif)
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(http://img.pr0gramm.com/2014/11/30/5b6b59cf8a7d047c.jpg)
lightsaber resistant materials exist
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Most people's knowledge of Star Wars canon is limited to the original and the prequel trilogy if anything. This pretty sums up my own, too. Has there ever been an instance in which the hilt of a lightsaber was cut? "Cortosis" was a magic word for the Knights of The Old Republic games a decade ago that meant a metal was magically lightsaber resistant in order to justify game balance so I wonder if they'll just go with something like that. Regardless, it does seem a bit goofy. How do you even utilize the things?
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It's all explained here, of all shows. (http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/umsrnb/lightsaber-controversy)
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Most people's knowledge of Star Wars canon is limited to the original and the prequel trilogy if anything. This pretty sums up my own, too. Has there ever been an instance in which the hilt of a lightsaber was cut? "Cortosis" was a magic word for the Knights of The Old Republic games a decade ago that meant a metal was magically lightsaber resistant in order to justify game balance so I wonder if they'll just go with something like that. Regardless, it does seem a bit goofy. How do you even utilize the things?
Cortosis was a material in Star wars long before KotOR. I think the first usage of it was in the novel I, Jedi in 1998, where Luke and a former student face off against a pseudo-Sith sect who made armor out of Cortosis. Surprised them for a bit there before they got the hang of the lightsaber short effect. Also, there is at least one instance still canon of a lightsaber hilt being cut; Darth Maul's dual saber was cut in half by Obi-wan. I think Dooku may have done that to one of Anakin's sabers when they were dueling in AotC.
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It's all explained here, of all shows. (http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/umsrnb/lightsaber-controversy)
Only americans can watch this.
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The full episodes yes, but the shorter clips can be watched here in Europe, at least. (And hence, I guessed they can be watched everywhere.)
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I don't know about anyone else but I'd be more worried about cutting myself or my own hand off on that thing.
Also that scene with the falcon felt very J.J. Abrams, I can't really tell how but it feels like his work.
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Found a pretty cool lightsaber design
(http://img.pr0gramm.com/2014/12/01/8f0c6dda3feb793b.jpg)
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I don't know about anyone else but I'd be more worried about cutting myself or my own hand off on that thing.
Guys seriously. He's a sith. He's literally the baddest dude in the galaxy. He's not gonna cut himself with his own lightsaber. And even if the crossguards CAN be cut off, it's still better than nothing.
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Guys seriously. He's a sith. He's literally the baddest dude in the galaxy. He's not gonna cut himself with his own lightsaber. And even if the crossguards CAN be cut off, it's still better than nothing.
But the star wars universe is notorious for their widespread arm/hand injuries. We need to setup a fund to help these poor armless people!
But in all seriousness it wouldn't be a problem, if I recall I read somewhere that they use the force to help when fighting so they have no chance to hurt themselves.
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Also that scene with the falcon felt very J.J. Abrams, I can't really tell how but it feels like his work.
The CGI-generated-360?-spin?
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The CGI-generated-360?-spin?
Kinda... That's still in Georges star wars but I might have to look at it again. Maybe the CGI effects or something? Was there a lens flare? If so maybe that's why, man loves his lens flares.
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I'm slightly surprised no one parodied the Sith image with either Remilia or Yumemi.
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I'm slightly surprised no one parodied the Sith image with either Remilia or Yumemi.
It only needs time, there is a crossover with everything. Touhoufield (battlefield game parody) taught me that.
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Yes. (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lightwhip)
This should be in the movie. For some reason I pictured it being used by Han Solo, even though he's not a Jedi.
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Only americans can watch this.
Found it on youtube, and I still think it's a good explanation. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jic__6mK7Ms)
Also. (http://www.nerfnow.com/img/1439/2312.png)
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Also. (http://www.nerfnow.com/img/1439/2312.png)
Ah, the lightrifle, this is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.
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New Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngElkyQ6Rhs)
we're home
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aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
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aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Christmas you say?
I was out shopping and the fucking radio news station spoiled who/what was in it
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I was out shopping and the fucking radio news station spoiled who/what was in it
lmao
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AND had the audio clip to go with it I mean really now was that necessary when it was not even an hour old??
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That crashed ISD!
I might make time to replay Balance of Power and X-Wing Alliance. a;dfjlkajsfjkajfkldajklsdf;jkl
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a;dfjlkajsfjkajfkldajklsdf;jkl
Is the actual noise I made watching the trailer.
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The end bit made me all fuzzy. I didn't know my hype for a Star Wars could return one day. :3
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Ten year old commandercool would be proud of how excited twenty three year old commandercool got while watching this.
This better be good. I got my eye on you, Abrams.:wat:
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Oh hey,
Chewbacca's there.
*checks wiki*
"Died 25 ABY" Hmm, yeah Ep.7 is supposed to be around 30 ABY.
*checks further*
Oh hey, "Entire EU is non-canon". Or unless they choose otherwise or something. Apparently.
Well that clears that up. I haven't actually followed the EU like at all other than reading some pages on the wiki once in a while so I'm not too fussed but it just stuck out as odd.
Trailer didn't really grab me but I don't actually really like the movies much even though I do still love Star Wars *shot* Gunna watch it again tonight, full screen with louder audio.
Still gunna run out to see it though >_>
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Never thought I'd see the day where someone in a Stormtrooper-style uniform can actually look cool.
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(http://img.pr0gramm.com/2015/04/16/dcb1cb4459fd50fc.jpg)
"yet again, working without professionals..."
ahahahaha
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Oh, hello! HYPE GOTTEN.
Oh hey, "Entire EU is non-canon". Or unless they choose otherwise or something. Apparently.
The EU has documented every minute that takes place after Return of the Jedi for the next 70 years or so, among other problems (http://kimikomuffin.tumblr.com/post/115864696358/you-know-i-honestly-dont-mind-the-fact-that-the); they pretty much had no choice if they wanted to do something in Luke, Leia, and Han's lifetimes.
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The EU has documented every minute that takes place after Return of the Jedi for the next 70 years or so, among other problems (http://kimikomuffin.tumblr.com/post/115864696358/you-know-i-honestly-dont-mind-the-fact-that-the); they pretty much had no choice if they wanted to do something in Luke, Leia, and Han's lifetimes.
Oh YES, totally agree. While I loved everything I personally read from the EU (New Jedi Order-Fate of the Jedi) I totally get that with the sheer amount of content it has there's going to be quite a bit of silliness, plot conflict, and outright unnecessary stories.
I don't know why there's been such an outcry that the EU is considered not "canon" anymore. I'm totally fine with it being in its own universe.
On the subject of the trailer I got goosebumps when I saw Han and Chewie back on the Falcon
. I wasn't into Star Wars when most of the movies first came to theaters (only managed to see III in a theater) so I'm super hyped for a new film that I can actually watch in a theater.
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This made my day (http://img.pr0gramm.com/2015/04/17/8b0cf9b3fe402a2c.jpg)
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After seeing the trailer I'm rather pleased and will gladly go see it in theaters.
...though, I would have done so even if I wasn't hyped for it, since I've seen all of the other six in theaters too. (I'm so happy the remaster of the original trilogy was a thing, because it meant my dad (who is a super Star Wars fan) was able to take me to see all three of them in the theaters.)
And hey, if I could stomach Episode I, can't get any worse than that, yeah?
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And hey, if I could stomach Episode I, can't get any worse than that, yeah?
Well, yes. Yes, it could. Realistically, though, I'm not too worried.
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Can't wait for the movie to come out. Now that the new droid is real, its got my interest in it.
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I think it's about time for everyone to (re)watch Red Letter Media's Star Wars reviews (http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/).
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I think it's about time for everyone to (re)watch Red Letter Media's Star Wars reviews (http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-wars/).
Mr. Plinkett's reviews are all seriously legit.
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Official Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGbxmsDFVnE)
Official Japanese Trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XNit858b6I)
Get hype. :]
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I used to think the prequels weren't all that bad... this new film showed me how truly abysmal they really were and how complete and utter awesome Star Wars could be again!
The hype is real. The curse of Lucas is lifted. The Force is Awake.
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Just got back from the theater. There's good stuff and bad stuff, but the overall product is much more good than bad. See it if you like Star Wars, but you were probably going to anyway. If you don't already like Star Wars I can't imagine there's anything in this movie for you.
I'll put my review in spoiler tags in case you want to stay completely unspoiled, but spoilers are mild and mostly don't concern plot details.
The good:
-This movie is pulpy as hell. It really feels like an adventure serial, but not necessarily in a throwback kind of way. It feels like a modern version of that. It's totally sincere and is self-aware on only the most minimal possible level. It does not have the tone problems that the prequels had.
-The fanservice is great. For my money it doesn't go too far. Some may find that it does, but it made me smile quite a few times.
-The old cast is wonderful. Mark Hamill is actually barely in it, he doesn't even have a single line, but Harrison Ford and especially Carrie Fisher were just perfect.
-The new cast is fine. The characters are likable enough, and the protagonist is a woman which is great for Star Wars.
-The new cast and the old cast mix very naturally. Neither one feels like it's taking a significant back seat to the other, although the movie definitely seems to be setting up sequels that focus much more on the new cast. Which is fair, it is their turn after all.
-Despite the fact that the whole movie is basically just setup for future movies I thought it was surprisingly satisfying in the way it wrapped up. There are tons of loose threads, but it leans more toward "This is intriguing, I wonder what will happen next" and less toward "This is an incomplete story".
-I have rarely given a shit about the Force, the Jedi, or the Sith in Star Wars. Stories can get terribly bogged down in the minutia of space wizardry and it makes me lose interest really quickly. That's why I find a lot of the expanded universe stuff to be unappealing. Despite the fact that there's a fair amount of Force shit in this movie it never becomes the focus. It feels like part of the plot, not the point of the plot.
The bad:
-The plot is basically entirely supported on a series of incredible coincidences, which makes it feel a lot less credible than I wish it did.
-They really missed an opportunity to shake up the dynamics of the different sides. Somehow the good guys are the underdog rebels again and the bad guys are the oppressive majority again. What the hell? The rebels won last time, why are they on the bottom again already?
-Some people will be bothered by how unbelievable the dialogue is. I'm not, I recognize that as being how Star Wars movies work, but that doesn't change the fact that a lot of it is ridiculous.
-It feels too long. A lot of different incidents happen and none of them are bad on their own, but there are just too many things. The movie is fairly long and you can feel the length, or at least I did.
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For me, I did like a few things about the movie, the way they managed to squeeze in the old cast by skipping ahead in the timeline was nice. Although the nerd in me felt like it would have been neat to see more kinds of startfighters, and I was alittle put-off by the "screw killer moon starstations, we're doing planets now". GG, Corrusant (felt WAY too easy). It did seem a bit like cheese, plus the First Order didn't feel like the disbanded empire that it was supposed to be.
The lightsaber fights was pretty nice, and I was able to pickup on the idea that the new sith and jedi still both have lots to learn. The callbacks to the older movies like the run needed to knock out the station to blow up the planet was cool. Also, felt like it had a decent amount of action and story in it. Pretty cool, but I'd like it more if there isn't any more planet destruction for awhile, I have concerns it's going to turn into something really silly next time like imploding star systems.
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I felt a little underwhelmed at the end for some reason. I think it might be because I didn't feel any build of tension even though there was a 'climax', so to speak. Things built up and up, but I didn't feel any tension. I dunno.
But overall, I was pretty satisfied, I felt like it was a good movie. The quality was good all throughout, there was always something interesting, unlike EP I. And besides, who likes EP I or EP IV the best out of their respective trilogies? Even the people who loathe the prequels have to agree that II or III were better than I. So I'm convinced it'll get better.
I suppose there were a lot of threads left to be tied, but none of them really stuck out to me by the end, everything felt resolved. None of them were really pressing or really craving answers. Only that it makes me mildly curious about their answers.
The movie seemed to have a lot more comedic moments in it than I remember any other episode having. Like for example, that scene where Kylo Ren is in an outrage in the prison cell room after Ray escapes, George Lucas would have cut the scene there. But in this one, we have another shot of two stormtroopers marching towards the general direction and then turning around. And then there was that other scene with Kylo Ren, being reported to that BB-8 had escaped and he slashes away at the stuff in front of him, intimidating the officer. Felt more like it was trying to get a laugh out of the audience, rather than actually fitting the tone of the series. Which isn't all a bad thing, it's new, but feels more like in the vain of the recent Marvel-esque style of movies of mixing comedy and serious. And a lot more banter too, like the ones between Anakin and Obi wan in EP III. I feel like it fit there because it showed their bond, but here they've only just met and they're already exchanging banter and it felt a little off. Which again isn't terrible, but is a little bit ridiculous.
Kylo Ren. I was expecting a main villain, but he seems more like a sympathetic character. I remember the audience chuckling when he first took off his mask, I don't think anyone was expecting him to take it off, just like that. He actually used the cross hilt thing in his 'duel' with Fn which I remember with amusement, justifying the design a little.
And speaking of lightsabers, I'm glad they brought back Anakin's blue lightsaber, it was nice to see it again as much as I don't really care for Anakin himself. Weird that the lightsaber would call to Ray though, why would it? Unless... she's related to the Skywalkers? Maybe Kylo Ren's sister? That would be odd. But then Star Wars has always been about family troubles, more or less. She did mention waiting for her family that left. It would be unthinkable the she changed her name, so it doesn't seem like it's Han and Lea's daughter. I wonder what her final lightsaber color is going to be. I somehow doubt that they would recycle green or blue, and it can't be red, so yellow maybe?
I hope the Yoda, Ben, and 'Vader' force ghosts make it back in the sequels, would be interesting to have Kylo Ren face the actual 'Darth Vader'.
I have a bunch of other random thoughts, as I'm sure everyone does, but it's not coherent or organized so I think I'll leave it at this. Overall impression, positive. Definitely not disappointed, but perhaps a little underwhelmed.
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The whole
evil bad guy pewpew weapon
smacks of the playground banter of 10 year olds and it amused me to no end.
yeah well I'm going to build a giant space laser that's gonna be 100 times bigger than the Death Star and and it can shoot from a million billion miles away and also it can shoot five planets at once and it's so powerful its battery is the size of a planet and it is a planet and it drains power from the sun as well and and and also it's called STARKILLER
power creep where
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Even the people who loathe the prequels have to agree that II or III were better than I. So I'm convinced it'll get better.
Isn't Attack Of The Clones widely regarded as being the worst Bad Star Wars? I, at least, absolutely do not agree that Episode II is better than Episode I. It may not have Jake Loyd or Jar Jar, but it does have the worst scene in any movie ever.
Kylo Ren. I was expecting a main villain, but he seems more like a sympathetic character. I remember the audience chuckling when he first took off his mask, I don't think anyone was expecting him to take it off, just like that.
I relate to him on some level. My first name is Ben and I'm named after Ben Kenobi, and his first name is Ben and he's also named after Ben Kenobi.
Also I'm pretty sure my brother has a crush on him. I can see that. He's a weird looking dude, but he's not un-sexy.
He actually used the cross hilt thing in his 'duel' with Fn which I remember with amusement, justifying the design a little.
I like how fucked up the blade on his lightsaber looked. Like he obviously cobbled it together without anybody really teaching him how it was supposed to work. I don't remember that from the trailer, but it's a cool effect.
...would be interesting to have Kylo Ren face the actual 'Darth Vader'.
Oh yeah, that would be great. That would be a really cool way for him to eventually be defeated. He ends up being too strong for anybody to beat in battle to Ghost Anikin has to come talk him down. Also, does anybody else think he's going to scar up his face to try to be more like Vader? When he took his helmet off the second time I was really expecting him to have done that already.
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IMO the first half of the movie is perfect. Love the characters.
Not sure how to pinpoint the problems of the second half, things kind of move too slow and too fast at the same time. The problem with guaranteed sequels is the obligation to leave character arcs unfinished, so a satisfying conclusion is almost impossible.
Agree that there are a few too many helpful coincidences, at least. They obviously wanted to keep the story moving as fast as possible, so I guess I prefer that to boring padding.
Contrary to a lot of other people's opinions I actually think the approach to Kylo Ren's character is really interesting. He's played off as a true Vader-esque big bad at first, but then it's revealed he's just a dopey kid with no experience like our new protagonists, which I think is interesting because his character will develop just as much as theirs over the course of the trilogy. That's a much different approach to constantly being on the run from an already-established bad guy and I think it has real potential.
Oh, and the Death Star ante-up really was kind of eye-rolling...they should have saved destroying that for the third movie.
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Contrary to a lot of other people's opinions I actually think the approach to Kylo Ren's character is really interesting. He's played off as a true Vader-esque big bad at first, but then it's revealed he's just a dopey kid with no experience like our new protagonists, which I think is interesting because his character will develop just as much as theirs over the course of the trilogy. That's a much different approach to constantly being on the run from an already-established bad guy and I think it has real potential.
That's a good point, and a solid counterexample to my complaint that the First Order is too similar to the empire. It's one of the few counterexamples, aside from the fact that all of their Grand Moff administrative types were also much younger than the gray-haired old British men that the empire employed, but it is a solid one.
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Also I'm pretty sure my brother has a crush on him. I can see that. He's a weird looking dude, but he's not un-sexy.
He doesn't look like the villain people were expecting, which like Stuffman says works great, he'll develop lots. My thing is that he doesn't look like a child of Han and Lea. Hell, of Anakin, Padme, Luke, Lea, and Han, none of them have black hair, where is this kid getting his genes?
Contrary to a lot of other people's opinions I actually think the approach to Kylo Ren's character is really interesting. He's played off as a true Vader-esque big bad at first, but then it's revealed he's just a dopey kid with no experience like our new protagonists, which I think is interesting because his character will develop just as much as theirs over the course of the trilogy. That's a much different approach to constantly being on the run from an already-established bad guy and I think it has real potential.
That's a great point you bring up which I hadn't thought of. And it might be a strength to guaranteed sequels too, that the writers get to develop the villain of all characters from scratch. How often do you get to do that in the villains-act-heroes-react paradigm? Though in the case of this first movie, I feel like it was a weakness since there wasn't really any central harbinger of tension that I could point to and say 'that's what they were fighting against', unlike the original or prequel trilogies. No face of evil, I guess you could say, though there were a lot of bad guys and the death planet which fulfilled the big villain role temporarily.
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The Starkiller destruction was a little underwhelming. No fancy explosion, just the sun moving into the planet, then out to where the planet imploded.
Also, it looked like that the star became the same sizes as the planet after the Starkiller imploded.
Those are my only two gripes about the movie. I loved everything else, even more so since this is the first Star Wars movie I've ever seen in a theater.
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Augh, I can finally read this thread again.
I was rather bugged by a number of things which soured my whole feelings about this movie. I know most of that is on me not being able to fully immerse myself into this telling of Star Wars because I read much of the Expanded Universe (EU) and I know a huge premise of the movie is to make new characters the mains because of the time gap in age of the Original Trilogy characters. Regardless:
It's really hard to pinpoint in the movie the relative power between the First Order and the Republic/Resistance. If the Empire is defeated, the Republic won, hence the name change to the First Order and lack of mention of the Empire. Now you're telling me the First Order are powerhouses of the galaxy again? It doesn't quite make complete sense because the Republic has planets with populations completely in support of them, something the Rebel Alliance could only dream of. And their fighting group is called the Resistance? There's a serious disconnect as to how strong either of these factions are on the galactic scale.
Also, the entire movie has everyone grasping for straws because nobody knows Luke's motivations. It feels like cheap storytelling to try to string the audience along that way. Maybe because I'm afraid the answer Luke gives is going to be cheap and somewhat predictable as well, but the characters buy into it because "the ways of the Jedi are mysterious and that's just how they are."
The name Ben for Han and Leia's son actually bugged me a lot. First of all, in the EU, Luke's son is named Ben obviously after Ben Kenobi. But I don't feel like Han and Leia would appreciate the use of that name for their first son. Leia doesn't actually meet Obi-Wan because he dies during her rescue. And Han shouldn't feel that kind of attachment to Ben Kenobi at all. I mean, they obviously chose the name Ben for that reason, but ugh. I got excited when Han Solo was walking to the long catwalk because I knew he was going to call out his son's name and when I heard it, I felt the biggest disappointment in the entire movie. Maybe because I was thinking at that moment "please don't be Ben". I don't actually know if I would have been pleased or mad if they named him Jacen given Jacen's impact in the EU. I think I'm objecting to Ben being his name because of all of the above. And yet, whatever name that was chosen was going to have detractors anyways. And the fact that if Luke was training Ben Solo and Ben/Kylo Ren killed most of his apprentices, that's just gotta suck for Luke that it's a guy named after his first mentor. Ok, at least they didn't name him Anakin, that would be the worst on all levels.
I think I'm most excited about Finn. We don't know what his motivations are going to be once Episode 8 starts. He'll wake up, find out Rey left to find Luke, and we will see what exactly he chooses to do. He's a character that had no actual ties to any of the major plot movers of the past 6 movies (this is an assumption of course) so to see him develop more as a hero and a person should be a fun ride. His teamwork with Poe was my favorite part of the movie. And the starfighter battles. It's always the starfighter battles for me although I wish we saw more capital ships as once again, the Resistance don't have any capital ship support.
Maybe I'll gripe less after I've slept on this.
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I was very disappointed in the movie.
It's the same movie as the 4th one. I thought they we're just playing at nostalgia at the start but things got more and more similar until I noticed that this was just a complete remake of episode 4. I knew everything that was going to happen. I paid money to see a movie that I already have on DVD. I wanted a new star wars movie not a remake of the old one.
It makes the original trilogy seem pointless. They destroy the empire only for it to not matter in the slightest. The republic gets destroyed instantly and didn't even make much of a different other than funding the resistance. Things went right back to the start again and literally the same thing happened. They secure the information from a droid, leave planet on the millennium falcon, go to the death star/starkiller, guy from the previous trilogy dies in front of heroes and then a pilot destroys the death star/starkiller. They just remade the 4th movie. Why did people tell me this movie was good? I've already watched it!
I did like the lightsabre fights though. Kylo is a crap fighter though. He lost against a total noob and did a crap job against the other one. Stormtrooper TR-80R (the one who says "traitor" then twirls his tonfa/nightstick thing) was cool though. I want more of that. Having stormtroopers be more than mooks who instantly die by having badass moments like that is something I loved. I hope we see him again or at least more sabre fights with stormtroopers.
They've set the story but on it's own it's nothing that I haven't seen before. As interesting as they've made things I just hope that the next one isn't a copy of episode 5. Due to the lack of originality I can't say that this movie was good. 3/10 in my opinion (this based purely on enjoyment) which makes me feel even worse considering that I gave the anime GATE that score - one of the only 2 animes that I disliked watching. This being star wars makes me feel really bad - the series shouldn't be getting a score like that from me.
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I loved it. Just a few things, though, that I noticed in this thread.
First, the Republic/First Order/Resistance thing: the Republic is a legitimate government of its own, and the First Order is as well, since it's the remnants of the Empire. The Resistance is less the Republic's military and more a localized counterforce against the First Order: think of it like a first world country funding a guerrilla military in a dictatorship. Also, Coruscant wasn't the place that got blown up, apparently.
Second, Ben's character is rather interesting because he's weaker and more flawed than you would think he would be. He idolizes Darth Vader, but he doesn't really seem to understand just who he was, and comes across as a wannabe. Someone criticized the "Kailo freaking out while an officer is intimidated scene" as being for comedic effect, but I think it was an important scene to show the difference between him and Vader. Vader would almost casually kill his subordinates for failures, but Kailo took it out on inanimate objects. At the time of the movie, Kailo wasn't ready to take the plunge into the Dark Side as deeply, and his mental state was unstable and prone to uncontrollable rages, which explains why two amateurs, one not even Force sensitive, were actually able to fight him decently well (albeit while he was injured).
I think his lightsaber is actually the perfect representation of this: when you see him crossing blades with Finn and Rey, their lightsaber is solid and perfect, but his is wild, fluctuating, and chaotic. His lightsaber is just as in control of itself as he is, that is to say, barely.
I think the character interactions are the best of the series, to be honest: it's happening fast and furious, but it's also believable, like how quickly Finn and Poe become bros - it's fast as hell, yes, but it's also in a high octane situation, and they're forced to work together and finding that they are a good team (they literally have each other's backs, since their seats are facing away from each other). BB8 was also excellently done, because you can nearly understand him despite not knowing what the hell he said (aside from more complex communication, which was handled easily through natural dialogue with other characters). Even in the context of the movie this was handled well: Finn couldn't understand a single word BB8 said, but they were able to communicate, and you can see BB8's hesitation before helping out Finn.
As for the humor and comedic elements, I thought they were well done and didn't detract from the story at all, because they felt natural and in context of what was happening, not ham handed like in the prequel trilogy or some parts of Return of the Jedi. Probably the most "out of place" comedic moment was the scene with the troopers nope'ing away from Kailo's rampage, but honestly, I thought it was pretty humanizing, like the bad guys are sometimes normal dudes that want no part of the business end of a lightsaber. It was like the scene in Episode IV where Obi-Wan is sneaking around deactivating the tractor beam, and two troopers are having a conversation that's like "well, do you have any idea what the fuck's going on" and the other trooper is like "fuck if I know, they don't tell us shit".
As an aside, the part that made me laugh the most was "That's not how the Force works!". Han gleefully asking about trash compactors was also great.
So, yeah, I might be overhyped on the thrill of seeing Episode VII for the first time (I came close to crying during the opening crawl), but I thought it was a great movie. aListers's point is an interesting one, but I think that it's still its own movie, and a great one at that. I'm looking forward to the upcoming movies, especially Rogue One (I am a HUGE X-Wing fan).