What did y'all think of Star Wars? (NO SPOILERS)

The Force Awakens made me awed-struck, made me laugh, made me curious, made me cry, made me happy, and overall made me wanting more.

I was pleasantly surprised and while it did delve in some familiar territory, I did not care nor was it an issue in the film. For those doubtful, I'd say JJ Abrams did an incredible job and set a great foundation for what lies ahead.

The First Order is more of a military junta then anything else. It's basically a weakened version of the Empire as if it lost ground to the newly formed Republic after the Battle of Endor but still capable enough of gaining new members and maintaining its base. As for the New Republic, my guess is that since it's newly formed, the military isn't as strong compared to the First Order but still rely on "The Resistance."

To be honest, I don't know why the Resistance refers themselves as such.

One of the worst movies I have ever seen. It was just New Hope with new characters. Star Wars nerds will unwrap the same Christmas present they already got and not realize they're getting what they already have as long as the wrapping paper is different.

I am also getting particularly annoyed by how aggressive the fanboys are over others spoiling the movie...why can't we be this way with movies that have actually good stories?

Some guy on my facebook was spoiling it every five minutes while he was in the cinema......I hope he locks his doors at night.

What an asshole.

Yeah I thought about that as well. It struck me as a slowly rising power rather than a well-known universal threat - or at least they showed them that way in several scenes.

Also, during that speech on the snow-planet I couldn't help but think of them all as space Nazis.

I don't watch feminist flicks and more importantly don't watch Disney.

lmao

I havent seen it, but some idiot accidentally texted me the spoilers so now im sad.

Is there a thread that can talk about spoilers? Lol. Anyway, pretty good film but I felt it's A New Hope Too.

I hope you're kidding... #racedoesntmatter

I've always been a huge fan of the OT and hold them in the highest regard, and frankly this movie was GREAT. I enjoyed every minute of this film. I still consider Empire Strikes Back and A New Hope to be better, but this movie was a lot of fun and much better than the prequels. I can't wait for more!

I thought it was so fucking boring. It wasn't cringing like the the prequels though.

Just came back and I thought it was pretty damn amazing!

Never been able to get into the older movies. Thought the universe was great but Lucas sucks and could never really do the universe justice even if he created it.

Definitely my fav of the Star Wars movies and I MUCH look forward to seeing more!

A lot of elitists up in here. Still smells like OT to me. lol

Anyway, I loved it. I thought it was a perfect homage to the old films while perfectly setting the stage for the films to follow.

So, I've seen it twice now, opening night with the Mrs, and today with some work friends. Watching it this second time made me realize something, and this honestly breaks my heart to admit because this is one of my favorite things about Star Wars, but the new soundtrack sucked.

The soundtrack for the original movies is one of the most iconic in movie history, with the opening title crawl, Imperial March and Cantina Band just to name a few, and even the prequels had amazing music such as Duel of the Fates (IMO the best track in Star Wars) and Battle of Heroes.

This movie had nothing original that stood out however. I'm hoping this is just an Abrams thing and that it'll have a chance to be back on form for future movies and that John Williams isn't losing his touch because the music was the one thing throughout the Star Wars Saga that remained constantly good, but that same quality wasn't hear, except for when they reused music.

I don't understand why so many adult men a going crazy over this movie. I can forgive teenage girls going nuts over, say, Justin Bieber because, well... they're teenage girls, but grown men getting dressed up in silly costumes and pissing themselves with excitement over what is essentially a kids movie? That's a little pathetic if you ask me.

Lol

just saw it. enjoyed it a lot. i could nitpick things but i'll just say it was entertaining and leave it at that

Yup, soundtrack was pretty terrible all around. This is probably the most generic soundtrack I've ever heard in anything related to Star Wars.

However, that's sort of how I felt about the movie overall. Copy and paste Star Wars, overly safe in almost every way possible.

As someone who is not a diehard star wars fam I enjoyed it, ton of action decent comedy and it was a good set up movie and the ending was perfect.. Wish they played the 6 other movies sometime during the month on netflix or spike like they used to since the movies are expensive but oh well.

Creed still beats this by miles though for me personally

It was very good. Some people might be kinda disappointed cause its so similar to new hope but i thought they did an excellent job. Might be seeing it in 3d tonight

@Maroxad: Personally I think that this (and perhaps the entire trilogy) will be about paying homage to episode's 4-6, and closing out character arcs while creating new characters to follow as well as finding a way to no longer have need of the EU. From there Disney can have a big franchise to truly do whatever they want with.

I thought it was pretty good, but not quite great. It definitely felt like a rehash of A New Hope with a politically correct cast of characters. The first and last thirds of the movie were action-packed and kept me interested. Some pointless dialogue in the middle third. The villain was.. well, he was no Darth Vader, let's just put it that way...

You want more? The next one comes out in 2017.

After seeing it I liked it but at the same time thought it was meh, Poe was awesome when he was on screen, Finn was alright, Rey was pretty decent tell the last 20 min then her character just tanked in a bad way and the fight scenes were probably the worst in the series.

EP 7 is not as good as 5 and 6, but better than EP 1-4 (actually 3 was pretty decent).

Pretty much this.

As a standalone movie, I give it a 7.5/10

As beginning of a new Trilogy, I give it a 9/10

There were a LOT of parallels to "A New Hope" but I did like a lot of the little touches.

Probably another straight to Blu Ray or at least movie on demand for me.

I wouldn't rate it 7 of 9. It was a bit flat and common for my tastes. More like 5 out of 10.

@GamerForca: And I'm just curious why a "politically correct" cast of characters is even worth mentioning in a freaking Star Wars movie. I mean, for all the criticisms people can throw at this series, it has pretty much ALWAYS sort of embraced diversity. Throughout the series it has had women, wookies, androids, black guys, fish people, women, etc all doing heroic stuff. And throughout the entire series, they've never made a point of pretending to be progressive, they simply cast people/characters in roles and then shut the hell up about it. It's sort of like how people like Ellen Ripley because there was never any commentary on "how could a WOMAN be so capable". They simply made her a woman who was capable, and then shut the hell up about it. Same with Lando Calrissian. Sure they had a black man destroy the fucking Death Star, but they never had to applaud themselves by having a subplot about how it's so progressive that they cast a black man as the guy who destroys the Death Star. He was just a dude who destroys the Death Star, and he just happens to be black. His blackness isn't even worth mentioning in a universe where freaking wookies and muppets get to be heroes and Jedi Knights.

And granted, there's certainly nothing wrong with that kind of diversity. I'm just saying that that kind of diversity has sort of ALWAYS been a staple of the Star Wars universe. So I'm just really sort of confused as to why people are taking the time to point that stuff out. To me, it's like taking the time to point out that a new Star Wars movie has spaceships and light sabers. Of course it does, it's a Star Wars movie.

It's basically a remake of episode 4 and 5 with the middle of the movie being quite awesome (also the only "new" part), and the final 3 minutes were great...which overall makes for an "ok" movie. The blend of old and new characters was quite good, loved seeing some of the old crew back, some of the new chars really blew me away, other new chars....well, let's just say Jar Jar would have done a better job...score is very underwhelming...don't think I'd recognise any of the tracks if I heard them again...

Worst of all, other than the 2 times I giggled I felt absolutely nothing during the whole movie other than the occasional thought that I shouldn't have had so much soda on a movie with no breaks...

Also my first IMAX experience which was awe-inducing in a few select shots, meh on most parts and some parts really poorly done.

Not sure if I'll go back to the theatres for the sequel although they did leave on a high note with a lot of potential.

IMDB, Metacritic, and Rotten Tomatoes all have it about 80% at the very least...

But OT's over here like "still isn't good enough."

Said the same thing about The Dark Knight, and that was critically and commercially also a smash success.

I'm noticing a pattern...

Instead of simply bringing IMDB, Metacritic etc. into the discussion it would be more stimulating if you addressed the many (and in my opinion) legitimate issues brought up by OT members and why you think they are unfounded/ invalid.

I don't know how OT feels about The Dark Knight, but I'm on the record with my love for it.

I saw The Dark Knight 3 times in theaters, The Force Awakens won't share the same fate.

@Master_Live: As I haven't the time or patience to address everyone's gripes, I'll summarize what it seems everyone is saying; rather then attempting something new and/or original to introduce to the series, they went the safe and predictable route, and thereby left many OT viewers wanting more.

But the inverse was the problem for the prequels. The general public complained, and rightfully so, that the films departed from what worked in the original films. So JJ and team figure, let's give the people what they want, while making fundamentally more interesting characters and a much stronger tension between light and dark. Death star run? Yep. Starting on desolate sand planet? Yes. Do even the stormtroopers look much the same? Yes. But that's what the people wanted.

The entire Star Wars saga has been a great set of blockbusters designed for but not bound to the general public. Compared to Jurassic World, Transformers, and the like which placate way too much to what the makers perceive the audience wants, Star Wars has and will continue to stand out because it's story arcs and setting are timeless, and the cultural mythology around it staggeringly huge. And yet, fundamentally, it is still a series designed for the general public, particularly young kids aged 7-11. The way it is being critiqued here it's as if people were expecting an Oscar winner. As a diehard fan, I know at the end of the day, with a Star Wars movie, all that matters is that I was entertained. And I was. As were the majority of critics.

It is honestly baffling to me (and presumptuous, elitist, and honestly hipster) that a lot of OT dislikes it. Not everything was made or should be made with the high brow sense of smugness it seems OT adores.

i expected a better movie... really. BUT, it could be a good begining for a great 2nd and third movie!!! well have to wait :O

This is where you lost me. Someone doesn't like a movie from a franchise you are a diehard fan of so they are presumptuous, elitist and hipsters?

It wasn't a game changer or anything, but for a Star Wars movie it was very good which surprised me.

It just felt like many people expected it to be not a Star Wars movie, which I address in my other points. Looking back, that was pretty late at night, and that comment was a bit much, but it just seems like people saw the movie with the wrong lens, and thereby seem to be critiquing something as if it was intended for their specific taste rather than the mass audience. Hell, I am not even saying it was a perfect movie. In fact, all of the original films have quite a bit of problems. But the main point I was making is that I didn't care at the time because I was 10. Rather then entering into the movie being the age you are, people should go in with their 10 year old cap on. If you still didn't like it, so be it. But writing such long continuity and logistics complaints seems sort of silly to me seeing as Star Wars has never give a damn about continuity and logistics. :P

@battlefront23: I enjoyed it; it was a good movie but in my opinion TFA is to Ep IV and V like Jurassic World is to the original JP. New faces, some dinosaurs, and same movie. Now, the original Jurassic Park is one of my all time favourite movies of all time and JW is the only movie I have watched in the theatres twice. I just loved the opportunity to relive that JP magic so many years later, but I'm not going to stand here and claim that the writing wasn't lazy or that they could have done so much more with the movie. As a diehard fan of SW I'm sure you are in the same "so great to relive the magic" boat I was in with JW, but you can surely recognise that a lot of people don't want to rewatch Ep IV and V with a new skin and there's nothing wrong with that. Now yeah, I give as much credit to the people who say "shittiest movie ever" as I do to people who say "best movie ever" when in my opinion it was not even close to be either.

The potential for greatness was there, though...maybe on the next movie.

The guy who will be writing and directing the next movie did some great episodes of Breaking Bad, in my opinion the greatest TV series of all time that I've seen (but I begin watching The Wire tonight).

He directed the BB episode "Ozymandias" considered one of the greatest 1 hour TV episodes of all time.

Looking forward to the next one.

@korvus: Fair enough. Also, it is the fanboy in me that wrote such inflammatory remarks, so there is that. :P

Also, there is no point in me claiming it is that much of a departure from A New Hope, but in the same vein, there were so many reasons to do that for the sake of the story AND to appease the audience. But what I saw was that same attention to mythology, and to the hero's journey, with some notable wrenches thrown in. The trench run in TFA was nowhere near the climax that it was in ANH, and that was another element I loved. Rather than sweeping visual effects being the most exciting and "tense" moment, it was Kylo and Han's conversation that gave the drama. Also, Rey's journey to accepting who she really is. Just like Luke did in ANH.

In fact, that would be my biggest gripe if anything; that Poe and company's trench run was juxtaposed alongside a much more compelling dramatic moment. And it just sent up the sequel so well. Better than ANH even. I'm sure my fanboy is showing, but still, you gotta defend your baby.

:P

@battlefront23: I don't disagree with you. I am actually going to watch it again (but not in the theatres, so it might take a while) because I feel that now I can leave all the expectations behind and just focus more on the movie and the details.

@korvus: I've seen it... three times. lol

That expectation piece is so huge. In fact, no other movie ever, save maybe episode 1 itself, had this ginormous amount of hype. So the easiest way to hook people in was to give them familiar elements of what they've already seen and loved. Ryan Johnson directing 8 though pretty much confirms in my mind that it will be exceptionally better than 7.

@battlefront23: I will hold you to that :P

@korvus:

He made the film Looper, which I thought was a really good sci-fi film. Also, he has more of an 'indie' eye because Looper was the only expensive film he's ever made. And that fits with the style of the new films. Obviously they are really expensive, but they are going the route of using practical and physical effects over CGI as much as they can. And the other film he made, Brick, was a very character driven film. 8 will be the film where they will take much larger risks which will probably end up paying off big time.

And no problem. Star Wars is my life. My username eludes to it, after all. ;)

I absolutely hated it. The movie is a totally shameless ripoff of A New Hope, and it seriously amazes me that people can recognize it for that and still think it's a good film. If this is what people wanted, why not just watch the original? It's aged pretty damn well. I also find it amazingly hypocritical how much people hate the prequel films but think Force Awakens is amazing. At least the prequels tried to do something different, which is much more than I can say for this film.

Force Awakens also does an incredible disservice to the original trilogy. Return of the Jedi ends with an incredibly prolific moment for the Star Wars universe where Palpatine is dead and the empire is on the verge of collapse. It's a very drastic change to the setting and paves the way for a very different kind of galaxy, but Force Awakens does away with that entirely and invents the Resistance and The First Order to reset everything back to the way it was in A New Hope. It's incredibly lazy and terrible writing.

My disappointment stems entirely from the complete and total lack of creativity involved with the making of this movie. The expanded universe showed us that Star Wars has incredible potential for telling all kinds of different stories, and what did they do with that potential? They wasted it to give us a remake of A New Hope, made even more criminal by how imaginative the original trilogy was in the first place. I was looking forward to a continuation of the story, not a lazy rehash of the first movie.

I hated it. Fucking re-hash of a New Hope with shittier, forgettable characters.

The latest total is that it's grossed around $611 million worldwide, (and it doesn't open in China until Jan 9th.)