LOL sure. "You do, that voodoo, that you do so well"? Maybe... That voodoo is some unity with the force, eh?

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The filmmakers didn't want to explain exactly what's happening here, but they confirm: yes, that's a Stormtrooper doll, a galactic version of a toy soldier. And it will have special significance in the story. (Decades later, an abandoned girl name Rey will also fashion a doll for herself this one an X-wing pilot.)

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Say what now?

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That has the potential to be some dark ****. I mean like little kids at a playground after a terrorist (err rebel) attack

Random Empire observation that I never picked up on. Another "Lucas is full of it" moment:

Lucas defenders say that the "other" that Yoda mentions is proof that Luke and Leia are intended to be siblings in Empire. However, Yoda had JUST told Luke to sacrifice Leia if needs be. She can't be the other if she's dead.

Of course, we know from Gary Kurtz that the other he's talking about is Luke's sister, who we had not yet been introduced and would have shown up post-Jedi.

So now there's Star Wars product placement in the actual movie. Where can I buy one of those dolls

I don't expect this to be received well, if only because this piece is A) insanely long, B) written by a guy who calls himself "Film Crit Hulk," and C) is in all caps. But if you can get past those (admittedly ridiculous) issues, this is hands down the most thoughtful, smart, and meticulous critique of The Force Awakens I've read yet. One that, from a narrative standpoint, is virtually inarguable, and not only perfectly explains why Abrams is so frustrating as a director, but also explains better than I ever could why TFA just didn't land with me and many others. It was no doubt fun, and I had a good enough time with it in the theater, but at its core, there's just something deeply flawed with it that this expresses perfectly and logically, in the most respectful and least snarky way possible.

With six months having passed since the release, it's definitely an interesting read that's able to kind of step back and examine the movie without all the hoopla surrounding it. But again, I understand if no one really gives this thing a shot. The guy behind the Film Crit Hulk mask is actually a whip-smart industry professional - legitimately one of the smartest people I've ever read when it comes to examining story and screenwriting - but I completely understand if the schtick and formatting aren't your thing. For those who can bear it, though, I promise it's worth it...

http://birthmoviesdeath.com/2016/06/28/star-wars-the-force-alluded-to

THE CAPS! (Bah! Idk why it bothers me so much, but it does!)

Anyways, it's hard to disagree with his points and logic. I'm just too damn emotionally attached to Star Wars and it's rebirth to look at it with objective feelings.

Re: the all caps, I'm right there with you. In fact, the caps bother me so much I got banned from the comments section at that site for complaining about them a couple years ago.

But man, it's such a well-written, well-articulated article only coming from a place of passion and love. The bit about nostalgia in the modern movie age is one of the best things I've read in a long while.

I'm about a quarter of the way through it and I found a lower case letter. Does he not just type these with caps lock on?

Can HULK stop ****ing referring to himself in the third person? Between that and the caps, I just couldn't continue past the first few paragraphs.

Eh, mountains out of molehills. I can't argue with his points as I don't have any expertise in filmmaking, but it seems like he takes the fact that JJ Abrams films don't meet his standard and extrapolates it to great extent (and the yelling.... )

The original Star Wars films weren't The Godfather either. But because they were so original and so cool nobody cared. More than that, 30 years later they've been canonized and nothing new will live up to them (the prequels didn't help on this point)

Still I disagree with the basic premise of the article. I find TFA very rewatchabe and just a fun/satisfying now as when it was released.

Cliffnotes? Not about to read all that.

I will also say that some of my lack of concern comes from knowing this is a trilogy. If some things aren't clarified in the next two movies TFA will be worse in retrospect.

I LOVED the second Matrix movie. Then the third one sucked so bad it ruined #2 as well. I don't expect anything like that to befall Star Wars, but the next two directors will make Abrams look better if the come up with good answers for the loose ends.

Nearly every point you've made in your two posts were addressed in the article. In fact, the article is almost a direct response to the specific points you've made.

Still going through this, but one thing that so far hasn't been recognized by Hulk is the fact that the story of Episode VIII had to be crafted in some very tight restraints. A lot HAD to happen and be included that never would have been required if 1) this was Episode I instead of VIII, and 2) the prequels didn't so badly damage the franchise. Just the need to include the old cast and establish a new one really puts the thing on some rails.

A lot of his criticisms about the story sprinting from one place to another, or the need to emphasize the delight in every scene, are born from necessity to deliver on expectations and restore faith in the franchise.

Maybe some of this is addressed but I wanted to put down my thoughts while fresh. I'll edit as needed.

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Nearly every point you've made in your two posts were addressed in the article. In fact, the article is almost a direct response to the specific points you've made.

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I know. I read it (despite the fact it was like reading an email from my dad, who also doesn't know how to turn the caps lock off)

I just don't agree. But then I'm not in the industry, nor do I care as much about film as this guy (or you)

I appreciate you posting it though. It's interesting to read detailed discussions about pacing and character development.

One thing that I dislike about TFA is it felt like there were no risks taken. It was a pretty safe movie. As much as I bash the prequels, there was at least an attempt in those movies to refine the universe and style/theme of the films. And I guess the prequels had to be that way, as it was a slow march to the inevitable darkness.

I will say this after having digested the movie completely, I haven't had the nudge to watch TFA in awhile, and I'm not sure when I will feel the need to do so again. The Batman Begins comparison I've read from some might become a very good point when this is all said and done. I will check out the linked article here in a bit.

Edit: Disappointed a bit... was hoping this thread bump was news.

my big complaint about TFA was the simple fact that star killer base was a sphere. If it had been a new class of ship, a new base, a biological weapon, anything just not a sphere, it would felt a lot more fresh. Comfortable and familar but fresh. Think your grandmother's chicken and dumplin's vs the meat loaf your mom left in the freezer when your parents had that big fight and she went to visit her sister for a while.

Jesus the caps bothered my brain so much that now the font on TexAgs looks weird.

I also sort of get what he's saying here, but it didn't bother me much. I always sort of looked at Episode VII as like trying to put the train back on the tracks after the prequels derailed it. Now it's back on the track we need to see it really do something. Episode VIII is what's going to determine how good, or not, this trilogy is going to be.

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my big complaint about TFA was the simple fact that star killer base was a sphere. If it had been a new class of ship, a new base, a biological weapon, anything just not a sphere, it would felt a lot more fresh. Comfortable and familar but fresh. Think your grandmother's chicken and dumplin's vs the meat loaf your mom left in the freezer when your parents had that big fight and she went to visit her sister for a while.

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I think they made it a planet, just so they could have the snow scene with Finn / Rey / Kylo. I truly believe that was the main deciding factor to make it a sphere / planet (secondary was probably familiarity - very little explanation needed of the weapon). I agree, though, they could have gone a different direction with the super weapon.

Please let this be a streaming event...

http://www.starwars.com/news/future-filmmakers-come-together-for-special-panel-at-star-wars-celebration-europe-2016

Poe was going to die in the original script, right? How do you suppose they would have handled that situation and united Finn with Rey? Finn just goes AWOL on Jakku?

I am editing my second point. I have to think on it a bit more.

I tried to read that and it was getting interesting, but my brain shut down after the third person use got out of hand and the caps made my eyes hurt. Will have to go back later and try again in smaller doses.

To add on to that, he sort of sweeps it aside with one comment, but the fact that TFA knew it was the first of a trilogy is crucial to understanding some of the decisions that were made, especially when contrasting it with the original Star Wars, which wasn't created to kick off a trilogy. It was much more important for that movie to have self-contained arcs of character because at the time that was the entire story. In fact, if memory serves I think I read an article that said Lucas had to go back and make some of the arcs more contained because it might be the only movie and not a series.

Anyway, I think he makes some decent points, but none of them bothered me all that much in this movie. They did bother me in Star Trek Into Darkness though.

What? It wouldn't have changed anything, Poe just wouldn't have shown back up later in the film, he'd have stayed dead inside the TIE fighter

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Poe was going to die in the original script, right? How do you suppose they would have handled that situation and united Finn with Rey? Finn just goes AWOL on Jakku?

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Maybe I don't exactly understand your question but if Poe dies in the Tie crash on Jakku then there is really no need for him later.

Even if it's not live streamed it will surely be on youtube in full.

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Poe was going to die in the original script, right? How do you suppose they would have handled that situation and united Finn with Rey? Finn just goes AWOL on Jakku?

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Maybe I don't exactly understand your question but if Poe dies in the Tie crash on Jakku then there is really no need for him later.

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Kind of like not reading my post after bob's post!

NM. I had the Poe death story confused in my mind. For some reason, I thought the original story had him killed in the raid.

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all caps

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Paste into word, highlight, push "shift-f3" until you get the best case settings.

I tried earlier, but to copy everything from the site took forever. It was scrolling super slow and catching all the other text on the page.

Wow, even after reading all your posts, I wasn't prepared for the caps. I could only look at the article for about 2 seconds.

Regarding the SW panel, yeah I'd bet it will be on YouTube after the fact. What did they do last year: only stream the JJ one live, and then put the others up later, or did they stream all the main stage panels live?

That guy may be brilliant, but he's a ****ing idiot for not writing like a normal human. Pass.