*** STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Spoiler Discussion/Reactions ***

420,093 Views | 2952 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by Philip J Fry
Brian Earl Spilner
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Finally home.

What else can be said really? JJ did it. He brought Star Wars back. He managed to perfectly capture the spirit of the original, and yet it never felt overly fan-servicy. It was a delicate balance of nostalgia, and of new elements/characters, and he pulled it off beautifully.

So many moments of applause in my theater (introductions of all our old characters, first shot of the Falcon, and of course Luke), and complete silence when Han walked out on that bridge with his son. Everyone knew what was about to happen.

I have a lot of thoughts, so I'll just make bulletpoints.

- So many questions...
Who is Snoke, and since when has he existed? Is Rey Luke's daughter? (Seems obvious at this point, but it's kind of nice that they left it for Ep VIII) Who found Luke's lightsaber? Why did R2 wake up? (What if he was awakened by the presence of Rey because it felt like Luke to him? Is R2 force sensitive?)

- Other than looking badass, Phasma was basically worthless. Boba Fett 2.0.

- Small complaint about the score - It definitely felt like Williams the whole time, but I am slightly disappointed there was no instantly recognizable and hummable new theme, ie. a Duel of the Fates or an Imperial March.

- Great use of the old themes. I mean, when Luke removes his hood and the Force Theme swells, my God. How do you not get chills? Similarly with the love theme when Han embraces Leia.

- Another small complaint - I did not like how they just happen to come across the Falcon, in Jakku of all places. How did it get there? Seems like too much coincidence.

- Absolutely LOVED the new characters, Rey and Kylo especially. Amazing casting.

- The thumbs up from BB-8!

- Talk about a cliffhanger. When was the last time you got out of a Star Wars movie and couldn't wait to see the next one? I enjoyed the prequels, but I never had that feeling coming out of those movies. I put this cliffhanger on the same level as Empire Strikes Back. Luckily, we only have to wait a year and a half for Episode VIII.

- Really excited to see what other elements and characters they bring into this new trilogy. Would love if Luke teaches Rey about communicating with force ghosts. Who doesn't want to see Yoda or Obi-Wan again?

Definitely need a few more rewatches. This one moves really fast, and I feel like I need at least another viewing to really soak it all in. Planning to go again on Saturday.

What a time to be a Star Wars fan, huh?
Objective Aggie
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Overall thoroughly enjoyed it.

Acting was the best of the series for sure. Nice nostalgic touches. Well done all around.

But . . .
It almost was a reboot of ANH. Plot lines were eerily similar. Desert planet. Droid with plans. Go to cantina. Go to space. Get caught by bigger ship. Someone gets killed on a platform by the lead antagonist.

Again. Loved it.
AggiePride07
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Awesome. freakin awesome
jabberwalkie09
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HOLY HELL THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!! My rankings of the films now are ESB, TFA, ANH, ROTJ, ROTS, AOTC, TPM.

Han's death at the hands of his own son.... I knew it was coming, and it still didn't help with the punch in the gut of probably my favorite character of the franchise up there with Kenobi. Also, in my mind when Chewie set off the charges, Chewie was saying "**** all of you, this is for Han!" Chewie's howl/cry/yell at watching Han being run through was absolutely fantastic.

I really, really left the theater with the impression that Rey is Luke's daughter that he left on Jakku after Kylo/Ben's attack. Loved everything about Rey as a character. It would be an interesting reference/parallel to Anakin's story if Luke did indeed leave Rey on Jakku for her protection from her older cousin Kylo. Daisy was a spectacular casting IMO.

Adam Driver as Kylo Ren is another spot on casting in my opinion. Yes, he is a bit whiny in the film and still a child in some respects. He destroyed two rooms with his rage. Also, his lightsaber skills were much of what I expected as well. That being that his style is more savage as opposed to being more refined, using more brute strength over technique.

Finn was interesting in the film. I find how protective he was of Rey an interesting aspect to him, as the only character in the SWU that was similar was how Anakin was so driven to try and save Padme. Only time will tell how he develops over the trilogy. He's pretty much an almost blank slate now since he left the First Order. I thought that his story in TFA of going from running away from his fear, he confronted it when facing Ren.

I think it was the second time when Kylo was talking to Snoke that I heard a little bit of a call back to the Emperors Throne Room theme.................

I think Poe was used enough in this film, but with Han gone now he should take on more of a role IMO from here on out. I don't think he can replace Han, and I don't think anyone ever can or will be able to. Besides me thinking that no one should replace Han's place, Poe comes across as being too straight laced.

Hope that Maz got out of there before everything went to crap. Besides using her for the Han Solo film in the works, they could also use her as sort of a Lando type of character in the ST. I would also be interested in knowing what Maz and Han discussed when Maz asked him who she was.

And yeah, I'm pretty sure that the Stormtrooper in Rey's cell was Daniel Craig. When he said would drop his blaster, I just about said it aloud that it was him.

Overall, this film did everything that I wanted to. I could have done without the spinning shot at the end of Rey and Luke. I do see what the reviewers were saying about the pacing being somewhat uneven. The moments between Finn and Rey early in the movie, in particular on the Falcon, felt a little out of place considering the pace the rest of the film moved at. If nothing else, TFA shows that JJ really understands Star Wars much better than he understands Star Trek (no, I don't want to get into a debate over this but it is how I feel about it). I am looking forward to the next two movies, and it's a shame we have to wait so long for the next film.
mslags97
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One word: AMAZING
Madmarttigan
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I would say it started out weaker with trying to be too funny and cute particularly with some of Finn's lines and the squid things, but I think it just got better and better as the movie went on.

I had the same questions as everyone else about who in the world the old man is at beginning and how he would know Luke's exact location.

I would be shocked if Rey wasn't Luke's daughter. I think it was only a fair fight because Ren was bleeding profusely from Chewie's shot to the gut. He still beat the **** out of Finn and took some more hits before battling Rey.

I think it might get too convoluted if it follows the previous theory stated that something triggered memories in her head from when she was little and suddenly unlocked her previous knowledge. It is more likely she controlled her fear because she was running the whole time, and Ren was very injured.

As far as learning mind control too quickly? After basically battling wills with Ren it might not have been particularly difficult to recreate in a weaker mind since she did penetrate Ren's mind with the vader line she spouted out.
Brian Earl Spilner
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quote:
I could have done without the spinning shot at the end of Rey and Luke.
Thought the exact same thing, the spinning felt unnecessary. Should've gone for a nice long shot, maybe with the sun setting over the water on the horizon.
InternetFan02
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Who is Rey's mother??? ...Immaculate Conception? Hahahaha

Daisy Ridley is an amazing actress. Look at all the great non-verbal expressions throughout the movie. I love her.
jabberwalkie09
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quote:
quote:
I could have done without the spinning shot at the end of Rey and Luke.
Thought the exact same thing, the spinning felt unnecessary. Should've gone for a nice long shot, maybe with the sun setting over the water on the horizon.
It felt like it belonged in a Mission Impossible film. Not that it was poorly done, it just took me out of the moment. They should have just left it at the moment where Luke pulled the hood back, and then Rey held out the lightsaber and cut back to Luke. Just my two cents on that.
jabberwalkie09
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quote:
Who is Rey's mother??? ...Immaculate Conception? Hahahaha
It's been 30 years since the end of ROTJ. Lot of time between then and TFA.
Madmarttigan
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Also why would someone be complaining about snoke's CGI?

IT WAS A HOLOGRAM
jabberwalkie09
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quote:
I would be shocked if Rey wasn't Luke's daughter. I think it was only a fair fight because Ren was bleeding profusely from Chewie's shot to the gut. He still beat the **** out of Finn and took some more hits before battling Rey.
Yep, not to mention that for the first half of the battle prior to her what I will call her moment of clarity, Kylo had her on the defensive.
Madmarttigan
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Also thank God for Star Wars for making me literally give NO ****s about the drama with our football team.
jabberwalkie09
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Thanks for the reminder....
jabberwalkie09
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So let's try this again in the correct thread this time..... Am I correct in assuming that Coruscant was one of the worlds destroyed by the First Order's weapon?
Madmarttigan
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I would probably say yes.
jabberwalkie09
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Score one for the bad guys then.
Madmarttigan
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And while their star eater was destroyed, it was also mentioned that basically the entire republic fleet was destroyed as well on those planets.
jabberwalkie09
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I feel like a hockey announcer should be saying "And at the end of the first period of the Sequel Trilogy, our score is tied 1-1."
Brian Earl Spilner
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Was it Coruscant? I remember thinking that and then when it showed the planet from space, it didn't look like it.

If they destroyed Coruscant. they killed trillions of people.
PatAg
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quote:
quote:
I didn't like how fast Rey was able to master mind control or over power Kylo in the lightsaber battle. It took Luke almost 3 movies and training from Yoda to do what she did.

This. Can't get past this. As soon as I saw that saver fly past Kylo to Rey, I audibly said "oh, please". The whole fight was very eye-rolly.
Get off my plane!
Really???
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Its not clear which planet was shown but the capital is now Chandrila.
jabberwalkie09
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All I remember is the system name started with an H.... That's all I remember. When was the capital moved?
Detective Jake Peralta
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So awesome. Got to sit next to the biggest Star Wars super fan (from the very beginning) and it was awesome to see him just overwhelmed with TFA after he, like everyone else, was so let down by the prequels.

I was 9 years old when RotS came out, so I was basically just excited for any Star Wars, old or new since I couldn't tell the difference between good or bad movies. As I got older and could tell how much better the original trilogy was, I envied those of you that got to experience them when the came out in theaters. Now, I know how you all felt. That was such a great experience and I'm ready for Episode VIII!
AggieSportsGuy
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Is it possible that Kylo kidnapped Rey as a child from Luke after he turned and dropped her off at Jakku? It seemed like Kylo kept being extremely interested in Rey whenever she was mentioned as "a girl" and I couldn't tell if he just sensed the force or he deep down knew it was her.
PatAg
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I thought it sounded like Kylo Ren's voice saying something to the effect of "ill come back for you" in her little vision.

I loved the look Luke had going on at the end, and while I'm super bummed he didn't appear more, it makes me that much more excited to see him in the next. Im now very wary of someone else being in charge of/directing the next.
MBAR
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I don't think she's Luke's daughter. I dont' think he HAS a daughter (Jedi) and I also think Han and Leia would have recognized her obviously.
Ag_of_08
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I'm as big of fan as they come, can't do this one.
Ag Since 83
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The Rey thing is interesting. Clearly there's some reason she was left on that planet, and it would make sense if Luke wiped her memory post-Ben dark side turn (although that seems like it would be dark sideish in and of itself). Driver is about 8.5 years older than Ridley, so if you assume their characters are around the same in age difference, her age in the flashback might be about right to coincide with his dark side turn.

But Han and Leia not recognizing her do make it unlikely she's their niece, unless Luke had a secret wife that he kept hidden from everyone, family included, on some place like Dagobah, which seems like something Luke wouldn't do, given how important his family is to him. Or he wiped their memories too about his daughter, as well as Ben's, to protect her.

At one point I thought she might be Palpatine's daughter, which would really give them a reason to hide her away on some backwater planet, but I don't think Ridley can believably be cast as someone conceived pre-Return of the Jedi, given the time difference.
CheeseSndwch
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My Theory: Kylo Ren's incestious rage for his sister/half-sister/cousin sent him over the edge to the dark side.
VanZandt92
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I was underwhelmed.
Ag Since 83
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Sorry about the many scatter shot posts I'll make over the next couple days, just posting things as they come to me. It's really good to be back on the TexAgs Star Wars threads again.

Favorite quotes:

"That's not how the Force works!"

"Isn't this the ship that did the Kessel run in 14 parsecs?"
"TWELVE!!!!"

"This will begin to make things right." - Seriously, took some guts to call your shot with that the first spoken line.

And just about any line Han said that resulted in Chewie given him ****.
VanZandt92
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quote:
Sorry about the many scatter shot posts I'll make over the next couple days, just posting things as they come to me. It's really good to be back on the TexAgs Star Wars threads again.

Favorite quotes:

"That's not how the Force works!"

"Isn't this the ship that did the Kessel run in 14 parsecs?"
"TWELVE!!!!"

"This will begin to make things right." - Seriously, took some guts to call your shot with that the first spoken line.

And just about any line Han said that resulted in Chewie given him ****.


So this was really just about taking a trip down memory lane?
Ag Since 83
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No, I loved the new characters too and am really excited about where they'll take them. I think in Episode VIII they'll get away from the super weapon story and focus more on Luke and Rey and his fear of training her. Then you'll have Kylo trying to track her down, making it a chase film. It might mirror ESB in many ways.

Which I think is the amazing thing about TFA. I sat in the theater thinking "I should hate this movie, the plot is just recycled from a movie I love." You could call it "Star Wars: Never Say Never Again."

But it works so well because JJ, unlike Lucas, understands why people like Star Wars movies, and made a movie that is fun, comedic, with just the right amount of emotional drama. It introduced the new, while bringing back the familiar.
AgMarauder04
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James Bond makes an appearance!
 
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