Star Wars: The Force Awakens

[Visions of Khas]

I am surprised nobody has made a thread about this yet. Spoilers, obviously.

So what did you think? I loved it. My favorite theory so far is Starkiller base was made from the planet Ilum.

[Robear]

I also love it. I obviously don't think it's flawless, and I prefer the first half to the second, but if you watch it and then go watch Attack of the Clones...
Rey and Finn are great, and I look forward to seeing where they end up as characters 2 movies from now.
I feel very glad that Star Wars feels reinvigorated and fun, and that kids will have the whole dressing up as characters for halloween, obsessing over starship designs, playing with legos kind of fun that I had 15 years ago.

[TheEconomist]

I thought it was a good experience. Better than I thought it would be, although I didn't have many expectations, being that I'm only a Star Wars video game mostly. Plan to get into the books though. The movies are just eye candy for me though, meaning good fun while I watch it, not to think about after. Even though I enjoyed it, I mean really, it's basically a remake of the first movies. The parallels are immense.
Put simply, 8.5/10

[Turalyon]

I'm just glad that a Star Wars movie finally has a, metaphorically speaking, beating heart again. Sure, the "stuff" in the movie was quite derivative from the original trilogy but now that they've sated our nostalgia with it, I guess that means the next SW movies can be different whilst retaining that recaptured spirit. I'm actually looking forward to see what comes next rather than hoping the next one is going to be fine or better, like I was with prequel movies. Sc needs a similar treatment methinks.

[Visions of Khas]

I read Episode VIII is to be directed by a director who worked on Breaking Bad and other character dramas, so I am REALLY curious how it will turn out.

Snoke is totally Plagueis.

[DemolitionSquid]

So I just saw Star Wars (I)VII: Another New Hope Awakens.

Lets see, where to start.

We meet a young kid on a desert planet. They find a droid with vital information they have to get to the Rebels/Resistance. They fly a ship called the Millennium Falcon with the help of an old man, a cheeky rogue with a questionable past, and a walking carpet. They end up in an alien bar which plays unusual, yet catchy, music. They get captured and have to escape a giant starbase weapon. It destroys a planet. They get the information to Leia and she orders an X-Wing attack on the starbase weapon. There's a trench run and lots of explosions. The old man gets killed by someone he was very close to once, who also happens to be the main villain. After the battle is won, the kid then goes off to find a great old Jedi from whom to learn the force.

Its a new year! Welcome to 1977 everyone.

[Turalyon]

^ Beats whatever the hell The Phantom Menace was: Some stuff about a trade federation blockading a planet and blah. Lol

[Robear]

I think that a big reason they spent so much time being referential/retracing A New Hope's every step, while completely avoiding talking about the political situation and logistics and anything was because of the prequel backlash. They saw all the complaints about trade negotiations and the senate and thought, "okay, we'll show them that we know what makes Star Wars Star Wars," and made exactly Star Wars.

Which I'm fine with if the next movies now go off and do new things. They're treating the first of the new movies essentially as a reboot, so it is kind of a remake, but if it's just to demonstrate that they can do Star Wars right and now they'll add new ideas, could be very good. And the parallels were mostly fun, like, I liked Han going from unenthused skeptic in ANH to taking over Obi-wan's role in TFA, telling the younger generation about the Force aboard the Falcon and then being the old guy who confronts evil and gets cut down and left behind on the Death Star.
I did think that Starkiller base was a bit too unoriginal though. You can have the character parallels without it.

But yeah I'll only be disappointed if now the next one is exactly a remake of Empire Strikes Back as well.

[TheEconomist]

That's the most I've ever agreed with Squibb on anything.

[Visions of Khas]

I agree with you on all counts, Robear. This is simply an introduction to a familiar universe with new characters. Star Wars has never been wholly original; it's that quaint Fairy Tale in Space feeling that is so appealing.

I'm pretty damn interested in Kylo Ben's character arch. He clearly represents an Anakin Skywalker that has accepted the Dark side on his own terms. It's also very telling that, unlike Vader, Kylo never slays his subordinates needlessly.