The Force Awakens: Spoiler Thread

[natureboy]

I have to say after seeing a few of JJ Abrams 'reboots', I'm not super impressed. Really dislike his bias toward frenetic action to drive plots rather than good writing that includes appropriate pauses for 'human moments' between characters and to give the action bits more emotional significance. I would say bringing out / portraying appropriate emotional context is his weakness as a writer / director. He masks this relative weakness with lots of scurrying about. This may be 'old man syndrome' where a younger viewer raised on handheld electronics doesn't have the attention span for 'slow bits'. Even if true, I think it hurts his films as stand alone stories.

It was a little too derivative in scene elements and plot arc for me. He could have distinguished himself as a writer by cribbing a bit less off Lucas. I think he delivered a predictable, corporate 'reboot' that will certainly satisfy his employers, but I don't think it had the emotional story power of any of Lucas' original 3. It wasn't very mythical or operatic in its emotional content. In many ways, this 'rehashing of plots and characters' is what was done in the first year or two when the Star Trek franchise was re-booted for The Next Generation. But that was a TV series. I think movie scripts should be stronger.

That said, the movie was solid and had some fun bits of nostalgia. Solo's return as the aged quasi-Odysseus archetype was probably the best part for me. I also liked the actress who played Ren. Is it me or is her name intended to allude to 'Rey of light'? I'm not a huge fan of her sudden budding of power relative to how Jedi stuff was done in the past. I think this was JJ making a nod to X-Men and 'mutant emergence' trope, but I think it somewhat degrades the significance of Jedi training and abilities. Even in 'Harry Potter' they have to train and mature in stages before taking out the 'big bad'. Also annoying to me was there was no reason why Leia would hug a stranger (Ren) vs. Chewbacca an old friend after the death of someone they both loved. Obviously it was a nod to Ren being related to Luke / Leia, but it was an Easter Egg drop for the next movie at the expense of believable stand-alone storytelling.

Here are some interesting reviews that capture some good points and perspectives especially about the poor context established for the 'resistance' and the 'first order' (which hurt creating solid emotional stakes):

https://artistscoalition.wordpress.com/2015/12/25/the-end-of-magic-review-of-the-force-awakens/

https://www.circeinstitute.org/blog/star-wars-and-mimicry

http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-in-mythology-the-shadow

http://io9.gizmodo.com/everything-thats-wrong-with-star-wars-the-force-awaken-1751756919

http://www.mythsdreamssymbols.com/psychstarwars.html

Edited January 11, 2016 by natureboy

[dkolo]

5 hours ago, saevel25 said:

You got to think that the Empire was formed out of fear. I bet a good portion was very much opposed to the Empire and probably wanted to go back to the Senate. Then you have those guys who are diehard Empire guys. 

All the older people were blown up 30 years before on the two Death Stars haha. 

[boogielicious]

9 hours ago, dkolo said:

All the older people were blown up 30 years before on the two Death Stars haha. 

LOL! 

I guess it doesn't help that Gleeson played Bill Weasley in Harry Potter-Deathly Hallows Part 2 either. Maybe he used Accio Kylo Ren! to get him off the planet.

[nevets88]

That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! 

Video showing scenes before and after digital manipulation. Look out for the green suit guy operating BB-8 in the rathtar scene.

And yes, the Lake District in England is that stunning. A must visit if you're ever nearby.

 

 

[boogielicious]

1 hour ago, nevets88 said:

That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! That's no moon! 

Video showing scenes before and after digital manipulation. Look out for the green suit guy operating BB-8 in the rathtar scene.

And yes, the Lake District in England is that stunning. A must visit if you're ever nearby.

 

 

I've got a bad feeling about this.I've got a bad feeling about this.I've got a bad feeling about this.I've got a bad feeling about this.

I've got a bad feeling about this.I've got a bad feeling about this.I've got a bad feeling about this.I've got a bad feeling about this

I've got a bad feeling about this.I've got a bad feeling about this.I've got a bad feeling about this.I've got a bad feeling about this

I've got a bad feeling about this.I've got a bad feeling about this.I've got a bad feeling about this.I've got a bad feeling about this

Cool!

[LagShaft]

So there it is...

[boogielicious]

51 minutes ago, LagShaft said:

So there it is...

Ludicrous speed!

[Ernest Jones]

Anyone else think that the aging Luke Skywalker looks an awful lot like Tyrion Lannister? 

[saevel25]

Nope

[LagShaft]

On January 17, 2016 at 8:20 PM, Ernest Jones said:

Anyone else think that the aging Luke Skywalker looks an awful lot like Tyrion Lannister? 

 

On January 17, 2016 at 9:08 PM, saevel25 said:

Nope

They do have the same eyes lol.  Peter Dinklage would have made a good snoke. I haven't watched GOT for a couple of years but  I need to start on the latest book considering how long I've been complaining about it getting released.

[saevel25]

Interesting blog post ;) 

http://moviepilot.com/posts/3713302

It is interesting that, Pablo Hidalgo, Lucas's Star Wars historian. The guy who consulted on Star Wars Force Awakens and who helped develop the new Cannon has tweeted that the scene in Rey's flashback when she faces what we suppose is the Knights of Ren during the rainstorm is not Luke's Jedi Academy. 

 

[nevets88]

ILM's Force Awakens portfolio. Lots of pics, many didn't make it into the movie. 

http://www.ilm.com/visual_development/the-force-awakens-portfolio/

Tie fighter literally becomes an X-wing.

[saevel25]

3 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

ILM's Force Awakens portfolio. Lots of pics, many didn't make it into the movie.

http://www.ilm.com/visual_development/the-force-awakens-portfolio/

Speaking on stuff that was left out. In a recent Nerdist podcast with Abram he talked about that scene where Rey and Leia embraced after coming back from the mission.

I found it weird that since Chewy and Leia were such close friends they didn't have a moment there.

Abrams confirmed it was one of the things he regretted about the movie. He wanted to emphasize the force aspect to the point that the both Leia and Rey had this connection because Han died and it brought them together at that moment. Some people took this scene as they must be related or Leia must have known of Rey. Abrams basically confirmed that they have never met before and it was just the force acting as a conduit for this emotional embrace due to a lost loved one. That is at least how I took what he was saying from the interview.

 

[nevets88]

Mark Hamill @ Oxford Union

 

 

[jamo]

https://medium.com/@KenjiLopezAlt/rey-is-a-palpatine-f2a0346dd1da#.pwqk0sl5q

It may be my favorite theory after Sith Jar Jar and Rey Kenobi.

[saevel25]

12 minutes ago, jamo said:

https://medium.com/@KenjiLopezAlt/rey-is-a-palpatine-f2a0346dd1da#.pwqk0sl5q

It may be my favorite theory after Sith Jar Jar and Rey Kenobi.

Some parts of Ren's theme are nearly identical to Anakin's theme in episode 3. 

Rey's theme has a lot of Luke's theme in it. It could be that it's a mix of all of them together to fit this whimsical. 

I have both Episode 3's and the Force Awakens albums 

[nevets88]

Animated movie summary in 80 seconds:

 

[nevets88]

Honest Trailers on The Force Awakens: