Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens (2015)

[KnuteRoc]

I'm kind of surprised Star Wars is such a big deal still.

I find your lack of faith disturbing! (Looking for my force-choke emoji)

 

[BigRedMoe]

Maybe she's Obi Wan Kinobe's grand-daughter. Seems unlikely but maybe he had a secret girlfriend.

Speaking of which, didn't we learn in the prequels that Jedi aren't supposed to fall in love and have children? If that is the case then genetics can't be the only factor that would make one strong with the Force.

He did in the EU. Darth Maul killed her.

 

[BigRedMoe]

Maybe she's Obi Wan Kinobe's grand-daughter. Seems unlikely but maybe he had a secret girlfriend.

Speaking of which, didn't we learn in the prequels that Jedi aren't supposed to fall in love and have children? If that is the case then genetics can't be the only factor that would make one strong with the Force.

The New Jedi Order kind of did away with that rule seeing as almost all the Jedi were dead. Also, the old Jedi Order was known to make exceptions to that rule including for Master Ki Adi Mundi.

 

[RegentDenali]

By raw numbers (not adjusted for inflation), the #10 movie worldwide is Minions at 1.157B. Seeing as SW:FA is already at half of that after 3+ days, I think it is safe to say it will get there.

Avatar is #1 at 2.788B. That will be tough to surpass, but certainly possible. Phantom Menace comes in at #20 with 1.027B.

Adjusted for inflation, Gone with the Wind is #1 at 3.440B and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is #10 at 1.819B. New Hope is #3 with 2.825B

Avatar will be hard to beat for a long time. It was basically a game changer of a movie when it came to displaying a movie in 3D and CGI effect technology. Everyone was going out of their way to see it in IMAX which juiced the numbers as well. It was also scripted to appeal to a worldwide audience. I'm still amazed it made that much money considering how fucking stupid the script was and I had enough after one showing, but Cameron knows these types of stories are gobbled up by the masses.

 

[SomeGuy]

One of the surprising and refreshing things about this movie is the ratings on Rotten Tomatos. Yes, I know the rating will dip because a lot of fans are seeing it now but a rating of 95% is very impressive for this type of movie. Rotten Tomatoes: Movies | TV Shows | Movie Trailers | Reviews

 

[kramer1]

Feminist propaganda is what I'm hearing.

 

[BigRedMoe]

Some thoughts....

First off, I loved it. But I'm a bit of a Star Wars whore. Some parts were a tad formulaic (but I expected that and am completely OK with that) and I think it was obvious that they borrowed heavily, but not explicitly, from the EU (which I greatly appreciate).

I bet Snoke is actually Yoda-sized or smaller. The giant holograph seemed very Wizard of Oz-ish to me.

Kylo Ren was named (Ben Solo) after Obi Wan.... I found that a little odd as neither Han nor Leia had a strong connection to Obi Wan other than through Luke (in the EU Luke names his son Ben in honor of Obi Wan).

I loved hearing Obi Wan's voice talking to Rey during her vision. Very cool. I read that "Rey" is Alec Guinness' voice and "These are your first steps" was Ewan McGregor's.

Obviously Rey has Jedi lineage and I fully expect her to be a Skywalker.... but what if they throw a monkey wrench in our face?!? (I think she had begun her training under Luke and when things went to shit she was tucked away on Jakku for her own protection. Taking that a step further, maybe Kylo/Ben killed Luke's Wife/Rey's Mom ala the EU? Who else might Kylo/Ben have killed? All of Luke's other students?)

I like that they left a lot of room for inference as being too detailed may have given away too much of where the story is going, including the back stories which I'm sure will be filled in as this trilogy progresses.

Luke, put a fucking glove on. Nobody wants to see your metal skeletor hand.

Carrie Fischer needs to quit smoking.

RIP Han.

 

[BigRedMoe]

Also, Kylo Ren's hissy fits were both hilarious and Anakin-like. Anakin was an arrogant, petulant child. Kylo Ren seems to be even more so.

 

[BigRedMoe]

As for R2 "waking up". He held the largest piece of the puzzle. I have to think that Luke left a way to find him but only if certain things and people were in place. Apparently Luke only wanted to be found be a certain person, if that person should choose to go find him... R2 always seems to know more than his humans.

 

[RegentDenali]

anakins issues had some merit as his mom and him were basically slaves and who the father was never even talked about. And then he had to see how his tortured mom died.

Ren appears to just be a immature man child who can't keep his emotions in check.

 

[RegentDenali]

Feminist propaganda is what I'm hearing.

Actually there wasn't a lot of 3rd wave feminist bullshit in this movie. Rey is a female, but she got plenty of help from the male characters to survive her ordeals.

If anything, this movie presented a strong female lead character without the 3rd wave feminist cliches which was very refreshing and a good lesson to hollyweird that you don't have to bash males, create dumb love triangles, or make her an instant know-it-all to elevate a female lead and make her strong.

 

[chf]

Biggest gripe was the continuation of the Kessel run in 12 parsecs line.

I guess they doubled down on that?

 

[anotheridiot]

I think it'll make around $220M opening weekend.

To those of you guessing $400-$500M, I just don't think that's possible considering the actual number of screens and hours in a day over the same 4 day stretch any other film gets.

What's interesting is that the previous record for opening weekend in December was $84.6M for the first Hobbit film. Star Wars is going to obliterate that.

yeah, but they are opening world wide, so thats why they will hit the number. Movies usually have different openings us and international

 

[anotheridiot]

It's going to be top 10 all time for sure. It's got all the bases covered and many will be watching it in theaters multiple times.

dont forget all the star wars fans are now dragging their kids to the theater too.

 

[BigRedMoe]

anakins issues had some merit as his mom and him were basically slaves and who the father was never even talked about. And then he had to see how his tortured mom died.

Ren appears to just be a immature man child who can't keep his emotions in check.

It will be interesting to see how they explore Ren's backstory and expose any traumas or if it was just Snoke's influence and manipulation that turned Ben to Ren.

 

[CarlSr]

I bet Snoke is actually Yoda-sized or smaller. The giant holograph seemed very Wizard of Oz-ish to me.
.

Heh heh. That actually crossed my mind as soon as I saw it, but I doubt they make him that small. He's obviously no Munn though, despite folks hoping he'd look like that toy that came out around a year ago.

I think he's going to have to be very powerful and intimidating. I don't think a tiny Sith would make an audience feel that way. I suspect he's at least as tall as Kylo.

 

[CarlSr]

So did Gwendoline Christie's character get blown up? Or at least is that what we're supposed to assume at this point? I can't remember if she was seen again after they had the idea of throwing her in the trash. I kind of hope she is back in the next one.

Phasma is on board for the next movie. Hopefully they'll actually do something with her in the next one. If she's ruthless, we wouldn't know, because they swimmingly only gave her about 45 seconds of screen time.

 

[OutlawImmortal]

anakins issues had some merit as his mom and him were basically slaves and who the father was never even talked about. And then he had to see how his tortured mom died.

Ren appears to just be a immature man child who can't keep his emotions in check.

They did, he was a jesus baby lol.

Obviously Rey has Jedi lineage and I fully expect her to be a Skywalker.... but what if they throw a monkey wrench in our face?!? (I think she had begun her training under Luke and when things went to shit she was tucked away on Jakku for her own protection. Taking that a step further, maybe Kylo/Ben killed Luke's Wife/Rey's Mom ala the EU? Who else might Kylo/Ben have killed? All of Luke's other students?)
.

I agree, Kylo probably killed his wife if Rey is his daughter. Jedi are not supposed to have family at all yet Yoda and Obi-Wan never told Luke to stay away from his sister. Something tells me that the new jedi order didn't forbid personal attachments, Kylo most likely stayed in touch with his parents in some way growing up.

The only other thing that I can possible think of is that Snoke is so powerful that he created Rey with the force, maybe like Anakin but then killed her mother after birth? Maybe he is Plagueis and that's why she has a staff that looks like the one Plagueis had, but Luke defeated him and took the child and the staff. Then Snoke gets back at him by turning Kylo and his other students against him.

Going way out on a limb with that but that's just a testament to how much the story is pointing toward Rey being Luke's daughter.. Let's not forget that Maz asked Han who she was and it cut away from the conversation before Han answered.

1) Obi-Wan defined the Force to Luke as "an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together." Qui-Gon explained Midi-Chlorians as "microscopic lifeforms that reside within all living cells and communicate with the Force. ... Without the midi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to you, telling you the will of the Force." It seems very out of place that Rey's "awakening" was experienced through something that was NOT living. It also seems out of place that a droid could be force-sensitive.

If places like a Jedi Temple or Sith Tombs could be strong with the force, shouldn't that mean objects could as well? Especially something as intimate as a lightsaber? Buildings are not living either.

 

[Duffman]

Actually there wasn't a lot of 3rd wave feminist bullshit in this movie. Rey is a female, but she got plenty of help from the male characters to survive her ordeals.

If anything, this movie presented a strong female lead character without the 3rd wave feminist cliches which was very refreshing and a good lesson to hollyweird that you don't have to bash males, create dumb love triangles, or make her an instant know-it-all to elevate a female lead and make her strong.

From what I'm seeing from people I think people are more upset by the fact that Rey just blew by any obstacle she faced right out the gate and didn't show any weakness. Obviously she's special but I think most people are arguing that they made her too powerful and thus it's not interesting to watch.

 

[Podunkparte]

yeah, but they are opening world wide, so thats why they will hit the number. Movies usually have different openings us and international

I'm pretty sure the record will only be accounting for domestic box office results, not international revenue.