Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens (2015)

[OutlawImmortal]

Obviously Finn is a little bitch, he's only been trained for combat since he was a toddler.

 

[gohusk]

Did they really need to blow up another fucking Death Star-like thing? Even the jokes about that are played out. I thought it was a little entertaining but they haven't done anything besides the obvious since the 2nd movie they made. Disney bought the rights from Lucas and rushed the hell out of a production that was based on "just don't make a bad movie". What we ended up with is a movie that was marginally good. Star Trek had its flaws but at least JJ did his own thing and made a really entertaining movie. The nostalgic references he made were funny (Krk and the green bitch for one).

This was nothing was but a cut and paste from what they thought people liked from the previous movies. And if your going to just rehash crap you've already done, then at least make the rehashed stuff awesome. Miller too the Road Warrior, stripped out just about any explanation as far as dialogue goes, let the viewers fill in the blanks for themselves, and put together nitro circus meats nuclear wasteland. But I guess the bottom line is that Disney is going to want scripts that aren't above an elementary school student because they're driving a big portion of the merchandising market and they don't want anything that's going above their heads. So I guess that I'm basically bitching about a kids movie, which is ridiculous on my part because I'm not even the target audience.

 

[RP-29]

Abrams was going to be under intense criticism no matter what he did. It's impossible to please everybody. I thought he tiptoed the ultra-fine lines pretty well. It was a safely-played movie.

I'm reasonably pleased overall with the movie, but there were some small but significant details that I've been having a difficult time getting over...

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.

2) Blood spilled from laser blasts.

 

[gohusk]

But on the positive side:

1. Daisy Ridley did a fantastic job. She was the only character I found interesting and she basically made the movie for me. I won't get into what she did in regards to how this galaxy is supposed to be constructed (and the series is basically a slave to at this point) but she was very interested
2. Harrison Ford didn't dial it in and wasn't the walking corpse he has been in his last few films. Maybe the fact that the character he was never too fond of was finally getting rubbed out was extra motivation (sure 20 million had a lot to do with it too).
3. Didn't have a problem with Ben Solo or whatever the hell his name was. They basically sent him out there playing a Darth Vader fanboy role and he made it seem legit. No easy task.
4. The Millennium Falcon escape scene was awesome.

 

[night]

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

 

[CarlSr]

I think they set it up pretty well for Rey to be Luke's daughter, let's look at some things

1. Han Solo offers Rey a job with him in the falcon and the only other time he did that was to Luke, plus he makes it a point to say that Chewy likes her just like he does Luke. I'll admit this is a bit of a stretch but it makes sense.

2. The way Luke's lightsaber calls out to Rey and draws her in, this is also the first time in 30 years that it's done that to anyone.

3. The way Leia hugs Rey after she gets to the Resistance base. This is the first time we've seen them interact on screen and yet the hug is almost like how you would greet a family member you haven't seen in a long time/for the first time.

4. The biggest clue is that R2 powered down when Luke abandoned everyone and only powered up again when Rey steps foot on D'Qar. It's almost as if R2 could sense the presence of a Skywalker.

I didn't make much of the hug with Leia, especially considering Han didn't seem to know her and neither did Kylo Ren.

That said, I'm on the fence about her being a Skywalker, but I think I hope she's a Skywalker. With as much as they're copying from the older movies, they might as well make her a Skywalker.

 

[Duffman]

I didn't make much of the hug with Leia, especially considering Han didn't seem to know her and neither did Kylo Ren.

That said, I'm on the fence about her being a Skywalker, but I think I hope she's a Skywalker. With as much as they're copying from the older movies, they might as well make her a Skywalker.

They could always claim Luke wanted it kept secret and only Leia knew about her to cover people like Han not knowing and he just connected with her.

But Rey kind of has to be a Skywalker based on the fact that she has powers of a Jedi and can also expertly fly a ship which something that runs in that family. The only other combination that fits is if she was the child of Han and Leia but I'm sure they'd remember having another child.

I just don't see anyone else powerful enough in the Star Wars universe that could be her parents unless they just make up fictional people and use that since they feel going with Luke would be too obvious and the want a twist.

 

[SonnyCID]

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.

With these midweek releases they also count Wed and Thurs. Not sure how many theaters nationally had it advance, but just near me every theater that I go to had it on 2-3 screens for late showings on Wed and all day on Thurs. I think they'll get close to 300 mil, say 287 ...

 

[juliansteed]

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.

 

[RegentDenali]

Sitting in the theater within 20 minutes before start. Place instantly packed as soon as the door opened. Got solid seat. Now is the sad march of the miserable people walking in realizing they only get seats in the first couple rows.

Been waiting for this since Lucas film purchase deal. Here we go.

 

[CarlSr]

Perhaps Rey was created by Snoke the way Anakin was created by Plageus?


I don't think she has to be a Skywalker, but I'm leaning towards them making her one, especially since they'll probably kill Luke on their quest to replace the old characters.

 

[Clayton]

Uh, she is the daughter of Luke and granddaughter of Anakin, pretty much piloting prodigies and general badasses, it makes sense that she was a badass too. The first thing "Slave Leia" did was save Luke and Han's ass.

The next threat will probably be how powerful Ren becomes after he finishes his training. If Snoke is indeed Palpatine's former master then it's going to be insane how much more powerful he becomes, and Rey will become an actual jedi instead of just a prodigy. These two characters were not even close to being as powerful as they will be in the next 2 movies. Don't forget, there was more than 1 knight of ren in Rey's vision.

You might be trying to hard to be critical, just enjoy the ride man. It's Star Wars done right.

Rey's character was lazy writing. We know nothing about her except that she can pass every obstacle put in front of her.

Its a good movie but they really could've done more and just decided to make as much money as possible before taking risks with the next movies. The Force Awakens is much better than the prequels but I dont think its as good as your average Marvel movie.

 

[juliansteed]

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.

 

[MarkOU]

Some good stuff guys.

Was it just me or did the lightsaber call out to Rey with the screams of a child? Luke's lightsaber was in fact Anakins lightsaber which he used to slaughter younglings. Kind of creepy if you ask me.

Why didn't the lightsaber call out to Kylo? He was on the planet too.

Rey has to be a Skywalker, it just fits.

Seems like Abrams has imbued objects with force sensitivity. Kylo talks to Vadar's helmet as if it listens and speaks back to him. The lightsaber called to Rey. R2D2 awakens when she returns.

 

[MarkOU]

$517 million world wide

$238 million in north america


Box Office: 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Opens to Record $238M for Cosmic $517M Global Launch

 

[RegentDenali]

Box office Mojo - Dec. 20 - Star Wars: The Force Awakensstormed the box office and walked away with an estimated $238 million in its first three days domestically (including $57 million in Thursday night "previews") along with another $279 million internationally for a massive $517 million worldwide opening. Suffice to say, this shatters the domestic box office opening weekend record of $208.8 million set by Jurassic World earlier this year, but the record-breaking doesn't end there.


The release broke about every domestic records held by movies like Jurassic World, Hobbit: unexpected journey, HP: Deathly Hollows, and Hunger Games.

It's blown them all out of the water.

 

[RegentDenali]

Very little to bitch about.

No weak links with the actors. Good chemistry between the legacy and the new ones.

Effects were used well and practical. The cinematography was beautiful in size. The music was amazing. Great mix of planet scapes frond desert, jungle, Forrest, and icey. All helped set the mood.

I like it that storm troopers were made to be more human and not just bumbling fools and cannon fodder.

They inserted a lot of humor into it, but never came off as overly slapstick or insulting to the characters. I loved the scene Ren is slashing the room apart and the storm trooper just turn around and walk away avoiding the scene.

You knew Han was toast once they arrived on the star killer. You knew it was coming, but in some way, the death of his character didn't come off with the emotional impact that it should of they way Ben died, but that's ok. No biggie.

Kylo has ridiculous anger and parent issues. He reminds me of my younger brother for many wrong reasons.

Two things that kind of bugged me near the end was the attack by the xwings wasn't really displayed well and the light saber battles involving Ren, Finn, and Rey was so sloppy looking. The camera work was way to close for most of it and it looked like kids playing in a backyard. Very weak, but I think it displays that Kylo Ren is still very much an apprentice whose still learning. Way behind where Darth Maul was with his fighting skills.

 

[potzer25]

any predictions where it ends up? top 10? beat out The Phantom Menace?

 

[RegentDenali]

any predictions where it ends up? top 10? beat out The Phantom Menace?

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.

 

[calsnowskier]

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.

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