Star Wars: The Force Awakens

[phart]

You are not alone in that but I would much more happily watch the reboots than sit through Insurrection, Nemesis or pretty much any episode of Voyager. Note I didn't add the generally maligned The Final Frontier to that - anything with the original cast and the line "excuse me, but why does God need a spaceship" is okay with me.

They all "feel" like star-trek canon to me, these new films just jar me in a way that makes them totally UN-enjoyable. I don't think JJ Abrahams is much of an artist at all. I hear they're just ignoring the last movie they made.

For me all of the Voyager feature episodes are better than JJ Abrahams films, and Voyager is pretty shit. Scorpion/year of hell/endgame all better.

I don't think i've actually seen the whole 2nd one.

[Auld_Reekie]

Abrams definitely dropped the cerebral angle to Star Trek and went for baseline action, shoot em up. Was alright to watch I guess but it was shove-popcorn-in-yer-puss-and-dont-think-about-it movie making. Once you watched it, you went home and barely thought about it again. For that reason, he's under-delivered on the Star Trek franchise.

Star Wars is a better fit and he's had a much more forgiving platform on which to deliver. The prequels were f***ing terrible which meant the bar was set low to begin with and fans were desperate for something to help them move on from them. Money was probably no object in the making of Star Wars. Star Wars has always been more an action/shoot-em-up story so was a better fit for his style. The biggest factor with Star Wars IMO will be a return to proper film making and less reliance on CGI which as good as it is getting, is ruining movies for me.

Taking the wee boy to see it between Xmas and New Year. Can't wait.

[Bristolhibby]

Just back. Effin loved it. Back to its best.

Great story and ties in lots of the original loose ends.

Was beamin like a kid throughout and really loved just glancing at my boys faces during some of the battles and light sabre fights.

J

[kmcca5]

Inside Out is pish compared to Home.

My arse!!!

[kmcca5]

Just in from the cinema. Wow. Emotional roller coaster. Was very impressed and it brought the humour back by actually being funny unlike the last 3 film. Will go see it again first chance I get. Awsome.

[Toepoke]

So the question to the aficionados is, how did they manage to feck up the last three films so badly?

[Bristolhibby]

So the question to the aficionados is, how did they manage to feck up the last three films so badly?

George Lucas thinking he can write.

J

[Auld_Reekie]

The prequels will have to be re-made at some point. There's no way they can survive as part of the set.

[McExpat]

Just in from seeing it.

A return to form for sure, much more like the original 3 movies in every way and very unlike the most recent 3.

Found it enjoyable throughout, although I was disappointed by the plot being all too familiar, mainly with regards to the need to destroy another 'death star' as was the case in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

Got a big surprise when I heard the Scottish accent in all its glory! As soon as the Scot appeared and started talking both the Colombian and the Austrian I was with shouted out he "sounds just like you"

Apparently some of the movie was shot in Scotland - can anyone confirm which scenes and the shooting locations?

[Return of Yermaw]

George Lucas thinking he can write.

J

Yep. if only he had brought in Lawrence Kasdan.

[HUNTINGMcGREGOR]

Just in from seeing it.

A return to form for sure, much more like the original 3 movies in every way and very unlike the most recent 3.

Found it enjoyable throughout, although I was disappointed by the plot being all too familiar, mainly with regards to the need to destroy another 'death star' as was the case in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

Got a big surprise when I heard the Scottish accent in all its glory! As soon as the Scot appeared and started talking both the Colombian and the Austrian I was with shouted out he "sounds just like you"

Apparently some of the movie was shot in Scotland - can anyone confirm which scenes and the shooting locations?

So the question to the aficionados is, how did they manage to feck up the last three films so badly?

Its a remarkable return, and I got quite emotional with some of the Easter Eggs and realising it was almost 40 years ago I saw the first as a small 7 year old boy. I agree about the death Star type plot, and wasn't too impressed with another goody turning to the Dark side - same story ? Why not just have an out and out BADBOY.

I didn't think the Score was very dynamic, and the baddy was a it of wimp - They shoud have kept Darth Maul as a successor to Vadar for these next 3 films - I think there was a lack of tension between good and bad - I remember Vadar scaring the shit out of me as a kid, but still thought he was cool as. Darth Maul coud have been the one IMV.

....and why was Vadars helmit ( ) all melted ? He took it off in RotJ - or was it leftover fom his cremation ?

I think its a success as a stand alone film in it's own right AND most of all - they got the humour back into it.

The prequals are bad because there is just too much obvious CGI and bright colour, with too many Puppety type Aliens - almost like a Pixar animated film. This film feels real, has great landscapes, the pacing is fine and move along without being rushed or too slow - I just wished it was 3 hours - didn't want it to end.

Worth the Hype. 4.5/5, welcome but just not quite an out and out classic - but it does make you thisty for the next one.

Going to see it agin over Xmas at some stage.

Edited December 18, 2015 by HUNTINGMcGREGOR

[kmcca5]

Re Lucas and the last three fims, Like many walks of life Directors, Writers, Sportsmen, Managers all have their peak when there best work is produced , so when Lucas made the last three films he made a mistake thinking he should take total control. He was past his best, the world had changed and so had he, we all make mistakes sadly his was in the shape of jar jar binks.... Shudders*

[Fairbairn]

Just in from seeing it.

A return to form for sure, much more like the original 3 movies in every way and very unlike the most recent 3.

Found it enjoyable throughout, although I was disappointed by the plot being all too familiar, mainly with regards to the need to destroy another 'death star' as was the case in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

Got a big surprise when I heard the Scottish accent in all its glory! As soon as the Scot appeared and started talking both the Colombian and the Austrian I was with shouted out he "sounds just like you"

Apparently some of the movie was shot in Scotland - can anyone confirm which scenes and the shooting locations?

Without meaning to sound like a pedantic fanboy, there was no Death Star in TESB. It was ROTJ that they had to blow up the second one.

[andreimack]

I'm a massive Star Wars fan and have been my whole life and I was really looking forward to The Force Awakens, I'd deliberately read nothing about the film in the media and only watched the official trailers so went into the movie with great excitement, boy was I disappointed, I thought it was totally shit. It's a rehash of Star Wats, granted it's a kids movie that will appeal to older fans because of the nostalgia over the first three movies, however the plot line was garbage, the fight scenes were excellent cgi, but we've seen it all before. The main villain Kylo Ren, really? Utterly unbelievable and whomever cast that soppy looking git could obviously not afford Benedict Cumberbatch so went for a shit lookalike! There's nothing new about this movie at all so hopefully the second instalment in the series will up the stakes and have a plot, methinks however that the final movie will have Brother and sister pitched against each other in a epic lightsaber battle where good triumphs against evil...

Edited December 18, 2015 by andreimack

[wanderer]

For the prequels, story line wise they are not all that bad (3rd one is actually really enjoyable), problem is the first two are just so padded out that the damage was done by the 3rd movie.

Also I think Lukas made 2 big mistakes.... firstly he didn't go retro, so the prequels actually look more technologically advanced than the originals, and also he let money get in the way (due to him holding the merchandise rights) as he clearly had one eye on what toys they could sell and milk for all its worth.

[glasgow jock]

I haven't watched any Star Wars movies - i now quite fancy watching the entire story - what would be the best sequence to watch it (them) from, I'm assuming it's the very first Star Wars film from 1977 ?

Thanks in advance !!

[Scunnered]

I'm a massive Star Wars fan and have been my whole life and I was really looking forward to The Force Awakens, I'd deliberately read nothing about the film in the media and only watched the official trailers so went into the movie with great excitement, boy was I disappointed, I thought it was totally shit. It's a rehash of Star Wats, granted it's a kids movie that will appeal to older fans because of the nostalgia over the first three movies, however the plot line was garbage, the fight scenes were excellent cgi, but we've seen it all before. The main villain Kylo Ren, really? Utterly unbelievable and whomever cast that soppy looking git could obviously not afford Benedict Cumberbatch so went for a shit lookalike! There's nothing new about this movie at all so hopefully the second instalment in the series will up the stakes and have a plot, methinks however that the final movie will have Brother and sister pitched against each other in a epic lightsaber battle where good triumphs against evil...

I think Kylo Rens soppyness and... Apparent uselessness was intentional, which made you know what, a pivotal moment for the development of the character. The lightsaber battle that followed with Rey shortly afterwards continued his theme of apparent uselessness, again intentional. He's nae Darth Bane but I'm liking the character

I can't wait for the next two, I'm actually moist with excitement... But deeply saddened that your expectations weren't met.

[Scunnered]

For the prequels, story line wise they are not all that bad (3rd one is actually really enjoyable), problem is the first two are just so padded out that the damage was done by the 3rd movie.

Also I think Lukas made 2 big mistakes.... firstly he didn't go retro, so the prequels actually look more technologically advanced than the originals, and also he let money get in the way (due to him holding the merchandise rights) as he clearly had one eye on what toys they could sell and milk for all its worth.

Away ya heathen! Episodes 1,2 and 3 no longer exist! And the name *ayden *hristiansen must never be uttered again!

[andreimack]

I think Kylo Rens soppyness and... Apparent uselessness was intentional, which made you know what, a pivotal moment for the development of the character. The lightsaber battle that followed with Rey shortly afterwards continued his theme of apparent uselessness, again intentional. He's nae Darth Bane but I'm liking the character

I can't wait for the next two, I'm actually moist with excitement... But deeply saddened that your expectations weren't met.

The you know what moment was so obvious though that even if you were watching it in 3D and avoided the massive hams flying from the screen due to shitty acting, the whimpering way it happened was cringeworthy. An angry Jar Jar would be more menacing.

[thplinth]

Hmmm it sounds a bit shite.

edit: "methinks however that the final movie will have Brother and sister pitched against each other in a epic lightsaber battle where good triumphs against evil..."

Will the Sister be the force for Good and the Brother the force for Evil by any chance?

Edited December 18, 2015 by thplinth

[Toepoke]

I haven't watched any Star Wars movies - i now quite fancy watching the entire story - what would be the best sequence to watch it (them) from, I'm assuming it's the very first Star Wars film from 1977 ?

Thanks in advance !!

That's actually Part IV but you might as well start there, it was all downhill from that one (oh and make sure it's the original print you watch and not the later CGI enhanced mutilation)... Edited December 18, 2015 by Toepoke

[andreimack]

Hmmm it sounds a bit shite.

Sadly ( for me anyway,) it was.

I did however like The two Star Trek reboots, I was never that much of a Star Trek fan though so had no investment in the series to perhaps judge or bias my opinion of the new movies with.

Edited to say.. Yes it would be.

Edited December 18, 2015 by andreimack

[Scunnered]

The you know what moment was so obvious though that even if you were watching it in 3D and avoided the massive hams flying from the screen due to shitty acting, the whimpering way it happened was cringeworthy. An angry Jar Jar would be more menacing.

Grumpy!

If you want spleens being force ripped out through folks asses (and boy do I) you'll need to hold out hope for an Old Republic movie... I'm not even sure Disney could "cuddlyfy" that lot.

[thplinth]

Edited to say.. Yes it would be.

Of course. It had to be.

[Fairbairn]

I haven't watched any Star Wars movies - i now quite fancy watching the entire story - what would be the best sequence to watch it (them) from, I'm assuming it's the very first Star Wars film from 1977 ?

Thanks in advance !!

There's 2 "logical" orders to watch them in. Chronolgical by release so Star Wars (IV), Empire Strikes Back (V), Return of the Jedi (VI), Phantom Menance (I), Attack of the Clones (II) and Revenge of the Sith (III). The other logical order is chronological by order of events so I through to VI. There is a train of thought I quite like though that says it works quite well if you watch IV & V and then I-III as a flashback ending on VI. I'm not sure how much you know of the story but if you know enough to know what the twist in Empire is then it does kind of make sense.

I recently watched the original trilogy on Sky Movies and it was the bastardised remastered versions that Lucas completely ruined. Some of the inserted seems were just ridiculous such as Mos Eisley being changed from a "wretched hive of scum and villainy" to a sunny painted town with cartoon dinosaurs, the meeting between Han & Jabba outside the Falcon (when Han steps on his tail it must be one of the most cringe-worthy pieces of film making ever) and in ROTJ the awful inclusion of the CGI band and musical number. Just absolutely terrible.