Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Johnstantine

Skibbidy Boo Bop
Tama said:
Thank you Griffith and everyone for the input. One other question I had; are most of the prequels solely dependent on CGI? I grew up in the 80s and 90s and I love practical effects like The Thing or Ray Harryhausen's work, and while I heard the Force Awakens has more traditional models and props like this, I'm not sure about the other trilogy.

90-95% of the movies are green screen. And they look awful.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Tama said:
This will probably sound really dumb, but I have never experienced the Star Wars prequels. I watched the original trilogy growing up and loved them, but never went to the theater for those. Are they as bad as people make them out to be, or is it exaggerated? I'm still debating if I should watch them all before the Force Awakens. Thanks everyone! :)

Don't waste your time.
 
Aazealh said:
Don't waste your time.
Why not? They are still part of the Star Wars universe and as bad as they are (honestly ROTS isn't so bad) they will give him/her a lot of exposition about what happened before the original movies and how all of this came to be.

As for TFA:

Honestly, the movie was good, but not amazing or anything close to that. Too similiar in structure and characters to ANH, it's basically a copy of it.

Kylo's motives for wanting to be evil are nonexistent, his duel with Finn and Rey was absolute clusterfuck considering they were two newbies who grabbed a lightsaber for the first time in their life, while he was an experienced sith. Bowcaster or not, the fact that he lost there was ridiculous. And what's with the magical earthquake that saved him? Rey's managing to resist his force powers is also highly improbable.

Then we have Luke, who I'm extremely dissapointed with. Luke was never the type of guy to quit so easily and exile himself. What's with the jedi's and their hiding? Everytime they fail in something they go hide.

The Death Star v3 is also annoying as f*ck. That planet destroying was too casual.


Overall though, as I said, I liked it. I don't think it's a great movie by any means, but it's a start. After the prequels I'll take what I can get here. And ffs, it's Star Wars.[/spoiler
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Spectre said:
Why not? They are still part of the Star Wars universe and as bad as they are (honestly ROTS isn't so bad) they will give him/her a lot of exposition about what happened before the original movies and how all of this came to be.

Because they're unneeded to appreciate the new movie and because I find them pretty terrible, including ROTS. Tama is better off leaving what happened before the OT to her imagination, for it's guaranteed to be better than those prequels.
 

SlimeBeherit

[FIGHT][SPELL] [SACRIFICE][ITEM]
Aazealh said:
Because they're unneeded to appreciate the new movie and because I find them pretty terrible, including ROTS. Tama is better off leaving what happened before the OT to her imagination, for it's guaranteed to be better than those prequels.

Honestly I feel it makes them worse. Who would have thought Vader had such ridiculous back story. It really try to forget prequel Anakin and Vader are the same person. Not to mention it
literally takes away the magic from the force.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Speaking of the prequels being a net negative to Star Wars, I appreciated their almost total irrelevancy to the new film. Snoke was just a believably evil looking guy and no stupid Sith lore or contact lenses for him or Kylo Ren, just the power of the Dark Side. If I never hear another fanboy talk about "the rule of two" like it matters again it'll be too soon.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I know I’m extremely late to this party, so I won’t bother dwelling on all the things you guys have surfaced about the successes and failings of this movie.

I liked it! Right out of the gate, before we get started, you know what surprised me the most? Just how much I liked Kylo Ren as a villain. Aaz can vouch for this: I’ve been making jokes about that guy for months as a result of the overbearing marketing (buy Kylo Ren’s gloves! Buy the Kylo Ren Matchbox drag racer! The Kylo Ren flamethrower! Who the fuck is Kylo Ren and why should I care?!). But he’s the kind of character I had hoped Lucas would explore with Anakin in the prequel trilogy: A character courting the dark side, and we see that transition from apprentice to master. After the way this first movie ended though, I do have trouble forseeing his character arc. I'm not sure a "redemptive" path would be an easy sell at this point (Griff, I was also spoiled about the Han thing, months and months ago!).

I was also very impressed with Rey. Subverting the gender expectations for a female character — placing her at the center of things AND to be the most competent character (in the whole galaxy, apparently!) — was nice to see in such a blockbuster movie. But didn't it feel like she was pulling her punches a bit in the acting department? She's a little stifled in all her scenes. Maybe that's just because she's paired with Fi-"WHOOO! NOW THAT'S AN ACE PILOT!"-nn.

But all those thrills, all that excitement, it all feels a little too safe. I walked away feeling that this movie was exactly what it needed to be for the franchise's continued legacy — but not much else. In short, it wasn’t as bold as I had hoped it would be. There are indeed new characters going on new adventures, folding in the cast from the previous films — all of that feels prerequisite. But did they have to cover the exact same territory as the origin trilogy? The names here are different, but the conflict is the same as it ever was. It felt like Abrams drawing with tracing paper over experiences everyone gas already had. And that was precisely what I had feared going into this whole thing — that they wouldn’t take enough chances. This is all very frustrating to watch, because the new additions to the formula here: a stormtrooper developing a conscience, Rey rising up to strike down a more experienced opponent, Han grappling with his choices as a father; are all pretty fucking fantastic. But why are these merely small patches in an overall pattern that repeats itself?

I should say: As a father perpetually exposed to the machinations of toy store marketing campaigns, it’s difficult for me to divorce my feelings about this movie from the business realities about its conception. Because this isn’t just Star Wars: Episode VII. It is Disney’s (successful) attempt at relaunching a once-vital brand, with the potential to reawaken one of the mightiest merchandising machines in the history of cinema. That’s what it is at its core, not merely the continuation of the most beloved movie franchise in history. And because that's the structure of its origin, that informs the final result: A very calculated production that doesn't do much more than it is programmed to achieve.

A final thought. I know that Disney trashed the Star Wars Extended Universe. I wasn't that familiar with it anyway, honestly. But one of my only exposures to those series of novels was one I read when I was a teenager called "Dark Apprentice." Here's a plot summary from Wookiepedia:

But as the battle for a planet rages, an even greater danger emerges at Luke Skywalker's Jedi academy on Yavin 4. A strong but untrained student named Gantoris delves dangerously into the dark side of the Force and unleashes the spirit of the ancient dark side master Exar Kun, who instructs him in the creation of a unique, three crystal lightsaber that can be focused to extend beyond the normal length to that of a spear. The spirit of Exar Kun also tries, with disastrous consequences, to entice him toward the dark side. Although unsuccessful, this sets the stage for another of Luke's students, Kyp Durron, to face the same choice as Gantoris. Working together, they may become an enemy greater than any the New Republic has ever fought...more powerful than even a Jedi Master can face.

A few elements here are very familiar to what we saw regarding Luke in Force Awakens. Luke launches a Jedi Academy, but one of his students turns against him and the others, guided by the ghost of a sith lord. It sounds plausible to me that's what Snoke will end up being.


Spectre said:
Kylo's motives for wanting to be evil are nonexistent,

We don't know his full story yet. But he wants to take up Vader's mantle. That was enough for me in this movie (we didn't know Vader's motivations either...)

his duel with Finn and Rey was absolute clusterfuck considering they were two newbies who grabbed a lightsaber for the first time in their life, while he was an experienced sith.

Kylo Ren is not a sith. At most he's a dark jedi apprentice.

And what's with the magical earthquake that saved him?

You mean as the planet was basically collapsing from the explosion of the giant death ray?

The Rey's managing to resist his force powers is also highly improbable.

Again, I think you're probably overestimating the extent of Kylo Ren's actual abilities.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Walter said:
I liked it!

Glad to hear it. I've seen it a couple more times since giving my first impressions and the experience was night and day, especially the second time where I could just sit back, smile, and enjoy everything they did right. It's to the point I'm basically a full convert now. Again, I think the problem was I was looking for a continuation of The Empire Strikes Back (I couldn't help it =) instead of a modernized revival of Star Wars as a franchise, which this accomplishes pretty perfectly.

Walter said:
After the way this first movie ended though, I do have trouble forseeing his character arc. I'm not sure a "redemptive" path would be an easy sell at this point (Griff, I was also spoiled about the Han thing, months and months ago!).

Yeah, that was a real bitch to find out in a random production article! Anyway, I hope that sacrifice is a sign they plan to subvert expectations and continue to make Kylo Ren truly irredeemable rather than replaying the Vader/Anakin arc.

Walter said:
didn't it feel like she was pulling her punches a bit in the acting department? She's a little stifled in all her scenes. Maybe that's just because she's paired with Fi-"WHOOO! NOW THAT'S AN ACE PILOT!"-nn.

"DID YOU SEE THAT!!?"

I did notice that a few times with Rey, like Ridley could turn the charm on to 11 with her smile when she wanted and it was almost jarring because for the most part she played it stoic and earnest, which worked. Bonus points for her channeling Hamil's tempted Luke face from RotJ when she was in the process of besting Kylo Ren.

Walter said:
But all those thrills, all that excitement, it all feels a little too safe. I walked away feeling that this movie was exactly what it needed to be for the franchise's continued legacy — but not much else. In short, it wasn’t as bold as I had hoped it would be. There are indeed new characters going on new adventures, folding in the cast from the previous films — all of that feels prerequisite. But did they have to cover the exact same territory as the origin trilogy? The names here are different, but the conflict is the same as it ever was. It felt like Abrams drawing with tracing paper over experiences everyone gas already had. And that was precisely what I had feared going into this whole thing — that they wouldn’t take enough chances. This is all very frustrating to watch, because the new additions to the formula here: a stormtrooper developing a conscience, Rey rising up to strike down a more experienced opponent, Han grappling with his choices as a father; are all pretty fucking fantastic. But why are these merely small patches in an overall pattern that repeats itself?

I think like the first Avengers movie it'll take some time to get past expectations, truly consider the degree of difficulty, and realize the full success of the project. Knowing that they essentially "meant to do that" with the remake of ANH and the Death Star helps me appreciate the ambition of that, rather than just seeing it as a retread as far as the continuing cinematic story of Star Wars goes. I think it depends on how one defines Star Wars and themselves as a fan. I'd wager Abrams, as a filmmaker, is a bigger fan of the original Star Wars (1977) and it's impact on movies than the franchise and it's story overall, thus why essentially remaking the original to relaunch the franchise would be a more gratifying challenge to him than trying to continue from Jedi or live up to Empire from a pure storytelling perspective (I also don't think that's his strength).

Walter said:
I should say: As a father perpetually exposed to the machinations of toy store marketing campaigns, it’s difficult for me to divorce my feelings about this movie from the business realities about its conception. Because this isn’t just Star Wars: Episode VII. It is Disney’s (successful) attempt at relaunching a once-vital brand, with the potential to reawaken one of the mightiest merchandising machines in the history of cinema. That’s what it is at its core, not merely the continuation of the most beloved movie franchise in history. And because that's the structure of its origin, that informs the final result: A very calculated production that doesn't do much more than it is programmed to achieve.
I think that's where my expectations led me into trouble the first time watching. I was looking at it thinking this is the last chance for them to make something better than that, but that was rather naive since there was so much riding on this it had to be handled "perfectly" from the start. Even the way they downplayed it as "Episode VII" and opted to market it more standalone with that focus-grouped non-title, "The Force Awakens" looks so obvious in hindsight. Of course, bringing on Rian Johnson to write and direct the next one is actually a rather curious decision in that regard. Maybe that's an indication that since they played it smart and safe with this one, and won big, they're willing to take more risks with the next...? I'd much rather they try to copy Empire's model simply by making the second one the best rather than by trying to literally make The First Order Strikes Back. Johnson at least has a chance at that (and Colin Trevorrow can make the mediocre third one =).

Walter said:
A final thought. I know that Disney trashed the Star Wars Extended Universe. I wasn't that familiar with it anyway, honestly. But one of my only exposures to those series of novels was one I read when I was a teenager called "Dark Apprentice."

A few elements here are very familiar to what we saw regarding Luke in Force Awakens. Luke launches a Jedi Academy, but one of his students turns against him and the others, guided by the ghost of a sith lord. It sounds plausible to me that's what Snoke will end up being.
What I find most interesting is how much of the EU essentially ended up back in canon in this film, I mean we joked that they'd rip it off or would logically have to cover the same territory, but check it out: Luke's aforementioned failed new Jedi order, Ben Solo/Jacen Solo, Suncrusher/Starkiller, Kylo Ren/Darth Revan (appearance), and more. I'm surprised there wasn't a "Grand Admiral Prawn" on Starkiller base because at this rate Rey's mother will turn out to be "Jara Made." Anyway, for anybody that was upset about the EU being scuttled, it's pretty much alive and well and was remade in this film as much as ANH.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/george-lucas-apologizes-clarifies-comments-about-new-star-wars/

The best part is he's apologizing for his insensitivity to Disney, not, ya know, slavery. :ganishka:

He definitely seems to have seller's remorse. I think it goes to the core of his rift with the fans and why even he didn't see the potential of this when Disney clearly did. Of course, he couldn't have matched Disney's marketing capabilities and synergy even if he tried, but he certainly could have hired the same people to make Star Wars movies at his discretion. Hell, that's what he already was doing in the 80's with Empire and Jedi and even into the 90's with the EU (Thrawn Trilogy, Shadows of the Empire, Lucasarts, etc). Things were all good until the late 90's too, Disney is just following his own playbook but has put production into overdrive with a clear emphasis to cater (pander) to fans. Anyway, I think he had long realized he fucked up at this point and that 4 billion is nothing compared to what he's given Disney (and what they stand to make on this), and that's on top of losing his authority and being told to fuck off. He should have put in a stipulation that, whatever else they did with the property, they had to follow his outline for the sequel trilogy. He probably figured he didn't need to because of course they would want to stick to his great ideas (and it certainly seemed that way at first, and was likely the impression he got before he signed). You played yourself, George.

Btw, he's not wrong in what he says about Disney essentially making a retro fan film homage. I'd be very curious to read those outlines and see how they differ from the Disney product (which is why it's unlikely to happen). I'm actually surprised he didn't get a story credit considering how vague the whole passing the torch to the next generation thing is and how liberally the WGA sometimes demands those credits be doled out (though Lucas may not be a member). In any case, how different and better/worse can they be? However more authentic and pure his storytelling intentions, his recent history makes it hard to believe we're missing anything but another shameful letdown. "Luke Skywalker passes the force on to his son Duke Skywalker so he can defeat Darth Plagueass and the SITHHHHH once and for all! Plus a bunch of awful CGI-based comic relief/merchandising ensues and your childhood withers and dies some more."
 
I watched it a few days ago, it came out at 24th of December in my country (no idea why). I loved every minute of it,
but by the end i was very skeptical.
Some things bothered the hell out of me, you guys mentioned it before but at times i felt that the writing was really sloppy.
Ok now we don't have a death star, we have a bigger death star (granted it destroyed multiple planets at once but they could have thought of something else)
R2-D2 waking up conveniently towards the end and revealing the whole map bothered the hell out of me.
The last part was the earthquake, Rey was standing above Kylo then seconds later there was an ridge seperating them. Maybe they removed some seconds for the final cut, dunno seemed kinda dumb.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
The New Yorker has weighed in: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-george-awakens

“The Force Awakens” makes it once again possible to think about George Lucas as a man of imagination, of conviction, and (minus Jar Jar Binks) of taste—as a brilliant appropriator rather than an average one. It took a forgery to get him called an artist.

Well uh. Certainly not the reaction I expected!
 
Walter said:
The New Yorker has weighed in: http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-george-awakens

From the article said:
Bryan Curtis is a former staff writer at Grantland.

I just can't see why ESPN dropped Grantland. :troll:

Seriously though, I haven't seen the new movie so I'm not really qualified to comment on this, but while I was reading that article my eyes rolled so far back into my head I was afraid I was having a seizure. I'm surprised Curtis was able to write that article with his head so far up George Lucas' ass.

I do agree though that having a creative idea/movie that risks being bad is preferable to a safe, perfectly average movie. And ending the trilogy that started with Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back with a teddy bear dance party is highly creative so. . . Great point, Curtis?
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Beyond some BOLD declarations, mainly about Abrams and the new movie, I actually found the article much more nuanced overall than the money quote at the end. Some of that stuff rang true, and since it's acknowledging the objective awfulness of the prequels, I don't see the problem with the author also giving George Lucas credit for... ya know, creating Star Wars (that's a big deal if you like Star Wars =). So, considering the all-too-common reaction perhaps this is most insightful part:

After Lucas directed the “Star Wars” prequels, the last of which came out in 2005, he found himself in a different critical vice. The new generation didn’t care about the ideals of the sixties. They cared about the ideals of the late seventies and eighties—the blockbuster era. For them Lucas had desecrated a second sacred cultural moment: one that promised not radical change but comfort—the warmth of Tatooine’s twin suns. These people also had Web browsers. Lucas was blasted by everyone from smart-asses in Ain’t It Cool News’ comments section to Red Letter Media’s Mr. Plinkett, who showed, excruciatingly and shot by shot, how Lucas had screwed up.

I still don't really understand how one hates Lucas for "destroying" Star Wars without appreciating him in equal measure for creating it and spearheading or bankrolling everything we loved about Lucasfilm/Lucasarts until 1997 (pretty damn good 20 year run there). It's especially strange to blame him for the former without crediting him for the latter (which many do these days). That sort of reaction to Lucas now says more about us than him at this point (though it speaks to how insufferably he handled everything). It's not to the same degree because there's no equivalent artistic malpractice at issue, but it reminds me of the "fans" that insult Miura for his perceived scheduling trespasses (or going "too light"), or those fans that think old George R.R. Martin owes them the rest of his life because they bought some fantasy books he wrote decades ago, or really any fanbase that thinks a creator owes them anything other than to presumably share their craft if one supposedly appreciates it so much. George Lucas did a pretty good job flushing his Star Wars legacy down the toilet all by himself, but now that he can't really do that anymore we have the luxury of just remembering fondly why we cared so much about him doing that in the first place and appreciate that he's ultimately responsible for that as well. I think that's better all around than holding an eternal grudge for some bad CGI and hardheadedness.

And beware, Ridley Scott; you're sailing into some hazardous waters. :daiba:
 
Johnstantine said:
I would recommend watching episodes 1 and 2, then watching all of the Clone Wars series, then episode 3.
Ok that's it, you've convinced me. I am going to start watching the Clone Wars. Should i start from the beginning ? I remember you saying that season 1 isn't that good compared to the others. I don't really mind skipping one or two seasons.
 

Johnstantine

Skibbidy Boo Bop
Joe Chip said:
Ok that's it, you've convinced me. I am going to start watching the Clone Wars. Should i start from the beginning ? I remember you saying that season 1 isn't that good compared to the others. I don't really mind skipping one or two seasons.

Watch them all, including the movie. There is tons of payoff down the line.

Walter said:
Why should anyone watch Star Wars: Episode 1?

It isn't nearly as bad if you've watched Clone Wars. In fact, and as I've said tons of other times, the prequels are worlds better after having viewed the series.
 
I saw the Force Awakens with my family, first with just my brother on the day it came out then again with my family a week later. It was a phenomenal experience both of the times I saw them. I've seen all the star wars movies, grew up watching them so seeing it again in theaters after 10 years was truly incredible. I surprisingly didn't have much trouble with the crowd, one guy tried to get me to move out of my seat and I kindly let him know that was never going to happen. Other than that, everyone behaved very well during the movie and there weren't too many fanboys yelling at every new scene. But yeah, the movie itself was great I had a lot of fun watching it and I was so engaged with these new characters. I feel bad for the people who went in to make comparisons to the original trilogy instead of going in to enjoy the film, they truly spoiled their own experience. Most complaints with this new movie I find are either nit picky or just not real problems imo. I don't mind criticism as the movie certainly wasn't flawless, but a lot of the complaints come off as nitpicky. It had it's problems, however I don't think there are as many problems as naysayers proclaim them to be. I think this is the third best star wars film to date.
 
Just saw it last weekend and again this past week. I'm not sure if spoiler tags are even necessary at this point since I'm probably one of the last people to see it, but I'll do it anyway just in case.

I thought the characters were engaging, especially Finn, who I found the most relatable. As far as why Finn revolted my question is why haven't more storm troopers done the same already? They seem to be living in such a restrictive system where people are being treated like they're machines. No way that's sustainable. Even though the First Order's been brain washing them from a young age, some are bound to rebell. I think it would be cool if in the next movies Finn's rebellion and escape has inspired at least a few other storm troopers, fermenting aid of the fall of the First Order from within.

I thought the acting was very good and I liked the casting choices. Daisy Ridley came off as a bit wooden to me at times, but maybe that was supposed to be grit or awkwardness or a mix of both, a result of Rey's character having to tough it out on her own for such a long time. I think Ridley resembles Natalie Portman as Padme, which I thought was neat since Rey is most likely her granddaughter. I couldn't disagree more with the opinion that the actor who played Kylo Ren is unattractive. I think Adam Driver is pretty cute and don't even get me started on that gorgeous hair which resists all crushing by the helmet. :ganishka: General Hux looks like a particularly obnoxious micro-manager I once had the misfortune to work with, which is how Hux's character comes off to me anyway. It made Hux extra irritating to me. :mozgus:

There were some good funny moments. I think my favorite was after Rey escaped from Kylo Ren and he sees that she's gone and goes into a temper tantrum. The two storm troopers are walking down the hall toward where he's throwing his fit and rampaging with his light saber and they just turn back around and head the other way, like “Oh hell no!”. :magni: I like it when a movie doesn't try to take itself too seriously.

I know the idea is that Rey's naturally strong ability with the force allows her to utilize it's power better as a newbie than would be normal, but it seemed a bit much at times. It didn't bother me overly, though, and I'm sure the subsequent movie will feature her training with Luke to hone her talents into something that will be really badass.

Anyway, I thought it was an enjoyable movie and overall I really liked it! :guts: I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen in the next installment.
 
The one "OH SHIT!!" excited moment in my head I remember was when
Rama and Mad Dog
were in a scene, had no idea they were part of it.

A month's passed since I first watched it and tempted to go see it one more time in a less anxious or excited-to-see-a-new-Star-Wars movies kinda mindset.
 
I literally just finished watching The Force Awakens for the first time so this is more of a gut reaction than anything else: I absolutely loved it. I think it falls right in line with the original trilogy and is a worthy successor to it.

I'll write more about it tomorrow when I have more time so gird your loins, SK.net! :ganishka:
 
I hope your loins are properly girded, SK.net. :carcus:

I'll start with the one thing I wish they had done better: I wish they had better explained the First Order-Resistance-New Republic political situation in the opening crawl. While there's enough information throughout the movie to form a general idea of what's going on, I felt like it would've been nice to know, within the movie, about things like the fact that the Resistance from the original trilogy didn't reconquer all the Empire-held systems or that the old Resistance became the New Republic or that there was in-fighting within the systems that the former Empire still controlled or that the Republic and former Empire-held systems were in a cold war-type situation where the Republic refuses to get into a direct confrontation with the Imperial systems but secretly supplies/supports the Resistance. Okay, maybe not all that. I don't need to know about trade negotiations. But I do feel like they could've described the situation better in that opening crawl like they did in the original trilogy.

Now onto the things I enjoyed.

I enjoyed the fact that the movie goes out of its way to show the characters learning/evolving. Rey doesn't just immediately figure out how to fly a starship. She mentions she's flown some before, and then we're shown her beating the shit out of the Falcon as she tries to figure out how to fly the thing. There's a nice, realistic process there. She doesn't just jump into the pilot seat and away she goes like most other movies would have her do.

It seems like they did that with every aspect of the young/new characters (specifically Rey, Finn, and Ren), as far as their technical abilities go. For example, Rey's expertise at fixing/repairing/operating ships is explained by the fact she has spent her entire life crawling inside of Imperial and Resistance ships and walkers, learning the ins and outs of all of them: where everything goes and why, what something does, what has the most value from a technological standpoint, etc. And what's great is they even add a bit more realism to that by including her mistake on Han's ship. What happens when she tries to mess with Han's ship, one she would've never encountered on Jakku? She has the technical knowledge to figure out what needs to be done to the ship to get the results she wants, but she's not familiar with that type of ship so she accidentally releases those creatures.

Not only does that add realism to the characters, but I really felt like I was watching the new, young generation as they started "growing up." There was a nice contrast in the film between the old generation who were confident and assured and set in their ways (Han, Chewie, Leia, and the Resistance) versus the bumbling kids who were banging into walls as they were trying to figure things out for the first time (Rey, Finn, and Ren). I liked that. It gave me the warm and fuzzies and has me looking forward to seeing them grow into their own over the course of the next two films.

I also liked the story. I thought they took it in a direction that seemed like it flowed naturally from the end of the original trilogy. It didn't enrich the world of Star Wars much, but I don't think it hurt the original trilogy's world at all like the prequels did. (The badass Galactic Empire only lasted ~20 years before it fell?! Fuck you, Lucas!*)

Anyway, I'm running out of time so I'll wrap this up by saying I think the perfect word to describe The Force Awakens is solid. As I was watching the film it actually reminded me of the first Pirates of the Caribbean film. Both films absolutely nailed the entertainment factor and were borderline good/great. They won't ever be considered the greatest films of all time, but they didn't make any mistakes either. They're both just solid, good films that are super entertaining. And I enjoyed them both immensely.

Would I like to see the next two films swing for the fences? Sure. But if they end up going the same route as The Force Awakens I won't be upset either.

*I have actually had a change of heart when it comes to Lucas. But that's a story for another time.
 
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