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[Jac_Solar]

I think it felt very rushed, but so many movies do nowadays for me. It seems to me that they spend too much time on the first 2 acts, and rush the final third. This is a puzzling decision -- if anything, you'd think they would spend MORE time on the third act, and less on the first 2.

It's probably intentional, like, they think that this structure has a better chance of becoming a hit or something. (And makes it feel shorter.)

 

[Htown]

I'm flabbergasted that aiming a torpedo down a straight vent with the help of the force is apparantly just as impressive as overpowering a trained Sith in a lightsaber duel. Your first lightsaber duel.

So you're really bad at paying attention to movies. Got it.

 

[Turin Turambar]

I'm flabbergasted that aiming a torpedo down a straight vent with the help of the force is apparantly just as impressive as overpowering a trained Sith in a lightsaber duel. Your first lightsaber duel.
If it hadn't been for Han, Luke would have died in that trench - THE END

Actually, that's the problem, it's too impressive. You just felt the force for the first time a day ago and beat a trained Sith in a lightsaber duel? Get out!

 

[Chasm Skulker]

The Force Awakens was too safe, and was not creative. The most common accusation is that it does too much retreading of A New Hope and that it's basically a tribute act to the original rather than a worthy film in it's own right.

The people that say that aren't really wrong.

 

[Glass Rebel]

I'm flabbergasted that aiming a torpedo down a straight vent with the help of the force is apparantly just as impressive as overpowering a trained Sith in a lightsaber duel. Your first lightsaber duel.
If it hadn't been for Han, Luke would have died in that trench - THE END

I'm flabbergasted (not really) that you just completely ignored that Kylo was hit by this thing and was losing blood.

 

[JB1981]

I'm flabbergasted (not really) that you just completely ignored that Kylo was hit by this thing and was losing blood.

Ugh fuck this scene. Like Han doesn't know what Chewie's Bowcaster can do.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

Ugh fuck this scene. Like Han doesn't know what Chewie's Bowcaster can do.

After decades of knowing each other.

I hated the MIB squid monster scene the most out of everything in TFA.

Aesthetically and tonally, it didn't feel like SW at all. It was so fucking weird.

 

[MarkMclovin]

And all because a ball shaped robot was saved by this particular person. I mean, what are the chances.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

I'm flabbergasted (not really) that you just completely ignored that Kylo was hit by this thing and was losing blood.

You guys say bring this up, but the movie does a bad job of showing the effects of it during the fight. Kylo went from easily dominating both Rey and Finn to losing after Rey's force "awakening". The injury didn't seem to have much to do with the outcome

 

[Monocle]

Basically agreed with this post, but I think people underestimate how important it is that The Force Awakens is just an awful, clunky movie.

While it is true that the set up for Rey feels off, it is also true that it could have worked much better in a decent movie. For comparison, when Luke uses the Jedi Mind Trick it has flavor: "You serve your master well. And you will be rewarded." Even with no set up, you would get the idea of exploiting a certain nature, and of Luke's personal joke at the expense of the target, all through simple dialogue.

Force Awakens is flavorless. "You will let me go, open the door, and drop your weapon." "I will let you go, open the door, and drop my weapon". And.... scene. Great work everyone.

It's not just the set up and structure that fail, it's individual scenes and writing too.

That exchange was funny. Got big laughs both times I saw it in theaters.

"Flavorless." Come the fuck on. The improved visual and sound effects alone give TFA plenty of flavor. Never mind all of its actual substance, like the cast of really good, entertaining, well acted, interesting new characters.

BTW anyone who denies that Kylo Ren is a great and well written character is not worth engaging with. He's much more developed than Vader in ANH and his whole aesthetic is great. My eyes glaze over when I see people call him a bland whiny kid. Like, watch the actual movie and note how he carries himself in the action oriented scenes.

 

[bionic77]

Ugh fuck this scene. Like Han doesn't know what Chewie's Bowcaster can do.

That's a Star Wars ass scene.

All of the movies have shit like that.

That's a diss against SW and really the movie.

 

[ryutaro's mama]

And all because a ball shaped robot was saved by this particular person. I mean, what are the chances.

That is the flimsiest gripe.

The ship needs repairs on Tatooine and Anakin, the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy is there.

The droids land near Obi Wan, when they are fleeing a compromised Blockade Runner in an escape pod with no obvious navigation system.

And the best, Luke lands on Dagobah with no idea where Yoda is and lands yards from his house.

It would be like if I had never been to Earth or knew where anything was looking for you and I magically landed in your backyard.

Most movies have these issues.

 

[Htown]

You guys say bring this up, but the movie does a bad job of showing the effects of it during the fight. Kylo went from easily dominating both Rey and Finn to losing after Rey's force "awakening". The injury didn't seem to have much to do with the outcome

I mean if you somehow missed him dealing with his wound during the fight, that's on you. The movie takes time to point out that he is hurting.

 

[FutureLarking]

I'm flabbergasted (not really) that you just completely ignored that Kylo was hit by this thing and was losing blood.

In the Star Wars verse, you're not meant to be losing blood after being hit by lasers or light-sabres because they instantly cauterize the wound. And a force user should technically be able to call on the force to assist them in such moment - especially one trained by both Luke and Snoke.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

I mean if you somehow missed him dealing with his wound during the fight, that's on you. The movie takes time to point out that he is hurting.

Pounding his chest between effortlessly slicing his opponents, oftentimes one handed, is "dealing with his wound"?

 

[Monocle]

In the Star Wars verse, you're not meant to be losing blood after being hit by lasers or light-sabres because they instantly cauterize the wound. And a force user should technically be able to call on the force to assist them in such moment - especially one trained by both Luke and Snoke.

Maybe Chewie turned down the temp on his bowcaster. It's sci-fi fantasy, whatevs. Didn't Obi-Wan's lop off some alien's arm in A New Hope's cantina scene, where it lay bloodied on the floor? So much for consistency.

We have no idea if Kylo was a good or poor student. Or how much he was trained. We don't know if he's naturally talented in the Force either. Evidently Rey is more gifted in that department.

 

[horkrux]

I mean if you somehow missed him dealing with his wound during the fight, that's on you. The movie takes time to point out that he is hurting.

So if that was the reason why I'm "bad at paying attention", then I'm kind of disappointed. The wound isn't the reason why he lost, it was Rey's sudden power surge.
I mean you can convince yourself that he finally tired himself out and succumbed to the pain, but my problem is that this isn't really how it went down visually.

 

[Funkyhamster]

I'm definitely with the OP on this one. I was super hyped for TFA before it came out too. I prefer the prequels by a long shot, although part of that might have to do with me growing up during the prequel trilogy.

Aside from all the criticism in the OP, another problem I had with TFA was that the dialogue felt like "baby's first Star Wars" with respect to the world and lore. The previous Star Wars movies dumped the viewer in the middle of an alien universe and constantly hinted at other unexplained aspects of that universe, whereas TFA took pains to make sure the characters didn't mention anything that was at all unfamiliar. (It has been a while since I saw TFA, so I'm not sure if this criticism holds up.)

 

[Gunslinger]

You did a better job than I.

I walked out of the movie when it was in theatres.

Damn I mean it was at least better than AoTC. I sat through that.

 

[Gunslinger]

In the Star Wars verse, you're not meant to be losing blood after being hit by lasers or light-sabres because they instantly cauterize the wound. And a force user should technically be able to call on the force to assist them in such moment - especially one trained by both Luke and Snoke.

Yep apparently Luke is a garbage teacher as his student gets owned by a person with no training. Episode 8 should be about Rey training Luke. Teach him a thing or two.

 

[LosDaddie]

I really can't wait for The Last Jedi OTs to happen. Should be fun like last time.

My big problem with TFA is how it almost completely nullifies everything that happened in the OT without any explanation as to why things are that way.

In what way did The New Republic fail? Who are The First Order and how the hell did they rise to power? In what way is The Resistance different than The Rebellion? Why did every main character of the OT just kinda give up on each other when Ben turned to the Dark Side, wouldn't that bring them more together? Why are Jedi considered a myth in the Universe when 20 years ago a Jedi saved the Universe from The Empire? Hell, less than 50 year before TFA there still was an actual Jedi Order who acted as Galaxy Police, surely people would know about that?

And sure, some of these things have answers in the new EU or will maybe be answered in the coming films, but these are major plot points. I shouldn't be required to read some mediocre novel or wait two years for a sequel to get the basic information needed to make the first films plot believable.

Basically the same for me.

While I enjoyed TFA, the only complaint I had was that the original trilogy essentially meant nothing. There's still an evil Empire for a small Rebel force to fight. Even the Jedi are still in their nonexistent state in the universe.

Still, my 9yo daughter is now into SW. So that's a win in my book

 

[Glass Rebel]

In the Star Wars verse, you're not meant to be losing blood after being hit by lasers or light-sabres because they instantly cauterize the wound. And a force user should technically be able to call on the force to assist them in such moment - especially one trained by both Luke and Snoke.

The films are super inconsistent about blood. Eps I, II and IV all have instances of blood from wounds caused by lightsabers.

Also, please show me an example of a force user overcoming a wound such as Kylo's. Obi-Wan in AOTC is out for good when Dooku inflicts two small superficial wounds on them. Kylo is running on fumes there.

 

[JB1981]

After decades of knowing each other.

I hated the MIB squid monster scene the most out of everything in TFA.

Aesthetically and tonally, it didn't feel like SW at all. It was so fucking weird.

Honestly it would have played better if the Raptar (sp?) designs were better and not so blatantly CGI looking

 

[Gunslinger]

My big problem with TFA is how it almost completely nullifies everything that happened in the OT without any explanation as to why things are that way.

In what way did The New Republic fail? Who are The First Order and how the hell did they rise to power? In what way is The Resistance different than The Rebellion? Why did every main character of the OT just kinda give up on each other when Ben turned to the Dark Side, wouldn't that bring them more together? Why are Jedi considered a myth in the Universe when 20 years ago a Jedi saved the Universe from The Empire? Hell, less than 50 year before TFA there still was an actual Jedi Order who acted as Galaxy Police, surely people would know about that?

And sure, some of these things have answers in the new EU or will maybe be answered in the coming films, but these are major plot points. I shouldn't be required to read some mediocre novel or wait two years for a sequel to get the basic information needed to make the first films plot believable.

Yeah most things in TFA just makes no damn sense.

 

[Lothars]

You guys say bring this up, but the movie does a bad job of showing the effects of it during the fight. Kylo went from easily dominating both Rey and Finn to losing after Rey's force "awakening". The injury didn't seem to have much to do with the outcome

It doesn't do a bad job of showing it, There's multiple instances in that scene where you see kylo is hurt and struggling.

 

[finowns]

There's people who think Luke spent more than a weekend training with Yoda too. Despite it occurring at the same time as the Han story. Which occurred over a short period.

Luke went from novice to the most powerful Jedi off screen between ESB and ROTJ.

I'm actually critical of this also. It took Luke a couple years and he's going one on one with Vader, I don't like it. Give the force more respect!

 

[Gunslinger]

I wonder who is strongest jedi of all time a fully trained Rey or the character from the force unleashed.

 

[The Librarian]

Yeah most things in TFA just makes no damn sense.

Because there aren't a ton of things in ANH, ESB, and RotJ that don't make sense.

 

[Principate]

It doesn't do a bad job of showing it, There's multiple instances in that scene where you see kylo is hurt and struggling.

But is still kicking her ass until the force literally saves her.

 

[Vagabundo]

Still, my 9yo daughter is now into SW. So that's a win in my book

I watched the OT with my then 5 year old daughter in prep for TFA and she's into Star Wars now too. She loved where Leia stands up to Dark [sic] Vader at the start, and she's so tiny compared to him.

I probably liked Leia in OT more than Luke.

 

[LosDaddie]

Kylo is holding back the entire fight with Rey

 

[The Librarian]

I watched the OT with my then 5 year old daughter in prep for TFA and she's into Star Wars now too. She loved where Leia stands up to Dark Vader at the start, and she's so tiny compared to him.

I probably liked Leia in OT more than Luke.

It makes sense. Leia is the hyper competent sidekick.

 

[Vagabundo]

It makes sense. Leia is the hyper competent sidekick.

She's pretty competent. Diplomat, can fly a ship and fire a blaster. Her real skill is she's brave as fuck and smart.

 

[Kyoufu]

I wonder who is strongest jedi of all time a fully trained Rey or the character from the force unleashed.

I'm on Team Anakin here. Imagine what he could do if he wasn't turned into a shell of his former self by Obi-wan.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

It doesn't do a bad job of showing it, There's multiple instances in that scene where you see kylo is hurt and struggling.

Effortlessly winning =/= struggling
Stumbling slightly, while swinging his lightsaber around 1 handed and effortlessly beating Finn =/= struggling. I guess Finn got a small hit in though, but it seemed because Kylo was playing around with him

 

[WadiumArcadium]

The people who wanted a Wikipedia article instead of a movie are going to be disappointed again with The Last Jedi. But never mind.

 

[LosDaddie]

I watched the OT with my then 5 year old daughter in prep for TFA and she's into Star Wars now too. She loved where Leia stands up to Dark [sic] Vader at the start, and she's so tiny compared to him.

I probably liked Leia in OT more than Luke.

My 9yo doesn't really care for any SW movie outside of TFA.....because of Rey. She's probably watched the movie 20x on either our HDTV or her iPad.

 

[Surfinn]

I feel like with SW a lot of people have this weird expectation that all of these factual boxes should be checked. I'm more focused on where the characters are going and how they deal with their struggles.

Remember, the OT dropped us off in the middle of nowhere and didn't explain a LOT about who people were, how they came to power, how X works, why Y is not like Z. But it didn't matter. What DID matter is that they hired a likable/charismatic cast that the audience could relate to and cheer for. I feel like they succeeded in the same respect with TFA.

Just like the OT/PT, I'm sure there will be a lot of films and other mediums that help explain what happened in between EP6 and EP7, if you so desperately want those gaps filled.

However, I think where they seem to be going (which is making a character driven adventure/drama that lets the audience experience their journeys, emotions, stuggles, hardships, successes, etc) is a direction I'm most excited about.

I don't think we've had a better opportunity to have a great SW sequel.

 

[Peltz]

I agree that it's merely a serviceable movie. If it didn't have the words "Star Wars" in the title, it would be totally forgotten because of how unmemorable it was. I am not the biggest Star Wars fan, but A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back really haven't been matched by any subsequent films in the franchise. Those were legitimately great movies for both fans and non-fans alike. It didn't matter if you liked sci-fi or fantasy or the franchise itself.

I do agree Episode VII is worse than the prequels (despite all of their issues).

Although the prequels had a lot of dialogue and pacing issues, they at least felt like original, solid "B-" efforts. Episode VII, in contrast, feels like total fan fiction.

 

[WadiumArcadium]

Although the prequels had a lot of dialogue and pacing issues, they at least felt like original, solid "B-" efforts. Episode VII, in contrast, feels like total fan fiction.

Have you watched The Phantom Menace recently?

 

[Surfinn]

I do agree Episode VII is worse than the prequels (despite all of their issues).

Although the prequels had a lot of dialogue and pacing issues, they at least felt like original, solid "B-" efforts. Episode VII, in contrast, feels like total fan fiction.

Damn. Not sure if I can express how much I disagree

I think you need to watch TPM and AOTC again

 

[Warm Machine]

Damn. Not sure if I can express how much I disagree

I think you need to watch TPM and AOTC again

I agree with him. I've only seen TFA 1.5 times. The prequels I've seen 10 time each at least.

 

[Surfinn]

I agree with him. I've only seen TFA 1.5 times. The prequels I've seen 10 time each at least.

It's an exceedingly difficult task to argue that the quality of the PT is higher than the quality of TFA.

Especially as time passes

 

[Warm Machine]

It's an exceedingly difficult task to argue that the quality of the PT is higher than the quality of TFA.

Especially as time passes

TFA is well made an entertaining but it's a greatest hits album with few interesting ideas. I can't get into it. I'd rather watch interesting failures than a well made rehash. That said Phantom Menace is a good movie and not RLM or anyone else is going to change my mind.

 

[MarkMclovin]

That is the flimsiest gripe.

The ship needs repairs on Tatooine and Anakin, the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy is there.

The droids land near Obi Wan, when they are fleeing a compromised Blockade Runner in an escape pod with no obvious navigation system.

And the best, Luke lands on Dagobah with no idea where Yoda is and lands yards from his house.

It would be like if I had never been to Earth or knew where anything was looking for you and I magically landed in your backyard.

Most movies have these issues.

Nah it's no gripe.

Personally, all I care about is how she GOT the powers, rather than how she's able to use them.

Is there still a #teamLukesdaughter? Or have we moved on to a possibility of anyone having these powers ala Anakin?

 

[Raiden]

That exchange was funny. Got big laughs both times I saw it in theaters.

"Flavorless." Come the fuck on. The improved visual and sound effects alone give TFA plenty of flavor. Never mind all of its actual substance, like the cast of really good, entertaining, well acted, interesting new characters.

BTW anyone who denies that Kylo Ren is a great and well written character is not worth engaging with. He's much more developed than Vader in ANH and his whole aesthetic is great. My eyes glaze over when I see people call him a bland whiny kid. Like, watch the actual movie and note how he carries himself in the action oriented scenes.

This. I absolutely love Kylo Ren his flawed persona.

People are complaining because they wanted Vader 2.0.

 

[Surfinn]

TFA is well made an entertaining but it's a greatest hits album with few interesting ideas. I can't get into it. I'd rather watch interesting failures than a well made rehash. That said Phantom Menace is a good movie and not RLM or anyone else is going to change my mind.

Well, we can agree to disagree here. And I'd hardly call them interesting, especially now that they've aged like an open beer instead of a fine wine.

 

[Roders5]

I'd rather watch interesting failures than a well made rehash.

Why on earth do I keep seeing this logic defying statement?

"We cooked a new recipe today sir, but it went wrong and tastes horrible. Would you rather have it for dinner over our tasty familiar dishes?"
"Yes please!"

 

[Surfinn]

Why on earth do I keep seeing this logic defying statement?

"We cooked a new recipe today sir, but it went wrong and tastes horrible. Would you rather have it for dinner over our tasty familiar dishes?"
"Yes please!"

Remove Lucas from the equation and let's see how many people die on this hill

 

[CadetMahoney]

They've aged like an open beer instead of a fine wine.

I loled at this more than I should have.