Daisy Ridley Discusses Rey, how she differs from the character, and whether she’s been allowed to glimpse the script for Episode VIII with Variety

Daisy as Rey

Daisy Ridley is getting rave reviews from critics for her performance in The Force Awakens, so it is very likely she is primed to shoot into super-stardom in short order after her starring turn in the first film of the sequel trilogy.  In an interview with Variety that released today, Ridley sat down to discuss Rey as a character, the similarities and differences between the character and the actor, future prospects, and whether or not she has seen the script for Episode VIII.

 

With the film’s release, actors have been freed to loosen the secrecy a bit.  So, in this piece Ridley goes into a bit more detail than she might have a few days ago.  Slight character spoilers can be taken from this interview for those who haven’t seen The Force Awakens yet, so if you worry about such things proceed at your own risk…

 

Ridley on How she relates to Rey as a character:

Her hopefulness. I think that was something driving me through the auditions — even though it felt so insanely out of anything that I could’ve imagined, there was something inside of me that was telling me that I could do it, even though I was riddled with doubts and insecurities, so probably that. She’s much more hopeful than I am, and much braver than I am; for a woman who had been alone for such a long time to be so open to what’s going on, and letting journeys happen, and letting relationships happen, I think is really incredible.

 

Ridley on working with Abrams and the progression of Rey as a character over time:

She changed from when we first began, she became softer. And I think that’s probably me, because Americans tend not to understand me, so it helped, slowing down the speech and everything just made it softer than I am and that’s nice, because watching it, I was surprised, like, “Oh, that was cool and that’s not me.” But it was definitely a collaboration. Obviously, the script was incredible. I didn’t have to do anything with that, but J.J. is incredibly collaborative. Every day, we would all run through the scenes, and depending on how we felt, things would change. We would tweak things. We would just talk things through to make sure we were all on the same page … To see Harrison and J.J. together was amazing, because J.J.’s a huge fanboy so he’d be like, “Oh my god!” and then obviously they would talk through things. And I’m incredibly inexperienced, so to see someone as experienced as Harrison, seeing how he works and what it is that he does to make things click so well is incredible.

 

John & Daisy

 

Ridley on the Rey and Finn dynamic:

 

The thing that’s exciting is, BB-8 is her first ever friend, so that relationship was wonderful and then with Finn… she’s never really had even relationships in her life, so to have someone that not only is talking to her like she’s a person, but also because they’re the same age and they’re both searching for something, and they can see that in each other, and it’s fun. It’s a wonderful combination of things. He’s sure of himself — kind of like me and John — he’s pretty sure of himself and that’s helpful, that’s like an anchor. And he’s brave, he tries to do the right thing, and he risks things for her, and that’s never happened to her before.

 

Ridley on whether she has seen the script for Episode VIII:

 

I have. It’s very good; very good. Let’s see “VII” first and then we’ll talk about “VIII.” [Laughs.]

 

Check out Variety for the entire interview including just why Daisy Ridley thinks she’s so different from her character.

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77 thoughts on “Daisy Ridley Discusses Rey, how she differs from the character, and whether she’s been allowed to glimpse the script for Episode VIII with Variety

  • December 17, 2015 at 11:02 pm
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    I haven’t seen VII yet, but my initial thoughts will be “Damn that was amazing!” and “When’s Episode VIII?”

    • December 18, 2015 at 3:58 am
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      I’m seeing it 2pm EST FRI… and NOON EST Saturday!.. .MAY 2017… 18 months from now! 🙂

    • December 18, 2015 at 9:29 am
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      Both.

    • December 18, 2015 at 9:53 am
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      It was pretty meh to me. Better than the PT but doesn’t come close to the OT. I liked Sith better actually in spite of it’s many flaws.

      • December 18, 2015 at 4:16 pm
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        It’s pretty flawed and less “even” than ANH but it’s still on the same level imo. The acting is better (not that it was bad in ANH, I love the original cast).
        The characterisation is more intersting.
        Apart from the final dog-fight which was a let-down compared to ANH, the visual and flying is better.
        The lightsaber battles are better, thanks to the exciting action that remembers to show emotions…

        Overall I ranked Empire > TFA = ANH > everything else

        • December 18, 2015 at 9:50 pm
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          I agree that the acting was the best in all 7 movies.

        • December 19, 2015 at 7:14 am
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          The film slowed to a crawl for me after they finally left Jakku and began the whole Takodana sequence which just dragged. I never felt any tension at all with Starkiller from any of the characters either. When they finally won, It was just like uhhh, Okay and felt pointless unlike the Battle Of Yavin or even Naboo.

          There was no excuse to not give Han a proper funeral either. The cinematography is my least favorite of the saga too.

  • December 18, 2015 at 12:38 am
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    I’ve seen VII. I want VIII

    • December 18, 2015 at 12:53 am
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      Indeed Abrams’ statement that his film could function as some kind of standalone movie is (to put it bluntly) a blatant lie. It is very clearly an episode to be followed by other episodes. It leaves important mysteries quite unresolved — undoubtedly on purpose, to keep us interested. Also, the final scene of course screams “SEQUEL COMING UP”.

      • December 18, 2015 at 12:59 am
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        Exactly like Empire.

        • December 18, 2015 at 9:52 am
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          More like Hope and Jedi though.

      • December 18, 2015 at 6:46 am
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        Umm, it leaves me wanting to go out and literally punch JJ in his arm really hard. Talk about missing out on a potential great movie.

        This movie is good, but it could have been sooooo much better.

        • December 18, 2015 at 9:05 am
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          This movie is amazing. Just because it doesn’t answer every single question doesn’t keep it from becoming a great movie. If the movie were to answer 30 years worth of questions it would be 4 hours long. Now, I know I wouldn’t mind a 4 hour long Star Wars movie, but some of the fun lies in the waiting. The anticipation for The Force Awakens was awesome, and I’m looking forward to the anticipation for Episode VIII. If you really think that the movie could have been better, I would love to hear your suggestions on how, other than by extending the run length by 2 hours.

          • December 18, 2015 at 9:54 am
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            You can tell they deleted a LOT of stuff out of it. Really hated how vague they left who lived and who died at the end.

          • December 18, 2015 at 1:50 pm
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            I’m not sure I’m allowed to say that (because of the spoilers), but they missed it big time with Finn. He could have been deleted from the script with no major consequence to the story. In fact, unless they find some role for him on Episode VIII, I don’t see why he should be in the trilogy at all. Besides, what angers me the most is that, although it was probably not intentional, the way Finn was written ended up meeting most of the negative social stereotypes that one would associate with black men. That was very unfortunate.

            I’m actually glad I had been sufficiently spoiled before the movie and basically knew before hand that was the direction they would take or, otherwise, I would have been very disappointed.

            PS: That is not a criticism of Boyega’s acting, which is great.

          • December 18, 2015 at 4:01 pm
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            Actually no. Some infos about the context in the galaxy, why they’re so eager to find Luke would only take the first yellow text as the start and maybe one or two side remark on the resistance’s side to discuss their separation from the republic forces. It would not take 4 hours, it would only take a decent script and about 30 sec of dialogue.

    • December 18, 2015 at 8:07 am
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      Then it sounds like you could do the Sequel Trilogy Machete Viewing & Renaming Order™

      You watch it as VII, VIII, IX, *BUT* you CALL them VIII, VII & IX. 🙂

      • December 18, 2015 at 2:18 pm
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        what?

        • December 18, 2015 at 2:29 pm
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          It’s pretty simple really:
          It’s what is known as a “joke” that failed to make you laugh. 🙂
          (And an explained joke is never funny).

          I wouldn’t lose sleep over it. 🙂

          • December 18, 2015 at 4:41 pm
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            I think I kind of got it but I still don’t see the joke. So I will lose sleep over it XD

    • December 18, 2015 at 9:55 am
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      Wouldn’t be hard to be better. JJ missed a golden opportunity with this one.

      • December 18, 2015 at 2:18 pm
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        just shut up and let fans enjoy the film. I liked it.

        • December 18, 2015 at 2:22 pm
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          I preferred it’s original theatrical version in 1977-1983 also from 1991-2012 with all the plot points they plagarized from the EU. Shameless!

  • December 18, 2015 at 12:55 am
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    Rey’s Theme is quickly becoming my new favorite Star Wars music.

    • December 18, 2015 at 1:56 am
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      Was that the track that plays after she’s scavenged inside the super star destroyer, as she returned to her speeder? If so, that track really stood out to me. Sad and beautiful in equal measures.

      • December 18, 2015 at 2:41 am
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        I believe that’s the one and – if so – it’s turning out to be one of my favorites as well.

  • December 18, 2015 at 2:40 am
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    On the strength of her TFA performance, Daisy Ridley is destined for great things.

    • December 18, 2015 at 7:34 am
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      I totally agree, her character was one of the main highlights of the film for me.

    • December 18, 2015 at 9:52 am
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      My favorite part was when she fought Kylo and they played the cue from when Leia hears Luke calling her in Empire.

      • December 18, 2015 at 12:41 pm
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        Those scenes were really well filmed, without the fight being over choreographed.

        • December 18, 2015 at 12:49 pm
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          Reminded me a bit of the Genesis planet battle in Star Trek III which Abrams must have been watching since it looks like the Enterprise is blown up again in Trek Beyond.

          • December 18, 2015 at 1:11 pm
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            Loved the attention to detail, like the lightsaber reflections in Rey’s and Kylo’s eyes just before Rey embraces the force.

            Also, the scenes when Rey first confronts Kylo Ren outside Maz’s castle, reminded me of the Dagobah Vadar scenes. There was this overwhelming feeling of dread.

          • December 18, 2015 at 1:19 pm
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            Not sure what we are or aren’t allowed to say on here but I guess they can delete what they don’t like…..

            The thing I need to find out is how could Kylo take so much damage and not be dead? He nearly got the Anakin treatment and was still walking around. I hope the books give this some context because he went through a lot in a short period of time.

        • December 18, 2015 at 1:41 pm
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          The cinematography in general is very good throughout the movie, which is also well directed and well acted (unlke the prequels). I just don’t like the story.

          • December 18, 2015 at 1:55 pm
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            For me the characters are a SW movie’s main strength, and on that front TFA delivers. The TFA was ultimately a chase movie, a little of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and was one hell of a ride.

  • December 18, 2015 at 7:27 am
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    I’d like to believe the script for 8 is good, but the script for 7 was lacking.

    • December 18, 2015 at 9:51 am
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      A rehash of ANH, ROTJ, and a tiny bit of Empire.

  • December 18, 2015 at 9:18 am
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    LAST SCENE OF TFA WAS VERY DISAPPOINT TO ME. SO SIMPLE SO PLAIN

    • December 18, 2015 at 9:51 am
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      Worst ending in the saga by far. Same with Williams score too.

    • December 18, 2015 at 2:23 pm
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      And that final shot :/

    • December 18, 2015 at 7:39 pm
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      It probably could have just ended with Rey and Chewie going off to find Luke.

      But nerdrage would have gone crazy if we didn’t have a shot of Luke. I could have done without it, it lasted a good 10 seconds too long, lol, got awkward.

      • December 19, 2015 at 1:20 pm
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        I thought the same.
        It had a good shot from both to finish the film. In fact, at that point, i wasn,t worried in see Luke or not, and with Rey and Chewie in the falcon thought was the final. Could have been nice tribute to Solo.
        There is time enough for Luke.

        • December 19, 2015 at 2:50 pm
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          I thought it was a confident movie at times, but it could have been REAL confident if it left us with that, but alas, fanboys would have burned theaters down.

  • December 18, 2015 at 9:29 am
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    She’s going to be very interesting to watch.

    • December 18, 2015 at 9:55 am
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      How sad is it that this is her FIRST film and she acted circles around Hayden?

      • December 18, 2015 at 4:10 pm
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        Well she was properly directed. I’m not holding anakin against Hayden. I think the guy suffered enough from this performance, I hold the director responsible until proven otherwise.

        • December 19, 2015 at 7:11 am
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          If he gave any great performances after III then maybe but he’s now fighting it out with Nic Cage for the vaunted title of direct to Blu-Ray king.

          Abams is better than Lucas far as dealing with actors go but who isn’? Carrie was pretty atrocious in this one but I blame drugs, botox, and being out of the acting game for so long.

  • December 18, 2015 at 9:51 am
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    Best character in the film. She’s the Harrison of this new trilogy and destined for A-List status.

    • December 18, 2015 at 12:10 pm
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      Daisy Ridkey is talented and she did well in TFA. Having said that, we have seen tons of Rey-like characters in fantasy action movies lately. Does Hollywood still need to push that agenda ? Don”t get me wrong: I have nothing against strong female lead as long as the story is balanced. The problem is when it becomes far-fetched as I think was the case with TFA and basically there is no balance.

      • December 18, 2015 at 12:16 pm
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        Difference is that she can act and looks believable. It’s not like she’s Jessica Alba, Gal Gadot, or Megan Fox. She’s very un-Hollywood looking. I like that she is not an ungrateful spoiled brat with contempt towards the franchise that built her like J-Raw and Portman wound up being over time.

  • December 18, 2015 at 10:24 am
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    Was it flawed? Yes. Were there things I wish it did differently? Sure.
    But The Force Awakens was THE best Star Wars film in 32 years. Unquestionably. And the characters were as strong, if not stronger, than anything we’ve ever seen before. So regardless of a few story weaknesses and repetitions, The Force Awakens is a triumph.

    • December 18, 2015 at 11:58 am
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      I know I am in the minority here, but I didn”t like TFA, especially the way some of the leading (or major supporting) characters were written. Kylo Ren and Poe Dameron are two of the few well-written characters.

      • December 18, 2015 at 2:27 pm
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        I’d never guess that Phasma and Finn would be the comic relief of this film from how they were marketed.

        • December 18, 2015 at 2:48 pm
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          The marketing in the western countries was deliberately misleading in a way that IMHO was unkind to both Boyega and Gwendoline. The marketing in Asia (see the Japanese trailer or the Chinese poster) was far more honest to the movie. As fans, we had previous warning though, not only from the Asian promos, but also from leaks and leads like the trading cards, the video game version of the movie, etc etc,

          The general audience and, incidentally, most professional movie critics didn’t go through that process, and, quite frankly, unlike hardcore fans, they only care about elements like pacing, cinematography, acting, or visual effects. It doesn’t matter to them that certain things are actually far-fetched or at odds with SW established mythology and they don’t really care about hoiw Finn is because, quite frankly, that is what most people in the West expect black supporting actors to be like in a movie. Again, to be fair, I don’t think the original intention of the script was to stereotype black men (as Finn originally was not supposed to be of any particular race), but the fact that JJ cast a black young man to play Finn made that association inevitable (at least to me, although I admit it is a controversial opinion).

          • December 19, 2015 at 7:07 am
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            You are telling me, It was all “you want diversity? Here ya go! Oh, Sorry we turned the black guy and female stormtrooper into the comedic relief” to say nothing of the old mamie tropes that Maz conjured up! I figured the Asian marketing was just due to their prejudice towards minorities and not a true reflection of the film’s racism.

            It really felt like Star Wars for retards honestly.

  • December 18, 2015 at 11:51 am
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    II sincerely hope the script for Episode VIII is good because Episode VIi’s story was awful IMHO.

    • December 18, 2015 at 12:18 pm
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      It really didn’t have much of a plot at all if you take away the parts it stole from IV-VI. The screenwriters should not have gotten credit for the story part.

  • December 18, 2015 at 2:20 pm
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    3 things that would make The Force Awakens one of the two best films of the saga for me:

    – Replace the word Jakku for the word Tatooine (I prefer getting back than getting recycled)
    – Make Han fully focused on finding the Falcon when he’s introduced (to smooth the hilarious randomness)

    And the most important one:

    – DELETE THE STARKILLER DOGFIGHT. Make that mission a small group infiltration mission, so that the focus is on the story of Kylo and Han. Both Harrison amd Adam nail it, but the pace of the film fully destroys what could be one of the greatest moments in the saga.

    • December 18, 2015 at 2:25 pm
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      The dogfight was horrid! Nearly as bad as Episode I but at least we finally got to see an aerial battle. Felt as video-gamey as III too with a complete lack of danger. Everyone was totally more invested in the duel even if it borrowed heavily from The Search For Spock.

    • December 18, 2015 at 2:51 pm
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      Kylo and Han are the strongest links in the movie. I agree with everybody who said Kylo is what Anakin should have been at the end of the prequels.

      • December 18, 2015 at 4:07 pm
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        Yes, exactly, Kylo is someone not quite Sith but in the process of succombing completely to the dark side done right.

        I agree with Dani too on 2 out of 3. I’m tired of Tatooine. This deserted planet felt different, maybe because I actually went there myself (the desert, not Jakku xD), but it didn’t feel like Tatooine at all and that’s for the best. I have another solution to the dogfight though: when the eagles… Euh sorry, when the X-wings pilot first appear to save the day near Maz’s cantina, they should have been introduced there as characters, for example by letting them communicate more, making one of them crash maybe and the other worry only to find out he’s alive. Then when we meet them again at the end, we’ll feel more tension because we actually root for them this time. Plus film this sequence with more focus on the characters and a little less on the action and we’re golden. No dogfight would work but I want more piloting awesomeness from Poe, not less.

      • December 18, 2015 at 8:06 pm
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        I loved Kylo. I wish there was more psychological detail ala Anakin but he really stole the show. Liked Snoke too. Wish we knew more about him.

    • December 23, 2015 at 4:34 pm
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      You didn’t like the dogfighting scenes? I thought they were tightly shot and well executed IMO.

      • December 23, 2015 at 7:20 pm
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        Only refeering to the last one, because I feel there was something very strong going with the main characters and would prefer to have time for them.

  • December 18, 2015 at 8:05 pm
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    Hmmm she said the script for VII was great too 😛 Fun movie but the script was lacking IMO.

  • December 19, 2015 at 7:19 am
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    This film really does not hold up upon repeat viewings either much like I and II. Aside from one or two things, It did not exactly propell the narrative forward and seemed like waaayyyy more happened in between VI and VII than in this entire film.

    Guess it’s to sell more EU crap which is the same cynical marketing trick George played with the PT.

    If Abrams wasn’t out and the heroes were not so likeable then I wouldn’t be very invested in the sequels at all but Rogue One will probably top this film quite easily.

    • December 20, 2015 at 9:23 am
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      You are in every thread trying to spread pessimism.

      I’ve seen the film twice, loved it both times.

      A lot of people on here have seen it multiple times and are really enjoying it.

      Deal with the fact that people like it.

      • December 20, 2015 at 11:26 am
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        Real rich coming from someone using a profile pic of the biggest pessemist of them all.

        I’m not doubting that nor saying they can’t but you’ll also have to deal with the fact not everybody did. I also saw it twice to see if I judged it too harshly and I stand by all my comments.

        I apologize for offending your safe zone, Next time I’ll ask give your Parents a trigger warning so that they can change the password on your computer so that you can avoid being offended,

        • December 21, 2015 at 9:14 am
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          I can deal with the fact you don’t like the film. It’s fine. You can’t seem to deal with the fact that people liked the film, and you routinely try to degrade them for it.

          What more, you just keep posting the same shit over and over again to receive negative responses and attention in order to feel special. IN EVERY ARTICLE ON THIS SITE. It’s hilarious. You’re here 4 times a day judging by your post times. It’s also pathetic. And this is my new hobby!

          • December 21, 2015 at 11:07 am
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            Coming from someone who has only replied to me on here all day because I disagree and who can’t even back up their arguements.

            Am I asking anyone else’s opinion? You are the one who started replying to all my comments. Not the other way around.

          • December 21, 2015 at 6:27 pm
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            Yes, again, I’ll explain it to you. You’ve come here to troll and purposely upset people, you may think you’re being clever by stating that your contrary opinion you are *REPEATEDLY* tossing around in peoples faces is just for debate in a discussion board, but your motives are obvious not only to me, but everyone else here.

            So, you started shit, I’m finishing it. And it’s fun. And you’re still replying to me, which means on some level, this is affecting you, which is making it even MORE fun for me. Love you Snark.

        • December 21, 2015 at 9:15 am
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          Also, if you’re so perceptive when it comes to everything you write about, you should look more closely at my profile pic.

      • December 23, 2015 at 4:33 pm
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        I’m seeing it a third time and yes, many people enjoy wallowing in pessimism! Just enjoy the movie for what it is!

  • December 20, 2015 at 2:08 am
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    It was good. Way too short it needed to be a bit longer. Too much forced comedy and not enough Phasma. I loved Kylo and I loved Rey. Her and Finns relationship was fun to watch. Solo was bad ass I hated Maz. She was pointless and looked totally not Star Wars like a Pixar character. It would have been cooler to see force ghost obi wan or even anakin giving guidance to Rey. Also no LUKE was the worse decision ever! All I wanted to see was the big 3 back together one last time and we get Hans death before like can see him again. It’s sad. RIP Han Solo and please give Luke way more time in VII.

  • December 21, 2015 at 8:27 pm
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    Folks – just enjoy the movie. I have nit-picks too but it was still a great story and well-done. Let’s be honest, there was no way TFA was going to be the greatest ever – we set the bar too high. The OT had flaws too. Let’s just enjoy it and get excited for the next round.

    • December 23, 2015 at 4:32 pm
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      The ending was great IMO, it set up VIII perfectly.

  • December 23, 2015 at 4:32 pm
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    I personally enjoyed this movie quite a bit. It had action, humor, and most of all, heart. Things the prequels all lacked. TFA has flaws, like any movie does, but I feel they aren’t big enough to overshadow the wonderful film us fans received.

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