SWNN Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

tfa_poster

I am writing this review just a few hours after I watched the movie at the official press screening in London. I was lucky enough to be invited by Disney to this event, and I will respect their wish not to reveal any spoilers and plot points about the movie. We will post several spoiler heavy reviews in a few weeks time, when most of the people around the world have seen the movie.

 

It’s hard to believe that just 3 years ago we never suspected we would be seeing another Star Wars movie again, and now in just 15 months time we will have seen three! It’s been a roller coaster ride, and I am really excited that this highly anticipated moment has finally come. Right off the bat I want to tell you, that the movie is great. I felt really emotional about it, which means that the director and the cast did their job very well.

 

Without revealing anything about the plot or the characters, I can tell you that J.J. Abrams and company did an awesome job making a movie that will appeal to old and new Star Wars fans. And even if you have never seen a Star Wars movie before, you won’t feel like an alien in the galaxy far, far away. The movie was done in a way, that it could be considered as a standalone movie. That’s absolutely understandable since Disney wants to win some new fans to the franchise. And yet again there are numerous moments in the movie that will bring smiles to the faces of the hardcore fans.

Finn 02

Speaking about smiles, I want to quickly assure you that the humor in the movie is spot on. This is the trickiest part for many movies, and many times films don’t work just because they fail on that level. Most of the humorous parts were related with John Boyega’s character Finn and of course Han and Chewie. They all worked well.

 

From all the trailers and TV spots that we’ve seen, we had the impression that the movie will be very dynamic with many fast action sequences. Well, I can assure you that this is indeed the case. The pacing of the movie is really good. From the opening crawl, to the final scene of the movie your attention is pinned to the screen. For me there was not a single moment in the movie where I felt bored. But here comes my first complaint about the movie (it’s actually more about the promo campaign). Despite all the secrecy surrounding the film, Disney decided to release around 20 TV spots, which the fans quickly assembled in chronological order and pretty much laid out the rough outline of the movie. Of course there are lot’s of things that were not shown, but if you really want to stay unspoiled, you will probably have to skip any TV spots about the movie. Still we have to keep in mind that the people who watch everything released about the movie are just a small percentage from all the people who will see the film.

Kylo_Ren

Now let’s talk about the cast. I really liked what I saw, especially from Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver. Big kudos to J.J. Abrams and Nina Gold for picking John and Daisy from the thousands of actors that auditioned for the roles, but I think that Adam Driver really steals the show, no matter if he is with his helmet on or off. And here comes another problem that I had with the movie. There are at least a few actors who were officially announced as being part of the movie, who appeared just for a few brief seconds, or not at all (at least I didn’t see them). And the most puzzling thing for me was using actors with certain expertise for scenes that didn’t require that expertise.

 

Before the movie I had some fears about the performance of the original actors, considering that some of them didn’t have much acting experience in the last few years. Well, actually Carrie Fisher was pretty good and Ford is on top of his game obviously having fun with his role. Also the costume designer Michael Kaplan, and hair, and makeup artists did a great job bringing some nostalgic elements to these characters that reminds us of their Original Trilogy years.

Starkiller base

As I said in the beginning I will not be revealing any plot points or spoilers about the movie. Writing a review is a bit hard with this “tiny” limitation. Still I want to express another disappointment that I had with the movie. First of all we have to keep in mind that this movie is the first of a new trilogy. So don’t expect to find all the answers now. Understanding that, I still think that the movie left too many questions unanswered. I guess Rian Johnson will have to address those.

 

Also another thing that didn’t work for me was Starkiller Base. The similarities with the Death Star from A New Hope were just too much. If this part of the movie was replaced by another type of menace, this movie would have been almost perfect. All other references and parallels with A New Hope were perfectly fine and didn’t feel off.

Screenshot-5

About the technical aspects of the movie like visual and sound effects I can only use superlatives. The VFX were top notch. Shooting on real sets really paid off since I didn’t see a single scene that looked fake. Thinking about John Williams’ music now, I realize that the movie was so intense and dynamic, that I hardly remember any specific tunes. There was so much going on. I can’t wait to go and see the movie again.

 

Finally,  I want to express my gratitude to J.J. Abrams and what he did. As you know this movie has extremely high expectations. It’s not an easy task to do a movie like that. Kudos to Disney as well for hiring the right people. It really showed that they cared and they wanted the best in the business for this project. It’s an incredible pressure to work on such a movie and J.J. did an awesome job. This movie is the beginning of the new Star Wars era and it’s foundation was crucial. Well folks, rest assured that J.J. Abrams laid a really, really solid foundation for the new Sequel Trilogy. I personally doubt that there was another director that would have done better. Now we can’t wait to see how Rian Johnson and Colin Trevorrow will build upon that foundation.

 

A really exciting time to be a Star Wars fan…

 

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Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.

Born on April 24, 1980.

Val Trichkov (Viral Hide)

Founder of SWNN, MNN and The Cantina forums.Born on April 24, 1980.

423 thoughts on “SWNN Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens!

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:13 am
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    Awesome review Viral… can’t wait to see this movie already!

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:14 am
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    Awesome!!! I’m getting ready to go now!!! 5 hours 45 mins!!!!!

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:19 am
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    Awesome!!! Even though there were bound to be some disappointing things in the film. I’ve always believed in the treatment of going into a movie, especially a sequel, with an open mind and reasonable expectations. Don’t go in thinking it will be the worst movie of all time and don’t go in expecting this movie to be the best thing since loaf bread. Lol
    I’m glad that the majority of the movie felt right, as that was one of my biggest concerns. “Did it feel right? Did it feel like a Star Wars movie?” So, to hear that it went well besides the minor problems with leaving too many questions unanswered, I am very excited and proud to be a Star Wars fan and can’t wait to see the movie for the first time, this Saturday! 😀

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:26 am
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    currently at 100% on rotten tomatoes, wow.

    • December 16, 2015 at 10:40 am
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      42 critics so far… O_o
      All liking it…

      • December 16, 2015 at 11:26 am
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        98 percent good 1 rotten now.

        • December 16, 2015 at 3:03 pm
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          97 percent now. Looks like this is a good one!

          • December 16, 2015 at 10:54 pm
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            95%

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:34 am
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    Great review man! I like the negatives you pointed out. I can live with those and understand them. Probably shouldn’t have done a DSIII as it was a running joke of fans for years… but I’m happy to read Kylo is a highlight. I REALLY wanted to like him.

    • December 16, 2015 at 1:38 pm
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      I will show them

    • December 16, 2015 at 5:02 pm
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      I wonder if Episode 9 will have a fourth Death Star

      • December 16, 2015 at 5:45 pm
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        ROFL!, Maybe one that can transform!

        • December 16, 2015 at 6:09 pm
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          a battle station that turns into a moon-sized First Order assault walker

      • December 16, 2015 at 10:19 pm
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        It would be interesting if they could insert a “ticking clock” factor more into it. Like they have 10 minutes before the star self-destructs and destroys everything the galaxy.

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:35 am
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    From all the reviews I’ve read (this is now the 5th), a solid SW entry, maybe a little too familiar, but has managed to capture the OT magic. B/B+ rating.

    • December 16, 2015 at 10:41 am
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      Vibe I’m getting is more in the A/A+ range, “best since Empire,” etc. Superior to Return of the Jedi is quite an accomplishment, imho.

      • December 16, 2015 at 10:43 am
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        Seriously if it’s even the 2nd best Star Wars movie. Or 3rd… or 4th! I’ll be pretty damned happy! I’ll need a bucket for my tears! =D

      • December 16, 2015 at 12:24 pm
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        Better than Jedi, around A New Hope kind of standard sounds about right.

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:37 am
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    The vibe I’m getting is more in the A/A+ range, “best since Empire,” etc. Superior to Return of the Jedi is quite an accomplishment, imho.

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:40 am
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    Good Review – can’t wait until five past midnight to see it 🙂

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:46 am
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    Thank you Viral Hide for all the info you’ve given us over the last few months / years. = ) and great review BTW.

    • December 16, 2015 at 11:08 pm
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      Guys!!! One of the rotten reviews is from TIme Magazine. DO NOT READ IT, it is full of spoilers

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:49 am
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    Yayyyy!!!

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:51 am
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    Reminds me of the few things I’ve heard. The secrecy wasn’t necessary, the enormous hype makes you forget its the first entry of a trilogy and that things we were expecting to know in this film, aren’t answered or explored. I’m fine with that now that I know what to expect.

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:57 am
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    5 hours to go

  • December 16, 2015 at 11:08 am
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    I’ve got to add my thanks for a great review. I’m happy to hear of the positive RT buzz too.

  • December 16, 2015 at 11:27 am
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    This movie has an 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Hell-Fucking-Yeah.

  • December 16, 2015 at 11:32 am
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    The newpapers here inn Norway are leaving great reviews. It looks 6 outbof 6, and 5 out of 6. 7,5 hour left 🙂

    • December 16, 2015 at 5:42 pm
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      1 hour 18 min. left. Getting my jacket. Im kind of nervous. All this waiting, and finaly here.

      • December 16, 2015 at 5:51 pm
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        And i am now waiting in my seat, 10mins to the movie! Pity none if my family members are into star wars. 1st one watching alone, next one with my mates. Can’t wait to talk about it!

        • December 16, 2015 at 11:58 pm
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          I feel the same. I have to be as quiet as an oyster at work tomorrow, dont want to ruin anything for anyone.

        • December 16, 2015 at 10:33 pm
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          No Spoilers Here!!!

          Seen it, loved it, gonna see it again. It was truly Star Wars. Was with my 10 year old son, and he was blown away to.

          • December 16, 2015 at 11:17 pm
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            I had a blast. I’ve watched it twice today and I am certainly going back for a 3rd and 4th time!
            Glad to hear you are able to pass your love of SW to your son! 🙂

          • December 16, 2015 at 11:57 pm
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            Same here. Saw it 3D tonight. Gonna see it inn 2D tomorrow. I had chills all over my body, and I felt like a kid again tonight. What more can you ask for? 🙂

          • December 17, 2015 at 12:57 am
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            I have to wait until tomorrow to see, so please don’t spoil anything anybody!

          • December 17, 2015 at 12:40 pm
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            There R some spoilers already on this tread, so keep away.

  • December 16, 2015 at 11:35 am
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    Thank you for the review – reassuring, yet didn’t spoil anything. I can’t wait to see it tomorrow.

  • December 16, 2015 at 11:37 am
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    thank you !!!

  • December 16, 2015 at 11:46 am
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    Three major characters whose fate is unknown at the end of the movie is actually a major spoiler, but I suppose we can guess who they are,

    As I wrote before, my biggest concern from all that I heard is that Finn is just the movie’s “comic relíef”. Honestly, it doesn’t make sense for Disney to have hyped Finn the way they did only for him to be ia “nobody” in the end and basically Rey’s sidekick. That is very disappointing if it turns out to be true.

    On the unsanswered questions, I’m assuming we won’t know Rey’s backstory yet, which is not surprising BTW and seems to be consistent wiith the leaks we have seen só far since the premiste.

    • December 16, 2015 at 1:51 pm
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      Finn is not the comic relief. Just saw the movie and going in now for a second time. Trust me, it’s great!

    • December 17, 2015 at 8:38 am
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      Han was kind of just ‘comic relief’ in ANH and look how he turned out. Just give it time. We have 2 more episodes! 🙂

  • December 16, 2015 at 12:02 pm
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    Thank you for that review 🙂

    It’s the third I read/heard and the most comprehensive, while still being spoilerfree.

    Good job!

    And it’s as good as the others.

    Exactly 13 hours to go!

  • December 16, 2015 at 12:08 pm
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    Great review and thank you very much for staying really clear of spoilers! I can’t wait to see the movie tonight at 0:01 AM. Until then I better lock myself in a room without internet 😉

  • December 16, 2015 at 1:26 pm
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    All my favorite reviewers gave spoiler free reviews and all of them are positive. But, what I really liked is that they weren’t blind to the flaws – reviews are very balanced. Consensus is that the new cast is excellent and fits with the old crew well, movie is funny and moves at brisk pace, it’s emotional, gives you a lot and leaves you wanting more. I am very happy and, if it’s possible, I am looking forward to the movie even more.

    But, whatever you do, don’t read the comments to ANY of the reviews. Trolls and jerks really want to spoil it for you – I was lucky that I was warned, so I am warning you. 🙂

    • December 16, 2015 at 2:14 pm
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      Hey, where is Mark Hamill!?
      :))
      Really nice video, thanks!

    • December 16, 2015 at 5:26 pm
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      Not really a fan of that type of music, but I have to admit this was fantastic. I may be biased, given the song, and the cast. I still say Daisy Ridley is smoking hot.

    • December 16, 2015 at 10:38 pm
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      Who are your fave reviewers?

      I like Schmoes, Stuckman, and Jeremy Jahns.

      Do not really care for that Beyond the trailer girl

      Sticking to my fave 3 and the Tomato meter until I see it

      • December 16, 2015 at 11:53 pm
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        You hit them all (Jahns still haven’t posted his), but both Chris and Schmoes liked it as well as Collider crew (better review is in today’s Movie Talk, because they are not dead on their feet + Jon Schnepp XD).

        Don’t worry about Tomatometer. I see it like this – half of the people who gave it negative reviews genuinely disliked it, but the other half wanted to be special. What is important to me is that I like it, I really don’t care what other people think. 🙂

  • December 16, 2015 at 1:47 pm
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    Yahooo! The most anticipated movie of the year, and I HAVE SEEN IT!

    • December 16, 2015 at 2:11 pm
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      Dude. You were not spoiler free in your little review. Not cool.

      • December 16, 2015 at 3:51 pm
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        I believe I was pretty restrained, but seriously, if you want to be completely spoiler-free for the next 3-4 days you have nothing to do on the net in the first place.

        • December 16, 2015 at 4:36 pm
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          No! If someone says, that he won’t spoiler, many will trust this person!

        • December 16, 2015 at 5:42 pm
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          dumbo!

    • December 16, 2015 at 2:11 pm
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      I always want to visit Norway!
      Here I have to wait until Friday evening to watch it in English. So you are lucky.
      I have read more comments like yours about the final image. That s thrilling.
      Thank you for sharing.

    • December 16, 2015 at 2:31 pm
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      Of course not everyone will like this film, I don’t know any film EVERYONE likes.

    • December 16, 2015 at 3:54 pm
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      too many spoilers!

      • December 16, 2015 at 6:26 pm
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        Ah, so you found a picture of me. How nice. But that is not Skellig Michael I am indicating, if any of you wondered.

        • December 16, 2015 at 6:28 pm
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          Looks to me you’re fingering a Troll.

        • December 16, 2015 at 6:35 pm
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          actually i was wondering- thank you~

    • December 16, 2015 at 4:34 pm
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      DIdn’t you write, you’ll remain spoilerfree???!!!!

      WTF?

      There are spoilers in your text! To name things we won’t see or get to know in Ep.7, is spoilering, too!

      Delete that!

      • December 16, 2015 at 6:51 pm
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        Okay … there is NOT a big tap-dancing scene in the movie. If you expected to sit there at the edge of your seat and wonder, “Will they do a tap-dancing scene soon?”, I am so sorry that you are now spoiled.

        Seriously, pointing out some things that are not (I repeat NOT) in this movie seems to me less like spoiling and more like preventing needless disappointment. As regards the “Is Snoke Darth Plagueis?” debate, many had fond expectations that the movie would “resolve” this question, but if you go in with that expectation, you will just be disappointed. He could be Plagueis or he come be someone completely different. We simply aren’t told; they plainly want to preserve the mystery of Snoke, which perhaps won’t be resolved until Episode 9 (if ever).

    • December 16, 2015 at 5:04 pm
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      ouch. I don’t care about spoilers, I’ve actively looked for a few. But for anyone who isn’t looking for any, your review certainly provides a few.

    • December 16, 2015 at 5:59 pm
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      Your impression that the moviw is darker and more serious seems to conflict with what movie reviewers are saying, i.e that the movie is non-stop fun and with a lot of humor.

  • December 16, 2015 at 1:53 pm
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    Guys: ‘Variety’ review is NOT spoiler free. Be aware.
    Thanks for this review. Overall, it seems everyone liked it and praise the eeormous effort JJ had to make to bring back the Star Wars original spirit back, and also doing TFA in such way it stands alone for newcomers not familiar with the previous films. Can’t wait until saturday to watch it!

  • December 16, 2015 at 2:33 pm
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    Well. I’ve seen him an hour ago. I was looking for this one. The movie is Great. The emotion you can see in there eyes. But kylo???? I thougt he was like an badass. But no. He’s weak in my opinion. More wont I say. There are Also more things you can reconise from the OT.

    • December 16, 2015 at 3:46 pm
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      You mean emiotionally weak or literally physically weak ?

    • December 16, 2015 at 6:03 pm
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      I’ve seen it twice today! I was impressed. ‘Emotional’ is the word that describes this movie best, I think.

    • December 19, 2015 at 1:50 pm
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      Yes. He,s weak cause he is young with a great power. He has mixed feelings, tempted by the light side. I like his weakness, it killed his father. My opinion.;)

  • December 16, 2015 at 2:54 pm
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    I can tell you it is spectacular and very mature, not childish. I’ve seen it this morning, shame Han dies by Kylo’s lightsaber. I know you love me. No Yoda as well. Double love me.

    • December 16, 2015 at 3:00 pm
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      I swear, if you’re not joking…

      • December 16, 2015 at 3:05 pm
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        I was just kidding, could have written whatever… Just go and watch, I have watched it in 3d and was completely off this planet, forgot all the internet shit and spoilers people told me. Just have fun cause it is really good, at least for me. Already ordered John Williams score from itunes. This movie is big.

        • December 16, 2015 at 3:35 pm
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          Thank you. Thank you very much.

  • December 16, 2015 at 3:23 pm
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    Hello from the Netherlands, it’s everything we’ve been waiting for 🙂 Have fun watching it the coming days!

  • December 16, 2015 at 3:36 pm
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    It’s currently at 97% on RT! If this movie can stay at or above 90%, it will OBLITERATE the box office.

    • December 16, 2015 at 5:20 pm
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      That has nothing to do with helping it “obliterate the box office” which it will do regardless of quality. Case in point being Transformers, any or all of them.

      • December 16, 2015 at 10:17 pm
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        Just take it like this: word of mouth is important nowadays. If this movie were terrible, it wouldn’t make over 1.3 billion at the box office. But with rave reviews and positive word of mouth, it can easily do 3 bil.

        • December 17, 2015 at 12:44 am
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          1.5…definitely. Maaaaaaaybe 2. Maybe… but no way it takes 3 on straight box office. No. Effin’. Way. 😀

  • December 16, 2015 at 3:52 pm
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    just saw the movie in Netherlands too, and it was beyond any positive expectations I had !!!

  • December 16, 2015 at 4:08 pm
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    Currently 97% on RT!!! The hype is real, one more day

  • December 16, 2015 at 4:09 pm
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    It sounds like serial movies of the past decade. Pacify the audience for 95% of their running time and then throw some type of intrigue in within that last 5% to advertise for the sequel. Maze Runner, Resident Evil are prime examples of this.

    • December 16, 2015 at 4:58 pm
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      can’t decide if you’re saying that’s a bad thing or a good thing

      • December 16, 2015 at 6:23 pm
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        its generally bad- while its nice to have surprises at the end- it makes the rest of the movie very hollow. Harry Potter avoided this buy having great source material and not being afraid to use it/ tell the story.

        This trend is caused by having fear in committing to a storyline beyond cliffhanger burst- if anything these movies think that the story is the cliffhanger. The first 2 nolan batman films did a great job of telling their own story and not relying on the next movie to have to explain what happened in the previous.

        • December 16, 2015 at 6:49 pm
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          Great comment. Nolan was taking on a big challenge, following after the footsteps of Schumacher’s disastrous turns at the helm of the Batman franchise (personally, I think Batman & Robin was far worse than all 3 SW prequels combined).

          Then again, Abrams is nowhere near the creative level of a Nolan, Lucas in his prime and/or J.K. Rowling. The guy is what he is: an above avg. director who specializes in rebooting franchises. I’d be lying if I said I’ll be surprised if TFA turns out to be a fun film, but nothing special, as many reviews seem to suggest. Too bad. Seems like Lucasfilm missed out on a great opportunity, but we’ll see…

          • December 16, 2015 at 7:22 pm
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            Johnson for 8 is my new hope. CT for 9… I can’t even look at that guy. He is nothing but a smug jerkface. Does he ever smile? Lets compare Brick to Safety not Guaranteed…. wait, you can’t… not possible.

          • December 16, 2015 at 7:28 pm
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            Lol, yeah. IMO, Abrams has already reached his ceiling, but Johnson is still growing and developing as a filmmaker (and he seems to be a smart guy, capable of making good films that offer good depth and dimension). I also have high hopes for VIII because of him.

            As for Trevorrow…well, let me just be diplomatic and say that I hope “creative differences” will force Disney/Lucasfilm to turn the keys to someone else.

          • December 16, 2015 at 7:36 pm
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            Thats funny, I’ve been thinking the same exact thing. I’ve also been hoping that it could be a Richard marquand situation where maybe he is just doing the bidding of someone else?? But unfortunately there isn’t anyone up the chain to bid aside from Kennedy and while she is great and not a liar like her husband… she is not a creative producer but more a get stuff done and make money producer.

          • December 16, 2015 at 8:04 pm
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            Exactly. Kennedy definitely has a nose for the business side of cinema, but she’s never been known for her creativity. The key, IMO, will be the script, which could be treated, revised and edited for Trevorrow. If so, he could be the next Marquand indeed, and I do hope this is the case…or that he gets replaced, as I said before.

          • December 16, 2015 at 8:05 pm
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            i’m on board with you.

          • December 16, 2015 at 7:45 pm
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            I’m not sure if the Batman comparison is fair. Nolan didn’t face the same challenges with his Batman films as Abrams did with The Force Awakens. He didn’t have the burden of continuing an ongoing series; he was able to completely reboot and start fresh, divesting himself of the baggage of the latter Batman movies. That’s significantly less challenging, I would think.

            Makes me wonder if Nolan absent a script from his brother and working within the same prescribed bounds set by Disney and Lucasfilm for Episode VII would have fared much better. But it’s an interesting ‘what if?’ that we’ll never answer.

          • December 16, 2015 at 8:00 pm
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            Well, at the end of the day Nolan’s challenge was not so different to what Abrams was entrusted to do with TFA when you think about it. Sequel or fresh start/reboot, they both had to deliver a film that would lift these 2 franchises from the bad taste that the previous installments left in many people’s mouths.

            IDK if it was Disney’s decision to play it safe with TFA or if it was Kennedy, Kasdan, Abrams or all of them together. W/e the case, I get the feeling that recapturing the spirit of the OT was mistaken for going back to the ANH formula.

            In musical terms, it feels as if TFA is just a cover of a great classic hit, more than a new song. Now, I’m not saying this is a bad thing (I’ve heard many covers that I like better than the original song, and I still haven’t watched TFA yet). I’m just saying that I would’ve preferred to hear a new tune.

          • December 16, 2015 at 9:07 pm
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            To be clear, I’m not defending or criticizing Abram’s or Disney’s/Lucasfilm’s choices in this movie — I haven’t seen it. I just don’t feel that the challenge of making an installment film, one that acts on and within an existing series as a whole, is comparable to making a complete reboot.

            That both directors’ films (The Force Awakens/Batman Begins) serve double duty as palate cleansers, I won’t argue.

  • December 16, 2015 at 4:17 pm
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    Great review!

  • December 16, 2015 at 4:20 pm
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    O my, Just saw it this morning. Great Job J.J. Can not wait to see it again.

  • December 16, 2015 at 4:31 pm
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    Anyone posting spoliers here is a F**king imbecile. Such as Norway guy and Pee Diddy. Total bellends the pair of you, big round of applause you divvy’s

  • December 16, 2015 at 5:07 pm
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    Wow that was a great movie. Nice story
    No spoilers from me, but the new cast is so talentet. Star Wars in good hands.

  • December 16, 2015 at 5:11 pm
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    Well from reviews it seems that Force Awakens is truly great movie. And critics who didn’t like this movie seems more trying to be special snowflakes than actually pointing out flaws. I looking at you Andrew O’Hehir.

    • December 16, 2015 at 10:53 pm
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      Yeah they just want attention to generate click traffic.

  • December 16, 2015 at 5:19 pm
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    I loved the Movie, the ending was exactly how I thought it would end. Hence, The Force is strong with me. However, two things was a bit bad, The story itself? What was it? There were TOO MANY action scenes to remember what it was all about. And Harrison Ford is simply not a good actor anymore. He was the biggest letdown. But the last thirty seconds had me Crying though 🙂 Man, that was good,!

    • December 16, 2015 at 5:24 pm
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      At least TPM had a story…

      • December 16, 2015 at 10:14 pm
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        OMG, shut up. Just stop talking.

      • December 16, 2015 at 10:45 pm
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        Yes. Hero from a desert planet gets swept up into a royal woman’s rescue, mentor tries to train him, mentor dies, hero destroys ship to win battle against the forces of evil.

    • December 16, 2015 at 5:40 pm
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      It sounds to me it’s about family, fate, and regret.

    • December 16, 2015 at 9:36 pm
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      Harrison Ford seems frail…. Throughout the movie i was like “don’t run so fast old man, you gonna fall and break your bones!” Frankly speaking i thought the plot is thin.

  • December 16, 2015 at 5:19 pm
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    I don’t know why people are making such a big deal about the Starkiller base being too similar to the death stars. Look at it this way, modern armies have been using aircraft carriers since before WWII. They have been attacked and sunk many times yet we keep building them because they’re extremely effective! The same thing applies to Star Wars. It’s war!

    • December 16, 2015 at 7:14 pm
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      So if the analogy is to an aircraft carrier, then what’s the big deal about Starkiller? If it’s just another common military tool, who cares? Where’s the drama?

      • December 16, 2015 at 9:43 pm
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        Exactly. That’s my point…..

      • December 16, 2015 at 10:25 pm
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        And the Bismarck was just another battleship…..

        But could you imagine if somebody actually managed to sink one of our aircraft carriers? We’d be going nuts!

        • December 17, 2015 at 3:24 am
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          And we’d build a bigger, more powerful one! 🙂

          • December 17, 2015 at 10:16 am
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            Yeaaaaaah…but how is that in any way an interesting narrative choice? “They sank one so we built another, pretty much identical one, because these are just things we build lots of” might be militarily true, but it’s boring dramatically.

          • December 17, 2015 at 10:26 am
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            It’s safe and we love it and it makes a lot of money…

        • December 17, 2015 at 10:17 am
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          Yes, but what’s interesting about Bismark isn’t really the battleship, it’s a story about the hunters.

    • December 16, 2015 at 7:20 pm
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      Because we already know that Starkiller’s fate is all but sealed.

      Now, IDK if the damn thing will make it to Ep. VIII or not (haven’t watched the film yet), but SW isn’t real life; it’s fantasy, and we know that Starkiller will be blown to bits and pieces sooner or later. Going to the well too many times is usually never a good thing in fiction/fantasy, and this is the THIRD time this has happened. Not exactly a good thing, TBH.

      • December 16, 2015 at 8:36 pm
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        I like reading these uninspected assertions — “Going to the well too many times is usually never a good thing.” Yeah? I thought the book was called The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Look up monomyth, buddy. Going to the well is a defining characteristic of successful fantasy.

        • December 16, 2015 at 9:22 pm
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          Lol, I know Campbell’s Hero’s Journey like the palm of my hand, thank you very much. In other words, young hero is led by old, wizened mentor, has to face seemingly imposing villain to fulfill his overwhelming destiny, etc. That’s just the main, basic structure of the Hero’s Journey.

          What I meant to say with “going to the well too many times” is using the same formula over and over again for SPECIFIC passages in a story, not in the entire story itself. This is just as bad and lame as making your characters a “Mary Sue” or a “Marty Stu”, or using a “Deus ex machina” at some crucial point in your story to move the plot forward or to justify some passage in a rushed, contrived way.

          In short, this is pretty much one of the worst unwritten “dont’s” of good fiction/fantasy storytelling, no matter how hard you try to sugarcoat this TERRIBLE, incredibly lazy decision on Abrams’ and Kasdan’s part to use the super-weapon of MD for a third damn time.

          • December 16, 2015 at 9:43 pm
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            Yeah, because Kasdan and JJ have no idea how to make movies. Bob Iger should have hired you instead.

            Other than a few critics, I have not read one fan complain about the similarities to the OT..

          • December 16, 2015 at 10:22 pm
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            Actually, film is not the only way to tell a story. And the fact that I’m no filmmaker doesn’t mean I don’t tell stories for a living, which I do, actually 😉

            Doesn’t mean I’d be interested in writing a screenplay for a SW movie, though. I’m not stupid; I know how hard it would be to come up with a good story for the SW sequels.

            That’s precisely the point: Abrams and Kasdan obviously know how to make films, but that doesn’t automatically mean that Starkiller’s a good idea or how good the film truly is. I’ll have to watch it myself to confirm this, regardless of what fans are saying. Just for the record though, I have heard many fans complain about these similarities between ANH and TFA.

          • December 17, 2015 at 12:03 am
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            whine, whine,, whine

          • December 17, 2015 at 12:47 am
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            Apologize, apologize, apologize

          • December 17, 2015 at 12:48 am
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            Apologize, apologize, apologize…justify, justify, justify…denial, denial, denial

    • December 16, 2015 at 8:08 pm
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      That’s exactly the way I look at it. Think about nuclear weapons. There’s a reason everyone wants them and why we’ve made stronger and more powerful types throughout the years. If they could build a weapon superior to the Death Star, especially after the first two were destroyed, why wouldn’t they.

    • December 17, 2015 at 12:01 am
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      History always repeats itself. Nothings new really. So weapons just upgrade but nothing brand new

  • December 16, 2015 at 5:27 pm
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    The movie has 4 rotten reviews on Rotten tomatoes. Usually I’m like WTF is wrong with those people? But on occasion I did end up being number 5. I really hope that isn’t the case. I also that this isn’t like Avengers where, saw in the theater and loved it, bought it on blu ray and started picking it apart and realizing, wow this movie in a lot of ways is actually really bad.

    • December 16, 2015 at 6:10 pm
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      I’ve felt the same about every Marvel film aside from Captain America (1 and 2). There’s just no meat on the bones that invites me to come back, even with appealing characters and cool effects. On the other hand, I’m already wanting to rewatch both Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Those Marvel products are revolutionary within the comic book adaptations and contain so much more than just giving fans of the books and characters what they want to see. With Star Wars, they HAVE to find that fine line between fan service (Disney era) and creating something new, weird and unique (Lucas era). I’m hoping Rian Johnson and the folks behind the anthologies can find that balance, otherwise Star Wars will always be something I loved, rather than anticipate.

  • December 16, 2015 at 5:29 pm
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    I’ll be seeing it with my mother, daughter and sister Friday morning. All very important women in my life. I just hope they all love it, especially my daughter. It’ll be her first live action movie to see in theaters! I can’t wait to talk about it with them after we check it out. I hope everyone who hasn’t seen it yet enjoys it and to those who have, enjoy it again and again.

    I’m going to take my 80 year old grandmother to see it in a couple weeks too, she’s a HUGE Star Wars fan and my very first live action movie was with her when I was 5, so I can’t wait to see it with her! I hope everyone gets to see it with those that they love, whether family and/or friends. That’s what really makes the movies, in general, better in my opinion.

    Have fun everyone and remember it’s just a movie!

  • December 16, 2015 at 6:05 pm
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    If theres too much action scenes, then it is not an adventure movie, but an action movie – like the new hobbit trilogy. I said many times I prefer the quiet moments and the action is just a cherry on a cake. But if it´s too much cherries then the taste is not that good. I wonder what would be the original Lucas story in JJ´s hands….(and please – it was not a story of kids, Lucas himself said it was a bunch of kids in their 20s. SO same age as Rey or Finn.)

    • December 16, 2015 at 6:11 pm
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      Yeah, and the funny thing’s that Arndt’s script and Lucas’ ideas were supposed to have been discarded because they focused too much on the new generation and not in the Big Three.

    • December 16, 2015 at 6:27 pm
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      The moment with Harry Potter and Lupin on the bridge in POA is a great example of what you are saying. That single moment defined that entire movie and it was just Harry and Lupin standing and talking about who his parents were via one of their friends. Great comment Tuareg.

  • December 16, 2015 at 6:08 pm
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    here in Czech the reviews of fanboys are 80%, with mediocre story, too much ANH and too much unanswered questions. They say it is just the introduction to the new saga. Not the standalone movie J.J. said it would be. And J.J. said the final impuls to do the movie was the question Who is Luke Skywalker. I wonder if we get the answer – at all. 🙂

    • December 16, 2015 at 7:00 pm
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      Lol, J.J. Abrams is just like a used cars salesman, dude. I wouldn’t put any stock on what the guy has to say (or maybe he just doesn’t know what the term “standalone” means. Only he knows for sure).

      As for the question “Who is Luke Skywalker” this seems to have been misread. It seems like the question is much more simple than implied, as in characters in-universe asking who is this Luke Skywalker guy, literally, more than a philosophical question about Luke’s true nature.

    • December 16, 2015 at 10:33 pm
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      The problem with fanboys is that we NEED to know everything about everything. General audiences are only getting their interest peaked by the questions left unanswered. Our interests as fanboys are too vast to ever be satisfied.

      I would still like an in-canon explanation of what the Trade Federation actually does and what its getting out of its deal with Sidious……crickets. Who is Count Dooku? Honestly, he’s a former Jedi. OK? What made him so special as to be picked by Sidious?

  • December 16, 2015 at 6:08 pm
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    Nice review. But be careful : You used the word “movie” about 134 times. 😉

    • December 16, 2015 at 6:25 pm
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      ha, this is actually one rare instance where the word film could be used this in this time. Take advantage of it!

  • December 16, 2015 at 6:25 pm
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    what about the john williams score???? not a single review has mentioned it- was it THAT mediocre????

    • December 16, 2015 at 9:46 pm
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      I think this was very good. And there were two noticeable points for me that brought us back to the originals. The final scene and a moment when someone gets hold of a lightsabre.

    • December 16, 2015 at 10:51 pm
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      It doesn’t have any new strong stand out themes like the OT but still good.

      • December 16, 2015 at 10:57 pm
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        i’ve been listening to it for the last hour- i’m not impressed so far-

        • December 16, 2015 at 11:03 pm
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          It lacks those stand out themes like the Imperial March. This may change in EpVIII.

          • December 17, 2015 at 6:48 pm
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            its all action music- which to me doesn’t really point the blame anywhere but to say- the movie is action packed…. Its nearly impossible to create recurring themes when its just one action scene after another-

  • December 16, 2015 at 6:32 pm
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    Great review and with 97% Certified Fresh score from RT….I’m so happy and relieve that film did its job and i can’t wait for box office nmbers soon.

  • December 16, 2015 at 6:41 pm
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    Every single review I’ve read so far (about a dozen) has had some variation of the phrase “It’s great, but…” This makes me very nervous.

    • December 16, 2015 at 6:54 pm
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      Initial reviews tend to be misleading. I think the best and most reliable reviews won’t be coming out till about Christmas. Besides, it’s always better to make up your own mind after watching the film, than trusting what reviewers might say, IMO.

    • December 16, 2015 at 7:00 pm
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      I’m going to watch it on Friday (2 pm). I’m holding my breath until then. The reviews are all positive, but I have a bad feeling about that one, especially if there is too much of a feminist agend as the reviews are saying.

    • December 16, 2015 at 7:05 pm
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      I’ve seen it twice. I was blown away… it was exactly what I wanted and more. Of course it is personal, but this movie is in my top 3 SW movies. I loved every second of it. The chemistry between the characters is amazing. No worries, man. You’ll love it.

      • December 16, 2015 at 7:22 pm
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        Glad you liked it. = )

    • December 17, 2015 at 4:19 am
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      Well, it is great. BUT…(spoilers)

  • December 16, 2015 at 6:52 pm
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    This was the worst non-spoiler review I’ve ever seen. Just saying. Not even going to read the comments because I don’t know what to expect. But Disney should strip your access to future events. You’re negative aspects give away more than you think. I’m sending the link to Disney, this is absurd.

    • December 16, 2015 at 7:25 pm
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      Really? Did anybody put a gun to your head and force you to read this
      review?

    • December 16, 2015 at 7:27 pm
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      Huh? So you really just want to see glowing reviews, I take it.

    • December 16, 2015 at 7:28 pm
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      GTFO troll

    • December 16, 2015 at 7:49 pm
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      Nothing was mentioned on here that hasn’t already been made public through trailers and public appearances. If you want to know absolutely nothing going into a film, then don’t click on ANYTHING that makes any reference to it. It’s that simple!

    • December 16, 2015 at 8:17 pm
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      Are you drunk? lol

    • December 16, 2015 at 9:35 pm
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      Thretosix, it’s “Your” not “You’re”

    • December 17, 2015 at 2:44 am
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      You mad that Ben Solo…I mean Kylo… stabbed his Dad? Or that R2D2 has been asleep for 20 years? Or that Luke shows up in ONE shot and doesn’t say one word? or that Han and Leia split up because they raised a Jedi killer? Or that Luke has a daughter?

  • December 16, 2015 at 6:53 pm
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    It was pretty good – 4/5. Some in-universe inconsistencies Hidalgo and his team should have prevented and the poor set up for the penultimate attack = -1, the nostalgia, humour, depth, and pace = +5

  • December 16, 2015 at 6:53 pm
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    138 critic reviews and 97% on rotten tomatoes. Amazing. Can’t wait. 33 hrs and counting.

  • December 16, 2015 at 7:02 pm
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    I’m watching it tonight in Tijuana, Finally!!!!

    • December 17, 2015 at 2:42 am
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      Don’t stop by the donkey show on the way.

  • December 16, 2015 at 7:32 pm
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    Was a good film, I’m a huge fan of Adam Driver’s character, obviously haha

    I think more than anything else this movie is setting up the future but it was one hell of a ride!

    • December 16, 2015 at 8:41 pm
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      I’ve seen the movie twice today and I was blown away twice! Adam did an incredible job! Loved how he portrayed Kylo Ren.

      • December 16, 2015 at 9:33 pm
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        Yes! His portray of Kylo Ren is really good.

  • December 16, 2015 at 7:40 pm
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    loved the review. it made me more excited to see the movie. seems like a fun start to a new round of SW!!!

  • December 16, 2015 at 8:09 pm
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    Damn, a giant horse just got up off of my chest..

  • December 16, 2015 at 8:13 pm
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    So who is the main character?

    • December 17, 2015 at 2:41 am
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      The answer to this question should be obvious by now, even if you haven’t seen the movie.

    • December 16, 2015 at 10:17 pm
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      the european MC blows the us clowns out of the water.

  • December 16, 2015 at 8:17 pm
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    I hope there is some deep truth about the force been expressed in the film like Ben in ANH as it is really lacking in the prequels….

    • December 16, 2015 at 8:40 pm
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      No worries, mate! The Force HAS awakened in this movie. I assure you, you won’t be disappointed. 😉

      • December 16, 2015 at 9:16 pm
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        I heard that much of that awakening seems far-fetched at times. Is that true ? You don’t have to give any spoliers. A “yes” or “no” would suffice.

        • December 16, 2015 at 9:33 pm
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          Yes, it’s true. Well at least for me. I thought it wasn’t convincing enough. I hope Rian will do better than this.

          • December 16, 2015 at 9:35 pm
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            That is what I worried.

          • December 16, 2015 at 9:44 pm
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            Besides that, this is a fun movie. I would suggest that don’t pin too high an expectation. In the 1st place star wars movies isn’t that known for story plots anyway. 2hrs isn’t enough for the old cast, new cast new storyline etc etc.

        • December 16, 2015 at 9:43 pm
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          Not far fetched in my opinion. We have yet to find out the full history of the character.

          • December 16, 2015 at 10:36 pm
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            yea that’s true. Like i said before too many things going on too little time. Epi 8 should have lots of backstories to cover. I’m gonna get the awakening novels next to fill out some blanks.

      • December 17, 2015 at 3:10 am
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        Ok, good! You say that having seen it, isn’t it? thank you!

  • December 16, 2015 at 9:13 pm
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    “Critics Consensus: Packed
    with action and populated by both familiar faces and fresh blood, The
    Force Awakens successfully recalls the series’ former glory while
    injecting it with renewed energy.”

    exactly what i wanted to hear.

  • December 16, 2015 at 9:35 pm
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    I would go as far to say this is the best episode so far. The existence of the original trilogy and the characters we know already is a huge contributing and complementary factor, but Rey, Kylo, and Poe are great in my humble opinion.

    I left the prequels always feeling that I was not satisfied about something – and I actually liked them. But this new movie is really amazing. The final scene was fabulous.

    Simultaneously a great start to the new trilogy and a tough act to follow.

    • December 16, 2015 at 10:37 pm
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      A fabulous film! !! Can’t wait to see it a third time!

  • December 16, 2015 at 9:37 pm
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    i really wonder how it will be compared to Mad Max: Fury Road, maybe some of you who already seen it can elaborate on that?

    MM:FR was such a delight for me, the best film of the year so far (I have a feeling that Hateful Eight will steal this one tho haha). But yeah, it had everything in it that TFA should have; fair does of nostalgia and references to originals from the 80’s (but nothing rehashed or readapted really), super talented cast, exciting plot, amazing pacing (when it was quiet it was quiet, when it was action it was one of the most intense and best choreographed in recent memory) and just a great world and atmosphere.

    • December 16, 2015 at 9:41 pm
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      Better than Fury Road I think. Fury Road was very intense and the visuals were fabulous. But I prefer the first Mad Max movie. It was more subtle.

    • December 16, 2015 at 10:35 pm
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      I don’t know. I’m not a Mad Max fan at all; I think the first trilogy is tacky but Fury Road was visually an amazing film and I loved it throughout. TFA is fantastic though and it wins because I’m a die hard Star Wars fan.

    • December 18, 2015 at 2:29 am
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      Fury Road was visually stunning but in my opinion lacked any emotional depth. Was basically one long linear automobile chase. I really couldn’t empathise with Tom Hard’s Max. Mel Gibson was a way better interpretation of the that character. I caught myself looking at my watch several times during that movie, simply because I found it rather boring.

      TFA is a roller coaster of emotions. Not too proud to admit my eyes welled up on more than one occasion during the movie. For me, it was one of those movies you didn’t want to end. Have seen it twice now, and already looking forward to seeing it a few more times.

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:00 pm
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    Just seen it. Spoiler-freely said: it was really good. I can say that it was the best star wars movie I’ve seen so far, with my new ranking having quite funnily as the second film Revenge of the sith and as third return of the jedi. Sorry die hard fans, but I liked it more than empire strikes back. just… the perfect star wars film.

    • December 16, 2015 at 10:09 pm
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      You had me until you said that Empire was below Return and Revenge.

      • December 16, 2015 at 10:16 pm
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        He had me till he mentioned Revenge at all.

        • December 16, 2015 at 10:20 pm
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          Lol, true.

        • December 16, 2015 at 11:53 pm
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          Seriously dude? He’s entitled to his opinion just as much as you do, and he has a right to think how he want to whether or not you like it (deal with it and move on).

          And for the record, a lot of fans do like ROTS. In fact, in various polls (including one from SW.com) ROTS usually comes in the top 2 or top 3 favorites (or in polls where people vote on which movie they like the most, many times it’s ESB that has the highest percentage points followed by ROTS).

          If you don’t like it, that’s your thing but that doesn’t mean that you need to belittle people as you’re not really going to be swaying people’s minds just because you can’t stand knowing that there are others who think differently from you.

          In general, you’re really just an OT purist troll that’s always on this side posting as if you have nothing better to do than to spend every waking moment commenting on here.

          • December 16, 2015 at 11:56 pm
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            Pot, meet kettle.

          • December 17, 2015 at 12:30 am
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            Stop. Talking.

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:33 pm
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    I loved this film! I saw it twice already. The first time around I was so tense and nitpicking on everything that I didn’t enjoy it fully but the feeling of that opening shot was epic! The second time the movie was much more enjoyable and ultimately I thought it was a wonderful film. I can’t wait to see it a third time and can’t wait for Episode 8!

    • December 16, 2015 at 10:35 pm
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      That’s how I felt about Dark Knight Rises – absolutely hated it the first time because the hype (I also saw a triple feature w/ Batman Begins and Dark Knight – probably tired at the beginning of DKR), but then saw it again the next day and found a bit of genius in it, but still shoddy execution and plot holes, but I got what he was getting at.

      • December 16, 2015 at 11:13 pm
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        The more I watch DK Rises the more I love it, it is not as good movie as the Dark Knight is (then again, what movie is) but if looked in the context of the trilogy and even the franchise its the best (the themes it confronts, the character drama it introduces, the story it crowns)

    • December 16, 2015 at 10:39 pm
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      I’ve got 2 more tickets for it. Same as you. 1st time round quite a few nitpicking and i want to just sit back and enjoy the next 2 viewings. Hope the blu-ray will have extended director version.

    • December 16, 2015 at 11:21 pm
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      I had the same experience man. Watched it twice today and I just loved it. Wanted to watch episode VIII right away. Ah well, what’s another two years…

      • December 16, 2015 at 11:35 pm
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        A year and a half actually…you see there? I just made your day. 🙂

    • December 17, 2015 at 1:27 am
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      Was not planning to see the movie twice, until I left the theatre. I’ve got to see it again … wearing my cool Stormtrooper Real 3D glasses 😉

    • December 17, 2015 at 7:20 am
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      I was a little underwhelmed after first viewing today, so I’m going straight back tomorrow to have another look. Hopefully I’ll enjoy it as much as you did!

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:38 pm
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    What a letdown … you guys have no idea how much I wanted to love this movie. I didn’t, unfortunately.

    Anyway, was it only me, or anyone else noticed that SEVERAL SCENES and DIALOGUES shown in the teasers / trailers are not in the the final cut???

    • December 16, 2015 at 11:20 pm
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      Bummer for you, dude! I loved the movie. And who cares if some of the scenes are not in the movie. The teasers were there to get you excited, not to show you the movie itself.

      • December 17, 2015 at 12:55 am
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        Well, I care. If you don’t care, don’t bother to comment. This is a space for discussion. If you don’t want to discuss, go find something else to do.

        • December 17, 2015 at 2:25 am
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          Discussion means that people share their opinions, which is what Snuijt just did.
          Anyhow, I also loved it! Was great fun!

    • December 17, 2015 at 1:25 am
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      True, several scenes we’ve seen in the trailers were not in the final cut. Either to NOT spoil too much or just because the scenes were not decided upon yet (the final cut was only finished last month)

      I loved the movie though. Continuous action from start to finish … the only thing I was expecting was the text “to be continued” at the end, even though we all know there will be an Ep.8, the movie just really felt that way. This was clearly act 1. I would place TFA after ESB and RotJ. When it comes to spectacle TFA is clearly #1

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:44 pm
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    Seen it. Went home, had dinner, watched “American Horror Story” to put some “distance” between me and “The Force Awakens”. Overall, a little more than two hours since I walked out of the movie theater – so it still feels really “fresh”.

    Hard to say. Not counting TFA, I love ESB, closely followed by RotJ and ANH (which are basically on a tie, for me). Then RotS and TPM/AotC (again, kind of a tie).

    And I’m fighting with myself, because my visceral reaction would be to say that “The Force Awakens” is ranking #2, right after “Empire”, and it’s just like…I can’t believe it.
    I won’t rank it in my personal list until friday, when I’ll watch it in original language but, writing this, I’m just realizing that… the only thing that annoyed me was the italian dubbing (mostly because I’m used to watch movies in ther original language). Other than that…
    I cheered.
    I laughed.
    I cried.
    I felt awe, and wonder and… and it’s Star Wars.

    • December 16, 2015 at 10:46 pm
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      “I felt awe, and wonder and… and it’s Star Wars.”
      Cheers.

    • December 17, 2015 at 9:00 am
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      I’ve found myself ranking it second as well, which is crazy. I’ll have to go see it a couple more times.

  • December 16, 2015 at 10:45 pm
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    I saw it last night. I could write a thesis on this film but won’t. I found it to be good not great.
    Lets just say the audience cheered on opening credits and were silent at the end.
    I asked myself, could I give this film multiple viewings once I owned it on disc like I can with the OT? I found that hard to answer.
    It’s fun but suffers from far too much action and plot points that while were interesting were under developed due to the need to pack as much action as possible.
    The OT worked because plot points developed over the film and breathing space was given when needed.
    I feel a lot of great opportunities were missed in terms of fleshing out characters and particular plot points because of so much lip service given to OT fans however the new cast are great.
    It was a safe film for the most part. Is it better than the prequels? Yes. Is it a classic? Too soon to say personally.
    I’m putting it 3rd off the taxi rank just above ROTS.

    • December 16, 2015 at 11:58 pm
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      That sounds like a very fair, logical, level headed review. TY 🙂 J

      • December 17, 2015 at 1:30 am
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        Thanks Jeff. I’m not trying to bash the film or look like I’m going against the grain of opinion I just find a lot of us fans will defend a SW film at any cost even critically.
        Ultimately though a great film requires certain elements to be successful Star Wars or not. For example ESB hit all the right notes at all the right moments, it was lightening in a bottle. TFA just doesn’t succeed in that respect and crams in far too much in too little time sacrificing a lot of potentially great character moments and development. Still, it’s good fun when it is and I’ll be seeing it again this coming Tuesday when I’ve given it some space to get over the surrealism of even seeing a new Star Wars film! 😀

        • December 17, 2015 at 3:37 am
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          I’m a massive SW fan, I watched the movie today and I freaking loved it! The audience I saw it with cheered throughout the entire movie and had an incredible time. I can’t wait to watch this movie again, it’s awesome. Like any other film, it’s all subjective. I will say this though, I kinda feel like some people are being too critical about the movie, just because of all the hype around it. It’s like some people don’t want to be a part of that or maybe it’s cause they’re afraid to blindly love it like many did with EP1; no need to be scared or second guess it, it’s a damn good movie folks.

          • December 17, 2015 at 10:13 pm
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            Personally, I don’t care what the film is. I’ll judge every film based on the same criteria and that’s where a lot of SW fans fail in doing so.
            A great film is a great film and I won’t defend a film just because it’s SW.
            As I said, TFA is a good film but it’s definitely not a great film. It could have and maybe should have but for me it’s not.
            I feel Rian is a better ‘film maker’ and I’m confident he’ll deliver a stronger film in EpVIII.
            I think there’s a lot of ‘well it’s not the prequels and it’s way better than them vibe’ going on and the test will be in 3,4,5 years of will people have the same feelings for this film as they do the OT films and that’s including ROTJ.
            I’m seeing it again Tuesday but as of now I’m giving it a 7/10 which I feel is pretty fair.

          • December 17, 2015 at 10:26 pm
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            Film is subjective, and I definitely agree that a lot of SW fans can be blind to some problems the film might have, I am not. The imperfections don’t really bother me, I left that theater satisfied and wanting more, and that’s a really good thing. You also can’t just forget and gloss over the fact that this was an insanely difficult thing to pull of for JJ and Disney; to somehow explain everything that’s been going on for 30 years in that universe in a movie with all these incredible new characters! Plus I like not knowing everything yet, there’s still a lot we don’t know and will find out in the next episodes! I’m giving the movie an 8,5/10 maybe even a 9/10, not cause I’m a SW fan, but because that’s how I honestly felt about it.
            I see your points though! And if a 7/10 is how you really feel about it, well then I respect that.

          • December 17, 2015 at 10:52 pm
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            I agree and I’m glad you enjoyed it for what it was/is. Because I’m respecting those who haven’t seen the film yet I am unable to further my opinion but if I could my thoughts would be more clear to you.
            Maybe in a week or two I’ll post them.

            Enjoy your Christmas!

          • December 18, 2015 at 2:53 am
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            Exactly, we both respect the fact that a lot of people haven’t watched it yet and so we can’t go in depth on the film. I’ll definitely be back to check out your comments and further our discussions, which is fun 🙂
            I’ll quickly say this though, just got back from my second viewing, still feel the same about it, though some of the problems are a bit more glaring. Still a great film though!

            Happy holidays my friend!

          • December 18, 2015 at 3:48 am
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            Thanks Christopher, you too! : )

  • December 16, 2015 at 11:01 pm
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    Can’t top the OT but it’s a good film, and surpasses the PT by leaps and bounds IMHO. Definitely up for multiply viewings. We need to give it breathing space and to view it as part of a trilogy. We may look at it all with different glasses once IX has come and passed.

    • December 16, 2015 at 11:05 pm
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      Just for fun – the same was told when the first Hobbit movie arrived…. 🙂 and look where ended the next two chapters 🙂

      • December 17, 2015 at 12:34 am
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        haha
        Recently, Peter Jackson even admitted he improvised the entire thing during filming. Although there’s a fantastic video of Cumberbatch doing the full body motion capture for Smaug. Its awesome.

        • December 17, 2015 at 1:36 am
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          They’re pretty bad films and look like they were made by someone who didn’t have their heart set on doing them. They were plagued with problems by the sound of it.

    • December 16, 2015 at 11:19 pm
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      True, but for now, TFA has been a great ride!

  • December 16, 2015 at 11:05 pm
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    less then 2 hours to midnight opening in Prague!!

    • December 16, 2015 at 11:18 pm
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      You’re gonna love it!!! Trust me!

      • December 17, 2015 at 11:49 pm
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        you were right!

  • December 16, 2015 at 11:41 pm
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    Hey Viral wasn’t that what JJ stated in an interview? He said he and Kasdan left things open for Rian to explore.

    • December 17, 2015 at 1:34 am
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      You would suspect though there are already set events laid out by Abrams/Kasdan that are required to happen, it’ll just depend how Rian wants to get to those events that he’ll have free reign over maybe?

  • December 16, 2015 at 11:51 pm
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    That is awesome news! Got my marathon ticket; “trade negotiations” begin at 1AM tomorrow and 21 hours of big screen Star Wars Awaits!!

    • December 17, 2015 at 1:51 am
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      good, so you should get about 4 and a half hours of sleep before revenge of the sith starts. 😉

      • December 17, 2015 at 4:12 pm
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        I actually did sleep through half of AotC.. lol

  • December 16, 2015 at 11:59 pm
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    ” Despite all the secrecy surrounding the film, Disney decided to release around 20 TV spots, which the fans quickly assembled in chronological order and pretty much laid out the rough outline of the movie. Of course there are lot’s of things that were not shown, but if you really want to stay unspoiled,”

    This is kind of a silly complaint because the only way you would know to fit them in chronological order is if you were already spoiling yourself.

  • December 17, 2015 at 12:31 am
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    I honestly agree with everything the man said, except for his opinion of StarKiller base, I thought it was great and not anything to worry about. That’s just my opinion. I had very high expectations for the movie and they were met.

  • December 17, 2015 at 12:41 am
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    Props to all of you that have seen it and not dropped spoilers. Just a little over 24 hrs to go.

    • December 17, 2015 at 9:13 am
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      Kylo is Ben solo Han’s son Han tries to turn him back to the light side of the force and almost turns him but he has second thoughts and kills Han , Luke has 30 second screen time and has zero dialogue, rey is the next Jedi , Kylo and Finn are both left for dead but look like they will survive

      • December 17, 2015 at 10:34 am
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        Congratulations on being a complete prick. Your mother must be really proud. Wanker

      • December 17, 2015 at 11:04 am
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        Hope you’re feeling really proud of yourself

        • December 17, 2015 at 4:48 pm
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          He didn’t spoil it for me, I already know the plot. But it was nice to see that people were being respectful of others that hadn’t.

          Of course there always has to be one **** that does want to ruin stuff for everyone. No character. It’s sad.

  • December 17, 2015 at 12:46 am
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    My problem is that a major character dying will completely ruin it for me. I am dreading that moment because I know it’s coming. So, I’m not rushing off to see it because, in a sense, whichever character they kill off will live just a little longer in “my canon”.

    • December 17, 2015 at 3:44 am
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      any character can die in any film at anytime, thats part of the suspense. if we knew going in it would all be peaches and cream then it would be pretty boring, imo.

      • December 17, 2015 at 5:30 am
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        That’s not necessarily true. Obi Wan and Anakin were NOT going to die in AotC.

        • December 17, 2015 at 7:33 am
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          ah, good point! i should have said any movie that isn’t a prequel.

  • December 17, 2015 at 1:04 am
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    My main concern at this point is if they are rehashing “A New Hope”, i think that will ruin it for me, i understand you want to try and reset/reboot whatever one wants to call it, but just like Startrek you dont need to do that with Starwars.

    • December 17, 2015 at 3:07 am
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      i’ve heard it is more “homage” then “rehash”, like Creed was to the first rocky movie.

      • December 17, 2015 at 12:35 pm
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        I’ve read it’s like a tribute band doing the greatest hits,only not as good as the original band did it….I’m now reluctant to rush out to see it,I think I’m waiting until the hype has died down.

    • December 17, 2015 at 3:21 am
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      From what I can gather, ANH is ANH and TFA is TFA. TFA is definitely NOT a reboot of ANH but it does have the same feel which is what the fans want. JJ and Co. purposely made TFA to be safe. I think Episodes 8 and 9 will be a lot newer in terms of originality! 39 hours, 19 minutes to go….

  • December 17, 2015 at 1:08 am
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    they all die

    • December 17, 2015 at 1:35 am
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      dun, dun, duuuuuun!

    • December 17, 2015 at 1:39 am
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      twice even, and some even three times 😉

  • December 17, 2015 at 1:36 am
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    Nice review 🙂
    Just posted a speculation video as to what I think is going to happen in the film. Feel free to compare and see what I end up getting wrong/Right? lol
    I’ll post my real review tomorrow night and we can compare :D!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-8c8qRDRHs

    • December 17, 2015 at 1:50 am
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      could you do the review wearing that kylo ren mask? 😉

      • December 17, 2015 at 1:54 am
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        I actually tried that! Unfortunately, my voice was a little too muffled. hah.

    • December 17, 2015 at 12:01 pm
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      Here’s the wrong and right:
      1st not confirmed in the movie. also, Kylo is not his real name
      2nd, kinda yeah, they leave it to your imagination. so pretty right
      3rd, not lost
      4th, nope, not even close
      5th, not at all
      6th, nope
      7th, nope and yes, and yes… and yes and no, it was a funny tease by him, but it didn’t happen.
      8th, yes
      9th, nope

    • December 17, 2015 at 7:05 pm
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      yeap…casual…a casual’s review

  • December 17, 2015 at 2:52 am
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    I saw Star Wars when it was JUST STAR WARS and it was magical …I never thought a movie I first saw when I was 10 I would still be watching with JOY 38 years later with my own son who started in 1999 when he was 5…. sit back and relax and enjoy it for Gods sake people.

  • December 17, 2015 at 3:04 am
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    looks like its settled at 94% on RT(169 fresh, 10 not), the same % as a new hope and empire.

    • December 17, 2015 at 3:21 am
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      Wow. That’s impossible!

      26 hrs to find out for me.

  • December 17, 2015 at 3:09 am
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    No Spoilers!!
    I believe this was a pretty damn good Star Wars film but I think there are many reasons it feels like “A New hope”. It’s obvious but it needs to be said, this movie is laying the foundations for the next generation of Star Wars films, it was aimed to tie old fans and new fans together and it did that perfectly..the new trio of Characters have awesome chemistry together and I found them to be very fun to watch. I definitely agree that it was a few rehashes of plot but again this movie is more important than just being a good story, it had other responsibilities as well

  • December 17, 2015 at 3:50 am
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    Is there a way to submit stuff to website i.e. viral Hide? This is interesting and he seems legit. (Some curse words) grow up Dianey
    http://youtu.be/_pd6yO-jBRo

  • December 17, 2015 at 4:43 am
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    Funny, I’m watching ROTJ right now, to prepare.

    There’s a good 40 minutes straight where nothing important happens except the realization that the Ewoks don’t blink

    • December 17, 2015 at 4:53 am
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      ROTJ would have been a great movie if the Ewoks were wookies as was originally intended. Jabbas palace and Luke’s dilemma were great.

      • December 17, 2015 at 6:51 am
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        idk, the moment i realized they mostly likely ate the imperial soldiers they killed the ewoks became significantly cooler to me.

  • December 17, 2015 at 5:07 am
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    Another Star Wars Review

    Amazed is the only way to put it. When that orange Wookie howled threw the moon back at the dark lord, saving the magic children, I knew Star Wars was back. All the leaping, kicking, punching, and leaping could not be stopped and a new generation will have a chance to feel what we felt when the original came out. The screens were alive with Tie Fighters & X-Wings, & strangely helmeted men sat in front spewing some kind of strange gibberish dialog. Maybe the translation wasn’t perfect, but that was part of the magic.

    When we heard the Inac was pulled from the project, after near total control for all these years, there was a sigh of relief. But when we heard that Erdogan was to take his place we weren’t sure. Many wondered if Erdogan could handle fan expectations & create something new at the same time. Well he’s done it, I can assure you.

    One of the main questions was, could Recep find a villain that could compare to the classic spiky helmeted unnamed 1000 year old wizard from the original. In a brazen choice Erdogan has decided to cast himself as the new 2000 year old wizard (sporting an 8 foot long beard). In an interesting twist this wizard was the original carrier of the golden brain, which was lost after Murat disappeared. Sorry I’ve been giving all the spoilers away, but I just can’t help it. Let’s just say
    that Arkin makes an appearance an punches Russian jets out of the sky, while
    his new furry companion rips through hordes of Kurdish Zombies, punching off
    heads and pulling off limbs.

    But here’s what makes this new Star Wars so bold. It doesn’t just use footage from other space films, but it reuses footage from the first film. With a twist Arkin & the wizard are friends this time, almost as if in a state of denial of the events of the first film. And yes for you die hards we finally see Arkin jump in & reunite with Ucar, a clear nod to fans of the original.

    My review of – The Turkish Star Wars Reawakens
    Maybe being filmed in a theater near you…

  • December 17, 2015 at 5:21 am
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    my first thoughts.

    didn’t love it didn’t hate it.

    its clearly Abrams movie, but far from his best (no match to MI:III or Star Trek 2)
    what Lucas’ Star Wars were, was first and fore most imaginative. with every movie (from best to the weakest) we were shown stuff we’ve never seen before. The Force Awakens doesn’t deliver anything new. everything we’ve seen so before, readapted to suit story that isn’t very new either. however, the movie is entertaining and funny at times, which is good.

    the new gang:
    superb Driver
    cool Ridley
    okay Boyega
    fantastic Isaacs (beside a rathe cliché character he portrays)
    very capable Gleeson

    the old gang:
    stiff Carrie
    entertaining Ford (more in his element than Indy 4)
    classic 3PO
    classic Chewie

    the cgi:
    Maz better than I expected
    Snoke, HUGE letdown, im so glad i saw the leak ealier and was prepared for what was to come

    John Williams underwhelming to say at least. nothing memorable, by far his weakest score for the SW movie

    • December 17, 2015 at 5:27 am
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      I agree on the music it wasn’t really taken advantage of, There are a lot of loose ends and that is a good thing,I expect episode 8 and 9 to be very top shelf

    • December 17, 2015 at 7:34 am
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      I agree. The trouble with the music is that the old cuts used in the trailers work much better. I too felt that JW was underwhelming.

    • December 18, 2015 at 10:23 am
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      Artoo was totally wasted too!

      • December 18, 2015 at 12:13 pm
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        im my book there was practically no artoo in the movie ahaha

        • December 18, 2015 at 12:21 pm
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          Which sucks since he’s saved the day in every film but this one. Even BB-8 has a pointless role after the first reel. The script much like the PT needed several re-writes. I think Lucas gave Kasdan his mental creative disease.

          • December 18, 2015 at 12:41 pm
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            its amazing how absent BB8 is from the last act, we dont even see a single shot of him at the back of Poe’s X-Wing, its almost like it served its plot purpose and JJ decideded to discard the character cuz “there are far more important things happening”

          • December 18, 2015 at 12:47 pm
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            Most poorly edited film in the saga. What the fuck happened to the fate of Phasma, Hux, and Finn at the end? We know they live but your average moviegoer wouldn’t from how they last left them. It really brought the film down for me.

  • December 17, 2015 at 5:25 am
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    I just got back from watching it – I went in with low expectations and came out realising it is the best Star Wars movie of them all. It is utterly magnificent. I was reduced to tears and unable to speak by the end of it!

  • December 17, 2015 at 5:26 am
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    Just got back from seeing it and all I’m going to say is I can’t wait to see it again in a little over 16 hours!

  • December 17, 2015 at 5:35 am
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    I want one spoiler. How does the movie start without the 20th century fox logo?

    • December 17, 2015 at 5:39 am
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      Just Lucasfilm logo and no music, then A long long time ago… 🙂 Good movie, go see it.

  • December 17, 2015 at 5:43 am
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    Really? Wow mad props to Disney for not slapping their logo

  • December 17, 2015 at 6:05 am
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    Just out of curiosity, I wonder if the fans who saw ANH when it was released in theaters are the ones who 100% love TFA and the ones complaining about it are those that started with Star Wars watching the prequels. It would be cool to see the age of the fans who loved it and the age of those that are picking it apart….

    • December 17, 2015 at 7:31 am
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      what about those of us that grew up in between? 😉

      • December 17, 2015 at 9:18 am
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        2 groups; those who saw it in theaters in 1977 and everyone else. lol

    • December 17, 2015 at 7:32 am
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      John C Newbern IV,

      I saw ANH in 1977 (34 times in the theater before the SEs in the 2000s). I really did enjoy TFA. I really did. But I have two non spoiler issues with the film. It seems oddly paced to me, and it doesn’t feel like a retelling of ANH, but a retelling of the entire OT. Still, you can’t help but enjoy being back in a familiar universe, and I will see this one again a few times in the theater (albeit, not 30 plus times).

      • December 17, 2015 at 11:51 am
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        I just keep saying to people it’s like ANH with an hour of ESB tacked on to it for good measure that’s why I rank it above ANH and below ESB in my personal favorites.

    • December 17, 2015 at 4:56 pm
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      The ones who hate TFA are the real fans…the ones who followed the evolution of SW through The Expanded Universe…the ones who deposit thousand of USD in collection of novels,comics,audio books,collectibles. The ones who disney decided to mock them in their face.

      • December 17, 2015 at 10:45 pm
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        Talk about generalizing lol You need therapy fro your butthurt anger issues.

      • December 18, 2015 at 2:18 am
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        Get over yourself.

    • December 18, 2015 at 2:21 am
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      I was 5 when ANH was released in ’77. Empire will most likely always be my favourite, but without ANH, there wouldn’t have been an Empire. It still a wonderful movie. Saw TFA twice today, and totally loved it. Already looking forward to seeing it again next week. Personally I hated the prequels, but each to their own.

    • December 18, 2015 at 10:22 am
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      Saw the original and as much as it pains me to say it, III was better than TFA but it’s still better than I and II by miles.

      • December 20, 2015 at 12:49 am
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        The opening sequence of Ep 3 is excruciating. As good as the end of Ep3 is (except dialogue like “from my point of view the jedi are evil.” Groan.) that beginning with poor Ewan’s hacked and slashed performance…so bad.

    • December 19, 2015 at 10:06 pm
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      I loved it. I’m 43, so I was around for the OT.

    • December 20, 2015 at 12:21 am
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      Thats exactly what Ive been questioning as well. Myself, being 47 and absolutely loving TFA, I can say a lot of my huge, shit eating, ear-to-ear grin for most of the movie was in reaction to how relieved I was to have great emotional acting and very natural dialogue and not that gut wrenching embarrassed feeling I had while watching the prequels. Yes, the on paper comparison of TFA to ANH (with sprinklings of ESB and ROTJ thrown in) is very similar … BUT visually it didnt remind me of them as far as how the plot was played out, albeit with the exception of the Starkiller Base, I do think they could have gone with a much different super weapon or not even a super weapon at all.

      Anyways, sure there was definitely nostalgia that pulled me into the story but I feel for me personally was how well acted and emotionally invested I became in the characters. Even though Ive known for over a year that Han was gonna die it still was heart wrenching actually seeing it and the gravitas of Chewy’s reaction. Theres was absolutely NOTHING in the prequels that made me care like that.

      • December 20, 2015 at 12:47 am
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        100% agreed! And the fact that it didn’t look like a video game like 99% of superhero movies.

  • December 17, 2015 at 6:23 am
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    Just got home from seeing it and all I can say is magnificent!!!

  • December 17, 2015 at 6:40 am
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    Wonder if this movie will get better over the years when we look back?

    • December 19, 2015 at 5:19 am
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      If anything, today’s younger generation will certainly gravitate towards it. I just hope they don’t keep making films annually 10 years from now. That’d be too much.

  • December 17, 2015 at 7:47 am
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    HAHAHA…..all you Disney lovers now you are disappointed? hahaha. You expected too much but the fact is that the greedy mouse is no match for the SW legacy. You went and saw just a REBOOT which it was made just in order for them to make a new cash cow, their shareholders care for nothing else. The SW universe didn’t evolve is just got a copy paste…there was a huge legacy inside EU but they throw it away ..now EU will have its revenge. We the true HARDCORES will have our revenge…..

    • December 17, 2015 at 8:17 am
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      Uhm… excuse me what?
      First of all this clearly is not a reboot. It does share some minimal plot points with ANH, but turns out to be quite different.
      Secondly, how on earth does it not expand the universe? You’ve got (MILD SPOILERS) knights of ren and their origin, first order, resistance and some more I won’t mention because they would be really spoilerific.
      Hey, I liked Thrawn too, but we have to admit that all the old EU was always in danger of being non-canonized.

      • December 17, 2015 at 8:21 am
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        I wouldn’t say the similarities to ANH are “minimal”. I’d say they’re substantial. But the poster you are replying to clearly doesn’t grasp that the review isn’t a negative one. I actually found it refreshingly honest. Too many times with films like this you’ll get an obsequious fan reviewing who’ll just heap praise whether it’s warranted or not, so I found the balanced approach of the reviewer to be very welcome.

        • December 17, 2015 at 8:26 am
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          Okay, we might admit it has some clear similarities with ANH, but it also has wuite many differences wich in my opinion made it to balance out this film. I was worried too that it might share too many similarities before watching it, but then I liked it really much anyways.

      • December 17, 2015 at 4:30 pm
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        There is an explanation for all of you disney’s war lovers…..you have very low artistic standards.
        1st. disney had the remarkable opportunity to exploit a vast fictionalized universe built with order and continuity. They could had made a new story but with the advantage of vast developed characters and the support of critical acclaimed authors. They could had wait a little longer in order to make it right.
        2nd. If you can’t see the similarities…then you are probably childish in thinking…or child actually. I am 48 and waited for the sequels 30+ years…now the sequel script sucks and brings me nostalgia for G.Lucas.
        http://www.salon.com/2015/12/16/star_wars_the_force_awakens_you_know_all_the_spoilers_in_j_j_abrams_obsessive_reboot_because_youve_seen_this_movie_before/

        3d.I wanted for SW the best not the rest…. disney and JJ deliver the rest…. there is no need to see SW TFA STAR TREK 2 is better with superior acting, there is no need to see TFA because the magic is GONE it became just another blockbuster like J.World…. WELL we the REAL hardcores we stand aside form this new disney’s cash cow. SW is DEAD….living like a spirit only in the books of the EXPANDED UNIVERSE.

        AND THIS IS OUR REVENGE because the real fan ..the one who grew up with the adventures of Luke,Han,Leia,Lando,Mara and the rest will return to the source of the magic the only one capable to continue the myth….the incredible and phenomenal EXPANDED UNIVERSE.

        • December 17, 2015 at 9:22 pm
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          Uhhh… well… first of all being not only a Star wars fan but a Tarkovskij, Nolan, Ridley Scott and Tornatore fan I don’t feel like having “low artistic standards”.

          1) Continuity in the expanded universe? With all the incongruencies between the clone wars as depicted in prequels and such and as described in the Thrawn trilogy? I personally preferred Lucasfilm’s decision of redefining what’s canon. It’s definitely an economical choice too they did, but I did feel that old EU was just too vaste to geek around in, and what happenned in certain novels (Ruusan Thought bomb for example) did really made most of the things appearing in the star wars movies look small, almost unsignificant (except made for alderaan’s destruction). I personally liked the character of Thrawn, and currently am working on developing a new storyline that would include him sometime beyond episode IX.

          2) I did see the similarities, I even was worried for them before the movie came out, and yes, I’m not an adult, I’m 17. I’ve been waiting 17 years to finally see a star wars movie on the opening day. Some similarities that are minimal from the plot point of view (dammit that I can’t say them here!) are just homages, others were supposed to be escalating, some can be just justified by the monomyth. Anyhow, yet there were many similarities, they did not influence much my judgement on the rest of the film. I noticed on the other hand many differences that I can’t say here unfortunately because they’re spoilerific. One really good difference was the backstory. It reminded me of an EU thing that happenned around 5000 years BBY I think. I’m not that geeky to remember every exact date. So… I noticed a lot of things that were different from movies we’ve already seen.

          3) It has been stated out quite often that Diney has to do only with the marketing and the cash-grab of star wars, and they let autonomously Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm and co. do their job. It’s really sad that you didn’t see John Boyega, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Max Von Sydow, Adam Driver, Domnhall Gleeson, Daisy Ridley and tons of more great actors’ great acting, even Mark Hamill’s. I’m not sure how can you compare Jurassic World to Star wars… REAL hardcore? Allright. It’ll be matter of time that the New Canon will get as great and detailed as the EU was. Considering also that we’ll get around 3 spin-offs there will be a boom of expansion coming. If you want to miss it, all right. Me and many more people who are happy to get all of this will keep Star wars alive.

          Did I say everything? Oh… yes I did.

        • December 18, 2015 at 6:53 am
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          Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. We’ll be fine with our critically-acclaimed and immensely successful movie. Have fun reading novels from 1991 and watching George Lucas’ prequel trilogy and Jar Jar banks stepping in poop and being farted on.

    • December 17, 2015 at 11:49 am
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      lol, the EU will have is revenge? Please book a holiday at Mount Sorrow and rethink your words.

  • December 17, 2015 at 7:57 am
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    Well, I didn’t read the post as I don’t want to hear or read opinions or possible spoilers before the movie premiere in my homeland on December 17th, but all I want to say is that it has been a pleasure that StarWarsNewsNet has brought us this far and kept us informed. It’s been a nice experience, guys! I’m only waiting for the premiere, the only bad thing is that I didn’t find tickets for the movie in its original language so I had to buy it in Spanish but I’m sure that within a few days later I’ll be able to watch it again and in its original language. Thanks everyone!

  • December 17, 2015 at 8:24 am
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    I can’t believe how divided star wars fanbase is. There are those “Real fans” who like only episodes IV and V and partly episode VI. On the other hand there are those “Real fans” who like all the movies. Finally other “real fans” who’ll just
    complain because old EU is gone and they wanted Thrawn in the film, and therefore will just hate the sequels.
    I sincerely dunno what to say.

    • December 17, 2015 at 8:28 am
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      moral of the story, its all subjective. the OG fans grew up with the OT and thats all they want. the millennials grew up with prequels and will defend them to the death. while those of us in between just silently hope the new movies are awesome so we can all move on.

    • December 17, 2015 at 9:17 am
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      I believe the ‘real fans’ love them all.

      • December 17, 2015 at 9:57 am
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        I don’t know. I think people are entitled to like/dislike some of the films. I support a football team, and I’ll always like them and support them, but I acknowledge that sometimes they play terribly. I loved the OT, and I liked the prequels while acknowledging that some aspects of them weren’t what I was expecting and probably could have been better.

    • December 17, 2015 at 10:02 am
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      Don’t say anything and just enjoy the movies. Who cares about what others say? There’s always people bashing the things they don’t like. Let them write and direct a SW movie, if they know it so well and let’s see what happens then.
      I love the original trilogy, I have some issues with the sequels, but I like them nonetheless, and I just love TFA, which I think is a very worthy addition to the franchise.

      • December 17, 2015 at 11:47 am
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        don’t reply to the troll :p

      • December 17, 2015 at 2:16 pm
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        First… no I want to direct a Star Wars movie :D, second: I think you meant prequels instead of sequels?

  • December 17, 2015 at 9:00 am
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    I am excited to see the new addition to Star Wars. It won’t be ESB, but it won’t be AOTC either.

    The return to practical effects, locations and actual film was done by JJ and should be applauded. If TFA feels more like the OT then that will be a big part of why. If it looks more believable that is why.

    I have read some spoilers, but from what Ive read it sounds good. I might dislike some parts when i see it. But, i still want to see it.

    I like what I’ve read about it leaving many open questions. It should and it adds mystery/suspense.

    It will probably be easy for some to guess what the overall story of the new trilogy is based on the spoilers. Just as it was easy for some to guess what this movie would be about based on the trailers. I was happy to be mostly right and look forward to seeing this movie.

    Star Wars has repetitive themes and has since the OT. Not a big deal. Thrawn was good in the EU. But most of those books were total cr@p.

  • December 17, 2015 at 9:31 am
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    Didn’t the “sad scene” (if you’ve seen it then you know what I’m talking about) ruin the movie for you?

    • December 17, 2015 at 11:30 am
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      It actually improved the experience for me. I think it fits perfectly with the story (in terms of themes, situations and the involved characters’s arc) and I loved the direction they went for.

      • December 17, 2015 at 6:21 pm
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        Once person X walked onto rail-less structure Y to have a conversation with person Z, it was fairly obvious how that scene was going to end. The seemingly reconciliatory tone of their lines didn’t fool me for a second. The script-writers were just setting up the coming “shocking development”. And sure enough ….

        • December 17, 2015 at 6:57 pm
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          And what you just pointed out is a big part of what I felt: I think it was a great choice to don’t play the “shocking” side of that moment and, instead, to show the actual meaning it had for X – what I mean is that I didn’t think the dialogue was mean to “fool” anyone but, rather, to show both their side, and the implicated conflict.
          I also feel that there a lot more I’d like to say but I think we’re already treading way too much in spoiler territory, so yeah… we’d better wait a bit to further elaborate 🙂

    • December 17, 2015 at 11:46 am
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      No, this it was perfect, expected yet unexpected and sets up the characters even more for the future. And yes, I let a tear, men around me were bawling, but even my girlfriend, who never saw a SW movie before said it had a serious emotional impact on her.

    • December 17, 2015 at 6:47 pm
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      I haven’t seen it yet but I am dreading “the sad scene” whatever it is. It will ruin the movie for me if it is one of the major characters, unless it is done in a very “heroic” way. I was in the theater in 1977 and a main reason ANH was so popular is that is was fun and had a happy ending.

    • December 18, 2015 at 6:47 am
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      It was shocking, gut-wrenching and tear inducing, but any great story should do that – it can’t be all sunshine and rainbows. It’s what good drama requires sometimes.

    • December 19, 2015 at 12:57 am
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      Sad but extremely well done. What struck me is that there is a final expression of love to the very end and I think that might become important.

  • December 17, 2015 at 9:54 am
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    Well, the wait is over. Expectations were extremely high and we all knew that the film couldn’t satisfy all. But sadly, the result is not just underwhelming, but actually disappointing. Why?

    The direction is fantastic, as was to be expected. Almost as good as Star Trek 2009.
    The acting is good, though it falls short of many other recent blockbusters.
    The visuals are amazing, the sets, uniforms and ships are memorable and the new stormtrooper armor really stands out.

    So what went wrong?

    For one, the music is underwhelming. JW is at his weakest here, and if you didn’t like the way old cues were used in Revenge of the Sith, you will cringe at some moments here.

    But the main problem is the story and – what’s worse – the entire scenario. While not entirely a remake of ANH, the plot doesn’t feel fresh and you never really warm up to the new characters.
    But Star Wars was never a character study movie, the magic was about how this galaxy far, far away came to life. This feels lifeless and depressingly self-referential much like the OT props scattered throughout the film (crashed star destroyer, hollowed out AT-AT). It never feels like a continuation of the story rather than a stagnation. It’s the same war as before, only it’s not the same because the Rebels are now the Resistance and the Empire is… a weird cult run by another weird old guy with bad skin.

    The film then carefully traces ANH’s plot points until the inevitable battle against the next Death Star. Like we haven’t seen that scenario before….
    It never feels like a story anyone really wanted to tell. The characters are fun, the character arcs are thought out, the humor is well dosed and written…. but there’s no inspiration, no magic.

    The tragic thing about this is that they HAD the perfect script already waiting to be filmed: Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire trilogy.
    I understand that they wanted to surprise the audience, that they wanted to use the original actors and present something new, but they did so at the cost of a perfect scenario and a complex, engaging and truly inspired plot.

    They could have kept it fresh with some rewrites and they would have not only made everyone happy, but actually recaptured the magic of the galaxy far, far away.
    Instead, they neither reinvented nor truly continued the saga. It stagnates and now seems to be set on repeat.

    For this reason, I give the movie 6 out of 10. The fact that it is so well made and by no means boring, just adds to the disappointment. This is a wasted opportunity. My expectations for 8 and 9 have been severely lowered. One can only hope that the next trilogy will be more creative and inspired.

    • December 17, 2015 at 10:35 am
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      The score was not weaker than the prequels.

      • December 17, 2015 at 11:06 pm
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        It sure was.

      • December 18, 2015 at 12:25 am
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        Did you listen to the OST? It’s terrible. There is not one memorable piece on there and those trumpets randomly blasting at full volume make it entirely unenjoyable.
        Either JW lost his touch or he really isn’t the right guy for Abram’s fast paced style. I mean let’s face it, the Star Trek remakes weren’t exactly renowned for great use of music either. Into Darkness had that whole piano sequence at the beginning, but it felt entirely out of place and out of pace with the rest of the film.

        Ever since Kubrick, people ought to know the importance of a great score. The score was a large part of what made the original trilogy feel so magical. Imagine the Yoda scenes with a generic score. It wouldn’t work anymore. This is actually the hardest and most important part of movie making: getting the perfect score.

        • December 18, 2015 at 1:32 am
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          I actually have to wonder about the orchestraters Williams has been working with lately. During the OT years, he was working with phenomenal orchestraters who could take his themes, twist them in interesting ways, time them to hit little micro-moments within a scene or even a given shot – basically the score was far more integral to the film than anything he’s done recently.

      • December 18, 2015 at 1:45 am
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        I can think of at least one strong theme from each of the PT soundtracks (DotF, Across the Stars, and Battle of the Heroes just off the top of my head). Here? Nothing memorable on the TFA soundtrack, including tracks that, by their name, should have had some terrific moments.

        • December 18, 2015 at 6:43 am
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          Rey’s theme is great. You need to listen to the soundtrack album away from the clutter of sound effects and dialogue to truly appreciate a musical score.

          • December 19, 2015 at 3:44 am
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            I haven’t seen the film yet (going tomorrow); my observation is drawn from listening to the album.

        • December 18, 2015 at 10:19 am
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          The sound effects kind of drowned it out for me but I’m seeing it again with someone else so I’ll see if I can hear it. One of Williams worst scores by far. Maybe worse than Indy 4.

          • December 19, 2015 at 3:44 am
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            Oh, totally worse than KotCS. At least there Williams wrote some entertaining pieces (still love the jungle chase track – all hell breaks loose in perfect Indy style), and some nice, clear, simple themes (Irena and Mutt both get memorable themes, even if the characters sucked).

          • December 19, 2015 at 7:31 am
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            It’s one of the few non-contraversial cons of this film I can think of and pretty hard to dispute. The 60 Minutes clips sounded good too. It makes me think Williams is terminal and they hired a ghost composer to rewrite the score after they dropped his original one.

    • December 17, 2015 at 2:03 pm
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      i agree with everything. the thing that stuck in my head throught the movie was how entertaining its is and at the same time how unimaginative. and not a single alien from the previous films. i was like SERIOUSLY?? what was the thinking behind it?

      • December 17, 2015 at 3:42 pm
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        lol, not a single? Maz’ castle had a boatload of them, even wolfman made a return! A lot of rebel aliens are back as well

        • December 17, 2015 at 3:55 pm
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          really? didn’t notice any. wolfman debuted rather than returned lol

          • December 17, 2015 at 3:56 pm
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            wolfman is in the tattoine cantina scene, and he is also in maz.. so…

          • December 17, 2015 at 9:33 pm
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            Wasnt he replaced in the Special Editions? Im thinking he was replaced with the rastafarian lizard

          • December 18, 2015 at 1:06 am
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            yeah, that’s the issue with the SEs.

          • December 18, 2015 at 1:01 am
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            is he? never noticed him. i know he’s from mcquarrie concept, but i think he never made it to OT

          • December 18, 2015 at 1:07 am
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            Lucas killed him with the special editions, but he was in EPIV for 20 years.

      • December 18, 2015 at 6:39 am
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        So it was unimaginative, but it didn’t use pre-existing aliens?

        Take your pick: Was it too derivative, or not derivative enough?

        • December 18, 2015 at 12:09 pm
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          TCW used only pre-existing aliens while being million times more creative and imaginative than TFA. that simple. thank you

          • December 18, 2015 at 6:18 pm
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            Nonsense. This movie added an extraordinary level of new elements to the universe – planets, species, creatures. I don’t know how you could see it otherwise.

          • December 18, 2015 at 6:24 pm
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            Planets: identical to the ones we’ve already seen. Species – not sure what youre talking about, creatures, okay theres alot of them cuz someone decided at some point to remove all the older ones from it (?)

          • December 18, 2015 at 7:01 pm
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            All the planets were completely new. So the landscapes were similar. Big deal. Why can’t planets looks similar? If every life-sustaining, atmospheric oxygen-filled planet evolves in a similar fashion, you’re going to have a few that look similar to one another.

            Species – intelligent aliens
            Creatures – animals (giant pig on Jakku, luggabeast, rathars, etc.)

      • December 18, 2015 at 10:17 am
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        Uh.. wolf Man, Admirable Ackbar, Nien Nunb, the droids….. I mean.. who were you expecting?

        • December 18, 2015 at 12:11 pm
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          rodians, biths, ugnaughts, or even freakin t’wileks. apparently turns out they
          all live in a different part of galaxy

    • December 18, 2015 at 10:19 am
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      The new aliens did suck save one or two.

  • December 17, 2015 at 10:22 am
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    I watched it at a midnight showing and it was amazing.
    It felt like star wars! Loved what they did with kylo ren too – for a very solid 8/10

    • December 19, 2015 at 5:18 am
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      **#SPOILERS#**

      I totally agree. I didn’t think I’d end up liking the whiny priss we got, but by the end I was really scared of him, moreso than I was of Vader. Someone with that power who keeps his cool is one thing, but someone in the same position that’s prone to random outbursts of destruction and who doesn’t even know if he understands himself yet is truly terrifying. And in the end, that’s what makes a great villain.

      **#END SPOILERS#**

  • December 17, 2015 at 10:31 am
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    Oi. Well, just listened through the OST start to finish. This has to be some of Williams’ weakest work on anything. A lot of patented “John Williams has the strings scurry around a whole bunch, without finding a theme” and…not much else. I kept waiting for Williams to develop some memorable themes, but there’s just nothing there to sink your teeth into – no force theme, no han solo and the princess, no imperial march, no into the trap….there’s just no themes developed in any interesting way here. Very disappointing to say the least – really hope the film is more entertaining.

    • December 17, 2015 at 2:53 pm
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      I agree the sound track was forgettable.
      the trailer had the better music!

    • December 17, 2015 at 5:10 pm
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      I kinda agree.
      I won’t spoil anything, but the movie is fast-paced and didn’t really allow for much moments where the music takes a lot of place in a scene, unfortunately. I didn’t feel attached to the score either, but there weren’t really that many moments where the score played a big part of the movie.

      • December 18, 2015 at 12:55 am
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        Shame. I have always given Williams the benefit of the doubt on the PT scores, assuming that the problem with his composition there was that Lucas, given his very fluid approach to editing, wouldn’t give Williams a locked cut of the films to write to. I think this may just put lie to that though.

    • December 18, 2015 at 8:26 am
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      Music was bland. What happened? Couldn’t hum a single phrase if you paid me. Maybe it’s time for poor ole Johnny to step aside. 🙁

      • December 18, 2015 at 10:18 am
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        I didn’t hear the tracks from 60 Minutes. Something fishy happened.

  • December 17, 2015 at 10:35 am
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    ‘Also another thing that didn’t work for me was Starkiller Base. The similarities with the Death Star from A New Hope were just too much. If this part of the movie was replaced by another type of menace, this movie would have been almost perfect.’

    Totally agree. It’s a real Cold War throwback as well. I’d expect a threat more relevant in 2015. C3PO annoyed the shit out of me as well. I loved the film overall, however.

    • December 17, 2015 at 11:42 am
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      how can you hate 3PO for the short time he has on screen. He’s exactly the same whiny droid he has been since 77. we even see a new side of him.

      • December 17, 2015 at 4:41 pm
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        Just tell me its not the: “head taken off by factory arm and put on battle droid ‘new'”. Because that was a tragedy of epic cinematic proportions.

  • December 17, 2015 at 10:36 am
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    I agree with this review wholeheartedly. Despite its flaws I loved the film.

  • December 17, 2015 at 2:36 pm
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    Maybe it was just the theater were I watched it, but the light saber sound was nothing like in the other Movies. That electrical Buzz sound was not Heard. But it might just have been the Place I watched that was bad. Will see it again Saturday, In 3D this time.

    • December 17, 2015 at 3:36 pm
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      The lightsaber sound was the thing that they feared most! You first heard the buzzing of Kylo’s lightsaber and you could see the fear on everyone’s eyes while they look around to see where it comes from. I saw it in a Dolby Atmos theatre, it was great.

      • December 18, 2015 at 10:12 am
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        so did i 🙂 ATMOS! lol

  • December 17, 2015 at 2:43 pm
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    Who is going to say it out loud? This movie is a complete and utter rip-off of the original movies, especially A New Hope. There is nothing new. Extremely lazy writing. Countless scenes, even dialogue has been liften directly from the old movies. Then there is too much action, explosions everywhere, while the force and jedi stuff gets very little attention. And the music, well, does not sound like Star Wars. On a positive note, I did like the characters and the locations looked real and Star Warsy.

    • December 17, 2015 at 3:40 pm
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      I think that actually more dialogue of the OT shows up in the PT (I have a bad feeling about this) and it was a good mix of the familiar with the new. For me it was halfway between ANH and ESB and I enjoyed it immensely. But what’s more important, and what you’re forgetting, is that my girlfriend, who never saw a single Star Wars movie enjoyed it, got to know the characters and deeply felt for them at the end. Not bawling her eyes out crying, but a heartfelt “I feel bad…” and THAT is what makes it a good movie, not if you see similarities with ANH, The Lord of the Rings, or a Star Trek episode.

      • December 17, 2015 at 4:39 pm
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        Funny thing is – Trek is apparently going back to that ‘happenstance on new planet, get into trouble, must get out of trouble’ – and people are mad about it. lolol

        • December 17, 2015 at 6:12 pm
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          I think people are more angry about Justin Lin as director.

          • December 18, 2015 at 10:12 am
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            no.. i think people are upset about the trailer itself.. it is pretty bad. Hell, Even Simon Pegg doesn’t like the trailer. But the studio wanted to push “It Has ACTION!” so it can ‘sell’ tickets.

          • December 18, 2015 at 10:15 pm
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            The trailer really does look like “fast & furious in space”. Also, the photography is far less impressive than in the last two installments

      • December 17, 2015 at 5:00 pm
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        That is my problem with it. This isn’t homage, it’s plagiarism. This is not a sequel, it’s a reboot for the kids who think ANH is “boring”. What would the original Star Wars look like with a bigger budget and better technology? TFA answers that. The prequels failed in many ways but at least Lucas came up with new characters, worlds and ships. The aesthetics of the movies was new and fresh. There was a new plot as well.

        In this new installment we are stuck with the same ships, worlds, characters and story. It’s also too dense. They could have made a whole trilogy of this one film. There’s more action and plot twists than in the entire OT combined. I guess they were afraid that scenes such as the ones Luke has with Yoda in ESB would bore people. Hey, but exploding tie fighters are always cool.

        As for the characters. Snoke is basically the emperor, Phasma is Boba Fett, Hux is Tarkin, Ren is Vader, Rey is Luke, Finn is Han, BB-8 is R2 etc. It’s so lazy.

        • December 17, 2015 at 6:05 pm
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          Sounds good to me.

        • December 18, 2015 at 2:53 am
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          I thought one major plot point is that Ren is not Vader. So who can take out Snoke? It is the differences that are important.

          • December 18, 2015 at 3:44 pm
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            Kylo Ren is a emotionally torn guy wearing a helmet and a mask. He also has some kind of connection to the good guys. Although I liked the character he is sort of a lighter version of Vader. Who can take out Snoke? I mean sure if you want to walk about this movie at kindergarten level I’m sure that’s a valid question.

          • December 19, 2015 at 12:51 am
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            The only thing that is kindergarten here is the entire comparison you wish to make of the characters. Of course on a superficial level there are intentional similarities. But…..

            Finn is Han?? – I really think not. I recall Han being a charismatic smuggler chased across the galaxy by bounty hunters, not a disenchanted escapee stormtrooper. Finn is not motivated by a financial reward like the Han we know in ANH.

            Kylo is far more incompetent than Vader, and his motivation and history seem wildly different. Family and attachment was a central issue for Anakin Skywalker. His actions were aimed at protecting those people and his attachment to them. Kylo seems to be more about latent power that he believes to be his destiny.

            Rey has a totally different personality to Luke. She is hard and yet she has apprehension about the path before her. Luke craved adventure.

            Tarkin would appear to be remarkably more dead than Hux – so there is more to see from this character. And the Hux – Kylo relationship is different than Vader – Tarkin.

            Indeed – there was snow, grass, trees, water, islands, and sand. I guess you would also complain if the landscapes were similar to Naboo, Coruscant, Mustafar, Kamino, Bespin, Dagobah, Geonosis, Kashyyyk, Utapau. I mean we are pretty much spent in terms of novel available landscapes. And I think the return to the more regular landscapes of planet Earth allowed for more practical effects.

            “Who can take out Snoke?” is a valid question if you want to claim this is all plagarism and the Kylo story arc is the same as Vader.

          • December 19, 2015 at 4:33 pm
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            Superficial level? I am comparing the characters in regards to what their role in the story is. I could give you the plot of TFA without mentioning names and characters and you could not tell it a part from ANH. Whether Rey is “hard” or not is irrelvant. She is the protagonist who is stuck on a desert planet unaware of who her family is. Suddenly dark forces come looking for a droid and she finds herself in the middle of an adventure.

            Kylo has potential as the bad guy, however, his similarities with Vader are obvious. Confused kid betrays his family and friends (and his identity behind a mask) to carry out the deeds of an evil guy with a monster face sitting on a throne pulling the stings in the background. Yes he has funny ears and a crossguard lighsaber but that doesn make him unique.

            Regarding Kylo and Hux vs Vader and Tarkin. In both cases the military commander is somewhat equal to the sith and dares to talk to him in a authoritative manner despite the fact that the the force user could snap his neck in a second if he wanted to.

            When it comes to Finn. Will he not become the guy from a morally suspect background wearing the leather jacked and holding the blaster, delivering all the clever lines?

            The Death Star, Tatooine, Endor and Hoth were all in this movie, and it’s dishonest to just call them something else and think you’re creating something new. At least Lucas was being honest when he placed Anakin in a extremely similar environment to Luke and called it what it was. It’s offensive to the audience to do anything else. Like we wouldn’t get it..

            “Who can take out Snoke?” is like asking “Who would win Aquaman or Batman? It’s playground stuff. It seems a lot of people don’t understand that this story is not about space ships and action. It’s a classical mythology about good and evil. I founf Han Solo’s meta commentary to be extremely annoying.

            The thing is that whereas the prequels infamously rhymed with the originals, TFA repeats them.

      • December 18, 2015 at 2:27 am
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        Lol, “I felt bad” is what makes a good movie? Never heard THAT one before. Hey, not saying the film’s bad, but it’s NOWHERE near ANH, let alone TESB.

        I know the last thing PT haters want to see (aside from a certain lanky Gungan) was trade disputes and senate squabbles, but a little more light into the galaxy’s current state of affairs wouldn’t have hurt. The total disregard for politics that was shown in this film has pretty much rendered RotJ useless.

        Lucas gave us TOO much exposition, Abrams gave us NONE. But at least Lucas tried to conceive ideas behind the reason why the fall of the Old Republic was important. Here, Abrams doesn’t justify why the Alliance’s victory over the Empire was even more important. Lots of blaster bolts and lightsaber duels and X-wing and TIE fighters dogfights are cool.They’re just cooler when you actually know what these people are fighting for in the first place.

        That’s what makes a good movie.

        • December 18, 2015 at 3:14 am
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          1: Yeah, it’s called emotion. If a complete newbie can get emotionally invested in 2 hours that’s good thing.

          2: That’s the beauty about the movie, in ANH, you also know NOTHING. Yeah, Leia is a senator… but that’s about as much as you know about the empire. If you want to learn more, there’s books and a lot of canon stuff that you can read up on in the years to come. You don’t want to bore an audience that you try to capture by explaining 30 years of time. The first sentence in the opening crawl is enough, really.

          3: Again, you’re trying to make the same point as in your previous paragraph, but it was explained in the opening crawl and they leave the rest up to you. You can make it up in your head (for the average movie goer) or you can become invested in the universe and start reading the comics and books and what not (an engaged customer)

          If you’re really thinking that TFA is a just stand-alone movie, or a true sequel, you’re sorely mistaken and you have a wrong point of view to begin with.

          • December 18, 2015 at 4:04 am
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            Never said getting emotionally invested is not a good thing, especially if you’re referring to the scene that takes place on a platform inside Starkiller near the end. I’m just saying that there’s more to it than that. And I’m sure a lot more things could’ve carried more emotional weight if exposed better, even if a little action was sacrificed for this purpose (there’s plenty of it already).

            Oh, come on…”books and other canon stuff”? Really? Listen, no offense, but SW was born on film; it belongs on film, its stories should be told on film. All that other stuff is just a marketing ploy to ensnare diehard SW fans to keep fattening Lucasfilm’s pockets by purchasing some TERRIBLE fan-fiction only to know how this or that situation came to be.

            Good films don’t need “companion books” to deliver a good set up into the story that will be told throughout the movie. There’s plenty of movie devices and tricks to do this and “show me, don’t tell me” is and always will be a filmmaker’s best friend. This I leave up to each filmmaker’s creativity and inventiveness. But the devices and resources are there to set up the story in an entertaining way…at least for the thinking man, that is.

            And, please, don’t try to get in my mind and assume to know what I’m thinking. Since you and I have both watched the film, I could refer you to a TON of previous posts of mine, just so you may see how many of my predictions for what we’ve seen in TFA were right on the money, and how many mouths I have eating crow right as we speak.

            I know all about good storytelling, so I obviously knew what TFA was meant to be and the logical conclusion of where it might be headed. I know this is neither a standalone film nor a true sequel. RotJ had an ending, and so a new beginning was necessary. Doesn’t mean that new beginning had to “borrow” so much from ANH, much less that people have to buy terrible fan fiction disguised as SW novels, only to find out how the hell the galaxy came to be in the state it is on the film.

        • December 18, 2015 at 6:36 am
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          After the prequels, the last thing this new movie needs is politicians sitting around discussing galactic politics.

          No thanks.

          • December 18, 2015 at 11:12 am
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            Notice how I said that a LITTLE more exposure wouldn’t have hurt. How you turned that into politicians sitting around discussing galactic politics is beyond me. But it is a fact, not an opinion mind you, that no exposure can be just as detrimental to a story as overexposure. Simple as that.

  • December 17, 2015 at 2:52 pm
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    the only thing that really bugged me was Kylo Ren and General Hux.
    Both the actors playing them have no screen presence.

    • December 17, 2015 at 3:05 pm
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      I actually thought Hux and Kylo were great, I didnt like Captain Phasma however, she was not as awesome as i would have hoped

      • December 18, 2015 at 12:46 am
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        I agree 100% I can only assume a lot was cut there.

        • December 18, 2015 at 12:57 am
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          Based on comments from JJ and KK a week or so ago, it actually sounded to me like there never was that much for the character to do.

    • December 17, 2015 at 4:12 pm
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      lol? Kylo and Daisy showed the biggest emotional range of all the actors

      • December 17, 2015 at 4:43 pm
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        Kylo doesn’t project the same aura as say Maul or Vader when you first come across him. By the end of the film he’s simply a whiney bi&ch.
        Hux…to young to be in that position and when compared to Grand Moff Tarkin also looks like a whiney bi^ch.

    • December 18, 2015 at 12:46 am
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      Are you serious? Gleeson played the crap out of the speech he had. Scarier than anything else in the film.

    • December 18, 2015 at 10:14 am
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      I liked Kylo but Gleeson was pretty terrible as Hux even though I like him in most other things.

  • December 17, 2015 at 5:16 pm
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    Just banned a person who was intentionally posting spoilers in the comments. Be careful what you post. Respect the others.

    • December 17, 2015 at 7:47 pm
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      Thank you!

  • December 17, 2015 at 7:00 pm
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    Oh, man, two days without being here or there. Just entered now to directly say hello without reading reviews and your opinions. I only know the general opinion is pretty good. 😉 Can’t wait!! My day is tomorrow!
    I will read your comments tomorrow!
    Hope you enjoyed it people!!

  • December 17, 2015 at 7:45 pm
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    I loved it! I saw the first one when i was 5 yrs old, (back in 1977)…….and it took me right back to that sense of sheer joy i had as a kid. Wow!

    Word to the wise-you can find fault with anything if you try hard enough……if you have managed to do this, then congratulations! You’ve just ruined it for yourself.

    • December 18, 2015 at 4:37 pm
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      You can find faults in the film without affecting your enjoyment. Entertainment doesn’t rhyme with blind love. I saw plenty of flaws during the movie while I was watching (didn’t need to look very hard) and when I got out of the cinema, I had the same smile and joy that you did because it was goddamn awesome.

      • December 18, 2015 at 5:43 pm
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        Fair comment.

        Engaging with the film on a non intellectual level though, just feeling it rather than subjecting it to intense scrutiny, might be more enjoyable for many people. It’s not blind love. It’s just a choice-one of many 🙂

  • December 17, 2015 at 8:09 pm
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    Just seen it myself and why i enjoyed it i feel slightly short changed, and not because of the plot but because of the lack of character exposition. When it soars by christ it soars, but as viral hide says in his review, it leaves more questions than answers, and yes i no empire did but in a good way, here it feels a bit flat. Oh and the starkiller base just enoyed me, serves no real purpose other than the climatic battle.

    • December 18, 2015 at 2:32 am
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      The more questions than answers bit is actually what I liked about this movie. I think the original trilogy also raised so many questions – some of which were answered in that trilogy and some that were answered many years later in the prequel trilogy… some are unanswered still today.
      TFA sets the stage to learn more about these new characters, and also learn more about Luke. Lor San Tekka – also seems to be intriguing.
      Coming back to the original trilogy we never saw the emperor in ANH, and only the monkey hologram in ESB. So actually we saw comparatively much more of Snoke here.

    • December 18, 2015 at 4:34 pm
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      I feel the opposite actually. The questions that were not answered about the character are what I feel is appropriately left for sequels. It’s the question that are not about the character that should have been answered. Like, who the heck is the resistance? Wtf is the republic doing? Why is everyone so intent in finding Luke? Can he really turn the tide of the war with 8 X-wing at his disposal? Basically the context, the background, needed to be explained. In ANH the context was simple and well defined which allowed me to immerse myself in the world: There’s this evil empire who rules over all the galaxy and just destroyed the last remnants of the republic it was founded upon, and there are those rebels who fight the totalitarian regime. The empire has this ultimate weapon, the rebels have the plan and must take it to their base to analyse it and counter the weapon.That’s it, there’s nothing else to worry, nothing weird that came in the way of our understanding. In TFA it’s a mess.

  • December 17, 2015 at 8:34 pm
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    Seen it today thought the magic of the originals was well and truly back just hope the answers to the obvious questions are answered in the sequels my main disappointment was at the end credits with no sneak look at rouge one after the lad at the kiosk told me it was being shown

  • December 18, 2015 at 12:07 am
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    Avatar one of the top grossing movies ever had the most basic story and was just like”Name most any movie here(cough*Dances With Wolves carbon copy*cough)”, yet made tons of money. I just don’t get some these fickle fans when it comes to TFA.

    • December 18, 2015 at 4:30 pm
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      The Avatar comparison… I mean avatar is not a good movie, there no possible comparison, TFA is a lot better, but that doesn’t mean we can’t see the flaws of TFA and criticize the movie when it deserves it.

  • December 18, 2015 at 2:22 am
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    Just came home from my first (of probably quite a few viewings). I loved the movie – it was not perfect and in fact slightly predictable. The movie is inhibited by our knowledge of this universe – had this been the first movie in the franchise, I think this movie would have made people go bananas – just like ANH!

    I agree with the reviewer. Great movie, slightly predictable premise. Can’t wait to see what comes next…

    btw – I thought Driver, Gleeson and Ridley did great! Thumps up!

  • December 18, 2015 at 3:16 am
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    I see a lot of negative comments and reviews here pointing out that the Starkiller base/weapon was underdeveloped and served no other purpose than to enable the climatic end battle. Let me remind you of one important thing: Supreme Leader Snoke. The background threat we’ve merely glimpsed so far through the static of transmissions. His presence hasn’t gone far beyond the Emperor’s appearance in The Empire Strikes Back, yet he’s already left a colossal mark on the world we’ve been invited to revisit. This was his first move, and I have a feeling it’s nothing compared to what we’re about to see.

    Personally, I always found ROTJ’s Death Star II unnecessary and too close to the events of A New Hope. It actually makes more sense for a new movement to rise up long afterwards to try and recapture the strength and greatness of what once was through rebuilding. The Death Star II should have been in this film and no other. Also, am I the only one who felt a strong uncertainty in the voice and actions of General Hux and his men from their very first scene? Will the real leader please stand up.

    • December 18, 2015 at 3:27 am
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      that’s it, you get the movie better than most “stay at your position… but general hux has already left!” The enemies are not just dumb machines in this movie and that’s enjoyable.

      Also, the part with the stormtroopers turning around when Kylo has his hissy fit is absolutely brilliant. gives the troopers much more personality.

      • December 18, 2015 at 3:47 am
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        Those scenes certainly left an impression on me as well. Such a brilliant move to include that, and it proves that all it takes sometimes is one second to enhance a seemingly brainless and voiceless background character and give them all some much needed weight.

        Kylo having his hissy fits was such a joy to behold because you never knew what he was going to do next, or if he would get himself cut in half like a certain Maul by the end of the film. I love his unstable nature.

  • December 18, 2015 at 3:32 am
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    Here is why Finn should be a force user. You have almost forty years of Star Wars and only one black/ethnic force user, f’n Mace Windu he was a minor character. Luke White, Qui Gonn white, Obi Wan white, Anakin white, now Rey white, Kylo white, There has not been one asian latino or black Jedi as a lead or co lead in any of these movies or in clone wars, or in rebels. It makes it look like you have to be white or some kind of Alien to be a jedi. Just looks bad to me. And the only reason Sam Jackson was a Jedi was because he lobbied for it. And actually I think that was bad casting. Wesley or Denzel would have been better casting for Windu. And I know the skywalkers are white so you can’t change that but you can still make the co lead an ethnic Jedi. I mean damn. If they rebuild the Jedi order by the end of this trilogy and it’s all white people there will be a problem. So for that reason alone I think Finn will most likely be a Jedi by the end of the film.

  • December 18, 2015 at 6:10 am
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    It was awesome. Yes a few flaws, but they got way more right. Loved Daisy Adam and John’s performances along with Harrison and Carrie. I have to see it again. And am waiting for 8 in way I wasn’t able to anticipate 2 or 3 as I was scratching my head too much…

  • December 18, 2015 at 6:29 am
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    Just saw it. I LOVE that I have so many questions swirling through my brain even as I type this! It means I get to think and dream of what’s to come in 8 & 9 without a whole lot of certainty, which is the way it should be! I laughed genuinely at parts, I cried out of nostalgia and emotion at some other parts, and I was drawn into the much larger universe like I was a kid watching the original trilogy again. It is the first star wars movie by 11 and 13 year old kids have seen in the theatre and watching their faces told the whole story. They were at first frustrated by so many unanswered questions, but when I reminded them this episode was like reading 3 chapters of a 10 chapter book, they got it. As for the music – we are all musically inclined in our household – we loved it. As with the OT, and to some extent the PT, the music enhanced the mood and emotions of many scenes. Once I see it again, and listen to the soundtrack tomorrow, I’ll be able to say more. But, I think JJ and Disney did a fantastic job for fans old and new.

  • December 18, 2015 at 6:30 am
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    For once, a new Star Wars movie that makes me laugh, tear up, gasp, break out in applause, get chills and keep me glued to the edge of my seat.

    It’s been a long time coming, but JJ nailed it.

    • December 20, 2015 at 3:11 am
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      I agree completely! Though I have to admit I definitely wasnt prepared as to how funny the comedic moments of the movie wound up being. The banter between the human characters, Chewbacca and BB-8 was genuinely hilarious.

  • December 18, 2015 at 6:47 am
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    Loved it! Felt new yet nice OT vibe. Some minor quibbles. Mainly the music. Characters, charisma, humor, acting all perfect. REALLY fast paced. Need to see a few more times to rap my head around it. Rey was amazing, so was Finn and Kylo. Oh Kylo!!!

  • December 18, 2015 at 6:49 am
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    I have seen this movie. My day is complete.

    LIGHT SPOILERS?:

    It’s good. It was entertaining throughout. There are several shots that just look great. They used CGI well and didn’t overdo it, mixing in a lot of tactile environments/creatures that balanced the CGI. The action was good; I loved the dog fights and light saber battles. I liked most of the humor, as well as the character setups. I saw the Thing That Happened at the Climax coming, but nonetheless I dreaded it. My sister has dubbed the Big Bad with the stupid name, “Voldegollum.” haha. I liked the “family drama.” Oh, and it’s not a Star Wars movie without someone a. having a bad feeling about this, and b. screaming, Nooo!

    My only criticisms: 1. I agree the Death Star 3.0 was too much like the original movies. A little formulaic. 2. I thought the character relationships all progressed too quickly. I can see it happening fast, but not to that level *that* fast – it was what, two days? At least do a montage or something. 3. There’s a lack of clarity as to what exactly the political situation is in the galaxy. I was left a little confused. Who’s really in power? To what extent? And for how long? Um, what’s going on?

    Also: More Phasma please. Also: Kylo Ren has a very punchable face, haha – it is…fitting, if you know what I mean, but…not the appearance I would expect…if you know what I mean.

  • December 18, 2015 at 6:58 am
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    I have just returned home from seeing the film. The Force has truly awoken as well as the feeling I had watching the originals so long ago. I am so happy.

  • December 18, 2015 at 10:14 am
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    I never thought Finn would be more comedic relief than action hero. I nearly loved Poe as much as Ridley which I was not expecting at all.

    • December 18, 2015 at 10:15 am
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      Waiting for the magical negro comparisons with Maz, Such an unfortunate character.

      • December 18, 2015 at 4:24 pm
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        I’m not quite aware of what it is? Is that a racist stereotype they used or something? It kind of sounds like the myth of the noble savage, It did not occur to me to see Maz this way but in hindsight…

        • December 20, 2015 at 7:06 am
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          Yes, Only with black people. I tried to link you to the Wiki page explaining it the other day but I can’t via mobile. It’s there if you Google it though.

          As obvious as the greedy Arab/Jew one of Watto in I. Or the noble savage of Boss Nass.

  • December 18, 2015 at 2:07 pm
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    Great movie, but in my opinion the new original score feels uninspired and flat. That’s ruin my experience, from time to time. JW need to step aside from the next episodes. Seriously.

    • December 25, 2015 at 8:13 am
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      Give it another chance. Listen to the music as a standalone, independent of the movie, and then watch the film again and I think you’ll appreciate it anew. Rey’s theme in particular starts out as a thin, few instrument accompaniment (which is gorgeous in its simplicity), and then, by the end of the film, becomes a fully orchestrated gem. I think it just sneaks up on you how good it is.

  • December 18, 2015 at 11:37 pm
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    Hands down the 3rd best Star Wars movie.

    I was smiling almost non-stop in the theatre and had enourmous fun. Great pacing, great character focus. The new cast is phenomenal and execute humour, excitement, fear, anger, etc, perfectly. This new trilogy is in safe hands and now that the heavy lifting of catching us up to speed and getting our protagonists on their journey are out of the way I suspect that the following movies will make you seriously reconsider your personal ranking for favourite Star Wars movies.

    The Starkiller base plot felt tacked-on and rehashed, but that’s the price you pay when so much of the movie has to be dedicated to getting us invested in these characters and introducing the overarching plot that sets up the remainder of the Sequel Trilogy. This movie doesn’t have any problems that ROTJ didn’t, and where it works it really works.

    I’d give it a solid 8.5/10 and a strong recommendation. Even for those of you still crying about the EU.

  • December 21, 2015 at 4:02 pm
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    I have to say that this is the worst of all of them. Predictable, weak story. They destroyed what it is to be a Jedi and wiped out the entire plot of previous movies in regards to the Anakin prophecy of bringing balance to the force. And not to mention the lamest villains of all time. A whiny boy with a broken lightsaber and Gollem as the big baddie that no one even cares about.

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