The Force Awakens SPOILER thread

[Dentam]

George Lucas didn't direct all 3 of the original trilogy either. Irvin Kirshner directed Empire and Richard Marquand directed Jedi.

I saw that - looked it up after I saw that Abrams wasn't directing the second one. Maybe it'll be okay after all...

 

[Jennasis]

Perhaps Luke didn't consider himself a Jedi when he left and hid - so perhaps Rey is his. Or Han had an affair or whatever when he left Leia, etc.

I thought Leia was played well - she's battle weary, heartbroken her son is on the dark side, Han has left, etc. She sounded beaten down and barely holding it together, trying to cover it all in the professional/royal mantle.

Adam Driver was a nasty choice for Kylo Ren, IMO. For goodness sakes, fix the teeth! I guess they don't have dentists long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away?

Rey would have to be Leia's daughter. Leia has Jedi genes, not Han (that we know of). And you're description of how Leia was played describes Carrie Fisher....battling drug problems, having to lose a ton of weight for the role and the intense scrutiny...beaten down and barely holding it together. Harrison channeled an aged Han. Even Mark Hamil had more "Luke" in his silent 30 seconds of air time than Carrie put "Leia" into her performance.

Adam Driver is nasty? That's an odd choice of words. I found him "not menacing" without the helmet, as I said above, but nasty? No.

 

[Dentam]

No John Williams doing the score either for the next movies...that's right up there with the death of Han Solo for me.

What?! Oh no.

 

[Jennasis]

What?! Oh no.

Meh. Jon Williams scored the original Harry Potter but not all of them. It's not like the new guy (wondering if they will give it to Giacchino?) will change the theme music. I'm sure it will be fine.

 

[Dentam]

Meh. Jon Williams scored the original Harry Potter but not all of them. It's not like the new guy (wondering if they will give it to Giacchino?) will change the theme music. I'm sure it will be fine.

I hope so. I'd hate to see a new director and new composer mess up the next movies after such a promising start.

 

[bcla]

and crossed to the dark side, no longer a Jedi

The Jedi Order was gone. Luke wouldn't have been tied to those requirements. Lucasfilm signed off on the New Jedi Order allowing Jedi to be married. Besides that, there were lots of stories (approved by Lucasfilm) of Jedi being married before Ep I came out. The prohibition on Jedi being married was thrown in later to create a plot point. That's the thing about Lucas - he made up new things that created continuity problems.

 

[bcla]

What?! Oh no.

There's no official word on that. However, it's been confirmed that Williams isn't scoring Rogue One. He's also 83 and had some health issues that forced him to bow out of scoring Bridge of Spies for Spielberg.

We'll just have to see what happens. Again, I was surprised they didn't use a fanfare while the Lucasfilm logo came on the screen. I thought that Williams wrote a new one for all the Disney video rerelease.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I think Rey is Luke's daughter. I think that's why his lightsaber moved a little for Kylo Ren/Ben, but bypassed him and went to her, stronger familial connection.

Maria

 

[Geoff_M]

We saw the film last evening, and while we enjoyed it a great deal, I was also thinking "Holy, plot line rehash, Batman!"
- Budding Jedi left on hostile desert planet? Check!
- Gigantic world destroying mega-weapon? Check!
- Said weapon destroyed after drench flying X-wing squadron attack? Check!
- Father/Son, good/evil conflict? Check!
- Cantina scene will strange looking aliens and a band? Check!
- Jailbreak from the bad-guy's mega-weapon fortress? Check!
- Desert planet? Check!
- Forest planet? Check! (I was expecting Ewoks at any second!)
- Lovable small robot that communicates via electronic chatter? Check!
- Vital secrets stored in same robot? Check!

Did I miss any?

 

[MattsPrincess]

I'd really prefer for Rey to have no familial connection to an original series character. It's too easy, too obvious. I'd like it a lot more if she was just a girl that happened to have the force, the first of a new generation (or awakening, if you will) of jedi.

 

[Dentam]

We saw the film last evening, and while we enjoyed it a great deal, I was also thinking "Holy, plot line rehash, Batman!"
- Budding Jedi left on hostile desert planet? Check!
- Gigantic world destroying mega-weapon? Check!
- Said weapon destroyed after drench flying X-wing squadron attack? Check!
- Father/Son, good/evil conflict? Check!
- Cantina scene will strange looking aliens and a band? Check!
- Jailbreak from the bad-guy's mega-weapon fortress? Check!
- Desert planet? Check!
- Forest planet? Check! (I was expecting Ewoks at any second!)
- Lovable small robot that communicates via electronic chatter? Check!
- Vital secrets stored in same robot? Check!

Well, those are all the things that were loved about the originals and in the theater I was in, those were the things that seemed to strike a chord with the audience. I'd describe the reaction as "glee" when many of these familiar plot points were introduced. I really loved it.

ETA: Although I will say that the most original plot line to surface in this movie was also the best in my opinion - the storm trooper turned good guy.

 

[JediBonas]

I loved the movie, having said that:

I wish that, since they said the EU was no longer canon they KEPT to that. I feel like it borrowed from it. In the books, Han and Leia's son turns to the dark side (his name's not Ben, though, that's Luke's son's name).

Kylo Ren's temper tantrums got to be annoying. I also think Han and Leia would have a more attractive son.

 

[awalker1015]

I feel like a part of my childhood has died. Hans Solo was one of my first crushes. I thought the tantrums that Kylo Ren had were very amusing. He reminds me of my 4 year old when he doesn't get his way.

This!!!! I love Han, have since I was little. So sad he died but I guess I saw it coming.

I thought Leia was a weak link too. She seemed like she was either under or over medicated. Saw her on Jimmy Kimmel a few weeks ago and her behavior was bizarre.

All in all I thought it was fabulous!!! So much fun. I haven't enjoyed a movie that much since the first Jurassic Park.

 

[DisneyOma]

She'd have to be Han and Leia's daughter for it to make any sense, not just Han's. It's the Skywalker genes that would make her a Jedi.

Yoda, Qui Gon, so many Jedi did not have 'Skywalker' genes. If Anakin had some special genes, wouldn't it have come from his parents and they'd have had to be Jedi too? It's silly to think only one family can be Jedi, and Yoda was the strongest Jedi of them all at one point.

Rey would have to be Leia's daughter. Leia has Jedi genes, not Han (that we know of). And you're description of how Leia was played describes Carrie Fisher....battling drug problems, having to lose a ton of weight for the role and the intense scrutiny...beaten down and barely holding it together. Harrison channeled an aged Han. Even Mark Hamil had more "Luke" in his silent 30 seconds of air time than Carrie put "Leia" into her performance.

Adam Driver is nasty? That's an odd choice of words. I found him "not menacing" without the helmet, as I said above, but nasty? No.

Read some of the back story out there - Leia has been through so much, and may even regret not training to be a Jedi herself. I also think of how the US presidents age so much and lose so much of their fire while they are in the White House. I would think that would be similar to what Leia has gone through.

And yes, I think Adam Driver's looks are nasty. That's just my personal opinion of him, others may find him the perfect choice for the role.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Yoda, Qui Gon, so many Jedi did not have 'Skywalker' genes. If Anakin had some special genes, wouldn't it have come from his parents and they'd have had to be Jedi too? It's silly to think only one family can be Jedi, and Yoda was the strongest Jedi of them all at one point.



Read some of the back story out there - Leia has been through so much, and may even regret not training to be a Jedi herself. I also think of how the US presidents age so much and lose so much of their fire while they are in the White House. I would think that would be similar to what Leia has gone through.

And yes, I think Adam Driver's looks are nasty. That's just my personal opinion of him, others may find him the perfect choice for the role.

I never said only Skywalkers can be Jedis.
My point was they can't make Rey be only Han's daughter and make her a Jedi because it would wouldnt makes sense in the story. It would be lame.

 

[DanceswithDisney]

Because of Luke's speech in the second teaser about "the force being strong in my family...and you have that power too", I am convinced she is a Skywalker.

 

[VandVsmama]

Did Han's death surprise you by Kylo...his son? His name was BEN solo? Really? The fall into the abyss looked pretty CGI-y fake. How about Luke having no lines and appearing for 40 seconds at the end on the island (Skellig Michael).

When you saw Snoke did you think Gollum?

When Kylo takes off his mask, did you wonder why a young Professor Snape was in a SW movie?

That said, for Kylo to stop a laser bolt in mid air makes him more powerful that Yoda in my mind.

What say you!

Snoke - Gollum didn't come to mind at all for me or DH. Snoke seems pretty horrible and evil. Looking forward to seeing what he does in the next movie.

Luke only appearing at the very end of the movie - good plot move.

Kylo Ren's character:
Very complex character! His helmet is an awesome mix of Darth Vader-ish vibes plus it's also very medieval knight in nature. Very imposing, scary, intimidating. Plus, he's really tall like Darth Vader was in Episodes 4-6. Knows that he is very powerful, but he's also weak at the same time. There is a huge amount of desperation in him and that desperate nature will be his tragic downfall. Killing his father - very Shakespeare, very tragic and horrible, but wonderfully done in the movie. Of course his name is Ben Solo. He is Han and Leia's kid and they named him after Ben Kenobi.

Rey:
Totally awesome. Total hero. Very strong in the Force since she figured out on her own with no training how to use Jed mind tricks on the stormtrooper. My DH has read tons of Star Wars books and he said that the technique that Kylo Ren did on Rey when he was trying to get at the map in her head and she started to mentally resist him...that this technique is what Luke uses on people when he was trying to find people with Force abilities. For someone who inately is gifted in The Force, this technique "wakes it up" inside them. Awesome scene.

Rey is Luke's child. My DH said that at the very end of the movie when Luke shows up, Luke was standing over someone's grave and DH thinks that this is the grave of Rey's mother. I didn't pay attention to what Luke was looking at...will have to look harder on 12/24 when we see the movie a 2nd time!

Other stuff:

1. interaction between Chewbacca and Han Solo was awesome. Han Solo had all sorts of awesome sarcastic comments like he did in the original 3 movies. Loved the part when they were all outside in the wind and snow and he turns to Chewbacca and says something like "Cold? YOU're cold?"
2. On the super star destroyer, when those little robots were wheeling around the floor. All the other 3 movies had those. LOVED THAT!
3. Seeing Admiral Ackbar again
4. I don't know the character's name, but at the end of Empire Strikes Back when Han is frozen in carbonite and sent to Jaba the Hut and Lando Calrissian and this short frog-like looking alien are piloting the Millenium Falcon...the froggy alien dude was in this movie, too! YAY!
5. Special effects were great. They looked real, not a ton of obviously fake CGI stuff like in Episodes 1-3. Love how the movie studio BUILT FROM SCRATCH the whole entire "town" on Jakku in the middle of nowhere in the Middle East. Saw a short interview of JJ Abrams on Extra on YouTube late Friday night of last week and Abrams said that they built all of that themselves.
6. The part where Rey finds BB-8 in a net/bag attached hanging off of his weird camel-alien-creature that's being driven by a Jawa-looking alien - none of that is fake or CGI. It's all real physical special effects. AWESOME JOB, DISNEY!
7. The quality of the story-telling - top notch job. It wasn't a ton of somebody telling you "this happened, then that happened." The story unfolded in front of you through the action. Just consider that vision/flashback sequence with Rey when she touched Luke/Darth Vader's lightsaber...how much information was conveyed in a very short amount of time and with no dialogue! Very well done.

I was about 6-7 years old when the first Star Wars movie came out in the late 70's. I saw every Star Wars movie in the theater. THIS Star Wars movie felt like the original 3 Star Wars movies did. Adventure, joy, love, sadness, betrayal, and you leave the movie thinking, "I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT AGAIN! AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!"

Best movie I've seen in years.

 

[FINFAN]

What did he say that had him "come clean"?

they didn't show/ let us see, my wording of come clean is my guess as to what he was saying.

 

[BrianL]

I don't know the character's name, but at the end of Empire Strikes Back when Han is frozen in carbonite and sent to Jaba the Hut and Lando Calrissian and this short frog-like looking alien are piloting the Millenium Falcon...the froggy alien dude was in this movie, too! YAY!

Just to nerd all over you for a minute, that character is named Nien Numb and he is a Sullustian (as in "What about the Rebel Fleet massing near Sullust). He is a favorite character of mine and I loved seeing him in an X-Wing.

Also of note, Nien and Admiral Ackbar were both played by the same actors and voice actors from ROTJ (one of the team for Nien I think had passed, but the others were present).

 

[bcla]

Snoke - Gollum didn't come to mind at all for me or DH. Snoke seems pretty horrible and evil. Looking forward to seeing what he does in the next movie.

Luke only appearing at the very end of the movie - good plot move.

Kylo Ren's character:
Very complex character! His helmet is an awesome mix of Darth Vader-ish vibes plus it's also very medieval knight in nature. Very imposing, scary, intimidating. Plus, he's really tall like Darth Vader was in Episodes 4-6. Knows that he is very powerful, but he's also weak at the same time. There is a huge amount of desperation in him and that desperate nature will be his tragic downfall. Killing his father - very Shakespeare, very tragic and horrible, but wonderfully done in the movie. Of course his name is Ben Solo. He is Han and Leia's kid and they named him after Ben Kenobi.

Rey:
Totally awesome. Total hero. Very strong in the Force since she figured out on her own with no training how to use Jed mind tricks on the stormtrooper. My DH has read tons of Star Wars books and he said that the technique that Kylo Ren did on Rey when he was trying to get at the map in her head and she started to mentally resist him...that this technique is what Luke uses on people when he was trying to find people with Force abilities. For someone who inately is gifted in The Force, this technique "wakes it up" inside them. Awesome scene.

Rey is Luke's child. My DH said that at the very end of the movie when Luke shows up, Luke was standing over someone's grave and DH thinks that this is the grave of Rey's mother. I didn't pay attention to what Luke was looking at...will have to look harder on 12/24 when we see the movie a 2nd time!

Other stuff:

1. interaction between Chewbacca and Han Solo was awesome. Han Solo had all sorts of awesome sarcastic comments like he did in the original 3 movies. Loved the part when they were all outside in the wind and snow and he turns to Chewbacca and says something like "Cold? YOU're cold?"
2. On the super star destroyer, when those little robots were wheeling around the floor. All the other 3 movies had those. LOVED THAT!
3. Seeing Admiral Ackbar again
4. I don't know the character's name, but at the end of Empire Strikes Back when Han is frozen in carbonite and sent to Jaba the Hut and Lando Calrissian and this short frog-like looking alien are piloting the Millenium Falcon...the froggy alien dude was in this movie, too! YAY!
5. Special effects were great. They looked real, not a ton of obviously fake CGI stuff like in Episodes 1-3. Love how the movie studio BUILT FROM SCRATCH the whole entire "town" on Jakku in the middle of nowhere in the Middle East. Saw a short interview of JJ Abrams on Extra on YouTube late Friday night of last week and Abrams said that they built all of that themselves.
6. The part where Rey finds BB-8 in a net/bag attached hanging off of his weird camel-alien-creature that's being driven by a Jawa-looking alien - none of that is fake or CGI. It's all real physical special effects. AWESOME JOB, DISNEY!
7. The quality of the story-telling - top notch job. It wasn't a ton of somebody telling you "this happened, then that happened." The story unfolded in front of you through the action. Just consider that vision/flashback sequence with Rey when she touched Luke/Darth Vader's lightsaber...how much information was conveyed in a very short amount of time and with no dialogue! Very well done.

I was about 6-7 years old when the first Star Wars movie came out in the late 70's. I saw every Star Wars movie in the theater. THIS Star Wars movie felt like the original 3 Star Wars movies did. Adventure, joy, love, sadness, betrayal, and you leave the movie thinking, "I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT AGAIN! AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!"

Best movie I've seen in years.

If anything, the projection of Snoke reminded me of The Great and Powerful Oz! You know - sort of projected to be big and menacing but probably hiding some inadequacy.

As for the look - Abrahms wanted to go back to more traditional feel. BB-8 was done with a variety of robots and puppetry. They called one version the "bowling ball" that they just rolled really hard when they needed it to move quickly. It apparently had a head that was designed to stay upright. They actually used some puppetry techniques for BB-8, but then used digital editing to remove the rods or wires. It wouldn't surprise me if there weren't some scenes where the head was composed digitally.

I suppose the real big deal was going back to matte paintings for backgrounds. That's an old technique, but one that was done to great effect in the original trilogy. I didn't particularly care for the digitally added scenes in Return of the Jedi. I remember they looked really fake, with the celebrations looking like cartoons rather than real people.