Star Wars The Force Awakens Thread (SPOILERS)

Poe was a badass when taking out there new death star in that scene. I was like damn homeboy went through that shit like it was nothing. Not everybody in the film could have a major role. People I think need to realize that. I laughed at what happened to Captain Plasma. That was definitely a nod to Boba Fett's embarrassing defeat in Return of the Jedi. Also they stated very clearly no Sith.

I think the reason Poe ended up having a not major role is because he was supposed to die on Jakku. The original script had him dying.

Or they could just make multiple? Each with different shields that require more than ONE person's authorization to down? Why not make it underground, or better yet, in the ocean, I feel like that would make the most sense logically anyway. In any case, I'm pretty sure the Rebels (Resistance, whatever) destroyed this PLANET SIZED weapon with less firepower than they used to destroy either Death Star. Also, how is it that the Empire built a superweapon into a goddamn planet and the Rebels only found out about it AFTER they used it to blow up an entire Star System?

The choreography was below average at best. The fight between Rey and Kylo Ren was worse than any of the prequel fights, it was arguably worse than both Luke vs. Vader fights and those movies came out like forever ago. I guess it kind of makes sense because Rey shouldn't even know how to use a lightsaber at this point (if people could just learn lightsaber fighting by closing their eyes for a couple seconds it makes you wonder why the Jedi went through all that trouble to actually train their padawans), but all it's not like any of the rest of the movie makes any logical sense anyway, if they wanted to, I'm pretty sure they could have at least put some effort into making a cool lightsaber fight for the climax of the whole damn movie. The flight scenes were pretty cool, but I found it hard to suspend my disbelief of basic physics, especially for the atmospheric shots. I guess I'm getting too old for these movies.

In the end, I think you can make a case that this movie is worse than the prequels, not in sheer quality, but certainly in imagination. At least the prequels brought a multitude of interesting and different topics to the Star Wars Universe. Granted, these topics weren't executed on very well because George Lucas isn't that good of a director or filmmaker (by his own admission), moreso a visionary. However, I would almost rather prefer a film that tried something fresh and new and failed, over a film that checks all the boxes, but at its core is basically a reshot version of a movie that came out in 1977. ESPECIALLY in the genre of science fiction, which to me was always about pushing the boundaries.

And in the end, people basically wanted to relive the experience of watching Episode IV and JJ Abrams certainly delivered on that promise. I respect that, but I can't help but feel disappointed. Not as disappointed as I was watching the prequels, but still. Also, I really doubt that the sequels will be much more innovative, honestly. Look at Abrams' track record, especially how he mutilated Star Trek, transforming a unique, interesting show with awesome science fiction concepts, into basically a bunch of set pieces featuring things exploding. Even in the sequel, where one could argue he had more creative leeway, it was even more unoriginal than the first movie. I could be totally wrong about Episode VIII and IX, and I'll gladly eat my words if I am, but my expectations are rather low at this point. Also, honestly, I don't buy the argument that he had to play it safe. It's fucking Star Wars-- the guy could have Darth Vader shitting in the camera for an hour and a half and still have it gross at least 250 million. For how everyone almost universally hates the prequels, they still made more money than the original trilogy overall. It's just really hard to fuck up Star Wars.

The thing about the Starkiller raid scene with the X-Wings is that it received so little focus. Poe and his team were on screen for a few minutes, one of them got gunned down, and then the next thing you know, they've blown up the entire planet and basically said "Alright, job done, let's go home."

It would be interesting if the next Star Wars film deals with the after effects of the Starkiller Base being destroyed. If I remember rightly, there was a story in the old Expanded Universe in which Luke is told that there were millions of people on the Death Star just before it blew up and he killed all of them, which shook him up badly. It would probably shake up Poe pretty badly if someone in Episode VIII tells him that he caused the deaths of billions, some of which might have been secretly good like Finn and seeking to make new lives for themselves by evading the First Order because they wanted nothing to do with all the bloodshed and destruction Hux was causing.

Forceecho is right. I was watching a George Lucas interview the other day and while the dude is totally full of himself, he did specifically say that Star Wars is about good vs evil. He never intended for there to be any gray, I don't think.

So Force Awakens... it exists. That's all I can say for it. I like Rey, everything else is kust sort of meh. Also the Starkiller base was about the worse designed weapon I've ever seen. You need to suck up a Sun and only get to fire once, seems like a waste to me.