Star Wars Episode 7 and Disney buy Lucas Film

[SIP]

Well, have seen it three times now.....didn't enjoy the first showing to much (just way to much anticipation and how to get through), but really enjoyed it the other two times. Would happily suit through it a couple more times in the cinema,  but I'm now officially out of money! 

[Jim_Campbell]

As far as I can tell, kids bloody love this movie. Serious question for all the thirty/forty-something nerds and former nerds with their panties in a bunch over TFA

Repeated with important part bolded for the benefit of people who seem to have missed that bit.

Cheers

Jim

[CrazyFoxMachine]

Yeah we were visited by a six year old over Christmas. He unfortunately let slip a pretty major spoiler in his mad (principally lego set-based) excitement at the franchise but it was still pretty excited. His fever for a certain ship in LEGO got me reminiscing over one of my former favourite toys:



Sweeeeet. Loved that thing.

Anyway - in further news I'M SEEING IT IN A FEW HOURS so I can finally break my thread embargo - although I unfortunately wasn't wise enough to avoid FB which (due to its habit of shoving things that people have casually liked rather than deliberately shared) spoiled something pretty major for me over Christmas.

[Jim_Campbell]

So… having managed to remain more-or-less spoiler free, I got to see The Force Awakens yesterday… IMAX 3D not because I was particularly fussed about 3D but because it's the biggest screen and the best sound system at our local Cineworld. Turns out the 3D was pretty good, though.

First: I enjoyed it. I'll almost certainly go and see it again. The fun bits were fun, the exciting bits were exciting and the perilous bits had a sense of real peril.

I'm going to nit-pick a bit in the spoilery section below. There are proper spoiler in there, so don't unhide unless you've seen the movie:

I wish they'd held their nerve.

I liked the new stuff. I liked the new characters. I liked the evocation of lived-in solidity that connected the films back to the original trilogy in a way that the prequels never managed. I liked the way the original cast were used — I figured, given Ford's opinion on what should have happened to Han during Jedi, that Han was on shaky ground but Ford was so thoroughly engaging in the role that I found myself genuinely hoping that he'd make it.

I can accept that the film starts from a similar stand-point to the original — we live in an era where recent history has shown us that toppling a despot is very rarely a happy ending, so I'm comfortable with the idea that the post-Endor galaxy doesn't look that different to the pre-Endor one… I just wish they'd had the nerve to write a new finale instead of meticulously re-staging the one from Episode IV.

Plus, I'm not sure how those First Order strategy meetings must go…

"So, it's agreed — we're going to shift the balance of military power decisively in our favour. How do these planet-killing super-weapons stack up?"

"Well, there was the Death Star…"

"Right. Death Star. How did that work out?"

"The Empire fired it once and then a bunch of lightly armed fighter craft blew it up by exploiting a design flaw."

"Oh. OK… how did the Empire deal with that?"

"Bigger Death Star."

"Right. Bigger Death Star. How did that one work out?"

"Same guys blew it up using lightly armed fighter craft to exploit a design flaw before it was ever deployed."

"Oh. OK… and our plan is…?"

"Even bigger Death Star!"

"You've made sure there are no Achilles-Heel-type design flaws this time, right?"

But, like I said, the kids seem to love it. There's wonder and fun, and, crucially, I thought, a resistance to the urge to explain everything leaving space in the story-world for young imaginations to fill in. That's good enough for me.

Cheers

Jim

[Ancient Otter]

Even people don't like the film like Finn though, right?

[James Stacey]

I see what you mean Jim but didn't the star killer base effectively achieve exactly what it was built to do before it was destroyed? OK so the first Death Star destroyed Alderaan (pretty much just as an example of what it could do, the second didn't even get finished. This one destroyed (checks the internet) Hosnian Prime, the New Republics capitol and entire fleet. Yeah it felt like a bit of a rehash of almost every other Star Wars movie but I'd say the First Order one that one.

[TordelBack]

Yeah, that is sort of my take. It seems like a waste of massive investment to just use it once, but it did wipe out the Republic government and navy, and Snoke didn't seem too bothered. Luke, Klyo and Rey seemed to be his main interest.

[Professor Bear]

Did we actually see the "fleet" onscreen?

I like how it's accepted that we need to watch this film multiple times before we stop/start hating it properly.

[Ghost MacRoth]

Did we actually see the "fleet" onscreen?

I like how it's accepted that we need to watch this film multiple times before we stop/start hating it properly.

Nope.  Nor did we get any kind of confirmation that Starkiller base has ALL the first order troops on it....that's all simple inference and conjecture from fandom. Have only seen it the once thus far myself, so will accept any correction should I have missed a line or two someplace.

[TordelBack]

No, I'd say you're spot on there MacRoth, I don't think any of that is in the film. As mentioned before, note also that the Visual Guide makes it clear that the New Republic was largely demilitarised (remember that prior to AotC the Republic had no military) and decentralised, with the Senate sitting on different worlds in rotation.

[Mattofthespurs]

Saw it again for the second time today and loved it it more.
Went with my Dad, whose last visit to the cinema was about 10 years ago, and who has no interest in Star Wars, and my Wife who has even less interest in Star Wars.
They both loved it.
I loved it even more 2nd time around and it's now my favourite film of the franchise by some margin.

[JPMaybe]

Did we actually see the "fleet" onscreen?
I like how it's accepted that we need to watch this film multiple times before we stop/start hating it properly.

You can see one or two capital ships in orbit of Hosnian Prime, including one clearly Calamari design, if memory serves. Otherwise yeah, quite a let-down.

[TordelBack]

Did we actually see the "fleet" onscreen?
I like how it's accepted that we need to watch this film multiple times before we stop/start hating it properly.

You can see one or two capital ships in orbit of Hosnian Prime, including one clearly Calamari design, if memory serves. Otherwise yeah, quite a let-down.

Cor, missed that!

[CrazyFoxMachine]

That was everything I thought it would be. Still processing it so all this will be fairly scattershot but nobody is holding their breath for any new opinions a week and a half late so I'll be brief.

The first half an hour was an utter joy - brilliant fun and a great entrance for both Rey, Finn and Poe who were entirely more rounded than most characters from the original trilogy. Particularly Finn who's one of the most instantly likeable characters I've seen in recent years. After that it gets a lot busier and a great deal more predictable. Han's death was sadly quite obvious so the actual moment did nothing for me but Chewie's immediate shooting of Kylo had me clenching the chair GET HIM FUZZBALL. KILL THAT FUCKER. Even though the rash and misguided Kylo was a strong new character too. GET THE BASTARD. The ending unfortunately I knew so the bluntness of it wasn't overwhelming for me although if I had no idea I'd be quite irritated by it I imagine, ground to a halt rather nicely 'closing the book' if you get my drift.

Either way - lots of familiar elements to keep everyone on side, literally no mention of the prequels in any form, a lot of darkness, a lot of great flying and fightin', great physical aliens, really nice immediate feeling fights. A solid film and in my view a very strong start to what should be a fun new trilogy.

[radiator]

You know that bit where they hide Luke from his father by leaving him with his uncle and not even changing his name! or when the death star apparently travels to the secret rebel base, I assume across space, but then has to take 10 mins to get around a planet to blow up the base (rather than just killing the planet too), thus giving the rebels time to organize a counter attack. I just can't get past them 

and the bit were han and luke could fit all their normal clothes including boots beneath the stormtrooper armour

Good job there on completely misunderstanding what a plot hole is.