Star Wars (There May Be Spoilers!)

[SpewLabour]

Opinions?

Saw it today - personally enjoyed it. Much more like the original trilogy, not the awful last 3.

[workingpoor]

I was bang up for seeing this and i almost went to the cinema on thursday morning, but i've read through the public reviews on the Guardian website and i think it could be just be a remake of IV & VI

I mean a 3rd death star really? that just makes the Empire / First Order look completely stupid.

(i heard the US audiences burst out laughing when the 3rd death star or "starkiller base" appeared).

I've heard there's even a sheild generator in a forest to knock out and a "trench run" lolz

I will still see it though, for me i don't consider the prequels part of the scene they were just complete rubbish.

I queued around the block in 1983 aged 7 to get in to see Return of the Jedi and it was well worth it.

The hype on this one almost had me but i haven't fallen for it.

[The Masked Tulip]

I notice that they have changed the helmets slightly from the other films.

I believe that there was a long, long legal battle between te designer of the films and Lucas over who owned the copyright to the helmet and the lucrative rights to replica helmets sold, etc, etc. I believe the designer eventually won the case so, I guess, this is why the helmet design has been changed.

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/why-did-jj-abrams-make-these-new-stormtrooper-helmets-f-1622586853

[The Masked Tulip]

[The Masked Tulip]

[The Masked Tulip]

Here is the story behind the legal battle. Interesting to see that Speilberg, Jame Cameron and Peter Jackson backed Lucas. They all must have been worried about the rammifications of losing re their own film merchandising.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12910683

[workingpoor]

Hmmm interesting i take it you mean the stormtrooper helmets? i noticed they had changed and i think they don't look as good as the originals.

I had thought they were trying to modernise them as the reason for the change.

I also notice the Tie Fighter pilots helmet's had changed for the worse as well.

[RichB]

I saw it last night and really enjoyed it. Sure it was a rehash of all the plot devices you've already seen but it was delivered well.

Also reminded me quite a lot of the robot chicken star wars, so that was good

[The Masked Tulip]

I also notice the Tie Fighter pilots helmet's had changed for the worse as well.

I think that was part of the legal case also.

[StainlessSteelCat]

Saw it on Friday. New cast have real potential, most of the old cast (bar Hamil) too old for the job and frankly not up to scratch. Leia is nothing like her previous character, in fact like nothing at all - there is nothing here, just a little old lady wandering around a Star Wars set looking rather bemused (she is supposed to be a General). Ford seems to be playing Han Solo with Alzheimer's - occasional flashes of the old Solo, but tempered by inappropriate facial expressions and odd dialogue.

Looks very good and is reasonably thrilling. At least, it is not as boring and utterly soulless as the prequels.

It is basically a remake/compilation of Star Wars greatest hits in a slightly different order than before. Zero originality. Another death star FFS. I hope it'll have the courage to tell its own story for the next one, but if this is a massive success and with the House of Mouse in control - it looks unlikely.

[Hail the Tripod]

It's a film that hands the baton on from a beloved cast to a whole new set. I think they really had to play heavily on the traditional Star Wars plot devices.

The only bit I found really irritating was the section on the ship that swallows the Falcon where they introduced Solo. All the events and dialogue on board that ship were dire. Loved the rest of the film, and got a genuine shiver of euphoria in some places.

[oracle]

Hmmm interesting i take it you mean the stormtrooper helmets? i noticed they had changed and i think they don't look as good as the originals.

I had thought they were trying to modernise them as the reason for the change.

I also notice the Tie Fighter pilots helmet's had changed for the worse as well.

so you think this is much better?

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjz4dWpiuvJAhWl63IKHc1fC-4QtwIILDAF&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DjTJq8co38Pk&usg=AFQjCNFZpySZMfuRagXbQviMPndT583vcA

saw it today, it's not bad, it's passable I suppose

bit of a re-hash to try and get some new blood with a same-ish storyline

[workingpoor]

Messing about with the look of the stormtrooper helmets in attack of the clones and just generally ruining all the costumes and outfits of the original trilogy is what heavily contributed to the complete naffness of the prequels in my opinion.

I can't help but think they could've been better if they had stuck to the tried and tested spacecraft like x-wings etc too.

It was the worn out battlescarred look of the rebel fleet that kind of told a story of what had gone before, then we got a load of CGI bizzare looking fighters in the prequels.

[Ted]

Watched this today. Preferred the prequels.

That's not to say it wasn't an enjoyable film. It was a good experience, worth the money. The acting in the prequels was terrible in parts, a little too much cgi but what it did have was a story. If Lucas knew anything it was how to setup an epic story arc which slowly evolved over course of the films, this one seemed to throw everything at you in one go and a lot of it made no sense at all.

The resistance? From what I can tell the New Republic is still going strong but all we have is a rag tag small band of resistance fighters. Where is the army of the New Republic? Have they already been destroyed? How? Give us some back story! If not why can't they field a bigger fleet??

There are a fair number of other aspects of the plot that make no sense at all, but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who has not seen it yet. The reactions of the characters to some huge events in the film fall well well short of what you would expect.

I enjoyed the star trek reboots. In those films there were a few nonsensical aspects of the plot but overall the films were good. The acting in this film is overall quite good, the visual and audio effects are good. The story is terrible.

I don't class myself as a huge Star Wars fan, so I don't know what the hard core fans out there are thinking.

[thombleached]

The resistance? From what I can tell the New Republic is still going strong but all we have is a rag tag small band of resistance fighters. Where is the army of the New Republic? Have they already been destroyed? How? Give us some back story! If not why can't they field a bigger fleet??

I agree on that point. I took it to read that the new republic either didn't need an army due to the empire being disbanded, or the republic isn't joined together enough for one central army.

The resistance presumably evolved from the rebel alliance when the first order reared it's head, without any support from the republic.

What I don't get is why they only have x-wings. When they're bombing the shit out of a certain round thing, where are the bomber class ships (Y/B)?

[cica]

Fantastic cinema experience. Many enjoyable scenes. Loved the desert stuff.

It definitely has its problems though. Some of the story points are weak but does just about get away with it. It's genuinely funny though which was refreshing.

As as been said, Episode I, II and III have some qualities in terms of epic storytelling but they are impossible to enjoy with truly dire acting and script constantly ruining almost every single scene. They are basically unwatchable. (I do love the visit by Obi-Wan to Kamino in II though). I'm still stunned there was no mechanism in place that didn't question George Lucas on what the hell he was doing in those films.

[workingpoor]

Is there any Tie bombers or Tie interceptors in the film?

I think the new design of the X-wing is pants too they should have left it alone.

[olde guto]

Just seen it.

Very enjoyable, certainly the best since Empire Strikes Back. Stuck well clear of any reviews and it's a far better use of a couple of hours than sitting in front of a PC looking at hpc (and better for the soul as well I think).

One thing that I really did like was that they didn't feel the need to fill-in all of the back story in Crayola. There are open questions, that may or may not be answered, like in the originals. I suspect some people won't appreciate this one little bit, but they forget that it took around 3 decades for some of us to find out why Anakin became Vader.

[Ted]

I still don't want to post any spoilers, but again, returning to the film and the characters reactions to two huge events. Or should I say lack of reaction.....

Contrast this to episode 2 attack of the clones, there is more drama here in 20 seconds than there is in the whole of the force awakens.

Perhaps this film was made for a new generation, but, will this film really persist in children's minds in the way the original films did?

[The Masked Tulip]

I think there might have been a Y-Wing on the ground before the attack and maybe one in space. Going to see again tomorrow so will confirm then.

In 'Saving Private Ryan' there was one wide shot of Omaha beach and it looked like D-Day was undertaken by 3 or 4 landing craft.

[Frank Hovis]

Fantastic cinema experience. Many enjoyable scenes. Loved the desert stuff.

It definitely has its problems though. Some of the story points are weak but does just about get away with it. It's genuinely funny though which was refreshing.

As as been said, Episode I, II and III have some qualities in terms of epic storytelling but they are impossible to enjoy with truly dire acting and script constantly ruining almost every single scene. They are basically unwatchable. (I do love the visit by Obi-Wan to Kamino in II though). I'm still stunned there was no mechanism in place that didn't question George Lucas on what the hell he was doing in those films.

Indeed. I don't even know how many I've seen but after I watched one with the dire Jar Jar Binks character I lost all interest and pegged it as having turned into a devalued franchise for kids; I haven't even considered going to the cinema for this one any more than I would go to see Frozen.

People need to be careful with their legacy.

[Venger]

The girl was the best thing about it. In all the best scenes. Carried it.

Had my doubts about the film back in a trailer when Han casually gave her a blaster-gun.

3.5/10

[interestrateripoff]

Saw it yesterday. Much more like the originals, however as others have said it's like a rehash of previous films. I came away thinking I could have wrote a far better film than what was scripted.

[Frank Hovis]

Saw it yesterday. Much more like the originals, however as others have said it's like a rehash of previous films. I came away thinking I could have wrote a far better film than what was scripted.

Is that a deliberate homage to Ernie Wise (a play what I wrote)?

[frozen_out]

Saw it yesterday. Much more like the originals, however as others have said it's like a rehash of previous films. I came away thinking I could have wrote a far better film than what was scripted.

You couldn't. I bet you couldn't write 30 seconds of decent dialogue.

Anyways - saw the film for the second time yesterday, with the kids this time.

A few niggles - the Kylo/Han reveal comes too early, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher can't act anymore, a 3rd death star is a bit lame, captain Phasma was underused and most certainly wouldn't have lowered the shields.

The rest of it is a brilliantly fun film that would stand alone outside of an extended universe. To compare it unfavourably to the prequel trilogy, or complain about dialogue and the lack of breasts in the lead actress is just nonsensical and ridiculously contrarian BS.