Star Wars: Episode 7 - The Force Awakens

[Neonman]

The biggest and most anticipated movie ever has just been released and it seems that, although most people feel positively about it, the film has been met with at least every possible reaction it could get. For me, it was okay. On the plus side, it was fairly enjoyable, had a great cast (that was often underused), THAT scene [spoiler]on the bridge[/spoiler]was perfectly done, some of the action was great, it showed off a hell of an immersive universe, and overall it's a well produced film with great effects and music and everything.
On the bad side, it doesn't feel too different from other underwhelming blockbuster flicks that have been out recently -- a lot of the action in this film was not well choreographed and was often very unexciting. The stormtroopers were always terrible shots, the dog-fights were just loud and flashy, and the ending lightsabre battle was a disappointment. Since a lot of the pacing was all over the place and we get more story progression than characterisation, I felt like I was watching a third of a film sandwiched between two others (RotJ that came well before it, and the next episode). For a film that certainly feels like an episode (like the other SW films, apart from the 4th one), it's curious that it's not often titled as "Episode 7".

What do y'all think?

[omgfridge]

Absolutely loved it. Thought it nailed the atmosphere, the humor and everything visual. It had impossible standards and met them. All the cast also delivered. Great option going with mostly unknowns.

Also I enjoyed the final light sabre fight. Thought they made the sabres feel more realistic in a way.

[jacobclark12]

Same. I've seen it twice already, loved it both times. There's a lot of stuff that I missed on my first viewing, which makes me want to keep going back and watching it. Daisy Ridley was fantastic. Abrams's direction was gorgeous. There's a lot more that I could go into, but I'll just link to my review of it: http://jacobclark512.blogspot.com/2015/12/star-wars-force-awakens-2015.html

[Stewball]

Meh. It felt like they were busier just trying to write all of the characters into a story than they we trying to make that story worthwhile. But that appears to be what the audience wanted. I'm just not one to bust into applause when Solo and Chewie first appear, or sigh when Leia does. And John Williams' music was only noticeable when they were using his old stuff. Daisy Ridley brought a lot of energy to her role, even though the feminist warrior shtick was forced, as was her relationship with the one dimensional Finn. I was glad to see Oscar Isaac get get some prominent work, though it wasn't much to work with. Last but not least, some of the action sequences were pretty good, though the humor was sparse in comparison to other recent movies in the genre.

Questions: [spoiler]Are Ren and Rey siblings? Is Ren dead? Which storm trooper was Daniel Craig? Did Ford require that Solo be killed off? Is X-wing light speed capability supposed to be a new technology (I don't believe they were capable before)--or was I not supposed to notice that?[/spoiler] And how, of all blockbusters, has this not made it into the Criticker database yet?

7/10

[Daigoro]

And how, of all blockbusters, has this not made it into the Criticker database yet?

Probably to avoid somebody posting spoilers in the mini-reviews section.

For your spoilered questions:
1. Unconfirmed (but most likely yes)
2. No
3. The one who was mind-tricked
4. It's possible. [spoiler]He suggested Solo be killed off back when they were still making episode 6, which Lucas obviously refused. Or it's probably just another "homage" to A New Hope, like the movie doesn't have more than enough of them already.[/spoiler]
5. Probably, they would have obviously made at least some improvements to them in the time since the events of ROTJ happened.

[Stewball]

And how, of all blockbusters, has this not made it into the Criticker database yet?

Probably to avoid somebody posting spoilers in the mini-reviews section.

Why start now?

As for #5, I'd have thought they'd have mentioned it at some point, unless they thought most people assumed they had that capability already. After all, nit-picking the trivia is a cottage industry when it comes to SW. To slip something like that in unprovenanced is pretty cheesy, IMNTBHO. Who the hell was in charge of continuity?

[Daigoro]

Who the hell was in charge of continuity?

The same people who said that 30 years worth of books are no longer canon.

[Stewball]

The same people who said that 30 years worth of books are no longer canon.

Ah....Anarchy!

[Anomaly]

And how, of all blockbusters, has this not made it into the Criticker database yet?

It's been in the database since at least the 15th, since that's when people started rating it.

[Stewball]

And how, of all blockbusters, has this not made it into the Criticker database yet?

It's been in the database since at least the 15th, since that's when people started rating it.

Ah. Apparently my failure to type "Episode" VII kept it from being retrieved along with a plethora of other SW entries. Whatever, but thanks for the info.