Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens (spoiler thread)

It's out (I'm seeing it Saturday)! Let's talk about it here.

project37 said:

It's out (I'm seeing it Saturday)! Let's talk about it here. ">

While I appreciate the Imperialness of your wake up time, I can't talk about it until you see it!

when can we spill? I'm busting here!

let's see- an orphan with the force on a desert planet, an evil leader with some light in him, a father-son battle on a high bridge, a hot shot pilot (or two), a bar full of creatures, and an old Jedi who lives alone in a remote location. Oh, and someone we love dies (that one sort of got me!). It's a fun ride but it's not a new story. The next big reveal will be who Rey actually is ( but I think we can figure that one out- it's a twin thing!)

Just saw it. Need more folks chiming in first though. Don't want to ruin it for anyone.

It's a spoiler thread

I'm in the camp that suspects that Rey is more likely Luke's daughter than Ben's sister.

Yeah, could be Either one- still pretty predictable, no?

Well, the crazier idea I have is that she could be 'conceived of the force' similar to Anakin. Possibly by Luke's influence. Disney seems to be going for pretty direct connections though, so that's probably too out there.

The thing that I found interesting is that Episodes I-III are so bogged down in political 'nonsense' - or so it seemed at the time. This Episode is perhaps a tad too free of political information. There's some that you can glean, but it takes a bit too much work to sort out exactly what is going on with the New Republic and the Resistance. It seems that the Resistance is meant to be seen as a separate group that the New Republic secretly funds to fight the First Order while appearing to be demilitarized and in potential violation of a cease fire agreement.  Now, if Lucas was in charge we'd have had 30-40 minutes dedicated to that which would have been too much, but we could have used an extra 2-3 minutes of explanation of that sort of stuff.

good point. It did feel a little "light" on the politics. Maybe 8 & 9 will get into more of that. I'd love to see how Ben turned as well under Luke.

I still am leaning towards Ben's twin taken from Leia at birth because of how conceited to Han Solo she was.

Both Carrie and Mark looked better than they have in years. Make up, costumes or did they lose weight and get a little "touch up"?

I am reeling a bit from Han Solos death. It was a pretty devastating and that it was so completely unexpected made it hit much harder.

I loved the end when Luke turned around and the shot of them on that mountain.

I think it's mostly weight loss.  From the look of Mark at the premiere it seems that he's lost even more for Episode 8 filming. Good sign that he's probably doing more than just standing on a ledge in that one!

There are hints of the politics in some of the ancillary releases such as the novels and comic books that have come out, so I don't know how much is being saved for those. A surpising amount of details are coming out from recently released reference books like 'Art of' and 'Visual Guide' and 'Cross Sections' books. For instance the Max von Sydow character is apparently part of something called the 'Church of the Force', at least according to the visual guide.

None of the big missing parts like how Maz got Anakin/Luke's saber, how Kylo got Vader's helmet, who Rey is, what actually happened with Luke/Ben/Rey/etc. is known or even hinted at. A bit interesting that there's such a big hole between the movies where a seeming lot happens. The gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope is also long, but you don't really feel like you've missed too much. A failed attempt to re-establish a Jedi Order is a pretty major thing to skip over!

conandrob240 said:

I loved the end when Luke turned around and the shot of them on that mountain.

Absolutely nothing to do with the plot at all, but during that scene where Rey was climbing up the island all I kept thinking was "That HAS to be Ireland" since the stone ruins looked so damned familiar. The rounded stone hut shown was built over a thousand years ago.

I liked that there wasn't an overload of politics.  It felt and looked more like IV, V, and VI.  

conandrob240 said:

Yeah, could be Either one- still pretty predictable, no?

It's mythology.  It's supposed to be predictable.

It is a movie and twists we've already seen. I was hoping for a new story. But this "retelling" was a fun ride! I walked out thinking "well, that's not a movie we needed. But I am glad we got it anyway!"

qrysdonnell said:

I think it's mostly weight loss.  From the look of Mark at the premiere it seems that he's lost even more for Episode 8 filming. Good sign that he's probably doing more than just standing on a ledge in that one!

There are hints of the politics in some of the ancillary releases such as the novels and comic books that have come out, so I don't know how much is being saved for those. A surpising amount of details are coming out from recently released reference books like 'Art of' and 'Visual Guide' and 'Cross Sections' books. For instance the Max von Sydow character is apparently part of something called the 'Church of the Force', at least according to the visual guide.

None of the big missing parts like how Maz got Anakin/Luke's saber, how Kylo got Vader's helmet, who Rey is, what actually happened with Luke/Ben/Rey/etc. is known or even hinted at. A bit interesting that there's such a big hole between the movies where a seeming lot happens. The gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope is also long, but you don't really feel like you've missed too much. A failed attempt to re-establish a Jedi Order is a pretty major thing to skip over!

I agree that we are missing a lot of what happened over 30 years. I hope 8 and 9 give us a bit more if that and answers to a lot of those Qs. That will give them the chance for Harrison Ford to stick around in flashbacks although I can't imagine they can turn the clock back for too many flashbacks of Carrie, Harrison and Mark.

we are on our way now.

I saw it this afternoon with my 8 year old and...wow. I'm so glad that I managed to steer clear of spoilers, because I didn't see the twists with Han coming.

So much to enjoy. A few random observations:

- I loved the fact that all of the new characters: Finn, Rey, Poe, and even BB-8 were instantly likable.  The timing of introducing the old characters was well-handled and well-executed. It really felt like a passing of the torch and I'd be happy seeing the new cast as the true leads going forward.

- Nice touch to have a Resistance fighter load critical information into a droid, who then wanders a desert planet looking for help.

- Kylo Ren was considerably more interesting than Darth Maul (who looked awesome, but that was it). It was fantastic to see him lose his cool and take it out on the room.

- Rey is a phenomenal lead character. I really appreciated seeing such a strong woman in the Star Wars universe (kicking ass left and right, even getting annoyed at Finn trying to take her hand). Poor Natalie Portman was reduced to a joke by the end, but there's no way that's happening here. Great to see her hold her own. Captain Phasma looked cool as hell and hopefully gets a bigger role in the next film.

- "That lightsaber belongs to *me.*" "Come and get it." Genuine chills. I liked the lightsaber fights being raw in the spirit of the original trilogy as opposed to the superhero hyper-choreography of the prequels.

- Love the unanswered questions: How was the lightsaber retrieved? Who is the Supreme Leader?  Who are Rey's parents? And maybe one just for me: What happened to Lando?

- That final scene, saving Luke for the very end, and then his wordless performance. The hand! I need to see that moment again as soon as possible.

Things I didn't love so much:

- The music didn't really have any standout cues for me, which was surprising. Even Phantom Menace had the thrilling "Duel of the Fates."

- The scene with Han being cornered by smugglers and the tentacle creatures could have gone and I wouldn't have missed it.

Loved it, and unlike the last few Star Wars movies, I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

great summary. Agree on all points!

project37 said:


- Kylo Ren was considerably more interesting than Darth Maul (who looked awesome, but that was it). It was fantastic to see him lose his cool and take it out on the room.

I loved the scene where two storm troopers are walking towards the room, realize he is going off once again, and carefully turn around and go the other way.

Our whole family really loved it.  JJ Abrams did a great job staying true to George Lucas' style in the original trilogy, down to the smallest details.  I was a little disappointed that there were so many plot similarities to A New Hope (really, another planet-destroying weapon?), but that's really my only complaint.  Every time an old character (including the Millennium Falcon) showed up, the theater cheered, which was so fun.  

I assume that Kylo Ren made it off of the planet before it exploded, because they didn't set up him killing his father simply to kill him off too - but since the MF just escaped in time, I'm not sure how anyone could have found him and gotten him off the planet too.  

I think there are a few possible options for Rey's lineage.  In keeping with the Ep IV similarities, she could be Ben Solo-Organa's twin sister.  Or she could be Luke's daughter, hidden away on a desert planet (like Luke was).  But I'm hoping that she is the granddaughter of Obi-Wan.  

I loved loved loved the new characters.  I loved that the bad guy was more than a big scary guy in a black suit.   I loved that there were frequent touches of wry humor, just like the original 3 movies.   I enjoyed the relationship between Han and Leia.  Loved when Han said "you changed your hair."

I loved the settings, especially the very last scene.  It would have been perfect except for one important detail.   As Rey was climbing up and winding through those ruins, very briefly, you see a piece of a stone cross, so immediately I thought, "where is that" .  Instead, the audience should be firmly planted in another place and time.

I was disappointed by the music.  Although it was very good, I thought there would be new themes for the new characters.  I kind of felt like John Williams just called it in.

I thought Snoke looked too much like Voldemort. 

Previously all the bad guys had Darth in their names, Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Darth Sidious.  If Ben worshiped Darth Vader so much, why didn't he change his name to something with "Darth" in it. 

Of course Rey is Luke's daughter.  Look at their names - Luke means light .  Rey - obvious.  Wonder who her mother is/was.

Here's what really bothered me ( spoiler ahead). Han and Leia treated Kylo Ren as if he were just a delinquent school boy who was running with a bad crowd.  "Bring our son back"    Really ??????   He was a mass murderer, wiping out entire villages without a second thought.   Wiping out planetary systems without a second thought.  

I think it would have been better drama if Han had been sent to stop Kylo and kill him if necessary ( to save the galaxy) instead of just being asked to bring their misbehaving son home. 

You gotta wonder though,  why people put up with those Skywalkers.  For 3 generations the entire galaxy has been ripped apart by a family squabble.

Ben isn't a Darth because he's not a Sith Lord. He's the master of the Ren order or something.

The Falcon must really be the fastest hunk of junk in the Galaxy because it was able to travel to Planet Luke more or less instantaneously.  I disliked the way Abrams compressed distances in the the Star Trek movies and was annoyed to see the same thing here.

Who was the old guy in the beginning?

ah @klinker I think that's a part the everyone missed. I'm not buying that Rey and Ben are twins. I think she is part of a Jedi line just maybe not the Skywalker one and Max von Sylow (?) Is the connection. I think Max was put on Jakoo to watch over her. He had the missing map to where Luke is so maybe you can argue that she could be Luke's daughter but am not convinced. 

It would be great if we had somebody who wasn't a Skywalker being a Jedi for once. It reinforces the lesson that anyone should be able to open themselves to it and become one with the Force, and that it's not just a combination of Mithras-like virgin-births and Kwisatz Haderach-style bloodline manipulation.

what a coincidence the falcon was just sitting there in working condition!!! And that her previous owner happened to be sitting in a freighter just there in space. 

The lack of Darth is probably related to whatever Snoke actually is. In the other trilogies we have the Jedi Order against the Sith Order. Snoke is supposed to be ancient and possibly has knowledge that predates the establishment of the Sith Order. What order would be before the Sith? The 'First' Order, one has to presume.

I suppose that Snoke feels that the Sith weren't quite doing it right, so he's taking things back to the beginning. Which apparently Luke was somewhat doing as well by searching for the first Jedi temple.

sarahzm said:

Previously all the bad guys had Darth in their names, Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Darth Sidious.  If Ben worshiped Darth Vader so much, why didn't he change his name to something with "Darth" in it. 

I thought the embrace between Leia and Rey at the end intersting, they hadn't met before and even given what had happened it seemed to point to something deeper, maybe the family (aunt?) she was looking for.

yes, that, how similar Rey was to Han and a line that said something like "like the father you never had" made me think they were setting it up for Rey to be Ben's twin.