Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

[Hurlshort]

"I also don't want this to end up like Lost. I hope JJ knows what all the flashbacks and visions mean"

 

JJ don't direct next movie so I don't think it is up to him how they will explain Rey's past.

 

He is still producing, so it's not like he is completely gone.

 

Also LOST was awesome, and I loved the way it ended.       

[Leferd]

I've also been rewatching the first season of Alias. That was a good show as well.

[Raithe]

I've also been rewatching the first season of Alias. That was a good show as well.

 

It was good. Silly, but good. And the last episode was really well done.

[Blarghagh]

I actually watched the Phantom Menace yesterday to freshen up my impression - and while it is definitely worse overall than Force Awakens, it still has more SW charm than what Abrams has done. And a better story (which doesn't mean the story is actually good). Its just that PM's flaws are incredibly grating and ruin the experience while FA's are better covered up. And, well, based on an already functional formula - whereas PM does something new.

 

*shrug*

 

I've said this before, but despite it being the worst film among the prequels Phantom Menace is my favourite. One of the reasons is because it really captured the whole space fantasy aspect of Star Wars. Naboo is gorgeous, we got space chariot races, our heroes free slaves, save the queen and almost literally sword-fight a demon (oh man, it sounds so awesome, why is it sooo bad). Whereas the other two were more sci-fi war films set in the same world as Star Wars and not quite Space Fantasy.

Edited December 24, 2015 by TrueNeutral

[Drowsy Emperor]

If it wasn't for Jar Jar, a weak script (full of arbitrary ****, like leaving Anakin's mother behind on a practically lawless planet where anything you can get away with goes - only for subsequent drama reasons) and underwhelming performances it would have been quite good.  

 

With half a million votes it now holds a score of 6.5 on Imdb, which is mediocre/poor while FA with 250000 votes has 8.7 (although like all new films it will drop substantially over time) which is incredibly high. While there was undoubtedly substantial artificial boosting with fake accounts which is standard practice today (and was not the case when Phantom menace was released and Imdb scores less relevant to cinema attendance), it seems that the audiences liked FA much more.

 

I find this particularly interesting because there were so many weak aspects to FA, even compared to the prequel films. I'd say its a case of everyone getting swept up in the marketing (and it was insane, everywhere I looked there were images of stormtroopers and other SW references). While I don't find it inconceivable that someone could like FA, it doesn't hold a candle even to Return of the Jedi, even perhaps Revenge of the Sith.

 

Anyway, I'm glad that Abrams isn't doing the sequel (frankly, I think he's a very poor imitator of Spielberg, and that is not a man known for making incredibly deep and layered films either)- fingers crossed for something better next time around. I think with all the accumulated lore and ideas - a SW reboot could easily be done much better, although a clean slate would help (how is anyone going to fix Snoke?).

Edited December 24, 2015 by Drowsy Emperor

[Hurlshort]

Obviously Disney has revved up the marketing to a new level, but I'm not sure that has too much bearing on the entertainment factor of the movie.  Abrams makes highly entertaining films, by and large.  The majority of people seem to enjoy them.  Nothing wrong with going against that, I think we all have stuff that makes us scratch our head over their popularity.  I'm bummed for you that it is happening to Star Wars, which you obviously have an affinity for.  

[Namutree]

If it wasn't for Jar Jar, a weak script (full of arbitrary ****, like leaving Anakin's mother behind on a practically lawless planet where anything you can get away with goes - only for subsequent drama reasons) and underwhelming performances it would have been quite good.  

 

So if they were totally different movies.

 

 

 

I find this particularly interesting because there were so many weak aspects to FA, even compared to the prequel films. I'd say its a case of everyone getting swept up in the marketing (and it was insane, everywhere I looked there were images of stormtroopers and other SW references). While I don't find it inconceivable that someone could like FA, it doesn't hold a candle even to Return of the Jedi, even perhaps Revenge of the Sith.

It definitely doesn't hold a candle to any of the original trilogy movies. I think overall it's about the same level of quality as Revenge of the Sith.

 

 

although a clean slate would help (how is anyone going to fix Snoke?).

Have Kylo Ren betray and pwn him in the next movie so we don't have to deal with him anymore. His purpose in the new trilogy would just to be a device to show Ren's progress as a dark side user.

[Drowsy Emperor]

Obviously Disney has revved up the marketing to a new level, but I'm not sure that has too much bearing on the entertainment factor of the movie.  Abrams makes highly entertaining films, by and large.  The majority of people seem to enjoy them.  Nothing wrong with going against that, I think we all have stuff that makes us scratch our head over their popularity.  I'm bummed for you that it is happening to Star Wars, which you obviously have an affinity for.  

 

Actually I'm not all that enamored with Star Wars, but I do like space fantasy/space opera in general and I've been craving something good in the genre now that effects have reached a point where the only limit is creativity and no they longer look as uncanny valley as they used to (although I really like real physical models, and prefer them whenever possible to CGI). 

But for some reason, almost all high budget sci-fi films are either in the superhero genre, dystopic "arenas" (I forget what the Maze, Hunger Games etc. genre is called) or remakes/reboots. And made by Nolan

 

The last thing I watched that was genuinely interesting and new was Edge of Tomorrow. 

[Drowsy Emperor]

 

 

Have Kylo Ren betray and pwn him in the next movie so we don't have to deal with him anymore. His purpose in the new trilogy would just to be a device to show Ren's progress as a dark side user.

 

 

 

Believe it or not, just moments ago I was thinking that would be the best thing that could happen. Kylo Ren becomes unbalanced after killing dad > slaughters Snokey in a fit of fury > someone new is introduced for the sith as Ren's competitor (so we don't have to watch Ren all the time). Win-win.

[Blarghagh]

If it wasn't for Jar Jar, a weak script (full of arbitrary ****, like leaving Anakin's mother behind on a practically lawless planet where anything you can get away with goes - only for subsequent drama reasons) and underwhelming performances it would have been quite good.

 

With half a million votes it now holds a score of 6.5 on Imdb, which is mediocre/poor while FA with 250000 votes has 8.7 (although like all new films it will drop substantially over time) which is incredibly high. While there was undoubtedly substantial artificial boosting with fake accounts which is standard practice today (and was not the case when Phantom menace was released and Imdb scores less relevant to cinema attendance), it seems that the audiences liked FA much more.

 

I find this particularly interesting because there were so many weak aspects to FA, even compared to the prequel films. I'd say its a case of everyone getting swept up in the marketing (and it was insane, everywhere I looked there were images of stormtroopers and other SW references). While I don't find it inconceivable that someone could like FA, it doesn't hold a candle even to Return of the Jedi, even perhaps Revenge of the Sith.

 

Anyway, I'm glad that Abrams isn't doing the sequel (frankly, I think he's a very poor imitator of Spielberg, and that is not a man known for making incredibly deep and layered films either)- fingers crossed for something better next time around. I think with all the accumulated lore and ideas - a SW reboot could easily be done much better, although a clean slate would help (how is anyone going to fix Snoke?).

I don't know. Force Awakens has flaws but on the most part it has characters who for the most part have at least a little personality, clear stakes and goals and some nifty action sequences fueled by some character motivation and especially how it echoes a lot of the original movie to appeal to people's nostalgia. It's not hard to see why it's well-liked. Comparing to The Phantom Menace as a trilogy starter, I can't say that movie had any of those things.

 

In Force Awakens, the lead is Rey. I mean, I can't even tell who the lead is supposed to be in Phantom Menace. It's not Obi-Wan, he gets left behind most of the film. It's not Padmé or the Queen, who are treated as seperate characters and we barely get to know. It's definitely not Anakin, he doesn't even appear until halfway through. In Force Awakens, we know what will happen if they don't blow up Death Star 3.0 - Leia and the Resistance dies. What happens if the Trade Federation wins in Phantom Menace? During the lightsaber battle in Force Awakens, they're fighting for survival and revenge. In Phantom Menace, they're fighting because Darth Maul... is there, I guess? As simple and one note as the personalities in Force Awakens are (Finn the coward with a conscience, Poe the snarky pilot with something to prove, Kylo Ren the insecure emo Sith Lord wannabe) at least they are personalities, even when not counting the always crowd-pleasing Han Solo. What's Qui-Gonn's personality in Phantom Menace? Stoic? Obi-Wan's also kindof... stoic. Padmé is stoic and the queen even moreso. The Jedi council? All stoic. The only really memorable personality in Phantom Menace is Jar Jar... that's not really great.

 

Like I said, I have a fondness for Phantom Menace mostly because of the great design work of a space fantasy adventure, but I can see why people would gravitate towards this one moreso than Phantom Menace, at least.

 

Anyway, crowd-pleasing doesn't exactly make a good film. Millions apparently loved Jurassic World. Hell, I'm one of them*, thoroughly enjoyed that dinosaur romp - probably enjoyed that film on a visceral "fun" level more than any other film this year. Doesn't mean it's a quality story.

 

*Don't judge me. Jurassic Park is MY Star Wars. It's the first movie I ever saw in theatres, the first time a movie completely blew me away and it's tailor made to my childhood obsession with dinosaurs. It's a perfect storm of elements that I love. What is essentially a light action-remix full of nostalgia and silly but awesome moments is right up my alley, especially in a time when even superhero movies are sometimes gloomy, humorless affairs that take themselves too seriously (I'm looking at you, Man of Steel). I cheered when the old T-Rex from the original movie showed up and kicked ass and I'm not ashamed of it.

Edited December 24, 2015 by TrueNeutral
cut out the quote for some reason

[Drowsy Emperor]

I was seriously infatuated with Jurassic Park.

 

At the time I was living in Africa and my dad brought back an ostrich egg that was left behind. Everyone thought it was just egg yolk as it usually happens with the eggs that are abandoned. Anyway, my infatuation with JP led to me leaving the egg in a blanket (instead of it being punctured to drain) until a few hours later it cracked. I got shouted at for breaking the new ornament, but the joke was on my parents - a baby ostrich hatched a bit later and had to be driven to a friend's farm. Damn thing is tall when it learns to stand.

 

It was a fun experience. That's how Spielberg saved an ostrich, and one day, when he comes before God, that will make up for a lot of the films he subsequently inflicted upon us.

 

And, for an afternoon, I was a mom to an ostrich <3

Edited December 24, 2015 by Drowsy Emperor

[Namutree]

I was seriously infatuated with Jurassic Park.

 

At the time I was living in Africa and my dad brought back an ostrich egg that was left behind. Everyone thought it was just egg yolk as it usually happens with the eggs that are abandoned. Anyway, my infatuation with JP led to me leaving the egg in a blanket (instead of it being punctured to drain) until a few hours later it cracked. I got shouted at for breaking the new ornament, but the joke was on my parents - a baby ostrich hatched a bit later and had to be driven to a friend's farm. Damn thing is tall when it learns to stand.

 

It was a fun experience. That's how Spielberg saved an ostrich, and one day, when he comes before God, that will make up for a lot of the films he subsequently inflicted upon us.

 

And, for an afternoon, I was a mom to an ostrich <3

If true that's a wonderful story.

 

EDIT: My life has been so... Without any wonderful moments I simply cannot believe anything neat like that is possible.

Edited December 24, 2015 by Namutree

[Drowsy Emperor]

In retrospect the most surprising thing is that no one realized that there was a grown ostrich inside the egg as it was quite heavy and you couldn't feel anything sloshing around inside.  It felt so solid and alive that putting it somewhere warm was practically a compulsive action.

 

The little fella got away from certain death, cause when mom abandons the nest, its done for - warthogs and other critters usually eat everything that's left behind.

 

Interesting fact - ostriches make fairly good guard dogs. Extremely territorial, and can get used to its owners. The problem is only if anyone else comes to visit as they can deliver a potentially deadly kick. They hit like a brick and have sharp talons. 

Edited December 24, 2015 by Drowsy Emperor

[teknoman2]

i can finaly roam the internet free... i finaly saw it and now i dont fear spoilers anymore

as most reviews said: great movie, but a bit too similar to the first

Edited December 24, 2015 by teknoman2

[Hurlshort]

I just got back from a second showing, my 5-year old did great.  There are a few scenes that really got me a bit emotional, even on a second viewing.  They were handled extremely well:

 

 

 

1.  The moment when Rey mentally fights back against Kylo Ren.  I was impressed at how much they packed into two people staring at each other.

 

2.  Kylo and Han on the bridge.  This is obviously a very important moment, one that could have been botched easily, but it was done right.

 

3.  Rey finding Luke.  It was an awesome end.  It had my 5 year-old on the edge of his seat after a 2 and a half hour movie.  That's special.

 

 

[Malcador]

Saw it. It was alright, nothing amazing. Still laugh at Star Wars when it comes to the military's actions - disappointed that there were no new Y-wings too.

 

Found the soundtrack had nothing stand out to. Will have another viewing with friends so will listen closer.

 

Hux's speech was quite crap too. Though I am not sure why the Resistance is not the Republic in all of this

[Raithe]

 

 

 

 

Edited December 26, 2015 by Raithe

[Drowsy Emperor]

Saw it. It was alright, nothing amazing. Still laugh at Star Wars when it comes to the military's actions - disappointed that there were no new Y-wings too.

 

Found the soundtrack had nothing stand out to. Will have another viewing with friends so will listen closer.

 

Hux's speech was quite crap too. Though I am not sure why the Resistance is not the Republic in all of this

 

Yes its unclear who they're actually resisting. And why they're still a rag tag bunch after winning the war, same dingy bunker HQ, same handful of aircraft, same fish head general (how long do they live?), even the same froglike guy that was piloting with Lando :D . Even a fat x wing pilot.

 

And why they're looking for Luke (perhaps the guy would come back on his own when he felt like it?). And umm yeah.

 

Btw the FO must be the most unsuccessful organization ever. Seemingly limitless resources but they didn't have a single measurable success in the film. 

 

This solo effort is better than all the action scenes in the film: :D

 

https://youtu.be/PN_CP4SuoTU

Edited December 27, 2015 by Drowsy Emperor

[CoM_Solaufein]

I found this interesting https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWars/comments/3xfbor/spoilers_kotor_influence_in_the_force_awakens/ with the Kotor similarities.

 

Also I picked up a Force Awakens book A Visual Dictionary and there's a map showing the Starkiller planet in the Unknown area of space not too far from Rakata Prime.

[Rostere]

And break all the established rules of the SW universe, by being able to use the force and lightsaber untrained. I'm sure they'll find a semi-plausible explanation in the next film, but its a far cry from Luke in the first film. He may be a walking peasant-to-hero archetype but at least its all credible and well executed in the context of the film. 

 

I feel you have kind of missed the point completely. Did you even watch the movie or have you just read reviews? Of course you are meant to think firstly that Rey is powerful, you are meant to think that her past seems fishy and she might already have received training. It's established very early in the movie that she is a capable fighter, on the other hand we do not know if Kylo Ren has received any training at fighting with a lightsabre at all. In fact, him using never before seen force powers but still not being an unbeatable fighter would perhaps hint towards the nature of his master.

 

In terms of breaking established rules the one thing that bothered me most was Han's hyperspace jump behind the Starkiller base shields. Good grief why did they drop a ground team on Endor with a stolen shuttle in Return of the Jedi if they could have just jumped right on top of the shield generator, or just jumped straight to the entrance of the second Death Star's superstructure?

 

Clearly this is extremely dangerous - Han Solo which is implied as being the best pilot around consider this approach almost suicidal. This is like saying "well, if the Nazis could drop paratroopers on Crete, why didn't they just drop paratroopers on London?".

 

The film is full of plot holes and nonsense like that. Most movies are, but Abrams really doesn't care about that sort of thing. All he wants is for people to walk away with the impression that they've seen something great and the constant action is there to divert their attention from the many inconsistencies. Make the death star bigger, make an in joke about it being the same thing only ten times as large and presto - you're excused for making the third film about blowing up a death star :D 

 

This is funny you know - I see that we disagree on the quality of TFA. I have often thought starting from several years ago that the more often a review mentions the word "plot hole", the more retarded the reviewer is, and the better the movie. I have yet to see any exceptions to this, and as I joke I have thought that I would try to intentionally find reviews mentioning "plot holes" in order to find movies to watch.

 

I mean, think of the people who upon watching Blade Runner go "It's a plot hole that they don't say if Deckard is a replicant or not", nevermind a movie such as "Stalker" which will just go almost completely over their heads. 2001 and Prometheus are also movies which seem to short-circuit some people.

 

If it wasn't for Jar Jar, a weak script (full of arbitrary ****, like leaving Anakin's mother behind on a practically lawless planet where anything you can get away with goes - only for subsequent drama reasons) and underwhelming performances it would have been quite good.  

 

I'm not defending Episode I here, but isn't it pretty clear that she can't go with them since Jedi can't have any wordly attachments? I mean, this is how real-world monastic orders operate so I would find the opposite to be silly TBH.

 

Believe it or not, just moments ago I was thinking that would be the best thing that could happen. Kylo Ren becomes unbalanced after killing dad > slaughters Snokey in a fit of fury > someone new is introduced for the Sith as Ren's competitor (so we don't have to watch Ren all the time). Win-win.

 

I am 99% sure that Kylo Ren and Snoke will turn on each other in the next movie. But I think it is most likely that neither will kill the other (at least until the last movie). I think Snoke will attack Kylo Ren and not the other way around, though.

 

Found the soundtrack had nothing stand out to. Will have another viewing with friends so will listen closer.

 

I was mildly disappointed with the soundtrack, but this stood out for me. IMO there is a significant possibility that Williams does not get to score all the movies in the current trilogy.

 

Hux's speech was quite crap too.

 

What do you mean? What did you expect?

 

I found this interesting https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWars/comments/3xfbor/spoilers_kotor_influence_in_the_force_awakens/ with the Kotor similarities.

 

Also I picked up a Force Awakens book A Visual Dictionary and there's a map showing the Starkiller planet in the Unknown area of space not too far from Rakata Prime.

 

Since we have only seen Snoke as a hologram, he might be something different than what we've been shown thus far (like a Rakatan for example).

 

 

 

Some indicators thus far seem to point to that he is in fact Darth Plagueis, or at least someone connected to him.

1. Snoke's theme. Listen to the music played during this sequence. Coincidence?
2. Kylo Ren saying "Supreme Leader Snoke is wise". You mean, like "Darth Plagueis the wise"? At this point I was smiling when I watched the movie.

But much of the reason I suspect this is also that the plot seems to be building up towards some kind of plot where Snoke wants to inhabit the body of a suitable force user. Continuing with the Darth Plagueis theory, we know that he could supposedly "cheat death". Since this is the dark side we're talking, I suspect cheating death comes with some kind of sacrifice. Snoke has thus far prioritized Kylo Ren but is going to want Rey if she is in fact more powerful. Rey will definitely be tempted towards the dark side as IMO this is already implied as her main character flaw/challenge, and Snoke will try to pit Rey against Kylo Ren and have one of them kill the other. Han Solo even says that "Snoke is using you for your power. When he gets what he wants, he'll crush you". I don't understand how Han Solo could have this knowledge but I think the viewer should take what he says for a fact there.

 

 

[Drowsy Emperor]

 

And break all the established rules of the SW universe, by being able to use the force and lightsaber untrained. I'm sure they'll find a semi-plausible explanation in the next film, but its a far cry from Luke in the first film. He may be a walking peasant-to-hero archetype but at least its all credible and well executed in the context of the film. 

 

I feel you have kind of missed the point completely. Did you even watch the movie or have you just read reviews? Of course you are meant to think firstly that Rey is powerful, you are meant to think that her past seems fishy and she might already have received training. It's established very early in the movie that she is a capable fighter, on the other hand we do not know if Kylo Ren has received any training at fighting with a lightsabre at all. In fact, him using never before seen force powers but still not being an unbeatable fighter would perhaps hint towards the nature of his master.

 

In terms of breaking established rules the one thing that bothered me most was Han's hyperspace jump behind the Starkiller base shields. Good grief why did they drop a ground team on Endor with a stolen shuttle in Return of the Jedi if they could have just jumped right on top of the shield generator, or just jumped straight to the entrance of the second Death Star's superstructure?

 

Clearly this is extremely dangerous - Han Solo which is implied as being the best pilot around consider this approach almost suicidal. This is like saying "well, if the Nazis could drop paratroopers on Crete, why didn't they just drop paratroopers on London?".

 

The film is full of plot holes and nonsense like that. Most movies are, but Abrams really doesn't care about that sort of thing. All he wants is for people to walk away with the impression that they've seen something great and the constant action is there to divert their attention from the many inconsistencies. Make the death star bigger, make an in joke about it being the same thing only ten times as large and presto - you're excused for making the third film about blowing up a death star :D 

 

This is funny you know - I see that we disagree on the quality of TFA. I have often thought starting from several years ago that the more often a review mentions the word "plot hole", the more retarded the reviewer is, and the better the movie. I have yet to see any exceptions to this, and as I joke I have thought that I would try to intentionally find reviews mentioning "plot holes" in order to find movies to watch.

 

I mean, think of the people who upon watching Blade Runner go "It's a plot hole that they don't say if Deckard is a replicant or not", nevermind a movie such as "Stalker" which will just go almost completely over their heads. 2001 and Prometheus are also movies which seem to short-circuit some people.

 

If it wasn't for Jar Jar, a weak script (full of arbitrary ****, like leaving Anakin's mother behind on a practically lawless planet where anything you can get away with goes - only for subsequent drama reasons) and underwhelming performances it would have been quite good.  

 

I'm not defending Episode I here, but isn't it pretty clear that she can't go with them since Jedi can't have any wordly attachments? I mean, this is how real-world monastic orders operate so I would find the opposite to be silly TBH.

 

Believe it or not, just moments ago I was thinking that would be the best thing that could happen. Kylo Ren becomes unbalanced after killing dad > slaughters Snokey in a fit of fury > someone new is introduced for the Sith as Ren's competitor (so we don't have to watch Ren all the time). Win-win.

 

I am 99% sure that Kylo Ren and Snoke will turn on each other in the next movie. But I think it is most likely that neither will kill the other (at least until the last movie). I think Snoke will attack Kylo Ren and not the other way around, though.

 

Found the soundtrack had nothing stand out to. Will have another viewing with friends so will listen closer.

 

I was mildly disappointed with the soundtrack, but this stood out for me. IMO there is a significant possibility that Williams does not get to score all the movies in the current trilogy.

 

Hux's speech was quite crap too.

 

What do you mean? What did you expect?

 

I found this interesting https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWars/comments/3xfbor/spoilers_kotor_influence_in_the_force_awakens/ with the Kotor similarities.

 

Also I picked up a Force Awakens book A Visual Dictionary and there's a map showing the Starkiller planet in the Unknown area of space not too far from Rakata Prime.

 

Since we have only seen Snoke as a hologram, he might be something different than what we've been shown thus far (like a Rakatan for example).

 

 

 

Some indicators thus far seem to point to that he is in fact Darth Plagueis, or at least someone connected to him.

1. Snoke's theme. Listen to the music played during this sequence. Coincidence?
2. Kylo Ren saying "Supreme Leader Snoke is wise". You mean, like "Darth Plagueis the wise"? At this point I was smiling when I watched the movie.

But much of the reason I suspect this is also that the plot seems to be building up towards some kind of plot where Snoke wants to inhabit the body of a suitable force user. Continuing with the Darth Plagueis theory, we know that he could supposedly "cheat death". Since this is the dark side we're talking, I suspect cheating death comes with some kind of sacrifice. Snoke has thus far prioritized Kylo Ren but is going to want Rey if she is in fact more powerful. Rey will definitely be tempted towards the dark side as IMO this is already implied as her main character flaw/challenge, and Snoke will try to pit Rey against Kylo Ren and have one of them kill the other. Han Solo even says that "Snoke is using you for your power. When he gets what he wants, he'll crush you". I don't understand how Han Solo could have this knowledge but I think the viewer should take what he says for a fact there.

 

 

 

 

You're looking for explanations and excuses that are not substantiated in the film and may or may not be be explained away in the sequel. However I seriously doubt it as this film didn't bother to explain a lot of otherwise basic things - most importantly why is the universe frozen in the state from 40 years later (Han Solo again a rogue, why is there still a resistance, why is there a new death star [how does an inferior force design a far superior weapon that's x times larger?] etc. etc.). Of course, the obvious answer is that its a remake and not a real sequel, and the immediate question is why? Its supposed to be a 9 part epic with a continuous storyline, something even the prequels had. Why is it the same thing from 40 years ago? 

Once we get the obvious reboot out of the way, on its own merits its a watered down version of A New Hope, less plausible and less well crafted for its time.

 

There's nothing to short circuit with Prometheus, the film is brainless garbage. I still chuckle when I remember the scene in which the donut ship (that was oh so nice in the original Alien) rolls around while one of the characters runs in front of it, a veritable cherry on top after idiot geologists and alien cobras, zombies, spontanious c-sections after which the main actress runs around the ship covered in blood and no one bats an eye... Its a galaxy apart from Stalker or Blade Runner, or even Alien. Hell, it makes the Incredible Hulk look like Citizen Kane.

 

There was no reason to leave Anakin's mother on Tatooine. They could have taken her anywhere else, at the very least got her out of slavery and to safety. There is no plausible explanation why Qui and Obi didn't do it since they have 0 qualms about breaking laws in general.

[Rostere]

You're looking for explanations and excuses that are not substantiated in the film and may or may not be be explained away in the sequel.

 

But most of the things I mentioned are in the movie. But even if they weren't, these are the first things which come to mind.

 

I am kind of tired of people who need everything explained to them. It would be very boring if all movies were just a huge blah-blah-blah of exposition, leaving no room for interpretation. Only movies made for an infantile mind need to explain absolutely everything. IMO the best movies are those who leave important plot points open for interpretation. In particular the original Star Wars movie leaves pretty much everything to the viewer's speculation.

 

It doesn't matter if things are not explained in the sequel, or rather, I hope they are not explained in a huge mess of flashbacks and contrived dialogue filled to the brim with exposition. It's kind of funny, I came to the TFA screening with expectations of a 5/10 movie (I actually saw JJ's Star Trek reboot so...), but got something more like 8.5/10, but even with that in mind I fear the sequel will be a 5/10 because they might attempt to answer too many questions. If you do that without creating the same amount of mystique you will end up with something like the prequels (although the PT has lots of faults in addition to this of course).

 

 

However I seriously doubt it as this film didn't bother to explain a lot of otherwise basic things - most importantly why is the universe frozen in the state from 40 years later

 

Look at the state of Britain's military just before the outbreak of WW2. Now imagine that the remnants of the Empire made a peace resulting in disarmament with the Republic similar to how the Allied powers thought the Versailles peace would turn out. It's not unrealistic that the Republic disarmed even though they were the winners since that has happened again and again IRL. This should be pretty clear from the movie.

 

 

(Han Solo again a rogue, why is there still a resistance,

 

You're reasoning about this the wrong way. Han Solo was always a rogue. The question should rather be how he managed to settle down for some time.

 

There is also not "still" a resistance. And as far as I know, the word "resistance" was never used for the rebels in the OT so I don't know where you get that idea from. The Resistance is something which has gained increasing support in later times. The Resistance fights the First Order in spite of the galactic peace treaty, which is why the First Order calls them traitors I guess. Clearly they draw their support from within the Republic, which they hope to also officially enlist in their struggle.

 

 

why is there a new death star [how does an inferior force design a far superior weapon that's x times larger?] etc. etc.).

 

IMO this is one of the points where they could seriously fail when later trying to create an explanation. If construction of planet-sized super-weapons is trivial enough to be achieved by the North Korea-like FO, then why doesn't everyone do it? Hopefully it turns out to be a project started by the Empire of old, or an even more ancient relic.

 

 

There's nothing to short circuit with Prometheus, the film is brainless garbage. I still chuckle when I remember the scene in which the donut ship (that was oh so nice in the original Alien) rolls around while one of the characters runs in front of it

 

Yeah, this was a silly action sequence, but I hear movies must have these, or the less inclined among the audience will fall asleep.

 

 

, a veritable cherry on top after idiot geologists and alien cobras, zombies, spontanious c-sections after which the main actress runs around the ship covered in blood and no one bats an eye...

 

You think this is stupid?

 

With regards to idiot geologists, incidentally the world happens to be full of idiots. Just read about this for an example of real-world explorers earning Darwin awards at alarming rates. You would be surprised at how little scientific knowledge helps with judgment. I don't get what more stupid with "alien cobras" and "zombies" than with the original alien. That c-section was hardly spontaneous - did you even watch the movie?

 

 

There was no reason to leave Anakin's mother on Tatooine. They could have taken her anywhere else, at the very least got her out of slavery and to safety. There is no plausible explanation why Qui and Obi didn't do it since they have 0 qualms about breaking laws in general.

 

I don't think you get it. Anakin is not meant to care about his mother from this point onwards. Any type of action which would even implicitly concede an attachment from Anakin's side to his family would just serve to enable his wordly attachments. If you think this seems cruel, compare with what happens to the parents of the Dalai Lama. If they would have taken her to somewhere safer, somewhere closer where he could make sure she was safe she would also basically have a target painted on her back for anyone who might have an interest in destabilizing Anakin. That way, it would seem better she is a nobody on a backwater planet. Which incidentally is almost the same reasoning behind placing Luke on Tatooine.

[Hurlshort]

I should probably point out that the Death Star is a mobile weapons platform, while the sun sucking planet is stationary and probably highly unstable.  Cool, it worked once, but had the impression the odds of it just blowing up where pretty high.  

 

Not that it should really matter.  This is a fantasy universe with space magic.  Trying to apply logic and science to it is a good way to kill the entertainment factor. 

[Malcador]

How did it work the first time, depleting the star is a bit final.

 

As for Hux's screeching speech with that silly hate, was the delivery. Not sure what my expectations have to do with it being crap or not.

 

It is funny how the big death was done on a stage with the major characters taking a time out from the mission to watch, spotlight and all

[Drowsy Emperor]

I should probably point out that the Death Star is a mobile weapons platform, while the sun sucking planet is stationary and probably highly unstable.  Cool, it worked once, but had the impression the odds of it just blowing up where pretty high.  

 

Not that it should really matter.  This is a fantasy universe with space magic.  Trying to apply logic and science to it is a good way to kill the entertainment factor. 

 

While that is true, its also about creating a suspension of disbelief. Its something intangible, either you feel it or you don't. The original films did that well because they had a seemingly consistent universe, basic fairy tale structure and a lot of charming naivete (and innovative visual design/effects, for their time). 

 

It would be unfair (read: impossible) to expect that the seventh film in the series appear as something completely new and original in a universe that has been defined down to the latrines on space ships. Nevertheless I feel they missed a good opportunity for a role reversal, to continue the story where it left off - with the Republic now perhaps becoming the oppressive government and the FO being a terrorist organization - to expand on the Sith and Jedi, maybe create something less morally black and white. In other words - if SW can't return to its former "innocence" (not really feasible now) - it can at least grow up, like Batman (supposedly) grew up. 

 

The point is - it can still be more of the same (in a good way), but it doesn't have to be the exact same thing.