RATE: The Force Awakens

- 8/10 Lightsabers!

I loved it, honestly! I feel there was amazing highs and some minor lows!

My minor low was the fact they went down the killer weapon path again, and wiped out most of the republic!
Like what made the Clone Wars awesome, was the equality of both sides! The epic star battles and even back and forth battles!
PLUS, did the SK base need to get destroyed? Seemed a bit too obvious.
I am kinda over the "Last hope" story style.

It's a lot of the reason I really hope Luke is not alone at the temple! I want the galaxy to fall into the hands of multiple Jedi, not just Rey and Luke! I thought there was too many cuts, like seemed we where seeing a new scene every like 30 seconds hahah.

My highs!
Han and Chewie where amazing, was like being back with an old friend!
Rey is awesome, love daisy and her acting, her relationship with Finn and all that.
Kylo is a great villain, amazing to see a person finally going through the physical turmoil of going to the darkness!
Storyline was clear and simple, (maybe a little too simple) but exciting.
Great mystery to what the past holds!
Poe is awesome and I really liked him!

All in all a strong start to a new trilogy

 

Is anyone watching South Park? Member berries? Sums it up nicely, I think.

 

O.K. HERE WE GO! I give TFA 3 out of 10. This is the best I can give it, when I compare it episodes 1-6. Yes, to me even TPM rates higher than TFA. This is a film that I have TRIED MY BEST TO ENJOY, and that's something I have NEVER had to do with any of the original Star Wars. When the prequels first came out, I wasn't in love with them; but by the time they made it to VHS/DVD/BLURAY, I started to enjoy them. As frustrating as it was watching the entire Jedi order getting wiped out because NOBODY used their brains, I can still watch them because I like them. TFA is another story and maybe I'm alone in this but, I CAN'T WATCH IT ANYMORE! I was in LOVE with this film BEFORE it hit theaters because it ( I'm trying not to use the words teased, tricked, or lied) made me think I was going to see something that I had WANTED to see since 1977. Yes, I had "preconceived notions" going into TFA. I had an over 40 year expectation of what I thought I was going to see on the screen, only to be given: THE BIGGEST MIDDLE FINGER I'VE EVER KNOWN!! Whew, I digress. After screening it once and getting over my original reaction, I saw it several more times, but it wasn't making it any better. There were other things that began to bother me more than "my one big issue" with TFA. it seemed like there were moments in this film that really could have topped the originals (especially the big reveal moment with Kylo Ren) but due to "lazy writing?" these moments just fell flat. After TFA came out on Blu-Ray I thought enough time had passed for me to at least (like I did with the prequels) start to enjoy it. It only got worse! I found myself just watching only a few scenes as the entire film had "gone sour" on me. The harder I tried to at least "like" the film, only ended up making me "disliking" it even more! Did I place way too much expectation on this film? I don't know...maybe. I want to like it, but ( and I know this sounds like a cliché) I have issues!

 

Since you had failed to include this selection into your poll, I will state it . . . the movie is okay. I would rate all of George Lucas' six movies above this one.

 

As a movie, for me it's a 9.5 out of 10. (because of the Death Star) but since it has a beautiful "Star Wars" in the title, it's a 10.

 

I've watched TFA so many times that I lost count of it. I love this movie. Yes, it isn’t perfect, actually is far away from perfection. But hell, Star Wars is back!

Yes, TFA and ANH have many things in common. Some may say this was “lacy writing” or “JJ played it safe”, but I see that quite differently.
It was necessary to revive Star Wars with something familiar. TFA was meant to lay the foundation of this trilogy. It took us back to the universe we all love. Thanks this movie EPVIII and IX can be great and very original.

The big difference between TFA and ANH is the following: ANH was driven by the plot but TFA is driven by the characters.
And these characters are great. They were very well introduced.

These are things I liked the most about TFA:
- The first 30 minutes of the movie are perfect. In my opinion it’s the best part in the whole Star Wars franchise.
- I felt like a kid again. This movie felt like Star Wars. It was Star Wars.
- Kylo Ren. Best character ever.
- Lightsaber duel was awesome.

My largest point of critique is the pacing. It was way too fast and chaotic, especially in the second act. It would have been better to slow down and to give the characters more time.

I would like to say a few words on Kylo Ren:

Kylo Ren is a great character, my most favorite character in the whole Star Wars saga. He is a refreshingly new villain. Ren doesn’t begin the trilogy as a fully formed textbook baddie, no he is still 'in the making'.

One reason I like Kylo Ren so much is because he mirros Luke Skywalker.
Luke Skywalker was an unconfident young light side user and got tempted by the dark side of the force. Kylo Ren is an unconfident young dark side user and gets tempted by the light side of the force.
Ren’s narrative arc answers the question “what if Luke has gone bad?”. And this makes Kylo Ren a fascinating bad guy and I’m exciting how is story will go on.

But back to the topic, for me TFA is a 8 out 10. It’s a great start in a new trilogy.

 

The worship of such unoriginality makes me wonder if culture is going to the dogs.

 

I wouldn't be "that" guy, but I inform you that you're complaining about culture devaluation in a Star Wars forum, rating the latter installment of the most profitable saga of all times...

 

I didn't like it at all. A few of my complaints:

1. The writers crammed too many character arcs into one movie. They tried to make me care about Rey, Finn, Finn's bromance with Poe, Kylo Ren's drama, Lei and Han's drama, etc., etc, etc, It was too much and they all suffered as a result.

2. Too much action. I felt like I was watching a video game at times. Part of the reason why the original trilogy is so great is that the spaceship scenes are far and few.

3. The acting was . . . meh. Especially Harrison Ford's. I had the impression that between shots he was flipping through the latest Expensive Yachts Magazine wondering which he would buy with his Star Wars check.

5. Rey was a Mary Sue.

4. The story was too derivative of A New Hope.

I'll come up with a better synopsis.

Let's see. Hm . . . .

"How The Force Awakens Could Have Been Better"

by mikep987654321​

Instead of being some random scavenger on some random planet, Rey is a soldier under the command of her mother, General Leia Organa. In the First Act, the audience learns that Rey and Kylo Ren are related, perhaps as siblings or cousins or whatever. Rey is internally conflicted; she wants to fight with the good guys to stop Kylo, but she doesn't want to hurt or kill Kylo, whom she cares for greatly.

As the story begins, Rey is driven by the side of her internal conflict that propels her to protect Kylo. During a mission to capture Kylo, she tries to convince her mother to pull strings to get on the mission, which she secretly sees as an opportunity to convince Kylo to return to the good side. Leia forbids this, citing Rey's conflict of interest. (Perhaps Leia and Rey have a mother/daughter argument, in which Rey accuses Leia of having "given up" on Kylo and in which Leia accuses Rey of being "too naive" and "too blinded" by her love for Kylo.) Rey decides she will sneak into the mission by convincing one of the soldiers to trade places with her.

They arrive at Kylo's lair. Battle ensues, during which the audience is introduced to a trooper named Finn. When Rey sneaks off during the battle to find Kylo Ren, Finn captures her and puts her in a holding cell. Kylo is surprised by the arrival of Rey. (The audience is also shown a hint of Finn's internal conflict at not wanting to be a bad guy when he stops his commanding officer from handling Rey roughly.) Kylo visits her in her cell. Rey attempts to reason with him, but Kylo uses the opportunity to blackmail Leia into calling off her forces. Leia is upset with Rey's sneaky ways, but ultimately puts the greater good above her self-interests and allows the attack to continue, angering Kylo and hurting Rey emotionally.

Rey, feeling betrayed by both Kylo and Leia, lashes out in a fit of rage. Kylo makes light work of her and orders Finn to send her back to her cell. En route to the cell, Finn asks her about why her people insist on ruling the Galaxy with an iron fist. Rey is dumbfounded. She accuses Finn of being the terrorist who hates order and civility. As they're talking, a stray laser from the battle outside strikes their ship, causing a hull breach. Finn is ordered to leave Rey to die so he can group with the other troopers. Finn can't bring himself to do this. He and Rey escape on a TIE fighter, but are then shot down by the good guys, where they land on whatever planet they happened to be fighting over.

They survive the battle but are unable to send and SOS because the fighter's computer was damaged in the crash. Rey is in a state of confusion regarding Kylo and Leia. Feeling betrayed, hurt, and mad at herself, she and Finn wander some town . . . .

Okay. I'm going to stop here because I'm bumming myself out over how much better The Force Awakens could have been.

 

I rate it a 8.0/10. JJ Abrams had a difficult task of bringing back SW to the mainstream audience; he did a good job with Star Trek so I was confident he would do a decent job with TFA. Other directors that were in the running wouldn't have done a better job IMHOP. I would have given it a higher rating but I just don't like how Finn was depicted in the film.

 

Sorry, but I think your version of TFA is pretty ugly, and full of typical videogame stereotypes, starting from soldier Rey. Particularly, I think this version would destroy everything related to the Force and its "awakening", which is the core thread of the actual movie. The conflict between Rey and Leia is ridiculous, and the Rey/Kylo parentage shuts the way to any kind of story development that doesn't concern a direct parental relation between these two characters (which I think it's what RJ is gonna do). So, not the right way to open a trilogy.

By the way, it's funny how you take as an actual flaw the "too much action" argument, and then set your own version in a sort of hyper-militarized era of Star Wars. First, I don't think TFA has too much action; second, I think SW has never been a military movie, so it would be pretty out of its nature to center the story on a soldier. What really makes SW great is the myth. TFA was full of mythologic reverberations, starting from Luke's exile, which is a clever reference to Arthur's exile on the island of Avalon. Your version is not.

 

Welcome to the Cantina. Great post.

 

This is why Transformer movies make so much damn money.

 

Going strictly by the title of this thread - I currently give it about an 8/10. It's an incredibly well directed and produced film. The major downside is the writing, particularly that third act.

This thought just occurred to me that - IMO - would have made that third act much better. What if Poe and the X-wings were just there as a diversion? They knew they could not blow it up from the outside, so their job was just to keep the FO busy while the MF crew blew it up from the inside. Instead of Poe going flying into a canyon within(ANH) and blowing it up from - relatively speaking - the inside(ANH), those guys just keep the Ties and guns busy so the FO thinks that IS the Resistance's attack plan.

Might seem insignificant to most, but would have given the TFA's third act enough differentiation from the same in ANH to make the whole film have it's own unique feel IMO.

 

Never thought about that. Yes, it would have given more solidity to the final battle, and probably would have increased Finn's role.

 

Agree with you and I have never thought about that with the third act, but totally agree with you.