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I just got in from the theater, and I'm still grinning.

First of all, NO SPOILERS in this thread please!  Now, my impressions:

You have to know I am a true first generation STAR WARS fan.  I was 13 years old when my girlfriend and I went to see Episode IV together, and I was spellbound from the moment the wonderful phrase "A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away . . ." crawled across the screen until the final scene at the end when Luke, Han, and Chewie receive their medals.

Now, nearly 39 years later, I was holding hands with the same girl - still a girl in my eyes, at least, my best girl forever! - and saw those familiar words and John Williams magnificent score starting up again.  I wanted to believe that the magic would finally be recaptured - that the joy, awe, and wonder of the first movie would find life again in this new installment.

And they did.  Hallelujah, they did!

This movie has it all - eye-popping effects, great new characters, totally psycho villains, beloved cast members from the original film finally returning, hair-raising exploits, narrow escapes, and the promise of a new tradition that will finally equal the original trilogy.

What it doesn't have is Jar-Jar, Ewoks, or any other attempt to make it "cute" or kid-friendly.  Yes, there is some humor, but there is treachery, death, and destruction on a massive scale.

If you are a STAR WARS fan, you will love this movie!
If you are not a STAR WARS fan, you may well be one when you walk out!

5/5 for this one.  I'm STILL grinning.

I read somewhere - no spoilers - that one character from the original series is killed: is that true?

I can neither confirm nor deny . . .  :teddyr:

I agree with indy. This installment takes us back to the spirit of the original trilogy. It is character-driven, introducing us to new people and places, but with plenty of action to keep  us on the edge of our seats.

I give it my Star Wars Geek Seal of Approval.

I seen the original when it first came out-it was ok.
Never watched the sequels.
STAR WARS killed Famous Monsters magazine-a sin I cant forgive. Sorry-It killed the drive ins too.

Indy, the best part of your review is the context.  At 13, watching the original Star Wars, you were holding hands with your girlfriend.  39 years later, you're holding hands with the same girl, watching the new Star Wars.  Super sweet and super cool.  Long may you live!  :cheers:

Believe it or not, we met in second grade - 45 years ago, give or take!

(And she still likes me!)

I got my tickets reserved for Sunday!

I'm happy to hear the reviews coming in EVERYWHERE are all positive!

(http://www.wall-mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/gifs-star-wars-29.gif)

My thoughts on The Force Awakens...

(http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z259/47of74/dvhs_zpszdigq1ho.png)

That was a damn good film!

So looking forward to much more Star Wars now!

I've seen a couple of folks not like it, but overall, it's been very well received.

I've now talked to 5 people who've seen it and read a number of opinions elsewhere.  It seems like the most hardcore fans, really into it, read a lot of the extra crap in the expanded universe, etc, have the most problems.  People who loved the original series, but weren't huge fans of the prequels, like the new one but don't love it.  People who like the films but aren't big fans quite like the film.  Others fall all over the map, but most definitely like it.  Critics like it.  Of course, these are just broad generalizations.  But it was interesting to see all the people I've talked to fall into those first four categories pretty well.  I'm in the second category - love the original films, didn't love the prequels (thought III is alright), have seen/played other SW stuff but not hugely into it, and I like the Force Awakens.  The two BIG fans I know complained about everything under the sun in Episode VII. 

Here's my opinion:

The Force Awakens is a good film.  That's the starting point, I think.  It's generally well acted across the board, has compelling new characters and finds use for old ones, is never boring, does a great job showing a world with a lot of practical effects, good action scenes, and is fun and funny.  My complaints are more a matter of degree than gaping flaws.  Basically, none of it is as great as I'd have liked, if that makes sense.  The old characters are used pretty well.  But not great.  The pacing is a little TOO fast, there's no time to absorb what's going on.  There's a few too many characters.  The quips feel a little too much like a Marvel film.  Actually, the whole movie feels like a Marvel film, especially in pacing.  Not much is really memorable, in the way scenes in the original films are.  Kylo Ren is interesting, but not SUPER interesting.  I'll maybe so more later. 

I'm not sure how I'd rate it...  Somewhere around a 7 or an 8 out of 10.  Better than all the prequels, worse than all three original films.

I think people make it all way too complicated sometimes.

I thought the movie rocked.  I was entertained.  :)

It was the movie that episode 1 should have been, imho.

(http://worstmoviesevermade.com/wp-content/media/2013/03/troll-2-oh-my-god.jpg)

That's how I feel right now... can't say much more in this topic...

Movie was 5 out of 5  :thumbup:

Also, Harrison Ford is actually playing Han Solo, not Harrison Ford cashing a paycheck.  This was critical for the success of the movie.

I still haven't seen it. Still hope to see it on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but . . .?! here are some figures for it. All figures in millions.

$517  worldwide
--$238 domestically
--$279 internationally

$350 to make and market
--$200 to make
--$150 to market

$48 Imax or double the previous total

Opening record in the U.S., where it beat the previous record set by "Jurassic World" by $30. And the sequel to "Jurassic World" set for 2018.

Also record openings in . . .
U.K.
Russia
Germany
Australia
and 14 other countries.

Where it is playing better in Europe than in Asia and the rest of the Americas and/or in English speaking countries than non-English speaking countries.

It started out being 66% male audience and 34% female audience, but . . .?! As more women saw the film, that percentage slipped to 58% male and 42% female. With 63% of the audience being 26 or older.

Whole families are seeing it in costume here in the U.S., and children in Germany are going to church in Star Wars costumes. Bodes well for the fact that it is expected to sell more merchandise than movie tickets.

2016 Rogue One
2018 Han Solo
2020 Boba Fett?

The era of storytelling in films is back.

Just for further context, Episode VIII is set for 2017 and Episode IX for 2019. 

Really enjoyed it. Good continuation of the original trilogy and introduced alot new that makes you wanna watch Episode 8 right now. Also amazing visuals and good action sequences. And finally a good portion of humour...no Jar Jar Binks-like BS.
If I had to criticise something then that I wasn't always behind Kylo Ren as the villain. Sometimes he was a really kickass bad guy and sometimes he acted too much like a little kid. But I think that will change alot in Ep. 8.

I'm getting closer to seeing it, as I haven't seen one of the films for 35 years. Not since I saw Episode V in 1980. Never saw any of the others. I had no interest, and I still have no interest in seeing the others.

It's not a film. It's a phenomena. That's what interests me. Not the film so much, but . . .?! the phenomena of it.

London
If you wondered where all the star were, they were in London for opening night, and the total opening box office gross for the U.K. was $14.4 million. Small potatoes compared to the U.S., but . . .?! It still set a record for the U.K.

Harrison Ford
Well, he got what he wanted. Still . . .?! He's rumored to be in Episode VIII. So, who can say. I did finally realize how good he is in the role. He's always been good in the role. It's just he's gotten better as he has gotten older. One new actor who is in Episode VIII is Benicio del Toro, who is rumored to be playing a villain in the film.

Cast
Andy Serkis
Domhall Gleason as General Hux
Max Von Sydow
Simon Pegg
Warwick Davis
and Daniel Craig as Storm trooper jb007.

The last has to be one of the greatest in-jokes in the history of motion pictures.

British film industry
This has been very good for the British film industry. Not only are many of the cast members Brits, but . . .?! much of the film was shot in the U.K. using British film crews. And it'll continue to the end of this decade and maybe into the next decade. Lucas was originally know to want to quit at IX, but . . .?! Now the rumor has it that'll we'll be getting a X, an XI, and a XII.

Age - Characters
There have been some complaints that General Hux, played by Domhall Gleason, is a 30 something. Which goes to show that Americans are ignorant of their own history. One need go back only 150 years to the American Civil War, and while I don't have a list, many of the generals on both sides were under 30, when they were made a general.

Age - Cast
The complaints about the age of General Hux did make me go back and look at the cast, and what I noticed from the actors' photos, how young many of the villains were. I don't know whether this was deliberate to cast them young or happenstance, but . . .?! It does make a bit of sense. With the destruction of 2 Death Stars, who'd be left? Not the best and brightest, most of whom died on the Death Stars, and who'd be older and more experienced, but . . .?! The younger members of the Empire.

Age - Audience
While this film skews older, it is nice to see how many children are taking to this film. A film in a series whose 1st film was long before many of them were born. And not only Americans, which is less surprising, but . . . Europeans as well.

And we shall see what we shall see.

Since we are forbidden to talk spoilers, I don't have much to say other than that I managed to avoid all movie trailers aside from the main one until about a week ago. I avoided all the fan forums, stayed away from Facebook groups discussing anything StarvWars, and managed to make it to opening night not knowing much about the movie aside from the original cast being in it.

I walked out 100% satisfied and quoting lines of dialogue from the movie with my buddy; something that we never did with the prequels. Everything about The Force Awakens was instantly memorable, and while I felt that the story paralleled A New Hope perhaps a little too much in some spots, none of it detracted from the overall experience. Another thing that this movie did right, was that it recaptured the experience aspect of the original trilogy, unlike the prequels with their wooden dialogue, Titanic-quality ho-hum romance subplots and C-Span plot mechanics smattered with the occasional action sequence thrown in. No, The Force Awakens gives us action throughout with the longest downtime between action sequences being maybe 5 minutes or so. While this gives us a Marvel movie pacing, after dragging my way through the C-Span dialogue of the prequels, this was a welcome change of pace.

Overall, I give this movie 4 slimes! The entire franchise came back in a big way, and time will smooth out the rough edges. :)

If you think about it,  the whole movie is 1 big spoiler lol

It's a hard movie to talk about without giving stuff away...

I'm going to see it again next week! - YES - it was that good!

It's not a film. It's a phenomena.

quality of film + length of series = a bonding moment like few others.
People who were children yesterday are watching it with their children today, and if the series continues, the children of today will be watching it with their children tomorrow.

they're coming out of the woodwork.
C-3PO is getting his own comic book from Marvel Comics.

Rebel, Jedi, Princess, Queen : Star Wars and the Power of Costumes
A Smithsonian traveling exhibition

Yesterday: Seattle
Today: New York City
Tomorrow: Denver

Portugal
They went ape s@#$ o'er it in Portugal

cuts across boundaries
--age
--nationality
--race
--sex
--sexual orientation?
Like few other films

characters
I am surprised at how well audiences have embraced the characters. They'll probably ne'er embrace the characters as they did those in Episode IV, but . . .?! They have probably embraced 'em more than from most of the other Star Wars films, except for Episode IV,

when so much could have gone wrong, all came together.
--writer Lawrence Kasdan
--producer Kathleen Kennedy
--distributor Walt Disney
--director J.J. Abrams
--creator George Lucas
--casting Nina, April, and Alyssa

China
It'll be interesting to see how it does next month in China. China was a much different place in 1977, and, whereas, most of the rest of the world saw it in theaters, like here in the U.S. I can imagine it was available in China only in a bootleg copy and for some time thereafter.

r-e-s-p-e-c-t
What took me surprise, browsing some of the social media, is now much respect the fans of this film have for other fans and e'en the non-fans.

Singapore
They're comin' in costume in Singapore.

opening  box office records in . . .
Austria
Bulgaria
Croatia
Denmark
Finland
Hungary
Iceland
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Romania
Serbia
Sweden
Ukraine
it's an European thing.

And either today or tomorrow, I hope to get tickets to see it.

I liked it. JJ Abrams is a very good homage filmer: he manages to pack in a lot of the stuff that fans expect, yet he never makes it feel too contrived (at least for me, your mileage may vary). True, the story closely follows the pattern of the original in the series, but that is not necessarily an Bad Thing. After all, nobody complains when James Bond has to save the world again from another criminal mastermind.
Adam Driver is an inspired choice for the villain. He has some pretty big boots to fill, but he brings an intensity to the role that makes more than just another cool looking Sith.

Teensy spoiler


You may want to address your anger management issues before you take up lightsabre combat.

Funny to see someone mention James Bond...

He's in this movie, small cameo.

(http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/daniel-craig-stormtrooper.jpg)

I can't say where though, you need to research it, trying to keep it spoiler free.

(http://i629.photobucket.com/albums/uu13/MrC_Account/Star%20Wars%20Rating.jpg) (http://s629.photobucket.com/user/MrC_Account/media/Star%20Wars%20Rating.jpg.html)


I was planning on seeing it, but according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, they've REALLY gone in a new direction in these new films.

As a somewhat moderate fan of the original movies (saw 'em all and loved 'em  originally at the theater. Like I was RC was annoyed how they destroyed good old Famous Monsters) and saw and was bored by the prequels on TV in no particular order.

I thought Abram's film was a lot of fun and had the spirit of the originals. I really liked how instead of the sleek fake cgi look of the prequels the ships and props had the gritty, used look of the original films.

As a Bad Movie fan I did have a couple of laugh out loud moments, both involving a Certain Character removing a tight-fitting mask and helmet to reveal a perfectly intact fluffy hair-do. This happened a couple of times and both moments are cut in a good ol' bad movie way, like Dolph Lundgren revealing his perm in a He Man movie.

HUGE SPOILER!!!!!







What was up with CP30's red arm? He seemed to have his regular one back at the end. Did I miss something?

Okay, saw this last night with some friends who are Star Wars fans of varying degrees, and our opinions were mixed.

Huge props to JJ Abrams for recreating the atmosphere and 'feel' of the original movie in so many ways.  The Imperial (sort of) troops and technology were so much of the 1977 Star Wars that I was almost weepy with nostalgia.  Huge cathedrals of space inside the Imperial (sort of) base, the corridors, the way blast doors opened and closed, the buttons, everything was a great continuation of the original Star Wars vision.

The actions scenes and dogfights were superb, as was cinematography and editing.

BB-8 is a bit schmaltzy but still my favourite character, as I have a soft spot for cute, anthropomorphic robots like Wall-E and Baymax.  BB-8 is the kid-pleaser.

My friends and I had considerable issues with the way some of the characters were handled.  No spoilers, but what I say here will make sense after you see the movie:

- one lead male is neither here nor there for the movie, and yet has a significant role.

- one lead male should have been Benedict Cumberbatch.  Seriously.

- one lead male is a bumbling Nice Guy(tm) who is going to offer up his help in the hopes of some intergalactic bedtime.

- one lead female is given wayyy too much skill and ability with no explanation, and without precedent in the Star Wars universe.

- there was a fair bit in the press about 'strong female leads' in this movie.  There's only one strong female lead, and they had to dumb down the male characters to make the strong female stand out more.

- the speed with which the Empire (sort of) was able to accomplish things in just one generation after the timeline of the original trilogy.  Seems like they were able to grow really, really fast.

I'll discuss these things further as more people watch the movie, so as not to reveal spoilers.

Overall, I enjoyed a lot of The Force Awakens.  I think JJ Abrams and the crew did a fantastic job of catering to the first generation that watched Star Wars in the cinema while still appealing to modern, young audiences.

Look for the C-3PO comic book from Marvel Comics. Supposedly, the red arm is explained in that, as for the film itself.

ANH=A New Hope

TFA=The Force Awakens

if ANH is a child of the '70s, then TFA is the adult version grown up 38 years later. I agree with everyone who says they are similar, but . . .?! I don't see much wrong with that, as they took much of what was good in ANH and made it better (IMHO.)

As for what was good in both films . . .

ANH
more and/or better

Cartoonlike

less Confusion

Newness

Uniqueness
Which is both bad and good. Jabba the Hutt is an unique character, but . . .?! I can't i.d. with Jabba. On the other hand, I could i.d. with the human equivalent in TFA, and after a little research, the character's name is Bala-Tik and is played by Scottish actor Brian Vernal, and while he has worked on TV, this is his only 3rd film appearance.

As for TFA . . .
While this is not to say that TFA is better than ANH, but . . .
more and/or better

Acting

Action
--from dog fights in the sky to light saber duels on the ground.

Clues
--as to what will happen later in the film.

Emotionally resounding

Empathy
--for the characters, especially the villains

Heroes
--less capable
--more fearful
--more human
--rey = princess leia
----less helpless
----more kickass

Humor
--from Finn's and Poe's (Stay calm. Stay calm.--I am calm!--I was talking to myself.) to Han and Chewbacca (Chewbacca seeing Han's discarded jacket on the floor, picking it up, and handing it to him.) ROTFL!

Lighting
--the blue light shining on the white snow. Both brilliant use of lighting and beautiful.

Relationships
ren and snoke
snoke and hux
hux and phasma
phasma and finn
finn and rey
rey and luke
luke and leia
leia and han
han and ren

Robots
--BB8 = R2D2
--a more emotional BB8

Reality

SFX

Suspense
--less capable heroes + more capable villains = more suspense

Villains, excluding Darth Vader
--capable
--conflicted
--conflicts between villains
--human
--less powerful. That's my problem with Darth Vader. He's too powerful, especially in the comic books, so there is less suspense.
--sane
--vicious
--violent
--younger in age
--and more desire to see 'em survive.

Writing

Next time: comments and questions

I still haven't seen this

Continuing previous post.

Comments and questions.

Comments
01. Max von Sydow
It's good to see good old Max. He's been in films longer than most of the cast has been alive.

02. Mark Hamill
He's aged better than the other 2. Actually, he looks better now, then when he was younger.

03. A product of its time
--inter-racial romance
--women in the military: on both sides
--aliens, people of color, and women as Resistance pilots.

04. Phasma
I bet she's a mean b***h, when she doesn't have a gun pointed at her head.

05. Finn
The most unique character in the film, as he is the nearest character to being an Earthling. The guy who doesn't want to do right, but does right, as it's the right thing to do.

06. Villains
We are finally seeing women and people of color among the main villains, but . . .?! What we have yet to see is a totally alien race among the main villains.

07. Accents
It surprised me that Rey's accent is so much stronger than Finn's.

08. Kissing
I see that when Rey kisses Finn, she kisses him on the forehead rather than the more personal kiss on the lips.

09. Boys
It does one's heart good to see that some of 'em want a Rey action figure. I can't remember that many wanting a Princess Leia doll.

10. Foreigners
If you want a villain for an American film, then get a foreign actor. It's almost always been like that, and here's proof as to why.

11.  Storm troopers
I swear, if they keep going in the direction they seem to be going, we'll hear 'em say: "Goo! Goo! Gaa? Gaa?"

12. Relationships
I've always had the feeling that the student (Darth Vader) was almost always stronger than the master (the Emperor.) As to why Darth ne'er moved against him, it may be the old saw: "The  power on the throne is not the man on the throne, but the man behind the man on the throne."

Here we have a more typical student-master relationship. Ren knows this. Snoke knows this. And the audience knows this.

13. Sequels
TFA may or may not be better than ANH, but . . .?! The sequels will be better than the sequels and prequels to ANH.

14. One and the Same
While the Empire intermingled, to some degree, its political and military arms, in the 1st Order, there is no difference between the 2. Thus, it is more like a military dictatorship than the Empire.

15. Comparison
Someone should do a comparison study of ANH and TFA.

16. Locations
Formerly filmed in . . .
California
China
England
Guatemala
Spain
Thailand

Which can now be added . . .
Iceland
Ireland
New Mexico
Scotland
the United Arab Emirates

17. Novelizations
Read the novelizations which are now out. Both the junior and adult versions, as they . . .
1st Add more depth to the characters.
2nd Includes scenes not featured in the film.
3rd. Fills in a number of plot holes, such as Phasma's interest in Finn's blaster.

18.Magazines
Read the magazines, which are now out. Some specific to this film. Others of a more general nature about all the films in the series.
1st One may or may not agree with the explanation of why things were done, but . . .?! They do provide an explanation as to why thing were done that way.
2nd They are an useful source of info about the film and films, such as . . .

The owners of the Millennium Falcon (in order of ownership)

One or more original owners
Lando Calrissian
Han Solo
Ducain
the Irving Boys
Unkar Plutt
Rey, Finn and BB-8
Han Solo and Chewbacca
Chewbacca and Rey

19. And . . .
there's a visual dictionary "The Visual Dictionary for Star Wars : the Force Awakens," which might be useful.

Questions
1. Why did Rey look like a Ninja Turtle, when we 1st saw her?

2. Will we see the human equivalent of Jabba the Hutt again?

3. Is it happenstance or is it deliberate, that the villains seem to be getting younger?

4. And will we e'er see teenage Storm troopers in the film? Like those in the TV series "Star Wars : Rebels?"

5. How did Rey get back to Finn at the end, as the seemed to be on opposite sides of the deep divide?

6. If George was still in charge, would we still see an inter-racial romance?

7. Resistance to what? Their side won, or do the New Republic and the 1st Order still have their own spheres of influence?

8. Who'll cameo in the upcoming sequels?

9. And what comes next?

While most of these questions I can't answer, as they pertain to how a sequel is made or not made, but . . .?! The one question I can answer is the last one asked.

The 1st Order is the remnant of the old Empire, thus it is not that they grew really, really fast, it is that they shrunk.

Look at Earth. How many inhabitants thus it have? About 7 billion or so. Now multiply that number by the 100 or so inhabited worlds in the old Empire, and there is that many, and we come up with a figure of around 700 billion. And if only half of those inhabitants were adherents of the old Empire, you still have 350 billion who pledged their allegiance to the old Empire. And while it is no longer canon, if half of those surrendered to the New Republic, you still have 175 billion inhabitants who did not surrender and are still at war with the New Republic.

Even with that figure, the 1st Order is not what the old Empire use to be, as to make up their numbers, the 1st Order is bringing in . . .
more women
more people of color (Finn, from what he said at the beginning of the film is not the only one)
and what I think is most interesting, they are getting younger.
Then they were in 1977 at the height of the old Empire.

Scavenger gear.

She was scavenging the Imperial Star Destroyer.


I hope it's Billy Dee Williams or Ian McDiarmid.

(http://37.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lydinl6Bjs1qgkqy9o1_500.gif)

A sneak peek at the DeLuxe packaging for the BluRay/DVD Collector's Edition:

(https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/1557725_10153791999173570_1916068553201558827_n.jpg?oh=a88b4cf6720084d391307e56fe2be504&oe=570508E4)


 :smile:

LOL.  Gotta love 70's and 80's VHS labels.

I wasn't disappointed in the movie, but I wasn't exactly blown away either.  The best way I can sum up my feelings is with a quote from the Salon.com review of it which states:

"You can choose to understand The Force Awakens as an embrace of the mythological tradition, in which the same stories recur over and over with minor variations. Or you can see it as the ultimate retreat into formula.... There are moments when it feels like both of those things, profound and cynical, deeply satisfying and oddly empty."

That phrase "oddly empty" hit the nail on the head for me.  It was lacking something.  Maybe a second viewing will change my mind, but for now I'm giving it 2.5 stars out of 4.

I finally saw it.  It was ... ok.  Here's an image I made that just about sums up my thoughts.

(https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlf1/t31.0-8/s2048x2048/12466217_10201542676164531_1620672939499202029_o.jpg)

I saw it for the second time tonight, and I think my wife and I both enjoyed it more the second time around.
A worthy successor to the original films!

I could not have been happier with how this film turned out. It felt like Star Wars, it looked like Star Wars, it sounded like Star Wars. It didn't get bogged down in world-building, it didn't have robotic dialogue, and it didn't suffer from every past and present character requiring at least an hour of screen time each.

The main gripe I heard from people (aside from everything else the internet crapped its pants about) was that it was derivative of A New Hope. Nice observation, want a cookie?

(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03020/potd-squirrel_3020530k.jpg)

That was my reaction, really. Nothing more to say.

I thought they should have done more with the Storm Trooper Captain, with all the shiny armor, the cape, the big gun and all of that.

And I also thought that "Snoke" was too CGI effects. He looked okay from a far away viewpoint, but once they zoomed in, I though there were too many 3D effects, when he would have looked fine if they just put creepy makeup on a guy.

Aside from that, I loved it! Everything about it was memorable and awesome! I could so watch it again, along with the other movies.

Went to see it again on Saturday as Kristi wanted to see it again for her birthday. Felt exactly the same way on the repeat viewing. I did have a few minor issues with the movie (nothing I can write though without putting spoilers in), but nothing big enough to spoil my enjoyment of the film and I am looking forward to the next one.

I finally saw this today. This is everything that the prequel trilogy should've been.

I left the theater with a big smile on my face.  :teddyr: :teddyr: :teddyr:

So, is Rey:

1.  A Skywalker,

2.  A Kenobi, or

3.  Other?

Her raw force giftedness and the closeness of the story arc with episode 4 argue for #1.

Her balance, nobility, integrity argue for 2.   (And, Sir Alec's voice during the vision:  "Rey!")

I have no option 3 ideas that don't seem utterly arbitrary, thrown-in.

They had better make a darn good set of reasons for this in future movies, because that level of giftedness is entirely unprecedented in the SW universe.  None of the others had that kind of untrained skill, regardless of how gifted they were.

I've been thinking about that since I saw the movie the first time.

I don't know how sentient The Force is supposed to be - but could it be that the Light Side is trying to reassert itself in the absence of the Jedi by manifesting more strongly than it once did?  Think about it - for all his immaturity and anger issues, Kylo Ren is more skilled in the use of The Force than Vader or Yoda ever demonstrated.  I mean, freezing a blaster bolt in mid-air?

At any rate, that's my explanation.

Yoda told Luke he failed because of a lack of belief.  Rey believes with all the fervor of a child clinging to the stories she has found comfort and inspiration in.  That is a key component in any 'magical' undertaking: knowing down in your bones that it is so.  Anything less is quite an impediment.  I think she trumps Luke et al in determination, too; she has had to be a self-reliant survivor and being capable has been of paramount importance to her continued existence.  

Balance has always been a key theme with The Force.  So naturally a power like Ren's will have its counter arise. 

Even as we speak, JJ Abrams' team is scouring the internet, reading our comments and taking notes. "Must explain Rey's Force abilities properly...  Must do more with secondary characters... Must make Fin less crotch whipped..."

I finally got around to seeing this yesterday. For context: I like the Star Wars series (even the movies in the series that many true fans despise). I own them all on DVD. I am by no means a fan boy or an expert on Star Wars. That being said:

Good movie. I will buy the 3-D blu-ray when it gets released. I will watch it several times. However, in no way does it deserve to be the biggest money-maker of all time. (We all know that Gigli should be the biggest money-maker of all time). 

I was just watching MST3K: Fugitive Alien and saw this.

(http://i.imgur.com/E5JKl7o.png)

Now I'm wondering if this is where they got the idea for Snoke from?

(http://i.imgur.com/wXxqlzV.png)

Snoke is Luke.

Rey is his daughter.  He sent her away so she would grow up uncorrupted by the Dark Side which was slowly claiming him.

Deserve's got nothin' to do with it, kid.

I'm almost wondering if Rey is Kylo's twin sister. It would be a throw-back/reference to the twins in the Expanded Universe. I'm hoping like hell she's not related to any one of them (the universe is small enough) and have her own, new origin story. But they'll probably make her Luke's step-brother's mechanic's daughter-in-law's former roommate.

Watching it now.  Getting free channels this weekend (showing the same crap they were not too long ago).  It seems to be copying the tone of the original, but the script is so dumb.  Another masked villain who is even meaner to these dopey underlings?  I don't know these stories at all except the first three from decades ago.  Great effects.  Oh bah-ruther.  

Okay, I always enjoy revisiting old friends, so a pass is earned...

Star Bores. Bah humbug.