STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015)

[indianasmith]

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.

[Trevor]

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

[indianasmith]

I can neither confirm nor deny . . . 

[Derf]

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.

[RCMerchant]

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.

[Archivist]

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! 

[indianasmith]

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

(And she still likes me!)

[VenomX73]

I got my tickets reserved for Sunday!

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

[sprite75]

My thoughts on The Force Awakens...



That was a damn good film!

So looking forward to much more Star Wars now!

[indianasmith]

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

[Jim H]

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.

[Zapranoth]

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.

[VenomX73]

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

Movie was 5 out of 5 

[Nathan45]

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

[BoyScoutKevin]

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.