Star Wars: Episode 7, 8... and BEYOND!

[wayfarer]

If anyone has time to kill, I just started this last night. It's another one of those prequel fan-edits--I've started watching a couple different ones and they've never been able to hold my attention. This one I made it through a solid 40 minutes of and hope to finish tonight. What's cool about it is the video and audio are from the JAPANESE DUBS of the movies. I know there are a couple people on here who speak Japanese, but if you don't you can experience this movie subtitled with original dialogue, new character arcs, and the narrative itself rearranged to fit into a single film. The film's arranged nonlinearly with Revenge of the Sith making up the brunt of the movie, while also flashing back to a lot of the events in the Phantom Menace and Clones.

I'm not sure how many people here are into this kind of thing, but to me, the Star Wars Prequels are sort of one of the great "what ifs" or missed opportunities out there. I really think this is coolest attempt I've seen to collect the Prequels into a more compelling package.

EDIT: Since I'm still a newb to the BBcode, here's the url:

EDIT by X: Fixxxed for ya, fgj!

 

[Lord Noctis]

 

[wayfarer]

So cool. New Star Wars music might be what I'm most excited for in this movie--the music's gonna be good no matter what.

 

[Lex]

I watched the first ten minutes of this and it's already excellent. Looking forward to watching the rest (which I have to do soon, because EPISODE VII ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT HERE IN THE UK FOLKS)

 

[Charles Xavier]

I've got my ticket for 18th. Gonna be seeing it at 11am (Pacific time).

 

[Hisako]

No hints as to what the new theme is going to be?

Traditionally we'd get the new theme in a sick-cool trailer

 

[Lord Noctis]

Spoiler free review.

 

[Kuroto]

I just saw it and I can say that Disney did a good job. I want to go see it again.

I'll write more when I get home. So awesome!

 

[Roger]

Going to see it, right now! Back with thoughts later!

 

[Kermitu Kleric Katie]

I have to say, I hope this film doesn't completely distance itself from the prequels, because I think there's plenty of cool references to the prequels that could be made. Like maybe we could see a force ghost of Qui-Gon or Mace Windu(even people who really hate the prequels can still admit Mace is cool), or maybe we could see if the guy selling death sticks really did go home and rethink his life, or maybe we could see what Watto is up to these days, things like that. I'm also wondering if we'll see Obi-Wan's force ghost (like maybe through archival footage of Alec Guinness and a sound-alike), because if we don't, it'd be the first Star Wars film without Obi-Wan in it, making R2-D2 and C-3PO the only characters to appear in all the films unless Anakin/Vader makes some kind of appearance out side of being charred remains. Just some thoughts.

 

[Kuroto]

Okay, I'm going to try and write some of my opinions down. I don't know how well it's going to go but I'll try my best.

Spoiler

Okay, so first things first, I really liked all the characters. Rey is a good apology for the lack of female characters in the past Star Wars movies. She is super awesome. I mean it seems like we are going to see a female jedi! I was so glad about that.

I also liked Finn and Kylo Ren. Even though Kylo Ren is almost like Vader jr. he is still very different. Also while I was watching I never realised that the supreme master was played by Andy Serkis. That guy is so good.

It was also fantastic to see the characters from the previous movies. Those scenes were my favourites really. I started crying when Han Solo and Leia saw each other again, it was so touching. And the end where they show Luke. Loved it. Also I have to say that I'm so happy that all the theories of him turning to the dark side are (at least most likely) false. I thought it wouldn't have made any sense at all and now he gets to be this new Jedi master. I think if they had made him a sith I would have lost my interest with the trilogy super quick, because it would have made absolutely no sense and would have just ruined the original trilogy.

Okay, if I had to say something bad about the film it is the fact that it is ridiculous that Rey could have started using the force so well so quickly. It seems like she just learned it by snapping her fingers, even though Jedis usually train since they are children. Her other skills are also a bit over the top. Like she had never flown the Millenium Falcon before but she still does it with rather no difficulty. However I still really liked her, because she is a female character that kicks ass and is able to safe herself from trouble. Even though the year is 2015 you don't see those kinds of characters everyday. And also they haven't made her into a dude either. So over all a very good character to become the next main jedi of the franchise.

Another thing that I thought was a bit silly was the supreme master. Having this massive hologram or what ever it is of this deformed CGI thing just is more of a Disney villain (whitch it is in a way) than Star Wars villain to me. When I first saw him he looked like Azog from Hobbit and Voldemort had a baby. But still it's Andy Serkis and he is awesome so it's okay.

There are probably many other things I should talk about but I think I'll leave it to another time. I really want to see this film again. I didn't really have that much to complain about it, I think Disney did a great job. I'm really excited to see what will come after this, because there are so many things that the movie didn't tell, like who is Rey really (probably Luke's daughter, but the movie left this open), what happened to Kylo Ren (or Ben ) to make him turn to the dark side and what exactly happened all that time ago when things started to go wrong again. The film tells only vaguely about the past and Kylo Ren but it is so little that I want more. As this movie was a bit of a rip off from New Hope, I wonder if we will se a new version of the Empire Strikes Back when the next movie comes out.

 

[Roger]

Spoiler

I had a great time. Finn was great because it was really like Han had to deal with younger version of himself.

Forcewise I think they hit all the right beats. It's not that Finn and Rey are that good with lightsabre, it's that Kylo Ren clearly isn't. as opposed to it being the first skill a Jedi masters, it's one of the last. Also lightning isn't given to Kylo in the movie. Rey has the same tech savant ability that Anakin, Jaina and Anakin had except they'll probably won't forget about it the moment they can focus on them being Jedi like Lucas and the NJO did. Poe's a really good protagonist as well. Like Wedge if he got the time of day he deserved, I hope he and Lux get to fight it out up close and personal in IX.

I was afraid they'd overdo the scenes with Brienne, not so, Abrams is clearly a cut above D&D.

They handled Han's death quite well. I was tearing up when Chewbacca just went to town on the enemy base.

Negative points:
They haven't added many new memorable tracks to the Star Wars OST yet. Listen to this for the OT nostalgia, not much else IMO.

I'm fine with them saving Luke for the next episode but Maz is their way of having a Jedi Master anyway without having to really justify it, that seems kinda weak.

 

[Tetsujin]

Well, I saw it.

Spoiler: Spoiler-free impressions

-First up: The opening crawl is missing something without the Fox fanfare. It's just the silent Lucasfilm logo and then the opening. ):
-Finn and Rey are likeable protagonists imo
-Poe is a cool dude as well, needs more screentime
-Sets and stuff look nice. Movie feels "real" as opposed to the prequel's bluescreen overuse
-BB-8 is cute
-Good mix of nostalgia-wank callbacks and also plenty new stuff
-Performances were good imo, none of that prequel awkwardness; dialogue felt a lot more...I dunno, "modern" I guess with some of the humor and quips.
-Lightsabering feels more...weighty? Like they really hit hard and burn hot as opposed to the more standard sword swinging from the originals (or the stiff awkwardness of Episode IV...) or the more elegant dance-like fighting from the prequels
-What I think is Rey's Theme kinda stood out to me. Pretty melody
-got emotional in a few scenes

Overall I was into it

 

[Lex]

Well, that was fantastic. There was applause in my theatre.

I need to go watch some reviews because I'm pretty bad with character names, when I'm done I'll post my thoughts. But in general right now I am very happy. Especially with

Spoiler: very light spoilers

one of the new protagonists. She was fucking outstanding. And interesting because she's still quite mysterious, but not in an annoying way.

 

[Roger]

Spoiler

Another thing that I thought was a bit silly was the supreme master. Having this massive hologram or what ever it is of this deformed CGI thing just is more of a Disney villain (whitch it is in a way) than Star Wars villain to me. When I first saw him he looked like Azog from Hobbit and Voldemort had a baby. But still it's Andy Serkis and he is awesome so it's okay.

Spoiler

The fact that they were willing to show his true form, but only as holo kinda makes me wonder if there's a Wizard of Oz thing going on.

 

[Lex]

^That was actually my first thought too!

Spoiler

I was like are they going to cut away to a tiny villain working a machine? XD

 

[Ghost X]

I'm glad when I habitually click the spoiler tags, I'm not concentrating, and instantly forget whatever I've read before I realise what I've done . I've done it like 5 times today .

 

[Tetsujin]

All my dreams last night were Star Wars-related

Anyway, more impressions. This time with spoilers.

Spoiler: ACTUAL SPOILERS, YO

First of all, even though I dodged all the spoilers and trailers and such, one thing was spoiled for me by my brother.
Ironically we were talking about avoiding SW spoilers and then he mentioned he was annoyed at a Star Wars toy spoiling the fact that Rey was a Jedi/using a lightsaber. At which point I was like, "dude, now you spoiled it for me too =/"
Nice going, bro. So yeah, I saw that one coming =P
Didn't quite expect it to be a complete bait-and-switch with Finn apparently not being Force-sensitive at all.

Regarding Luke's absence from the trailers and posters and all, my theory was that he might just not be in the movie until the very end. Looks like I was right although I expected him to at least say a line...

The film really had this adventure-y Star Wars feeling but I also think that in places it felt a bit too much like a remake or rather a "remix" of A New Hope. Droid carrying important plans, Planet-sized planet-destroying base, protagonist from desert planet (why do all these planets only have on biome anyway).

The Starkiller Base destroying a system at least felt like it had a bit more impact. Because let's face it, Alderaan being destroyed is pretty unspectacular now. It just blows up and that's it. Here you see a glimpse of the millions screaming out and suddenly being silenced up close and it feels more tragic. =P
The Starkiller Base taking out a system was kind of like them trying to redo the Alderaan destruction properly.

Kylo Ren was interesting as a bad guy, I think. At first he comes off as really intimidating but I found it interesting to see that essentially he's just a young guy *trying* really hard to be badass and be another Vader but he's not quite there yet, Rey and Finn defend themselves fairly well against him not because they're so awesome but rather because clearly this guy isn't really that adept at using his lightsaber either, and there's this subversion of the usual trope in that he's a bad guy who's clearly struggling not to be seduced by the light side of the force.

And of course, the fact that he's Han and Leia's son. Funny that his name is Ben, in the EU that used to be Luke's son's name
Wonder if Rey is related? Luke's daughter or something? Would be weird not having a Skywalker protagonist. But then why would he just leave her? For protection? Who was the mother?

Oh, and of course the big one. Han Solo gets killed by his own son. Them seemingly making up with the music swelling and sounding all hopeful ironically made it even more obvious it was gonna happen. I was like "this is a fakeout, he's totally gonna murder him" but I hoped I'd be wrong. That shit was sad, man.
Kudos for having the balls to kill off one of the old crew. On the other hand, I'm sad we don't get to see Luke and Han interacting in Ep. VIII or IX.

Rest in peace you slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler.

And once again I wanna say I really, really like Rey and Finn.
That bit after the escape in the Falcon where they freak out together over how awesome they just were was adorable.

I think I might need to see it again.

Also, with the next one coming out in May 2017 we'll only have to wait a little less than 1 1/2 years until the continuation, yay

Edit:

^That was actually my first thought too!

Spoiler

I was like are they going to cut away to a tiny villain working a machine? XD

So you think it's all

Spoiler

Snoke and mirrors?

 

[Lex]

I went to sleep and I woke up and I'm still convinced it's awesome. I'm really hoping it wasn't just "Phantom Menace Syndrome" (the hype makes it takes years for you to figure out how bad it was). It genuinely deserves the great reviews it's getting though, I loved it.

Spoiler: Very spoilery thoughts

My only "negatives" were the few points in the movie I almost rolled my eyes (like the "planet-death-star" reveal) but then it was so well executed that I didn't actually care. I was staring wide-eyed at the screen when it fired and the resulting blow-up. I was actually in awe of it, which is something the original never really managed to do to me.

I suspected one of the originals was going to die going in. After the Han/Leia scene it was obvious it would be one of them, I either thought they'd fail to stop the firing or Han would die on the planet. The second Han stepped out on to the bridge I knew what was going to happen, only because I thought any other alternative would be disappointing. It wasn't disappointing. I thought it was brilliantly done. From the tragedy of Leia's words to Han ("bring our son home") to the tense but not over-acted scene, to the trope subversion of Kylo Ren's character.

Also I was talking to Carlie last night and we realised how many false trails they've placed with the actors, because they've completely avoided mentioning who was under the mask aside from "a villain is voiced by Andy Serkis".

I wasn't clear on who Snoke is. It looks to be the same race as those things that made the clones in the prequels (I forget what they're called if it was ever mentioned).

Also I love that a lot was explained but a lot was left a mystery. Rey is amazing. AMAZING. And if she is related to someone, she has to be Luke's daughter. The scene in the forest where Kylo Ren is trying to use the force to pull the lightsaber toward him but it flies past him and she catches it was epic, but I was convinced for a split second that it was Luke that caught it - I don't know if they used some mental trickery and showed young Luke for a split second or if it was complete imagination, but at that point I did see a likeness in them. I want to know more about her because the movie left a lot a secret, but this is a good thing.

 

[AvecAloes]

So many spoiler tags that I'm dying to open.....must.....hold.........steady............... :grits teeth:

 

[Lex]

Do not click the spoiler tags

 

[Tetsujin]

So many spoiler tags that I'm dying to open.....must.....hold.........steady............... :grits teeth:

Yes...I can feel your curiousity...

Open the spoiler tags. They're defenseless...

Click on them with all your hatred and your journey to the spoiler side will be complete!!!

but actually don't do it

 

[Shadowfox]

Just watched the midnight showing last night, and I'm not sure I'll be able to stay awake in the office today

Anyway, my impressions:

Spoiler

From the promos and interviews, I had expected Gwendoline Christie and Lupita Nyong'o to be more prominent, so I was a bit surprised at how relatively little screentime they had in this movie. Phasma looked all intimidating marching in her armour and toting that blaster, sounded right menacing as well, but after dropping the shields around the base, there was nothing else said or seen of her. Similar with Maz. Since this is going to be a trilogy, I'll just wait to see how their roles play out in later movies.

Rey being good with machines, piloting, and naturally gifted with the Force had me thinking that she was either a Skywalker, or perhaps a former student of Luke's who'd been hidden away around the time when Kylo Ren turned to the Dark Side. (But if she was Luke's daughter, wouldn't that mean that Ren/Ben would have at least recognised his own cousin?)

Kylo Ren's defeat by Rey was a bit surprising. In the opening scenes, we saw him freezing a laser bolt in midair, so we know he's got serious abilities with the Force even though it was revealed later that his training wasn't even complete yet. But untrained Rey was still able to take him down. I guess I could put this down to him being weakened by the wounds he'd just received from Chewie and Finn, and maybe some lingering shock at having murdered Han. I'll wait for the next movies before I make up my mind about this one.

This movie made me recall ANH several times -- ragtag misfits band together, join a resistance/rebellion against a dark imperial force, take down planet-destroying superweapon, and even its own trench run. I also got the occasional flashes of deja vu with Abram's Star Trek movie, with its protagonists scrambling around like headless chickens nearly everywhere they went, and all the imploding/kerploding planets and stars.

Last, but not least, Rey was awesome. This is in no way ever a spoiler.

 

[Tennyo]

So I just saw the movie and I will say that it was quite a lot of fun. It's after midnight so I don't want to take too much time writing out my thoughts but yes, I for the most part enjoyed it.

 

[Lex]

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