Starwars: The Force Awakens

If into behind this link you go, only spoilers you will find.

The franchise is in good hands, indeed. I am just back from the cinema, so my opinions might change as I sit to think on it, but here's what I think right now. Also I'll definitely be going to watch it again during the holidays. For now just pardon the lack of cohesion of this wall of text. Thanks.

I'll be discussing concrete events of the movie, so if the spoiler tag wasn't enough of a warning, this is your last chance to turn back if you haven't seen the movie already.

The movie does take some very bold and some very safe steps to ensure success. The death of Han Solo was expertly made into an unexpected and very emotional moment. Or I should say that I did guess it would happen moments before it did, but I was certainly not expecting to see a major and beloved character to die so early. So yeah, me and Cotton both agree that this bold move paid off.

On the other hand, I disliked some of the strong fanservice and recycling of old ideas. I mean, a reference joke here and there is good and even necessary to capitalize on all that nostalgia, but creating ANOTHER Death Star and immediately destroying it afterwards seemed a bit cheap to me.

The story is amazing. It was great on its own, it has thrown us into an unknown situation and immediately made us invested into it, but it has also set a great foundation for what I believe will overshadow the originals. Combined with this movie's pace, I enjoyed and savored every moment of it, but at the same time I wanted it to move forward because I was so interested in what'll come next. I think leaving Luke out of the equation and making him the treasure at the end of the cave instead was a great idea. Also, I had this little theory before watching the movie that Luke and Kylo Ren are the same person, just because I didn't see Luke anywhere on the official movie poster. Glad I was wrong.

What I also liked were the new characters. They have great chemistry, a decent set of motives (which is more than what can be said for most of the characters in the original trilogy or the prequels), they're fun and interesting. And I hope that both Rey and Finn will eventually get to wield lightsabers. Rey is a given, but Finn might get the hang of it too, we'll see. Kylo Ren is also a great surprise. He's funny at times, can be quite intimidating and we can already see his weaknesses. I foresee some interesting development in his future.

The action was amazing too. Some of it was better than ever (Poe's killstreak during the First Order assault), some of it was not. By that I mean the final duel. It was well filmed, but the action was definitely not as great as Anakin vs Obi-Wan. I'm not complaining though. Both of the duelists were definitely not on a Jedi Master level so it is to be expected. I thought Kylo Ren would be a merciless Darth lord killing machine from the very start, but he is not and it is great.

Anyway, it is getting late and my mind has wandered off. I still have more to write but it probably wouldn't make much sense anymore. So... you think Han Solo could be alive by any chance?

The first time it showed the new "Death Star" I got a bit worried. I immediately tried to rationalize how a defeated Empire could possibly build ANOTHER one, let alone one that was much, much larger. I as a bit relieved to find out that it was actually a planet that they built a giant weapon into, that was charged by nearby stars. Somehow that seems more reasonable. Typing it out, it sounds insane but it's not THAT far-fetched in the Star Wars universe. The whole movie followed the "A New Hope" formula a bit closely. I'm trying to look at it objectively, without my fanboy glasses, but it still doesn't bother me.

"Kill streak" was exactly how I described that scene with Poe myself. That's why he's the best pilot in the Resistance.

I have to say that I saw the death of Han Solo coming from the moment he said goodbye to Leia, but it doesn't mean I still wasn't shocked and hurt by it. I didn't want it to happen, but it was nice to see that even our heroes aren't safe.

I hope some of you have seen the movie by now so you can join in on this super spoilery conversation with Renegade1911 and I...

{Spoiler}
The complete secrecy of the weapon and the question as to the state of the Republic are very good points. I think 30 years is a reasonable amount of time to create the weapon, but it's not flawless. The weapon's credibility is actually damaged a bit if we are left to assume it was a planet with a weapon built into it. How would they control it's movement? I'm down with them having to wait for the weapon side of the planet to be facing the Republic worlds, but there's a problem with draining the star. I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to astrophysics, but what happens to the planet and base when there's no longer a star to orbit? We must assume the movie shows the first use of the weapon and if it drains it's mother star, most likely flinging it into space, is it one time use? Granted, they completed their mission of destroying an entire Republic star system, but damn that was one expensive shot.

I'm certainly not trying to damage the movie, but I guess some suspension of disbelief is required in a story about space wizards.

No, but Leia and Luke are. And Renegade1911, you should realize that there will never be lightsaber duals like in the prequels. The whole point of the original trilogy is that the Jedi are no longer in existence, thus the training will never reach what it was during the "golden age" of the Jedi. That's why the duals will seem a bit less skilled and artistic, and more blunt force.

{Spoiler}
100% alive. He suffered a loss to a someone he thought was much weaker, so he's going full Dark side anger mode in Episode VIII.