The effects, sounds and music are gorgeous as are all the settings. It's definitely Lucas' vision but done by people who have a genuine love for the source material. Sure there were moments that I felt were rushed just to get the story going but that can be forgiven. There is so much great stuff to look at. I was fascinated to see what someone other than George Lucas would do with this property. Thankfully I was not disappointed. I couldn't have dealt with disappointment.
The beginning is very similar to A New Hope thematically and visually. There is something about sand covered planets that make everything seem like Star Wars and there are enough other cool worlds here to fill a galaxy. I loved it.
The humor is right on point and the mix between old and new characters is seemless. The worlds they live in feel interconnected and I felt like I was watching the next chapter in am epic that I have loved most all of my life.
John Boyega is fantastic as Finn, the Stormtrooper who has had enough of being a mindless drone of a soldier. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have some skills of his own when survival is on the line. He is both scared and brave at the same time and that is endearing.
Rey (Daisy Ridley) is both gorgeous and spunky and every bit the heroine that Leia was in the first of the Star Wars movies. In fact, she is better than Leia and more like Luke in her heroic journey. I can't wait until she becomes the Jedi we all hope she will become. The transformation should be impressive by the end of movie three in the series.
The film feels so much more organic than the prequels ever did. Episodes 1-3 reeked of green screen tricks and this feature doesn't. Everything feels real. This comes from the sure hand of a director in absolute control of his film and what he wants it to be. In my opinion, his choices were spot on and often brilliant.
This FEELS like Star Wars which I thought was impossible to achieve, especially with the challenge of telling a new story with new characters while incorporating the beloved elders into something that can stand with the first three films in the series proudly.
Our New Sith Lord, Kylo Ren is not exactly the most stable Sith Lord ever and I suspect his connection to the Skywalker family is not so distant. I like that the reveal of his true identity came early and not at the end of the film. Now I want to see how Kylo turned bad in the first place. I bet we could get three movies out of that story alone.
I also must admire the crisp storytelling that never lets up for a second and never drags. In fact it plays like much of New Hope complete with battles on spaceships and on land. The music and sound once again screamed Star Wars and even at over two hours, the battles never felt like filler.
If I was being totally nitpicky I would claim that this is just a remake of NEW HOPE but it is so much more than that. It puts us back into a world we all know and love and that is a trick I thought even JJ couldn't pull off. I was a tough person to please and I left the theatre with a big smile on my face. There was just enough of the old to support this fresh adventure with new characters who fit beautifully into the world George Lucas created. He should be proud that his baby is in good hands.
Now bring on the sequel. I hope I live long enough to see the next two in this series.
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9 comments:
Yes, the movie's been getting glowing reviews -- glad you enjoyed it! I'll go see it in a month or two when the crowds die down.
We were very impressed, you're right, it has a very familiar feel to a new hope but with new, interesting characters. Our three heroes were amazing and the old favorites still hit their marks. I didn't care to see kylo's face, very distracting but all in all a great movie, can't wait for the next one.
Nice to see a pretty sith for once. The main bad guy is a bit goofy now that I think about it. I have all kinds of theories about him. But I liked it more the next day and that is always a good sign for a movie. I was predisposed to hate this but I was surprised at how good it was. I also want to see the whole Finn/Phasma thing play out because you knew that bitch got out of the trash compactor and is pissed.
Oh yeah, she's coming for Finn and it's going to be good. I'm so happy that Rey turned out to be the "new hope". All the promos shows Finn with the lightsaber (which would have been cool) but I love a strong female hero and she was a great choice.
When she handed that light sabre to you know who I bought peed my pants. They will be partners because he is her father. He put her on a dessert world to protect her because that was all he knew to do in his grief. Luke will be a huge hero in the next two. I am so looking forward to it. Nice that they held him back the way they did when the temptation was there to include him from second one.
Good to see the film agreed with you...and that you seemingly watched it on something bigger than a bread box.
I'm bringing my young nephews to see it this week. There was a lot of back-and-forth about whether or not this film would be too 'dark' for them since they had some trouble with Episode III being so but, the consensus is that they will be just fine. I tell you this because, by Thursday of this week, I will have officially seen this film 4 times!
figured this one deserved the big screen 3-d treatment complete with movie hot dog. It's cool to have something new like this to share with the next generation.
Hey Cal, I am being nitpicky. Why couldn't they tell a new story? It was pretty much just a rehash. They took the great elements from 3,4,5,and 6 and just slapped them all together. I was unimpressed to say the least.
I think the producers made a conscious decision to make the transition between the new series as little jarring as they could. They needed to tell the basic story to firmly route these new characters in to that universe. I am sure the next two will not be a retread. I was so worried they would muck it up that when I saw the final result I was comforted...but your opinion is valid as well.
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