The movie that smashed records on its' opening week and with so many positive reviews, it's difficult to ignore Star Wars...all the more when there seems to be an advertisement on it every now and then. The Disney's marketing team definitely has done a great job. After watching the movie, I would definitely recommend anyone who has yet to watch the movie to go for it....and if you have never watched a single Star Wars movie before, you might wanna watch the first 6 episodes of it to graps the magic of the movie. Having said that, even if you have never watched it, you should still be able to follow the movie easily.
Here are the reviews (SPOILER ALERTS!)
The movie has kept to its origin format, with the similar opening credits....a lot of throw backs in the movie I must said....but JJ Abrams has done it pretty well on this one...with The Force Awakens picks up the intergalactic story of good versus evil 30 years on from The Return of the Jedi — the finale of the original trilogy.
After the usual opening credits that explains the movie, where both the First Order (used to be the Empire) and the Resistance (used to be Rebels) were on the hunt for Luke Skywalker, who apparently went missing.
Now that's the big question mark...why would Luke Skywalker left his friends and family on their own while the First Order did all the evil work (which we see in the movie)....unfortunately that remains the question mark even as I finished with the movie.
BRILLIANT INTRODUCTION INTO THE NEW CHARACTERS AND THE MOVIE
Nevertheless, it got us into the adventure with Princess Leia, now a general, sends fighter pilot Poe Dameron to save him from the evil First Order. But he has to flee and he gives the map that would find Luke Skywalker to his droid BB-8, who has to get it back to Leia with the help of Finn, a Stormtrooper who has turned his back on the Dark Side, and young scavenger Rey. The introduction of the characters were done swiftly but intelligent. I loved how pilot Poe Dameron played his character and yes, Kylo Ren. He was so cool with the way he stopped the laser blast by Poe with his force. From that moment, the movie has been moving with the right momentum. You can almost felt the chemistry between the two young stars, Rey and Finn....and while the two are running away from the First Order.
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| Poe, Rey and Finn |
While a lot of people felt the character Finn started off rather stiff, I think the role was played excellently. He was a Stormtrooper who had decided to turn his back on the First Order, yes and he was extremely afraid of it.....so much so that his expression of fear when Poe said they are going back to Jakku. It was funny and hilarious at the same time. It also showed him as someone who had been brainwashed his entire life....I love Rey, just like how Luke Skywalker was first introduced to us in New Hope. BB-8 was definitely an exciting new droid as well...while I kinda miss R2-D2, BB-8 has helped to make the movie with limited scene of R2-D2 to be of little significance.
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| Don't mistaken....BB-8 is the star of the new Star Wars |
A lot of emphasis on the movie was on Rey, the new hero (heroin maybe)....at least she looks to be the next Jedi and it was great work on how JJ helped to display her character as one from an extreme unfortunate background but one that looked at life with so much positivity....Loved the way she was learning her Force....her attempt to mind control a Stormtrooper...three attempts!! It's funny and she nailed it.
NOSTALGIC AND THROWBACKS COULD ONLY GO BACK AS MUCH
I think JJ Abrams is using The Force Awakens to connect the older fans to the movie while to introduce the movie into the new generation....and I think he has done it so well. I am not sure how many of you feel it when Han Solo and Chewie came onboard on the Millenium Falcon and said, "Chewie, we're home"....that magical moment I believe will stir in the hearts of most of the fans who have followed the movie and would love to know what happen to their beloved characters.
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| Han Solo and Chewie in action |
Of course, in introducing Han Solo to the new stars, Finn and Rey, JJ also did a great job...it's just as Han Solo and Luke Skywalker were introduced to Finn and Rey, they were being introduced to the new fans of these legends.
And like what others reviews suggest, it's just so much like the Star Wars we've seen and I think here lies the problem. The Force Awakens has tried so hard to keep within the origins of the movie that it just didn't introduced anything new to us. The fighting jets, the Han Solo's adventure with Chewie, the jokes in between here and there, the lightsabers....and yes, the movie post a lot of questions like "Who's Rey?", "Who's Rey's parents?", "Why did Kylo Ren turn evil?" and yes, what happen to Luke Skywalker....most of those questions that we asked at the start of the movie remains a question at the end of it.
As nostalgic as it could be to watch the sleeping R2-D2 when it was introduced to us or the Han Solo moment, I have a feeling that JJ played it a little too safe in this one.
HAN SOLO MUST DIE
It has to come to this. I've read a few possible outcomes of the movie but when I found out from the movie that Kylo Ren is Ben Solo, son of Han Solo and Leia, I knew it has to come to this. For the Star Wars franchise to introduce a villain that is more bad-ass and special than Darth Vader, they have to do something....and they did...Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo killed Han Solo. It was in that moment, the moment where the lightsaber pierced through Han Solo....it's unbelievable. They just killed the character that connect us in the entire movie. but I have a feeling it has to go this direction, to create the emotions between Rey and Kylo Ren which could either be siblings, cousins or maybe just unrelated to one another....
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| It appears that the end has come for Han Solo, killed by his own son.... |
And as mentioned, JJ Abrams took a lot from the original Star Wars....most of those who are connected with Han Solo would felt miserable at this time but not all hope is lost, as the best pilot from the Resistance, Poe Dameron helped to destroy the Starkiller Base (redesigned of the Death Star? Come on JJ....you are better than this). It was a moment of triumph, of hope...that there is indeed hope.
THE LIGHTSABER....KYLO REN SUDDENLY BECOME AWFUL
I think for all the effort in trying to make Kylo Ren into a villain that surpass Darth Vader, the lightsaber battle between him and Finn as well as Rey suddenly make him look awful. Probably it was the injury that he sustained when Chewie shot him just after he killed his own dad. It was probably that emotional drained that had caused his Force weakened but he definitely looked awful in his battle with Finn and Rey, both of whom are first timer in lightsaber combat.
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| Kylo Ren looked weak in his lightsaber battle |
I noticed how JJ Abrams has to show off the function of his smaller blades when he used it to hurt Finn. And yes, for someone that was supposedly to be so good at the Force in the introduction of the movie and becoming so awful in his fight with Rey and Finn, this was one of the worst way to plan an escape road for the new characters.
LUKE SKYWALKER and RD-D2 COMES ALIVE TOWARDS THE ENDING
It is probably frustrating throughout the movie when Luke Skywalker's disappearance becomes more obvious, all the more when Han Solo was killed. "If only Luke were there..."
Some fans had argued that R2-D2 suddenly coming alive at the end of the movie was illogical but I believe JJ had an explanation to it....probably the droid sensed the descendant of Luke was around (Rey was only with R2-D2 at the end of the movie) or probably it was just Luke Skywalker telling R2-D2 to do so? Well, no one knows but I love the scene where BB-8 rolls over and combine the map with R2-D2....finally!! There is Luke!! Haha!! But it was a touching scene, with Rey bidding farewell with Finn and onto an adventure to look for Luke. The emotion when Rey held up the lightsaber to Luke....there was so strong....it's either the music did a good job or the surrounding was awesome....but it was a fitting ending towards the movie....making the fans wanting more.
The movie has created more questions than answers....and while it was great to see Leia and Han Solo (a little sad to see his ending as well), it helps to create a lot of connection with the new characters....I'm already loving this Rey in Star Wars....Kylo Ren yes initially until the lightsaber battle. Let's hope he's better trained for the next Star Wars so we could see a stronger blade battles as mentioned by Harrison Ford. (it might be his favourite scene....it is not mine)
SUPREME LEADER SNOKE and MAZ KANATA UNEXPLAINED
Both new characters introduced.....both unexplained....the villain Supreme Leader Snoke was revealed to us via an enlarged sort of hologram but no one really know how he looks like. Maz Kanata was revealed to us as someone who had lived a very long life....and apparently she can see through the eyes of someone's emotion or characteristic but no further elaboration. It remains to be seen how important will these two characters be in the next episode.
Nice, my family loves it too! We just went for Ip Man movie & it's really awesome. Merry X'mas to you & family!
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