Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

[fraz]

Just back from a 3d showing. Not really anything special 3d wise so would opt for a normal screening if you cant get to an IMAX one.

I'm a fan of the series but certainly not a fanboy in any sense although the build up around this did have me excited and had a tingle at the familiarity of the opening title roll. As the film goes on, I was never bored but not totally thrilled either. Some performances are great - Daisy Ridley is fantastic as Rey and a complete star, plus BB-8 steals every scene 'he' is involved in. John Boyega, in contrast, is wooden while Ford fumbles his way through proceedings and Fisher just looks and sounds odd after years of surgery. Nostalgia is forgiving though so you don't dwell on how far past it Ford really is.

My OH was fumbling about all the way through and I could tell she wasn't really into it. Overly long was her view. Also, groups of teens in the cinema resorted to loud talking by the mid point so perhaps they had lost interest too.

For me, it's a definite return to form after episodes 1-3. Rey is the new star of the show and I can't wait to see what she is up to in the next film.

7.5/10

[steve9872]

My only gripe is that its mostly episode 4 revamped.

[D-Fens]

That's what he (JJ) was hired to do, the separate movies will be where they take risks.

[valda]

Tickets b*ght for opening weekend I'm attending the Star Wars convention this weekend! And my fancy dress (well just a mask to be honest) is ready to go....
Very excited, please, please don't be another Phantom Menace or Crystal Skull

I find your lack of faith...disturbing.

That reminds me of a certain forum member who went to the new HMV opening in Stratford, in costume, only to find he was the only one there, and had to hang around for hours too

[kevinknapman]

Let's get this out of the way to begin with. Star Wars The Force Awakens is not a five star masterpiece that has arrived to rescue cinema, defeat all the evil in the world and cure cancer (as some would no doubt hope).
It is however an incredibly enjoyable, often deeply satisfying but occasionally imperfect slab of blockbuster filmmaking that has more than enough going for it to paper over some niggling holes and inconsistencies in the plot.

Thankfully there's a lot of good so we can comfortably start there.
Several thrilling set pieces that will have you on the edge of your seat from spaceship battles to lightsaber duels. A great young cast of newcomers to the franchise, including Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver, who all have great defining moments of their own. A welcome mix of CGI and practical effects that pisses all over the sterile, emotionally distancing efforts of the previous three films. The two main CGI only characters here are excellent and you'll want to see more of them not less (unlike Jar Jar). Plus it's the closest the franchise has got so far to recapturing the nostalgic space opera vibe of the original.

On the downside there's a vagueness to some of the plot developments that aren't satisfyingly answered and often insultingly dismissed. There's a moment where a character is asked how they came to be in possession of a particular plot macguffin and they give the reply "that's a story for another time". Which seems rather lazy and an insult to an audience that deserves better. Also some of the plot twists don't quite carry the emotional weight they could have possibly because a lot of key events take place between the end of Return of the Jedi and the start of this.
Plus Gwendoline Christie seems destined to be stuck in the role of 'talented actress ill-served by a major franchise' following her minor cameo in the final Hunger Games film and now this. Her Captain Phasma may get a little more screen time here but not as much as the pre-release publicity would have suggested.
Also the newer parts of the John Williams score never quite hit the heights of either the original or the best of 'The Phantom Menace' with nothing particularly memorable beyond the familiar.

As I said though, the good more than makes up for it. I wouldn't like to say where it should be placed in regards to the rest of the series, other than it being a clear improvement on the previous three films (it doesn't have a character who would grow up to become one of the most evil and iconic movie villains shouting 'yippee!' for a start). It doesn't seem accidental that its opening spoken line is “This will begin to make things right”. Which it certainly does.
What it is however is a solid way to resurrect the franchise with the promise of even better to come.
A film that has been placed in the safe hands of JJ Abrams who effortlessly delivers a story that has plenty of moments to leave dedicated fans with satisfied grins on their way out of the cinema and the desire to go straight back in and watch it again.

[yogi]

Kevinknapman makes some great points in his review and I agree with a lot of them, but on the whole our groups gut reaction was that they loved it and we could have watched it again straight away.

It does an excellent job of recapturing the spirit of episodes 4-6 helped by real sets and characters you can root for, sterile is a brilliant word for the prequels.

Overall it's a fantastic adventure with lots of twists and turns, maybe borrowing a bit too much from A New Hope as steve9872 said, but somehow living up to almost impossible expectations 9.5/10

[alythonian]

Well, I didn't fall asleep!
Not a fan of Star Wars. OH dragged me to see very 1st one when they rerelease a remastered version about 10 years ago. I was very bored snd didn't enjoy it.
This he wanted to see. It cost me £2 with my TicTac ticket so fair enough, he watches enough Rubbish I want to see.
It was fine. It entertained me it had a fair enough story and I didn't get bored. 2 hours passed quite quickly.
Not nearly as bad as I thought it might be for me. Appreciate I'm in my own wee world here as everyone else. Loves it.
If this was new and I'd never heard of it before I'd have given it 6/10.
The interviewees on Graham Norton last night were really annoying and really put me off watching it which didn't help!

[Jayman]

Loved loved loved this! Wonderful enough to wash out the bitter after-taste of the truly lackluster prequels even though it contains many elements of a reboot rather than a standalone chapter.
John Boyega and Daisy Ridley are both welcome, charismatic additions to the series and as awesome as Harrison Ford was, the scene stealer for me was by far Ex-Machina's Oscar Isaac.
A great feat considering he's barely even on-screen for 15 minutes.

Can't wait for Rian Johnson's Episode VIII.

PS. For anyone else wondering whether to go for the full 3D 70mm IMAX experience, I would highly recommend you not bother.
Only the desert sequence is shot in this enhanced aspect ratio and I personally wouldn't have noticed it had the big head in front of me not become so apparent.
In fact, if you have a choice, watch it in 2D.

Overall, a very easy 9/10.

[baty]

Used my free ticket to see this, thought, as the main hype was over that, like yogi I would get to see this in an almost empty cinema..... no such luck! about 3/4 full and this is with it on in another 4 of the screens.
OH was /is not a fan of Starwars and I half expected him to fall asleep but to his credit he stayed awake and gave his opinion on the way back in the car, mostly about the gaping plot holes which have been previously mentioned. He also asked how much did they pa*d 'that fella' at end? Saying he could have done that bit.

Wow, took me back straight away. The look, the sound......the sand. It leaps from place to place as sure footed as a gazelle and, as long as you don't think too much, it's a great action film, that has more than a nod to previous episode 4. Personally, I liked the reined in CGI look

Spoiler

Show

although the new look LS of new baddie has a Game of Thrones look to it for me

and the canteen group have a more timeless tune playing that wont grate as the previous did.
Will probably watch over....and over in the coming years

Overall 8/10

[elski]

imax poster being given away at cinemas on sunday