SPOILERS: The Star Wars VII Discussion thread. (with spoilers)

I had mixed feelings about this movie--

The good:

- I loved the strong female lead... and the subtle way they played with movie stereotypes. When she says "I don't need you to hold my hand while I am running" it made me laugh out loud. She was a great choice for this character.

- Of course, I had the same mushy feelings everyone else had at the key points... seeing the Millennium Falcon, seeing Leia and Han... these scenes were designed to be emotionally manipulative, and they were done perfectly.

- It was fun to get a little closer to the Storm Troopers, to see how they work. Of course Finn provided an insight, but the seeing them up close clearing out a village and in their barracks was a little unnerving and it had my interest.

The bad.

- I saw this movie 20 years ago. A lost young adult riding a sand speeder on a desert planet finds a droid with a message that leads him or her rough neck companions who have to blow up a death star to save the rebel planet. I really wish they had come up with something a bit different.

When Han Solo says "There is always a way [to blow up the Death Star]" followed by the explanation a small target that will do the trick, I felt a big letdown.

- Kylo Ren didn't work for me as a bad guy. He seemed out of place in the movie and not very menacing. I thought the death of Han Solo was a completely unconvincing scene. This scene (and the character in general) I felt was poor written and not enjoyable.

- Han Solo deserved better. I suppose that killing him off helps the plot... but he deserved better.

I'm not a huge SW fan so recognize that going in. Plus I am far from the target millennial/Gen Y audience they were shooting for.

I agree - I've already seen this flick. Did not need to see an updating or reimagining of it or whatever the hell JJ Abrams is palming it off as this time. And I say this time, as he pulled this crap with Star Trek Into Darkness, too. For the kind of money I'm sure was paid to him, the writers, etc., you'd think they'd have gone more original and less safe. The audience was certainly ready for some newness mixed in with the huge nostalgia bombs the film kept hitting us with.

I thought Finn was a poorly realized character. The premise was terrific - a stormtrooper who breaks free of programming and refuses to kill! Yay! And then it's squandered nearly immediately, as he becomes a killing machine on the ship he and Po steal. Finn ends up taking out people he may very well have been raised with. He certainly had sympathy for one of them on the battlefield (he seemed to be the sole 'trooper who actually gave a damn about the wounded and the dying), yet that was all forgotten once he could no longer see their faces.

Lame, and disturbing.

His sense of humor and hitting on Rey were also odd and out of place. Neither would have been programmed into a killing machine such as he was supposed to be.

Rey is a decent character, and Daisy Ridley is a good actress. Her background made some sense but again, this was a hidden child on a backwater planet, living in poverty. Where oh where have we seen this one before?

I thought Han's death was really telegraphed, and if they stay true to the playbook, Luke is next, I suspect.

The special effects, costumes, scenery, cinematography, makeup are all great and will be nominated for (and will likely win) any number of awards.

Story needs major work, though.

2 star picture in a 5 star package. Sorry, fans.

Did you enjoy the character of Rey as a badass female lead? She had a much stronger character than Luke ever did, and she was much less whiny.

She made the movie for me, and it was fun to watch with my preteen daughter.

Overall I gave the movie a B+ (but part of that was probably because I am going to enjoy pretty much any Star Wars movie, and a big plus beacuse they didn't screw it up with anything like Jar-Jar Binks or Ewoks).

I felt pretty much the same way about the whole thing.

Also, I suspect that Harrison Ford wanted Han Solo killed off so that he wouldn't be asked to do the sequels. I think he's tired of this.

I thought Rey was .... okay.

I prefer Leia, and I mean Leia now. Older, tougher (presumably), seasoned, etc. I really don't like the sudden competency trope, yeah I get it's the Force (this is why I'm not a big SW fan as I tend to prefer not mixing sci fi and fantasy as much as this universe does). I was pleased that she had some power - the trailer made it look as if her main role in the film was to be comforted by Han, so that was good.

Harrison Ford is listed in the cast for VIII, see - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2527336/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm

A lot of online speculation is he'll be a Force Ghost.

And this is why I am not a fan of mixing sci fi and fantasy.

I went into the movie expecting two entertaining hours of cinema. I was not disappointed so I'm a happy camper.

I'm an especially happy camper because Mel Brooks indicated he might come up with a Space Balls sequel. I can't wait to see it! Oh, that reminds me, time to change my A2K password.

I know what you mean. David Drake has written some outstanding space opera, but he should never, ever try to do fantasy.

I wondered if they might have him return briefly as a "Force Ghost". I really hate the whole "Force Ghost" thing.

I saw the movie in 3D and thought the acting and scenery were as recycled and cheaply done as the storyline and writing. Even much of the special effects were recycled for the most part. The 3D aspect was just meh.

While watching I was wondering if the discarded rewrites from previous plot versions had been strung together for this one..

The first 20 minutes were the best parts of the film with fresh storyline, characters and actors. After that, the movie plot got lost and just became an excuse for more cheesy special effects and old applause lines. Reminded me of an old rock and roll group trying to be relevant again.

I will return to this thread later on today. Like Rilo Kiley to episode VIII!

Sorry, I mean Rylo Ken.

Hayden Christensen is rumored to make a brief cameo as Anakin in the next episode. Speculation is that he'll either show up in a dream or as a force ghost.

Remember he broke his leg during the production of this film. He's up there in age. So, he has a decent reason not to return. Plus, he's financially set considering he was the highest paid actor in the whole production.

I doubt that return is the case. Even in a brief cameo. His name is no longer there.


Star Wars has always been highly regarded as a space opera or space fantasy far more then science fiction.

He can't return as a Force Ghost as only the Jedi can do that and he wasn't a Jedi.

The more I look back on this film the less I like it. I'm reducing my IMDB rating on this thing to a 7 instead of an 8, and I would give it a 6.5 if I could.

I hate to say it too, but I think Harrison Ford did a terrible job of playing Han Solo, even an older version of him. So many of his scenes just didn't seem right in some way, and now I think a lot of it was simply bad acting. Only the younger actors seemed to have their hearts in it. Maybe they should do a "Red Wedding" type of thing in VIII and just kill off all the old timers so that we can end the whole thing on a fresh note.

Ah, thanks; it must have been removed.

My understanding is that IMDB is something of a Wiki and people who are not necessarily in the know will update it with one thing or another. This can be agents trying to push a particular client's agenda or fans engaging in wishful thinking. I know Dominic Keating was listed for The Hobbit for a while there, and I have little doubt he was nowhere near the scripts. That was fangirl/fanboy wishful thinking at its finest, I believe.

There has been speculation that Han Solo did have some larger connection to the force. Something that even alluded himself.

It's not as easy to contribute as you might think it is.