"Force Awakens - What was GOOD about it?" Topic

So we have seen several threads with many voicing their opinions as to why they did not like the movie, or at least, what was WRONG with it.

So, turning the whole thing over, what was RIGHT or GOOD about the movie?

For me, the new characters were really good. I think Poe could be a terrific character but he was in their far too short.

The action was also great but not over done. It was nicely balanced with the plot and dialogue.

How about you?

It was all about action with few attempts to be 'clever'. As such, it worked a lot better than some of he others. I liked it.

It was a good bridge from the old to the new.

Poe = the new Han Solo

The good from the movie is that there was no Jar Jar Binks & we can imagine that he was on one of those worlds that got destroyed.

The really good is that there will be more movies coming.

You will be hearing from Captain Gideon.

I liked the new characters except the actor that played Poe was, to me, not very good. It was good to see the original characters, but maybe they did this 10 years or so too late? Both Fisher and Ford were getting a little long in the tooth for how they were portrayed.

Mithmee you had to bring up Jar Jar Binks didn't you?

You could not leave well enough alone could you?

So to counter that I'll say that the only BAD thing really for me was that the Gold-Plated Butler showing up and eventhough it was there for so many minutes it was too long if you asked me.

An interestinbg comparison, Old vs New:
link

Great article. Thanks for posting, John!

I enjoyed it, and that was good. :-P

It was good, not great, not the best movie I've seen this year, but so much better than the prequels, I'll go and see the others. But yes they such have done this movie back when they did the first of the prequels when Luke, Han and Leia were at least a bit younger.

I didn't think the new girl and the bad "sith" lad were actually that good acting wise, "Fin and Pol" though I thought were OK.

Chewie has aged well though!

Cheers Roger.

Two, no three, no four (trying to be extra positive in 2016, haha) good things I liked about the movie.

1) No characters pandering, marketing to children like ewoks and Jar Jar.

2) Some of the new characters were interesting. I thought the new actress (Rae? Ray?…forgot her name) and Fin were pretty good. Po shows promise except for every other line being "woohoo!". The new sith seems like a wuss.

Hope next years movie is better. I'll still go see it no matter what but for me this franchise has jumped the shark four movies ago.

3) Special effects were very good.

4) Chewie was his best ever.

1) New Characters , Fin, Rey and Poe

2) I like the bad guys. They are human.

3) BB-8

4) Supreme Leader Snoke

5) Pew pew

6) Han and Chewie

7) Humor was fun

4) Supreme Leader Snoke

Interesting choice. I thought he looked too much like Smeagol. I could not take him seriously.

The humor (or its attempts) not being concentrated in one spot (which is the best way to describe one of the problems with the prequels). It gets spread around, and some of the best is played completely straight.

Lucas' main criticism of TFA, of not visiting enough "new" places in enough "new" rides, is fair, and I can appreciate it as a tech head, but TFA does toss enough new bits out there to satisfy.

BB-8 threatens to steal the movie several times. Even R2 only manages that once in six movies, in the opening sequence of III.

Watching Han and Chewbacca bounce back and forth like an old married couple was nostalgia I can appreciate.

Finn was excellent; funny, brave and believable (with an intriguing origin).

I actually liked that Kylo Ren was basically a selfish emo wannabe with delusions of grandeur. They wisely did *not* try to make him the intelligent, powerful menace that Darth Vader was, but simply a man-boy more pretending to power than capable of wielding it (in fact, he was more what the Anakin of the prequels would have turned out to be; no way Lucas's teen twit in those movies would ever become the Darth Vader of the originals). Dangerous as hell, yes, like a gang member with an Uzi, but a different kind of evil than Vader.

Other than that, it was funny at the right moments and exciting at the right moments and just fun throughout.

I didn't think Snoke looked like Sméagol.

Yeah, I've heard a number of people say that he looked like Gollum but I don't see it at all, either.

Sirkus was listed in the credits. Did he play Snoke?

The actor that played Poe was, to me, not very good

Don't be fooled by one limited supporting role. If you watch Oscar Isaac in 'Inside Llewyn Davis,' 'A Most Violent Year' and 'Ex Machina' you won't come to this conclusion.

What's good about TFA is that Abrams retold the story of ANH by putting a fresh new spin on it. He gave what the fans expected and wiped the bad taste of Eps. 1-3 from our mouths. SW fans can now be optimistic about its future and know that it will be steered in the right direction. TFA appeals to both long-time fans and new initiates alike while fitting squarely in the SW canon.

I really enjoyed The Force Awakens. I thought it was an entertaining film and a good link between the original trilogy and the new one.
I liked the new characters, especially Rey. Although some are saying she is too much of a Mary Sue I disagree. To me she's another take on the mythic hero born ordinary but discovering she is exceptional. I also liked Finn and thought he showed good chemistry with Rey. With Kylo Ren we have a villan with a bit of complexity. I like the way he is very powerful in a few respects but really a bit naff underneath.
I didn't mind that the plot was really a retread of A New Hope, it was still entertaining. If you see the whole series as a concept album then The Force Awakens is the part which is a reprise of the main theme but which introduces new riffs which are expanded in the rest of the album. I've read that the next movie might be very different and so we'll soon move into the next part of the album where those riffs will be dominant.

It was better than spending 2 hours with the mother-in-law….

Here's my good points:

1) The actors seemed really into their roles (especially Finn & Rey) and gave it their all.
2) Very good humour mixed within the action.
3) Kylo Ren. I thought he was great both in the helmet and out. Very interesting character.
4) Han & Chewie.
5)BB8.
6) The death of Han was beautifully played out.

I thought Snoke looked more like Voldemort than Gollum!

The two best parts were:

#1 BB8's "thumbs/torch"-up.
#2 The Maz Kanata / Edna E. Mode / Iris Apfel connection.

#2, I have no idea what you are talking about….

I get that connection.. And it's an agree.

Great War Ace…

Maz Kanata: (SW Force Awakens) link

Edna E. Mode: (The Incredibles)
link

Iris Apfel: (Real Life Fashion Icon)

Ah. A movephile thing. I see that now. Funny. And thanks for spelling it out for me. But how you knew of such a person as an Iris Apfel is a poser….

Or the Dana Carvey Turtle connection.

I liked that Rey didn't just turn out to be an annoying female sidekick. Who knows, perhaps she'll be the new Bastila Shan.

The new emo tormented Sith guy is compeletely unmemorable (I still can't remember his name) but at least he is a three dimensional character and I laughed out loud when he had his tantrum and the two Stormtroopers turned around and walked away. He also rocks that M36 helmet.

I didn't realise Poe was supposed to be an important character, I thought he was just a redshirt lined up for flaming death in an X Wing fight. The air combat scenes were good.

Looking forward to Ren and Rey bringing peace and order to the galaxy together as brother and sister:)

Adam Driver is the actor's name who plays Kylo Ren.

Driver is probably not good at rage. That's why they cut away to those nearby who can hear him….

Sirkus was listed in the credits. Did he play Snoke?

Yes, which is why so many people probably made that connection!

Driver is probably not good at rage. That's why they cut away to those nearby who can hear him….

Which is weird, since he is an ex-Marine with two tours in Iraq under his belt. You'd think he could have emoted a little better.

Who/what is Snoke? Emperor Palpatine, who secretly did not die from his fall down the death star shaft, despite a mighty deep gash in his head?

"Emoting" takes on different manifestations: some people go all icy quiet when they get angry. An actor might have real difficulty getting all "ragey" and yet be very good at emotion generally. Driver's sadness at his decision of off his own dad was very convincing, I thought….

I don't think Driver's acting was all that bad or one-dimensinal. His Kylo Ren came across as a bit emotionally unstable (and perhaps mentally as well), switching from mindless rage one moment to icy calm the next.

Oh and you will be seeing more of Oscar Isaac since he is in the new X-Men movie.

He will be playing Apocalypse.

The totally extraneous & over the top "Tentacle Monsters"!

Mardaddy:
#2 The Maz Kanata / Edna E. Mode / Iris Apfel connection.

I always thought Edna Mode was based on Edith Head.

It re-established Star Wars movies as something that could be fun to watch.

The main characters were charismatic and likeable and it focused on star wars'y stuff.

Mad Magazine artist Sergio Aragones just did his own look at TFA in the newest Mad issue.

Sergio is still at it? Inconceivable….

So is Al Jaffe with his fold-ins.

Liked the movie very much. Reminded me of the original movies rather than the prequels. I think Chewie had the best lines.

So, turning the whole thing over, what was RIGHT or GOOD about the movie?

Everything.

For me it was the most exciting Star Wars film since Star Wars. With no disappointments. No stupid Ewoks.

And the parody of the film itself,"Star Bores-The Snores Awaken" was quite funny. They even threw in a panel from the original "Star Roars"