Star Wars: The Force Awakens [DVD] [2015]

This is the best overall film of the New Trilogy thusfar. The Last Jedi is hyper controversial and philosophical [and I actually love it because It explores a tough subject matter, disillusionment among Jedi and Sith and rebirth of faith in the Force]. The Force Awakens captures a glint of the glory, awe, and wonder of A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. The Force Awakens is superior to the Prequels/Anakin Skywalker Arch because it invests in the characters ans builds on tjeir realtionahips realistically, similar to A New Hope: common objective, common enemy, team work anx etc oppose to the Prequels more complex political alliances, and emphasis on Zoroastrian and Dualist ideologies. The Force Awakens is pure fun, with enough lore and wonder to keep it from being campy or a total knock off. In particular I applaud J.J. Abrams for his handling of Kylo Ren as a villain. He isn’t a Vader clone or Darth Maul cult creating character, he is the antithisis, unsurd of himself and conflicted, his insecurity and tryingvto overshadow it with Dark Side prowess makes him actuslly more relatable than the dogmaticism of Darth Vader. Kylo Ren is a Sith for a new generatiok, that no doubt may carry the same conflict inside. Rey who has been labeled a Mary Sue, is acruslly refreshing. Men have had plenty of Jedi and Force affilates to choose from: Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and maby more; girls and women have only ad Aayla Secura and Ahsoka Tano for female Jedi and they are aliens not humans like Rey. [Legends fans have had Bastila Shan and Mara Jade Skywalker for major human female Jedi]. Finn and Poe both are welcome heroes, one a former stormtrooper and the other a resistance pilot. Their dialogue during their escape from The First Order at the beginning of the Force Awakens always gives me a good chuckle. I want to seal this review by stating I am a Legends/EU die hard who knows Dash Rendar, Exar-Kun, Ulic-Quodroma, Mara Jade, Revan, Darth Plagueis, Prince Xinor, the Jed’Daii (proto-Jedi tribes), Ashla and Bogan (Light and Dark Side), Force Grip is a grey power (light or dark depending on who you are using it on), and so much more. I have been following the Legends, called Expanded Universe when I was young, and I enjot the Force Awakens.

I saw Force Awakens in a large theater 2 months after the hype died down. We had the theater nearly to ourselves, it was great. I liked it, pre-ordered the Blu-ray just now. Is it the end all be-all? No. I rate it the 2nd best in the franchise after Empire Strikes Back and tied with A New Hope. Is it worth owning? For me: CERTAINLY. Heck yes! Beats the crap out of the prequels. But then again that's not so hard when Abrams is recycling a lot of "A New Hope". This show is a wet dream to every boomer's teenage memory. I'll take it. Look, when I saw them running and all of a sudden the camera swings ** unexpectedly ** to the Falcon and I get my first glimpse of it under those tarps, I realized they were going to activate it and fly it. I got gooosebumps. The ship at first glance was dirty and funky - like an exotic relic - but it FLEW again and it looked ** awesome ** doing so...I was a kid again. All was forgiven. So, I can ignore some things ( I don't care for the Kylo Ren actor. His tantrums weren't scary, they were hilarious. So what?), but then again I don't live for Star Wars - it's a nice diversion. I'll watch this a couple times then probably once every 2 -3 years. Just the same, it is a must have for my collection. Funny how that works. YMMV. Bottom line for me: Resets/redeems the franchise. Makes me remember why I liked it originally. I'm hope they try something new on the next outing (new story arc, new ideas, character development). P.S. One of the moments I liked in the film was when Rey considers -- for a few seconds -- selling BB8 at the trading post. She looks at that pile of credits offered to her (probably a year's worth of food) and yeah - she's thinking it over - and then passes on the deal. The "still small voice". I liked that scene. That's the difference between good and evil sometimes - those "not so fast" moments where you self-reflect and don't take a bad deal that looks good on the surface.

Having watched the Star Wars: The Force Awakens on IMAX 3D back in December. I still really enjoyed watching it in normal 2D on Blue Ray, and all the extras provided on the second disk. The 70 min behind the scenes documentary was informative and interesting. The deleted scenes were a bit short, and I had expected them to be a longer. Lucasfilm may be holding them back for another time, but that is pure speculation and if you believe what is written on the internet:-) The film has re-awaked my love of Star Wars. I have seen all the Star Wars films at the cinema and was a massive fan growing up. I hated the prequels so much, that it totally tarnished my view of the whole universe and the original films. I turned my back on the franchise and was no longer interested in it. TFA has reminded me, what I loved about the originals. The feelings of wander, joy, and the familiarity brought me back to my younger self. Yes, there are many familiar parts But that was the whole point from JJ Abrams; to bring us back to the experience of the original films, reboot the franchise, to introduce the Star Wars franchise to a new set of fans around the world (and makes huge amounts of money). I am entitled to my own opinion, as are others who have the opposite view. The film seems to have really upset a few people. But here are some facts to highlight the film's critical and financial success: 1 Greatest cinema success in the UK in the UK for the past 40 years. (BFI: Inflation adjusted total of £122 million followed by Skyfall, Avatar ). 2 Third film in history to gross over $2 Billion dollars worldwide, although the figures are not inflation adjusted (BoxOffice Mojo. Behind Avatar and Titanic). The bad $ exchange rate dented its earnings. 3 Five Star ratings from "The Times", "The Telegraph", and "The Guardian". 92% rating from Rotten Tomatoes, and 81% from Metacritic. 4 The film has had good longevity for a blockbuster, particularly at the UK/Ireland/Malta box office and the US. It has been making money for 120 days. I expect the DVD/Blue Ray sales to continue in a similar vein, but time will tell. 3

I think if you have to say the worst thing about The Force Awakens it is that someone has taken all your favourite Star Wars toys and is playing with them, and you are just watching. And that in a nutshell is most likely what causes most people the MOST grief about the film. For me my first "awareness" of the whole Star Wars saga was back in 1976 when we heard via newspapers and the odd TV news that "something" was coming across the Atlantic. And I was sitting in school and we'd just been given a new "book" catalogue and there was the paperback for Star Wars written by George Lucas (as I learned a few years later actually by Alan Dean Foster............) Loved the first (no 4). Actually read the book of Empire Strikes Back before I saw the film (another Dean Foster tie in) - those were the days - and although I liked Return of the Jedi I did think it had gone too "childish". In fact I saw it in a packed local cinema, now an OAP home, where at 17/18 I was the oldest person amongst a mass of 7 to 12 years olds. The target audience. Then. Now JJ Abrams and me are about the same age and he has tackled what most would not want to tackle. Something that has to "hit" me and my age group and something that will "hit" the new target market like my kids who have grown up with Dad saying "You HAVE to see this!" Yes we all suffered through the Lucas era of I, II and III. Not so much someone playing with your toys but actively selling new ones to you! And that is what is strange about this film. It does not SELL you anything. Old characters, new characters, old ships, new ships, but Disney have been surprisingly "adult" about it. Maybe in many years when we have Star Wars 27: Return of Jafar and His Crazy Sidekick.......... So no spoilers and I did not see it on release, I waited for the Blu Ray, but it is worth it. And something else? It is a film that will be worth watching again, and it will get better with each viewing. Blu Ray quality is excellent - they really could not drop the ball. Abrams likes to move the camera and some of the shots in the aerial battles are stunners and will NEED to be watched again and again. I'd had a rubbish week with me losing a job through redundancy. This was something to look forward to. It made me forget. It did what Star Wars was meant to do. Roll on the rest, Disney.

Episode VII, good, I liked the movie.

This movie is fantastic! It was a great way to bring Star Wars back for older fans, and also a great way to introduce the franchise to a new generation! The new characters are great, especially Finn, Han Solo was as funny and sarcastic as ever, Kylo Ren is a very threatening villain in this movie, and it was great to see some of the same locations we know and love from the originals once more. What more could a Star Wars Fan ask for?

Another great movie.