Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

[Softguitar]

[spoiler]But he escaped with Poe from the First Order and handled that lightsaber and held a good fight against Rylo Ken.

I don't think he is his grandson but I do think he's Force sensitive.[/spoiler]

[Marilink]

I hope he isn't. :P

[USER=19860]@The Mistletoeing Link[/USER] , btw:

[spoiler]The mountain is the Jedi Temple. Didn't you see the stairs and doors and stuff? [/spoiler]

[Marilink]

K, I haven't done a lengthy post yet, here goes

[spoiler] I think anyone who thinks Rey gets too powerful too quickly is forgetting two major things:

1. The name of the movie. The Force Awakens. There is something special going on here.
2. Kylo Ren was friggin' shot during the final battle. Even the non-Force-sensitive Finn was able to put up a good fight.

A few other explanations that are perfectly viable:
1. The Lightsaber in Maz's pub actually awakened her inherent Force-based powers
2. When Kylo Ren infiltrated her mind, she saw and felt how the Force worked and was able to awaken it inside her as well. Note that any significant Force-based activity that Rey performed was after this incident.
3. There have been stories about the Force floating around the galaxy ever since the events of the previous trilogy, but they have all been reduced to myth and legend. Rey, once she realizes that she has the Force within her (due to Kylo Ren accidentally unlocking it), remembers some of the things that the heard the Force can do. Remember, the first time she tries the Jedi mind trick, it was almost like she was scared to try it or do it or if it would work.

And yeah, the movie was glorified fan fiction. Good! If it were anything less, people would have either complained about it being bad like the prequels or not "Star Wars" enough. The movie was FUN! That's what Star Wars is all about!

Regarding the "YOU'RE HAN SOLO??"-esque dialogue: it makes perfect sense in keeping with the IRL situation of the movie's production. The names Han Solo, Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, the Force...these names have all been floating around in the pop-cultural ethos for ages, and even someone without an ounce of Star Wars knowledge basically knows that Darth Vader is Luke's Father, May the Force be With You, etc. So someone who has never seen a Star Wars movie could wholeheartedly enjoy this movie as much as someone who has gone through the whole rise and fall of a typical Star Wars fan. The amount of referential content in TFA was about as much as someone with no background in SW would be able to know or recognize. That's why the original trilogy has been mythologized: to even the playing field, keeping the old fans' hopes alive while introducing a brand new audience simultaneously.[/spoiler]

[CaptHayfever]

[QUOTE="Marilink, post: 1578308, member: 23215"]Why not just go see the movie?[/QUOTE] Because I've been home sick all weekend. :p

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[Deku Tree]

[Spoiler]So I've been to that Jedi Temple when I went to Ireland, I think. It's called Skellig.[/spoiler]

[Softguitar]

Not really a spoiler, but just in case.

[spoiler]You know what this movie is missing? Obi-Wan's ghost.[/spoiler]

[Calamity Panfan]

[QUOTE="Softguitar, post: 1578339, member: 37690"]Not really a spoiler, but just in case.

[spoiler]You know what this movie is missing? Obi-Wan's ghost.[/spoiler][/QUOTE]

[spoiler]I'm not bothered by that missing at all. The scene where Rey finds the lightsaber DOES feature the voices of Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor though[/spoiler]

[Deku Tree]

[Spoiler]So good chance Rey is Luke's daughter, yeah?[/spoiler]

[Marilink]

[spoiler]^Again, I hope not. We have the familial connection back to Eps. 4-6 with Kylo Ren already.

Unfortunately for me, I think this one is almost guaranteed.[/spoiler]

[Auron]

^You and me could not have more different opinions on Rey. Not saying I hate her, she just does nothing for me.

[QUOTE="Sim Kid, post: 1578242, member: 22276"][spoiler]3. Finn is a sanitation worker... why oh why is he on a mission planetside?[/spoiler][/QUOTE]
[spoiler]I believe he mentioned something right before Rey found the lightsaber about how when he got his first taste of action, he felt uncomfortable about it all and decided to run away. Implying that the beginning of the movie was his first mission. And I don;t think it's too obtuse for him to have been someone who was more eager to be in the action while at his previous position and was at some point given a promotion. It's not like you're stuck at the job you work at with no possibility of upward mobility. Ever.[/spoiler]

[QUOTE="Softguitar, post: 1578314, member: 37690"][spoiler]But he escaped with Poe from the First Order and handled that lightsaber and held a good fight against Rylo Ken.

I don't think he is his grandson but I do think he's Force sensitive.[/spoiler][/QUOTE]
[spoiler]He was kind of flailing about helplessly when he first used it though.[/spoiler]

[Marilink]

Rey is awesome and I'll not hear otherwise

Edit: i mean obviously you can say otherwise but I'll just choose not to hear it

[The Missing Link]

[USER=19860]@The Mistletoeing Link[/USER] , btw:

[spoiler]The mountain is the Jedi Temple. Didn't you see the stairs and doors and stuff? [/spoiler]

[spoiler]Stairs, yes. Doors, no. Must have missed them.[/spoiler]

K, I haven't done a lengthy post yet, here goes

[spoiler] I think anyone who thinks Rey gets too powerful too quickly is forgetting two major things:

1. The name of the movie. The Force Awakens. There is something special going on here.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Or not. The name could be anything. It could mean something as simple as "The Force awakens in two new people." And awakens doesn't mean "bolts straight out of bed and immediately starts kicking ass like Chuck Norris." Yes, it's a possibility. But we won't be able to determine what's going on until later episodes; until then, I think there is reason in scepticism of the script, just as there is reason in believing that there's a deep rationale behind it.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Regarding the "YOU'RE HAN SOLO??"-esque dialogue: it makes perfect sense in keeping with the IRL situation of the movie's production.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]First off, I'm not saying that it isn't legitimate or unrealistic. Not at all. But it doesn't draw attention away from the fact that VII relies heavily on IV, and -- personal perspective here -- that reliance is a little too heavy-handed for my tastes.[/spoiler]

[Marilink]

^[spoiler]I definitely understand where you're coming from on all accounts. If it's any consolation, Abrams isn't directing episodes XIII or IX, so I think they will be pretty fresh.

Also there weren't actual doors, just archways where doors used to be. I should be more clear.[/spoilers][/spoiler]

[Valigarmander]

Finally saw it. My thoughts:
[spoiler]- I didn't think they could make the Empire more cartoonishly evil than it was in the original trilogy, but they pulled it off.

- The first Death Star 3.0 Starkiller firing sequence was devoid of emotional impact. "Oh no, they blew up... those planets I've never seen until just now!" Was that supposed to be the Republic they mentioned two times in the film?

- I told you Han was going to get killed. YOU ALL OWE ME $20.

- I don't quite understand why R2 suddenly reactivated at the end of the film, other than because it was plot convenient.

- I agree with TML's complaints about the map. I don't understand why such a thing would exist and the way the whole thing played out seems utterly contrived.

- "Oh cool, Luke's finally here. I can't wait to see what he--DAMN IT."[/spoiler]

[The Missing Link]

^^
[spoiler]That is actually news to me. Also a surprise. But a relief in some ways. I think don't think JJ is nearly as clever as people give him credit.[/spoiler][DOUBLEPOST=1450745145,1450744816][/DOUBLEPOST]

Finally saw it. My thoughts:
[spoiler]- I don't quite understand why R2 suddenly reactivated at the end of the film, other than because it was plot convenient.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Technically answered, although I think the answer is complete stupid:
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/12/20/jj ... ce-awakens

The story group’s thinking went back to the 1977 original movie, when R2-D2 accessed the Empire’s mainframe as the heroes searched for the captured Princess Leia. “We had the idea about R2 plugging into the information base of the Death Star, and that’s how he was able to get the full map and find where the Jedi temples are,” Arndt said.

Abrams says he chose to spell this out indirectly in the movie because he didn’t want the story to get bogged down in “how s–t happened 30 years ago.”

“But the idea was that in that scene where R2 plugged in, he downloaded the archives of the Empire, which was referenced by Kylo Ren,” Abrams said. Thirty-eight years later, in both our own and galactic time, that data becomes useful in The Force Awakens when a new droid approaches the dormant R2.

“BB-8 comes up and says something to him, which is basically, ‘I’ve got this piece of a map, do you happen to have the rest?’” Abrams said. “The idea was, R2 who has been all over the galaxy, is still in his coma, but he hears this. And it triggers something that would ultimately wake him up.”

The director acknowledges that R2’s sudden “awakening” at the end was designed to be an emotional storytelling utility: “While it may seem, you know, completely lucky and an easy way out, at that point in the movie, when you’ve lost a person, desperately, and somebody you hopefully care about is unconscious, you want someone to return.”

In other words, R2 wakes up for dramatic license and timing and convenience.[/spoiler]

[Valigarmander]

^
[spoiler]So why didn't R2 wake up the first time BB-8 bumped into him? :crossedarms: [/spoiler]

[Valigarmander]

I just realized something today. I think it's because I was raised Catholic, but whenever I hear, "may the Force be with you," I want to reply, "and also with you."

[The Missing Link]

[QUOTE="Valigarmander, post: 1578375, member: 30663"]^
[spoiler]So why didn't R2 wake up the first time BB-8 bumped into him? :crossedarms: [/spoiler][/QUOTE]
[spoiler]Apparently it takes a long time for R2 to boot up from low-power mode? Again, ridiculous really.[/spoiler]

[X-3]

[spoiler]no spoiler here ;^)[/spoiler]

[United Nations]

[QUOTE="Valigarmander, post: 1578378, member: 30663"]I just realized something today. I think it's because I was raised Catholic, but whenever I hear, "may the Force be with you," I want to reply, "and also with you."[/QUOTE]
Oh my god I do that too!
[spoiler] I said it in the theater after Leia says it. [/spoiler]