Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) User Reviews

Reboot, Sequel, Prequel, Re-Imagining Rebrand. Welcome to the Modern Hollywood.

[Prichards12345 · 1/10 · 19 January 2016]

Star Wars movies used to be great. Remember that? Remember how they inspired a generation of loyal fans? Remember how they virtually saved cinema from terminal audience decline in the 70s? So scoot forward 40 years, and see the empty soulless rubbish lapped up by brainwashed Pavlovian audiences and critics. How much did Disney pay the critics for all those gushing reviews? Either that or the art of film criticism has been lost.

Lucas may be $4 billion richer but I bet he wishes he hadn't sold the rights. Star Wars will now be forced down your throat, hyped beyond hype, new toys every month. The dollars will keep rolling in.

This movie is just a total rip off of the original trilogy; nothing original in it all. It sucks the joy out of this franchise. It revels in the stupid. A Death Star that can't go anywhere, A Death Star whose Death Ray is faster than light (how else can it reach those systems in seconds?) Luke Skywalker. Hero for millions all over the world. Here he has run away. People who can become master Jedi without training. Poe's amazing reusable jacket - which he should still be wearing when Fin picks it up. A hundred other mistakes and holes. Yep. Thanks Abrahams.

Han Solo. One of the most beloved cinema icons of all. Written out because a bored actor wants another Indiana Jones Movie. Princess Leia. Or what passes for Princess Leia. Just sad. All the original cast are basically guest stars in their own franchise, so we can have a younger generation take over and keep milking the cash for another 40 years.

Ah, yes, JJ. himself. Started out as a Spielberg hack, became a Roddenberry hack, now a Lucas hack. Yep, a third-rate hack all round. This guy has ruined more franchises then anyone I can think of.

This is the future of modern cinema. And you're welcome to it. Remember when mainstream movies used to be good?

In a more intelligent galaxy far far FAR away, Abrams would have been outed after star trek.

[DuskShadow · 5/10 · 9 January 2016]

The only reason I give this anything above a 1/10 rating was simply for the fact that it was star wars to a certain point.

Aside from all the hype, which crummy movies usually get when the producers need to recoup their losses on the films budget by fooling folks into spending their hard earned money to waste time, I could tell this one would be a stinker.

One main reason I was more than disappointed at this travesty was the format it took to almost completely emulate new hope in its entirety. The formula was basically the same except for the wicked alterations to the canon stories in the Star Wars mythos which were supposed to be set in stone. But this movie defiled everything that was star wars, and all because abrams ( I am tired of honoring him with correct name spelling) cant focus on one film job at a time even if lucas wrote him a plan to make it work. He would still do it the abrams way...

There was no connection to the numerous decades that passed between Return of The Jedi and Force Awakens and the acting was terrible. I was literally struggling to stay awake while people were ducking in and out because they too must have given up through various scenes of this steamer. I am loathe to say I did not just wait to stream even a pirated version of this movie, because I will never get my money back, nor will anyone else from all the trash merchandise and other sad 'S.W.' films yet to release. Attempting to so obviously create characters and themes that are so familiar says that the director has no faith in the brains of most people, and perhaps by the high rating of this film, he was at least right in that only.

The franchise is dead to me, and as far as I am concerned, I already know how everything in the history of the tales of Luke and all the others went and I wont be swayed by modern Hollywood detritus.

Disney does not care and Lucas gave up years ago because he already knew people only want bright lights and fights and no big thoughts in sight. Abrams work on the franchise makes the systematic eradication of the Jedi by Palpatine and all the wars in those far away stars look like a halo tournament. Its painfully boring to behold.

Truly shocked at the high rating on this one.

[RatedVforVinny · 4/10 · 11 May 2019]

I viewed this in 3-D at the cinema, which was some experience but as a movie it contained little surprise whatsoever. Although it's a harp back to the look and feel of the original star wars release (which was a nice idea) and contained two of the major stars, Ford and Fisher; the rest was pretty much routine. Perfect in every detail and manufactured for something to happen every 2.30 minutes, there is no room for mistakes and certainly no room to breath. Great films have depth and personality but star wars as a global brand and worth 100's of billions, has become just about as synthetic as R2D2.

A New American Tradition; Another "Meh" Fantasy Blockbuster for Christmas?

[Aylmer · 5/10 · 26 December 2015]

While this film didn't quite cause me to shoot baffled glances, eyerolls, and chuckles with my neighboring theater-goers like the prequels did, it certainly left me feeling underwhelmed and a little embarrassed to have spent money on something so cynically aimed at getting me to do just that. There's just very little new and interesting here, outside of a compelling opening scene which features A) Max Von Sydow, and B) some welcome development on what it means to be a storm trooper. After that first 10 minutes though FORCE AWAKENS sadly goes strictly by-the-numbers, and hits many of the exact same notes that STAR WARS (and yes, I'm aging myself to refer to it not by its episode number) did including Death Star destroying a planet, cantina scene, droid with important data stashed on desert planet, game of holographic claymation chess, heroes sneaking around Death Star lowering shields, etc etc. There were a couple new things, like the first killer CGI tentacle aliens yet in a Star Wars movie, but they come and go so quick that you'll forget about them immediately.

The goofiest thing about this movie to me that kept striking me while watching, is how ridiculously small of a universe it establishes. Now, I'm no astronomer or physicist or anything, but in order for a planet to have gravity and an ecosystem, it has to be pretty big, right? Like, thousands of miles across? So, why is it that every time two important characters on the same quest happen to be on a planet they are within walking distance of each other? Okay, and if randomly crashing and marooned on said planet with the Empire hot on your tail, how would one have time to wander to a settlement unless one happened to be… oh forget it! So, this Death Star is about as big as the planet Earth, but coincidentally has the prisoner interrogation room just an easy walk away from the important shield controls? Also, space itself is a pretty big place, right? So why is it so hard to hide from the Empire, say to go hide behind some random asteroid like they did in EMPIRE STRIKES BACK? How does news travel so quick, like that the Empire (or First Order, whatever…) is looking for that Soccer-ball Droid travel instantly to this outlaw planet and to some random space smugglers? Is everyone tuned in on some kind of faster-than-light space TV/radio/internet service we never see? Why is everyone so quick to sell the heroes out? Does everyone just love and respect this First Order? Why? What have they done to earn such unwaivering loyalty the universe-over? Where'd they get the money from to buy off all these thugs… unless the Space Smugglers and Cantina Woman were all just major coincidences? I think the real movie we needed to see was the one that answered these questions, not the one we got.

However the most immediate problem I noticed while watching was the lack of clear motivations by the main characters. They all felt like totally blank slates to me and kept splitting up and wandering around the cantina planet for reasons that aren't even properly explained. Why not stick with Han and just go straight to Princess Leia and the resistance once learning about them? Did Finn really have more important things to do after making the snap decision to kill off dozens of his own men? What also could have used explanation was who this Emperor Snoke character was (possibly Gargamel from "The Smurfs" or one of the trolls from the Jackson Hobbit?), how he took control, what he is trying to accomplish, and how he can find all these willing and obedient servants from all over the galaxy to work for him, especially considering that the casualty rates suffered in all these frequent Death Star explosions.

Okay, it certainly could have been worse. The special effects mostly looked pretty good, Williams's score soared, there was some effort to restore the lived-in grittiness of the original trilogy, and there was minimal CGI cartoon stupidity aside from Snoke and the Yoda-like lady who ran the cantina. I appreciate that there were more substantial female characters, though to me it all felt a little overboard as part of aiming the franchise in as politically correct a direction as possible. The only white men in the film were of course the two villains, unless you count Han Solo in perhaps Harrison Ford's most phoned-in performance in… well, weeks. Sadly, he and Carrie Fisher have no chemistry at all anymore and we never get to see "the gang all back together again" in any one scene like we were all hoping for. What we do get is a "passing the torch to the new generation" type film focusing on millennial nobodies, much like such modern masterpieces as THE EXPENDABLES 3, INDIANA JONES 4, and Abrams's own STAR TREK reboot. If you loved those films, are physically or mentally under the age of 15, and find your soul aching and yearning to see a Star Wars-themed film on the big screen, this one is for you. Otherwise, it's much more palatably viewed as what it really is; a glossy and bloated fan-film rather than actually part of the Star Wars saga.

Lastly, I can't be the only one who sees it as an utterly cynical cash-grab to have Mark Hamill given front billing on the film when he's only in it about 30 seconds before the end credits roll: "Stay tuned for the next installment via a film which will actually star the person we claimed on the posters and trailers would be starring in THIS movie… that'll just be another $15 please."

Disney's Hype Wars Won. Star Wars Did Not - A Safe Corporate Exercise In Entertainment.

[LouieInLove · 3/10 · 4 April 2016]

Following the mass-marketing campaign extraordinaire, I truly was fooled into believing this was a fantastic movie before I saw it. I believed the hype, that this was a Star Wars returned to form.....It is not!

Story-wise it falls short of the prequels, never mind the original films. It truly is a Disney Star Wars. It's an almost sickeningly safe corporate exercise in entertainment with none of the original edge & flare/excitement. The original was based on old Saturday morning swash-buckling matinée series, with heroes & beautiful heroines. This Star Wars gave us a flat-chested car mechanic who looks like a teenage choirboy, a ham-acting ex-storm-trooper & Princess Leia re-imagined as a General. It's just soulless & flat & scared of its own shadow!

Basically they've taken the original story, sucked all the sexiness out of it & punched & squeezed it into a corporate 'Disney' box.

All stories must have accessibility, they must allow you to buy into the imaginings & in this 'The Force Awakens' fails miserably as it has hacked clumsily away at the origin story to suit its new safe Disney Star Wars universe.

Booo!

JJ does it again (and not in the good way)

[mcgrew · 2/10 · 14 January 2016]

You'll notice that SW7 only has a "based on characters" credit for George Lucas. That's because Disney decided to make it "for the fans" -- that is, a movie pieced together out of a sort of "greatest hits" of the other 6 movies, with nothing new whatsoever. We are, they suppose, not smart enough to absorb new plot devices, and will be perfectly happy to give them money to show us the old stuff over again. And based on box-office revenues they appear to be right.

So we get a search for 'the last jedi' (like when we were looking for Obi-Wan all those years ago) to return to the fight against tyranny, but along the way, an orphan on a desert world (like Luke Skywalker) will come into possession of a robot with information crucial to the rebellion (like R2D2), leading to an attack on a powerful planet-killer (like the Death Star), to be supported by an attack on a nearby world (like the moon of Endor, mercifully without ewoks). Then an all-in-black villain (like Darth) will be faced down by a new jedi (like Luke - - except this one can defeat a jedi master after beginning the fight not even able to activate her lightsaber), and a father and son will face off on a long bridge and one of them will fall off it (like, well, you know.) Harrison Ford appears, and doesn't even seem to even be enjoying himself -- just saying what's on the page and trying to put the whole experience behind him. (And given the awful stuff on the page, its understandable.)

Meanwhile, storm troopers are appearing and disappearing as necessary, still can't shoot, their armor still doesn't to a bit of good. Just like... you get the idea. Oh yeah, and there's a bar with an alien band. Gosh, that's new.

So, what do we have instead of new ideas? Lots and lots of explosions. And I mean a LOT of explosions. And x-wing fighters and tie fighters swooshing by in entirely incomprehensible combat. And more explosions. And shouting, and talking about... something -- mostly, I think, to give the effects guys time to reload their explosives. Did I mention the explosions?

You don't need to see this movie. You can watch "the middle three" again, and you'll have the exact same plot. Don't see it -- it's a waste of your time (it certainly was a waste of mine.)

Star Wars? More like Spaceballs.

[harryplinkett14 · 1/10 · 21 February 2016]

Oh how I miss the style of that awful film called 'The Phantom Menace'.

This film has no style. It looks like a joke. Like fan fiction with a big budget. Like a Christmas Special Star Wars reunion on the set of Spaceballs and with villains from Harry Potter or Dr Who. I just don't know what to say. I won't even review the plot (which is a total rip-off of the 1977 Star wars), the acting or the direction.

This is a joke. Unwatchable garbage. You know which character I liked? That little robot that follows them around. That's it. The rest are useless.

And no, I do not appreciate even more of that 'girl power' nonsense that is still being shoved down our throats.

I give these 'Star Wars' zero stars.

this is pretty much what I expected

[lee_eisenberg · 5/10 · 15 January 2016]

It was inevitable that they were going to milk the franchise long after the story assumed to be done. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" brings back the characters from episodes 4-6 and adds some new ones. Given the frequent one-liners and self-references, I get the feeling that the aim is to make all the nerds/geeks have fun. I will say that unlike "The Phantom Menace", I understood the plot this time; with the former, I didn't understand the plot until I listened to "Weird Al" Yankovic's song "The Saga Begins" (a parody of "American Pie").

So, it's no masterpiece. The plot is mainly two hours of light saber fighting and shooting lasers. Basically, if you go in expecting nothing more than stuff that's meant to appeal to the characters on "The Big Bang Theory", then you won't be disappointed. If anything important came out of the movie, I'd say that it's Carrie Fisher's shutting down of people who have nothing better to do than comment on her age.

That's all that I have to say about this movie.

Disney Sponsored Fan Fiction. The Force Awakens Is A Disgraceful Example Of Corporate Filmmaking.

[jaredpahl · 1/10 · 7 April 2016]

For those praising this film,

Star Wars Episode 7 is a despicable corporate product of a movie, that leeches off the imagination of the man who created its universe, while simultaneously giving him a giant middle finger by erasing all remnants of his Prequel Trilogy and turning the franchise into a vehicle for pandering fan service and a "progressive", feminist agenda.

Episode 7 is nothing but glorified fan fiction made by a corporation desperate to get a return on their investment. With years of careful risk-benefit analysis, they were able to produce a film that upset the least amount of the rabid, vicious "original fan base" as possible.

So "fans", you got everything you wanted. George Lucas, and the prequels are but a memory and you get all your original toys back, with just enough new crap to fool you into thinking your experiencing something fresh. You'll see the next 20 Star Wars movies and you'll get everything you begged to have, but you'll never be surprised.

When Lucas wrote the script for A New Hope, he wasn't trying to please anyone but himself. He wasn't feeding a hungry mob everything they wanted, he was crafting a story that he wanted to see told on film. After 6 great chapters, he finished his story. So enjoy Disney's Star Wars movies until the end of time, but just remember that you're never going to see a film series so daring, ambitious, and above all, entertaining as George Lucas' Star Wars.

Now, onto the aspects of this travesty that I fundamentally stand against.

1. A Star Wars Movie Without George Lucas Is Not Star Wars

• George Lucas didn't just have a part in the making of Star Wars, he CREATED it. Star Wars wasn't a collaboration that incorporated the imaginations of many different people. It wasn't an adaptation of someone else's work. Star Wars is solely the product of one man's imagination. Sure, tons of people worked on the films, but the entire Star Wars universe is George Lucas' vision. The uniqueness of Star Wars is that it all comes from the mind of one, incredibly creative man. Episodes 1-6 are the official Star Wars story as told by the man who created it. Any other story is, by definition, an imitation. Lucasfilm can try all they like to make these new movies look and feel like the real deal, but the truth of the matter is, they will never be the genuine article. Lucas' quirky touch is what makes Star Wars special. Without it, it's just another disposable sci-fi franchise.

2. Every Decision Was Made By A Corporation.

• The Force Awakens is a focus-grouped, market researched, PRODUCT that reeks of corporate control. After acquiring Lucasfilm, Disney had this film made so they would make their money back and then some. Storytelling was absolutely secondary. And the conception of the film isn't the only glaringly obvious corporate decision in Episode 7. EVERY major decision in the film was overseen by Disney and Lucasfilm. The new characters in particular reek of corporate greed and agenda pushing. The main character is a female and the secondary characters are mostly played by women or minorities. Disney will champion these casting decisions as a progressive triumph, but the truth of the matter is that these new characters exist purely as a PR move. Congratulations, your SJW street cred is through the roof, but I will never support a movie that uses someone else's creation as a platform to help their brand.

3. It Panders To A Vocal Minority Of "Fans"

It absolutely sickens me that this movie deliberately ignores and actively mocks the prequels. George Lucas spent 10 years of his life crafting those films, and millions of people loved them, but the executives at Lucasfilm and Disney were so afraid of the pathetic internet trolls that they became one themselves. All the marketing of "The movie you've been waiting for since 1983!", "It's all real!", "The magic is back!"... it's all a ploy to appease a vocal minority of sad losers that couldn't stand that Episodes 1,2, and 3 tried new things. Even the title of the movie is a shot at the prequels. "The Force Awakens", as if those 3 massively popular movies somehow put the force to sleep. Once again, all of these decisions are corporate based. As a result, we get a two hour apology tour. They hear people complain about dialogue, so everyone becomes an over-acting spunk machine. They hear people complain about politics, so they ax that aspect entirely. Basically, they hear people complain about the prequels, so they do everything possible to remove them from memory. "We hate George Lucas and the prequels too, see?" Because the vocal minority of whiners is more important than the majority of people who love Lucas' entire saga. It's almost shocking how disrespectful Lucasfilm has been to prequel fans and Lucas himself. Almost.

4. This Is A Troubling Sign Of Things To Come.

• The Force Awakens ushers in an era of prostitution for the Star Wars name. With Episode 7, Disney has learned that they can make whatever they want, and as long they do exactly what the "fans" tell them, they'll have a cash cow that never dries up, and they'll never have anyone complain. After all, fans are getting everything they want, right? Well what about those of us that want to see NEW things? These corporations don't care about us. New ideas could upset people, so innovation loses over imitation. The Star Wars story ended in 2005. It's time for something new. Boycott the rest of Disney's Star Wars fan-fiction, and maybe we can prevent Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens from being the movie that killed the blockbuster.

*** 900th review *** Why i don't want to watch it !

[leplatypus · 1/10 · 11 January 2016]

Each 100 reviews, i try to find a original way of writing them and explaining a no watch makes sense : how often have i feared that the movie was bad and how often i had the sad confirmation of my feeling afterward! So, here come my reasons:

1) I was six when i discovered SW with episode V. It was the 80s and I played with the toys. In the 90s, i played the role playing game and read the Zahn's novels. In the 00s, i watched the uneven prequels. So now, leave me alone SW ! I'm stuffed with you, i can't get it anymore ! I get old now and there are so much other wonderful things to discover !

2) The sequels have been already done ! the afore mentioned Zahn's novel are amazing and have told what needed to be told : a dying empire, the fate of our heroes, the future of the force,… So watching something else can only be a disappointment for me.

3) The facts that i can collect about the story are just amazingly stupid : Episode VI : the emperor dies, the second death star explodes, the empire is defeated… First words of Episode VII : « the sinister FIRST ORDER has risen from the ashes of the Empire and will not rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed. With the support of the REPUBLIC, General Leia Organa leads a brave RESISTANCE ». Uh ? Did i miss Episode 6,5 ? The rebellion won and so becomes resistance ! Nothing have changed so !! dumb, dumb, dumb ….

and there is more : a map to trace Luke ? it's « treasure island » and sure the first time in history that a map is used to locate a moving individual instead of a still treasure!! Then, the map is put in a droid that escapes and is found by a young adult living a hard life in a desert planet.. now, it's a reboot from Episode IV ! And what about the new villain: it's "the fly" in space ??? Maybe it's good later but after such a bad start, i just don't want to deepen my exploration!

4) Why the hype considering the lack of values, philosophy ? When i see the trailer, i just see battles, violence, fights,… This was really disturbing me with the prequels that this Jedi Order was just like a swat team, using the force to kill, destroy the bad guys! We are very far away of a real spirituality, a modern myth! This content is so poor, so Manichean, so like all other movies that it's not worth watching it !

For sure, i'm a bit sad to miss my old friends on a big screen and the cute newcomer Daisy but i'm not a sheep either ! So my force awakens and i lead a brave resistance. I hope others will join me !

Worthless crap

[Christopher_Reid · 3/10 · 18 October 2018]

The Force Awakens is unoriginal, superficial and dull. The characters have none of the life or independence of those in the original trilogy. They just pant and stare at each-other with intense emotions. I'm not surprised J. J. Abrams scolded Daisy Ridley for being too wooden because he seems to like overacting rather than natural performances.

The plot is ripped off mainly from A New Hope but also episodes V and VI. Jakku is a desert planet just like Tatooine. The Starkiller (a reference to Luke's original surname before it was changed to Skywalker) is just a big Death Star. Even in the opening titles I became suspicious with references to the First Order (basically the Empire) and the Resistance (basically the Rebellion). Apparently nothing has changed since Return of the Jedi. Some plans are hidden in a droid. They need to deactivate the shields before they can do anything. The vehicles include the Millenium Falcon, Tie fighters and X-wings. One part is a direct imitation of the dogfight in Star Wars. Heavy sigh.

Kylo Ren is one of the lamest villains in movie history. He's an admitted imitation of Darth Vader. He wears a mask for no apparent reason. He casually takes it off at some point and reveals that he looks like a pouty teenager. He has no presence and isn't intimidating at all. The fact that he throws tantrums is a weakness, not a strength. It's a bad sign if I feel like I could easily beat a movie's main villain in a fight. Also, he's not conflicted. Near the start, he says "kill them, kill them all" in reference to innocent civilians. That's evil.

Finn is a dumb idea for a character. A storm trooper with a change of heart? What did he think he was getting into? And how can we continue to see other storm troopers as generic henchmen if we've now seen that some of them might be nice guys? There's no consistency. He's dull and only adds some mild comic relief.

Rey is a Mary Sue. She learns the ways of the force independently in no time at all. She makes Luke look like a moron. But more to the point, her character shows that Abrams and the writers don't understand Star Wars. Having Rey learn so quickly cheapens the force and the whole process of learning about it.

Captain Phasma is a throwaway bad guy. She's tall. She has about two lines. That's it. General Hux shouts until he froths at the mouth. Another sign of weakness. Tarkin was much more interesting in episode IV.

Harrison Ford is good, but wasted. One terrible scene involves him and others fighting some fake-looking CGI creatures. For whatever reasons, he broke up with Leia after they had a kid (her acting was pretty mediocre I thought, may she rest in peace). This isn't fleshed out. And he gets killed too easily. He's not that stupid. And we have nothing invested in his relationship with Kylo.

Abrams' direction is flat. Everything is shot in medium close-up. Most shots are focused on a character's face, heavy with overwrought emotion. There are few establishing shots and they are underwhelming. There's no sense of wonder, no mystery. Nothing that compares with Luke looking at binary Suns as the Force theme swells.

John Williams is amazing but this score is forgettable and somewhat empty. I suspect he was not as inspired as usual by the material. And perhaps the pace of the movie didn't leave enough room for the music to breathe, to develop. Kylo Ren has a 4-note motif. Rey's theme is weak as well. There's nothing that compares to the rich, brilliant, powerful scores of the original 6 films.

The ending is a joke. A slap in the face to fans of Star Wars but also movies in general. It's a cliffhanger at a literal cliff. The camera swirls around, blurring the background. Mark Hamill turns to look at the camera. How profound. But the real problem is that by this point - I simply don't care.

A Knife In The Heart.

[CalDexter · 1/10 · 4 January 2016]

Forgive my pretentious summary but thats how I felt after seeing The Force Awakens on Friday the 18th of December 2015 at the IMAX theatre next to the science centre in Glasgow.

Why do I mention the location? Simply because this was where I slowly felt the beginning of the end of my enthusiasm for future Star Wars films. I love the original trilogy and I like the prequels to an extent, the problem with The Phantom Menace, Attack Of The Clones and Revenge Of The Sith is that the dialogue was quite bad, the acting was wooden and there was a superabundance of Computer Generated Imagery. Also, as with Episode I, George Lucas clearly thought that Jar Jar Binks was the most interesting and important character in that movie instead of someone with a fantastic presence like Darth Maul. Likable and audience appealing characters are strangely underwritten and hardly feature in the Star Wars Universe. Weird. But I STILL like the prequels, remember folks, to keep grounded, George Lucas was making this up as he went along. Its the only way to accept all the plot holes poorly linking Prequel to Original. Entertaining nevertheless.

Anyway, The Force Awakens is directed by JJ Abrams, a man who is a competent enough action and TV director, but mostly makes films that are copies of better works from more extremely talented film makers. Nicholas Myer who directed the classics Wrath Of Khan and The Undiscovered Country is a far better director than Abrams. Why didn't they ask him to direct The Force Awakens? I bet he would have made a more interesting and engaging film.

The plot is the same as A New Hope except for different names. Poe Dameron is Han Solo. 'Rey' is Luke Skywalker. Finn is Threepio/Luke/Han/Lando. Kylo Ren is Darth Vader. BB8 is R2 D2.

The Story: A young woman teams up with an on the run rogue who protect a droid carrying vital information to help in their defence against the evil galactic FIRST ORDER.

Han Solo and Chewbacca make a solid entrance later on in the film. Then Han Solo is murdered by his son who it is revealed is none other than Kylo Ren who was once 'Ben Solo' Its actually a good scene ruined when Solo is thrown off the bridge and discarded as if he were a ten minute extra or star trek red shirt. That was a knife in the heart, one of the greatest and most beloved science fiction characters of all time and he is killed off as if he were nothing.

Update. As over two years have passed, I watched this on Netflix and it is an absolute failure in terms of new characters and storyline. A bad rip off of everything that has went before.

Carrie Fisher as General Leia was a little disappointing, shes just portrayed as an ageing rebel fighter in command of a section of the 'Resistance' that looks exactly like the Rebel Base Headquarters on the planet Yavin, with the same computer looking billboards etc etc.

God, I'm getting bored typing this up, what should have been a Triumph for all of us Star Wars Fans is at worst badly written character development at best an 'ok' remake of A New Hope, which for many on here is unacceptable.

The ending is a brutal, spirit crushing disappointment. Rey, having acquired Jedi Knight usage in the space of an hour and a half confronts an Obi Wanish Luke Skywalker on what looks like Middle Earth (A Lord Of The Rings Crossover??? Nooooooooooooooo!!!!!) He in turn, stands looking at her, she takes out his lightsaber from her satchel and holds it out to him, he looks at it, does absolutely nothing and they stare at each other before a Helicopter POV shot spins wildly round the two figures before breaking into Star Wars end credits and the show is over.

I cant even be bothered to type about the mega Death Star which is a planet with a laser in it and is SO original. After it was destroyed I found myself yawning just wanting it to end. The film is a major disappointment, I don't care if it earns 5 Billion, that is the result of blinkered fan-boys refusing to admit that they've been had by a Coporation that wants a return on their 4 Billion investment and doesn't really give a HOOT what the public want in a story and Adventure.

Ill be waiting for the next two films to come out in cinemas and my plan is this: If they are worse instead of better than The Force Awakens then the only films ill be buying in the future regarding Star Wars will be the Original Trilogy Theatrical Versions on Blu Ray. I can't see the spin off movies being brilliant, the film here isn't really that great, its merely passable because people are blinkered to the Truth which is this: THE FORCE AWAKENS IS A REMAKE OF A NEW HOPE. THE CHARACTERS ARE MORE OR LESS STEREOTYPES ON WHAT WAS BEFORE. AND THERE WAS NOTHING DISTINCTIVE FROM JOHN WILLIAMS THIS TIME.

This gets five out of ten simply because I refuse to hate on a franchise that is the benchmark for all modern adventure fantasy cinema.

A very disappointing start to the new trilogy.....heres hoping it gets better.

a safe re-run of past well-performing brand names given a fresh lick of paint by talentless hacks in the service of corporate greed

[MogwaiMovieReviews · 1/10 · 5 January 2016]

So I've been doing my damnedest to avoid The Force Awakens but was sufficiently bored today to get sucked into its gravitational field along with just about the entirety of the rest of the western hemisphere, it seems.

The new Star Wars cash-in is a terribly dull, unoriginal, empty and uninspiring facsimile of a movie made by shareholder meetings and accountants brunches that I nearly walked out of more than once. There were no Jar-Jars and midichlorians in it, it's true, and we should be thankful for that, but there was nothing new in it to take their place, either: it added nothing whatsoever to the existing universe or overall story, and instead of moving it forward was - as many others have said already - for the most part simply a remake of the first film that started it all.

Han and Leia looked frail and doddery and had almost nothing of substance to do - I would be surprised if Carrie Fisher's role required more than a day and a half of shooting, and Harrison Ford was apparently simply told 'look regretful once in awhile' and that was about it for the acting. I saw the film only hours ago and cannot recall even one single line of dialogue from it.

None of the much-loved returning characters DID anything to remind you why you loved them in the first place, they were just wheeled onto the set, propped up with sticks and then wheeled back off to the nursing home again afterwards. And the new actors were all bland, characterless and immediately forgettable, with the possible exception of Adam Driver, who starts out very well but like the rest of the cast has nothing to do by the end and his character has become an inexplicably weak shadow of himself by then.

The only flickers of enjoyment in the whole sorry affair came from nostalgia: the ruins of an AT-AT, half-covered by sand in the desert; the reappearance of the Millennium Falcon. All the rest was a safe re-run of past well-performing brand names given a fresh lick of paint by talentless hacks in the service of corporate greed, with no surprises and no discernible story requiring telling at the heart of it.

I didn't quite feel my childhood was being raped in front of me, but I know it's the last Star Wars film I'll ever pay to see. I guess at least I got that hard-won knowledge out of the experience, but that is all.

This is not the Star Wars you are looking for...

[jseph1234-262-617488 · 3/10 · 28 July 2016]

This was a disjointed mess! I am not going to spoil anything but only the scenes with Finn and Rey made the least bit of sense. The original cast was so awkwardly used and poorly scripted that it was embarrassing. Carrie Fisher needed to lose about 20 more pounds, it was sad seeing her that fragile and overweight, I felt bad for her.

The stupid villain was A W FFFF U L AWFUL!!!

Worst written, cheesiest villain I have ever seen in a movie.

Now you know why George Lucas walked out of his screening, it was that bad!

I could go into a ton of things like neglecting about 20 years of books and Disney just generally screwing up the timeline that George Lucas spent 40+ developing but I have said enough. Don't waste your money.

The force flops

[1bilbo · 5/10 · 30 October 2016]

I went to see this on day one - expecting great things, yawn.

The plot doesn't make a lot of sense and the entire film relies on CGI and washed out characters who look just like extras from "central casting" who have donned their masks and headsets.

Why would a Dark Lord smash up equipment on hearing bad news ? More the behaviour of a 12yr old who didn't get their own way. Or - and this is where the plot really begins - the director couldn't think of a decent reaction to an event.

Also, what was Skywalker doing sulking on top of a mountain without any obvious means of getting food or shelter ?

Next episode - the force goes back to sleep.

Congratulations! Disney has stolen your money!

[T-ZER0 · 2/10 · 1 August 2019]

Disney bought LucasFilm from George Lucas and immediately saw a cash grab with the Star Wars movies. They tried with one of their one franchises "Tron". But it didn't make as much money as they wanted it to, and Disney is all about MAKING MONEY!

So we have this film. The Force Awakens. The only reason I saw this film in IMAX was because I wanted to spend time with my family and I was trying not to believe that Disney would butcher the franchise. They butchered it. They destroyed it.

In the opening crawl, you can see most of the problems with this film. "Luke Skywalker has vanished". WHAT? Why? I thought we were done with that EVERYBODY WANTS LUKE storyline after Return of Jedi. Also, how does this film connect with Return of the Jedi? Now there's a cult of villains called the First Order, which is a terrible name by the way. Led by the irritating Kylo Ren and annoying General Hux.

Honestly, when I first heard the line, "Without the Jedi, there can be no balance in the force." I nearly kicked the seat in front of me. But I couldn't since someone was sitting in it. Because I was thinking: "Why would you diss Anakin like that movie??"

The story is a 98% copy of a New Hope, and I know most films reuse some material for new generations of characters like Rocky (1976) and Creed (2015). But with Star Wars, since it's such a great franchise, the whole world expected more! Luke is absent for 99% of the film, and we're stuck with Rey, who is a Mary-Sue. And Finn, whose a character you want to pick up a blaster and shoot yourself.

I thought they would go the route of the Expanded Universe. But Leia is not even a Jedi on this one. J.J Abrams explained why, but it was the dumbest reason ever. All that building up from the original series of Leia, just to have her stand around and bark orders at the "Resistance". (Which is a dumb name by the way).

The only reason why this film got a good rating on Rotten Tomatoes was because of its Special Effects. The movie is pretty much trash anyway. The most annoying part? My younger brother and family annoys with with how great they think it is. I'm probably one of the few people who realize how bad this movie is. And don't say it's a good movie because it's better than The Last Jedi. Because they are equally bad. They're just horrible. Save your time. Don't watch this film!

a disappointment

[roedyg · 4/10 · 30 October 2016]

I have seen two other Star Wars movies. I very much enjoyed them. This one was boring. The plot: some people fight each other. Most of the time is spent watching CGI explosions and tiny CGI spacecraft swarming about like mosquitoes.

The main thing to recommend it is females get to participate. The sets are dark and vague as if there were not enough budget to fill in the details.

It is somewhat distressing seeing Luke Skywalker, Hans Solo and Princess Leia looking so old and decrepit.

The craft which have propulsion systems far more advanced than ours use WWII-style weapons hanging below the craft in a bubble with hand targeting without instruments to assist. I guess it makes better theatre, but to me, it just looks silly.

The best scene is a restaurant with creatures from all over the universe. It reminded be of the bar scene in the original.

Hans Solo used "parsecs" as a unit of time instead of distance. That is a gaffe that even a science-literate child would catch.

Even when they finally find Luke Skywalker, you would expect him to do some amazing rescue, but the movie just ends before even says anything.

I just don't get it

[kevjfarrell · 3/10 · 17 January 2016]

Firstly, I have to admit that I'm a Star Wars virgin! I have never seen any of the previous movies. I didn't go to see this for myself, I took a young man with learning difficulties for a fun activity. For the most part, it held his attention. As for me – well, I just don't see the appeal of the movie for adults. Sure it's great for under 15's and wouldn't dream of knocking them for their enjoyment!

I found the storyline too formulaic – and there are more holes in it than a moth eaten blanket! The special effects are just adequate – nothing new or ground-breaking. The screenwriters didn't exactly have to work hard on this one!! Pretty much, it's the good guys versus the bad guys and generally the good guys win out – for the time being!! Needless to say, the movie leaves plenty of scope for a plethora of sequels. And all the time there are youngsters out there, they will lap it up!! I know some adults go because of taking their kids – that's fine!! But I seriously have to wonder about adults that go for their own enjoyment. Maybe I'm just getting old.

I've rated this a three – and not from my personal enjoyment, but for the effort that has been put in for its intended audience. I feel they have been somewhat cheated by a mass produced franchise. It's the McDonald's of the movie world.

Soulless, Husk of the original movies.

[ramkoil · 1/10 · 7 September 2016]

This movie like most Hollywood movies last few years is devoid of soul, lacking in talent and full of social agendas and pandering to social activist. As a result has left behind the original fans. Little by little the masses are becoming aware of the shallowness of what they are being shown. When a movie is put together by executives whose main objective is money rather than passion for storytelling and the arts this is what you get. The original SWs had a story to tell it created an alternative universe with its own legends heroes and laws. This is why it was so fun to watch. This last episode has destroyed all that and extracted the last glimmer of soul out of it. This director (I forgot his name) did the same with Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, as well. I don't blame him solely for that, he is after all a small wheel in the hungry corporation that is Hollywood. I am sure he needs permission to scratch his head. As to the feminism that the new movies are pandering to,; it has become so tiresome and predictable that I can not bring myself to watch any more movies out of Hollywood. It all seems to go through the same cookie cutter mold; females have to be unbeatable and need to badmouth men and tough. A little reality will make the female sex more fun to watch. I do dislike the leading role being female, not because of the sex but because of the reason she is there, to prove an unrealistic point. Keep digging Hollywood, I for one and many others I know have better things to do than waste our time with your shallow pastimes. And when we watch movies they are mostly from China, Japan, Europe anywhere but America. They have not been destroyed by shallowness of capitalism and feminism.

A hodgepodge of elements thrown together to elicit nostalgia of the original trilogy.

[ajrcvr · 2/10 · 29 January 2016]

Recently saw the latest "Star Wars" (7) exploits, and although it was not quite as disappointing as I had feared, it left much to be desired as a stand-alone film. Through the first 15 or 20 minutes or so, there is really no story whatsoever, just a bunch of unrelated characters jumping around doing things that are also unrelated. In fact, by the time you get to the end of the film, you discover that there was really no story in the first place, only the THREAT of a story based wholly upon the original "Star Wars" saga, and what there might be to come. There are some interesting action scenes in the film, which are well-done, but if you remove all the action scenes, you've got about 10 minutes of anything that tries to resemble a coherent, sensible story - maybe. If you never saw the first "Star Wars" movies, you would wonder why anyone made this film and what it was about. You have characters you don't know and don't care about doing things you don't understand and don't care about for reasons that are unexplained and you don't care about. It's like one big trailer for some future movie, which it no doubt is - all about the money it makes, and it's made plenty - because everyone was sucked in by this shadow of a "Star Wars" story due to its name and the chance to see the original iconic characters in action once again, which you really don't. They could have put the "Star Wars" name on anything at all and it would have sold big, which is pretty much what they did. After you SEE the movie, you are left with more questions than before you saw it. Why is there a First Order? Didn't those guys get tired of having their buts kicked twice from the original saga? Don't they know everybody hates them and doesn't want them in power? Why would anyone want to start up another group of power hungry morons? And then, why would anyone follow them? Why does Kylo Ren seem to hate everyone, when he was obviously raised as a person of privilege? Why would Rey want to get involved in this fight, when there is nothing in it for her? And from then on, you can pretty much question why everyone does ANYTHING in the movie, because you never know. Characters run around feeling and doing things that are related to nothing, and we're supposed to get involved in that, except we can't because we have no idea why they're doing it! Everybody GUESSES at who these characters are and why they're doing what they're doing, but we never know! Altogether, this is a hodgepodge of elements thrown together to elicit nostalgia from the audience about the original superbly-done trilogy, but unfortunately this doesn't even come close to that standard. The only credibility it has is in its REFERRING to the original saga, otherwise, on it's own, it's not much of anything.

Star Wars without a story

[AmyJenson1995 · 5/10 · 20 February 2016]

Before I start writing this review, I want to say I'm a huge fan of George Lucas' Universe. I have the 6 previous movies on Blu-Ray, which I love very much. I also played the games, watched Star Wars the Clone Wars film and TV show as well as reading the books.

So I was eager to see this brand new episode of the main saga. The first without George Lucas in command. I heard good things about JJ Abrams and how he turned all he touched in gold so I was expecting a lot. At the end I am quite disappointed.

It would be wrong to say everything is bad in this movie. It's still entertaining and enjoyable to watch. But I expected so much more of it. It's not any kind of saga we are talking here. It's a classic one which enchanted so many fans throughout the world for several decades. This is Star Wars and it should be something which will stay in memories whatever happens. And about that, it fails big times as it levels down with the average blockbusters of the genre. It has lost its magic. It's so saddening really and truly something I would have never foreseen. Even the Emperor wouldn't have.

The only appealing side of 'The Force Awakens' and the only thing that seems to work almost correctly was the come back of the original cast. I wont lie, it's great to see Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher back. When Han Solo and Chewbacca appear for the first time and listening Ford saying "Chewie we're home", I had a shiver. It was maybe the only time it did or was it another one when we see Leia and Han seeing each other for the first time.

The rest of the cast is not bad but because of the lack of vision haunting this movie until the end, the characters are quite shallow. They have potential but you really need to dig much deeper to allow them expressing it completely. The only new face I really appreciated was BB8 the new droid. He is not as brave as R2D2 but his mimics melted me. He's really cute and sympathetic.

Now lets talk about the mishaps. JJ Abrams missed his target. We never wished to see a copy & paste of the Original trilogy even if it's much bigger and stronger. What I was expecting was a movie which would be as visionary as the original story. So at the end I would have the feeling that despite all I've seen about Star Wars, it will still keep surprising me by bringing something new.

Instead we have a fast-forwarded and very poorly written version of A New Hope and Return of The Jedi. The new characters are just the 2016 alter egos of the 1977 ones. There is absolutely not a single drop of originality throughout the movie. We have no difficulty to understand that Rey is related to Luke because like him she is stranded in a desert planet, trying to make a living by scavenging ships. Finn is just the black version of Han Solo. He wants to get out of the grip of the First Order aka The Galactic Empire or what's left of it, just like Han Solo wanted to escape from Jabba the Hutt. BB8 is R2D2, the only hope for the Resistance aka the Rebel Alliance, to save themselves from the Order. Kylo Ren is Anakin/Darth Vader who betrayed Luke as his grand father betrayed Obi Wan in a very identical way. And Han Solo is taking the role of Obi Wan as the iconic member getting killed by the bad guy. Like I said a copy & paste!

So yes JJ Abrams definitely missed what makes the Star Wars Saga essence: the story. The Force Awakens hasn't any story. It has no vision. It may work for a movie like Transformers but you do that with Star Wars and you're digging your grave. As JJ Abrams used most of the material provided by the first trilogy, should I expect that he will pillage the Prequel trilogy for Episode 8?

I would suggest JJ to use George Lucas for the next episode scriptwriting but as they are already producing Episode 8 while the Force Awakens is still available on theaters, I think we will enjoy another epic failure. George, Come Back!

The force was with me,my intuition saved me from seeing this movie.

[djangozelf-12351 · 1/10 · 14 March 2016]

I actually had free tickets for this before it was released and i had 2 weeks to go see it. Some circumstances made me miss it a few times and I went the last day of 2015 but was to late than so I missed seeing it again.

Decided to go see it in 2016 but by that time I started to get more doubts I would like this new treatment of star wars. I have been a fan all my meaningful life and most of these films I've seen in the theater. I waited a long time to read any reviews but I got more and more information this was a dumbed down version of a new hope.(JJ's trademark I would say)

Than I saw all the rants on you tube and I watched a lot of them,so now I basically know the whole story without having seen the movie and that felt great. For me this franchise ends with SW6 and the O.T. cast will live for eternity (or I should say the characters they play).

I'm not going with this franchise,got no interest for rogue one and I am not going to see 8 and 9.Before the release of this movie I saw a theory of a fan how this movie was gonna go and that sounded awesome it is a shame no one from Disney ever saw that.

Got...to...resist....the power...of....ranting.

So,I will end this nice by thanking George Lucas and ALL he has done for making these classics.

I salute you with praise.

Thanks again!

Peace,I'm out(of this franchise).

Star Wars: The Force is for Everyone Apparently

[Searsino · 2/10 · 19 February 2016]

Context: I grew up on these films. I didn't think the first trilogy was the "best thing ever made," but the story was gripping, the material was fresh, and I couldn't get enough of it. Hell, I can still remember playing the pod racer game on N64 after episode 1 came out and every time I would race, would relive the stories in my mind.

It has become abundantly clear after sitting through this cash-cow that one can ascertain from fairly obvious decision-making for this film the following notions:

1) There was NO intention of contributing to an amazing story. Instead the saga ripped-off general focal points from the previous films...

Just to name a few: a larger Death Star, the same weapon/laser-beam on this larger Death Star, the only weakness of said giant Death Star, the only villain wearing a Vader-like mask.

2) Success of the film largely will be based on (A) appealing to small children who cannot look away from bright shiny light and CGI effects, (B) loyal fans of the first trilogy who managed to hang in there for the 2nd trilogy (somewhat of a train-wreck) through introducing original cast-mates strategically over a 2-hour period forcing us to sit tight to the end.

They made things even more apparent by recreated Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina on Tatooine. Throughout the entire film, I simply could not stop thinking that I was being tricked into paying just because they took advantage of my appreciation for the earlier movies.

3) I briefly mentioned this, but it bears repeating: THE STORY WAS AWFUL!!! Little more could have been done to show how J.J. Abrams felt about this one... Sure, I'll credit him with a great rendition of Star Trek, but in Ep-7 I found it extremely difficult not to feel like during the development phase, he would often write a bit and then get bored with it whereby taking a huge bowel movement on that particular piece and proceeding on to the next scene.

For example, when Han Solo finally reunited with Leia (aka Princess Leia) after 30 years... boy oh boy was that one of the most poorly designed representations of long-lost love between two people: upon seeing one another they put on a sad face whereby Chewbacca walks by and pats her on the back in such a casual way as if to say "Whats up Laya."

This one gets two stars!

I cannot help but feel some attachment to seeing Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher in their original roles just one last time.

Ultimately, what made this entire experience a failure, was how the following two items were depicted: (1)The Force, (2)the Lightsabre.

(1)THE FORCE: The fabric which lines this fantastically designed mythical world which has so much history. The Force was offered up as little more than a "trick" which may be learned with little training or dedication to having a greater understanding. Remember how long Luke spent trying to uncover all the different ways which the force encapsulates his world? He would duel blindfolded with a drone, gain incites into future events, connect with his sister through feeling the force, fetching the lightsaber out of snow while tied up in a cave about to be eaten by a yeti... you get the idea. Yet Rey spends about 2 minutes repeating a few words to a guard, thereby forcing him to release her, having completely harnessed something Luke doesn't manage for a greater portion of his time as a Jedi, well past the point where his training is announced as complete by Yoda. It felt as if the writers simply were instructed to skip addressing this aspect of Rey because it would take away from all the cheap, effortless ways by which to garner more paying viewers.

(2)LIGHTSABER: How many different people were going to casually whip out Luke's lightsaber during tight situations? It was ridiculous how often this would occur...

But I digress... I shan't keep you away any longer...

If you're a small child or never cared for any of the originals, then this film is for you. But for everyone else out there who grew up on the first trilogy, it has been despicable to see how these people have taken advantage of such an amazing story in exchange for ticket sales...

Having said all that, I am beginning to question the ratings. At one point this site was the most reliable source for film reviews (Rotten Tomatoes always seemed to be the biased place), however after seeing the overall rating and many of the initial reviews (of which I AM CERTAIN the consensus for this film is not in the 80% range), this site is losing the usefulness it once had.

And a "Top 250", no less? Yea right... The review system is losing its validity. Now I notice a pattern immediately after release whereby numerous fake accounts are created which then give raving 10-star reviews. It's so clear what is happening there, but IMDb seems not to have a solution nor want to fix the problem.

----- 2/10 STARS -------- Review by Searsino -----

Horrible corporate disaster - Han Solo and Chewie were cool

[RussHog · 2/10 · 24 October 2016]

This is a soft reboot of the original Star Wars - but it lacks any of the emotional journey of the original film.

All the new characters are dull and lifeless - especially the teenage Darth Vader wannabe guy who pouts like a loser.

The only part of the film that is good is when Han and Chewie are on screen together - and honestly - this entire film should have been about them.

The plot should have been: Luke sends Han and Chewie to find a new Jedi - but the Empire is after this Jedi too - and it was a race against time.

Instead - it was a lifeless dull soft reboot. (Yawn.)

Worse - the lightsaber fight is really bad. (WTH?!?)

I am sick of my favorite brands from childhood now in the hands of corporate creators who water down the stories - and make bad movies.

The new Star Wars is no exception.

Anti Yoda

[fake-korean-sushi · 2/10 · 5 August 2021]

Yoda tells Luke "Pass on what you have learned."

JJ Abrams, Kathleen kennedy and their minion tools have a Luke who has disappeared and does not care. In fact, he cares. He cares that he does not pass on anything.

So are the bad robot/Disney crew just ignorant or malicious towards Star Wars?