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As more of a Star Trek nut than a Star Wars nut, I did enjoy the three original Star Wars films, especially the first one. I even got to see it auf Deutsch.

I really did not like the 4th movie made, and only skimmed the other two that came after, long after their release to TV.

This trailer makes me think there might be some hope. :)

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I'm willing to admit it's me.

I saw "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" today, and never before have I felt so out-of-touch with society. I hated this film more than I can put into words, and it was quite possibly the most disappointed I've ever been in a movie - I didn't even have any expectations going in.

Like I said, I'm willing to admit it's me, and after experiencing this, I fear I've gotten so disconnected from the masses that I can never again re-plug myself back in.

I had about as much fun watching this film as if I had been staring at a strobe light for two hours, with a dozen people yammering into my ears the entire time. I hated it, I was bored silly, I couldn't wait for it to end, and the person I was with *actually fell asleep* in one part.

On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 90% approval rating with Top Critics, which tells me that either I'm completely incompetent, or that critics make their livings pandering to the masses - it's one or the other, and I see no happy medium.

When I wake up tomorrow, I will remember precisely *one thing* about this movie - the "incident" that happened on the catwalk - just a couple hours after seeing it, I've already forgotten about 80% of what I saw.

And I am dead serious when I say, "I'm willing to admit it's me" - it's depressing as hell, and I almost desperately wish I could bring myself to enjoy things such as this, but I can't, no matter how much I try.

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I thought it was pretty good but the recycled plot kind of ticked me off (really, another deathstar?!). And they filmed on Skellig Michael. I've been wanting to visit and I hope the movie hasn't caused it to be over-run by tourists.

I own the original trilogy and I rewatched A New Hope recently. I noticed that many of the rebel pilots were rather unfit. Did they cast any fat pilots in The Force Awakens?

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Did they cast any fat pilots in The Force Awakens?

Not that I can remember (I've already forgotten!), but it's amazing to me just how *un*-star-like the primary characters were, and I was discussing with my friend just what, exactly, the criteria were for selecting them for the parts. I have a theory that it isn't "they make the best actors and actresses," so much as "they have the personal characteristics to be able to cope with super-stardom in the future."

Adam Driver (who played Kylo Ren, the primary villain in "The Force Awakens"), for example, is remarkably unimpressive - how on earth did he get selected for this role? He looks like someone I would have gotten my M.S. in Computer Science with - a total nerd. The turncoat Storm Trooper, John Boyega, was awful (notice how he constantly breathes like he's struggling for oxygen, heaving his chest and gasping for air - the overacting is ridiculous) - that said, I suppose he was just doing as he was instructed to do. Daisy Ridley seemed suitable for the role of Rey - she reminds me of Tasha Yar in the way she was forced to "grow up tough," and she was pretty good at portraying this aspect.

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Cheaper to hire no names. Disney probably has them under contract for peanuts. I wonder if they were cast specifically to bring in additional viewers. For example, how well received were the all white versions of Star Wars movies by blacks? Did black viewership go up as a result of casting Boyega? I do recall the backlash from the black community when that goofball Jar Jar Binks spoke with a Caribbean accent. I think the Chinese were pretty ticked too when the evil trade federation goons spoke with a Chinese accent. In that vein, why aren't any good guys Asian this time?

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After the disaster of Episodes 1, 2, and 3, people were excited for J.J. Abrams to reboot and bring back the look and feel of the original moves (Episodes 4, 5, and 6).  And for the most part I think he was successful.

But I agree with Eric, it was annoying that they basically recycled the greatest hits from the original plot line.  And I thought there were way too many tip-of-the-hats to the original movies, like:  let's have a bar scene with an alien band, it's the chess board on the Millennium Falcon, etc.  But then again, recycling plots and tip-of-the-hats is how you ensure it will be a billion+ dollar movie.

Overall, I thought it was a fun movie to watch, without being a great movie.

oh, and I liked Daisy Ridley as Rey.  I thought she was the most successful new character.

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I don't understand how the episode numbers relate to ... anything. What do they mean? Are they the order in which the films were released? Are they in chronological order? What do they signify?

Oh Don, you are old like me.  One of the most frustrating things for people of our generation is talking to a younger person - we say "the movie, Star Wars" and they say "oh are you talking about New Hope" and we say, "New Hope?!?!?!  no I am just talking about Star Wars, the first one" and they say "what?  you mean episode 1" and we say "yes the first one, where Luke meets the robots" and they say "no that's number 4" and we say "shut up and go to bed, young person, you are hurting my head."

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I'm willing to admit it's me.

I saw "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" today, and never before have I felt so out-of-touch with society. I hated this film more than I can put into words, and it was quite possibly the most disappointed I've ever been in a movie - I didn't even have any expectations going in.

Like I said, I'm willing to admit it's me, and after experiencing this, I fear I've gotten so disconnected from the masses that I can never again re-plug myself back in.

I had about as much fun watching this film as if I had been staring at a strobe light for two hours, with a dozen people yammering into my ears the entire time. I hated it, I was bored silly, I couldn't wait for it to end, and the person I was with *actually fell asleep* in one part.

On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 90% approval rating with Top Critics, which tells me that either I'm completely incompetent, or that critics make their livings pandering to the masses - it's one or the other, and I see no happy medium.

When I wake up tomorrow, I will remember precisely *one thing* about this movie - the "incident" that happened on the catwalk - just a couple hours after seeing it, I've already forgotten about 80% of what I saw.

And I am dead serious when I say, "I'm willing to admit it's me" - it's depressing as hell, and I almost desperately wish I could bring myself to enjoy things such as this, but I can't, no matter how much I try.

I'm curious what did you think about Star Wars (A New Hope) when you first saw it?

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One of my favorite movies (I had to scroll up to Daniel's post and see which one this was!)

I'm not trying to defend The Force Awakens but your review just stated your reaction to seeing the movie. What parts did you not like?

On the drive home after seeing the movie, my wife asked me what I thought. Actually, told her that I needed a few minutes to process it. After a few minutes, I said it was a good movie but that I realized that I wasn't the intended audience. Being from the generation that saw the original movie in the 1970 at a young age, The Force Awakens really signifies a different era to me.

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I'm not trying to defend The Force Awakens but your review just stated your reaction to seeing the movie. What parts did you not like?

On the drive home after seeing the movie, my wife asked me what I thought. Actually, told her that I needed a few minutes to process it. After a few minutes, I said it was a good movie but that I realized that I wasn't the intended audience. Being from the generation that saw the original movie in the 1970 at a young age, The Force Awakens really signifies a different era to me.

Yeah, I think the new movie tickles my nostalgia bone more than the "I really liked this film" bone. But still better than Eps 1-3.

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I'm not trying to defend The Force Awakens but your review just stated your reaction to seeing the movie. What parts did you not like?

On the drive home after seeing the movie, my wife asked me what I thought. Actually, told her that I needed a few minutes to process it. After a few minutes, I said it was a good movie but that I realized that I wasn't the intended audience. Being from the generation that saw the original movie in the 1970 at a young age, The Force Awakens really signifies a different era to me.

lion, if you read my original post, I said that I probably wouldn't remember anything about the movie - except for the catwalk scene - the day after. Sure enough, here it is, just a couple weeks later, and I remember almost nothing from the film. Chase scenes, explosions, attacks, and not enough of a story line to even make the old characters have much significance for me. I really can't phrase it much better than that, because it's almost like trying to phrase the negative.

With great works of art, it often happens that they go over my head on first viewing, listening, reading, etc., and I need to experience them a second time. Perhaps that's the case here, but I don't think so - there's no "there" there, at least not from what I can see. If you noticed the closing credits, your jaw probably dropped at how many Digital Graphic Designers (or whatever the category was called) scrolled across the screen. After the entire screen filled up with names, I began a futile attempt to count them, and I lost track at 100 - there were probably about 200 just in that one category.

I'm perfectly content to draw a line in the sand, demarcating myself from today's generation, just as people who sat through four-hour operas in the past could have drawn lines in the sand, demarcating themselves from me (I just don't enjoy sitting still and watching something for *that* long without a break). It doesn't make me better, or worse, just different. You know what? I honestly don't even remember what the plot of the movie was, except for the absolute-most basic of things ("Find Luke").

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lion, if you read my original post, I said that I probably wouldn't remember anything about the movie - except for the catwalk scene - the day after. Sure enough, here it is, just a couple weeks later, and I remember almost nothing from the film. Chase scenes, explosions, attacks, and not enough of a story line to even make the old characters have much significance for me. I really can't phrase it much better than that, because it's almost like trying to phrase the negative.

With great works of art, it often happens that they go over my head on first viewing, listening, reading, etc., and I need to experience them a second time. Perhaps that's the case here, but I don't think so - there's no "there" there, at least not from what I can see. If you noticed the closing credits, your jaw probably dropped at how many Digital Graphic Designers (or whatever the category was called) scrolled across the screen. After the entire screen filled up with names, I began a futile attempt to count them, and I lost track at 100 - there were probably about 200 just in that one category.

I'm perfectly content to draw a line in the sand, demarcating myself from today's generation, just as people who sat through four-hour operas in the past could have drawn lines in the sand, demarcating themselves from me (I just don't enjoy sitting still and watching something for *that* long without a break). It doesn't make me better, or worse, just different. You know what? I honestly don't even remember what the plot of the movie was, except for the absolute-most basic of things ("Find Luke").

I did read your original post but couldn't pinpoint particular reasons for why the movie utterly failed for you other than it did. Normally I would take the evaluation at face value and not delve deeper but I was curious if there were more personal reasons or something else.

I do think there are iconic visual scenes for the film especially during the beginning where Rey is scavenging on the planet looking for parts from the old Star Destroyer, the Millennium Falcon in flight being pursued but the Tie Fighters and even the 'incident' as you described it. Though clearly the plot elements and characters were a rehash of all the best parts of the movies (4-6).

The more interesting part, when this movie has come up in conversation with people who were old enough to see the original trilogy in the theaters, is everyone seems to be disconnected from the film in a way. Speaking for myself, I guess it's a very subtle hint of being over the hill as they say.

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