4.5 it wasn't awesome because there were too many "why did they do it that way moments" Poe Mario Karting through ties, weird bits about Han never having tried Chewies blaster, The weird CG space octopi, Han and Chewie only finding the Falcon after it has taken off but in the process of looking for their stolen beloved ship picking up a side business.

But that being said it was still really really good and I walked out thinking about space and light saber battles and excited to learn more of this new era story.

3 completely average film didn't hurt star wars but didn't add to it either just kind of exists.

I'll put it at a 4 on your whole-number scale. It was very good, and made me feel like a kid again, but it had a few plot holes big enough to park the Executor in that I can't bring up without spoilers.

It was formulatic, sure, but as an engineer, I have to say that if the formula works - use it! Blows the alleged prequel trilogy to tiny bits, and I'll put it ahead of Return of the Jedi, but behind A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. Definite 'passing of the torch' feel, and the Good Guys were perfectly cast. I picked up a Cold War vibe as it started, and from there, well, spoilers.

As a note, one thing all three of my favorites have in common (ANH, ESB, TFA) is that Lucas didn't have complete control of the plot and immunity from editors the way he did after ESB made so much money and he gained Immunity from Editors for RotJ onward... just sayin'...

But yeah, well worth the time.
Now, excuse me, I need to go buy enough new minis to field a 4-ship T-70 list...

5. It is a really awesome movie. Good pace, good visuals, extremely excellent dialogues and screenplay between the main characters, there was really some chemistry going on between old and new characters. Sad that one of the best had to go for good.

If i had to rate the actors, Ford and Ridley (and BB-8) really share the crown. I mean where did they find her, she's so **** good, impressive work. But Boyega is not far behind. Maybe it's his role that incites him to act a little naive. Carrie Fisher is still okay i guess, and RenBen acts as awkward as his role needs him to. He is far more human than Vader but i don't think that is an actual mistake. It's just the first time they show the human side of an evil guy in Star Wars. I mean we can't count Anakin because Christensen always acted like a robot even when he was not yet Vader. In the prequels we didn't even see the human side of the good guys...

Also the upcoming (b)romance between Rey and Finn, as innocent as it is, you can really get a taste for how much they care for each other even if nothing really happens between the two yet.

If we compare that to the complete disaster from the Christensen-Portman compendium of awkward dialogues, weird situations and just bad acting, one can only thank J.J. And his crew hecause it's really galaxies better than the prequels and it compares well to the original trilogy.

The acting is probably better than in parts of the original trilogy even, and that's where it makes up for the lack of freshness of the idea, and the lack of lore exploration in the movie. But then i much prefer to hear a good story with good actors over knowing how many clones there were in an army and what types of walkers they used... Lore is fine, but not at all costs.

One single nitpick to close. I REALLY would have loved Hamill to get at least one line of text in the end instead of his only meaningful staring, and if it would just have been a simple "Hi sis' what are ya doin' on my planet?"

4

I enjoyed the movie start to finish with only nitpicks. Mt wife and I have talked and theorized the meanings and future of numerous questions left to be answered in future instalments.

Is it the movie I wanted with all the stuff I wanted to see? No. But I can't rate it against what to my imagined storyline. I have to rate it based on what was written and produced. The work done here was solid.

4. Can't stand Kylo Ren. Whinny brat is all I could see. His skill and power varied from awesome he can stop a blaster bolt in mid air to getting taken down by someone who just discovered her power. Planet destroying blah blah blah. Was Poe created because Denis "Wedge Antilles" Lawson backed out?

What is poes character? Beyond being a good pilot what can you really say about him?

He fills the same role as Leia but never makes the same impact, he's brave and an ace pilot that's pretty 2 dimensional.

For someone made out to be a big part of the movie he's largely irrelevant.

Fasma was a complete waste aswell why have Brienne of tarth in the movie if your not going to use a talented actress to her fullest.

4. Can't stand Kylo Ren. Whinny brat is all I could see. His skill and power varied from awesome he can stop a blaster bolt in mid air to getting taken down by someone who just discovered her power. Planet destroying blah blah blah. Was Poe created because Denis "Wedge Antilles" Lawson backed out?

Most of them, like the Emperor, Maul and Vader, from his transformation onwards are just pure evil. No sign of any reflection besides gaining power and maintaining it. I don't count Vaders end in here actually.

Then we have the villains that work for money or are at least motivated by it or by power like the bounty hunters or Jabba.

And then we have Dooku and high military commanders like Tarkin, maybe Grievous, Hux and others that mostly seem to have chosen their side out of logical reasoning and/or personal conviction.

Ren is different. He is choleric, a bit psychopatic and evil, but he shows self-doubts and weaknesses sometimes. I really like that. He is not yet 100% evil like most others at least. And even after what he does in this movie i am still not convinced he is completely lost for the light side.

Unlike Vader where Anakin just snaps his fingers and from one moment to the next he goes slaughter some younglings, and then never questions his path again. Even when Padme dies, he just stays stupidly loyal to hus new master...

No idea where Supreme Leader Snoopy fits in there. Probably first category so far.

Ren is tied together with the sticky tape you find in the kitchen when you can't find the duct tape. He's immensely powerful but he can fly apart at any moment. Evidence? His pleas to his dead grandfather. His slightly frazzled lightsaber. His rage, his fear of being bested by anybody frankly... Yes, he is feared and rightfully so. He's terrifying. Vader was doom and control, much like many of the great Sith names... Ren is power uncontrolled. He is to be treated like a venomous snake. Keep your distance.

4.5 out of 5. Overall, LOVED IT. Yes, I have some nit-picks, but they are pretty minor overall. I don't mind the parallel to Ep. IV, 'imitation is the sincerest form of flattery' and all that.

the FO pilots are proper threats

This so much. No well trained pilots randomly crashing in the ssd skeleton that a girl who never flew the falcon before navigated safely.

here's the moment where my heart swelled with pride at the FO fighter:

Pilot #372 is chasing Poe through the Trench on Starkiller Base

Poe goes full 90 degree tilt to fit his T-70 through the tiny gap in the Trench, even locking his S-foils to get as slim as possible

Pilot #372, not being an utter dipsh*t, pulls up instead of trying to fit those massive solar panels through the same gap

110% thought he'd splat himself there

YES! as a TIE Fighter guy, this made me super happy. Every time a TIE showed up in the movie (which was several), people where rightfully *scared*. The only one that didn't seem too put off was Poe and that's because....he's Poe.

7 5 is not good enough. I was a happy camper from opening credits to closing brand.

Can I nitpick? Sure. However in the great tradition of movies like Pacific Rim. It gave me exactly what I wanted and managed to use the hero's journey with a bit of a twist. Kylo was the twist in this film Mako in the other. I'm excited for more.

4. Can't stand Kylo Ren. Whinny brat is all I could see. His skill and power varied from awesome he can stop a blaster bolt in mid air to getting taken down by someone who just discovered her power. Planet destroying blah blah blah. Was Poe created because Denis "Wedge Antilles" Lawson backed out?

I don't want to criticize anyones comment, but i can tell you why I personally enjoyed Ren a lot. He is really fresh air in the villain cast of Star Wars.

Most of them, like the Emperor, Maul and Vader, from his transformation onwards are just pure evil. No sign of any reflection besides gaining power and maintaining it. I don't count Vaders end in here actually.

Then we have the villains that work for money or are at least motivated by it or by power like the bounty hunters or Jabba.

And then we have Dooku and high military commanders like Tarkin, maybe Grievous, Hux and others that mostly seem to have chosen their side out of logical reasoning and/or personal conviction.

Ren is different. He is choleric, a bit psychopatic and evil, but he shows self-doubts and weaknesses sometimes. I really like that. He is not yet 100% evil like most others at least. And even after what he does in this movie i am still not convinced he is completely lost for the light side.

Unlike Vader where Anakin just snaps his fingers and from one moment to the next he goes slaughter some younglings, and then never questions his path again. Even when Padme dies, he just stays stupidly loyal to hus new master...

No idea where Supreme Leader Snoopy fits in there. Probably first category so far.

Yeah I agree that Kylo Ren is a very complex and evolving bad guy. A good addition to the dark side characters. We'll see what happens to him in 8 and 9. I doubt he'll come back, but maybe like Vader, as he dies, he'll come back.

Also keep the votes coming! We need 3 more to reach 100!

Oh, I haven't voted yet, have I? 5. A 5 for the first viewing last saturday, a 5 for the next viewing tomorrow and a 5 for the third time I will go and see it, come january.

3.5. Repeat viewings and 3D might change my mind. I am off the impression E8 week be better.

Watched second time in 3D. Awesome. If you can see 3D this is a must. Revised to 4.

Watched 3rd time with my 4 year old. He absolutely loved it. Really digging lightsaber scene in the snow... 4.25.

Saw the original back in 1977 when I was five and have watched it at least once a year since then, never gets old.

Saw episode 7 today with my two sons, I give it 2.5, they would rate it higher. I honestly don't think it will stand up to repeat viewings. Better than the prequels though. Enjoyed Rey and Poe, thought Han and Chewie brought back the old school with style, but the rest was a bit of a rehash mess.

a 3 from me. saw it yesterday.

some things I really liked about it, some things I REALLY did not. few things that surprised me, one that broke my inner childs heart.

overall it is way better than the prequels IMO, still it's no OT, and they made sure it never will be :-S

main critic-point: it's basically ep.4 in rehashed.

they couldn't be arsed to write a new story-arc..? okay.. I get that. but couldn't they rip off sth else instead? a starwars-movie cloning a starwars-movie .. hrmpf.

I did pay 3d and had the glasses, but I still can't see the point. fx were very good, but they would have been the same in 2d. honestly, there was !nothing! I would miss if 2d, except the effing glasses - and that'd be a bonus.

so if I will see it a 2nd time (BIG IF), it's 2d.

4.5 overall. It was a really fun movie and I can't wait to see it again. I have a few nitpicks but a movie that gets my wife excited about Star Wars is a great movie in my book

Come on people, as if ANH wasn't a straight bunch of tropes and hardly an original story.

A farmkid discovering magical powers, having an older mentor who partway through the story dies, a climactic battle with evil and the kid entering the larger world?

That's Luke, Frodo, Rand Al'Thor, Arthur, Harry Potter, Neo, any of the Starks, Richard Cypher, Fitz, Louis du Pointe du Lac, Bilbo, Gilgamesh, or most other stories with slight variations.

Just remember ANH was basically a rip-off that Hidden Fortress Samuri movie....

also, speaking of Ties being Badass, loved this shot:

they look.... real! I got chills.

a 3 from me. saw it yesterday.

I did pay 3d and had the glasses, but I still can't see the point. fx were very good, but they would have been the same in 2d. honestly, there was !nothing! I would miss if 2d, except the effing glasses - and that'd be a bonus.

so if I will see it a 2nd time (BIG IF), it's 2d.

3D gives me a headache. I find the whole thing over hyped.... I am however going to imax tonight for a second viewing. I've heard that experience is pretty good. Guess I will find out...

Reading this comments makes me loose hope for the star wars community

I can't tell if you're upset because there aren't more 5s or there aren't more 1s.

And you never will

Come on people, as if ANH wasn't a straight bunch of tropes and hardly an original story.

A farmkid discovering magical powers, having an older mentor who partway through the story dies, a climactic battle with evil and the kid entering the larger world?

That's Luke, Frodo, Rand Al'Thor, Arthur, Harry Potter, Neo, any of the Starks, Richard Cypher, Fitz, Louis du Pointe du Lac, Bilbo, Gilgamesh, or most other stories with slight variations.

This is true, but while all these stories have the same themes, the details are (sometimes) vastly different. I feel the complaint about Episode 7 basically being a remake of Episode 4 is very valid as many of the details are remarkably similar.

Also for the final tally(I really just wanted the numbers for how the xwing community initially felt on opening weekend before the "Star Wars is awesome" sets in and the rose colored glasses are put on and the numbers are skewed), we as the Xwing community, rate Star Wars The Force Awakens as a solid 4.00 out of 5 with 102 votes counted. The votes ranged from 1-5 and are broken down below.

1 - 2 votes

1.5- 1 vote

2 - 2 votes

2.5 - 3 votes

3 - 16 votes

3.5 - 8 votes

3.6475 - 1 vote

3.75 - 1 vote

3.9 - 1 vote

4 - 26 votes

4.25 - 1 vote

4.5 - 14 votes

4.8 - 2 votes

4.9 - 1 vote

5 - 24 votes

So as you can see 66% rated it a 4 or higher, while 93% rated it a 3 or higher and only 7% rated it a 2 or lower. So I would say Star Wars The Force Awakens received a very positive response overall. Good job Disney/JJ! The future of Star Wars is looking bright indeed.

We've watched Star Wars 7 in an IMAX cinema. And now, I'm a SW7 fanboy. Well done, Mr. Abrams!

5

4