So make a plan, plan turns to rubbish, make another plan. We saw it today with the two younger (20s) nephews.

 

Very much Star Wars, and also very much JJ Abrams.

Movie was awesome!!!!!

I enjoyed it very much. I was literally saying....kill him, kill your father....It is good to have real villains

Saw it last night. Missed the 4.4 earthquake in Reno around the halfway mark, probably when some storm trooper was being blown up and we couldn't feel it. The theater was about two-thirds filled, so they'll probably bring in another movie for next week. With all the loose ends in the story, though, I smell a sequel one of these days.

I got to see it today. Enjoyed it, though I'll just say I wasn't terribly impressed with Kylo Ren.  Clearly he was someone Luke could have taken care of if he had wanted to but chose not to given that Rey was able to rather quickly able thwart him.  That's a pretty big plot hole in my opinion.  There are a couple others too.  I'll leave the spoilers at that.  I'm a bit surprised they didn't borrow from any of the books. I saw a casting for Grand Admiral Thrawn sometime last year/early this year but he wasn't in it at all, neither was Mara Jade

 

I'm speculating here, but I'd be willing to bet that Rey is probably Luke's daughter.... Just a guess.  Perhaps we see (or at least hear the back story) of Mara in Episode 8. 

The producers implied they were going to burn the old expanded universe to the ground with the announcement of Ep VII and I'm glad they did it. I liked parts of the expanded universe but it was cluttered with a lot of crap.

 

I didn't think there was a plot hole with Luke and Kylo at all... To me, it was pretty obvious Luke didn't try to fight Kylo. As you said, Luke would have handed him his ass. I liked the Kylo character. He's a petulant little brat who is tearing himself apart. It should be a fun story to follow.

 

As for Rey fighting Kylo to a stalemate, that was a bit of a stretch but not completely without reason:

 

1. Rey had been on her own for quite some time and displayed she was a competent fighter.

 

2. The name of the movie is "The Force Awakens". To me, it was rather apparent Rey (and possibly Finn) were that awakening as the Force seeks to re-establish some kind of balance. On top of that, it appears Snoke has not trained Kylo or the other Rens much, possibly to keep them in check.

I liked the Kylo character. He's a petulant little brat who is tearing himself apart. It should be a fun story to follow.

He was definitely portrayed as callow. And his Force skillz not being 'leet, inasmuch as a newb like Finn fought him to a near standstill, I was thinking that that fight was a great setup for Rey, just beginning to tap into the Force herself, to show what a force (heh) to be reckoned with she will become, by slicing him in half with one blow. Given that that didn't happen, I look forward instead to Ren growing into a more worthy adversary in the second installment, and to operate as an epic villain in the third.

 

In other news, Daisy Ridley looks to be a brilliant casting choice.

 

 

 

In other news, Daisy Ridley looks to be a brilliant casting choice.

 

Yeah, she did a great job. One of the better characters in the movie. I wasn't as much of a fan of Fin, though honestly Leah's "Aren't you a little short for a storm trooper" comment was one of the first things that came to mind when I saw him (before he took his mask off).

 

The producers implied they were going to burn the old expanded universe to the ground with the announcement of Ep VII and I'm glad they did it. I liked parts of the expanded universe but it was cluttered with a lot of crap.

 

I didn't think there was a plot hole with Luke and Kylo at all... To me, it was pretty obvious Luke didn't try to fight Kylo. As you said, Luke would have handed him his ass. I liked the Kylo character. He's a petulant little brat who is tearing himself apart. It should be a fun story to follow.

 

As for Rey fighting Kylo to a stalemate, that was a bit of a stretch but not completely without reason:

 

1. Rey had been on her own for quite some time and displayed she was a competent fighter.

 

2. The name of the movie is "The Force Awakens". To me, it was rather apparent Rey (and possibly Finn) were that awakening as the Force seeks to re-establish some kind of balance. On top of that, it appears Snoke has not trained Kylo or the other Rens much, possibly to keep them in check.

 

I'll give you 2, but knowing how to fight is much different than using a light sabre. Not to mention Rey's sudden ability to stop Kylo's use of the force.  You're talking about someone who was trained from birth and had a falling out eventually. At the very least, he should have been on par with Anakin in terms of skill. 

 

Oh, and don't get me started about their inability to identify Luke's location from that map fragment. A P3 processor could have done that in a short time with as much data that was in the fragment, not to mention that they had the rest of the route he took on hand, they would have had a pretty good idea where to look from the get go.

 

Oh, and don't get me started about their inability to identify Luke's location from that map fragment. A P3 processor could have done that in a short time with as much data that was in the fragment, not to mention that they had the rest of the route he took on hand, they would have had a pretty good idea where to look from the get go.

I just shrugged and said "whatever, it's Star Wars" but they actually didn't have the rest of the map on-hand. Threepio mentioned Artoo did not have the map but he obviously did. In typical Artoo fashion, it appears he refused to tell anyone about it.

So, some of you may know this but I'm just about the biggest Stars Wars knob on the planet. I've seen the original trilogy over 200 times and know the movies from front to back.

I just shrugged and said "whatever, it's Star Wars"

Norman, coordinate.

 

Norman, coordinate.

 

The point is that Star Wars is fantasy/mythology and breaks down under scrutiny because it's not intended for critical examination. It makes no attempt to explain the world in favor of creating a sense of awe within the audience.

 

Which is why the midichlorians were such a colossal mistake. 1977 George Lucas knew that but 1999 George Lucas somehow forgot it.

 

It's also why Star Wars should never be categorized as science fiction.

Mind. And. CPU. Blown.

 

Just one knob needling another.

Rey is going to be a bad ass Jedi.  Already so powerful with no training, wait till Luke trains here.  I think Poe also has some Jedi in him.  They made a point of talking about/showing how great of a pilot he is. Two best pilots we've seen were Luke and Anakin.

I remember from the books that a Jedi typically had a skill they excelled in:  pilots, fighters, fixing stuff, etc.

I remember from the books that a Jedi typically had a skill they excelled in: pilots, fighters, fixing stuff, etc.

I believe a lot of that was thrown out with the expanded universe. For example, different sects of the Jedi order were defined by their lightsaber color. Then came the prequels and all of that was thrown or the window thanks to Windu and his purple saber.

ah.  Well, taking the entire family to see it tonight... so I wonder if there's anything else I should try and pick up on.

ah. Well, taking the entire family to see it tonight... so I wonder if there's anything else I should try and pick up on.

Really, The Force is a galaxy-wide Deus Ex Machina in Star Wars. It does what needs to be done when the creator needs it and vanishes when the creator needs to up the drama. It's part of the schlocky charm of the universe when done correctly but also means the universe is broken when you put it under a microscope.

The purple lightsaber.

 

http://screencrush.com/star-wars-samuel-l-jackson-purple-lightsaber/

After watching this movie it is comfortable to assume that Rey is Luke's daughter, but that may not be true. I am going to assume the age difference between Ben Solo and Rey is around 10 years. Rey was probably born at the dawn of of Ben's destructive ways that killed the Jedi training academy and maybe they needed to hide her. The same could be said for Luke Skywalker. Maybe his wife was a casualty of Kylo Ren's insurgence.

 

Either way, Han knew of who she was because of Maz Kanata in the scene where she asked "who is the girl". There was a connectivity with Leia and Rey with their long embrace. And there was the sadness of Luke's encounter with Rey.

 

I can see how Luke and Han conspired to keep her hidden, and that works both ways for lineage. The long embrace by Leia confirms the connection.

 

I am going to go out on a limb still suggesting that Rey is Han and Leia's child, I would figure that Luke does not have time to shack up and is focused on training the new generation of Jedi. Ben Solo ****s that up and the Knights of Ren are Jedi trainees who are accommodating to Ben Solos tactics that are passed down by Snoke.

The producers implied they were going to burn the old expanded universe to the ground with the announcement of Ep VII and I'm glad they did it. I liked parts of the expanded universe but it was cluttered with a lot of crap.

 

I didn't think there was a plot hole with Luke and Kylo at all... To me, it was pretty obvious Luke didn't try to fight Kylo. As you said, Luke would have handed him his ass. I liked the Kylo character. He's a petulant little brat who is tearing himself apart. It should be a fun story to follow.

 

As for Rey fighting Kylo to a stalemate, that was a bit of a stretch but not completely without reason:

 

1. Rey had been on her own for quite some time and displayed she was a competent fighter.

 

2. The name of the movie is "The Force Awakens". To me, it was rather apparent Rey (and possibly Finn) were that awakening as the Force seeks to re-establish some kind of balance. On top of that, it appears Snoke has not trained Kylo or the other Rens much, possibly to keep them in check.

Keep in mind that Kylo had also gotten shot by Chewies crossbow and was bleeding quite a bit, it's not a stretch to think he was fighting at way less than 100%.

 

Keep in mind that Kylo had also gotten shot by Chewies crossbow and was bleeding quite a bit, it's not a stretch to think he was fighting at way less than 100%.

Hmmm, I may have missed that or simply forgot about it. I'm going to see the movie a second time in a few hours. It should be interesting to see what other things I pick up in a second viewing.

One thing I find interesting is the online confusion over The Resistance. I felt the reasons for this organization to exist were quite obvious.

 

Episode II's main plot followed how the Republic isn't supposed to have an army and the "good guys" were fighting its creation. It makes sense that once the Republic was reestablished, the military was dissolved... But covertly, the Republic (probably headed by Mon Mothma) realized the Empire/First Order wasn't going to go quietly into the night and funneled money to Leia and Ackbar, who remained separate from the Republic and formed The Resistance.

 

At least that's how I read the situation.

I'm pretty casual as Star Wars fans go but IMHO it did a good job balancing the old while progressing into new territory. Couple things that maybe could have been done differently - everyone's aged except Chewy. Surprising us with a snow white Bumble the Abominable Chewy would have been good for a laugh. I also found the CGI distracting. The 1000 y/o barkeep, the sketchy dude in the flea market, Snope, etc. all reminded me of the crappy 90s trilogy. Whereas the muppets seemed more natural somehow. 

 

Another thing if people aren't aware is that Abrams will not be doing the next two episodes. Those will be done by Rian Johnson (Breaking Bad (3 episodes), Looper, Brothers Bloom), and Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World, Safety Not Guaranteed).

After a second viewing, a few thoughts:

 

1)  Snoke mentions that Kylo is the captain of the "Knights of Ren" or something like that in his first encounter. I don't think Kylo will be the only Ren we see in episodes 8 and 9. 

 

2)  I don't think Kylo and Rey are 10 years apart, and I have a tough time believing they are brother and sister, if for no other reason than he'd have had a reason to mention his sister and Han and Leigh never bothered talking about that either. I do think she's Luke's daughter. Perhaps they kept Mara Jade and simply had her die in Kylo's uprising.

 

3)  Can I register a complaint with Disney about the concept of Han manually jumping out of FTL as a part of a precision maneuver?  Sorry, that one bothers me a bit

I'm pretty casual as Star Wars fans go but IMHO it did a good job balancing the old while progressing into new territory. Couple things that maybe could have been done differently - everyone's aged except Chewy. Surprising us with a snow white Bumble the Abominable Chewy would have been good for a laugh. I also found the CGI distracting. The 1000 y/o barkeep, the sketchy dude in the flea market, Snope, etc. all reminded me of the crappy 90s trilogy. Whereas the muppets seemed more natural somehow.

 

Another thing if people aren't aware is that Abrams will not be doing the next two episodes. Those will be done by Rian Johnson (Breaking Bad (3 episodes), Looper, Brothers Bloom), and Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World, Safety Not Guaranteed).

Wookiees live hundreds of years. That's why Chewie looks the same. If memory serves, Chewbacca was about 150 years old in Episode III, which puts him around 200 or better in Episode VII.

After a second viewing, a few thoughts:

 

1) Snoke mentions that Kylo is the captain of the "Knights of Ren" or something like that in his first encounter. I don't think Kylo will be the only Ren we see in episodes 8 and 9.

 

2) I don't think Kylo and Rey are 10 years apart, and I have a tough time believing they are brother and sister, if for no other reason than he'd have had a reason to mention his sister and Han and Leigh never bothered talking about that either. I do think she's Luke's daughter. Perhaps they kept Mara Jade and simply had her die in Kylo's uprising.

 

3) Can I register a complaint with Disney about the concept of Han manually jumping out of FTL as a part of a precision maneuver? Sorry, that one bothers me a bit

I'm also leaning toward Rey being related to Luke, or at least there being more to that story. Han gives Rey a few interesting looks and when Maz asks "So where'd you find the girl?", the scene cuts away. I suspect Han, Leia, and/or Luke know her origin at the very least.

My favorite scene was Chewbacca going beast mode after Han dies. I wonder how big his role will be going forward.

 

And where was Lando? Clearly setting up the Finn reunion.

 

And where was Lando? Clearly setting up the Finn reunion.

AFAIK, there have been no rumors of Billy Dee appearing, with or without a Colt .45 in hand.

 

I hope they bring him back for at least a cameo.