I didn't notice that you didn't put a "spoiler free" tag for the video, but I only noticed it was spoiler-free around halfway though. I like your style of expounding upon movies. Your blend of critique and casual is really good. You pick cool movies out of nowhere sometimes also.
Maybe instead of that random stormtrooper fighting Finn, Captain Phasma could have fought him, and they could have gotten back to the fight later in the film.
+Philip Ingrouille Yeah. That would have made a lot more dramatic sense, plus she's one of those characters, despite being in a lot of the marketing, isn't in the movie all that much.
Okay, this may be late but the reason the Stormtrooper fought Finn was because he knew Finn. Finn, Him and the stormtrooper that died at the beginning of the movie were a trio.
I could never hate George, he gave me so many great memories as a kid, I still really like revenge of the sith to return of the Jedi (1 and 2 were kind of pointless so not much reason to back) George is a niche director of you look at his work that is built on simple character interaction like American graffiti and new hope they are act sully really good. His more serious work does tend to feel more stale like thx1138 or even the prequels sometimes...
+TheGameRage1 While I agree that we owe George a lot for Star Wars. You have to also remember that what made Star Wars so great was that it was a joint effort between the men and women working on it. What made the prequels bad was because it was all Lucas. No one questioned him and no one said anything against his ideas.
+TheKevlar4 But I still stand that a lot of his ideas in the Prequels were really good (especially the one Lucas bailed on about the true Phantom Menace). Some things weren't well executed, sure, but I still like them.
6:16 Cecil, the Storm troopers in Ep. 4, 5, 6 weren't clones either. The cloning program stopped somewhere in between Ep. 3 and 4 because Palpatine thought that having a clone army would make the Empire susceptible to treason. Clones only appeared in the prequel films. It's a common misconception but I thought I'd let you know. :)
+Ailert I didn't know Palpatine ended the cloning program for fear of treason! That's a really cool little factoid. Do you mind if I go full nerd and ask for a source?
Sure! This is from the Star Wars Wiki detailing the decision made by Palpatine as a result of the Kaminoan rebellion: "Though the 501st Legion proved its unwavering loyalty once again, even to the extent of killing their fellow Fett clones, Emperor Palpatine decided to reconsider his reliance on an entire army cloned from just one source. The creation of the anti-troopers had demonstrated the inherent danger in over-dependence on a single template of clone soldiers; the corruption that they were easily susceptible to was too great of a risk to the Empire's security."
Yeah, the show "Rebels" briefly mentions the fate of the clones. Btw, you should check that show out, Cecil. While it is primarily aimed to children, I personally think the creators captured the essence of Star Wars, ESPECIALLY when it comes to Darth Vader. Hell, I bet your kid is gonna love it. 👍🏻
I don't really think George should get the credit for creating Star Wars. the people who stopped him from doing stupid choices should get it. and those who saved the first movie in editing. and looking back at the prequels we can clearly see how good George is when he has all the control he wants, which is "not very"
considering how none of the characters were the way he originally imagined them, I am not so sure even about that. but without him wanting to make a Flash Gordon movie we would never have gotten Star Wars, so there is that.
have you ever seen American Graffiti? that movie was release in 1973 and was directed by George Lucas. it was the third highest grossing movie of the year and is now considered a classic movie of the 70's. The movie was a pioneer in the teen comedy genre and an achievement of storytelling. It was directed marvelously by George and is one of my favorite movies of all time. To say that George is not a talented individual is a matter of opinion maybe, but an uneducated opinion.
American Graffiti is some kind of fluke, a really good movie, no question. but the movies where George directed by himself with no one breathing down his neck he cleary did not give two fucks and just did his "again, but more intense" instructions, if at all.
"JJ Abrams is a better director than Lucas" No, he isn't. Even the prequels, his worst movies, are more creative and forward-looking than anything JJ 'I want to be Spielberg' Abrams ever did.
Have to agree with the other comments. Lucas is more original and creative, yes, but not a great director. He’s notorious for giving poor direction to his actors. Star Wars was saved in the edit.
I agree with the review. Ep7 has a lot more weight behind the characters and the actual feel of the movie, than the prequels did. It sits very nicely in with Ep 4,5 and 6.It is a rip roaring adventure from start to finish, in the same vain as Ep4 was for me, when I first seen it.Hopefully, lightening will strike twice, in that the next part will be a very dark affair, similar to how Empire is the dark second act of the originals...500+ days and counting!!!!
I personally like the prequels and never really had any issues with the amount of CGI used. The prequels looked different due to the amount of CGI used, this in my opinion gave a good idea that the events happening in the prequels are going on in a different era, a time before the dark times, before the Empire. With the original trilogy the Empire has taken over, it's a darker place. They looked more gritty due to the age of the films and the practical effects they had at the time. I'm on the fence over the special edition versions of each film, some added elements worked, some didn't but I found after watching the prequels they fit in more. I absolutely loved The Force Awakens, found it to be a great mix of both the prequels and the original trilogy dur to the mix of CGI and practical effects. Also got the feeling that decade's have passed since Episode 6, things have happened, people have moved due to what happened during that time. Can't wait for Rogue One next year, this expanding on the story and the actions leading up to Episode 4. I understand the negative feelings towards the prequels. I wasn't too keen on them in the past but over the years I have grown to like them. Would love for someone to do special edition's of them correcting parts and editing certain scenes and dialogue, also adding lots of extra scenes of Darth Maul for Episode 1 showing him in training and expanding on his background, a stand alone movie perhaps. Darth Maul was criminally underused, his character is well liked and derserves expanding on. I know he is in the animated Clone Wars series but I would love to see his character before the events of Episode 1.
I plan to see it Xmas day in an IMAX 3D theater. JJ shot some of the action scenes with an IMAX camera and 70mm film. Thanks for having a Spoiler Free review, for us late-bloomers who haven't seen it yet. Merry Christmas!
I had a blast seeing this movie. While it was my 2nd _SW_ film in cinemas (my 1st being _RotS_), it felt like I was actually watching a genuine _SW_ movie. The entire theater was in an uproar throughout the film. The big cheers was when Solo & Chewie, or Luke, would make their big entrances. ;D
Yea, George Lucas ain't some sort of talentless hack, he, as you said, is a terrific idea man. Something we have to understand, when criticizing G. Lucas decisions with the prequels was the fact that he had little to consult about the choices he made. At that point of prequels making, he had all the power and none of the brakes. And that was the main reason of his downfall. He became so obsessed with his vision of Star Wars, that he just didn't care about the criticisms or inputs of other people. Like he forgot, that Star Wars was not only his creation but also other people's who worked on it as well. That's why we have so many special editions, that really show little to no respect to people, who were involved in making the originals.
+Ken Catus It's funny how respect and selflessness can shackle you down to Earth by the will of the masses. Everything must fit a set pattern, so says A Cabin In The Woods.
+Skyler No I know fans take ownership for A New Hope as though Lucas wasn't responsible for their beloved Star Wars but he was. He was involved with every process and the final product was a collaboration he worked on and presented.
***** Hate to disappoint you on this as you must hate Lucas but while things didn't go his way during the making of A New Hope he had full control over the end result. No one rewrote his script, no one had faith in his idea for the movie except him, production was carried out by other people but under his vision/direction and the cut he put out was with his approval. If you're looking for differences what you could definitely argue is that on A New Hope everyone doubted him because people didn't generally have faith in the movie while on The Phantom Menace everyone had faith in him because of the success of A New Hope, which is why everyone said 'yes' instead of disagreeing with him.
1:15 - the term you're looking for is "the recency effect," in which a person is overwhelmed with emotion after a significant experience and sees only through the prism of that emotion. There's a classic video of a young boy being interviewed about his zombie makeup, and he says, "I like turtles!" He'd just gotten thru seeing a presentation on turtles and his mind was still in that mode. Rey ruined the film for me. Everything and everybody else was banged up and damaged, well used and old (except for the New Order; as the Empire was always a Nazi metaphor & the Nazis were all about spit 'n polish). But we're supposed to believe that an unblemished, fair-skinned white girl with perfect teeth, fulsome hair, well-hydrated skin, no scars or body marks and received pronunciation British speech has been living rough, in poverty, among thieves & cutthroats, on a desert planet, since she was grade school age? Further, that she can do things instinctively that previous characters take years to learn, like piloting a broken down freighter through space, fight off large monsters, employ force powers not even Luke Skywalker used, hold her own against a trained Jedi acolyte (Kylo Ren) having never used a lightsaber before? No... this is something a teenage girl would write in her diary as a piece of emotional pornography. ...which is precisely why it did so well with young viewers. It's a girl's love letter to herself, taking over forty years of awesome she didn't earn but wields better than anybody else because identity is more important than achievement.
No one’s said it in four years so I will. Thank you for saying what I’ve been thinking. It’s not that I’m sexist, Rey is supposed to be this perfect Mary Sue. Luke and Anakin took YEARS to get to where they were. But Rey starts there already with NO training. Absolute garbage.
@@SlayerOfTheDamned Luke achieved at least as much as Rey in A New Hope. Your entire rant would map quite well onto the Luke in the first film. I'm not saying it's an invalid complaint, you're right that it's pretty unbelievable what they both achieve so quickly, and that they're both rosy-cheeked youths who supposedly live in a rough place. But when it's a boy it's a "power fantasy" or a "hero's journey." And when it's a girl it's "Mary Sue diary entries."
The characters. The characters are what matters, and Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo are all fantastic. The similar plot to ANH doesn't bother me. It still feels fresh and runs at a fantastically breakneck pace. My only problem was with Rey beating Kylo in the final fight. It doesn't give her training enough weight. You felt the gravity of Luke's training in ESB because it was a race against time. Still, TFA is my 3rd favorite Star Wars, behind ESB and ANH. Now with TLJ being directed by Rian Johnson (who is incredible), I have a lot of faith for the next film.
You mentioned this movie was not your favorite of 2015, out of curiosity, which is so far? You don't need to think too hard on it, it's more of a "...what comes to mind?"
Storm Troopers DO NOT EQUAL Clone Troopers. The Imperial Army during Episodes IV, V and VI could not have possibly had any clones from the Clone Wars. The clone army made from Jango Fett were engineered to age much faster than normal and would have all died of old age well before the events of Episode IV. The Galactic Empire had more than enough recruits and conscripts to fill their ranks without the use of clones.
Like most people I love the original and dislike the prequels. So I personally LOVED the Force Awakens. It had problems but overall I was thoroughly entertained! I didn't check my watch once. And I 100% agree with you on the marketing. At first it was great but as we got closer to the films release, it just got annoying.
Just want to point out (Nerd Alert), that the Stormtroopers aren't clones because in the game Star wars Battlefront 2, at the start of the Galactic Empire's Reign, Kamino created a Rebel Clone Army to fight against it, so after retaking Kamino , the Empire decided to start recruiting troops off worlds in the Galaxy, hence why they aren't as good at shooting as clones would be, just though I'd put that out there, loved the new movie and all the others, big fan of GoodBad and a great review.
I enjoyed the movie, but I disliked some things, particularly Starkiller Base at the conceptual level as well as the fact that Rey is a terribly written character. I know it seems like the "in" thing to do right now is call her a Mary Sue, but that is exactly what I thought the first time I saw the movie on the 17th, and rewatching it two days later didn't change my opinion of her.
DiscCovered Her background is that of a scavenger yet she knows how to maintain a starship better then a guy who's been doing that twice as long as she's been alive. She a better pilot then trained fighter pilots despite never having flown a ship that wasn't just a basic hovercraft in her life. She masters the force on literally the same day she learns its real and that she is force sensitive (doing feats that Anakin and Luke took literally years to come close to in terms of her abilities). She also shows mastery of swordsmanship despite not only never having used a sword, but having been shown to use a completely different fighting weapon (a staff) that uses a technique which does not translate at all to swordsmanship skills.
***** Luke had his piloting abilities stated three different times in the movie that he piloted a light craft and blasted large rats with it. For Anakin you have a point though. That is also one one of the problems with here character, another being the fact she's a scavenger who somehow knows how to maintain a ship better then Han despite her background not being one that would include learning how to do that, and the fact she has both instant mastery of the force the same day she learned she could use it, and the fact she demonstrates the ability to use a sword, a weapon she never learned how to use (and her staff we do see her using has a different combat style to it that does not translate as a skill), to say nothing of the fact that the first time she held a blaster had her shooting better then soldiers who had been trained to do so. Her only character flaws are being a little naive and a hypocrite to Finn over his running away. That's it.
+Pip Stanton He WAS a good director. Then the business man took over, and he lost it. Good producer still though. No good director would've allowed a lot of those takes in the Prequels to make it to the final cut. Or would've left the actors so in the dark when it came to acting against a green screen.
The Movie Planet Yeah, but everyone thinks they're generic blockbusters. Mainly because everyone tries to recapture their success with deliberate blockbusters. If Star Wars hadn't hit big George Lucas would be seen as the less creepy version of David Lynch. But it did so everyone expected everything he did to be a blockbuster. Star Wars fans generally don't understand the Star Wars movies. Disney doesn't get or care to get what Star Wars is and as a result you have this generic piece of solid entertainment.
While I didn't like the film, I did enjoy your review. You are also the first reviewer I watched who didn't go all-out fanboy on this movie just because it's not a disappointment.
It was ok. There's a criticism going around, without any spoilers, that a certain character suffers from being a Mary Sue trope cliche, which I agree with.
DAISY RIDLEY REY and JOHN BOYEGA FIN were dating in real life and that LOVE STORY perception ruined the movie for most REAL STAR WARS FANS that were expecting that LOVE STORY in the movie to slow everything down
I'm glad you enjoyed it, I totally agree about being burned out on the hype before the film even hit. As long as a month before the film came out, I was "I just want to watch it and be over with this", which probably isn't the ideal result of heavy marketing.
As a known cynic who will tear into movies that most people like, I had a hard time finding faults with this movie. That's not to say that I didn't find any, just that they didn't add-up to be a deal breaker. About the biggest gripe I can come up with is that a few scenes got a little too fan service-y to the point that they'll probably drag on future viewings for me. Over-all, definitely not better than the original trilogy, but DEFINITELY better than the prequels. Granted that's a low bar to set, but it's good that we've jumped at least THAT hurdle. Hopefully they'll only get better from here.
my advice to fans of the prequels is go watch all the star trek shows, cuz the prequels made star wars into star trek and the star trek reboots are more like the original star wars movies
Well for me watching movies in 3D sadly gives me a headache so I just stick to regular 2D screenings. As for the movie itself, I loved it, true that it does have some parallels with a New Hope but it wasn't straight up copying it which is good, there's nothing wrong doing that. It was definitely miles better than the prequels and I say it's just about as good as the original trilogy. Now for what I thought was my favourite movie of this year, for me it was Mad Max: Fury Road, it wasn't a movie I originally planned to see in cinemas but after a friend told me about it I rushed to see it and my mind was absolutely blown away from it.
Indiana Jones followed the same route as the previous ones, and they were all gold until the 4th one, which strayed from that formula. I feel like if this movie was made when the 4, 5 and 6 were made, it would be very similar to what it is now. Nostalgia is a powerful feeling and they played it well if you ask me. Not the best Star Wars, but it fits perfectly in the mix if you ask me.
Saw this movie on opening night and I loved it, up until the point I realized it was episode 4 with a shiny paint job. Catina scene 2, hop in the Falcon and escape the sandy planet 2, Death Star 3 (3, three, III, why 3???) I could keep going. Some great ideas, some fantastic scenes, but Rey was too perfect at everything, Kylo should have sliced up Finn even though Finn was a bright spot, I know now but the film doesn't tell me what the Resistance or First Order actually are, give me more Phasma....
Damn your theatre was way busier than mine, I had no problem getting tickets for me and all my friends for opening night, the 17th. In fact, one of my friends was even able to buy a ticket for the same showing as us 30 minutes before the movie started.
Jar Jar was working with Palpatine. No im not kidding, rewatch it again. He's always around Palpatine, and even uses force speak in scenes. Because he's CGI this wasnt just a coincidence, his subtle movements have meaning.
What about the fact that the new, good characters, seem to have had Jedi training all their life? That out of nowhere, they seem to just know it. And the villain somehow doesn't immediately destroy them? Especially the female lead.
Overall, I liked it but it moved a lot faster than I would have liked (I can see why ppl want/need to see it multiple times). The overly quick pacing plus easter egg overload made me flashback to Star Trek Into Darkness, which I think hurt it for me. Loved most of the new characters (Fin, Rey, Maz, Kylo), though I think Hux fell flat for me. Sorry, just couldn't take him seriously -- like they were trying too hard to make him into Peter Cushing 2.0. Cool speech though. I'm looking forward to the next film. I'm glad they threw in the last bit at the last minute as set up for the next one. I can see the criticisms about this film because the same thoughts went through my mind too. The "climax" was also flat, but the final fight which was after the climax, was worth it.
Slight *Spoiler* 4:05 One of my favorite CGI moments was the monsters in the Smuggler ship. Fucking horrifying looking. I have a deep, deep fear of parasitic worms, the ones with many teeth, so it hit that tone with me. The firing of the BaseStar, or whatever it's called, also looked beautiful.
I definitely agree about the marketing (and it didn't help that I kept seeing Star Wars stuff in my facebook feed a month before the movie), I was worried I would hate it before it came out as well. But it was so damn good! The only negative I had was that Rey seemed too good at everything. I still like the character (and the actress, she was great), but that kind of bugged me. Hopefully it will be addressed in Episode VIII.
+Kevin McConnell So good at everything she got captured. So good at everything she let those insane piles of teeth and tentacles loose on Han's ship. So flawless as a character that she wasn't unnecessarily dismissive of Finn's attempts to help her and didn't initially try to run away after experiencing a vision. I think people are too quick to jump on the "Mary Sue", and it sees them ignore the flaws she has.
+Paul Dennett You'll notice I never called her a Mary Sue. She does have flaws, but they don't outweigh how damn good she was at things she had just seen/heard of. She got captured, which led to her to become super-awesome at the Force--despite no training and only learning it was actually real a day or two ago. She mistakenly released the creatures--which provided the distraction needed for them to get to the Falcon and off the ship, even managing to save Finn from one. Speaking of the Falcon, she was able to make incredible maneuvers despite never flying it before (and not even being sure she could do it). She got pwned by Ren at the beginning of the final encounter, only to come out on top at the end of the duel. The fact that she has flaws does not negate the fact that she is far better at things she should have been, and simply going "The Force" is not a good enough explanation for me.
I loved the first half of the movie especially the interaction between Rey and Finn and really enjoyed those actor's scenes together. Oscar Isaac, Max Von Sydow and Lupita Nyongo were all woefully underused and the later scenes seemed very disjointed and felt like a lot of narrative was cut out just to get to the action set pieces quicker. I really didn't like Kylo Ren once he removed his mask as I felt he lost his mystique and the reveal of his parentage was handled badly. And the less said about the uber hyped Phasma the better!!! A so so entry in the Star Wars canon but by no means the best yet but we still have two more to look forward to so there is hope.
Loved the movie. But I can't stand 3D. Over here they ONLY play it in 3D. (We don't even get to choose anymore.) Luckily I made some 2D glasses from 2 RealD glasses, so I could enjoy it in 2D.
+saltygrasshopper The Netherlands. The cinemas do that with All Movies that are released in 3D. Only give us the 3D option. If you're lucky there is a cinema that does show it in 2D, but you usually have to travel 2 hours to see it. (And they only have one showing per week.) Ever since Avatar this has been the standard practice over here. So much for choice, huh?
Heah Cecil, I've recently heard of a theory that is scarily close to being true despite how hilariously ridiculous it initially sounds, that Jar Jar was actually the true Sith Lord. Seriously, go watch the very meticulously explaigned details of the theory and watch all the slowed down footage, as well as normal footage, labeled as 'Evil Jar Jar moments'. I already know that you probably think this is ludicrous or that I'm trolling you but I'm dead serious. When I first heard the theory I almost literally laughed my ass off at how hilariously absurd it sounded, one of the best laughs I've ever had in my life, but when I actually checked out the theory and saw how elaborately explaigned it was, along with how Jar Jar's animation went exactly along with the theory, it began to become disturbingly creepy to think that this whole time we thought Jar Jar was nothing but a clumsy fool, when in actuality he was very subtely manipulating everything from behind the scenes with great malice. Even Ahmed Best, the guy who actually played Jar Jar, tweeted, in response to the theory of Jar Jar being an evil Sith Lord, that 'It feels really good when the hidden meaning behind something is finally revealed #TPM'. Cecil, you really should go see the videos for yourself, they will literally blow your mind, they sure did mine anyway.
everyone could use a little more ring theory in their lives. once i read about it, things make complete sense as to why george did this or that. and from what ive gathered about ep 7 here and how people compare it to ep4... im like jj abrams listened to lucas, and im hoping the other 2 directors continue.
I agree with you on most of your points. I found the film disappointing and very average although not terrible. My biggest issue with the movie is probably my own fault. I'm a big fan of the EU books and felt that was the true way to take the characters in. TFW feels in comparison a twisted, nightmarish parallel universe. There's some idiot on TH-cam comments called damo damo who keeps telling me how it's a classic movie and the 'vast majority' feel it's a classic film, it's the most well received movie ever commercially and critically. That my opinion that's it's not the best Star Wars is pointless because I'm in the minority, blah blah blah. I'm just a little worried people are being stubborn and are forcing themselves to love the film as though they're trying to prove a point. What that point is I'm not totally sure.
***** I agree. I'm not asking them to adapt EU books as they should come up with something original. What would have worked was them keeping the continuity of the EU and ignore stuff from Vector Prime onwards which people never really liked anyway. But they chose to ignore all that and go a very bizarre, twisted route that makes no sense not just for the characters but the whole universe.
The amount of spinoffs and side-trilogies are what kills it for me. I don't mind a film coming out every now and then but to be constantly exposed to the franchise gets stale really quick
Thanks for the good review without giving anything away. I look forward to your shows and was almost hesitant to watch this until after I had seen The Force Awaken - which is this weekend. Thanks again, keep up the good work!
Jar Jar Binks was put in there for a reveal later on that he was a sith lord, but Lucas backpedaled when he saw how many people hated him. He's a master of Drunken fist style martial arts, and often is seen using the Jedi Mind trick
I agree there were similarities with Episodes 4 & 7 but if you remember George Lucas made a point to make Episode 1 be like 4 as well. I remember the behind the scenes portion of the dvd when Lucas said "it's like poetry, like it rhymes". I don't mind this kind of mind set as long as the movie is enjoyable. For me, the prequels (in this case specifically the 1st one) wasn't enjoyable. I remember going to see the midnight showing and falling asleep. For this newest movie I was on the edge of my seat for most of the movie. I kind of hope Abrams finds a way to do the same thing with the next film. Make it kind of like Empire but make it not a complete rip off and make it enjoyable. Anyways, I thought this movie kicked ass and I can't wait to go see it again. I hope you do a Good Bad Flicks for the prequels because I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on them especially if you don't hate them because I can't tell you how many reviews I've seen of people just cutting them up (even if they kinda deserve it a little).
Thank you for addressing the hype train. I really liked this movie. However, I do not think it deserves 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. My problems with the film are that it rehashes a New Hope just a bit too much. To be fair, there were some great callbacks. But irritation is mainly due to the Starkiller superweapon. I was fine with it during a New Hope and even Return of the Jedi which was pushing it, I was okay with. If anything(SPOILERS), I would have preferred the Resistance to loose or at least have them succeed, but some other major consequence came about. I also felt some characters were not fleshed out well, like Captain Phasma. But I understand there will be two more movies. But yes, people bash the prequels too much. They are not good movies in my view, but I do not hate them. For the EU, the prequels did a lot of good and Lucas is a talented idea man. So for that, I respect Lucas.
I felt like this was a good movie, but not really a part of the Star Wars series. To me it was clear this is a reboot, dismissing the things people hated, banking on the nostalgia of things people loved and making sure no characters from the old series is going to ruin the new direction of the franchise. Also, the black guy was clearly a Jar Jar. His character went all over the place, his actions consistent only with the desired plot of the story, not with the character itself. I mean, who trains for years with other stormtroopers only to go all "Wooo!" whenever he kills one later on? That's psychotic, especially after the scene with the bloody hand print on the helmet. As I said numerous time, it's clear Abrams is a Star Wars fan, because he didn't make a travesty out of *this* franchise...
You don't need to defend George. He can take care of himself. He can show us that he is a good or great film maker... like Red Tails ... like Strange Magic. Eeyuk!
+Adrian Nydahl Yes they were, in fact, for most of the story they were primarily comprised of clones. "Clone stormtroopers were the original elite soldiers of the Galactic Empire. After the fall of the Galactic Republic and the formation of Emperor Palpatine's New Order, the Republic Grand Army's clone troopers were re-designated as stormtroopers. Throughout the early years of Palpatine's reign, the Empire continued to utilize the Jango Fett template, but later commissioned the creation of new troopers from different genetic sources.Cloning remained essential to the Imperial Military, although the introduction of birth-born recruits into the ranks of theStormtrooper Corps gradually reduced clone soldiers to a minority status."
Mark Kramer I agree with you on that, but what GoodBadFlicks were talking about was the stormtroopers from OT, and we can be quite sure that none of the stormtroopers in OT were clones. I aplogize for my error lol
honestly the force awakens in my opinion was the prequels if made better. the films new characters are a joy to see but soon after getting to know them, the story puts them in situations like characters we seen before. action set pieces were very similar to the originals as well but had a little bit of their own spin to not keep it totally the same. however i really wished that the writers of this film would stop retreading on the same old material. SPOILER ALERT! but the new empire build a 3rd deathstar out of nowhere and it gets destroyed in the second to last act of the movie. this film felt like the original trilogy before it, but with a new code of paint and very little new characters on the screen. if anything the fan service is strong with this one.
little late in the discussion since I've just came across this video. J.J. Abrams is not "a better director" That is incorrect - I think both are good directors in different ways and bad in other ways. Both had their own style. For me this was a "meh" movie, quite forgettable and Rey was just doing things that made me shake my head. Now look at The Last Jedi, that movie is a horrendous mess.
So, let's see. You claim it is not a re-make (I contend a PC remake) even though the items you label as 'big ones', like you know, having a planet-sized 'death star', having exchanged white Han for Black Han, exchanging R2 for BB, exchanging Luke for a female, yeah, you're on the money, those were small and do not constitute a 're-make' and certainly not a PC remake. Well, what about the fact that as soon as she is on the Falcon, and it breaks down, she knows more about how to FIX it than the man who FLEW it for 20 YEARS? (Does that sound PC?) What about as the girl and black guy are running away from STORMTROOPERS with AIM (as you pointed out) she pauses long enough to shake off his hand and lecture him on how she does not need a man to pull her to safety? (PC enough yet?). You said you were happy to see the old gang, INCLUDING Leia. WHAT?! Even in 3D you could not help but tot see HOW OLD she looked compared not just to the other people around her, but to some of the set pieces around her. Her voice too, sounded OLD. Hag-like. She should have played some kind of Force Hag, that would have suited her. I did not buy the 'plot twist', oh, and a villain who is so easily defeated is not worth investing in, but you seem to still like him. You failed to mention the poor acting. Of course, you passed it off as all the reviewers have done by saying things like: "Man that guy playing Finn he is so excited to be in a Star Wars film." "Yeah, you can really see that he is excited.' NEWSFLASH, if you can see an actor 'being really happy to be in a Star Wars film, then he is NOT acting well enough to conceal it. Ergo, he is not convincing you that he is the character. What he has shown is that he is not convincing and therefore NOT a good actor.
Biggest issues Rey is like Neo, she just acquires powers through confidence? Wheres the training? Kylo wasn't a robot. I really wanted him to just be a merciless killing machine. Finn holds his own against a Sith after picking up a lightsaber maybe twice. Maybe a quarter of the way through I started feeling like I was watching a rehashed version of episode 4. It really is very similar. R2D2 has a low battery supply because he's sad and we're gonna have to give a shit about it Theres basically a big gender role switch that happenes as soon as the main titles are done lol. Seriously, heres this male, completely incompetent, and a random loner scavenger chick who can take down stormtroopers. No more Yoda? Heres a weird little woman bug alien plot greaser. Miss Boba Fett? Heres a random female stormtrooper who proves you don't need to be a man to be a soldier. Main villain too masculine? POOF!
In regards to the marketing, this is Disney after all. There's still Frozen merchandise being pushed daily. Makes for one of the biggest reasons people can't stand even hearing that movie's name.
I wouldn't call this a terrible or even a bad movie. It's more of a slight of hand con job, a well disguised clone of ANH and ROTJ, ROTJ itself being a partial remake of ANH. Sad to say this, but the whole of the Star Wars franchise is just two great movies, ANH and ESB, with the "meh!" ROTJ tagged on as a bonus. The rest is just diarrhoea.
I actually agree with you. Personally I disliked this movie immensely (i know im in the minority) and most of it was because there was nothing new. In Lucas' movies we have these fantastical world with creative creatures/machines/etc but the direction was so basic. With JJ Abrams we have great cinematography but practically 0 creativity. two thirds of the movie took place on tatooin v1.2, and there rest took place in what looked like yellowstone in the summer and winter. For fucks sake this is sci fi movie, show me some amazing worlds and civilizations
George Lucas is a bad director? What? I really liked this movie - but A New Hope still tops it - and I think many people will say it's the best of all the 7 films - and who directed A New Hope?
I'm with you on the marketing for this film. Like Really. Look it's fucking Star Wars. You don't have to try that hard to get people to notice there is a Star Wars movie out. Like really CHILL THE FUCK OUT. In fact some of their ads actually spoiled parts of the movie for me. The news broadcasting really got me with their corny ass jokes and newscasters who barely even knew that much about the films other than "The Prequels were bad" and "Luke I am your father." (It's "I" am your Father)
You need to stick to “B” movies. I started to really have questions about your reviews after Batman vs. Superman but actually liking this remake of A New Hope with a Mary Sue who can instantly use the force or fix ,fly anything without any training. J.J Abrahams is a great director WoW there’s a reason why he’s known as cut and paste. I liked your takes on B movies but C’mon Disney’s Star Wars is horrible as well as the DCEU movies to date.
George Lucas gets way too much credit for Star Wars. He was one guy in a whole group who worked on the originals, and there is a ton of evidence that it was other people that made them great.
i agree with you on the marketing i got sick of it.. every time i saw something with starwars on it i just thought to my sef im gonna laugh if it busts at the box office. laughs.. hell even the week it was to open the state had to get there starwars on via road signs on the free way, you know the ones that tell you how far traffic is backed up, or if there is some kind of road hazor or amber alert.. well on Monday i had a doctors appointment and on the way in it said "aggressive driving leads to the dark side" and then "buckle up , and the force will be with you always" i only saw 4 different ones but my guess is they probably were changing them off and on through out the days leading up to the movie.. another one with yoda but i forget it now. so yeah they over market this but i guess that is Disney they had to start making that billions they gave lucas sooner than later. heh.
Damn you're right i only saw the start and it was very a very clean HD cam but after skipping forward a bit the audio isn't very good. Oh well can't complain for free. Im sure a better copy will be our soon.
I think that Jar Jar Binks was just written poorly and was a product of the time for goofy characters and I don't hate him because, I'm more disappointed in how he was written. I thought that the prequels were clean and plastic looking because of when it happened in the Timeline . As for the current movie , I love Poe and Finn more then Rey and the Storm Troopers kicked butt and I look forward to the rest of the new characters and to see where things go.
There are people who consider the new one their FAVORITE of the series? What?^^ I mean, the movie was neat and fun for the most part and obviously a huge improvement over the prequels (like EVERY other movie existing) but it just has the same basic plot as EPISODE IV and builds way too much on nostalgia. EPISODE IV and V are miles above this movie although I like it. As for this video: "some similarities to the original"? Come on, seriously. Pretty much every central plot point is is the same as in A NEW HOPE. I have no idea how you couldn't be bothered with this. I mean, ok, some people apparently also like GHOSTBUSTERS 2 more than the original although it's pretty much the same movie as the first one. Personally, I expect a little more from a sequel than just giving me everything I already had in the original. But again, I liked the movie, but really only for the things that were fresh like the new characters. All the throwbacks and the copy-paste plot were rather lame. In the end it was enjoyable but nowhere near great. And I'm pretty sure I won't watch it too often in the future.
It's up there with a new hope. It establishes an enticing world and good characters but it hasn't gone anywhere. The best hooks in the movie are allusions to what the original trilogy made great...ie luke, darth, han, chewie, leia. Granted it is a great movie and has in it the things that make star wars great but the people that just went out and saw it and are like "best star wars ever" are tools and will take it back 5 years from now when episode 12 comes out...
The Force Awakens was a Star Wars film for the millennials. I thought it was a great idea and my one and only time to see Han, Leia and Luke on the big screen. Because I wasn’t around when the original films when they were in theater. Oh god how I would’ve loved to see it when it first premiered but sadly I was born in 1983. But this film and the two following were so disappointing, so much so that I hope they never make anymore Star Wars films.
I just got back from seeing this for the third time and found it just as exciting as the first time. I saw it in 3D and 2D,i'd say see it either way you want,JJ and the cast did an excellent job.
It really did feel like a remake. You said it only took parts from A New Hope, but It was literally the same story.
So how does this work? do i talk first or do you talk first?
I didn't notice that you didn't put a "spoiler free" tag for the video, but I only noticed it was spoiler-free around halfway though. I like your style of expounding upon movies. Your blend of critique and casual is really good. You pick cool movies out of nowhere sometimes also.
Maybe instead of that random stormtrooper fighting Finn, Captain Phasma could have fought him, and they could have gotten back to the fight later in the film.
+Philip Ingrouille Yeah. That would have made a lot more dramatic sense, plus she's one of those characters, despite being in a lot of the marketing, isn't in the movie all that much.
Okay, this may be late but the reason the Stormtrooper fought Finn was because he knew Finn. Finn, Him and the stormtrooper that died at the beginning of the movie were a trio.
I could never hate George, he gave me so many great memories as a kid, I still really like revenge of the sith to return of the Jedi (1 and 2 were kind of pointless so not much reason to back) George is a niche director of you look at his work that is built on simple character interaction like American graffiti and new hope they are act sully really good. His more serious work does tend to feel more stale like thx1138 or even the prequels sometimes...
I really love this movie though
+TheGameRage1 While I agree that we owe George a lot for Star Wars. You have to also remember that what made Star Wars so great was that it was a joint effort between the men and women working on it. What made the prequels bad was because it was all Lucas. No one questioned him and no one said anything against his ideas.
+TheKevlar4 But I still stand that a lot of his ideas in the Prequels were really good (especially the one Lucas bailed on about the true Phantom Menace). Some things weren't well executed, sure, but I still like them.
Lefty-flip-drawings you do know that Lucas didnt direct Return of the Jedi right?
he didnt even have creative control over it
6:16 Cecil, the Storm troopers in Ep. 4, 5, 6 weren't clones either. The cloning program stopped somewhere in between Ep. 3 and 4 because Palpatine thought that having a clone army would make the Empire susceptible to treason. Clones only appeared in the prequel films. It's a common misconception but I thought I'd let you know. :)
+Ailert I didn't know Palpatine ended the cloning program for fear of treason! That's a really cool little factoid. Do you mind if I go full nerd and ask for a source?
Sure! This is from the Star Wars Wiki detailing the decision made by Palpatine as a result of the Kaminoan rebellion:
"Though the 501st Legion proved its unwavering loyalty once again, even to the extent of killing their fellow Fett clones, Emperor Palpatine decided to reconsider his reliance on an entire army cloned from just one source. The creation of the anti-troopers had demonstrated the inherent danger in over-dependence on a single template of clone soldiers; the corruption that they were easily susceptible to was too great of a risk to the Empire's security."
Awesome! Thanks for sharing! Another win for the Star Wars EU.
Yeah, the show "Rebels" briefly mentions the fate of the clones.
Btw, you should check that show out, Cecil. While it is primarily aimed to children, I personally think the creators captured the essence of Star Wars, ESPECIALLY when it comes to Darth Vader. Hell, I bet your kid is gonna love it. 👍🏻
+Ailert 501st L
This is the worst marketing i have seen. I literally hated the marketing more than i hate The Minions
This didn't age well.
I don't really think George should get the credit for creating Star Wars. the people who stopped him from doing stupid choices should get it. and those who saved the first movie in editing. and looking back at the prequels we can clearly see how good George is when he has all the control he wants, which is "not very"
George had the imagination the people working with him helped him carve out his imagination and transition to cinema.
considering how none of the characters were the way he originally imagined them, I am not so sure even about that. but without him wanting to make a Flash Gordon movie we would never have gotten Star Wars, so there is that.
+Rawbeard yea that's true he once considered having Luke as an alien and 3PO look like the girl in metropolis
have you ever seen American Graffiti? that movie was release in 1973 and was directed by George Lucas. it was the third highest grossing movie of the year and is now considered a classic movie of the 70's. The movie was a pioneer in the teen comedy genre and an achievement of storytelling. It was directed marvelously by George and is one of my favorite movies of all time. To say that George is not a talented individual is a matter of opinion maybe, but an uneducated opinion.
American Graffiti is some kind of fluke, a really good movie, no question. but the movies where George directed by himself with no one breathing down his neck he cleary did not give two fucks and just did his "again, but more intense" instructions, if at all.
"JJ Abrams is a better director than Lucas"
No, he isn't. Even the prequels, his worst movies, are more creative and forward-looking than anything JJ 'I want to be Spielberg' Abrams ever did.
Lucas was a good director and movie maker thanks to his first wife.
No, no he wasn't. Sorry to spoil your childhood, but Lucas was NEVER a good director.
Have to agree with the other comments. Lucas is more original and creative, yes, but not a great director. He’s notorious for giving poor direction to his actors. Star Wars was saved in the edit.
I agree with the review. Ep7 has a lot more weight behind the characters and the actual feel of the movie, than the prequels did. It sits very nicely in with Ep 4,5 and 6.It is a rip roaring adventure from start to finish, in the same vain as Ep4 was for me, when I first seen it.Hopefully, lightening will strike twice, in that the next part will be a very dark affair, similar to how Empire is the dark second act of the originals...500+ days and counting!!!!
I personally like the prequels and never really had any issues with the amount of CGI used. The prequels looked different due to the amount of CGI used, this in my opinion gave a good idea that the events happening in the prequels are going on in a different era, a time before the dark times, before the Empire. With the original trilogy the Empire has taken over, it's a darker place. They looked more gritty due to the age of the films and the practical effects they had at the time. I'm on the fence over the special edition versions of each film, some added elements worked, some didn't but I found after watching the prequels they fit in more. I absolutely loved The Force Awakens, found it to be a great mix of both the prequels and the original trilogy dur to the mix of CGI and practical effects. Also got the feeling that decade's have passed since Episode 6, things have happened, people have moved due to what happened during that time. Can't wait for Rogue One next year, this expanding on the story and the actions leading up to Episode 4. I understand the negative feelings towards the prequels. I wasn't too keen on them in the past but over the years I have grown to like them. Would love for someone to do special edition's of them correcting parts and editing certain scenes and dialogue, also adding lots of extra scenes of Darth Maul for Episode 1 showing him in training and expanding on his background, a stand alone movie perhaps. Darth Maul was criminally underused, his character is well liked and derserves expanding on. I know he is in the animated Clone Wars series but I would love to see his character before the events of Episode 1.
I plan to see it Xmas day in an IMAX 3D theater. JJ shot some of the action scenes with an IMAX camera and 70mm film. Thanks for having a Spoiler Free review, for us late-bloomers who haven't seen it yet.
Merry Christmas!
I had a blast seeing this movie. While it was my 2nd _SW_ film in cinemas (my 1st being _RotS_), it felt like I was actually watching a genuine _SW_ movie. The entire theater was in an uproar throughout the film. The big cheers was when Solo & Chewie, or Luke, would make their big entrances. ;D
Yea, George Lucas ain't some sort of talentless hack, he, as you said, is a terrific idea man. Something we have to understand, when criticizing G. Lucas decisions with the prequels was the fact that he had little to consult about the choices he made. At that point of prequels making, he had all the power and none of the brakes. And that was the main reason of his downfall. He became so obsessed with his vision of Star Wars, that he just didn't care about the criticisms or inputs of other people. Like he forgot, that Star Wars was not only his creation but also other people's who worked on it as well. That's why we have so many special editions, that really show little to no respect to people, who were involved in making the originals.
+Ken Catus It's funny how respect and selflessness can shackle you down to Earth by the will of the masses. Everything must fit a set pattern, so says A Cabin In The Woods.
caleb holland What are you talking about?
+Ken Catus You're totally right. Lucas needed more restraint.
+Skyler No I know fans take ownership for A New Hope as though Lucas wasn't responsible for their beloved Star Wars but he was. He was involved with every process and the final product was a collaboration he worked on and presented.
***** Hate to disappoint you on this as you must hate Lucas but while things didn't go his way during the making of A New Hope he had full control over the end result. No one rewrote his script, no one had faith in his idea for the movie except him, production was carried out by other people but under his vision/direction and the cut he put out was with his approval. If you're looking for differences what you could definitely argue is that on A New Hope everyone doubted him because people didn't generally have faith in the movie while on The Phantom Menace everyone had faith in him because of the success of A New Hope, which is why everyone said 'yes' instead of disagreeing with him.
I enjoyed the Star Wars Christmas special. I've got to stop drinking.
1:15 - the term you're looking for is "the recency effect," in which a person is overwhelmed with emotion after a significant experience and sees only through the prism of that emotion. There's a classic video of a young boy being interviewed about his zombie makeup, and he says, "I like turtles!" He'd just gotten thru seeing a presentation on turtles and his mind was still in that mode.
Rey ruined the film for me. Everything and everybody else was banged up and damaged, well used and old (except for the New Order; as the Empire was always a Nazi metaphor & the Nazis were all about spit 'n polish). But we're supposed to believe that an unblemished, fair-skinned white girl with perfect teeth, fulsome hair, well-hydrated skin, no scars or body marks and received pronunciation British speech has been living rough, in poverty, among thieves & cutthroats, on a desert planet, since she was grade school age? Further, that she can do things instinctively that previous characters take years to learn, like piloting a broken down freighter through space, fight off large monsters, employ force powers not even Luke Skywalker used, hold her own against a trained Jedi acolyte (Kylo Ren) having never used a lightsaber before? No... this is something a teenage girl would write in her diary as a piece of emotional pornography.
...which is precisely why it did so well with young viewers. It's a girl's love letter to herself, taking over forty years of awesome she didn't earn but wields better than anybody else because identity is more important than achievement.
No one’s said it in four years so I will. Thank you for saying what I’ve been thinking.
It’s not that I’m sexist, Rey is supposed to be this perfect Mary Sue. Luke and Anakin took YEARS to get to where they were. But Rey starts there already with NO training. Absolute garbage.
@@SlayerOfTheDamned Luke achieved at least as much as Rey in A New Hope. Your entire rant would map quite well onto the Luke in the first film.
I'm not saying it's an invalid complaint, you're right that it's pretty unbelievable what they both achieve so quickly, and that they're both rosy-cheeked youths who supposedly live in a rough place.
But when it's a boy it's a "power fantasy" or a "hero's journey." And when it's a girl it's "Mary Sue diary entries."
I went dark for about 4 months until I was able to see it. It was never spoiled for me. Great movie and review.
MEH It's simply a RETREAD of episode IV!!!!
The characters. The characters are what matters, and Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo are all fantastic. The similar plot to ANH doesn't bother me. It still feels fresh and runs at a fantastically breakneck pace.
My only problem was with Rey beating Kylo in the final fight. It doesn't give her training enough weight. You felt the gravity of Luke's training in ESB because it was a race against time. Still, TFA is my 3rd favorite Star Wars, behind ESB and ANH.
Now with TLJ being directed by Rian Johnson (who is incredible), I have a lot of faith for the next film.
You mentioned this movie was not your favorite of 2015, out of curiosity, which is so far?
You don't need to think too hard on it, it's more of a "...what comes to mind?"
Storm Troopers DO NOT EQUAL Clone Troopers. The Imperial Army during Episodes IV, V and VI could not have possibly had any clones from the Clone Wars. The clone army made from Jango Fett were engineered to age much faster than normal and would have all died of old age well before the events of Episode IV. The Galactic Empire had more than enough recruits and conscripts to fill their ranks without the use of clones.
...and sorry to nit pick. I love your channel dearly.
Like most people I love the original and dislike the prequels. So I personally LOVED the Force Awakens. It had problems but overall I was thoroughly entertained! I didn't check my watch once.
And I 100% agree with you on the marketing. At first it was great but as we got closer to the films release, it just got annoying.
Just want to point out (Nerd Alert), that the Stormtroopers aren't clones because in the game Star wars Battlefront 2, at the start of the Galactic Empire's Reign, Kamino created a Rebel Clone Army to fight against it, so after retaking Kamino , the Empire decided to start recruiting troops off worlds in the Galaxy, hence why they aren't as good at shooting as clones would be, just though I'd put that out there, loved the new movie and all the others, big fan of GoodBad and a great review.
Aged like fine milk
I still really enjoy TFA. The others...well, the less said about them the better.
The Force Awakens is the kind of movie that no one outside of die hard Star Wars fans are going to remember a month after it comes out.
Rayndrops it's been a few years now, and people still remember it
I enjoyed the movie, but I disliked some things, particularly Starkiller Base at the conceptual level as well as the fact that Rey is a terribly written character. I know it seems like the "in" thing to do right now is call her a Mary Sue, but that is exactly what I thought the first time I saw the movie on the 17th, and rewatching it two days later didn't change my opinion of her.
+dave19941000 Can you elaborate on this?
DiscCovered Which part, Starkiller Base or Rey?
dave19941000 Rey.
DiscCovered Her background is that of a scavenger yet she knows how to maintain a starship better then a guy who's been doing that twice as long as she's been alive. She a better pilot then trained fighter pilots despite never having flown a ship that wasn't just a basic hovercraft in her life. She masters the force on literally the same day she learns its real and that she is force sensitive (doing feats that Anakin and Luke took literally years to come close to in terms of her abilities). She also shows mastery of swordsmanship despite not only never having used a sword, but having been shown to use a completely different fighting weapon (a staff) that uses a technique which does not translate at all to swordsmanship skills.
***** Luke had his piloting abilities stated three different times in the movie that he piloted a light craft and blasted large rats with it. For Anakin you have a point though.
That is also one one of the problems with here character, another being the fact she's a scavenger who somehow knows how to maintain a ship better then Han despite her background not being one that would include learning how to do that, and the fact she has both instant mastery of the force the same day she learned she could use it, and the fact she demonstrates the ability to use a sword, a weapon she never learned how to use (and her staff we do see her using has a different combat style to it that does not translate as a skill), to say nothing of the fact that the first time she held a blaster had her shooting better then soldiers who had been trained to do so.
Her only character flaws are being a little naive and a hypocrite to Finn over his running away. That's it.
George Lucas is a good director have you seen THX 1138? It's an awesome film and a criminally over looked one at that.
+Pip Stanton What about 5 oscar nominee American Grafitti? That's my favorite movie of all time.
+Pip Stanton He WAS a good director. Then the business man took over, and he lost it. Good producer still though.
No good director would've allowed a lot of those takes in the Prequels to make it to the final cut. Or would've left the actors so in the dark when it came to acting against a green screen.
+Pip Stanton George Lucas is a good director for creative experimental films. He's a terrible blockbuster director.
+Gallen Dugall The Star Wars films ARE creative experimental films. Or they were until the Disney purchase.
The Movie Planet Yeah, but everyone thinks they're generic blockbusters. Mainly because everyone tries to recapture their success with deliberate blockbusters. If Star Wars hadn't hit big George Lucas would be seen as the less creepy version of David Lynch. But it did so everyone expected everything he did to be a blockbuster.
Star Wars fans generally don't understand the Star Wars movies. Disney doesn't get or care to get what Star Wars is and as a result you have this generic piece of solid entertainment.
While I didn't like the film, I did enjoy your review. You are also the first reviewer I watched who didn't go all-out fanboy on this movie just because it's not a disappointment.
It was ok. There's a criticism going around, without any spoilers, that a certain character suffers from being a Mary Sue trope cliche, which I agree with.
DAISY RIDLEY
REY
and
JOHN BOYEGA
FIN
were dating in real life and that
LOVE STORY perception ruined
the movie for most
REAL STAR WARS FANS
that were expecting that
LOVE STORY in the movie to
slow everything down
I'm glad you enjoyed it, I totally agree about being burned out on the hype before the film even hit. As long as a month before the film came out, I was "I just want to watch it and be over with this", which probably isn't the ideal result of heavy marketing.
+Jedd Jong The thing is visually there's very little to really market the movie around.
As a known cynic who will tear into movies that most people like, I had a hard time finding faults with this movie. That's not to say that I didn't find any, just that they didn't add-up to be a deal breaker. About the biggest gripe I can come up with is that a few scenes got a little too fan service-y to the point that they'll probably drag on future viewings for me. Over-all, definitely not better than the original trilogy, but DEFINITELY better than the prequels. Granted that's a low bar to set, but it's good that we've jumped at least THAT hurdle. Hopefully they'll only get better from here.
my advice to fans of the prequels is go watch all the star trek shows, cuz the prequels made star wars into star trek and the star trek reboots are more like the original star wars movies
Well for me watching movies in 3D sadly gives me a headache so I just stick to regular 2D screenings. As for the movie itself, I loved it, true that it does have some parallels with a New Hope but it wasn't straight up copying it which is good, there's nothing wrong doing that. It was definitely miles better than the prequels and I say it's just about as good as the original trilogy. Now for what I thought was my favourite movie of this year, for me it was Mad Max: Fury Road, it wasn't a movie I originally planned to see in cinemas but after a friend told me about it I rushed to see it and my mind was absolutely blown away from it.
Indiana Jones followed the same route as the previous ones, and they were all gold until the 4th one, which strayed from that formula. I feel like if this movie was made when the 4, 5 and 6 were made, it would be very similar to what it is now. Nostalgia is a powerful feeling and they played it well if you ask me. Not the best Star Wars, but it fits perfectly in the mix if you ask me.
TFA is actually very similar in formula to Indy IV.
Saw this movie on opening night and I loved it, up until the point I realized it was episode 4 with a shiny paint job. Catina scene 2, hop in the Falcon and escape the sandy planet 2, Death Star 3 (3, three, III, why 3???) I could keep going. Some great ideas, some fantastic scenes, but Rey was too perfect at everything, Kylo should have sliced up Finn even though Finn was a bright spot, I know now but the film doesn't tell me what the Resistance or First Order actually are, give me more Phasma....
Damn your theatre was way busier than mine, I had no problem getting tickets for me and all my friends for opening night, the 17th. In fact, one of my friends was even able to buy a ticket for the same showing as us 30 minutes before the movie started.
Cecil, what is your favorite movie of 2015?
Jar Jar was working with Palpatine. No im not kidding, rewatch it again. He's always around Palpatine, and even uses force speak in scenes. Because he's CGI this wasnt just a coincidence, his subtle movements have meaning.
What about the fact that the new, good characters, seem to have had Jedi training all their life? That out of nowhere, they seem to just know it. And the villain somehow doesn't immediately destroy them? Especially the female lead.
Overall, I liked it but it moved a lot faster than I would have liked (I can see why ppl want/need to see it multiple times). The overly quick pacing plus easter egg overload made me flashback to Star Trek Into Darkness, which I think hurt it for me. Loved most of the new characters (Fin, Rey, Maz, Kylo), though I think Hux fell flat for me. Sorry, just couldn't take him seriously -- like they were trying too hard to make him into Peter Cushing 2.0. Cool speech though.
I'm looking forward to the next film. I'm glad they threw in the last bit at the last minute as set up for the next one. I can see the criticisms about this film because the same thoughts went through my mind too. The "climax" was also flat, but the final fight which was after the climax, was worth it.
Slight *Spoiler* 4:05 One of my favorite CGI moments was the monsters in the Smuggler ship. Fucking horrifying looking. I have a deep, deep fear of parasitic worms, the ones with many teeth, so it hit that tone with me.
The firing of the BaseStar, or whatever it's called, also looked beautiful.
I definitely agree about the marketing (and it didn't help that I kept seeing Star Wars stuff in my facebook feed a month before the movie), I was worried I would hate it before it came out as well. But it was so damn good! The only negative I had was that Rey seemed too good at everything. I still like the character (and the actress, she was great), but that kind of bugged me. Hopefully it will be addressed in Episode VIII.
+Kevin McConnell So good at everything she got captured. So good at everything she let those insane piles of teeth and tentacles loose on Han's ship. So flawless as a character that she wasn't unnecessarily dismissive of Finn's attempts to help her and didn't initially try to run away after experiencing a vision.
I think people are too quick to jump on the "Mary Sue", and it sees them ignore the flaws she has.
+Paul Dennett You'll notice I never called her a Mary Sue. She does have flaws, but they don't outweigh how damn good she was at things she had just seen/heard of. She got captured, which led to her to become super-awesome at the Force--despite no training and only learning it was actually real a day or two ago. She mistakenly released the creatures--which provided the distraction needed for them to get to the Falcon and off the ship, even managing to save Finn from one. Speaking of the Falcon, she was able to make incredible maneuvers despite never flying it before (and not even being sure she could do it). She got pwned by Ren at the beginning of the final encounter, only to come out on top at the end of the duel.
The fact that she has flaws does not negate the fact that she is far better at things she should have been, and simply going "The Force" is not a good enough explanation for me.
I loved the first half of the movie especially the interaction between Rey and Finn and really enjoyed those actor's scenes together. Oscar Isaac, Max Von Sydow and Lupita Nyongo were all woefully underused and the later scenes seemed very disjointed and felt like a lot of narrative was cut out just to get to the action set pieces quicker. I really didn't like Kylo Ren once he removed his mask as I felt he lost his mystique and the reveal of his parentage was handled badly. And the less said about the uber hyped Phasma the better!!! A so so entry in the Star Wars canon but by no means the best yet but we still have two more to look forward to so there is hope.
I'm not a complete star wars fan. but I loved it lol! it wasn't boring.
Good Star Wars is never boring. Contrary to what most non-fans think.
Loved the movie. But I can't stand 3D. Over here they ONLY play it in 3D. (We don't even get to choose anymore.) Luckily I made some 2D glasses from 2 RealD glasses, so I could enjoy it in 2D.
Where is that (if you don't mind me asking)?
+saltygrasshopper The Netherlands. The cinemas do that with All Movies that are released in 3D. Only give us the 3D option. If you're lucky there is a cinema that does show it in 2D, but you usually have to travel 2 hours to see it. (And they only have one showing per week.) Ever since Avatar this has been the standard practice over here. So much for choice, huh?
+Phillip Jeffries that sucks. I wonder what back room deal was made to honey dick the cinemas there into that arrangement.
Heah Cecil, I've recently heard of a theory that is scarily close to being true despite how hilariously ridiculous it initially sounds, that Jar Jar was actually the true Sith Lord. Seriously, go watch the very meticulously explaigned details of the theory and watch all the slowed down footage, as well as normal footage, labeled as 'Evil Jar Jar moments'. I already know that you probably think this is ludicrous or that I'm trolling you but I'm dead serious. When I first heard the theory I almost literally laughed my ass off at how hilariously absurd it sounded, one of the best laughs I've ever had in my life, but when I actually checked out the theory and saw how elaborately explaigned it was, along with how Jar Jar's animation went exactly along with the theory, it began to become disturbingly creepy to think that this whole time we thought Jar Jar was nothing but a clumsy fool, when in actuality he was very subtely manipulating everything from behind the scenes with great malice. Even Ahmed Best, the guy who actually played Jar Jar, tweeted, in response to the theory of Jar Jar being an evil Sith Lord, that 'It feels really good when the hidden meaning behind something is finally revealed #TPM'. Cecil, you really should go see the videos for yourself, they will literally blow your mind, they sure did mine anyway.
everyone could use a little more ring theory in their lives. once i read about it, things make complete sense as to why george did this or that. and from what ive gathered about ep 7 here and how people compare it to ep4... im like jj abrams listened to lucas, and im hoping the other 2 directors continue.
I agree with you on most of your points. I found the film disappointing and very average although not terrible. My biggest issue with the movie is probably my own fault. I'm a big fan of the EU books and felt that was the true way to take the characters in. TFW feels in comparison a twisted, nightmarish parallel universe. There's some idiot on TH-cam comments called damo damo who keeps telling me how it's a classic movie and the 'vast majority' feel it's a classic film, it's the most well received movie ever commercially and critically. That my opinion that's it's not the best Star Wars is pointless because I'm in the minority, blah blah blah. I'm just a little worried people are being stubborn and are forcing themselves to love the film as though they're trying to prove a point. What that point is I'm not totally sure.
***** I agree. I'm not asking them to adapt EU books as they should come up with something original. What would have worked was them keeping the continuity of the EU and ignore stuff from Vector Prime onwards which people never really liked anyway. But they chose to ignore all that and go a very bizarre, twisted route that makes no sense not just for the characters but the whole universe.
The amount of spinoffs and side-trilogies are what kills it for me. I don't mind a film coming out every now and then but to be constantly exposed to the franchise gets stale really quick
Thanks for the good review without giving anything away. I look forward to your shows and was almost hesitant to watch this until after I had seen The Force Awaken - which is this weekend. Thanks again, keep up the good work!
Jar Jar Binks was put in there for a reveal later on that he was a sith lord, but Lucas backpedaled when he saw how many people hated him. He's a master of Drunken fist style martial arts, and often is seen using the Jedi Mind trick
+Mavrickindigo we've all seen the memes
2:18 Really? I thought this movie was better than the original trilogy, and I still gave this movie a 7/10.
It was aight... until I went to see last Jedi with my friends... I had much to say about that one... even rise of sky walker was somewhat entertaining
I agree there were similarities with Episodes 4 & 7 but if you remember George Lucas made a point to make Episode 1 be like 4 as well. I remember the behind the scenes portion of the dvd when Lucas said "it's like poetry, like it rhymes". I don't mind this kind of mind set as long as the movie is enjoyable. For me, the prequels (in this case specifically the 1st one) wasn't enjoyable. I remember going to see the midnight showing and falling asleep. For this newest movie I was on the edge of my seat for most of the movie. I kind of hope Abrams finds a way to do the same thing with the next film. Make it kind of like Empire but make it not a complete rip off and make it enjoyable. Anyways, I thought this movie kicked ass and I can't wait to go see it again. I hope you do a Good Bad Flicks for the prequels because I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on them especially if you don't hate them because I can't tell you how many reviews I've seen of people just cutting them up (even if they kinda deserve it a little).
Ha! caught the one-frame reference at 0:28
They used cgi for the teedo, but not in the way you expect, they used it to remove some preproduction defails
Thank you for addressing the hype train. I really liked this movie. However, I do not think it deserves 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. My problems with the film are that it rehashes a New Hope just a bit too much. To be fair, there were some great callbacks. But irritation is mainly due to the Starkiller superweapon. I was fine with it during a New Hope and even Return of the Jedi which was pushing it, I was okay with.
If anything(SPOILERS), I would have preferred the Resistance to loose or at least have them succeed, but some other major consequence came about. I also felt some characters were not fleshed out well, like Captain Phasma. But I understand there will be two more movies.
But yes, people bash the prequels too much. They are not good movies in my view, but I do not hate them. For the EU, the prequels did a lot of good and Lucas is a talented idea man. So for that, I respect Lucas.
+Neil Ganti It dropped to 92%
I felt like this was a good movie, but not really a part of the Star Wars series. To me it was clear this is a reboot, dismissing the things people hated, banking on the nostalgia of things people loved and making sure no characters from the old series is going to ruin the new direction of the franchise.
Also, the black guy was clearly a Jar Jar. His character went all over the place, his actions consistent only with the desired plot of the story, not with the character itself. I mean, who trains for years with other stormtroopers only to go all "Wooo!" whenever he kills one later on? That's psychotic, especially after the scene with the bloody hand print on the helmet.
As I said numerous time, it's clear Abrams is a Star Wars fan, because he didn't make a travesty out of *this* franchise...
whatever weapon that stormtrooper had in that fight with Fin was fucking badass
You don't need to defend George. He can take care of himself. He can show us that he is a good or great film maker... like Red Tails ... like Strange Magic.
Eeyuk!
He didn't direct those two.
The stormtroopers were never clones. Sorry to be that guy. Great review, though!
+Adrian Nydahl Yes they were, in fact, for most of the story they were primarily comprised of clones.
"Clone stormtroopers were the original elite soldiers of the Galactic Empire. After the fall of the Galactic Republic and the formation of Emperor Palpatine's New Order, the Republic Grand Army's clone troopers were re-designated as stormtroopers. Throughout the early years of Palpatine's reign, the Empire continued to utilize the Jango Fett template, but later commissioned the creation of new troopers from different genetic sources.Cloning remained essential to the Imperial Military, although the introduction of birth-born recruits into the ranks of theStormtrooper Corps gradually reduced clone soldiers to a minority status."
Mark Kramer I agree with you on that, but what GoodBadFlicks were talking about was the stormtroopers from OT, and we can be quite sure that none of the stormtroopers in OT were clones. I aplogize for my error lol
what was stupid was that
BEN SOLO
was the BAD GUY trying to
AVENGE DARTH VADER
that MADE NO SENSE AT ALL
honestly the force awakens in my opinion was the prequels if made better. the films new characters are a joy to see but soon after getting to know them, the story puts them in situations like characters we seen before. action set pieces were very similar to the originals as well but had a little bit of their own spin to not keep it totally the same. however i really wished that the writers of this film would stop retreading on the same old material. SPOILER ALERT! but the new empire build a 3rd deathstar out of nowhere and it gets destroyed in the second to last act of the movie. this film felt like the original trilogy before it, but with a new code of paint and very little new characters on the screen. if anything the fan service is strong with this one.
Something tells me some comments got deleted here.
when does your top 10 best/worst list come out?
little late in the discussion since I've just came across this video. J.J. Abrams is not "a better director" That is incorrect - I think both are good directors in different ways and bad in other ways. Both had their own style. For me this was a "meh" movie, quite forgettable and Rey was just doing things that made me shake my head. Now look at The Last Jedi, that movie is a horrendous mess.
ahh, back when people were all hopeful about the new trilogy ;D
Now we know... sigh
MOST of us enjoy the new trilogy just fine, thanks anyway cynical whiners, LOL
1st time to this channel and the dude saying "I absolutely loved it" -tells me all I need to know about this YT channel
Yes, I loved this. To counter, I hated The Last Jedi. Anyway, this isn't what this channel is about, you should watch one of my "Exploring" videos.
So, let's see. You claim it is not a re-make (I contend a PC remake) even though the items you label as 'big ones', like you know, having a planet-sized 'death star', having exchanged white Han for Black Han, exchanging R2 for BB, exchanging Luke for a female, yeah, you're on the money, those were small and do not constitute a 're-make' and certainly not a PC remake. Well, what about the fact that as soon as she is on the Falcon, and it breaks down, she knows more about how to FIX it than the man who FLEW it for 20 YEARS? (Does that sound PC?) What about as the girl and black guy are running away from STORMTROOPERS with AIM (as you pointed out) she pauses long enough to shake off his hand and lecture him on how she does not need a man to pull her to safety? (PC enough yet?). You said you were happy to see the old gang, INCLUDING Leia. WHAT?! Even in 3D you could not help but tot see HOW OLD she looked compared not just to the other people around her, but to some of the set pieces around her. Her voice too, sounded OLD. Hag-like. She should have played some kind of Force Hag, that would have suited her. I did not buy the 'plot twist', oh, and a villain who is so easily defeated is not worth investing in, but you seem to still like him. You failed to mention the poor acting. Of course, you passed it off as all the reviewers have done by saying things like: "Man that guy playing Finn he is so excited to be in a Star Wars film." "Yeah, you can really see that he is excited.' NEWSFLASH, if you can see an actor 'being really happy to be in a Star Wars film, then he is NOT acting well enough to conceal it. Ergo, he is not convincing you that he is the character. What he has shown is that he is not convincing and therefore NOT a good actor.
When I saw this on opening night, the man behind me in line was a dead ringer for George Lucas...
Biggest issues
Rey is like Neo, she just acquires powers through confidence? Wheres the training?
Kylo wasn't a robot. I really wanted him to just be a merciless killing machine.
Finn holds his own against a Sith after picking up a lightsaber maybe twice.
Maybe a quarter of the way through I started feeling like I was watching a rehashed version of episode 4. It really is very similar.
R2D2 has a low battery supply because he's sad and we're gonna have to give a shit about it
Theres basically a big gender role switch that happenes as soon as the main titles are done lol.
Seriously, heres this male, completely incompetent, and a random loner scavenger chick who can take down stormtroopers. No more Yoda? Heres a weird little woman bug alien plot greaser. Miss Boba Fett? Heres a random female stormtrooper who proves you don't need to be a man to be a soldier. Main villain too masculine? POOF!
In regards to the marketing, this is Disney after all. There's still Frozen merchandise being pushed daily. Makes for one of the biggest reasons people can't stand even hearing that movie's name.
I wouldn't call this a terrible or even a bad movie. It's more of a slight of hand con job, a well disguised clone of ANH and ROTJ, ROTJ itself being a partial remake of ANH. Sad to say this, but the whole of the Star Wars franchise is just two great movies, ANH and ESB, with the "meh!" ROTJ tagged on as a bonus. The rest is just diarrhoea.
Just FYI the stormtroopers were never clones. Troopers were only clones in episode 2&3
I actually agree with you. Personally I disliked this movie immensely (i know im in the minority) and most of it was because there was nothing new. In Lucas' movies we have these fantastical world with creative creatures/machines/etc but the direction was so basic. With JJ Abrams we have great cinematography but practically 0 creativity. two thirds of the movie took place on tatooin v1.2, and there rest took place in what looked like yellowstone in the summer and winter. For fucks sake this is sci fi movie, show me some amazing worlds and civilizations
Dessert planet, cantina, escaping the planet and meeting a character along the way, I'll say episode I was missing the point.
why do people care if its so much like new hope I mean come on if they didnits probably to introduce it to a younger audience
George Lucas is a bad director? What? I really liked this movie - but A New Hope still tops it - and I think many people will say it's the best of all the 7 films - and who directed A New Hope?
I'm with you on the marketing for this film. Like Really. Look it's fucking Star Wars. You don't have to try that hard to get people to notice there is a Star Wars movie out. Like really CHILL THE FUCK OUT. In fact some of their ads actually spoiled parts of the movie for me. The news broadcasting really got me with their corny ass jokes and newscasters who barely even knew that much about the films other than "The Prequels were bad" and "Luke I am your father." (It's "I" am your Father)
Finally, a youtuber that does not hate the prequels. That is very rare.
+Rufus Harvey The only prequel I don't like is Episode II.
Will you ever be doing a Exploring Super 8 one day since this year marks its 10th anniversary.
Its on the list!
@@GoodBadFlicks , maybe add Lovely Bones for another exploring series which would be fascinating.
I enjoyed watching it but it is not very memorable. The only one that I did enjoy was Rogue One.
You need to stick to “B” movies. I started to really have questions about your reviews after Batman vs. Superman but actually liking this remake of A New Hope with a Mary Sue who can instantly use the force or fix ,fly anything without any training. J.J Abrahams is a great director WoW there’s a reason why he’s known as cut and paste. I liked your takes on B movies but C’mon Disney’s Star Wars is horrible as well as the DCEU movies to date.
Tickets are abundant in my area lol.
I've been able to see it 6 times so far, including opening night. It holds up.
George Lucas gets way too much credit for Star Wars. He was one guy in a whole group who worked on the originals, and there is a ton of evidence that it was other people that made them great.
glad i downloaded star trek: the farce awakens, saving me a movie ticket.
A remake of episode 4 with more comedy thrown in. meh
The Stormtroopers in 4,5 & 6 weren't clones.
i agree with you on the marketing i got sick of it.. every time i saw something with starwars on it i just thought to my sef im gonna laugh if it busts at the box office. laughs.. hell even the week it was to open the state had to get there starwars on via road signs on the free way, you know the ones that tell you how far traffic is backed up, or if there is some kind of road hazor or amber alert.. well on Monday i had a doctors appointment and on the way in it said "aggressive driving leads to the dark side" and then "buckle up , and the force will be with you always" i only saw 4 different ones but my guess is they probably were changing them off and on through out the days leading up to the movie.. another one with yoda but i forget it now. so yeah they over market this but i guess that is Disney they had to start making that billions they gave lucas sooner than later. heh.
Finally its up online now,going to watch it tonight.
No, i was waiting for a sceener copy of the film to be put up online so i can watch it.
Damn you're right i only saw the start and it was very a very clean HD cam but after skipping forward a bit the audio isn't very good. Oh well can't complain for free. Im sure a better copy will be our soon.
While its no perfect it is watchable www.promptfile.com/l/4653D45DDC-138F53F776
+Kyle Massey Just go watch it in the damn cinema.
Paul Dennett
I refuse to pay $10 to view something one time when i could spend $20 to own it.
I think that Jar Jar Binks was just written poorly and was a product of the time for goofy characters and I don't hate him because, I'm more disappointed in how he was written.
I thought that the prequels were clean and plastic looking because of when it happened in the Timeline .
As for the current movie , I love Poe and Finn more then Rey and the Storm Troopers kicked butt and I look forward to the rest of the new characters and to see where things go.
There are people who consider the new one their FAVORITE of the series? What?^^ I mean, the movie was neat and fun for the most part and obviously a huge improvement over the prequels (like EVERY other movie existing) but it just has the same basic plot as EPISODE IV and builds way too much on nostalgia. EPISODE IV and V are miles above this movie although I like it.
As for this video: "some similarities to the original"? Come on, seriously. Pretty much every central plot point is is the same as in A NEW HOPE. I have no idea how you couldn't be bothered with this. I mean, ok, some people apparently also like GHOSTBUSTERS 2 more than the original although it's pretty much the same movie as the first one. Personally, I expect a little more from a sequel than just giving me everything I already had in the original. But again, I liked the movie, but really only for the things that were fresh like the new characters. All the throwbacks and the copy-paste plot were rather lame. In the end it was enjoyable but nowhere near great. And I'm pretty sure I won't watch it too often in the future.
Go Star Wars! Beat Avatar!
It's up there with a new hope. It establishes an enticing world and good characters but it hasn't gone anywhere. The best hooks in the movie are allusions to what the original trilogy made great...ie luke, darth, han, chewie, leia. Granted it is a great movie and has in it the things that make star wars great but the people that just went out and saw it and are like "best star wars ever" are tools and will take it back 5 years from now when episode 12 comes out...
0:29 The Holiday Special ... wink wink ;)
I want to watch these Star Wars movies in order...I've never seen the first one
The Force Awakens was a Star Wars film for the millennials. I thought it was a great idea and my one and only time to see Han, Leia and Luke on the big screen. Because I wasn’t around when the original films when they were in theater. Oh god how I would’ve loved to see it when it first premiered but sadly I was born in 1983. But this film and the two following were so disappointing, so much so that I hope they never make anymore Star Wars films.
Please review Children Of The Corn 3: Urban Harvest!
I just got back from seeing this for the third time and found it just as exciting as the first time. I saw it in 3D and 2D,i'd say see it either way you want,JJ and the cast did an excellent job.