The universe has gotten a lot more diverse in the decades since we first visited “A galaxy far far away.” And less sexist.
There’s a Republic, and plenty of reminders — crashed warships, grizzled veterans — of the war that brought it back.
But evil has reared its ugly head. The First Order is less subtle than the evil Empire about its affection for fascist optics, fascist storm troopers and fascist practices — massacring civilians and what not. But perhaps there are people with souls underneath those scary white (and black) helmets.
So a Resistance has formed, led by The Usual Suspects. And the war among the stars begins again.
J.J. Abrams’ “Star Wars” reboot, “The Force Awakens,” begins with smuggled plans. OK, it’s a map this time. There’s an adorable droid entrusted with the map. He gets away on a desert planet. Advice from a sage of the desert — warmly played by the great Max Von Sydow — is taken.
Escaping from the planet involves a dazzling dogfight and the Millennium Falcon. Old friends show up, and the map makes its way toward people who might be able to prevent this big round thing from blowing up planets.
Sure, it’s still a fun ride — shootouts, getaways made via hyperspace, wisecracks. But pretending “The Force Awakens” is anything more than a glib facsimile of “A New Hope,” the original “Star Wars” movie, is delusional. It’s dull because it is achingly unoriginal. Abrams, at every turn, plays it safe, with multiple “takes me right out of the movie” lapses.
In Disney’s hands, it’s a small galaxy, after all — billions of people, with a choice few just stumbling into each other in the most bizarre coincidences, fewer quest story plots to choose from (the same one), desert planets that have the same sorts of critters, bars with the same barflies, etc.
The new villains are Kylo Ren, a black-helmeted brute who throws hilarious tantrums, shorting out all manner of electronics with his Crusader broadsword light saber. Adam Driver is Hayden Christensen reborn, in essence, a somewhat amusing menace with the helmet on, that tall, skinny, curly-headed funnyman from “Girls” and “This is Where I Leave You” with the helmet off. Miscast.
His best line? “We’re not done here.” Kind of lacks…something.
And there’s a Supreme Being, another digital creation acted out by Andy “Gollum” Serkis. At least he’s kind of scary.
The desert planet heroine, Rey, is a scavenger of Jakku played with pluck by Daisy Ridley. She’s waiting for “my family. They’ll be back, someday.”
She is no damsel in distress.
“I know how to run! Let go of my hand!”
The most interesting addition is the Storm Trooper with a heart. John Boyega shows the character’s humanity. Raised to blindly follow orders, the blood of his first combat makes him crack. Boyega lets us see the remorse, and maybe a little cowardice. He comes to be called “Finn,” because the First Order gave him no actual name.
The guy who names him that is crack Resistance pilot Poe, cartoonishly played by the normally reliable Oscar Isaac (“Ex Machina,””Inside Llewyn Davis”). Poe is captured and tortured, making feeble wisecracks all the while. He must sense that a Storm Trooper will turn traitor (for the first time EVER) and help him escape.
But the moment Han Solo shows up, this becomes a Harrison Ford movie. Han’s a single-again grumpy old man a little flattered that Rey quotes his legend (“the Kessell run”) back to him, still bickering with Chewbacca, still reluctant to get involved until the chips are down. Even if Leia (Carrie Fisher) is the one asking for his help.
Ford’s easy comfort with a cheesy line has never faltered, and Abrams leaves the picture in his able hands for the middle acts.
The effects are sharper, 40 years more developed. Why does Abrams do so little to show them off? The chases, dogfights and set-piece battles are static and recycled. The Big Pause for a Big Death is just an eye-roller.
Even the aliens are oh-so-familiar, right down to Admiral “It’s a trap!” Ackbar.
The earliest reviews of this are all glowing, as indeed they were for this past summer’s “Jurassic Park” clone — “Jurassic World.” This will certainly make billions. “Brand” above all, right?
But “The Force Awakens” boils down to a couple of genuine lump-in-the-throat moments, and those are due to nostalgia. The rest? Seen it, done it, been there, and remember it — even though it was “a long time ago.”
(UPDATE — Now EVERYBODY realizes “Force Awakens” is a “glib facsimile” of “A New Hope.”
MPAA Rating:PG-13 for sci-fi action violence
Cast: Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, Jon Boyega, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Max Von Sydow
Credits: Directed by J.J. Abrams, script by Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams, Michael Arndt. ALucasfilm/Walt Disney release.
Running time: 2:15
Movie Nation 
Thank you for being the sole reviewer who didn’t go in with rose-tinted glasses. If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be hollow. It’s all pretty, and touches on the bits of nostalgia. It doesn’t make you cringe like the prequels, but there’s nothing substantial underneath. There are interesting characters, good and evil, but whatever is driving them, personally and collectively, isn’t really even established let alone explored. Silly as they were, the originals had heart. This just feels like it’s playing the same tune with less meaningful lyrics. Like it’s just going through the motions established by those movies, without any real catalyst for the motion.
You pretty much nailed it right there, the look, pace, casting and story were all off. Very underwhelming given the budget and people involved.
You pretty much nailed it right there. The look, pace, story and casting were all off, the magic just wasn’t there. It leaves you feeling underwhelmed which is disappointing given the budget and resources that Abrams had to make a good film.
Yes, to both of you. Exactly how I felt (and two others in my party, who are both senior teens). Disappointing. I don’t fault anyone who loved it. Just didn’t click for me.
I think a lot of people here forget about the fact that it is about emotions when you watch, not rational thinking about this and that. I loved the movie, it is a class on its own and doesn’t need any compromise or to prove anything. Let the force be with you, not cheap bs.
It’s all pretty, and touches on the bits of nostalgia. It doesn’t make you cringe like the prequels, but there’s nothing substantial underneath.
I’d rather watch the prequels and cringe. Oh wait. The unoriginality of this movie made me cringe.
I agree, this movie jumped back to the plot of movie four “A New Hope” and I was absolutely disgusted with the plot. You have a Galaxy with 10,000 systems and Disney can’t come up with anything worth watching.
Have not seen the film yet but be ready to get a lot of hate fill replies here as you sir are the first negative review on RT
I actually saw the movie yesterday for the Italian preview, so don’t pick me as someone who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
First things first, we signed an agreement to NOT SPOIL ANYTHING in our reviews, and that’s what we did, while I see some spoilers here that may or may not ruin the movie for the general public.
In my review, which I can synthesize here, I tried to gather all those things that make this movie not just a really good movie, but a STAR WARS movie, because what fans want to see is the natural progression of history and not just a great visual of J.J. Abrams’ skills.
If you like Star Wars, you’ll love this one: it has all the elements that made the first trilogy memorable, like the unknown cast, the fight for freedom and healthy life, the immersion in the actions of the characters. It is not a movie about politics like Episode II or III, it is a movie about what made A New Hope an awesome piece of history.
J.J. Abrams has been able to hide from the trailers all those references to the major events in the plot: if you think you extracted something clear from what you saw in the trailers, you’re so wrong. Everything is twisted and built to leave the viewer with his mouth open.
Now I don’t want to tell you anything about what happens in the movie, but I’ll tell you my two questions that make me realize if something is worth watching or not:
– Would I wipe my mind to watch it again for the first time?
– Does it make me want to fall into cryogenic sleep until the next movie?
The answer is yes to both questions.
This is what I think about the movie, and I know opinions should be accepted from every point of view. There’s still a limit, and this review has gone “far, far away” beyond it, hightlighting what I count as just minor flaws, or, even worse, the will to sacrifice such a well directed movie in order to get some views. Which has happened, since I got here from Metacritic.
I guess a fish out of water exists anyway, so don’t mind it too much if you’re actually interested in what Star Wars can still give to the fans. Shortly enough, go to the cinema and give The Force Awakens the honor it deserves. You will not regret it.
Gonna wait until it comes out on video. It deserves no more.
Awesome, more tickets for those of us who want to see it!
I’ll try not to let this cash grab trash ruin my feelings, good will for the genuine Star Wars movies I-VI.
The problem with this movie is that it is a rehash of the old films: all fan service with little “new” or “creative” content. “It has all the elements that made the first trilogy memorable.” Yeah, you’re right, but that is ALL that it has. Why are you assuming that the only thing Star Wars fans “want to see” is a series of scripted nods to the originals? I, for one, would like to see the introduction of bold new ideas or concepts, not just a “unplug your brain and drool over the nostalgia” fan fest.
it isn’t the best movie of the year and it isn’t the worst. There is no reason to hate it or to love. New ideas or concepts just for another movie 🙂
Thank you. Agree completely. Of course there’s a way to get in. Of course there’s a thing the compacts trash. Of course Luke is the villian… But seriously, took New Hope’s basic plot points and memorable moments and made VII the Same Hope.
“Cast of unknowns” is a myth. Just like “that little movie” myth.
You should look up Sir Alec Guinness, when was it he got his Oscar and generally how his career went.
Same goes for James Earl Jones, only he did not win that Oscar for best actor he was nominated for.
Also, Harrison Ford was around for over a decade – he just did not make it big yet.
Same goes for Hamill, only he was around for even longer. Both were “familiar faces” back then.
Only unknown in the main cast was Fisher.
As for “fight for freedom and healthy life”… Ignoring that second part that sounds like something off of a shampoo packaging, “fight for freedom” is just the background for the personal journey of the hero.
HINT: Most important moments in the original trilogy are all about the hero facing off the evil wizard who killed his father. Or so he thinks.
He’s no freedom fighter there – he’s just a kid strapping on his dead dad’s sword, off to kill the monster.
And the story ends with him trying to rescue his dad – revolution-schmevolution.
And immersion in actions… What immersion in actions?
Audience is NEVER “immersed” in the action of characters in the original trilogy.
Audience is a passive observer.
Never left in the middle of the battlefield (compare with Saving Private Ryan), always thrown around with cuts which server to better TELL THE STORY – not immerse the audience…
TLDR: You’re full of bantha poodoo kid.
Alec Guiness won for “Kwai,” didn’t want to do the film because his character died so early, Ford was nowhere and getting nowhere, Fisher was barely broken in on film and Hamill had TV supporting roles set for life. I’m sorry, I’ve interviewed most of the cast of the original trilogy (not the dead ones), been to Skywalker Ranch and forgotten more about “A New Hope” than you’ll ever know.
so basically, you;re saying it’s good because SW fans just want another joy ride and all Abrams did was pander to the lowest denominator.
awesome!
So how does Abram’s ass smell? Roasted almonds, or more of a melted toffee smell?
A glib review.
To all the haters:
PERHAPS HES WONDERING WHY SOMEONE WOULD SHOOT THE FILM BEFORE READING THE SCRIPT
Fah, I agree my good sir. Star Wars is naught but a glib, childish and ungentlemanly facsimile designed to pander to redditesque and plebianic swine. I tip my bowler hat to you sir. *lights Cuban cigar, nods and walks away*
^ this ^ best way to reply to this lowest metascore. XD
Wow, I didn’t expect to see all comments deleted. Such professional. I still don’t give up, so here’s what I wrote before.
I actually saw the movie yesterday for the Italian preview, so don’t pick me as someone who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
First things first, we signed an agreement to NOT SPOIL ANYTHING in our reviews, and that’s what we did, while I see some spoilers here that may or may not ruin the movie for the general public.
In my review, which I can synthesize here, I tried to gather all those things that make this movie not just a really good movie, but a STAR WARS movie, because what fans want to see is the natural progression of history and not just a great visual of J.J. Abrams’ skills.
If you like Star Wars, you’ll love this one: it has all the elements that made the first trilogy memorable, like the unknown cast, the fight for freedom and healthy life, the immersion in the actions of the characters. It is not a movie about politics like Episode II or III, it is a movie about what made A New Hope an awesome piece of history.
J.J. Abrams has been able to hide from the trailers all those references to the major events in the plot: if you think you extracted something clear from what you saw in the trailers, you’re so wrong. Everything is twisted and built to leave the viewer with his mouth open.
Now I don’t want to tell you anything about what happens in the movie, but I’ll tell you my two questions that make me realize if something is worth watching or not:
– Would I wipe my mind to watch it again for the first time?
– Does it make me want to fall into cryogenic sleep until the next movie?
The answer is yes to both questions.
This is what I think about the movie, and I know opinions should be accepted from every point of view. There’s still a limit, and this review has gone “far, far away” beyond it, hightlighting what I count as just minor flaws, or, even worse, the will to sacrifice such a well directed movie in order to get some views. Which has happened, since I got here from Metacritic.
I guess a fish out of water exists anyway, so don’t mind it too much if you’re actually interested in what Star Wars can still give to the fans. Shortly enough, go to the cinema and give The Force Awakens the honor it deserves. You will not regret it.
Please sir, stop your leaching behavior.
I knew it.
Get ready for the pile-on of aggressive morons who feel threatened by anyone having a different opinion of a movie they’ve apparently invested their self-esteem in greatly, as if they themselves had created it, and so take any word against their favored corporate intellectual property as a grievous insult.
There’s a real disconnect, I sense, between people who don’t mind recycling say, “Spider-Man,” three times in the space of a decade or so, and people who want a story to advance, in addition to tugging at nostalgic heartstrings. It’s the difference between a product designed to elicit a response in experiencing it, and a story, freshly-told. This has a “Raiders” moment ripoff that reminded me of how badly the last “Raiders” movie is aging. Lucas at least tried to move things in different directions with his prequels. Then again, anybody who saw “A New Hope” in a theater on first release may be too old to “get it,” as in “get dazzled by the same old same old.”
I have seen the film, so i will say this….
if we are going to complain about recycled plots, we might as well go and give every marvel film a 2/4 and say that they are the same old, same old.
You are entitled to your own opinion.
However, when we start to nit pick the actual **** out of good films, what are we truly left with?
Its up to you to decide.
Close up the film industry and start making silent films again.
People hate cause they don’t understand why others enjoy a film so much….
maybe you do to 😦
I’m gonna beat my son for saying this was supposed to be good even though he hasn’t watched the Star wars prequel flicks.
Your comment made my day…nay, my week…nay, perhaps my whole year.
and im going to beat you for blaspheming
“I’ll finish what you started…” J.J Abrams muttered to himself as he was reading Lucas’s bizarre suggestions for the sequels.
“I’ll give Kylo Ren the title, Darth Icky” and that’s how it was supposed to be, even though it was stupid and infringing on the lore, J.J had no choice as he could only copy-cat people’s work.
I can’t really imagine how that guy with cancer felt after finishing watching this flick. He literally passed away hours after.
JUST
Wow, so you had to take it there? Pretty classy. And I’m sure he felt fine, The Force Awakens is sitting at a 97 on Rotten Tomatoes with only 2 negative reviews. And keep up the work of making the Internet look like the worst thing on the planet.
And, “…ten thousand flies CAN’T be wrong…” The test of the film is TIME. The score will go down in a matter of weeks!
was being contrarian part of your plan?
Its as if being critical of junk movies are somehow contrarians – only to upset those in love with terrible Hollywood non-thinking propaganda movies. I find the review helpful because it points out things that the general Hollywood consumers continuously miss – the effects, the “moments”, the catastrophes, the emotional scenes, the woman that “acts like a man” to prove its not a sexist movie, and the god rehashed music. The description of the film focuses on those ignored moments in all of Hollywood films. That’s not to say Star Wars had an amazing story line – it didn’t, however it was Unique which made it good. Now all it has potential in is filling the idiotic “missing” story lines to keep making trash movies.
Thanks JJ Abrams for also turning Star Trek into Star Wars – all of your movies are just terrible.
And to all of you who think I’m just being a hater – for once in your life be critical of something other than dissenting opinions – be critical of the guy next to you who also loves the movie and ask why. Also ask why they have a “broadsword” shaped like a light saber. Even that’s not original… at least the real broadsword functions like one.
I wonder what my wife’s son is going to say after I take him to the cinemas – he has just finished a marathon of all the previous films.
My wife’s son has been crying all week about wanting to see TFA after seeing those TV spots earlier. I yelled at him eventually because he does not understand what’s going on, he hasn’t even seen the Star Wars films. But his reasoning was that the ‘Basketball’-looking droid was funny and he wants to play with it. I am completely baffled, he then proceeded to call his mother who is currently doing charity work in Africa.
In preparation for the awakenings I have been marathoning the first 10 minutes of the phantom menace. when does it start getting good?
I think I will be skipping this one too.
My black son was not interested in Star Wars, even though I am a huge one since being a teenager. But I assume it has to do with culture stigma as I am white. Anyways upon the Finn reveal my son lightened up during the Force Awakens we watched together on youtube, he talked about it 24/7. After reading your review I think I am gonna get him to watch the Good Dinosaur as I don’t think it’s really appropriate to bring a 10 year old to watch this flick.
Anyhow thanks for your kind review.
I enjoyed the movie thoroughly, and I do think people should go and see it, but I also agree with every point in this review. I came out of the theatre feeling like it was all three of the original trilogies mashed up into one film.
I watched this movie yesterday with my dad (he took me to the star wars originals when I was growing up) but everytime FN (Finn) would show up on screen my dad would get really uncomfortable. The drive back home was awkward, we didn’t say a word.
Just lean over to dad and whisper “he’s Lando’s son” and see if that don’t perk him up a bit 🙂
This one’s got balls. Meanwhile Movie Nation scrambles to hire a security detachment robust enough to protect Roger Moore’s office from plastic lightsaber wielding fans threatening to crash the door of a critic that dared to depict their prophet in unfavorable light.
Now to be on point, I haven’t seen the movie yet, so I can’t comment whether this review is accurate or erroneous. But I gotta say, when I saw the trailers, and especially that big death star clone on the poster revealed, man I felt beat-for-beat remake coming. It’s this unshakable feeling that I’ve seen the limits on JJ’s game. Abrams is about six years older than me, but we’re roughly the same age, and his passion is to share the joy, bliss, and innocent magic of the late 70’s and early 80’s Spielberg, Lucas, Cameron (maybe a little less innocent) with a younger audience.
The thing is though, these kids have their own generation, they don’t need a pale imitation of my Apple IIe/Commodore64 youth, just as I had no interest in hot rods and/or sock hops. What JJ seems to have overlooked in his earnest adoration for those 70’s fimmakers like Spielberg is that not only was their style crowd-pleasing, but they were all of them telling original stories. King Arthur…but in space! Jesus Saves…but he’s a 2 and 1/2 foot tall alien!
I worry that just like with JP World this past summer, SW 7 is actually SW ”77, not so much “all that’s old is new again” but “what’s old is still old and here it is again”.
Where’ve all the original story tellers gone?
Exactly what I was thinking.
Roger died for our sins
Roger gave The Revenge of the Sith 3 stars. Where is your God now, heathen?
Just wanted to say that the Rotten Tomatoes summary says: “A glib fascimile”. Facsimile is misspelled.
Thanks, fixed.
I watched how JJ destroyed Roddenberry’s vision of Star Trek, basically turning it into a combination of The Avengers meet Jason Bourne; he’s a director who when he faces a choice of challenging the viewer or eliciting an emotional response always chooses the later – S:T: was about ‘ideas,’ and Abrams reduced it to set action pieces and recycling – I didn’t even bother with Into Darkness when I learned that Khan, a character created by a latino, was being recast as a British white guy, not to mention Sulu, well known as a Japanese character was not Korean somehow.. am I surprised that JJ’s Star Wars is more about recycling old ideas since he had a huge lexicon of Star Wars novels crafted by great writers, which had taken the story into bold new directions to fall back on, just as was the case with Star Trek? Not at all – with JJ it’s always about the safe choice, not the smart one.
The villains = Whites
The heroes = Old whites of old (one dies), and a black guy, a girl, and a Hispanic
Why not call this movie The Politics Awakens?
It’s a pity diversity wasn’t a higher priority in 1977 when “New Hope” came out…who knows? It might have really been a good movie everyone would want to see…
Well played…
We were mainly white back then.
George Lucas at least attempted that. After things were coming together, Lucas took a step back and noticed how whitewashed Star Wars was. That’s when he cast James Earl Jones to do the voiceover for Darth Vader. Brilliant move and giving an extremely important part at a time when no other moviemaker would’ve done so. Also notice how in the next film he made sure to cast Billie Dee Williams. And then in Eps 2, the stormtroopers were all cloned from a Maori (New Zealand equivalent of American Indians). And of course you can see later on how George Lucas made that film about the Tuskogee Airmen a few years ago. While the movie studios weren’t thinking about diversity, George Lucas certainly had it on his mind and did his best.
I have read the summary of reviews for Roger Moore. Basically, almost every movie is between 1.5 and 2.5 starts out of 4. He clearly doesn’t like much of anything. So, his not liking this movie is hard to accept that it is the movie versus his natural disdain for almost any movie. I have not seen the film and look forward to making my own judgement. I will gladly come back here to praise Mr. Moore’s review if he is correct from my point of view. We shall see.
You never took “statistics,” didya Sparky? The average — “mean” — is what average movies get. Like this one. “99 Homes,” great, “Suffragette,” terrific, “Tangerine,” superb, “Joy” average, “Revenant,” so much better than “Star Wars” you may hang your head in shame after seeing both.
“On average, this critic grades 1.4 points lower than other critics.”
Good for this critic. Most appeared to be paid for their good reviews. I, for one, appreciate the accurate coverage of films so I can save my hard-earned dollars for films that don’t suck.
I’ve found R. Moore to be one of the most reliable and fair critics.
I’ve discovered that his reviews are, on average, substantially lower than the average of all other critics.
This review illustrates the single biggest flaw of professional movie goers. They prize new more than they prize good. Unless a movie brings something new to the screen it is undeserving of praise despite how well the “old” is presented. The fallacy is that most stories have been told before and there are no new plots. Greatness is not based on how new something is but how well it is executed.
I think there’s a value judgement or three in the review. As in, Adam Driver, miscast. Big emotional moment, botched, Oscar Isaac, off tone, Abrams, playing it safe and coloring inside the lines of the original.
Bringing something new IS important, especially when there are sequels to successful stories. What is the point of making a sequel if you don’t expand the ideas/universe that the original movies established? Now can we say this about every film? No. Star Wars in particular should have to answer for this, as we all know that it’s very likely that they just want to re-market Star Wars and get in on all that merch sales. Maybe the numerical score he gives is a bit harsh, as I’m sure it is still a good movie, but his point is still valid. If TFA ends up being a rehash as he says, then yeah, I’m going to discount it a bit. I’m sure it’ll still be a fun movie to watch, but I’m also sure I’m going to roll my eyes when I hear Star Wars fanboys giving it excess praise.
I agree, it was so refreshing to have such a progressive cast of characters, its sad that its 2015 and only now are people accepting what should have always been.
Good review. LOL at fanboys melting down over relatively mild, articulate, evenhanded criticism because MUH ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE.
Admit it nerds: it’s just a safe, predictable, corporate remake, motivated purely by Disney wanting another licensed mega-franchise to complement their Marvel empire. It will probably entertain you for a couple hours, but you’re looking to have your minds blown and that’s just not gonna happen when all the story beats are so familiar they’re cliches. All movies are partly made to earn a profit, but this one has absolutely zero reason for existing other than to convert manchild disposable income into Bob Iger’s annual bonus. So bend over and pony up like you were going to anyway, and leave the reviews to people who actually expect a movie to stand on its own, and aren’t just suckers for anything with the right brand name slapped on it.
BTW, for people claiming this is the only negative review, here’s what Salon had to say:
“For better or worse “The Force Awakens” is more like a remake or a mashup of the first two “Star Wars” pictures than a sequel. Yes, in technical terms Abrams and co-writers Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt are picking up the narrative some 30 years after the destruction of the Galactic Empire at the end of “Return of the Jedi.” But they barely even pretend to advance the story of the initial trilogy; they rewind it and repeat it, with new characters substituting for old ones but many of the same action set-pieces, narrative dilemmas and hidden connections.
“Whether Abrams’ obsessive-compulsive relationship to George Lucas’ 1977 original works for you is a subjective question, of course. You can choose to understand “The Force Awakens” as an embrace of the mythological tradition, in which the same stories recur over and over with minor variations. Or you can see it as the ultimate retreat into formula: “Let’s just make the same damn movie they loved so much the first time!” There are moments when it feels like both of those things, profound and cynical, deeply satisfying and oddly empty. This is the work of a talented mimic or ventriloquist who can just about cover for the fact that he has nothing much to say. He has made an adoring copy of “Star Wars,” seeking to correct its perceived flaws, without understanding that nothing about that movie’s context or meaning or enormous cultural impact can be duplicated.”
P.S. If Hollywood had been as cowardly and mercenary (and audiences as undemanding) in 1977 as it is now, the original trilogy never would’ve been made. Instead they would have remade Wizard of Oz or Gone With The Wind as 5-part franchises.
Not the only negative review. Merely the first.
“Instead they would have remade Wizard of Oz or Gone With The Wind as 5-part franchises.”
Oh, don’t give them any ideas! There’ll be an all-female “Wizard of Oz”-trilogy in no time…
Gone with the Wind was racist movie that promoted showing traitors and slave owners as good and those wanting country to stay together and against slaver as bad. Please don’t compare Star Wars with that crappy movie promoting keeping people of color down.
This is what I’ve suspected ever since this life-long Trek fan stumbled incoherently out of Into Darkness on opening day wishing for those two hours of my life to have never occurred. Then they granted Jar Jar Abrams the Star Wars franchise. Supreme evidence that America is not a meritocracy. Thank you, Mr. Moore, for not rolling over for Disney like the other reviewers clearly do with their unbelievable, Trumpian expositions of the awesomeness and infallibility of this film. And thank you NZT for backing him up and stating some obvious truths. Getting the KY ready anyway, but at least my expectations are properly set.
Honestly, I think that TFA was just a teaser for the next Star Wars films. It seems like something to get old fans back into the ‘feel’ of Star Wars after the prequels, and introduce new fans to the universe. Personally, just seeing old characters interact again made the film 100% worth it for me, and the new stories will make the next movies stand out. Hearing that music again… a re-hashed plot just allowed characters new and old to shine.
Luke did I ever tell you about uncle sheev? He was the supreme chancellor of the republic until he confessed to your dad that he was a SITH LORD. He turned your father to the dark side and made him kill younglings, then he had all the jedi assassinated and declared himself emperor. He was a good friend.
A gilb facsimile? Phew, thank goodness! I was expecting it to be a sleek simulacrum.
Or a complacent carbon copy?
I enjoyed the film for what it was, but also totally agree with the review above. Everything was overly familiar – the big surprises you can see from a galaxy away. It was entertaining, but a pretty simplistic film. Daisy Ridley was great as Rey, considering that (like all the characters in the movie) there’s not a lot in the script for her to go on. She conveyed a lot – even when dealt with some pretty cheesy dialogue!
Thank you for your sober and level-headed examination, Roger. In stating bluntly and clearly the level of reliance this film has on franchise nostalgia you have done a great service to many fans out there such as myself who did not expect Disney, Abrams, Kasdan, and their enablers to create a “Star Wars” mixtape, playing it safe by aping past iconography rather than attempting to expand the themes and mythology in any meaningful manner. For all Lucas’ missteps with the prequels, coincidences and weak plotting were not one of them. It’s clear he had a vision for the overall story and mythic themes. This sounds like nothing but fan service, coasting on what has come before. The Hutt eating its own tail. Hopefully Disney’s future “Star Wars” films will improve without Abrams at the helm.
Thank you for your sober and level-headed examination, Roger. In stating bluntly and clearly the level of reliance this film wedges on franchise nostalgia, you have done a great service to many fans out there such as myself who did not expect Disney, Abrams, Kasdan, and their enablers to create a “Star Wars original trilogy mixtape”, playing it safe by leaning on past iconography rather than attempting to expand the themes and mythology in any meaningful manner. For all Lucas’ missteps with the prequels, coincidences and weak plotting were not one of them. He never repeated himself either. It’s clear he had a vision for the overall story and mythic themes. This sounds like nothing but fan service, coasting on what has come before. The Hutt eating its own tail. Hopefully Disney’s future “Star Wars” films will improve without Abrams at the helm.
I completely agree. Even with the mask on, I found Kalo Ren not intimidating at all. I missed the edge Darth Vader had brought to the screen. After he took his helmet off the first time, all I kept thinking was why the heck did he wear it in the first place? I know tons of people will love this movie. But honestly for me, I almost walked out until Harrison Ford came on the screen.
I know, right?
Right. And if thus is going in the direction I think it is, the meet one will be a re-hash of, I’m your father. …
I’m more annoyed at the C3PO handling of Captain Phasma. I was expecting Brienne of Tarth with a helmet, instead we were given an incompetent and bumbling buffoon. The character’s exterior did not accurately represent its interior. I expected a character even more menacing than Kylo Ren. “I expected” seems to be the theme for this film.
Oh, and Max Von Sydow was criminally wasted in this abortion. Un f$%king believable.
You forgot the part where the supposedly “trained”, able to force push Rey through forests, rip information from peoples minds and create/wield a lightsaber, Kylo Ren was bested by a storm trooper janitor and his sidekick scavenger chick. I mean, does everyone in the new Star Wars universe now know how to sword fight?
To be honest I do not mind that you do not watch the movie through rose tinted glasses, but the review is not only biased it is also one big spoiler. For people actually trying to get a grasp of what to expect of the movie, or even just a review this is subjective piece riddled with spoilers who’s only effect is to ruin the movie for potential viewers… 😦
Its not biased. I’ve seen the movie and I think the same. This is an old tune played with much less meaningful lyrics. They counted on nostalgia blinded fans.
Mr Moore is entitled to his opinion of course but I enjoyed this film hugely and honestly thought this was spot on.
It’s right to say that there are several very familiar story elements in this however the atmosphere was present and correct and the practical effects were great to see.
I don’t agree with the Driver or Issac statements at all. Driver is playing a young student in this, still learning, unable to control his anger and I thought he played the conflict Ren goes through really well. Issac wasn’t in this enough for my liking but when he was I liked his character and how he played it.
I thought the writing and humour were superb with several points that made me smile like I was watching the old films for the first time again.
I get that Driver’s character is studying with Supreme Being. But he’s been given all this responsibility that he’s to manage through supernatural powers, experience. And MENACE. He lacks two of the three. Perhaps the problem was with First Order HR, and not casting. Ahem.
I generally agree with your review and still can’t believe a Death Star has been the end battle in 3 of the 4 movies.
However, I disagree regarding the villain. In fact, one of the rare script changes from A New Hope is having a fully developed villain whose flaw isnt just “my family is the good guy so this is going to be complicated”. Kylo Ren is powerful because of his abilities but also weak due to his petulance, which gives him actual depth. Adam Driver’s strength is that he portrays this well-developed villain perfectly. As for not being menacing compared to Vader, remember Darth Vader is the one who couldnt bring himself to kill a family member, which literally would have ended the Rebellion. As for his role in the First Order, I don’t see anyone else with his skill set so seems like he’s the fiercest they’ve got.
Thank you for this. The film had its moment, but overall I found it to be fan service at its worse. And I am a fan. Or at least used to be. This film may have put me off Star Wars forever. I give it 2/5.
Great review. All true – sad, but true. Nearly a week ago I expressed my concerns about the 7th episode and unfortunately almost all of them have been confirmed. https://reasonblade.wordpress.com/2015/12/11/7-reasons-why-episode-7-will-be-boring
What a good review, very astute and not a lot of brain-dead fanboys or the attention deficit teenagers will appreciate your refined opinion. I just saw the movie and im so disappointed – rehash,rehash,rehash and Kylo Ren wtf??? boring action scenes, shitty lightsaber battle and cowardly black guy. The nostalgia being cool doesnt make up for the fact that thsi should have been called STAR WARS : THE SNOREFEST AWAKENS. and didnt they learn from an angst anakin skywalker??
Your review confirms my suspicions about this film from the start.
J.J. Abrams is not an innovative filmmaker. He’s a talented mimic. Probably the best one in Hollywood. So when he was given the reins to the first sequel, I knew it was going to be a slickly produced, high budget nostalgia-fest.
Since he’s only producing the first sequel, I’m hoping that the subsequent directors do something other than paint by the numbers with the next two installments. Believe it or not, Mouse House, there are those of us who grew up with Star Wars who’d like to see something other than Skywalker family intrigue and recycled tropes in the Star Wars film universe.
What bothered me about the movie is that there’s no character build-up, the scenes that are suppose to be dramatic are just nonchalant. Sure, they’re predictable but at least make it good, make it more dramatic, exciting so the audience can connect with the characters or at least care about them. Instead, they’re just going thru the motions. A solid 2 out of 5 IMO.
I left the theater a few hours ago, and was disheartened by all the myopic praise TFA is receiving as people head to their cars.
Perhaps I went in feeling cynical, but I genuinely wanted the movie to be good. It wasn’t. The lapses in logic compound upon each other to such an extent that I was thoroughly removed from the adventure by the time the third act started.
Your review really nailed it. I appreciate your objectivity. You didn’t unnecessarily drag the film through the mud for the sake of being a dissenting voice. You fairly appraised what was offered on-screen: a somewhat stale retread of concepts we saw 30+ years ago that now appear to be served up less because they serve a story or character development, and more because a bunch of people will get to say, “This is like that scene in the original!”
The best thing you can say about this film is that it’s better than any of the prequels. Not high praise, by any means.
Saw the movie tonight, and you are 100 percent correct. Will there EVER be a non death star weapon used by this variant of the Empire?
I think this review will stand the test of time.
Any that takes Roger Moore’s review serious can’t be taken serious themselves. First of all, the guy has no class when he and Ebert liked Phantom Menace but don’t like this movie LOL. Come on man everyone should know not to trust At the Movies movie critics. You should know by now if moviegoers will like movie, Roger won’t. If its a boring movie that majority moviegoers won’t like this Dope Roger will like it. Well at least he went to see movie to review unlike Pierce Morgan who gave review without even seeing it.
Your review hits the nail right on the head. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars just for the nostalgia, but typical JJ Abrams. He screwed up Star Trek, so he had to rehash Star Wars as well. 10 minutes of iffy story line surrounded by way too many chase scenes. Plot holes and goofs, Its a typical Disney marketing ploy to stuff the franchise down the public’s throat and justify to stockholders the 4bn purchase. I was there in 1977 as a young teenage geeky girl who was amazed by what was scrolling across the screen, and an instant crush on Harrison Ford. Sure seeing Han and Chewy again, made the movie bearable, but so did the martini I drank as well. I’m all done with the franchise, there is no end to the forces of good or evil on screen or off.
Dark Side beware! Storm Trooper Janitor man and Scavenger Chick are coming to kick all your highly trained butts. Train all you want, build yourselves lightsabers, train in the dark side, or gather an army but you’ll be no match for our improvisational skills with a power we just discovered was all true 30 min. ago! Poor Luke, it took him 3 movies and twice training with a 900 year old/experienced teacher to master the force and lightsaber fighting but now we have Rey! Give her a pep talk by grampa solo that it’s real and she’ll master everything from mind manipulation to foresight and even lightsaber combat in 1.5 hrs! I mean, someone needs to fire Obi-wan and Yoda as teachers….Hire Han and just go around telling force sensitives “It’s true….. All of It” and boom, you got yourselves the new Jedi Order! Actually, as a history teacher I’m going to try that with my class next week. “Hey guys, you know what? History, its true…..all of it”…..(drops microphone walks to desk and sits the rest of the year). Rant aside, I’d give it 7/10 but man, how people didn’t see through some plot holes as large as that is beyond me.
This. It discredits all the training they emphasize in the other movies.
Dont forget when she fancily out-flew military pilots in the millennium falcon with no co-pilot and had no idea how to fly a plane?
They got a little too caught up in the feminist “girls can do it too” nonsense. It was ridiculous.
Thank you for having the courage to leave an honest review. I LOVED the originals (4,5,6), but I guess I cannot call myself a true Stars Wars fan since I walk into the theater with my critical mind still intact.
*If you’ve made it this far on the page, I’m going to assume that you heeded the spoiler warning already, though I don’t really consider any of the below to be spoilers*
First thing I noticed that didn’t feel right about this film was that I never felt apprehensive about the new leads’ chances of survival because they never truly seemed in trouble, especially when being chased by very fluid-looking, fake-looking CGI aliens and monsters. Daisy Ridley’s Rey seemed to have all the talents: pilot, Jedi-in-waiting and part MacGyver with her slight frame and skinny little arms that could match any man’s fighting strength (is “the Force” in play here?) while Finn’s personality didn’t seem to give much away in regards to the probable complicated inner conflict or PTSD that his childhood enslavement should have left with him with. Harrison Ford had to give a lot of lame one-liners, like “I like this guy!” and “I have bad feeling about this!.” He gave it his best effort, but appeared tired in a lot of scenes. And Carrie Fisher…seriously needs to lay off the botox. Her lips barely moved. She also didn’t get much to do or much screen time. (Girl power may be important in film’s today, but that usually only applies to white waif-ish twenty-something aged women, and sadly not someone over 40). A lot of the actors just seemed just giddy to be there, and the audience at my screening audibly groaned when Abrams’ “good luck charm” Greg Gunberg showed up in the third act. (Why JJ Abrams can’t just have him do smaller Stan-Lee-type cameos is beyond me…)
And the villians? Well, you have the petulant man-child as the reviewer mentioned, who doesn’t have the cold, calculating reaction to things not going his way like Vader did – he just slices everything up like a toddler having a tantrum. Then you have the entirely CGI-created mastermind Snook(ie?).
During the screening, I was caught in the wave of nostalgia and excitement from everyone in the crowd, but about thirty minutes later I was like, “Wait…What did I just watch?” As this film slowly starts to fade in my memory, I will probably get much of it confused with “A New Hope,” a far superior movie – for its time – with the main trio in their prime…a long time ago, in a galaxy that invested in character development and original plots, and seems – right now – indeed far, far away.
Probably the best review I’ve seen on the Internet. The reason everyone loves this movie so much is because it IS a reboot new hope. JJ took to safest route imaginable