Episode VII (spoilers)

[Clueless Morgan]

Gotta come back to this thread in the morning when I have time and consciousness to devote to putting my thoughts down and reading through the other posts.

I still think the light saber cross guard is stupid.

Ah! But it is not a cross-guard; it's power vents, because recent light saber technology was lost, and Kylo had to use an older design, and he supercharged it so much that if he didn't have extra holes for the power to escape it would explode!

... I think...

Whether it's a cross guard or power vents, I still think it's a dangerous design for a light saber. Knowing that it's meant to be vents mollifies me only slightly.

Okay, so I discovered a second thread discussing the movie with spoilers but I'm already here so I'm going to post my spoilerful review here. Things I won't discuss are technical aspects that are going on in the other thread like aspect ratios and cinematography and the like. I'm reviewing from the POV of a casual fan.

Story:

I enjoyed the overall story quite a bit. I can't remember exactly where in the movie I realized this but at some point once the movie got really under way I realized that the plot was basically a broad reenvisioning of ep IV, and once I made that realization the whole movie because predictable which made the scene between Han and Kylo not all that surprising, shocking, or dramatic. I saw it coming from a 100 miles off - like back when Leia told Han to bring home their son if he saw him. In that respect I'm glad I wasn't able to complete a rewatch of episodes I-VI before I saw this one (but I'm going to try before I go back and see it again )

Characters:

I enjoyed all the characters, but I had a difficult time relating to Rey. She seemed too emotionally distant at times for me to really connect with her, so I much more related to Finn as the character I wanted to follow through the movie. I'm hoping she becomes more relatable on either a second viewing or in episode VIII. I had no problem with the explanation as to why Finn, a black guy, could be a storm trooper - didn't bother me at all, but I did get shades of the Unsullied from him when he told the story about how he didn't have a name, he had a number and how he had been taken at a young age and taught to fight.

I really, really liked Poe and hope we get more of him in the coming episodes - he seemed kind of like the Han Solo of this movie, the charismatic guy who is not technically the main character but who you always want to see more of. I thought Harrison Ford did an okay job as Han Solo but I wasn't blown away by him or his performance. I assume Leia will remain in the next movies as a general and a sort of mother figure to Rey. I thought BB8 was adorable and, as I mentioned in the no-spoiler thread, expressive in a way that R2D2 could never be because of the way he(she?) moved and could cock his head. I really enjoyed him as a sort of update to R2D2.

I liked Kylo Ren as the baddie, and I liked that he took his helmet off - and then when he did I kept thinking he's a dark-haired Malfoy Maybe from the Bellatrix side of the family and not the Lucius side, but he's got the look. I had a difficult time with the head-honcho guy Kylo was supposed to be working for, tho. I thought he was cool and a good baddie, too, but I kept being confused as to whether he's really gigantic like that or if that was a factor of him being a hologram or something... I also really liked Captain Phasma in her silverized storm trooper outfit.

CGI and Action:

Unlike the people in the other spoiler thread, I thought the CGI was well done and can't think of an example where it was gratuitous or overdone. I thought the battles were well done (if not predictable: see the exhaust port runs from VI and V ) and I thought the saber dual between Kylo and Rey was nice and vicious. I thought the x-wing/tie fighter battles were cool and I thought those made the price of the 3D ticket worth it (for the one time I'll see it in 3D)

Comedy and Callbacks:

I thought this aspect of the movie was handled really artfully. Unlike I-III where there were gags for the sake of gags and pandering to little kids, I thought the comedic moments were folded into the storytelling really well. The couple I can think of are when Finn comes into the town on Jakkku and is desperate for water and shares the watering hole with the big-nosed animal, and toward the end when the gang is trying to figure out what to do with Phasma and Han asks if there's a trash compactor. Great moment and excellent use of a callback to the earlier movies, even tho I think it was spoiled a little by an earlier discovery about Finn working for sanitation on the planet. And, as I said previously, BB8 was cute and expressive and had some nice little comedic character moments that were endearing and funny but not pandering to the lowest common denominator (or age).

My general impression of the movie was that it kept up a pretty good pace, there seemed to be a good scene/sequel balance and a decent action/relief balance, but I did think it felt a little long toward the end.

Overall, I really enjoyed the movie. For being in the category of big-budget hollywood blockbusters I gave it a 4.75/5, and as a general movie with no genre caveats or other qualifiers I'd give it a solid 4/5.