Read Mixed User Reviews for Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

6

CaptiosusDec 20, 2015

I walked into the theater very excited. From all accounts, it looked like Abrams was treating this franchise with a high amount of reverence. I also really liked the idea of a Stormtrooper who regained his independence, breaking free of theI walked into the theater very excited. From all accounts, it looked like Abrams was treating this franchise with a high amount of reverence. I also really liked the idea of a Stormtrooper who regained his independence, breaking free of the groupthink brainwashing. When I left the theater 2.5 hours later, I was completely deflated.

Ultimately the movie felt like a checklist of nostalgia items being ticked off of a page rather than attempting something new. The entire plot is the exact same as Episode 4 (so much so that there is a MadLibs style image floating around the net showing how one can transpose names and have the exact same film). Lightsaber battles, check. TIE fighter versus X-Wing big battle sequence, check. Fascist gestapo imagery, check.

Since Abrams and Kasdan didn't bother with any meaningful backstory on the last 30 years of the Galaxy, the Republic, the Resistance, and the First Order were hollow plot devices. Kylo Ren didn't evoke any emotion from me as a villain should, he simply seemed cliche, a milquetoast villain who is bad simply because we're told he's bad. Bad storytelling, poor pacing, nonexistent character development, and frenetic cinematography. Harrison Ford really carries the middle part of the film with his reprisal of Han Solo.

When the honeymoon period wears off, I have a feeling more people will realize this movie is mediocre (much like they did with Phantom Menace, which also got rave reviews early on). As we left, I turned to my wife and said, "Disney obliterated all of the expanded universe for THAT?" There were tons of better post-RotJ books that could have been adapted into a new trilogy but now they're all 'erased', replaced with this poor shell of a movie.… Expand

14 of 31 users found this helpful1417

All this user's reviews

6

WakkoJan 2, 2016

Decent Star Wars movie. Would have rather seen Lucas' production; not JJ Abrams. Lucas tells a story. Abrams sells you a pretty picture so quickly that you have to watch it a few times to make sure you didn't miss it; which was prettyDecent Star Wars movie. Would have rather seen Lucas' production; not JJ Abrams. Lucas tells a story. Abrams sells you a pretty picture so quickly that you have to watch it a few times to make sure you didn't miss it; which was pretty shallow in this movie and a repeat / mash up of Star Wars New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi.

The worst part is that JJ Abrams literally pisses all over the old Star Wars without most people realizing it. His super terror of this movie wipes out EVERYTHING the previous movies did while repeating it in a very boring fashion.

Return of the Jedi was the end of the Empire and a sign of peace and home for the Star Wars universe.

This movie basically feels like a cop out repeat of Star Trek without the time travel to reset the universe to do what he wanted to do.

FYI, Kylo Ren comes off as being a cry baby throwing temper tantrums instead of a villain. Darth Vader had control of his sinister self in a very malicious way that inspired fear from the start. Kylo Ren makes me want to smack the dweeb upside the head.

Its entertaining, its pretty, its enjoyable. It's what you expect from JJ Abrams. It is not a George Lucas production.… Expand

20 of 34 users found this helpful2014

All this user's reviews

6

ZzgashiMay 6, 2016

A plain, boring, and inoffensive movie that lacks any of excitement or surprise of the originals. It's only ambition is to prove how much it fits in by re-using themes.

4 of 10 users found this helpful46

All this user's reviews

6

SpectralAnubisDec 26, 2015

Star Wars: Episode VII will clearly go down as one of the best box office successes. It is very evident, why too. Consumers eat this level of brand up. Is it a "good" movie though? I'd argue it has merit, yet most of movie viewing is entirelyStar Wars: Episode VII will clearly go down as one of the best box office successes. It is very evident, why too. Consumers eat this level of brand up. Is it a "good" movie though? I'd argue it has merit, yet most of movie viewing is entirely subjective. Will it satisfy, your inner geek and lover of space adventure? Yes, it will. Will it satisfy your craving for the Star Wars franchise? Probably, but pieces of you will be disappointed or entirely jaded. Episode VII is one part episode IV and one part episode V, with a dash of unexpectedness laced in.

It does have a nostalgic feel in minor parts. There are obvious hints and throwbacks to the original titles. However, it doesn't overwhelm you. The plot is a mashup, with not a lot of substance or filling. Numerous scenes seemed rushed, not that they weren't acted or shot correctly. Just it lacked information, it was moving faster than should have been. I'll frame it as a reboot, which has potential to be stronger than it's predecessors. The series going forwards, has a good deal of upside.

I give it a 6 out of 10. I recommend a viewing, if your a fan of Star Wars or not. Take it for what it is.… Expand

14 of 33 users found this helpful1419

All this user's reviews

6

mixxalotJan 24, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I just saw it after reading all the negative reviews.

First the good

1. Special effects and see new characters and old. The actress who played Rey was good.
2. I liked the new BB robot droid he was cool.
Now what knocked off a few stars:

1. Complete rehash of Star Wars A New Hope Episode IV. Nothing original.
2. Fake in that Rey could pilot the Falcon and fix it better than Solo with zero training or experience!
3. Lame how Rey could fight better with a light saber and use force powers with no Jedi training!
4. Harrison Ford was a major letdown as Han Solo. He did poor job acting and looked like he did not even want to be in the movie!

5. Lame end with Luke and Rey stare at each other with no words spoken that sucked.

6. Villain was weak and Kylo Ren could have been better if he never removed his mask!

7. Stormtrooper guy Finn was out of place in the movie.

I paid $6 for matinee but probably won't watch it again. Disney and Jar Jar Abrams ruined Star Wars!… Expand

16 of 63 users found this helpful1647

All this user's reviews

6

podunk411Dec 22, 2015

Solid 6 out of 10. Shocked at the rehashed story (pretty much ripped wholesale from the prequels) and endless plot holes. Because you've seen this story before (ahem) none of the story moves are surprising-- you see every move coming. TheSolid 6 out of 10. Shocked at the rehashed story (pretty much ripped wholesale from the prequels) and endless plot holes. Because you've seen this story before (ahem) none of the story moves are surprising-- you see every move coming. The acting was great (given the material) and there are some really great moments, it's just too bad J.J. Abrams & the writers couldn't come together on a more original script. This script feels written by the Disney marketing team. I still had fun watching TFA though, even if the nostalgia is a big part of it.… Expand

8 of 20 users found this helpful812

All this user's reviews

6

RemmuDec 22, 2015

+ Good acting and good actors, apart from a few. + Nice video effects. - Old trilogy story re-skinned. - Random unexplained parts, which I really hope will be addressed in the other movies. Right now it seems the only way to know important+ Good acting and good actors, apart from a few. + Nice video effects. - Old trilogy story re-skinned. - Random unexplained parts, which I really hope will be addressed in the other movies. Right now it seems the only way to know important parts of the story, which weren't mentioned in the movie, is by reading the comics. And making comics mandatory to get the bigger picture is just not fair for the viewer who just hopes to see a great move.… Expand

46 of 77 users found this helpful4631

All this user's reviews

6

ReginthornDec 18, 2015

The Force Awakens is an excellent Star Wars movie. Does the film have a ton of flaws? You bet! I made the mistake of watching it the first time round as a critic. The second viewing was more enjoyable as I realized I was having a blastThe Force Awakens is an excellent Star Wars movie. Does the film have a ton of flaws? You bet! I made the mistake of watching it the first time round as a critic. The second viewing was more enjoyable as I realized I was having a blast despite them. The good elements of the film far outweigh the bad. The Force Awakens proves that the franchise has a future. In short, please do yourself a favor and see it.… Expand

7 of 39 users found this helpful732

All this user's reviews

6

guyweknowJan 14, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First off, congratulations, Star Wars, on reaching adulthood. From the opening shots, one cannot miss that the franchise is under the Iron fist in a three fingered glove management of Disney, not LucasFilm; there is no doubt that it will be handled with the same careful nurturing that managed to husband the tiny shoots of diverse 19th century fairytales into unstoppable GMOs of worldwide marketing. Abrams successfully puts Star Wars back on the main line to tons of future stories. By the end of the movie we introduced a new generation of bold characters (Finn and Rey) and dispatched old storylines with prejudice. We have no more Jar Jar; no more Yoda, no more Obiwan, no more Qui-Jon. In fact, and more on this later, aside from the main opposition characters, no master figures at all who aren’t related to the bloodline.
As one might expect, SW:TFA does have a real identity crisis. Is it a reboot, a sequel or a retirement tour? It’s asked to serve all three masters so ends up a bit of each, which makes it feel torn in different directions. It does give a very loving sendoff to all the old characters. And, I mean all of them. They managed to tip the cap to every race and minor character that the writers thought the audience could even vaguely stand* (who knew that the Cantina band had gone Reggae?) even if they had to herd them into one shot together so they could all take a bow without chewing up any storyline (I’m looking at you, former Admiral, now 5th spearcarrier from the left, Akbar). Come on, R2D2 was literally rusting in the corner and got woken up for one scene just to bleep goodbye.
Others have observed as well, and I agree, with the innumerable look and feel ‘tributes’ this film gives to the original - lines, shots, visuals, music cues, sound effects, in every scene. I had to overcome the feeling that SW:TFA writers were rummaging around in my emotional pockets trying to scrape together enough loose change to buy them a genuine nostalgia for the original SW, back before the dark times, before the prequels. But, I suppose thankfully, it became so routine by the middle of the movie that I became numb to it.
Abrams also wastes no time in advancing the story, delving not a jot into the interior life of the characters, except in the most cursory way with Kylo Ren, which is both good and bad. Star Wars is at its best a good rollicking adventure - short on planning ahead, long on diving in.
However, I am not alone, I hope, in noticing that the only sources of conflict in the latest two Star Wars movies are child figures who are possessed by the dark side of the force in what seems to amount not to the telling of a grand monomyth of oedipal conflict but rather to their teenage snits over how their parents didn’t like them. I commented on this in re Episode III, but Kylo Ren in SW:TFA seems to suffer from it also. Doesn’t the galaxy have any pressing problems other than parents who are a pain in the ass?**
As an aside, since this looks like the last hurrah for all the old actors, will the character of ex-princess Leia of Alderaan disappear before her legacy is explained? As we follow all the plot, the other Skywalkers leave a legacy, either good or bad, in the next generation. What about Leia? For instance, between Mr and Mrs Solo, who is more likely to have turned young Kylo on to the Dark Side? Han, who despite his protestations, as played by Harrison Ford, doesn’t have a mean bone in his body and runs rather than fighting, or Leia, who as played by Carrie Fisher, practically claws everyone’s face off in every scene where she appears. Leia actually has some motivation for Dark Side revenge too. She actually had a planet shot out from under her adopted family (well, even her whole adopted culture) by the Empire, now under new management as the First Order. Speaking of misses, it is notable when Poe Dameron who seemed to have some promise as the swashbuckling replacement for Han Solo disappears off screen, only to turn up half the movie later without more than a brief explanation. Shades of Biggs and Wedge, I guess X-wing pilots don’t deserve screen time except when attacking large round death stars, uh, death planets.
Overall, not too bad. And, yes, JJ Abrams is much better suited to do Star Wars bang-bang than ponderous Star Trek man-man-vulcan love. Sure, lots of rehash of the old, but we expected that. On the up side, this movie opens the door for some good stories if the writers can take advantage, especially to create new situations and characters in the Star Wars universe. The open question is still, by time this series has gone the full nine innings, and credit to my wife for this quote: “Will it be anything more than ‘At Home with the Skywalkers’”?
[*] Sorry, Jar Jar, or is that Darth Jar Jar?
[**] Perhaps it is the writers’ opinion that the Skywalker men are simply whiny **** but I suppose teen angst will fit right in with the Disney model.… Expand

7 of 20 users found this helpful713

All this user's reviews

6

irongamerDec 30, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What this movie did right was to bring back the theme and feel of the original films. What I didn't like about the movie is the use of almost identical plot mechanism as the previous movies. If you have not seen the originals it may feel like more fresh scifi.

I wasn't expecting much when I went. This usually allows me to leave the theater having been pleasantly surprised that the movie was better than expected. Unfortunately I left the theater disappointed by this film. This was not the fresh scifi I was looking for. The next director is said to be more risky, perhaps then we will have a truly new Star Wars adventure in the setting of the originals.… Expand

12 of 20 users found this helpful128

All this user's reviews

6

skykappahJan 21, 2016

I came out of the cinema with the same feeling as when I finished watching The Phantom Menace.... It's questionable if TFA is even better than the prequels. It is entertaining, though it feels empty. There's lots of lazy writing, convenientI came out of the cinema with the same feeling as when I finished watching The Phantom Menace.... It's questionable if TFA is even better than the prequels. It is entertaining, though it feels empty. There's lots of lazy writing, convenient situations and plot devices.

Having gone in thinking JJ would make his own Star Wars film, I didn't expect it to be an embarrassing re-tread of episode 4, a bit of Empire Strikes Back and others. If I knew TFA was going to be like that... Then I'd have actually wanted to see what Lucas would have done with it. JJ didn't make this his own film... He borrowed heavily from Lucas.

On positive ide there's a lot of visual goodness in this and the new characters are on the whole, are likeable. Daisy Ridley is the best thing about the whole movie. She fits into the universe like a glove. Oscar Isaac was seriously under used and his character, Poe should really have been the costar. Not enough of Poe at all. Kylo Ren, Adam Driver was basically an emo Darth Vader. Finn, played by John Boyega was the usual slightly bumblesome male character... I'm on the fence about Fin. We'll have to see if he gets better in the next film. As for seeing Han Solo and Leia? Hmm... it was weird.... I thought I'd get quite emotional, I did not. It's got to be the writing...

So yeah the lazy and convenient (at times perplexing) writing totally knocks off a good portion of the score from me... Above average at best.… Expand

27 of 64 users found this helpful2737

All this user's reviews

6

emirbudDec 29, 2015

Yes, there are cons, but there are pros as well. Let's deal with the cons first:
1. It is not very original. There are too many similarities to New Hope.
2. Learning curve for these new heroes is way too steep. They acquire skills too fast.Yes, there are cons, but there are pros as well. Let's deal with the cons first:
1. It is not very original. There are too many similarities to New Hope.
2. Learning curve for these new heroes is way too steep. They acquire skills too fast. This is my biggest objection to this movie, however the story would not work without it, or there would have to be other characters involved.
3. Too many unanswered questions. I understand they do not wish to reveal everything in one movie, but at times it feels like the sole purpose of this movie is to serve as teaser for sequels.
4. Action is back to the level of episodes 4, 5, and 6 (not even 6).
5. The new Sith lord is not very impressive (at least compared to the Emperor). He looks like alien who crashed on Earth and got hit on the head with an axe by a villager (which is what the people of my village used to do whenever aliens visited)
Other than that, I have no major objections. And for the pros:
1. Han Solo and Chewbacca.
2. Finn is funny and likable new character, and he works out well with Han Solo.
3. Rey is pretty, when she's not trying too hard to act with intense emotions
4. No Hayden Christensen or Natalie Portman. Their screen time in parts 1 through 3 was one of the worst movie experiences ever.
5. No Jar Jar Binks or the like.
6. The new droid is adorable. I love the way it climbs down the stairs. I'd love to see R2D2 try that.
if this was the first Star Wars movie ever, it could have been much more impressive. We've just had too much of the Star Wars Universe in the past, and expectations were seriously high.
Here is how I would list/rate Star Wars movies starting with the best:
1. Empire Strikes Back
2. Hew Hope
3. Revenge of the Sith (Oooh if it wasn't for Portman and Christensen, this one would be number 1)
4. The Force Awakens
5. Return of the Jedi
6. Phantom Menace
7.Clone Wars
I only wish the technology had been available when they made parts 4, 5, 6 to make the action and special effects better. Yoda fighting and other action scenes are the only reasons I even acknowledge Clone Wars and Phantom Menace.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

6

DecoyAug 9, 2019

Kind of ok start of a new series, but it was not great at all. The next movies could have build upon this movie, but they got much much worse.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

6

Will_RJan 10, 2016

It was visually pretty awesome. But as far as the story goes, it basically copy-pasted the plot from A New Hope and combined that with a nostalgic trip, reintroducing old characters. It seemed that everything was underdeveloped - characters,It was visually pretty awesome. But as far as the story goes, it basically copy-pasted the plot from A New Hope and combined that with a nostalgic trip, reintroducing old characters. It seemed that everything was underdeveloped - characters, dialogue, and the overall storyline. And in some ways, it came off as more of a big, blockbuster action movie than a genuine Star Wars film. Since I had pretty high expectations for a new Star Wars movie, I came away disappointed. I just wished that they had tried to be more original and used their imaginations some more on this one. One thing I really did enjoy though was BB-8 - I thought it was a really cute and clever character!… Expand

12 of 25 users found this helpful1213

All this user's reviews

6

LivingonairDec 19, 2015

If you turn your memory off and forget that you ever saw the first original star wars from '77, then I would give this movie an 8. However, as someone who is a fan of the original and saw the original movie recently, this is basically aIf you turn your memory off and forget that you ever saw the first original star wars from '77, then I would give this movie an 8. However, as someone who is a fan of the original and saw the original movie recently, this is basically a remake being passed off as a sequal. Although I enjoyed the movie, several times throughout the movie I kept saying "are you kidding me?", as one plot point after another was painfully recycled from the original. Basically in summary, this was a clever and well done remake of the original, and an over the top attempt at fan nastalgia. I doubt J.J. Abrams had anything to do with the script and feel that he did an excellent job of working with what he had. The makers of this movie played it very safe by recycling many plot points of the first star wars script, and took a gamble that they would still make a huge amount of money, and of course they will be proven right. Even though it completely lacks originality, it's still an enjoyable film that I'll probably see again a year or two from now when it comes out as a rental.… Expand

19 of 32 users found this helpful1913

All this user's reviews

6

meediocreJan 8, 2016

A thrilling and fun movie, but riddled with so many copycat moments, same-old plot developments and implausible scenarios, that you can't help feeling that Disney, like the recent Battlefront game, have tried to appeal the broadcast possibleA thrilling and fun movie, but riddled with so many copycat moments, same-old plot developments and implausible scenarios, that you can't help feeling that Disney, like the recent Battlefront game, have tried to appeal the broadcast possible audience - there's nothing original or interesting about this new film, but it is pretty entertaining I suppose.… Expand

14 of 32 users found this helpful1418

All this user's reviews

6

Mak54291Dec 22, 2015

6.5

Good movie and well made: Nice cgi and sound. Music is also good. But repetitive story considering the past movies and extreme luck to a lot of people.

7 of 16 users found this helpful79

All this user's reviews

6

Elf-HealerDec 19, 2017

Now with the release of The Last Jedi the first part of the so-called "Modern trilogy" makes even less sense. The excitement of finding map which leads to Luke just vanished, and the beginnings of Rey and Finn are now useless as thisNow with the release of The Last Jedi the first part of the so-called "Modern trilogy" makes even less sense. The excitement of finding map which leads to Luke just vanished, and the beginnings of Rey and Finn are now useless as this characters, according to The Last Jedi, serve just as a bland fillers. Still, The Force Awakens is promising attempt, if you just divide it from its sequel. Not because a lot of original characters appear as a beautiful nostalgia moment, but because it has quite consisted plot and is full of mysteries, which, unfortunately, will never find their passion in the 8th installment. Jedi are dead, and now you can see the emptiness of hope of the 7th episode in its full scale.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

All this user's reviews

6

DemoraseDec 20, 2015

You can choose to be bitter and complain that it's too much like A New Hope or just enjoy what this new SW movie has to offer. The new characters are fantastic, the acting is on point, the effects are a pleasure for the eyes, with CGI that'sYou can choose to be bitter and complain that it's too much like A New Hope or just enjoy what this new SW movie has to offer. The new characters are fantastic, the acting is on point, the effects are a pleasure for the eyes, with CGI that's not overdone, and I for one can't wait for Ep VIII or even Rogue One next year. Star Wars is back guys, just let it in!… Expand

9 of 42 users found this helpful933

All this user's reviews

6

LionheartedDec 19, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The writing was was pretty bad, I felt what killed it was the pellet-bar-mashing pace as if every expected member of the audience was supposed to have the attention span of a Goldfish. While George Lucas wasn't here to photobomb every scene with a 5-year old (Jah Jah), his legacy of dismal un-pruned writing lived on.
I didn't mind Han Solo dying at the hand of his son (Kylo Ren), it was actually an excellent choice, and I didn't mind the somewhat cartoony characters, what I minded the lack of development of the characters with almost sole exception to the Poe and Finn together. I minded the complete disservice to Han lacking any new development before offing him unceremoniously.
The chemistry between Finn and Rey seemed completely forced as well, no sparks at all.
In fact the best character development of the entire movie was the final 30 seconds of silence ...

The other thing is if you are going to create a story, create one that has at least some "believability" behind it. The reasoning behind the entire movie was so thin as to completely dismiss that there ever was a history behind this Episode at all. Useless plot, and unnecessary insertion into the Star Wars universe indeed.

Furthermore it wasn't just that the pacing was terrible, it just didn't feel like Star Wars because of the lack of emphasis on the Star Wars unearthly howls and mechanical wonderment, JJ almost completely railroaded this essential portion of the Star Wars "feel". There was an attempt with a canteena scene *nod* and BB-88 was fun! But just not enough to offset the spoonfed (for who knows what commercial reason the original Star Wars didn't spoon feed anything) writing.

I did like this movie better than the new Star Treks, at least it had the good taste to kill great characters instead of murdering them through poorly conceived re-writes. And I would actually go see this movie again .. if it were free.… Expand

19 of 37 users found this helpful1918

All this user's reviews

6

EludiumQ36Dec 26, 2015

Dammit, I understand all the Episode IV rip-off criticism now that I've seen it. And Harrison Ford at 73 and Carrie Fisher at a rough-looking 59 are to be commended for their capacity to appear but their presence only served to bolster theDammit, I understand all the Episode IV rip-off criticism now that I've seen it. And Harrison Ford at 73 and Carrie Fisher at a rough-looking 59 are to be commended for their capacity to appear but their presence only served to bolster the criticism that VII leans too much on IV/VI. And though "the force awakens" in newcomer Rey, it all came a bit too easy to her - in fact the scene where she realizes she has Mental Persuasion - quickly descends into self-parody. And of course it follows that Rey is "a new hope", and dollars-to-donuts, with the Rebels', er Resistance's win, Episode VIII will parallel "The Empire Strikes Back" with the First Order recovering and having another go at the Resistance. The orig trilogy ended in '83 with "Return of the Jedi", so we all hoped that given a biblically long 32 year wait, our socks would be knocked off with a set of sequels (most of us want to forget the prequels). Instead, it appears the new set is cut from the same cloth as the old. Sure they'll all make their billions of dollars and rate 6 or 7 of 10, but it sure would've been great to have a set of 9s or 10s like Eps IV and V. JJ Abrams could've done this but it's like he held back, like he felt culture-bound to replicate rather than innovate, too bad.… Expand

26 of 45 users found this helpful2619

All this user's reviews

6

ShermosDec 16, 2016

While I did enjoy TFA, it felt far too much like a rehash of the original film. JJ Abrams and Lucasfilm needed to have the courage to take a risk, and try something new. The character Rey is almost a text book example of a Mary Sue. I can'tWhile I did enjoy TFA, it felt far too much like a rehash of the original film. JJ Abrams and Lucasfilm needed to have the courage to take a risk, and try something new. The character Rey is almost a text book example of a Mary Sue. I can't go into why too much without spoiling the film, but if you think back to the learning process Luke Skywalker went through to get to where he was at the end of the Trilogy, you'll see that Rey is just too good and competent considering that she has never had any pilot or jedi training (the film didn't tell us so at least).… Expand

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

All this user's reviews

6

dc127Dec 21, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I went in with very mixed expectations. The prequels set the bar so abysmally low that almost any movie put on the screen would be received with universal praise. The early reviews of the movie were exactly that, universally praising the film. After leaving the theater on opening night (woo hoo 7pm rather than midnight early releases) I was . . . underwhelmed. The film is visually spectacular and has some amazing scenes in it. Finn, Poe, and Kylo are great new characters. Han is amazing. Rey is convincing as a tough but torn individual but I hated that she is just a cypher that can literally do anything. Individuals rating the film as an 9 or 10 must have seen a completely different film than I did.

The Force Awakens opens with Poe seeking a piece of a map to Luke Skywalker from a mysterious figure on the planet Jakku. Not surprisingly the Empire, I mean Nazi's, I mean The First Order shows up disrupting Poe's plansn. The map ends up in the hands of BB8, and it is up to this little plucky droid to complete the mission. Along the way he picks up a rough and table individual who is unknowingly strong in the force and they fly around in the Millennium Falcon a lot.

Does this sound familiar a bit? This is one of the most glaring problems with the film. 90% of the movie is a retread from the previous film. I mean there is even a trench run by x-wings on a death star. Wait I mean Starkiller base. Too often the movie goes beyond fan service to downright lazy writing.

The second think that struck me the wrong way is that a good 30-40% of the film is simply setting up FUTURE films. While I like a coherent narrative, I should be able to watch a movie on its own. Who are Rey's parents? Is she Luke's kid? Why did Ben turn to the dark side? Is Snoke a Sith? How did the lightsaber get into that trunk? Why did the New Republic allow the First Order to rise? Who are the Knights of Ren? Who is Max Von Sydow's character? How is Ren able to fly a ship, fix everything, wield a lightsaber against a more heavily trained (and evil) force user. I was having flashbacks to LOST. You can introduce some unanswered questions, but the movie just had too many. Disney/Abrams clearly have gone all out on maximizing the franchise rather than making sure this movie made sense in its own right.

Check it out, but keep your expectations in check.… Expand

14 of 30 users found this helpful1416

All this user's reviews

6

fluxmulderDec 22, 2015

This movie is basically a remake of A New Hope. Kylo Ren = Darth Vader, Rey = Luke, Starkiller Base = Death Star Looking for Luke = Looking for Obi Wan. There's also too much reliance on nostalgia. Get ready for spurts of fanservice ever 15This movie is basically a remake of A New Hope. Kylo Ren = Darth Vader, Rey = Luke, Starkiller Base = Death Star Looking for Luke = Looking for Obi Wan. There's also too much reliance on nostalgia. Get ready for spurts of fanservice ever 15 minutes or so. Oh look, there's the Milenium Falcon. Oh look, it's C3PO and R2D2. Oh look, the cave sequence from Dagobah, except in the basement of a bar. The new characters are ok. Rey was the strongest of the 3 new protagonists, but didn't really shine until the last quarter of the movie. The returning cast were great, especially Han Solo, who I felt carried most of the movie. The visual effects and sound were excellent all around. They mostly used practical effects and it looks much better than the CGI fest that was the prequels. For the next one: less reliance on old characters and tropes. Give us something new.… Expand

12 of 21 users found this helpful129

All this user's reviews

6

ReubenIsAGodDec 18, 2015

So, after seeing the Last jedi, I kinda decided to go back and rewatch all the star wars flicks to see if my opinions on them have changed. K, so The Force Awakens. Ehhhh, I do love the new Characters that are introduced. In fact, the firstSo, after seeing the Last jedi, I kinda decided to go back and rewatch all the star wars flicks to see if my opinions on them have changed. K, so The Force Awakens. Ehhhh, I do love the new Characters that are introduced. In fact, the first half of this film is actually pretty fantastic the way it introduces all these new characters. And I Do think it was a great decision, and a very safe one, to basically do a sort of soft re-bootesc sequel to the original Star Wars film. But it lacks os much personality, it doesn't stand out, it is awfully bland. And on repeat watches, its clear to see that it's just trying its hardest to please the fans. Which is fine, but idk, the shots are awfully bland, cinematography is visually stock standard. Its okay. Not great. But okay. Also it does underuse a lot of the new characters, particular Poe. I kinda think, the best way to look at this starting point, is basically just an intro. Its alright, its passable, but hopefully as the album or series progresses it becomes much more dynamic and interesting.… Expand

13 of 46 users found this helpful1333

All this user's reviews

6

MrInkyDec 24, 2015

Modern remake of first Star Wars movie Different name but same movie with updated cast. If you are 10-20 years old new great movie, over 50 waste of time snd money

13 of 23 users found this helpful1310

All this user's reviews

6

MooseSpoonDec 18, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This film had a lot of hype. Sadly it could nkt live up to the hype. The problem is this time the hype wasn't purely fan made. A solid addition to the star wars franchise but not without serious issues. This is essentially A New Hope with a different cast and setting

THE GOOD:
The nostalgia brought on by the original cast gives people who have seen the other movies a warm feeling. Things get wrapped up quite well and an aged cast seems to pick up where they left off

Poe and Finn had amazing chemistry. From the moment they met it was clear they would be a good pair. Even when they were apart, they were commanding of the screen. Hopefully they show up more.

Beautiful landscapes, great technology, some good battles.

BB-8. Love that droid. Figuratively.

THE BAD:

For all the nostalgia, we never see the old cast together.

Rey. A girl out of nowhere magically starts understanding jedi powers and using a lightsaber in combat against a trained opponent. While she is acted well, she is poorly written and ends up being a "mary sue" character. All her successes come off as oddly convenient rather than actual skill.

Poe and Damaron need more time on screen together.

Kylo Ren. A sith with daddy and grand daddy issues that for all his bravado cant seem to beat a girl untrained in the force or combat. While pride makes a good downfall, his roguish nature often goes against the empire he serves and inconveniences his master.

Starkiller base. A death star with multiple beams but the same relative weakness? Really? Humorous but just really convenient and overused. The problem with the old deathstar was a small port, so why not make a big port?

The resistance must be full of genius pilots. Somehow a handful of pilots can handle an imperial fleet. If that is the case, then why not just destroy the empire entirely?

Captain Phasma. I expect her to come back with a vengeance, but her character was comical and underwhelming. The leader of a military force so easily compromised seems poor choice.

The ease of killing imperial officers makes them like red shirts in star trek.

Han solo's death. I expected a better death for such an interesting character. A rogue smuggler letting his guard down for his son in a moment of family weakness. Care to explain how a guy who left his family behind all of the suddenly became a family man?… Expand

37 of 70 users found this helpful3733

All this user's reviews

6

Cognizant1Jan 5, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If I didn't see this movie on the IMAX 3D Screen my rating would have been lower.
Special Effects: 9
Directing: 7 1/2 to 8
Writing: 6
Plot: Disjointed mess
I would just like to say that this is an opinion of someone who grew up in the 70's. I saw the movies while I was young and still love the originals. I had almost every toy from Millennium Falcon to the Ewok village. Tons of figures and friends who loved Star Wars. Sure, I was a little let down by the prequels Jar Jar but the "Story Plot" still held True and Firm the Star Wars Canon. Also, some of the actors weren't my favorite or first choice either.
I think the people who say this movie was great are the people who just want to see Character's, space, space vehicles and anything that has to do with Star Wars even if it doesn't have that great of writing or hold true to the Star Wars story or just starting of a new one.
**Some what of a Spoiler Alert!**
The movie felt like it needed to put in something a little something from 4,5,6. Comedy felt forced in and some reunions felt awkward(like meeting for the first time) and with some lousy dialogue.Also, when someone trains in anything it takes a while to become good. Yes, there are people who have natural talents, but to do something that takes a long time train to do just doesn't add up.
Might of worked better if it was shown that said person slowly notices things when younger and try's things little by little.
***Major Spoiler Don't read further if you haven't seen the Movie!!***
Would have been better to know more about Kylo-Ren's past. Or even the 2 main protagonist's story of growing up and the Republic's response to the new threat.
If they started the movie maybe 10 to 15yrs after Vader's Death
How does someone best a person who has been training as a Jedi since they were 5.?????
I don't have the time but this movie could have been better.… Expand

24 of 38 users found this helpful2414

All this user's reviews

6

SergeantSozDec 25, 2015

Since this is Episode 7, I wanted to give it a 7 but just couldn't do it. Actually the movie is pretty decent. I was going in expecting it to be way worse but you could tell they put a lot of money in the budget, except for the writing.Since this is Episode 7, I wanted to give it a 7 but just couldn't do it. Actually the movie is pretty decent. I was going in expecting it to be way worse but you could tell they put a lot of money in the budget, except for the writing. Honestly is there any Star Wars movie with decent dialogue. Also the movie relied on bringing back old characters to let nostalgia make the movie better than it seems. So as far as the pros go, the CG looked really good and the overall story and setup for the next movies was good.

I want to give this episode a 7 out of 10, but I’m going to be brutally honest. The movie was good, but not great. I’ll keep this organized and list the good and the bad. The good – great action and special effects, nostalgic old characters, music and cinematography. The bad – new characters, lame villain, and bad writing.
Good: This is a good Star Wars movie. I would rank it in the middle below Episode 3, 5, and 6. That means it’s better than the films of the first trilogies so this one is off to a great start. The action, sound, and special effects are all suburb. Obviously they had a blank check because this is easily a billion dollar movie.
Bad: So this is a billion dollar movie but they couldn’t hire a decent writer? Honestly I can’t think of any Star Wars movie with good acting or writing. Usually the acting is terrible. This time around it’s mostly ok but my biggest problem with this movie is Fin. No I don’t hate him because he’s black. I hate him because he does not convince me that he trained his whole life to be a storm trooper. The guy is fidgety and always sucking wind (Like Jack from Lost – maybe it’s a JJ Abrams thing?). Every line that comes out of his mouth is corny. This isn’t the actors fault. It’s the writers. They clearly did not put any effort into this character. He’s just flat awful. Most of the dialogue feels forced. The conversations don’t seem natural and it seems the actors are just taking turns saying their lines. The film has plenty of one-liners and not a single chuckle in the movie theater occurred. You want a movie writer who knows how to come up with dialogue, go see Hateful Eight, because Tarantino is excellent at that. The second new character is Rey, the girl who falls prey to the cliché strong female protagonist who single handedly can take down an army of guys who were trained their entire life with a weapons she’s never even used before. She is hot though and her accent is sexy. Lastly the villain Kilo Ren or whatever is one of the weakest villains I’ve seen. I’ll wrap it up with this one question. So Fin is a Stormtrooper and he has no problem aiming a gun but every single other Stormtrooper can’t hit the broad side of the barn? The Hobbit had the same problem. The good guys cut down hordes of enemies like butter with no opposition. For the next Star Wars movies, I want to see some real WAR! The beginning of Episode 3 is what I’m talking about. Still to this day, that was one of the most exciting scenes ever.
I know I complained a lot, but go ahead and see it. Everyone is. Just hang in there until Chewy and Han Solo arrive. Then it gets good, because like I said, Fin is terrible.… Expand

7 of 17 users found this helpful710

All this user's reviews

6

Nobilis1984Dec 24, 2015

Good star War Film, however, more not.
As a fan of the episodes 4-7 the film is worth for me well, however, not the hype. It is to be started to reach surely hardly anew and a similar Fastination of the first three parts. But what one hasGood star War Film, however, more not.
As a fan of the episodes 4-7 the film is worth for me well, however, not the hype. It is to be started to reach surely hardly anew and a similar Fastination of the first three parts. But what one has promised has not been kept.
The old stars show the young savage like one must do it. Without Chewi, Han Solo, princess Leia and hatch the film would be disappointing. Two new young actors will have to become it very hard cult characters. New "Darth Vader" is ridiculous for me. He hardly has fear factor also whom he his father kills.… Expand

9 of 27 users found this helpful918

All this user's reviews

6

AchooMay 9, 2016

Some dodgy directing imo, and therefore some dodgy performances at times. At times it tries to lighten the mood with some slight jokes, but it just cheapens the movie. It borrows a little too much from the old films, but doesn't have theSome dodgy directing imo, and therefore some dodgy performances at times. At times it tries to lighten the mood with some slight jokes, but it just cheapens the movie. It borrows a little too much from the old films, but doesn't have the same directing and performances as they do, and therefore differs in tone. It definitely has a little Disney to it now.
Overall a let down after reading the positive reviews, which just reinforced my disillusionment with mainstream reviewers in most art forms atm… Expand

6 of 10 users found this helpful64

All this user's reviews

6

isg1983Dec 21, 2015

It's some sort of a rework of 4.film. Some nostalgia here and there but that's all. No striking character to move it on, no great fight scene, weird and inconsistent additions to lore and overall, even there is no striking music theme...It's some sort of a rework of 4.film. Some nostalgia here and there but that's all. No striking character to move it on, no great fight scene, weird and inconsistent additions to lore and overall, even there is no striking music theme... Nothing exceptional, even bored me more than 1. film. If you rate this movie more than 5-6 you seriously need to revise your film knowledge generally.… Expand

12 of 21 users found this helpful129

All this user's reviews

6

TSTINKERSJan 8, 2016

I have to give this movie a 6/10 because the story line was unoriginal. too many ideas taken from the originals. Get the guy from Game of Thrones to write the next star wars to give this one what it was missing. Predictability, ProperI have to give this movie a 6/10 because the story line was unoriginal. too many ideas taken from the originals. Get the guy from Game of Thrones to write the next star wars to give this one what it was missing. Predictability, Proper Dialogue etc.… Expand

22 of 39 users found this helpful2217

All this user's reviews

6

TheNikusFeb 16, 2016

This movie was very painful to watch for me. Everything that is wrong with it is perfectly illustrated by the scene where Fin holds Luke's training sphere in front of the camera on the Millennium Falcon. This isn't fan service anymore, it'sThis movie was very painful to watch for me. Everything that is wrong with it is perfectly illustrated by the scene where Fin holds Luke's training sphere in front of the camera on the Millennium Falcon. This isn't fan service anymore, it's more like providing certain manual adult services to the audience. The film offers exactly nothing new. No new ideas--maybe only gimmicks like Kylo Ren's sword or BB8's design. I dread a day when I might have to rewatch it for whatever reason.… Expand

16 of 99 users found this helpful1683

All this user's reviews

6

Eva-UnitOneMar 23, 2016

JJ is ruining series left and right. It should be written in some form of United Nations convention that one person cannot direct Star Trek and Star Wars...or be allowed to ruin them both.

It does't have the Star Wars feel... It has JJ'sJJ is ruining series left and right. It should be written in some form of United Nations convention that one person cannot direct Star Trek and Star Wars...or be allowed to ruin them both.

It does't have the Star Wars feel... It has JJ's feel... a feeling that he's trying to let the audience know that he knows about other movies or something, where the film feels like it's a series of homages/references to the other star wars films so the whole movie just feels like a damn meme.

The dude lacks originality, and lacks the ability to stay true to someone else's creative vision.… Expand

9 of 38 users found this helpful929

All this user's reviews

6

lifeofbrianDec 22, 2015

Take episode 4 and give it better graphics and modern language (like the use of "boyfriend") and you've got JJ's Star Wars. Its an entirely forgettable movie. Its better than the prequels, but still worse than all of the originals.

11 of 24 users found this helpful1113

All this user's reviews

6

Batman6794Dec 29, 2015

The good: The effects look good for the most part, particularly the light sabers. There is some good banter and funny dialogue throughout.

The bad: The script follows the pattern of the original almost beat for beat without adding anythingThe good: The effects look good for the most part, particularly the light sabers. There is some good banter and funny dialogue throughout.

The bad: The script follows the pattern of the original almost beat for beat without adding anything valuable. The new characters don't develop much depth. The story lurches from one set piece to the next, connected only by forced coincidences that strain credibility at first, and then push well beyond it.

Not as ugly as the painful prequels, but not very good either.… Expand

12 of 26 users found this helpful1214

All this user's reviews

6

SweetewJan 5, 2016

In my opinion there's a lot of wrong with episode 7 the force awakens. I'll start with the positives first though.
First of all, i'm really happy that they went back to practical effects instead of all CGI like the prequels. The prequelsIn my opinion there's a lot of wrong with episode 7 the force awakens. I'll start with the positives first though.
First of all, i'm really happy that they went back to practical effects instead of all CGI like the prequels. The prequels looked boring and sterile. What CGI was used looked really good, both in 2D but also 3D. I did prefer the 2D version, but that's just a preference. The old cast still have it! Especially Han solo lifts this movie with his acting. I also like Ren as a character, although many thinks he's too whiny.

Now the bad:

Where to start. Well first of all, The force awakens (TFA from now on) copies episode IV: A new hope. In fact I wouldn't really call it copying but plagiarism. You see, all the major story arcs of TFA is identical to the ones presented in A new hope. So essentially old meat in a new packing. Now some people might be okay with this, but I am not and neither should you. You see from episode 1 (prequel) to episode 6 there's is a distinct line of plot. Each movie builds upon what happened in the last movie and so forth. But that is not really the case with TFA. Instead there's a huge gap of things we are not told in TFA. How did the First Order come to power? What exactly happened to luke that would make him forsake the whole galaxy? (the movie glosses over this really quickly, and we're supposed to accept that) How did someone not know that Starkiller base existed? These are just 3 questions, but there are so many more. TFA fails to explain what happened in the 30 years after the emperor was killed. Instead we get some half baked explanation on what happened.

Did we really need another Deathstar? Yes starkiller base is a deathstar, it's just bigger that's all. I mean with starkiller base we got 3 deathstars in 7 movies, so almost half of them. That really lacks any originality. Why do Rey live on a planet that is almost a carbon copy of tatoiine? But wait it's not tatoiine, its Jakku! Well they're identical. If you wanted a barren planet, at least use one of the barren types that exists. Speaking of Rey, why can she do anything without any guidance? She's a mary sue. Luke the strongest force user (canon) in the galaxy, needed a ton of guidance and help from Obi wan. It took him three movie to be good with the force and his saber, yet we're to believe that Rey can do this within the single span of a movie. Yes i'm aware of all the theories. She might be a skywalker and yes she might have been trained before but still It takes the drama out of the movie. She's never been in the millemium falcon before, yet she knows it like the back of her hand, and flies it better than Han Solo himself. These are just some of the issues I have with Rey.

JJ. abrams didn't do Star wars justice in my opinion. There's so much action in the movie, that half way through you'll be craving for some actual character development. Finn could have been an interesting character, but he's not really. He grieves over a dead stormtropper in the opening sequence, yet when he flees from Starkiller base with Poe, he kills maybe 20-30 stormtroppers without blinking an eye. That doesn't make sense really does it? Sure if this had happened over a long time of character development, but this is within the first half hour of the film. he's also a worse soldier than a person who has been surviving on a desert planet alone, yet Finn has been training his whole life to be a soldier. That doesn't make a lot of sense now does it. How is he handling a lightsaber again? A lightsaber is a weightless weapon and unless you want to cut off your own limbs, then you need to receive training to use it. And yes general grevious had training to use them. Now this is just a small nitpick, but it mirrors a larger tendency with TFA. It doesn't respects its own lore, and it's filled with plotholes the size of moons. The original movies also had a lot of flaws, but at least the characters were consistent and didn't do something totally out of their character. The original movies also build up character development without only using action sequences, which made a more balanced movie. The force awakens awakens is nearly a carbon copy of a new hope, yet a new hope was better, 30 years ago.… Expand

20 of 34 users found this helpful2014

All this user's reviews

6

macharius39Dec 26, 2015

I honestly didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would. The hype was over the top and the movie just let me down. They played it too safe. I can't believe that they went with Death Star Mk III, just without Ewoks to help the rebelsI honestly didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I thought I would. The hype was over the top and the movie just let me down. They played it too safe. I can't believe that they went with Death Star Mk III, just without Ewoks to help the rebels destroy it, and with Emperor Palpatine Mk II. And they made Luke into a washed up has-been. I admit that I liked it better than Episode I-III but not as much as Episode IV-VI. Unless they can pull things together in the next film, I'm not going to bother with this franchise anymore (outside of the novels).… Expand

14 of 22 users found this helpful148

All this user's reviews

6

theRobotDec 18, 2015

Good thing about this movie is that it doesn't suck like episodes I-III. Almost no cringe moments, cheesy dialogues and plain stupid things, that were driving me mad in the aforementioned 3 episodes. On the other hand, it's a movie aboutGood thing about this movie is that it doesn't suck like episodes I-III. Almost no cringe moments, cheesy dialogues and plain stupid things, that were driving me mad in the aforementioned 3 episodes. On the other hand, it's a movie about nothing - it can be spoiled literally in 2 sentences. They just pumped it so much with action, action, action, ACTION, that there's barely room for anything else. Surely it's better than talking about retarded boring **** like in the first 3 episodes, but on the other hand, it's like a diet coke - you don't really feel filled after drinking it.

Sadly, art is also pretty much gone. Jakku and Ren planet are the only locations worth remembering, while BB8 is probably the only interestingly designed character. It feels kinda soulless, even compared to the new trilogy, not to mention the old one.

I even like the new protagonists, even though they are as hilariously politically correctly diversed as possible - I'm surprised there was no asian protagonist pushed somewhere. But they are likable, especially the black guy. On the other hand, the antagonists appear to be rather pathetic - Lord Voldemort's space clone and his wimpy, pathetic minion are lame even compared to generic Count Dooku and robot sith, whatever the hell his name was.

That being said, the movie was not boring. It might have been pretty generic, but it was not making me sleepy, like Episodes I-III or Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies were doing. It's good to see a blockbuster, that doesn't totaly suck. Some people might have expected more and they are disappointed now, but I was expecting total crap and it turned out to be above my expectations.… Expand

14 of 34 users found this helpful1420

All this user's reviews

6

GuntherUltrabolDec 30, 2015

The plot was too familiar. The villian... watered down. The hero... watered down. Scene after scene I kept saying to myself; "I've seen this before in another Star Wars episode". I think anyone Star Wars fan will leave this movieThe plot was too familiar. The villian... watered down. The hero... watered down. Scene after scene I kept saying to myself; "I've seen this before in another Star Wars episode". I think anyone Star Wars fan will leave this movie feeling the same way.… Expand

12 of 26 users found this helpful1214

All this user's reviews

6

kubrickianDec 18, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This movie had a very small feel to it. Gone are the big galactic fleets with many different makes and models. Gone are the variety of creatures we once were familiar with like Trandoshens, Nautilins, Devenorians or Rodians. Instead you have JJ's re-imagined Disney financed sand box that is less of a merging of science and fantasy leaning more toward good versus bad.

But more about the 'small' feel of it all. The desert world seems far less diversified than Tatooine, the rebel/resistance base looks too much like an old NIKE or WW2 base. What happened to the A-wings B-wings and the giant Mon Cal type cruisers. Instead we have some miniature sized X-wings that the pilot jumps into without a ladder. The resistance general arrives at the battle in a ship no larger than a Winnebago. Why destroy the continuity of the Star Wars galaxy just to connect family plot points?

All of the planets visited after the first were entirely normal in Earth terms. While it's fun to hate on the prequels at least they gave us visually diverse and unusual worlds. JJ's Star Wars sand box looks identical to his Star Trek sandbox. Again, the lack of hardware and alien species made this a very un-Star Wars movie for me. And if you have seen all the movies in the theatres going back to the original you might know where I'm coming from.

One other thing. With the exception of the returning cast everyone in the movie is under the age of 30. The general is that ginger twenty something boy form Frank. The X-wing pilots looks like the teenagers from a Disney XD sitcom.

I'll never buy this movie. As bad as the clone wars and prequels were to many I still find it more authentically Star Wars than what I just witnessed. Depressing plot turns to say the least.… Expand

16 of 48 users found this helpful1632

All this user's reviews

6

joshmorgan64Dec 27, 2017

Memberberries memberberries memberberries memberberries memberberries memberberries memberberries memberberries

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

All this user's reviews

6

TAFM17Jan 9, 2016

Overall, it's episode 4 with new characters. Pretty much the same film. Now I need 150 characters, but there's not much more to say. So I'm gonna just... 158!

14 of 28 users found this helpful1414

All this user's reviews

6

FraggyMuffinDec 28, 2015

Not a bad movie but not a classic. Lots of action and nostalgia although at times it felt really forced. The two "factions" are never explained and what their motivations are aren't clear. The same can be said for the main characters, whyNot a bad movie but not a classic. Lots of action and nostalgia although at times it felt really forced. The two "factions" are never explained and what their motivations are aren't clear. The same can be said for the main characters, why they do what they do is a mystery. Overall a solid film that holds interest and has a decent flow but I wouldn't want to watch it again… Expand

3 of 13 users found this helpful310

All this user's reviews

6

sewandsewsDec 19, 2015

Star Wars The Force Awakens
As much as i enjoyed the film i came away with the feeling i had seen it all before. The George Lucas films were all original from a complete story he already had in his head. This film was a clone of the firstStar Wars The Force Awakens
As much as i enjoyed the film i came away with the feeling i had seen it all before. The George Lucas films were all original from a complete story he already had in his head. This film was a clone of the first three films, nothing original same story line with a few twists here and there. A droid had an important message a Jedhi had been turned to the dark side, plus a similar kind of Death Star energy weapon that could destroy planets. Too many similarities to mention, just a reboot of an old story.… Expand

12 of 26 users found this helpful1214

All this user's reviews

6

Brent_MarchantDec 19, 2015

Despite its skillfully handled technical attributes and the introduction of a few new wrinkles, this latest installment in the series feels more like a warmed-over recycle job than anything especially new or different. The story lineDespite its skillfully handled technical attributes and the introduction of a few new wrinkles, this latest installment in the series feels more like a warmed-over recycle job than anything especially new or different. The story line (especially in the first 30 and last 30 minutes) plays out like a rehash of the narrative in Episode IV, the film that launched the series. And, except for the somewhat surprising larger-than-expected role that Harrison Ford plays in the story, the reintroduction of vintage characters, catch phrases and images comes across more like checking off items on a laundry list of cinematic obligations to fulfill before the film's end than an inventive integration of said elements into a new context. To be sure, the film is mildly entertaining, but this is far from groundbreaking cinema, in much the same way as many of this year's other technically proficient but ultimately tepid franchise reboots.… Expand

26 of 45 users found this helpful2619

All this user's reviews

6

43in2014Jan 17, 2016

This is a utter rip off of A New Hope! So many elements of that early film is use here to bait viewers back into the franchise that plagiarism charges should be considered. The worse of this can be seen in the most commonly seen A ForceThis is a utter rip off of A New Hope! So many elements of that early film is use here to bait viewers back into the franchise that plagiarism charges should be considered. The worse of this can be seen in the most commonly seen A Force Awakens poster. If you have seen HISHE's parody of Return of the Jedi, then you would understand why a second time around there was already quite dumb and third time around here is ridiculous!

Other poor elements here are the acting by the two young cast members. Daisy Ridley had the desperate expression whenever there is a close-up of her while Oscar Isaacs is way too enthusiastic whenever he meets his friends, as if he is mirroring A New Hope. Finally the rules behind who can use the force are totally disregarded and the film loses a lot of credibility here.

This is definitely a lazy job and I was quite bored during the film. At the end of the film I was hoping for a Marvel post-credit scene, but there was none. JJAbrahms should be ashamed of himself! He had a grand opportunity to reboot the franchise and he tricked us all with his trailers into watching this cheap sequel.

Score: 3/5 (no half score). Save your money and watch it on TV.… Expand

19 of 34 users found this helpful1915

All this user's reviews

6

sadwomanDec 19, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Lacks the magic of the original, which I think stems from a focus on rushing our characters from one action setpiece to another, denying them the time needed to interact with each other, develop their characters, form meaningful relationships, and ultimately grow on the audience.

The commitment to practical effects and costumed actors as aliens waivers with the introduction of two mo-cap cgi abominations that couldn't have looked more out of place. (Maz and Supreme Leader Snoke)

I haven't decided whether the fan-service moments were over the top or if my cringing was due more to the reaction of the audience that cheered and clapped every time they saw something they recognized.

There were still a few effective moments despite how boring the movie ultimately was. A certain someone's death is felt by Leia as a painful disturbance in the force, a nice character moment. Rey picking up a lightsaber to defend her friend despite having no training is also impactful.

Ultimately, it looks like a Star Wars movie, but it's been reduced to generic action schlock, and you're likely to walk away having little to no interest in revisiting this cinematic universe.… Expand

12 of 26 users found this helpful1214

All this user's reviews

6

TheMasiMan1Jan 22, 2016

Is the plot recycled for the third f**king time? Yes. Is the music good? Yes, but not as good as the previous Star Wars films. Is it a good movie? Kinda. Do I hate it? No.

Force Awakens is a good way to start off a trilogy. Snoke justIs the plot recycled for the third f**king time? Yes. Is the music good? Yes, but not as good as the previous Star Wars films. Is it a good movie? Kinda. Do I hate it? No.

Force Awakens is a good way to start off a trilogy. Snoke just feels like a s**t character. Kinda like the dark sides Jar Jar Binks. Why is my score so low then? Two words: STARKILLER BASE. The plot of this almost-to-2-billion-dollars movie has the same plot as did A New Hope back in 1977!… Expand

12 of 37 users found this helpful1225

All this user's reviews

6

LongshotsJan 1, 2016

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. terrible dialog. anything that Han Says is gold. like seriously. G O L D . but everyone else not so much. especially Leia. shes Ship and forced. we could have had someone new BUT NOOOOO WE NEEDED HER. funk that. C3P0 was forced. R2 was stupid. BB8 WAS FUNNY AND GREAT. id prefer not seeing not Leia, not Luke(at least his face), not C3P0. and not R2 (besides that 1 shot with Luke).

the movie would have not felt like a cockrub to fans if it did that. if it removed these characters. if it kept us waiting. expecting. excited to see them as SIDE CHARACTERS. they should have just kept Han and Chewie as big side characters. wasted potential.

it also is EPISODE IV 2. same plot. this and what i said before connects to the fact that the movie doesn't have an identity. it feels like its a tribute to the originals. something that the prequels did way better. they had their own characters and story. this movie doesn't work in that aspect, which is because they kicked George Lucas's ideas were kicked along with him from the movie. this is why i'm happy JJ isn't making the next film . these movies need an identity. it has to have one. acting is also all over the place. Rey is stupidly outrageous in some scenes and i just laughed in the theater.

im disappointed but trilled to watch it again because its SO FUN! the movie is SO FUN and i cant wait to watch it again tomorrow!… Expand

4 of 19 users found this helpful415

All this user's reviews

6

pdesaab07Dec 18, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. For those who never saw star wars (or saw it once), they'll give an 8/10. Those who have seen the movies since their childhood, like me, will feel the same way as I did :

1. Visually speaking it's a great movie. It captures the star wars universe for sure.
2. The combo Solo / Chewi is still spot on and hasn't lost its charm
3. New characters are well chosen... especially Daisy Ridley.

That being said:

1. I understand JJ Abrams wanted to satisfy the fans and this movie must have been a lot of pressure. But he played it too safe... It has too many clichés and "déjà vu".. the pace of the movie is like Episode IV : a droid with secret mission in a desert planet finds a lonely person in a scrapyard (like Anakin in episode I) who helps return it to its master.
2. Rey's character is great : but she turns in 24 hours from a girl selling junk to mind control specialist, light saber master, leading to beating the villain who had years of training... to fast to soon.
3. They built another death star after having 2 destroyed ? Someone needs to hire an new Chief Operating Officer
4. Oscar Isaac (who is SUCH a great actor) and Gwendoline Christie characters are not enough exploited.

To summarize: let's wait for the whole trilogy to give a realy review… Expand

15 of 40 users found this helpful1525

All this user's reviews

6

AxefaceJan 6, 2016

I dont think copying everything that was good about the previous films and capitalising on nostalgia is good film making, I think it's capitalising. When I dissect The Force awakens - strip away the rape of the old films - all thats left isI dont think copying everything that was good about the previous films and capitalising on nostalgia is good film making, I think it's capitalising. When I dissect The Force awakens - strip away the rape of the old films - all thats left is some pretty good new characters and very nice effects - 6, maybe 7 out of ten? Upsetting. I wonder if they are actually capable of coming up with their own content for the inevitable followups.… Expand

22 of 39 users found this helpful2217

All this user's reviews

6

zurnzurnDec 20, 2015

"That's not how the Force works!"

Frikkin' HILARIOUS!! Seriously that line was legitimately funny, well built up and delivered. I laughed *at* the Ren temper tantrums, but *with* Han and Fin on that line. It's what I'm taking from the"That's not how the Force works!"

Frikkin' HILARIOUS!!

Seriously that line was legitimately funny, well built up and delivered. I laughed *at* the Ren temper tantrums, but *with* Han and Fin on that line. It's what I'm taking from the movie.

JJ nailed it with Star Trek but the rest has been fan-service retreads that betray a lack of storytelling prowess. It's all for effect, with no depth, nothing to pull you in. I'm just glad I didn't see the trailer, because the promised emotional weight would have gotten me too pumped to not walk out of the theatre supremely annoyed.… Expand

16 of 29 users found this helpful1613

All this user's reviews

6

ToFewViewsDec 25, 2015

So the day has come, Disney has pulled Star Wars from George Lucas's grasp after sweetening the deal with 4+ Billion Dollars. Now with that much money spent on the rights alone you'd think the movie would come out somewhat of a masterpiece?So the day has come, Disney has pulled Star Wars from George Lucas's grasp after sweetening the deal with 4+ Billion Dollars. Now with that much money spent on the rights alone you'd think the movie would come out somewhat of a masterpiece? maybe a new "A New Hope"? But sadly elements of the film take away from the experience and causes the film to feel like the Step Child who's slightly Different to the rest. Fans of the Star Wars series(ie myself) will find it extremely easy to blindly love this movie but if you take a step back to observe the film the flaws may become more apparent. Things like sound design, Sets, Action and CGI was all done well, The movie almost always looks good, sounds good and its all around good looking. But then things like some main characters who don't fit their role at all and ruin the character or other main characters don't actually do anything in the entire movie. Watching the movie as a true die hard Star Wars fan what kept coming to mind for me was other ways the story could have been, With darker or more interesting story arcs and maybe using the absolutely massive extended universe that has been created for the Star Wars world from Books,Games Etc. With Disney planning on making a new Trilogy I really hope they can take the world and characters they have and making something truly amazing with it....not just something to "Break the Box Office"… Expand

20 of 36 users found this helpful2016

All this user's reviews

6

RoqueNENov 11, 2018

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Another lost child on a desert planet that knows nothing about its power. Another villain in a mask with torn feelings. This time it is the father who wants to bring the son back to the light side. Another death star alias Starkiller. Another little droid as Sidekick.

Big action, weak story. All in all mediocre.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

6

onenaghiDec 21, 2015

The Force Awakens plays it safe. It is not a bad movie, by any means. The new characters, Rey and Finn are interesting enough, and the acting and action are overall very satisfying. However, the plot is unoriginal and the story and worldsThe Force Awakens plays it safe. It is not a bad movie, by any means. The new characters, Rey and Finn are interesting enough, and the acting and action are overall very satisfying. However, the plot is unoriginal and the story and worlds are lackluster. Neither does Kylo Ren have the presence of other Star Wars villains. Some of the better moments of the movie depend on the nostalgia of the audience. What does Star Wars become when it is left uninspired and unimaginative? It becomes an exercise in the routine, just another Hollywood blockbuster. It is certainly the weakest of the 7 movies so far, but there is still plenty of hope for this new trilogy if Disney can find some better writers.… Expand

7 of 16 users found this helpful79

All this user's reviews

6

atomic_tomatoDec 23, 2015

It was like, when you order your favorite pizza that was brought back after a while being off the menu and your excited for it... but its a new chef and the pizza tastes funny. That's pretty much the feeling I got from this movie. It wasIt was like, when you order your favorite pizza that was brought back after a while being off the menu and your excited for it... but its a new chef and the pizza tastes funny. That's pretty much the feeling I got from this movie. It was just.... off. Every scene felt rushed and nothing really made a lot of sense. Special effects were great.… Expand

23 of 41 users found this helpful2318

All this user's reviews

6

Toophat82Dec 20, 2015

Honestly while not a bad movie it wasn't great either as a fan of the movies and original canon of books I would give it a 6 out of 10 rating as the movie script wise would have been a lot better had it been able to and followed the originalHonestly while not a bad movie it wasn't great either as a fan of the movies and original canon of books I would give it a 6 out of 10 rating as the movie script wise would have been a lot better had it been able to and followed the original canon and story of the books with solo twins as if you read books and then watched this movie you would easily understand what could have been as story wise it was on the weak side compared to what it could have been.Hopefully next film is a lot more then this first outing. Some of the character potrayals seemed off point and not genuine to the characters being played and let's just say some of the cast was young and it showed as you wouldn't expect a storm trooper to act all as goofy and childish as Poe did in the movie but instead a bit more hardened from his training and time with them considering all he must seen and gone through and nevermind the way Rey and Poe acted around each other and together made me think I was back in high school again and not in a Star Wars film that's is for sure and while maybe that had nothing to do with it and probably had more to do with the direction and what was given to them to play then the actual acting itself. Nevermind that at times movie left you with more questions then actual answers and wondering what's what and how did this get to this point in first place les just say I hope the next film has a lot more then what this first outing gave us and was that's for sure. As a Star Wars fan of course I will always want to watch any Star Wars film and reccomend anyone to do same that's just the fan in me but I won't lie or hype up a movie no matter how much of a fan I am and always be genuine in how I felt about movie.… Expand

7 of 16 users found this helpful79

All this user's reviews

6

Mojodog360Jan 4, 2016

I remember having a "bad feeling about this" when Disney purchased Lucasfilm, and it turns out my fears were warranted. What they delivered is a passable popcorn flick populated by Star Wars costumes. So many things went wrong with thisI remember having a "bad feeling about this" when Disney purchased Lucasfilm, and it turns out my fears were warranted. What they delivered is a passable popcorn flick populated by Star Wars costumes. So many things went wrong with this film. But mostly it feels both forced (pun intended) and rushed. It's not hard to feel the "film production by committee" vibe going on. Character stories were shoehorned in, breaking the holy grail of writing rules: Show, don't tell. I'm sure they want to establish a lot of foundation for later movies, and maybe those will be better. But I doubt it.… Expand

25 of 46 users found this helpful2521

All this user's reviews

6

DBPirate1129Dec 26, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. SKIP TO THE END FOR REVIEW SUMMARY.

The Force Awakens has been touted as one of the best films in the Star Wars saga. Why? Because it's not the prequels. Unfortunately, it's just not that simple.

When it comes down to it, The Force Awakens is a complete rehash of Episode IV: A New Hope. A rebel gives something to a droid who travels across a desert planet and finds a Force-sensitive person. The person meets an old veteran of a previous war and they travel to the rebel base. They then destroy a planet-killing super weapon. The problem is, this time, the plot is held together by coincidences instead of purpose. The Force Awakens is well acted, with Harrison Ford as Han Solo being the standout. The main character, Rey, who has unimaginable power and is able to do anything throughout the entire film is not really interesting so former stormtrooper Finn and brash, angsty Kylo are left to pick up the slack.

Despite its flaws, Episode VII is an entertaining film -- it's just not necessarily one with a lot of depth. The visual effects are great and the soundtrack is, well...John Williams. Do I really need to say more? The problem with this film is J.J. Abrams played it much too safe and laid a poor foundation for The Last Jedi.

Overall, The Force Awakens is a fun film that suffers from a lack of originality and a retread of old material that relies a little too much on nostalgia.

Review was redone ahead of The Last Jedi.… Expand

6 of 35 users found this helpful629

All this user's reviews

6

BlackriftDec 18, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well how should I start this... I love Star Wars but I was very skeptical when I heard Disney bought the rights and is continuing the franchise. Why? Because to me, that's a sign of just another corporation trying to milk every last dollar of something amazing and in the process reducing it to garbage. We see this often in the gaming industry nowadays (CoD, EA & Ubisoft products) as well as the film industry (Terminator franchise, Batman franchise, The Hobbit, etc).
But as much as I had my doubts, I still decided to give this a shot so I can judge for myself. When the trailer came out my first thoughts were 'meh, could go both ways'.
So when the movie came out, I went to the premiere. To be fair, it's quite alright for an action movie. The SFX are spot on, the scenery's cool and after all, it is set in the Star Wars universe and does a pretty good job at nailing it. But that's about it. The new characters introduced here are weak. The most interesting character I found was BB and that's saying a lot. I also believe the actor playing Kylo Ren was horribly miscast. Awesome outfit, awesome voice, kick-ass mask... and then his face. A watery eyed nerd, really?
The story is no real story at all. It's just the original story but instead of the Rebels and the Empire, you have the Resistance and the First Order. Otherwise, it's pretty much more of the same.
What really bugged me as well was the fact that they portray Kylo Ren as an awesome Sith Lord and then he gets completely owned by a teenage chick who just realized she has the force? Really? Is that all they could come up with? And I thought only jedis/siths can use lightsabers. So why was Finn suddenly fending of Ren like a pro?
Another mistake was killing of Han Solo, who was by far the coolest thing to happen to this film.
I want to like it for the sake of Star Wars... Like I said, the world, visuals, sound effects and soundtrack are awesome but the story has so many holes it's a bit ridiculous.… Expand

14 of 35 users found this helpful1421

All this user's reviews

6

rtoaleDec 18, 2015

I will keep this review short and sweet. I am a huge SW fan and saw the original trilogy in the cinema when they were released. This movie is not Star Wars, it looks a bit like SW but under the surface it is something totally different. II will keep this review short and sweet. I am a huge SW fan and saw the original trilogy in the cinema when they were released. This movie is not Star Wars, it looks a bit like SW but under the surface it is something totally different. I dont care what anyone says, the prequels felt like SW even with their silly characters and bad acting, they had the Lucas touch and that is what is sadly missing here. SW is George Lucas baby and without him it is something else entirely. Even the aliens didnt look right. As for the villian, i will bet my left nut that he is redeemed in ep9, Rey is looks daughter and Snoke gets destroyed. All JJ did was take the original ideas, shake them up a bit and release again. Same as the Khan idea from Star Trek. A 6 for this.… Expand

37 of 78 users found this helpful3741

All this user's reviews

6

Kelembribor21Dec 20, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Though i am fan of original Star Wars trilogy , and have respect for the Force Awakens desire to be true to originals unlike prequel trilogy , i must say it lacks originality for movie that should light the fantasy of the viewers.
To much of the plot points are same to the original movies even characters and locales remind too much of the previously seen movies.
You have death star , comic relief droid , incompetent Stormtroopers and their commanders, Jaaku is cloned Tatooine, bit of sentimentality is fine but here is just too much,
And villains / antagonist aren't at all impressive or fleshed out except for Kylo Ren who is biggest disappointment of all new characters. ( true Darth Vader wannabe/Adam Driver was also wrong for the rolle in my opinion )

Movie has great effects, nice sentimental moments with old cast, Ray and Finn are ok, and ball droid was funny.

It is nice movie better than most blockbusters recently, but much worse than any of the original trilogy.… Expand

5 of 13 users found this helpful58

All this user's reviews

6

UltraTektiteMay 27, 2016

Meh rehash of the original Star Wars movie. Rey is not a very interesting character, and it relies too much on characters and plot points from the original trilogy. There is a nice "brohood" dynamic between Finn and Poe, but that gets littleMeh rehash of the original Star Wars movie. Rey is not a very interesting character, and it relies too much on characters and plot points from the original trilogy. There is a nice "brohood" dynamic between Finn and Poe, but that gets little screentime.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

6

CoNn3r_BDec 29, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I wanted to like this movie, I really did but there are just too many underlying issues that just ruins this movie for me:

The good:

The action scenes in this movie are phenomenal, I expected them to be good but I was taken by surprise with how engaged I became especially with scenes like the Millennium Falcon dog fight that was nothing short of captivating. The light saber battle between Kylo Ren and Finn was one of the most intense saber battles I've ever seen in a Star Wars movie I would put it in the same league as the fight between Vader and Luke in episode V.

I was surprised with how much I like BB-8. when I first saw the design I was reprehensive because it was obvious they one up the original trilogy which draws some comparisons you just don't want, all in all he was a functional and fun character and a worthy successor to R2-D2.

Finn was a great character and I really connected with him, his underdog roots and his complicated life made for a compelling character.

The original characters were more than gratuitous cameos and actually had bearing on the plot.

The bad:
This movie is terrible at pacing, the movie flies by in an instant which can be a good thing but in this case it just feels rushed, for example; the destruction of Starkiller base which had no impact at all when it happened, I wasn't captivated with this movies story. In fact I was rather bored with the whole story because it blatantly rips off episode IV at almost every turn.

Unimaginative locations, if I see another desert planet I'm going to stab someone. All the planets look familiar because they lack in creative imagination. Jaku is Tatooine, the forest planet they go to looks like Endor and most of the movie is filmed in space or inside a ship, this just makes the galaxy feel dead and stale which is not what I should be feeling from the galaxy far, far away.

The ugly:

Rey...everything about her. First off her acting was god awful, her character was bland and flat with no interesting qualities. Even though she has a mysterious backstory, it somehow feels so familiar that it lacks in impact. Her ability to instantly be good at everything she does is nothing short of insulting and don't get me started on her battle with Kylo Ren...The worst thing about Rey though is that she is the jedi. I never felt that she earned it in the movie, when she holds the light saber it just doesn't seem right and to top it off her battle with Ren was boring to watch. The best person to be the jedi would have been Finn, I felt he deserved it more and his back story made him a more interesting and engaging character.

Kylo Ren was just bad, I felt so disappointed when Ren took off his helmet to reveal a snivelling little teenager, it removed all the intimidation he had and from there on out he just felt like another Anakin Skywalker but somehow more whiny, the idea that he is Han Solo's son was cool but the reveal was so lacklustre that I didn't care.

Han's death, I didn't hate the idea that Han died in fact I was hoping for it but he was killed off so quickly at the hands of a character I didn't care about just so the movie can have one memorable moment. If Kylo Ren had been better developed and the conflict inside him had been shown more that scene might have had some impact on me. All in all the death of Han Solo is brushed aside pretty much as soon as it happens which just takes away from it more.

Overall I found this movie to be an enraging experience with an absolutely phenomenal start that falls flat halfway through. Well done JJ, you messed it up.
6.4/10… Expand

12 of 23 users found this helpful1211

All this user's reviews

6

RobertOBrienDec 28, 2015

I won't spoil the big scene but let's just say that even before I knew about it it was the most predictable thing ever. And sadly I can say the same thing about the story. Not because of bad plotting, but because I have seen this plot before.I won't spoil the big scene but let's just say that even before I knew about it it was the most predictable thing ever. And sadly I can say the same thing about the story. Not because of bad plotting, but because I have seen this plot before. Not just in other films but in other Star Wars films. They follow Episode 4's formula to an excessive degree and the film is too derivative to truly recommend for theatres.… Expand

13 of 18 users found this helpful135

All this user's reviews

6

ZebunkerDec 20, 2015

It’s Star Wars. It was not ruined by trailers. It has tons of hype. It’s an experience going to see it and that’s about the best thing you can say about the movie. While the movie was a letdown it certainly fits in somewhat. Hardcore fansIt’s Star Wars. It was not ruined by trailers. It has tons of hype. It’s an experience going to see it and that’s about the best thing you can say about the movie. While the movie was a letdown it certainly fits in somewhat. Hardcore fans will be upset but new comers might find an above average blockbuster. One that certainly seems more fitting to be released in the summer. Maybe around May 22nd…

The film can be described sadly as a re-make of A New Hope. Some characters are playing different roles than there character did in the original films which is jar jarring to watch. There are some very non-star wars elements that creep in and halt the progression and pacing. It’s very messy technically speaking. It’s nice to look at, it’s hitting some of the same notches but all the instruments seem to be out of tune. It seems to look well worn, like the originals. But somehow feels barren of cool background stuff to enjoy looking at. Save for Harrison Ford’s performance, which saved this film.
Go and watch it for the experience. Enjoy the popcorn. Just don’t think about it too much or your childhood might be ruined forever.

Spoilers below

Best Actor

Harrison Ford as Han Solo steals the show. Everything else, honestly, is just filler. He drives the story and plays a huge part in setting up the other films. It’s odd that we really did not get a good story in this film. It feels more like a chapter than any of the other Star Wars films have and it does not work for the audience. It feels incomplete and missing many things. The movie felt barren. There was not much life to it other than Han Solo.

Sure the other actors did good jobs. But a lot of the shots and progression felt too close. The film was pushed along too fast. Many times characters did not get time to breath or the audience to catch up and deal with some heart breaking moments such as the poor handling of Han Solo’s predictable death. A much better way would’ve been to have Han sacrifice himself for the cause. It makes you wonder why Luke did not become aware that his best friend is in danger. Or how smart Han is and to be almost tricked by Leia into trying to save him. It’s just a bad bit of directing and could send the series down a very lackluster path.

The scenes with Han were great however while they lasted. Some elements were not the same. It’s as if Harrison knew how to play him but nobody else know what the character would do or would not do. So, sometimes he does things that seemed odd. Like trying out Chewie’s bow for the first time. In all the decades he was with him not being able to try it. Come on. We don’t buy it. Han was great.

Worst Actor

Kylo Ren was being built up as the next Vader. Literally and figuratively in the story. They really dropped the ball on this one. And this is almost more unforgivable than the poor handling of Han’s death. Kylo’s voice does not in the least bit sound intimidating. This is why Vader was done by a much better voice than the actor that played him. Something like that should’ve been done here. Use a deep throated voice, scare the pants off the audience. Nope, not here. Eventually Kylo takes his helmet off.

It’s at this moment that all the anxiety and interest and the character goes away. He acts mean at times then almost normal. Maybe it’s building to something but for a first act movie you really can’t do that. You need to classify your characters in one way. Don’t show who’s under the helmet and don’t reveal that he’s Hans’s son so early in the movie. Creating dramatic tension and cross cutting stories is George Luca’s wheel house. Sad they did not follow his previous way of handling that. You don’t’ show all your cards at once.

Honorable mention is for Captain Phasma. She had only a very minor role in the film. But what was funny was how she was being hyped up as the next women’s rights leader, a feminist for the modern world. Taking on men’s traditional roles. It was a joke and over-hyped too much.

Best Scene

The parts when the group meets up with Han Solo and fight off the pirates then to a new world, to follow the trail and see where the adventure takes you. These parts were the most exciting and interesting. It felt most like the old films and introduced many cool places and characters. It even felt like a nod to some of the novels. But even in these sections there this movie is hard to pick one scene out and say that was amazing. It was all like watching a movie where the other 6 films felt like you were being a part of the story in some way.

Worst Scene

When Han Solo dies. Not because he dies. But how it was out of character. How Han would never do that, he’s smarter than that. How everybody in the theater knew he was dead even before anything happened. And to the poor time given for Leia and Chewie to have a final goodbye. To take one of the most beloved characters and toss him off bridge like he’s trash. To die a lonely and wasteful death. Sad.… Expand

12 of 29 users found this helpful1217

All this user's reviews

6

HeavesDec 22, 2015

I have to say given all the hype, I was slightly underwhelmed. I don't think the story was that bad (a bit too cliche) but I think it was good enough. For me, the biggest pitfall was the lack of character building. The movie doesn't reallyI have to say given all the hype, I was slightly underwhelmed. I don't think the story was that bad (a bit too cliche) but I think it was good enough. For me, the biggest pitfall was the lack of character building. The movie doesn't really give you much reason to like the main to characters with very little backstory. Another moment of annoyance was the final fight scene which went against all logic. Having said that, the film did have its moments and the potential is there to produce an amazing sequel.… Expand

6 of 12 users found this helpful66

All this user's reviews

6

xtabrisxDec 21, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Too bad people is trying to troll this movie. The cast is superb. As people already said, Finn fits the comedy role pretty well. Rey is just amazing, everyone's so hyped about this character. Even little boys were picking Rey's toys over other characters. She's probably the best female Star Wars character ever.
The classic characters also shine on this one. I thought they might not fit well with the others, but they did a great job. You can feel the excitement in every scene.
About Kylo Ren/Adam Driver. Can't understand all the hate. I think the character is easy to understand... he's just a kid who wants to make Snoke (and Vader's memory) proud of him. He's obviously overwhelmed by the pressure and his trembling voice while he speaks with Rey really says a lot about the character .Funny to see many people complaining about the similarities with "A new hope" and after that saying that "Ren is a Vader wannabee, we cannot accept him as a new Vader".
Highly recommended, this movie is great it's Star Wars top 3 for me, over episodes VI, I, II and III.

PS: BB-8

2020 edit:
Too bad they kept screwing everything after this one. Now this movie feels unnecessary and bland. I gave it a 9, changed it to 6.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All this user's reviews

6

ctow123Dec 18, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This was a great movie, but it wasn't bad either. I am a huge fan by the way. If i wasn't a fan of the franchise i might be tempted to give this a 5. This movie did a really good job not leaving the old fans behind with many familiar faces and old references. The special effects and graphics were amazing. The new BB-8 droid is awesome. Also, i thought the new girl Daisy Ridley (rey) did an excellent job and is definitely the actress they should have picked. I liked how the movie kept me full of mystery and wanting to know more, which hopefully they will explain in episodes 8 and 9.
THE BAD:
John Bodega (Finn) did a terrible job as an actor and they should not have picked him. At the beginning he just looked like a wimp. there was no background to show why he was having this conflict. Throughout the whole movie he was constantly just trying to run away from everything. He should have done so, so i won't have to see his god awful face in another scene. The plot was basically a remake of a New hope with parts of episode 5 thrown in. Kids on a desert plant, need to deliver a vital piece of information, the droid has the information, death star, death star blown up, Ben solo confronts father Han solo. This movie was so damn predictable. Also, they 100% should have made the flash back longer to give us more background and depth to the whole movie. I felt like there are a lot of unanswered questions, which hopefully will be answer in sequels. while understandable because they are building a new universe and harrison ford can't act forever. WHY DID YOU KILL THE MOST LOVABLE CHARACTER IN HAN SOLO!!!!!!
FINAL VERDICT
They did a good job remaking 4/5 and setting up the universe for episodes 8/9. I think this movie will be an amazing part of the trilogy, but stand alone it was not up to exceptions. Hopefully 8/9 can build on this and go in a new direction rather than sticking to the tried and tested formula. I am expecting big things from 8/9 please don't disappoint me. I have heard the director for episode 9 is the same guy who did jurassic world (that movie sucked) so i hope he doesn't screw this franchise up. Fingers crossed for the future… Expand

12 of 32 users found this helpful1220

All this user's reviews

6

RipandreadJan 15, 2016

I thought the Storm Troopers were all cloned from Bobba Vett’s father. If so where did this black guy come from?

Why does Luke look more like Obi One Kenobi? He couldn’t have aged that much. Take away the special effects and this movieI thought the Storm Troopers were all cloned from Bobba Vett’s father. If so where did this black guy come from?

Why does Luke look more like Obi One Kenobi? He couldn’t have aged that much.

Take away the special effects and this movie leaves so many unanswered questions.

Finally, according to Sith legend, there is a master and an apprentice. But Darth Vader killed the Emperor and Vader died. Thus no master or apprentice. So where did all these evil folks come from?… Expand

10 of 55 users found this helpful1045

All this user's reviews

6

SweaterGuyDec 29, 2015

Let's rehash the best of A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and somehow make them average? Entertaining? Maybe. Worth a second look? Nah.

I'm giving the movie a 6 based on the most amazing marketing plan of all time.Let's rehash the best of A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi and somehow make them average? Entertaining? Maybe. Worth a second look? Nah.

I'm giving the movie a 6 based on the most amazing marketing plan of all time. Big congrats.

Jurassic World was a better reboot.… Expand

19 of 33 users found this helpful1914

All this user's reviews

6

YorkManDec 29, 2015

TFA is exactly what it was supposed to be, nothing more, nothing less.... People seeking something completely new and extravagant in what is effectively another J J Abrams 'reboot' should set their expectations somewhat lower than they mightTFA is exactly what it was supposed to be, nothing more, nothing less.... People seeking something completely new and extravagant in what is effectively another J J Abrams 'reboot' should set their expectations somewhat lower than they might hope.
However, the film itself isn't inherently bad, and is a MASSIVE improvement over the God-awful mess that was the prequels.
Gone are the 99% CGI/Green-screen backgrounds that dated the film practically the moment of their release.
Gone are the unnecessary racial stereotypes which made everyone uncomfortable.
Gone are the bland 2-dimensional characters played by actors who, after the first film, must have been held to the letter of their 3 film contracts.
Gone (Thank The Lord) is the pathetic, stilted, borderline patronising dialogue spouted forth without emotion nor conviction, either for pointless exposition, or to merely tie up the loose ends.

In their place we have proper characters, fleshed-out and actually interesting. A lot of proper, old-school, practical effects, although there is a fair bit of CGI it is 'blended' into the physical aspect of the cinematography very well.
The film includes some real emotional depth, introducing new actors into roles which (on the whole) they brilliantly portray, leading into a storyline that pulls you along for the ride quite nicely.

OK, the film is far from perfect. People have (quite rightly) highlighted the similarities in structure to the original Star Wars. But it's different enough to stand on its own.

My main problem with the film is that there is no sense of risk from the main protagonist, who is introduced as a scavenger on a desert planet whose background is never revealed. It is revealed she is powerful with the Force (leading to certain levels of speculation from those who've watched the film), but she also has unarmed combat skills, is apparently an accomplished pilot, understands mechanical engineering, seems able to sneak around undetected.... And none of that is rationalised, but is defined in the story as a overly-simplistic means to have her get from A to B to C.

People on here have complained that the film is too much like the original film, and these are probably the same people advocating a return to the sensibilities and storytelling etc of the original Trilogy. The bottom line is you can't have it both ways, for a film to 'be' within the Star Wars universe it has to have certain tropes and elements that viewers are familiar with. Otherwise it might as well just be another generic Sci-Fi film.

Hopefully this will lead into a second part of the (planned) trilogy that really does open up the taps on the story and takes it into new and completely unexplored directions.
That, for me, is the film's greatest achievement....
It's made me want to see what happens next, find out more about the characters introduced, understand more about what the 'Awakening' in the Force actually is, and how it will culminate in terms of the story arcs which are now underway.… Expand

6 of 22 users found this helpful616

All this user's reviews

6

Philsg1Dec 18, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My background - massive Star Wars fan (also read all the E.U. books over the last 20 years).

Good:

- Better than all the prequels put together.
- Practical effects favoured nearly always over CGI.
- Several moments of LOL humour
- BB-8 - what a droid! (and completely practical effect too).
- Genuine moments where you were willing the characters on - just like the originals!
- Heartbreaking twist at the end.
- First half of the film felt new, fresh and solidly in the Star Wars universe.

Negative:
- Second half of the film felt like a 2015 reboot of Star Wars a New Hope.
- JJ Abram once again breaking 'in' universe physics (guilty of this in Star Trek - single person trans-warp, phasers firing at warp etc) so this time he has ships performing hyperspace jumps from inside other spaceships, and the worst was hyperspacing down onto the surface of a planet through its own gravity well - literally 20 meters above the planets surface!
- Ironically (as the prequels were all about politics) this film needed more back story and explanation of the intergalactic politics in the last 30 years as well as present day.
- The B.F.G. (The Big Friendly Giant!) portrayal of the evil Supreme Leader Snoke, was ultimately terrible and comical and was very poor motion capture CGI. Space pirate Maz Kanata also was unnecessary use of CGI - with both characters needing to be practical effects rather than computing alone.
- Ultimately too much left unsaid and a lot felt quite rushed. As part of a trilogy I can only see the score I have given only rising - probably to somewhere around a 8 rather than my initial scoring of 6.… Expand

18 of 55 users found this helpful1837

All this user's reviews

6

mace8704Dec 31, 2015

With the original trilogy, I loved the villains/empire. As a kid, the empire was truly terrifying and cool. So while I enjoyed the addition of Finn and BB-8, Kylo Ren, Phasma, and Snoke were all huge let downs. Kylo Ren comes off as anotherWith the original trilogy, I loved the villains/empire. As a kid, the empire was truly terrifying and cool. So while I enjoyed the addition of Finn and BB-8, Kylo Ren, Phasma, and Snoke were all huge let downs. Kylo Ren comes off as another angsty teen and lacks the intimidation and mystery of Darth Vader. Phasma is underdeveloped and does practically nothing the entire film. Snoke is a CGI character which I've always struggled to connect with on a personal level. To make matters worse, Rey, the new protagonist, was laughably phenomenal at everything with no training. Need a pilot? Rey can do it. Need a mechanic? Rey can do that too? Need to take down a New Order genocidal maniac? Rey will close her eyes for a few seconds and take care that lickety split.. Don't get me wrong. The film is fun, but lacks the creativity and strong antagonist of the original trilogy. Still an improvement over the prequels, but I was expecting more.… Expand

26 of 44 users found this helpful2618

All this user's reviews

6

Faker_PaperDec 28, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This movie is sort of a disappointment. It's definitely better than Phantom Menace, and Attack of the Clones, but I felt like it was slightly worse than Revenge of the Sith. The old actors did great, but some of the newer ones weren't that good. I liked Finn his character was good, but most of the other new characters were uninteresting especially Rey. The plot is good at parts, and bad at others. Some stuff wasn't explained Eg: How did they get Luke's lightsaber, how did the Empire become more powerful than they were before, and most importantly how the heck does BB-8's head not fall off (okay, maybe not that one). Over all I think this movie was fun, but nothing to wright home about.… Expand

4 of 15 users found this helpful411

All this user's reviews

6

smiyamotMay 4, 2016

I saw Star Wars (IV) when it came out in the theater. It was an instant success, but why? The 3 heroes were not alike, the farm boy who wanted to become a pilot, the bad boy semi-criminal, and the Princess. And no movie is great without aI saw Star Wars (IV) when it came out in the theater. It was an instant success, but why? The 3 heroes were not alike, the farm boy who wanted to become a pilot, the bad boy semi-criminal, and the Princess. And no movie is great without a really great villain, Darth Vader, hello! This movie falls short here. The story line, hmmm, where have I seen this story line before? If this had been the first Star Wars, there would not have been 6 more.… Expand

5 of 9 users found this helpful54

All this user's reviews

6

NooogieDec 18, 2015

mixed bag for me. I didn't mind Finn, didn't care for Ray, I think maybe all the diversity PC stuff in this movie might of skewed my opinion of this a bit much. Kylo was ok as well....thou I think people will find he was written a bit tomixed bag for me. I didn't mind Finn, didn't care for Ray, I think maybe all the diversity PC stuff in this movie might of skewed my opinion of this a bit much. Kylo was ok as well....thou I think people will find he was written a bit to emo but that might be to relate to all the millennials.

Outside of the two CGI characters already mentioned in reviews the effects were generally spot on and feels like star wars.

The "reboot" of a new hope I think will cause a lot of negative reviews from fans more than critics. Lazy writing seems to be the popular opinion on that. I will be interested to see the ratings from fans in about 2 months time.… Expand

41 of 88 users found this helpful4147

All this user's reviews

6

cosciugDec 18, 2015

I'm your average Joe that just came home from first screening in my
city of Star Wars The Force Awakens (18th DEC 2015 00:00 AM) and i also
happen to be a big Star Wars nerd. The thing is, if you liked Episode IV A New Hope, prepare toI'm your average Joe that just came home from first screening in my
city of Star Wars The Force Awakens (18th DEC 2015 00:00 AM) and i also
happen to be a big Star Wars nerd.

The thing is, if you liked Episode IV A New Hope, prepare to see it all
over again, cause it's more of a remake and not a sequel.

So, J. J. played it safe and thus he shall always be known as Jar Jar
Abrams.

In the end i enjoyed EP7, but it could have been better.

7/10 only because it didn't lose the Star Wars atmosphere.… Expand

23 of 63 users found this helpful2340

All this user's reviews

6

itachi737Dec 21, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have mixed feelings towards this movie. I was hopping that it would be the masterpiece advertised be everybody, but in my opinion it fell short. A lot of people will say that this is an amazing movie and they would not be wrong if it was a reboot of the franchise instead of a sequel.

The pros: good visual effects and amazing sound. The actors playing finn does an amazing job at bringing humors into the movie. Han solo, Chewbacca and Rey are not bad either.

The bad: The story is almost identical to star wars 4 (see spoilers sections for more details). The villain is good at first, but becomes very boring after 20 minutes. The story is super obvious, because as I stated before, it is the same story as star wars 4.

This is the same story as star wars 4:
star wars 4/the force awakens
Tatooine= big desert / Jakku big desert
R2D2 carry critical data/ Robot carries critical data
Robot lost on Tatooine/ Robot lost on Jakku
Luke= poor orphan / Rey= poor orphan
Luke= amazing force potential/ Rey = amazing force potential
Luke finds robot/ Rey finds robot
Luke escapes from tatooine on the Falcon Millenium/ Rey Escapes from Jakku on the Falcon Millenium
Han Solo and Chewbacca help Luke/ Han Solo and Chewbacca help Rey
They seek the help of the rebels/ They seek the help of the rebels
The Death Star blows up a planet/ A huge Death Star blows up many planets
The Darth Vador follows the orders of the emperor/ Kylo Ren follows the orders of his sith master
The rebels attack the Death Star/ The rebels attack the huge death star
The rebels destroy the Death Star by shooting the sole weakness of the whole installation/ The rebels destroy the Huge Death Star by shooting its sole weakness aka the cooling unit
A single x wing takes down the Death Star/ A single x wing takes down the Huge Death Star
Luke leaves for a unknown planet to seek training from Yoda/ Rey leaves for an unknown planet to seek training from Luke.

I mean come on all they did was change the main character into a girl and an a funny black character (Finn was actually good but the rest is almost a copy past). They could have just released Star Wars 4 in 3D and it would have been the same movie.

Again, you should see this movie, because it is worth watching in theater, but it is no way near what some of the reviews say about it.… Expand

19 of 31 users found this helpful1912

All this user's reviews

6

moviescriticnetJan 1, 2016

I know everyone expects me to rate this with A+. Well, I m sorry but I'm not American, so that's not going to happen.
If you are a Star Wars fan, that is a nerd erected by childish light swords, stupid robots and hairy creatures, then you'llI know everyone expects me to rate this with A+. Well, I m sorry but I'm not American, so that's not going to happen.
If you are a Star Wars fan, that is a nerd erected by childish light swords, stupid robots and hairy creatures, then you'll be thrilled to know that the movie respects it's past, picks up where the last six (!) episodes left and generally speaking it will definitely please the fans of the series. Nevertheless the movie is disrespectful with those who seek something new and lacks emotion. The most strange and spectacular things will happen (again) but there is nothing to remember the next day. Compared to it, the latest Mad Max entry seems like a philosophical work. What I'm keeping from this movie is the performance of Daisy Ridley (currently no 1 in imdb starometer), an unknown English actress starring as Rey, that you'll be hearing about in the future.

Grade: C+… Expand

7 of 16 users found this helpful79

All this user's reviews

6

jtwoodallDec 18, 2015

Cannot believe what Abrams did. Lazy, lazy lazy. This was almost identical to Episode IV. There was no character development to help us connect with the new protagonists in the film, nor for the bad guys either. Harrison Ford not onlyCannot believe what Abrams did. Lazy, lazy lazy. This was almost identical to Episode IV. There was no character development to help us connect with the new protagonists in the film, nor for the bad guys either. Harrison Ford not only forgot how to be Han Solo, I think he forgot how to act. Abrams horrifically blew the introduction of Luke Skywalker into the film. The cinematography was great and there was a little bit of humor to give the film a much needed reboot of nostalgia after Lucas bastardized episodes I-III with CGI and zero writing quality. This is the only reason I gave it as much as 6 stars.… Expand

47 of 97 users found this helpful4750

All this user's reviews

6

Brokenjok3rDec 18, 2015

The newest iteration of Star Wars does a lot of things right. The characters are believable and fun, their camaraderie seems earned, and they get something to rally behind that we can all root for. The cast, both the old and the new are veryThe newest iteration of Star Wars does a lot of things right. The characters are believable and fun, their camaraderie seems earned, and they get something to rally behind that we can all root for. The cast, both the old and the new are very comfortable in their roles, and it immediately feels familiar. Having said that, there are still quite a few things that are very, very, wrong.

Where the film struggles the most is the severe underdevelopment of every character and making us care about the circumstances at hand. The film begs you to invest in the main antagonist's personal struggle, we see him throw temper tantrums that are laughably exaggerated when he fails or someone fails him. Begining as a callous and wicked new addition to the colorful rogue's gallery of the franchise quickly deteriorates as the curtain is rather underwhelmingly pulled back to reveal not more than a sniveling cry baby with little characterization. Both his deep hatred for his parents and reverence for his lineage are never explained, despite an integral moment in the film being anchored in the expectation that this internal struggle has been thoroughly explained enough to be believable. The truth is that it isn't, and we receive a cheap sucker punch moment that sucks the joy out of the film as it tries so very hard to emulate the resonances of those other major losses from previous films. Though everyone tries to make you care, this pivotal moment seems forced, heavy handed, and above all else, unearned.

My investment in "Kylo Ren" ended very abruptly with the introduction of the new "emperor" like character, and another rival for the antagonist that twice mocks the over emotional main antagonist we are supposed to be so invested in. The pragmatic second in command emulates the cold demeanor of Admiral Tarkin from A New Hope, and despite being very one dimensional, still serves as a much better villain casually utilizing the new major space weapon to exterminate whole planets. It is simply infuriating that even the film's own characters do not take Kylo Ren seriously. Despite the cheap escalation of the plot's stakes, the third leg of the film is serviceable, as the plucky determined new face of the franchise holds her own against the lame maskless Kylo in the penultimate chapter of the film. If I have everything to say negative about the discount Alan Rickman cry baby antagonist, the protagonist Rey, is phenomenally likable and very fun. Both Rey and Finn are excellent choices and serve the film well. Finn serves as both comic relief and partner in crime to Rey as they tread over the familiar ground of fighting for the cause because ya know, you should. He has the most development, though that isn't saying much, than any other character, though his initial reasoning for his involvement is unclear and woefully cliche.

BB-8 alongside all the other characters are wonderful and the universe itself feels very lived in and alive thanks to numerous appearances of various aliens and wildlife. The best part of the film is the environments and the new creatures. Including practical effects alongside the refined and more importantly, restrained, use of CGI serves the film quite well and makes for a stunning backdrop to the loose plot.

The end is stale and very underwhelming, though it is obviously intended as the bridge into the new films, it only serves to aggravate, the arbitrary reasoning behind it seemingly being " well, because the plot demanded it."

Glaring gaps in logic and poor casting choices for the lead villain aside, the film serves two purposes, it will reinvigorate your enjoyment for this long gestating saga and bring some love to the old cast as a new generation's interest is piqued in the franchise's beloved history. See the film, take it for what it is, and remember that if Maul got cut in half and survived, there is still hope that we haven't seen the last of you know who. -RT-… Expand

12 of 35 users found this helpful1223

All this user's reviews

6

Benny1Dec 18, 2015

The pictures are great, the soundtrack is like always beautiful, but some of the new actors are horribly bad. The plot has nothing special with way more new questions than answers for the questions we already had. It more seems from me like aThe pictures are great, the soundtrack is like always beautiful, but some of the new actors are horribly bad. The plot has nothing special with way more new questions than answers for the questions we already had. It more seems from me like a big trailer than an actual movie.… Expand

24 of 62 users found this helpful2438

All this user's reviews

6

kbeesh82Dec 18, 2015

Before I get into my review, I want to state that I am huge Star Wars fan, having seen the original trilogy hundreds of times since I was a kid back in the 90's. Going into this new film, my expectations were high. I know JJ can write a goodBefore I get into my review, I want to state that I am huge Star Wars fan, having seen the original trilogy hundreds of times since I was a kid back in the 90's. Going into this new film, my expectations were high. I know JJ can write a good script and consider myself a fan, so i surely thought it would be better than the wacky stuff George Lucas put together for the prequels. I'm not going to write a novel here as a lot will surely be expressed by other reviewers but I wanted to lay down my main take aways after watching this film last night.

First the Good:

1. Nostalgia: This plays out like a Star Wars film - Everything about the feel, music, and direction looks like it could have been from the original just with updated technology- but no terrible CGI that we were treated to by Mr. Lucas. Things feel far more real here.

2. The characters are memorable. More so than the old standbys, they really bring life to the universe that was sorely missing from the prequels. Real emotion is felt between them and aside from a few stilted performances it really works. I wish they were able to spend more time developing a few of them.

3. Action: the light saber scenes are dog fighting are also lights years ahead of what we have seen from the prequels....they are much more exciting to watch.

The Bad:

1. Nostalgia only goes so far- playing into the collective minds of Star Wars fans is great to a point and then it just gets to be too much in the force awakens. This is a clear minus for the film

2 Plot development- what happened in the last 30 years? It would be nice if a little more was explained regarding the build up of the New Order. We are left guessing on a lot and it makes this new film feel more flat.

3. Repeated and uninspired Plot- A lot of the locales are visually exciting, but just seem like widgets to get the story from one place to the next......serving little purpose other than variety and again nostalgia. The film never really feels like it has a satisfying climax. You have seen it in another Star Wars movie before.

I left with mixed emotions- really happy that there was a new Star Wars, kind of disappointed that it just felt like a re-make of one of my all-time classics. I hope that in future ones, they can expand upon the script and produce something a bit more original. I wish i left the theatre jumping out of my seat in excitement, but sadly that is not the case.… Expand

12 of 29 users found this helpful1217

All this user's reviews

6

surphninjaDec 18, 2015

One word: Panderfest

Just a re-hash of old ideas, and not at all subtle. Not only are they re-doing all of the old stuff, but they want to make sure and point it out, never relying on the audience to pick up on any subtext. This is aOne word: Panderfest

Just a re-hash of old ideas, and not at all subtle. Not only are they re-doing all of the old stuff, but they want to make sure and point it out, never relying on the audience to pick up on any subtext. This is a reboot more than a continuation. Sure, it was fun to watch, but it did not live up to the potential of the people involved or the material available.

It's likely that this film was set up to feel familiar in order to transition us from the old characters to the new, so maybe we can expect more from the films to come, but this movie cannot really stand on it's own, and you can find much better sci-fi fantasy films that have recently come out.… Expand

26 of 59 users found this helpful2633

All this user's reviews

6

ChromedbustopDec 18, 2015

If you like blatant fan service and forced nostalgia, you'll probably be quite happy with the new movie. J.J. Abrams is perfect for that sort of thing, and it's not secret that such a movie was Disney's primary agenda.

If, however, youIf you like blatant fan service and forced nostalgia, you'll probably be quite happy with the new movie. J.J. Abrams is perfect for that sort of thing, and it's not secret that such a movie was Disney's primary agenda.

If, however, you don't like a movie telling you how you're supposed to feel then you might have a problem with it as the film pretty much drives itself on recreating those "magical moments". If you saw Jurassic World or Abrams first Star Trek film, you know what I'm talking about. Problem is, just like Star Trek, outside of trying to relive the past the film offers very little. What story there is ends up being pretty pointless and only there because they probably felt they had to at least pretend to do something.

The new cast are pretty good for the most part, at least the two leads. Oscar Issacs has been getting a lot of praise in reviews and I really have no idea why. But Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega) do well. One downside is that like with so many productions these days, Star Wars feels that it really has to drive home the fact that Rey is a woman who can take care of herself. Apparently it was felt that if we weren't reminded of that every 10 minutes we'd somehow forget.

Ford, Fisher, and Hamill are pretty much there to do exactly what you'd expect them to do. Shuffle out to really drive that nostalgic dagger in, but as with many things, their appearances feel forced. More like Abrams and Disney put them in as appeasement rather than because they offer anything vital. They're obviously peripheral characters this time around, and honestly I'm okay with that.

The story is pretty week. They start with a Macguffin, and then promptly drop it halfway through the movie. The whole thing feels like it went through several rewrites with a few too many different people having a say as to what should be in. Elements are introduced, dropped, and then picked up again out of the blue. The "emotional" twists are seen coming a mile away. Supposedly important characters disappear for long stretches and pop up again with barely any explanation as to how they got from Point A to Point B.

The effects are good, but honestly what big budget effects film has a problem with that anymore? The action sequences are pretty flat, more akin the the action sequences in the prequels, rather than the original trilogy. By which I mean there's a lot of bells, whistles and activity going on but you really don't care.

The good news is that unlike with The Phantom Menace, I didn't leave the movie with a sense of dread over what might come next. I feel (hope?) that since Abrams won't be nearly as involved with the next two films they'll get better. This one will serve it's purpose though. Everyone has known since the movie was announced that it was going to make a ridiculous amount of money and as a fan service movie (which again, I don't think they really made much effort in trying to hide) it'll probably do the job in getting people excited for the film franchise again. However I would not be the least bit surprised if we find out 4 years from now, after the final film is released, that this was by far the weakest of the three.

I suspect that for the large majority this will be an enjoyable film and any flaws (of which there are many and some are very glaring) will be brushed over. But for my part, I definitely left feeling more of a "meh" than a "yay!"

Is it terrible? No. But it's not good either. Because of its heavy reliance on nostalgia and fan service it really doesn't stand well on it's on and doesn't present nearly the staying power that any of the original films do.

This is definitely a movie "for the fans", particularly the hardcore sort. That's all well and good for them, but it misses a very important aspect of the original films it so reveres and that is their appeal to a wider audience, not just the fanatics.… Expand

121 of 203 users found this helpful12182

All this user's reviews

6

SierpinaDec 18, 2015

Buena no es, mala tampoco, buena experiencia visual (mas en 3D), pésimo guion, mala continuidad, personajes para el olvido, con la salvedad de BB8 y Poe Dameron.

12 of 31 users found this helpful1219

All this user's reviews

6

NOTaDISTRACTIONDec 18, 2015

I went into this movie without any expectations, and it was, alright, nothing more. The acting was overall good, the actor who played Po was awful, but other than him the acting was sufficient. The practical effects were magnificent, andI went into this movie without any expectations, and it was, alright, nothing more. The acting was overall good, the actor who played Po was awful, but other than him the acting was sufficient. The practical effects were magnificent, and the CGI was very good, with the exception of some of the space scenes. The biggest downfall of this movie was the story, totally uninteresting nostalgia-fest. There was a couple sitting next to me in the theater, maybe late 50's, it was obvious they had seen the movies when they were kids and had an emotional connecting to them. I, being a 16 year old who has no emotional connection did not cry when people died, or when "sad" things happened. so the biggest question, if you didnt cry what did you get out of this movie? The answer? just another predictable and boring blockbuster. 6.6/10… Expand

12 of 22 users found this helpful1210

All this user's reviews

6

ahmedshaltoutDec 18, 2015

It's sad what they did with this movie, especially that I'm a huge fan of J.J. Abrams. I love what he did in Star Trek, even though it was a reboot, he added new ideas.

Episode 7 should not have been a reboot. A new and UNIQUE chain ofIt's sad what they did with this movie, especially that I'm a huge fan of J.J. Abrams. I love what he did in Star Trek, even though it was a reboot, he added new ideas.

Episode 7 should not have been a reboot. A new and UNIQUE chain of events after the defeat of Darth Vader should have been born. New problems should have existed. Even though the directing was amazing, characters were lovely, and acting was top notch, the main problem was the story. Repeating the same events of Star Wars Episode 4 but with new characters just to please the fans makes absolutely no sense within the confines of the story and the world of that particular universe.

It is completely nonsensical for events to go the same exact way as the first movie right after what Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie pulled off. It feels like fan service mixed with an attempt at a reboot as if Episodes 4,5 and 6 never happened just to appeal to Star Wars nerds that hate change and to young teenagers that don't know Star Wars. It was a completely risk free attempt at making money with very little innovation in the story. It made me sad that, aside from one spoiler in the movie, the movie is almost EXACTLY the same as Episode 4, and it didn't even TRY to mask it. It PROUDLY displayed that it is a copy of episode 4 and everyone is buying it simply because of pure nostalgia. The possibilities that could have happened after the defeat of Darth Vader could have gone FAR deeper than this, but they decided to keep it simple for the simple minded fans and for the teenagers who avoided and never watched episodes 4,5 and 6 just because "It feels so old!"

The only reason i give it a 6/10 instead of a big fat zero is because it would be unfair to completely dismiss the amazing directing, lovely and relatable characters, and AMAZING acting. The actor that did Kylo Ren is really good and could have done a MUCH better Anakin Skywalker in episodes 1, 2 and 3. It's only fair to give it credit where credit is due. Sadly, though, It was simply a display of J. J. Abram's directing skills with zero story originality.… Expand

37 of 76 users found this helpful3739

All this user's reviews

6

AlphaIliumDec 18, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Went to Star Wars: TFA this afternoon. This is a flawed film, redeemed from being a complete failure through the efforts of the actors that portray Finn and Rey. I went with two other people, and we all walked out of the film with that same disquieting unease that occurs after watching something that you desperately want to like but cannot due to cognitive dissonance between your head and heart. I’ll try to keep this relatively spoiler free, but here are some observations:
1) JJ Abrams cannot properly pace a film. The formula is becoming obvious. Future M. Night Shyamalan. Hipster director, all flash and no substance. Master of self-promotion with the same bag of tired tricks. Did he forever wound Star Wars as a franchise? No, but this is a disappointing start. It cannot be unmade, and is now canon. After Star Trek (whose novelty has worn off) and ST: ID, this film confirms that Abrams is incapable of creating a film that doesn’t move at such a pace that it breaks its own neck. Again, another film where the characters never rest, where there is no time for exposition, where everything that happens (in a galaxy that requires hyperspace travel to traverse it, no less) feels like it happens in less than 24 hours. The poor pacing took me out of the film through sheer action scene fatigue, and once disengaged I had time to become critical of its component parts. Why not just make a 3 hour film and slow it down a bit? Star Wars audiences would happily endure it.
2) Why is it a “Resistance”, as opposed to an Army of the Reformed Galactic Republic? Where did the First Order come from? Why do they identify as something other than the Galactic Empire? What is the scale of both respective forces? Is anybody going to explain the past 25 years of political reformation, positioning, historical events, or significant conflicts? Who is winning, and to what degree? How much of charted space does the First Order control vs. the Resistance/Republic? Why do both forces appear to be comprised of less than a thousand members? There is nothing grandiose about the First Order, unlike the impressive, despair-inducing monolith of the Galactic Empire.

5) Short shrift for mass destruction and genocide: The pacing of this film was so off that Abrams could not even convey the weight of grief that would occur after the first discharge of the Starkiller Base. In Star Trek, the sudden and unexpected destruction of Vulcan was a successful gut punch for the audience (I even watched as one Trekkie in the audience started screaming in disbelief at the screen). Really though, the concept of a Starkiller Base is absurd. If you drain a sun, the region it once inhabited would becoming extremely inhospitable to the weapon's user. Also, who terraformed the planet to create such a thing? How does the First Order have access to the resources necessary to build it? What was the planet once called? How could a planet contain the power of a sun? How does an energy beam split itself halfway to its destination? How could a new star re-form after said planet collapses? It all just feels thoughtless, as though Abrams is asking the audience to leave their ability to critically analyze plot devices at the door. I’m surprised that the core chamber of the base wasn’t the Budweiser brewery or something.
6) Is that Admiral Ackbar?! Why is he being treated like the janitor that wandered into the warroom? Why does the military meeting feel like a group of forcefully sarcastic twentysomethings playing cards against humanity in the local brewpub? Where is the solemnity for the fact that th7) I feel that, unlike Lucas (who loved the Star Wars universe even while mismanaging the prequels), Abrams was too obsessed with the cinematic style of the original films, and as result emulated the originals to the point of neglecting the universe in which the new plot is contained. As a comparison, I brought up the opening scene of Episode
8) Overly fortuitous moments everywhere: Convenient planetary rifts separating characters, needle in galactic haystacks character encounters, and inconsistent character actions everywhere. Why send somebody a map (in a deactivated droid) in order to find their location, while leaving a piece of the map missing? Unnecessarily cryptic, much? The Force, I suppose. Felt lazy. And “Oh, I just happened to run into you in the middle of space”, without which the entire film would come to a halt. Deus ex Machina all over, shifting Force potency when the scene demands it. Example: I can force push you across half a forest one moment and freeze a blaster beam in time, but now I cannot win a lightsaber duel against someone with no prior lightsaber experience because, well, the plot demands it.… Expand

17 of 37 users found this helpful1720

All this user's reviews

6

LAROmegaDec 19, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. (I'll keep this mostly spoiler free.)
Is this a good movie, no. Is this a bad movie, no. It's the definition of an "OK" movie. For me personally I place it around Episode 3 in my ranking of Star Wars movies. Unfortunately, and I think this will be proven out after the luster of a new Star Wars movie wears off, it's not as good as the original trilogy. I'm stating to think that the original trilogy's magic can't happen twice. Now I've thought about why this movie isn't good a lot over the past day and it comes down to the movie not explaining much of anything.

Near as I can tell the Star Wars universe in this movie has two governments, the Republic and some form of the Empire pulled together from it's remnants after Episode 6. They appear to be in some state of cold war, with the Republic funding a "Resistance" within the Empire. Now I've pieced this together from reading online and little bits of dialog during the movie because none of it is explained. It's like what I imaging watching The Avengers would be like without having seen any of the precursor (Iron Man, Capt America, Thor) movies. Except in this case the precursor movie(s) don't exist (yet?). So when a few planets are destroyed in the middle of the movie I was left guess "Was that Coruscant?" only to find out later from a throw-away line that no it was not, but not much information other than that. This trend of not explaining things repeats for much of the movie and is why I personally think it's only OK.

Many of the other things that people are complaining about are neither here-nor-there in my opinion. Yes they exist, but in many cases they're artistic choice. Abrams is good at making media with mass appeal, not at honoring existing IP (see Star Trek). Though after this and Star Trek I firmly believe Abrams has no idea how physics work, real or universe specific. =)… Expand

7 of 15 users found this helpful78

All this user's reviews

6

AshCosgroveDec 19, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This movie did one thing (probably unintentionally) right: It made the prequel trilogy good by comparison. At least the prequels found ways to expand the universe and led to a satisfying (and admittedly expected) conclusion. Sure there was some pandering here and there, and Jar Jar, but at least it was new and interesting and Lucas was trying to make entirely new worlds based off the rather simple premise of Anakin becoming Vader and the rise of the Empire.

If I knew this movie was going to be a fan-fiction with chronic pandering issues, and rehashing nearly the same plot and themes from A New Hope right down to the cantina scene, I would've just saved my $17 and watched the Original Trilogy again. It doesn't have its own identity. It's not creating a new story, it's finding ways to jam in as many old SW elements as possible to satisfy the existing fans, rather than finding ways to create new ones. The movie felt... safe, which isn't a surprise considering who's ponying up the cash.

The "surprising" death felt cheap. I'm not angry at the death per se, but just the way it was done. The two things that I'll give it was that Poe Dameron is a pretty bad-ass character and I look forward to seeing him more in future movies as a stand-in for Wedge Antilles, and the battle scene with Maz on the forest planet between the First Order and the Resistance was quite amazing. The movie was best when it was doing its own thing. Jakku was also a good sequence that had familiar, but not the same themes as the original.

Since the movie had no identity of its own, I guess it's only reasonable to compare it to A New Hope beat-for-beat, just like the movie did with its story. It had no idea how to flesh out characters, or take the time to appreciate the scenery because we need to move to the next pander or action set-piece. It took 40 minutes to get off Tatooine in a New Hope. It gave us time to breathe and appreciate the characters and love when they succeeded and really feel something when they didn't. In this movie, the new villain was a whiny brat who literally threw temper tantrums when things didn't go his way and was beaten by a person who never held a lightsaber in her life. In the original, Darth Vader was a very ominous character who succeeded in his villainy by taking charge when things didn't go his way i.e. getting in a TIE Interceptor and trying to bring down Luke himself. In this movie the comedy felt very Marvel-esque using "hilarious" one-liners, irritating back-and-forth dialogue, and witticisms to entertain the audience. It didn't feel natural or welcome; it felt forced. In the original, the comedy came from interactions with people that had differing, clashing personalities, not from every character having a Tony Stark moment. In this movie, it felt the need to cram in as many familiar faces as possible within 2 hours (some of which was welcome, for most it was not). In the original, they presented new characters throughout the movie gradually, leaving plenty of room for new characters to enter for the sequels.

The cinematography was very Abrams-esque, and to a fault: weird angles, zooming back-and-forth, and of course dat lens flare. In the original, the scenery was its own character, and the cinematographer knew that. He allowed time to get used to a setting before zooming off to another one. I've always seen the Millennium Falcon as a character in the franchise. In this one, the ship felt lifeless, and claustrophobic (not in a good, 2001: A Space Odyssey way), and that's probably due to the way it was filmed.

I could write forever about its many problems, but I think I summed up my opinion pretty well.… Expand

14 of 29 users found this helpful1415

All this user's reviews

6

cnar61Dec 20, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Excuse me , but Star Wars Episode VII is disrespectful KYLO REN Rey is beaten up REY There is no education Do not tell people that I do not know how to beat , even if it is selected… Expand

5 of 13 users found this helpful58

All this user's reviews

6

Riekopo2Dec 20, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Sadly I was disappointed with The Force Awakens. There were glimpses of greatness, but it was mostly mediocre in my opinion. I think they played it really safe when they made the movie. It actually felt like they just took the original three movies and just put a new coat of paint on and rearranged things. It really felt like a Disney movie to me more than a Star Wars movie. I think a lot of the writing was just plain bad.

A lot of things didn't make sense. Carrie Fisher's acting was really bad. That witty fire in the belly personality was completely missing from Leia and Han. Killing Han was really lame in my view. It was pretty obvious that was going to happen once he stepped into the bridge. The "big bad" guy was just ridiculous in my opinion. A thirty foot tall guy that looks like Voldermort. Kylo Ren's acting was pretty terrible. His voice behind the mask just sounded like a boring robot. His voice outside of the mask was even more boring. I think he was a terrible villain. I didn't feel intimidated or afraid of him at all. He felt like an angsty teenager more than anything. I think his line delivery is what really sucked.

The introduction of the movie was extremely abrupt and there was basically no character development. They did a really poor job of introducing and explaining things. It made no sense how Fin and Rey immediately acted like best friends and in love as soon as they met. How did Fin and Rey magically run into Han when they took the Millennium Falcon? Fin's character was way too goofy I think. He was supposed to be trained from birth or since a child to serve the First Order and be obedient and loyal yet in his very first battle he decides to defect. It really made no sense. Fin also acted incompetent which is a Star Wars Stormtrooper/Imperial trope that really needs to die. The First Order showed massive incompetence and got their asses kicked completely. They lost two Deathstar superweapons so they decided to just build an even bigger and more powerful one. So they can turn an entire planet into a weapon, but they can't defend it against a few Rebel fighters. That's just out of the realm of believability for me.

When the Rebels attacked the planet they only showed like 15 X wings yet somehow they are able to destroy this planet. One of the Rebel commanders actually said "half our fleet is destroyed". What the hell does that mean? Were there budget cuts or something? They only showed like 15 X wings. I also think they used too much CGI. In my opinion they should never use it. They shouldn't have given a CGI character such a close up and prominent role. I'm talking about the small orange one Maz Kanata who felt really out of place to me. It also didn't make sense how everyone magically knew how to use a lightsaber. I'm talking about Fin when he fights that Stormtrooper who conveniently had a vibroblade. And also when Fin and Rey lightsaber duel Kylo who should have been able to kick their asses.

BB8 I wasn't too hot on though it had a couple funny moments. It felt like a less cool and less funny R2D2. A giant ball is a pretty weird design. It's harder to animate and anthropomorphize a ball. The joke Han made a couple times about Chewbacca's bowcaster didn't make sense. They've been together forever, but Han only just now tried out Chewie's bowcaster? What? It made no sense that Rey was able to use the force so effectively without having any training. The movie was just full of things like that which didn't make sense.

Overall, I think this movie was maybe designed by committee. I think I liked the prequels more than this.… Expand

7 of 18 users found this helpful711

All this user's reviews

6

javilizardiDec 20, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. How many times are you goi g to hear the same story. I dont mean similar is the same. The acting was ok, special effects were good, characters specially the villain was ok. So much hype for a so so movie. Hey if you are 7 or 9 you will love it. You probably love britney and bieber too. For everyone else well is the same story and i repeat is just good enough, do not believe the hype.… Expand

4 of 11 users found this helpful47

All this user's reviews

6

dmoldwinDec 20, 2015

Overall, the movie was exciting and cinematography excellent. Having said that, I have many issues with the film. First off, as many have said, the plot is almost identical to "A New Hope," and nothing major really happens except that HanOverall, the movie was exciting and cinematography excellent. Having said that, I have many issues with the film. First off, as many have said, the plot is almost identical to "A New Hope," and nothing major really happens except that Han Solo is killed. What about Captain Phasma?? She was built up to be this new badass villian in trailers and on the poster.... She was barely in the movie at all and was the least bit intimidating. I mean a total pansy. On another note, I think Adam Driver is a great actor, but idk, I think he as Kylo Ren was more psycho creepy/ weird than he was evil. And how about the lightsaber fight?.....Pathetic!!! He should have been able to kill Fin with his eyes closed in a split second. What was that? So dissapointing in my opinion. And how did the New Order come to power? And the stormtroopers were raised to become a part of the New Order? Who convinced all of these people to become stormtroopers? And Fin has been a stormtrooper since he was a young boy and all of a sudden he realizes that they kill innocent people and are evil and changes his mind and runs? C'mon!!! So stupid!... I just feel like the producers had a lot of cool ideas and characters and had to find a quick way to make it all work, but couldn't develop all of them well in 2.5 hours. There were also way too many unexplained peices in the story. Who are the Knights of Ren?, How did Maz Kanata get Luke's lightsaber?, Why is C3P0's arm red?, How did this 30 something year old General Hux become the leader of this New Order? And one last thing- not that this is an issue with the movie itself, but jeeez... Carrie Fisher sounds like she's been chain smoking for the past 30 years or something.

Though it doesn't seem so from my reivew, I actually think the movie was fun and entertaining... But I think if you are going in expecting a deep story line with legit character and plot development, you might be dissapointed. And if you follow the logic of the original Star Wars and the way the force works, this movie was pretty inaccurate in my opinion. It's great if you want to see some fun action with cool costumes, lightsabers, spaceships, and excellent cinematography.… Expand

2 of 10 users found this helpful28

All this user's reviews

6

Nihil84Dec 21, 2015

Spoilers here, Good movie overall but not a great star wars movie. The generic movie goer/kids will love it.

Pros: -Good action -Not boring/fast paced story -Good comedy thrown in Cons: -A new hope remake (resistance vs new order,Spoilers here, Good movie overall but not a great star wars movie. The generic movie goer/kids will love it.

Pros:
-Good action
-Not boring/fast paced story
-Good comedy thrown in

Cons:
-A new hope remake (resistance vs new order, another death star, protagonist stuck desert, droid looking for help, mentor dies in the end)
-Laughable antagonist (weak, throws tantrums, looks like adam sandberg)
-Thin characters
-R2D2 just wakes up out of thin air with a map
-Original characters and captain phasma get no screen time other than han/chewie
-Poe, Fin, Ren, Rey...who thought of these names? and Snoke...really? darth snokie

I could go on with more cons but I think I gave enough to show my view point. They wiped the slate clean and could have wrote anything and this plot line and characters is awful. Like I stated before its going to be good for your average movie goer and star wars fan, but some fans I think will see this as a hollow movie, hopefully 8 and 9 wont be so awful.… Expand

11 of 23 users found this helpful1112

All this user's reviews

6

KalipsysDec 21, 2015

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The force awakens feels like a two hour long trailer for episode 8...... Does not provide us with adequate information about new characters, story is unfortunately similar to the new hope. Leaving the movie theatre, i felt like the movie was way better than what i think of it right now. Why .. well maybe because i was brainwashed with unprecedented hype around it and wished so hard for it to be good that i felt it was.. Unfortunately, after a couple days of thinking about what i saw, i realized that it was Indeed A TRAP ! I do give it 6 just because they were in my opinion, successful in bringing good characters ( from the light side ) that i can't wait to see in the next two movies. Characters from the dark side were left.. well in the dark. Phasma and Hux were not necessary and felt like they were added to make Kylo Ren less lonely in his adolescence crisis. I say this movie feels like a big trailer to the next episode because not much is revealed and it's just a two hour attempt at placing cards for the next movie to come. I was not as disappointed with the new Death Star (starkiller) as many people were since it seems like it's a star wars thing to have new death stars. Beginning of the movie was beautiful, i felt what Rey felt alone on that tatooine 2 planet, struggle to survive, waiting for something greater to happen. feels similar right, well thats ok. Last scene of the movie was great too, no lines needed in that epic new generation yoda luke moment. Was done well and i taught the setting in which it was filmed suits Luke just like Dagobah was right for a character like Yoda. Predictable movie, good actor characters on the light side, terrible characters on the dark side from lack of information about their background + bad acting ( my god General Hux).. Phasma ( noticed her existence because she wears chrome. The force in starwars is there, you can have it, but you must train it and learn about it, i cannot be handed out to you for free or when you need and are in imminent danger, close your eyes and make the force save your butt. Does not work like that.. Rey did survive the whole movie pressing the magic FORCE button to save herself and others. That was very disappointing. Luke had to learn it but Rey looked and felt as powerful and wise as Obi-Wan. Very nice pictures, i did enjoy how real the movie felt compared to 90% blue and green screens from prequels. Now try to please every one in this world, you will fail. JJ did not screw it he just made something that could reach everyone ( to make ridiculous amount of money ) but what could we expect. It could not be only directed to hard core fans either. Star Wars was never a movie to go see and analyse it too much. It was and still is entertainment, princesses and sword fights in the future... Go see the movie without too much expectations and you will be satisfied without finding it epic and well why would another star wars movie ever be better than the first ones.. i cannot happen. if you go see a movie that takes place in a series of 7 episodes so far.. well prepare to see similarities and calls to nostalgia along the way. In my opinion, the originals should have just been left alone forever that had touched a never before seen amount of people from all generations. In this decision to continue the story of starwars, the force awakens was ok as long as you never expect a star wars to be better than the originals... well because, starwars was new and had space to be creative.… Expand

7 of 15 users found this helpful78

All this user's reviews