hylian_elf wrote:

Rey? I think it’s true. Part of the story/premise in this seems to be force is awakening in everyone and it’s not just Jedi who have good use of it etc. Can be anyone. Rey is that anyone.  As is the little guy at the end. I did at one point think Rey and Ren are twins. But nah. Wanted to shout that on way out at the long queues though.

Lets not forget Anakins parents were nobody.

You don't have to have royal blood so to speak.

So does that mean old mate that was on Rey's planet at the start of TFA was just there by chance/coincidence/Force and not there to the watching her?

I don't mind it being that way.

I was vaguely disappointed by him in person. The massive projection thing was much more sinister.

I think reading the spoilers actually benefitted my experience because I went in with little expectation but  really enjoyed it. I loved Luke’s story arc and the Yoda inclusion into this ( which could easily have been cheap fan service) it perfectly  complimented that.  The film has issues, it struggles outside of the Luke/ Rey/ Kylo dynamic and a lot of the comedy is misplaced ( notably with Hux) but it is a far more substantial film than the force awakens.

I liked it. There's a lot going on, most of which was a bit of a surprise.
People moaned that TFA was a reboot. And now you are moaning when you get a non-reboot.
Can't win.
Anyway my thoughts are more in line with frantics and the rest can smell me ma.

TFA wasn’t a reboot. It was a plain and simple sequel. Number 7 in the series in fact. Which idiots are calling it a reboot?

on a none-critical note.
the bit where Rey was practicing with her staff then light sabre....did anyone else think it looked it was a huge rock across a ravine from her, rather than right in front of her? the different perspectives threw my brain, like she was practising by pointing at a thing in the distance...then when she suddenly cut it, for a moment i thought it was some force madness....then realised it was just a (relatively) little rock right in front of her

Nope.

hylian_elf wrote:

TFA wasn’t a reboot. It was a plain and simple sequel. Number 7 in the series in fact. Which idiots are calling it a reboot?

I think he meant more that it played it very safe and just reused aspects of the past films.

Now I've seen it, I think it was an ok movie. The Luke, Kylo and Leia bits were done well. But let's face facts, this was a movie about letting go of the past, killing it because you have to. It was artfully done, but it was done nonetheless. What is left? Leia is gonna have a small to nonexistent role in the next movie. Luke the same. What is left is a cast of characters who, frankly, are not that interesting. Kylo is skilfully portrayed but lacks understandable motivations or any kind of goal. Rey might as well be see through. I'd say Poe is downright annoying, and Finn is irrelevant. I just don't see what's left here. Maybe Rian Johnson's trilogy will breathe new life into this franchise, but frankly I'm not too optimistic. I give it two more star war movies before it goes the way of Marvel: pointlessness and empty, unfulfilling saturation

The one other he’s talking about is Ben. When he complained about how easily she went to the dark, it was just to confirm to the audience his fear of losing control as he did with Ben.

Why does Rey being powerful mean that she and Ren could be siblings? Not everyone powerful in the force has to be related. Give it up.

As for Snoke, I doubt we’ll see him again. There’s one more film to go, and having Ren be the head bummer that needs taken out is clearly ample... with a more satisfying end for Hux(?) in the finale than Phasma(?) had in this film.

The whole setup of getting rid of the old cast and bring in the young and new could go on for a few movies more in theory. But no, we got a young Han Solo and Boba Fett movie to come. Sigh.

If we don't see snoke again in the movies, a novel or trilogy of novels covering snoke could be popular. However a general google, leads to lots of fan speculation that he isn't dead. Afterall if and it's a big if, rey can turn Kylo to the light side they need a big bad to fight. What better way to cap off this trilogy than a proper fight with a lightsaber weilding snoke?

@evil I was wondering why they didn't kill off leia as well since Disney have gone on record saying she will not appear in episode 9 in cgi form.

Went back to watch this again tonight. This time with wife and kids in tow. The boys wanted to watch it in 3d. Don't. Screen is far too dark, especially during the casino escape section. 3d was disappointing throughout. 

I really enjoyed it on second viewing. In part, that may be due to the dissection that was had in the car on the way home with No. 1 son. I do think any of these latter day Star Wars films have a really delicate balancing act to be mindful of. They need to have reference, relevance and reverence for what went before whilst also forging the path for future films. This did a fairly good job of catering for these disparate outcomes. 

There are some really clunky parts. Buzz Lightyear Leia and Casino Royale have issues. My 11 year old agreed and felt the casino section could have been jettisoned but tempered this by saying that without it the First Order wouldn't have got wind of the rebellion's breakaway escape and subsequent planetary denouement.

The film is bloated and at 2.5 hrs is the longest Star Wars film (I think). But, I can forgive this for the amount of enjoyment I got from it. The comedy didn't become grating for me and even though this was a second viewing the spine-tingling moments still worked for me. Leia meeting Luke. Rey and Ren against the Imperial Guard (or whatever they're called). The image of Luke's silhouette with a swarm of AT-ATs in the background of the planetscape worked for me; it immediately had that iconic resonance. Luke got the send-off that he deserved; that his legacy demanded. Han didn't become a cursory footnote. It's a film about family and legacy and as such I felt that Carrie Fisher's daughter did really well with the limited airtime and script she had. 

Chewie was wasted. The Porg intro was Disney merchandislng at its worst. Driver, whilst doing a fantastic job as Ren, really doesn't seem like a terrifying villain in the way that Vader was. I'm just not scared of him and more concerning, neither do my kids. This is partly down to the conflict inherent within and the glimpses of goodness that are still part of him.  But for both recent films, I've not felt the same sense of trepidation as I did under the Palaptine/Vader/Death Star triumvirate. The spacecraft chase lacked real concern. But despite all this, it reignited my interest in SW and made me remember what a formative experience the original trilogy had given me. I get the criticism over the various characters and their stories within the film but on seeing it a second time, I felt like their film arcs worked relatively well. Poe's arrogance was tempered. Finn confronted the responsibility of his stature. Rey made the decision to go to the light side over the allure of the dark side. And so on. 

My favourite thing was that the film didn't succumb to fan pressure. It would have been so easy and in some ways advisable to reveal who Snoke was, who Rey's parents were and add in other convenient speculated conclusions. Rey must be a Skywalker, is Ren's twin sister, etc etc. Like Luke alludes to in the trailer, things don't turn out as you'd expect. I was expecting an Empire-esque downer but Luke left on his own terms. Snoke had the look of an emaciated/aged Hux so I can't help but think there might be a link there but not going to devote any time to it. 

Anyway, I came out of the cinema with a need to watch the previous films again and a reignition of the fantastical abandonment that the films have always given me. Happy to wallow in the Star Wars universe again, warts and all. Made me feel like a kid again and for that, I can forgive it it's various issues.

hylian_elf wrote:

Just checked the cast list. 

Adrian Edmondson was in there, as Captain Peavey? Who was that? Bloody hell, Eddie!

Lily Cole is listed. So is Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Slowen Lo, who was that?!

He's Hux's lackey.

What's the point of hux? Why did kylo leave him alive?

This film made so little sense.