Critics Of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Blast New Film

[KazeoHin]

Yes, because everyone that hates something that the majority likes is simply being edgy and independent. Likewise, you're proving that you're smarter, more independent, and more forward by thinking so far ahead of said edgy and independent people and siding with the majority instead. Do you see where this crap never ends? Stop doing it. Unless you're actually prepared to go through each review one by one and dissect it in order to find out what the main reason a person likes or dislikes a film is.

Both distinctions are meaningless. You can call people that do not side with the majority as hipsters, but it's empty ad hominem. Likewise others can call the other crowd... umm... what's the word for it these days? "Normalfags"? Either way, it's likewise empty ad hominem.

For what it is worth, like I said, I had no idea the movie was even well regarded when I went in. I knew nothing about it, actually. Not even a simple synopsis. Yet when I watched it, the only thing running through my head was "what is this trash"? It was cringe worthy. So no, not everyone that has an opinion that differs from yours is simply a hipster, and likewise not everyone that has an opinion that differs from mine is... You know, fill in the blank.

I think it's the way an opinion is presented. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but you gotta admit, there are a ton of people who hate the popular things because it gives them an opportunity to open their mouth. Hell, even I've contributed to that culture before.

"That (X) was trash, how anyone could enjoy it is beyond me!"

And

"I tried (X), I couldn't really get behind it. I don't see why it's popular..."

Two identical points, two completely different intentions behind them.

 

[collegeboy69us]

Let's face reality - they could bring back Jar-Jar have him stand in the middle of the screen for 2 hours beating off, and people would still pay to see it. Why? Because star wars.

I loved 4,5,6, haven't seen 1,2,3 or 7 If I get bored one day I'll download them and have some kind of marathon or something but other than that, meh.

There's an almost cult like following with this stuff, people who eat/drink/breath/fap to this stuff, saying it made a billion dollars doesn't tell me too much I don't already know. People will blow money without caring on star wars.

I even noticed people who have no idea what star wars is get caught up in the fever of it. Everyone gets excited about it and suddenly people who really don't care are excited because its' the "cool" thing to do.

Love it or hate it, who cares. Just see it for what it really is, a rip off of the "good" star wars, repackaged by Disney because they wanted to milk their cash cow a bit.

Trust me if they could get away with the Jar-Jar beat off movie, they would totally do it, all they want to see is the $$$ flowing in.

 

[Lunas]

The criticisms in the article were all completely true, the movie was a carbon copy of Star Wars with some Empire Strikes Back thrown in. I still enjoyed watching it, but I would've preferred an actual original story. And yeah, Kylo Ren was a pathetic excuse for a bad guy, listening to him snivel made me want to push him down and steal his lunch money. Even Anakin wasn't quite that pathetic, despite being as dumb as a post.

I refer to him as Darth temper tantrum. His grandfather did his tantrums with more emotion and better though...

 

[primetime]

Since i enjoy nostalgia, me thinks i will enjoy this one. There hasn't really been a good one since 83

 

[Trimlock]

To me I still think Mad Max is the best movie of 2015. But I really like Star Wars and thought the movie was great. I'll be upgrading my sound system for when the blu Ray comes out.

 

[Chaos Machine]

I refer to him as Darth temper tantrum. His grandfather did his tantrums with more emotion and better though...

I thought his character was the most interesting of them all. His cherubic face does not do him any favors for playing a villian and yet he did a good job in spite of it. He is not suppose to be as intimidating as Vader, yet... This movie was as much of a coming of age story for him as it was the rest. I wonder, after the events in this film is his "movie karma" so bad that redemption is even possible? I disagree on the tantrums being done better by Hayden Christensen. Part of his problem was his voice was not intimidating at all so he sounded whiney. Driver certainly can sound menacing.

 

[atom]

Awesome movie. My only complaint is the lack of character development, action action action. True to J.J.'s style.

 

[StoleMyOwnCar]

I think it's the way an opinion is presented. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but you gotta admit, there are a ton of people who hate the popular things because it gives them an opportunity to open their mouth. Hell, even I've contributed to that culture before.

"That (X) was trash, how anyone could enjoy it is beyond me!"

And

"I tried (X), I couldn't really get behind it. I don't see why it's popular..."

Two identical points, two completely different intentions behind them.

I agree with your current premise to an extent (your first one was too extreme of a blanket statement, which is why I had to voice some criticism). That being said, in both of those cases, it's hard to say anything for sure. The second person could be expressing legitimate confusion as to how anyone could enjoy specimen X. The first person is expressing blatant disgust. The problem is the line is simply really blurry, and it's hard to tell who has credibility, or what their angle is. Or even whether their original angle matters. The problem is that you can start with superficial intentions and still end up with something legitimate as a criticism via analysis of the premise based on the intention. Or vice versa.

I mean the only way you're gonna know for sure is if you hear it from the horse's mouth. But generally speaking, they're not going to just straight up tell you "hey, I have shallow reasons for my stance". In which case you have to analyze how they deny the allegation... which leads you back to the same issue. I'm not even going to touch upon the other can of worms, which is "how do you define what stances qualify as having legitimate premise." In the end it's up to each person's interpretation as to whether another person is "just going against popular opinion" or actually voicing his/ own unfettered opinion. What's fun about this whole process is that each person's own personal leaning on the article to review colors their perception of other reviews. For instance, people that liked the movie are much more likely to call people that voice discontent hipsters. Aaaand I feel like I've summed up the issue of "credibility on the internet" in general, on accident. >_>;

At least in real life there are biological cues that are difficult to control.

I refer to him as Darth temper tantrum. His grandfather did his tantrums with more emotion and better though...

I though he was um... yeah he didn't really look/sound like a villain at all. IMO he should have never taken that mask off. I had a hard time taking him seriously no matter what he did after that. I guess they gave him that special light saber with the menacing-looking guard for that purpose... though that ended up just making me roll my eyes.

That being said, one part where I distinctly remember having to literally try to contain my laughter was when that prisoner (avoiding spoilers here) escaped the chair and he started slashing the crap out of everything. I mean okay that would have been fine if not for:
1. That's the second time (? maybe more) where he just started tearing crap up..
2. The camera just kind of panned out to outside of the room where all you see is sparks flying out and hear him grunting a lot.
3. All of the troopers are just like *pause*. "Is he throwing a tantrum again?" "Let's just kinda like... y'know... wait it out, K? *Popcorn*"

Combine all those factors, and the way they shot that scene was utterly comical to me for some reason. It reminded me of what I would see in a comedy sketch. They did a bad job on that scene.

 

[KickAssCop]

I have now re watched all of the previous movies and honestly think the movie was about average. I find the weakest movie in the franchise as being the Return of the Jedi since it is so chalk full of cheese and nonsense including the villagers that took down troopers and their vehicles with just stones.

The high point of the movie was the acting overall which was leagues better than the stupid cheese in the originals and Jar Jar nonsense in prequels. The saber fights were the low point in the movie and storyline was just a rip off. Here is my ranking after finishing all 7.

Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 7
Episode 3
Episode 2
Episode 6
Episode 1

I measure this based on if I fell asleep whilst watching the movies which I did whilst watching the last 3 in my list.

 

[travbrad]

I haven't seen the new one but I think no matter what they did it probably won't live up to some people's nostalgia of seeing the original films when they were kids. For many people who saw them when they were young those films were a magical experience and conjure up memories of being young, carefree, fun, etc.

I've seen a few negative reviews of it that basically seem to criticize it for being a somewhat shallow big budget sci-fi action blockbuster, but IMO that's what Star Wars has always been. It can still be a fun ride though.

 

[5icko]

2.5 stars. Not anywhere near as good as the sycophants report.

Half of the movie was recycled events. No creativity whatsoever, and a new whiny villian that was miscast again.

The defenders will say it's better than the previous three. True, but that's not saying much, is it.

 

[5icko]

^ Forgot to add terrible, stilted acting from Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, and flat dialogue across the board.

 

[Tweak42]

Just got back from seeing it a 2nd time with my brothers, (1st time was few days ago).

Loved the 1st half of the movie, not so much the 2nd because by that point the rehashing starts to get noticeable, and the wanting ending lead-in for the next movie. New characters were great, lots of potential, but not much background though honestly that would have slowed the movie down to much getting into details best left for sequels, books and other media formats.

 

[Mazzic518]

You are dead to me.

 

[nb14]

I haven't watched it yet but all i have heard from people i trust is positive vibes

 

[collegeboy69us]

^ Forgot to add terrible, stilted acting from Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, and flat dialogue across the board.

According some some googling -- ford made 10 to 20 million for his role in number 7.

And he's already worth a mountain of cash. At that point being filthy rich, and old (face it) I wouldn't care what sort of acting I'd be doing if it gave me something to do and got me out of the house. (you know when I wasn't playing my ferraris or doing blow off a very very very expensive hooker.

 

[Filiprino]

When the new Yoda character payed attention to the black guy I though she would say, "hey, you're a f***ing stormtrooper!". But no, she only said "you have fear". Oh come on. Stupid.

And the new Darth Vader took out his mask just because the new Luke Skywalker asked for it.

To be badass the new Darth Vader could have said: "If you want to see my face you will have to take off my mask with your own hands", or something like that. Would have been better, more rough.

But this film is Disney Star Wars.

Your lack of faith has plenty of justification.

Blah.

 

[{NG}Fidel]

It was awesome, loved it and I will not join in the direction. You either enjoyed it or you didn't that's on you.

 

[{NG}Fidel]

Dissection* I wish I could edit on the main!

 

[brian770]

I was entertained. I hope ep 8 does some character development especially Kylo Ren. His character is so shallow right now.

he is a bitch, Vader would have owned him without thought.......

 

[Verge]

^ Forgot to add terrible, stilted acting from Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, and flat dialogue across the board.

Was Fishers face blurred out on anybody else's theater.


It was very soft, then they'd cut back to Harrison ford and the focus was tack sharp. It was definitely intentionally done.

 

[Husanak]

Movie makes a ton of money... and critics refuse mostly refuse to slam anything.

So the internet hipsters turn into a version of In Living Colors Men on Films... Haaattted it.

lol

It is a good star wars film... not sure what some people where expecting. In case people don't remember the Movies have never really been aimed at us middle aged dudes, it was aimed at kids and young teens. By that measure the movie was quite good, my kids want to see it again, just like I (and most of the complainers) did when we watched the old ones when we where the same age.

 

[Yaka]

its a good film, much better than ep1-3 but it seems apprent that disney will try an change the mythos of the orignal trillogy as they milk the shit out of the franchise. luke no longer be what he is to the fan-base.

wont surprise me if in the next 20 years disney wil remake the eps 3 to 6. lucas fucked up in telleng vaders/anakins story but he would not have faffed about as much as disney are going to.

 

[kbrickley]

Was it a Citizen Kane or Shawshank Redemption (of course not)

Was it fully aligned to the fan boys' wants and desires and previously established canon (I don't know how any commercially successful movie could be)

Was it a decent start to a new Star Wars series and an acceptable reboot like the Star Trek movies were (I think so ... you either are flexible enough to enjoy movie versions and reboots or you're not ... I think they did okay and I'm looking forward to the next installment)

 

[M76]

It's always cool to bad-mouth something everyone else thinks is good.

The box office speaks for itself.

Of course a star wars movie will do well. In fact the criticism makes it even more popular. Even those who didn't want to see it immediately wanted to see if it's really that bad.

A movie can bring nothing to the franchise, but still be entertaining. Just because many like something doesn't automatically mean it's flawless . And it doesn't render all criticism it receives invalid.

We don't need to ignore every fault, just because it is entertaining. It's typical fanboyism when they refuse to acknowledge even the most blatant flaws in a product, thinking it would somehow belittle it. If anything acknowledging it's mistakes makes it even more of a feat that it is still entertaining.

 

[Twisted Kidney]

Critics of thing on the itnernet unite in hating thing, say thing is bad.

Film at eleven.

Coming up tomorrow, more people who hate other thing on the internet.

 

[cptnjarhead]

I saw it on Christmas night. It was very well done. A lot to live up to and i thought they did a great job. Only complaint was a Jedi trained Kylo-Ren getting his ass kicked by a girl who didnt even know she had any powers? Come on, he can stop blaster fire in mid air, but an untrained girl kicks his ass? But, it was an enjoyable movie, and the biggest plus, NO JAR JAR BINKS!!!!!.... YESSSSS

 

[Krab]

Nerds that get overly obsessed with a fictional universe and then get angry when that fictional universe does not meet the expectations in their head, are the worst nerds.

(I'm guilty)

 

[MrCrispy]

JJ was paid to do what he does - create a safe, sanitized 'modern' movie - i.e. designed by committee, language for modern teens, young adult hero's, a badass female, constant exposition and explosions and humor every 2min for ADHD crowds so no one has to think - and he did that by copying the original firm to play it safe.

There's no backstory, no real story/plot, no sense of wonder/awe, no fantasy/scifi except the same old elements (another death star, another Tatooine, another Emperor), and did what he has done with his Trek films - a sanitized, emotionless reboot with none of the elements that made the originals great.

He has destroyed 2 great franchises now. Lucas made crappy prequels, but at least he took risks and had a vision and there are bits that are great - TFA is completely forgettable and boring.

 

[xX326Xx]

I myself walked out of the movie three quarters into it. I just couldn't take another minute of another cliched predictable plot line. This movie lacked the heart of the original series.Seems like all it takes is special effects to mesmerize people these days. The script writer should be shot for such a corny story line. JJ can go take a jump off of a tall building for not only cheapening Star Wars but also Star Trek. Very disappointed.

To each their own. I watched it 4 times and it seemed to get better each time. Didn't even get up to use the restroom either time. To me it was that good. I loved the comedy, it had great action and I never felt bored.

 

[ChedWick]

I think we need to really step back for a minute. I'm seeing food references here as comparisons but really you're comparing apples to oranges. It could be apples to apples but the comparisons I've seen so far in this thread are apples to oranges. Let me explain.

Is McDonald's good? Or is McDonald's good for you? One is purely subjective and up to personal opinion, the other is something you can base off of facts. Is Olive Garden good and is olive garden authentic Italian; same deal. The former is subjective while the latter can be argued with facts.

So, was StarWars 7 a good movie? This gets a little tricky because movies are made for entertainment. What someone finds entertaining can differ from person to person. What people define as good character development or story telling or plot progression are really just subjective evaluations. Given that overwhelming majority of people who have seen the movie say it was good and its bringing in a crap ton of money, I gotta think that it was indeed good. If it was bringing in a crap ton of money but the overwhelming consensus was that it was a let down, then we have an entirely different argument on our hands.

I personally thoroughly enjoyed it. It was essentially A New Hope 2.0 but for the modern age. They under utilized some awesome sounding characters and I wish the very ending had just a little more um, force... But I enjoyed it and am going back to see it again.

I guess for a loud minority, it all comes down the following, "stop liking what I don't like!"

 

[xX326Xx]

I saw it on Christmas night. It was very well done. A lot to live up to and i thought they did a great job. Only complaint was a Jedi trained Kylo-Ren getting his ass kicked by a girl who didnt even know she had any powers? Come on, he can stop blaster fire in mid air, but an untrained girl kicks his ass? But, it was an enjoyable movie, and the biggest plus, NO JAR JAR BINKS!!!!!.... YESSSSS

That massive bowcaster shot that hit Kylo directly in the abdomen likely handicapped him quite a bit, the part I felt a little more odd was the fact Kylo didn't deflect or otherwise to the blast, likely clouded by the emotional moment that occurred prior. Rey embraced the force, much like Luke in A New Hope when he fired the two torpedoes to hit a 2m exhaust port. For instance Luke when he was using the training droid on the Millennium Falcon in A New Hope when Luke wore the blaster helmet, once he let the force flow through him he deflected every shot while blinded. All she had to do was "Just let it in.". That being said, I draw a bigger comparison with Rey to Anakin than Luke. Much like Anakin knew he had skill/powers but didn't understand them, she just had to link the lore with her abilities, only she reluctantly took on the role as a Jedi as Luke did, where Anakin was all for it. I have a feeling Episode VIII will have the potential to be the best film of the series, I can't wait to see what Rian Johnson has in store for us.

 

[Wierdo]

Ok so I watched the movie and imho... meh, was a good action sci-fi flick, just a bit shallow, not enough time spent on character development.

Everything was fast paced to keep the A.D.D. crowd from losing attention, I would've liked more time spent on the characters, their motives and backgrounds, and their relationships with eachother etc.

They're pretty 2-dimensional at this point, and the romance angle got shoved there with barely enough time for even teenage infatuation to take hold.

But not bad, just don't go in with high expectations, it's better than the newer 3 but not the old classics imho.

 

[Wierdo]

Ok so I watched the movie and imho... meh, was a good action sci-fi flick, just a bit shallow, not enough time spent on character development.

Everything was fast paced to keep the A.D.D. crowd from losing attention, I would've liked more time spent on the characters, their motives and backgrounds, and their relationships with eachother etc.

They're pretty 2-dimensional at this point, and the romance angle got shoved there with barely enough time for even teenage infatuation to take hold.

But not bad, just don't go in with high expectations, it's better than the newer 3 but not the old classics imho.

Summary: explosions.

 

[kac77]

Ok so I watched the movie and imho... meh, was a good action sci-fi flick, just a bit shallow, not enough time spent on character development.

When was Star Wars about character development? People should really re-watch the originals. The dialog is pretty simplistic. The Danish Girl this movie is not, nor has the franchise ever been. There are no complex acting moments within the entire Star Wars franchise that anyone can remember beyond, "I am Your Father," or "The Force is with you." The original movies really were about showcasing special effects and Jim Henson's work more than anything. Most of the character development happened in the books.

 

[hardcase]

It was a good movie. Not as good as 4 and 5, but better than the rest. It felt like a mashup of 4 and 5 with a little 2 and 3 thrown in - almost like somebody gave JJ Abrams a checklist of high points to hit.

Episodes 4 and 5 weren't extraordinary moves because they were great cinema. They were extraordinary movies because they were so different. That difference is out of the bottle now, so trying to recapture it isn't possible - you could see that in Episode 6 (and really see it in 1-3). That means that the franchise needs to rely on the actual nuts and bolts of good film making. I'm hesitant to say that this installment was good film making. It gets a pass because it's the first in 30 years and it hit its marks, but it didn't go beyond.

 

[thejokker]

I'm a moderate Star Wars fan. I hated the ewoks and ja aj binks. Lucas has a way of dorking up a good thing. I read some reviews that pointed out the lack of originality in the script etc. etc. so I was expecting to kind of enjoy the movie but not much more.

That being said my expectations were exceeded. The least dorky Star Wars. It made me want to see it again.

Funny how while reading the comments of the haters I pictured the emo villain Kylo Ren. Joe hipster cynical cool guys who hated the movie on a subconscious level must realize the villain in the movie is actually mocking them...

 

[Ruoh]

It was boring as hell, and I fell asleep twice watching it.

 

[longblock454]

2.5 stars. Not anywhere near as good as the sycophants report.

Half of the movie was recycled events. No creativity whatsoever, and a new whiny villian that was miscast again.

The defenders will say it's better than the previous three. True, but that's not saying much, is it.

Just watched it Saturday, and pretty much this.

EP #1 was so bad I'd not been to the theater since 1999, wish I'd have stayed home, what a violation.

 

[Dan_D]

Awesome movie. My only complaint is the lack of character development, action action action. True to J.J.'s style.

And that's why I couldn't stand what he did to Star Trek. In fairness that style works better for Star Wars.