It's not just the Death Star concept. Everything is ripped from ANH. ROTJ ripped the Death Star from ANH, but that still had cool unique stuff in it, like Jabba the Hutt, the Endor speeder bike chase, and Luke's showdown with the Emperor.

This movie is so safe and takes absolutely no risks. The storyline is so vanilla. The prequels didn't feel like the OT, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. They told a different type of story, and while they weren't completely successful, I'd take them any day over TFA.

You're right about the story playing it safe the entire way through, with the exception of Han's death. Yet to say it takes no risks is crazy. A woman and a black guy not named Will or Denzel are the leads. 9/10 studios would consider that box office poison.

But gosh the third death star was really pushing our patience. How can we feel a collectove triump knowing The First Order is just gonna build another one. Where are they getting the money for all these death stars though?

money is just a fabric of society

When moviegeek went to see it on thursday, I joked that they built a new death star as a spoiler. So...

Well it was on the poster, so not exactly a secret. I think some of us were hoping it was just a small moon though.

That's no moon...

Watching this again it does go down better without all the hype in mind, but it's still a B or a 7/10 for me. I have serious problems with the pacing in the middle section. Once they get to the alien bar it just feels like the whole movie stops and from then on you do start to feel it's length. I'm also still not a fan of the Snoke character, especially his design which didn't seem to belong in a SW movie. Anytime they use CGI in this movie it did feel out a place eventhough the vfx overall are incredible, but it does get a bit too busy jumping from one big set piece to another and honestly it starts to feel like it's relying heavily on action sequences just to move the plot along. The whole X-wing sequence is still retarted though because it's just another rehash of the previous movies and it could have been a lot more engaging if they somehow brought Luke Skywalker into the mix. Why not have the climax take place on that planet we saw him on at the end instead of another snow covered planet ? Atleast it would have been different and when this movie actually tries being it's own thing it really works.

Magnus just fucking read my mind,

They REALLY should have pulled a Nolan TDKR with the ending & not given away that it was Luke before she got there. That ruined the surprise and it was very anticlimactic.

Driver wasn't bad, his character is just dumb. Han's death is terrible. Fisher looks and SOUNDS horrible.

This is certainly more enjoyable than Indiana Jones 4, but it isn't that great. The pacing is off in the middle has been said. There is zero tension about the new death star either.

I'll admit, I was not excited about this movie AT ALL until the last 2 months or so, when the marketing (specifically that last trailer) started to get me hyped. I really wanted to like this, and I started to believe JJ knew what he was doing and had an awesome story to tell in the SW universe I love.

Background: I grew up watching STAR WARS, EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and RETURN OF THE JEDI with my parents on VHS (earliest memory of Star Wars is being TERRIFIED when Luke encounters Vader/Luke in the swamp and sabers his head off, followed closely by utmost fascination for the entire opening act of RETURN OF THE JEDI). Saw all of the prequels opening day (and loved each experience / movie for awhile, granted I was 13, 16, and 19 at the time). Still really, really enjoy REVENGE OF THE SITH, and I'm starting to appreciate elements of PHANTOM MENACE and ATTACK OF THE CLONES in hindsight after this most recent installment.

THE FORCE AWAKENS is fun, I had a good time watching it, but as a whole it feels somewhat empty. I echo many of the criticisms expressed here (Magnus, Jonothan, zwackerm, David). The movie is fine, good even, and it plays like a STAR WARS movie. But it fails to add anything new to the universe. Yes, Rey as the heroine is awesome, Finn is a great protagonist too, and the return of Han Solo and Chewie is enjoyable and well received. But this movie tells almost THE EXACT SAME STORY as the first STAR WARS. I couldn't help but notice with the very first scene (R2D2-ish droid is given important strategic material), and thought it worked as a kind of homage, but then the rest of the movie played out..... FORCE AWAKENS is basically an unrepentant rehash of A NEW HOPE, up until the final scene when newly Force-initiated hero takes off across the galaxy to find the long lost Jedi-master. I can't see past this flaw as inevitable recycling of material within a fictional universe. It's too derivative and therefore fails the originality litmus, in other words, Why does this movie exist? Paying nostalgic homage is not enough, as Jurassic World so depressingly illustrated earlier this year. (though JW attempted this with an ironic detachment that made it all the more worthless, at least the new Star Wars has a heart)

Furthermore, while I did appreciate the intimacy of the story unfolding through the perspective of a handful of major characters, the whole thing seems to take place in a kind of contextual void. I don't know exactly how to explain this, it was just hard to really care about much of the outcome of anything on a broad scale. Death Star Redux destroys five planets.... okay...... Bummer? Leia's still fighting the good fight apparently, against this new enemy that's the same enemy, except for the personal time she takes to get Botox. Even Han's death seemed empty to me (and I saw it coming a mile away). Weak sauce. And Snoke is terrible, his CGI existence in this movie is jarring and disappointing. Gollum!

Honestly prefer episodes III through VI to this one, and not sure where I'd rank this in regards to I and II. Yes those movies were flawed, but at least they attempted something original in their storytelling, and each one presented something new and somewhat awe-inspiring. The Force Awakens doesn't do enough to give me that sense of wonder, and suffers for it.

With all that said, of course without a doubt I'll be there for Episode VIII, and I'll be anticipating a better story than what we got here.

B+ (that "+" is not earned by merit but by my fanboyism)

What really saves/elevates this movie besides the vfx is the perfect casting IMO. Boyega, Ridley, Ford, Chewie and Isaac's all have great chemistry which makes you actually care for their characters. Those five are just so incredibly likeable and even during all the chaos that's happening those little interaction moments stand out the most. I also still like Driver's overall performance even though once he starts losing his shit and takes off the mask he does become a lot less threating, but they obviously were trying hard to humanize him in those scenes. However, I think Abrams two Star Trek movies are better than this and it comes nowhere close quality wise to past MEGA-HITS like The Avengers, Skyfall, TDK, and TDKR.

The template I'm talking about is the Marvel non-story big story universe.

This does not at all feel like a complete movie at any point.

Most middle parts suffer from this, including all recent split movies and ESB, but the first fucking movie should never feel like it. It just devalues the whole movie.

BGE talks about agendas and shit, yeah fuck off mate, Star Trek 09 is a closed movie from what I remember.

BGE, Lecter and the gun obviously can't see this.

They remind me of naive sports fans who claim constructive criticism is a sin you should be stoned for.

Or how you are no longer a fan or the usual uppity bullshit.

When the hell did I even review the film, prick? I've made comments and enjoy the box office success. That's it.

Don't lump me in. I have more than enough problems with TFA. I need another viewing before I make an accurate review.

How was Marvel stealing the SW formula? The new SW movie is like Marvel in that it plays everything safe and feels like it came off an assembly line.

It's like the Knights of zwackerm in this thread now amirite!?!

Again a lot of fair points. However the main goal of the movie is for the heroes to reach Luke Skywalker before the First Order. That .. Happens. Good guys win and get to live for another movie. Badaboom, coolest guys in the room, how you doin?

So where are all you in the thread for Trumbo? Yet another biopic rehash that makes Hollywood feel good about itself by judging people of the past.

Nail on the head right there. My thoughts exactly. While execution of I-III is really awful, the whole plot(which had several plot lines going on*) and SW universe reveal was good. Execution is always crucial, but perhaps it is better to try something new and fail than stay on the same safe spot. Lucas should have been just the story creator and screenplay consultant for I-III and the films would have been fine and imaginative.

The Force Awakens has an awesome execution, but it's uninspiring and tired.
And the shit just got started again pretty much since between VI and VII happened pretty much the same stuff that happened in III. From a perspective of someone who likes exploring SW universe and lore it was an utter failure. Perhaps it captured the magic of A New Hope, but SW became so much more since 1977 film that prequels were able to capture it and even enhance further, despite their obvious flaws.

The Force Awakens is forgettable.

* - really, in a way Phantom Menace is an awesome movie in that regard. Behind-the-scenes politic subtleties were at least fascinating.

P.S. When first trailer revealed "empire" and "darth vader" setting I thought "they've got to be kidding". I thought it was a mistake to include in a trailer too many similarities with OT's setting since movie probably won't be like that. Boy, was I wrong... I wonder, if the whole plot wasn't spoilt in the trailer simply because of how similar it would look and possible backlash after initial "ohmygod" reactions.

Which 2015 protagonist is more hyper-competent and great at life: Rey or Mark Watney?

Rey was totes great at life, which is why she lived alone in a desert and ate whatever the f she was eating.

Yes, I'm sure you followed the politics when you were 1 years old.