Comments on: Review: J.J. Abrams’ ’Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Starring Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac & More

By: Jorge Clooneigh

Jorge Clooneigh — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

WHAT IS IT YOU WANT ROSIE? WHAT IS IT YOU WANT?

By: ZIL

ZIL — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

This critic communicated a lot of my feelings, @DAVE, and I think you\’re showing a bit of a temper when you rail against him for "rote" writing. You wish the film were better. We all do. However it\’s a fair grade, even if I would have given it a B+ myself. The performances are not all there. The plot is stop-and-go. The emotions don\’t always track. Plus, you\’re always going to be downhill from A NEW HOPE, which, the more I think about it, is simply as good as storytelling – and popular filmmaking – gets. My disagreement with this critic\’s assessment is in his take that "there’s an undeniable pleasure in the return of actors like Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher — particularly Ford, whose return to Han Solo is fully present and committed". This is simply wishful thinking. Neither of these actors are in practice! I could tell their instruments were rusty. Harrison just doesn\’t have it in his eyes. Both of their voices don\’t have the power anymore. It breaks my heart. So perhaps this forms the meta-narrative of the great narrative of our time: You can try forever to replicate something, but perfection only happens once or twice. Spielberg by contrast has managed to pivot and try so many news thing. In comparison with Lucas he wasn\’t just lucky to have made multiple masterpieces, he clearly did so because he followed a more reasonable approach to his craft. He\’s tried to make lightning strike again but he\’s also managed to give us so much else, so many one-off-universes, so many unrelated pleasures. He mastered the pivot. Yet this film, TFA, is wonderful in it\’s own right. Abrams & Co. did a fine job. The prequels are dead and gone and if they get remotely this close to the original trilogy again I\’ll be pleased. I wish we had gotten another masterpiece though…maybe next time.

By: Pete

Pete — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

Somebody else read this review and tell me if it\’s too spoiler-y!!!

By: Franka

Franka — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

It\’s not spoiler-y. There are 1-2 big reveals in the movie which are the only things you need to worry about and they are not mentioned here. Spoiler-free approved.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

Who is this Russ Fischer? How did he land such a big assignment to review this film? Seems like it\’s more Perez\’s territory. Fischer doesn\’t seem like he has the chops to review such a big movie. Even if it is ultimately a "B" rating, you still have to communicate the vastness of the hopes riding on this film in your tone. This piece of writing is way too rote. No more big assignments for this writer please. Not for a while.

By: Rosie

Rosie — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

Poor John Boyega. It\’s apparent that the critics are going to shove him aside as someone not worth commenting about and put the spotlight on Daisy Ridley. I guess it\’s all about gender politics over racial politics.

By: Emmie

Emmie — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

It\’s more down to the fact that Daisy Ridley is THE lead of these new Star Wars films, and so obviously is going to be the main focus for a lot of critics when reviewing the film. It has very little to do with race or gender politics, just simply that she is the lead.

By: Jack Rocks

Jack Rocks — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

@Rosie. Too bad it\’s not just about being a good movie with good performances, politics be damned.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

JJ Abrams always privileges the feminist White woman over all other types in his work. He\’s communicating what he believes the liberal pecking order should look like, with Black men at the bottom. Just watch Lost again, and you\’ll see exactly what I mean.

By: IG-88

IG-88 — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

Adam deserves nothing.

By: Miguel

Miguel — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

Nice review. I totally agree.
I\’d add: Oscar Isaac and Max Von Sydow are very underused. What a way to waste great casting.
Other than that, what a fun movie.

By: Danny

Danny — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

Solid review with fair criticisms. @Rosie. Oscar and Boyega get mentioned less because Ridley is not only the bonafide star of the movie. She steals it– even from Harrison Ford.

By: ZIL

ZIL — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

By: Mitchell

Mitchell — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

Solid review. I agree with the criticisms. But yes, it\’s still a blast.

By: Perez

Perez — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

@Dave, thanks for the sort of compliment? But Russ is good stuff and I totally agree with him and the grade (though I might have been a few degrees harsher about the fan service). He\’s been around for a while in other places, you\’ll see more and you should give him a shot.

By: Diego arango

Diego arango — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

This reviewer is too politically correct! Doesn\’t have the gots to tell it how it is.
Although entertaining as all of the previous movies, this is just an exercise in rearranging cliches like I\’ve never seen before.
There is nothing new in this movie, nothing but the new characters. It is a repeat of the first movie with even the same clunky old fighter planes! What!,30 years and the technology has no changed one bit! No originality at all! Even the weapon of the empire is the same, just bigger! And easier to defeat! As Solo said: …so it\’s just bigger, but it can be destroyed, they\’re always are!! Leah looks made out of cardboard, more than before. And they\’re still using the same alien pilots of before!
It all looks that they didn\’t shoot anything new, just took the discarded footage and assembled together a "new" movie.
It is a totally parody of the first one, a parody of itself! No originality in anything, even the colors of everything is the same! Repeated sequences, with slight changes, a different droid but the same functionality!
An insult to the series, with no courage to be a wortwhile successor! It looks old an tired, just as solo and Leah, just because they are in there that doesn\’t necessarily gives legitimacy to this poor and sad effort. Lucas should know.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

I\’ve followed Mr. Fischer\’s reviews for some time. He has been doing this for at leaset 10 years I believe. Rolling Stone, The Onion, CNN, Vanity Fair, Paste and SlashFilm are a few of his outlets. He was managing editor at the last example. Having just seen the film I thought his review was very insightful.

By: Marcelo

Marcelo — Fri, 13 May 2016 09:53:30 +0000

Adam Driver deserve a Oscar nomination