The Force Awakens By the Numbers - Four Years Later

[@mr.wilder796]

Gandalf to all SW fans: "Fly you fools". Disney: "They fly now?"

[@Hannibal082]

Lucasfilm: "They fly now"

[@OneWingedShark]

Disney: *Peter Pan song*

[@sebas8225]

MEME Wars

[@CuFhoirthe88]

JAr Jar Abrams: "They're flies now?"

[@1COMODIN9]

SW fans: "is over, we've got the lore high ground" Kathleen Kennedy: "you underestimate my powers" Fans: "don't try it" Kennedy: "hold my MaRey Sue"

[@Rantsnrambles808]

“Anakin was a merry Sue too!” Lost arm to duku. Lost 3 limbs to obi wan. Failed to save mom and wife. Easily manipulated. Captured and needed Jedi to save him. Even in movie one there’s some argument to say that he was genuinely a better pilot than the Naboo. They blatantly stated that they were not an army but volunteers. And his success was an accident. He was more or less trying to survive. I’ll admit little kid anakin was a bit too perfect. But it’s not on the same level of showing up every other character in their own field

[@jumbo4billion]

Only a priest could see perfection in that rotten boy. Are you ready for confession?

[@ShamanMcLamie]

A reason Anakin comes off as perfect in Episode I is to an extent it was by design. One thing a lot of people seem to forget is Star Wars is meant to be one big story and the first half, the Prequels is a Tragedy. The way most Classical/Shakespearean Tragedies normally begin is to show the hero at the height of their power and virtue. When they are complete as a character. Then through their actions and folly are the architects of their own demise and break down as characters over time. This is in many respects to mirror Luke in the OT which as a story is a Comedy(classical sense) where the hero begins flawed and incomplete, but develops into fully realized character as the story progresses. Anakin begins a selfless, kind hearted kid, but grows up to become arrogant, selfish, and whiny. Luke begins as arrogant, brash and whiny, but grows up to be a wise, kind hearted man.

[@Ghost_Of_SAS]

I realized the movie was going to be shit right off the bat when I saw the premise was that the empire has fallen but somehow there's still a verbatim rebel alliance against the empire. That was my "ooh boy..." moment, and it was all downhill from there.

[@sebas8225]

They literally skipped to EU Legacy´s timeline without telling the 20 year journey that got the characters there, insulting.

[@manniman82]

Yes, my alarm bells went off at the opening crawl but my suspension of disbelief went completely out the window when they found the Millennium Falcon, then Rey flew it better than Han Solo ever could and then they randomly ran into Han Solo by pure coincidence. I was completely out of the movie, and this trilogy, right there and then. The fact that they revealed that there was a third Death Star and the rest of the derivative stuff was just the cherry on top.

[@Ghost_Of_SAS]

@@manniman82 Yeah, I was already in a stupor by then. All the mountain of stupid that came after that, from tentacle monster to the planetary death star built in secret and which can destroy planets through hyperspace, was just piling shit on top.

[@Harrison11106]

That's Abrams' stock & trade these days: reboots & rehashes. The days when he did movies like Regarding Henry are long gone. That the sequel trilogy has thus far gotten infused with SJW wackiness is new. That written, in the old EU the "Imperial Remnant" lasted some 20-ish years after the events of RoTJ.

[@Ghost_Of_SAS]

@Revan Yeah, it's like if ISIS were to dig out half the moon and turn it into a superweapon, and nobody on earth noticed ultil they were done. Also I get that they destroyed 5 worlds where the New Republic echelons were located, but what about the New Republic space fleet? That was in orbit somewhere and spread out across the galaxy, what happened to that? They didn't give it any thought whatsoever, because the goal was to reset the playing field so they could replicate the original trilogy point by point, and fuck consistency or logic.

[@amadeusdebussy6736]

Here's the really big thing (other than things you mentioned) that really makes no sense to me. Star Wars (ep.IV) was a self contained story. Lucas had ideas for further stories, but they had no idea that Star Wars would be the success that it was so created it as a stand-alone story and film with a definitive ending; good-guys win, bad-guys lose...the end. JJ Abrams and Disney, KNOWING that they would be making a trilogy copied this story for TFA as the first movie of said trilogy. Think about it, they have the villains LOSE in the first act of an over-arcing three act story! What writer would knowingly do that? It would be like having Frodo destroy the ring in the first book of the LOTR and then flail about looking for some contrived reason to have Sauron reappear for two more books. They have Rey meeting Luke at the end (as a "cliff-hangar"), but what does this really have to do with anything that came before, and what does it matter? Rey already defeated Kylo Ren, so what does she need Luke for?

[@1COMODIN9]

@БДЯЄTH lol "do not ask questions, just consoom product, and then get excited about next products"...

[@benv7933]

I can't believe they thought Starkiller base was a good idea. The third act could've been SOOOOO much better without it.

[@fortcastellan1730]

Oh, the characters. David's score was generous... Rey: Mary Sue. Everything will go her way because she's the author's favorite/avatar, so why bother worry for her or getting invested in her character. Finn: At no point did I believe he was a former Storm Trooper. I'm not sure I even believed he was a person who lived in a galaxy long ago and far away. The most I ever believed was that he was an actor saying lines in a film. Po: A modern, almost genre-savvy version of Flash Gordon. I actually kind of liked him. But then he died about 20 minutes in...And later the movie tired to tell me he didn't die, and I didn't buy it. Kylo: He's pretty much the flip side of Star Lord: A scared kid with mommy/daddy issues who's covering his insecurity by trying to be Han Solo/Darth Vader. It could have worked if he looked like some self-consciously angsty-teen under the mask. But I don't believe that a guy who is trying to be evil also spends time conditioning his hair and such... The Knights of Ren: Who? Were they in the movie? What's her name, the not-Yoda chick: Not a character, just a plot device to show how special MaiRey-Sue is. Han and Chewie: Like David said: Fanfic versions of the characters. The movie never convinced me that these were the actual characters from the originals, just place-holders of same archetypes.

[@briana208]

Your rating is way too generous for this crap disney produced

[@clemsonalum98]

A telling thing about the new movies is no rewatch ability, I’ve had no desire at all to see any of the new ones again. Even the prequels I saw more than once, and the third one many many times. Of course all the originals countless times. But all of the new ones under Disney are terrible, no desire at all to see any again it never even crosses my mind they are so bad. That Jedi one was so bad, made for TV sci fi movie level.

[@SonOfTamriel]

Totally agree, no desire to see them again, at all! Prequels I still enjoy watching now and then and have seen them countless times.

[@clemsonalum98]

Techroach I never saw solo, saw the others, but only TFA in theater and after that said nope I’m done. Saw Rogue One and Part 8 on TV, and it took 2 or 3 sittings each to get through them. I think rogue one I watched in 2 sittings and Jedi in 3 sittings. Actually I’m not sure I finished Jedi. Terrible. Sad part is I heard solo maybe the best of all the new ones and it’s the one I haven’t seen.

[@jonathanwyse5271]

That's a good analogy. TLJ is just Sharknado with a $200 million visual effects budget.

[@bubbamike4743]

clemsonalum98 Solo is actually surprisingly good! Doesn’t really feel like your standard Star Wars film, but it’s a lot fun! Only Disney one I liked

[@fundhund62]

@@clemsonalum98 You didn't miss out on much. Solo was actually the only SW film to date which had me bored while watching. And it brought back Darth Maul in the cringiest way imaginable, igniting his lightsaber while being transmitted as a hologram, for no other reason than to wink at the audience once again ("hey! remember?").

[@dragonphoreal]

The seeing other planets from afar in the sky in broad daylight has been an issue with JJ Abrams since 2009's Star Trek

[@overbuiltlimited]

Fin was just a black version of Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf) from Transformers. Literally the same EXACT character.

[@wtk6069]

When The Last Jedi was a few days away, there was excitement in the air. It dominated the watercooler talk at my work. Now, The Rise of Skywalker barely gets a mention (though The Mandalorian gets some). That's the effect of Disney on Star Wars.

[@Jared_Wignall]

I’m sure if I rewatched this film again today, I’d be just as disappointed with the film as I was the first time. Though, I wouldn’t be telling myself it was good, while deep down knowing I didn’t like the film, which is what happened for a few weeks to a month after seeing it. One things for sure, I enjoy your analysis videos quite a bit. Thank you for enduring The Force Awakens again and thank you for the video David.

[@klarion]

Jared Wignall yup, personally, I could probably stand another viewing since I fell asleep during my 1st view. Maybe I'll turn it on when I feel a nap coming up.

[@themobseat]

I ordered the Fantasy Christmas Spectacular 2019, thanks for all the great videos!

[@jagsdomain203]

Is anyone else tired of having a movie that looks great? Its just gotten old, the splash some candy on the screen and we forget about the story. The Stoormtrooper guns did look childeish

[@SGK1206]

This is a fantastic deconstruction of the film. We need more videos like this instead of the usual "jar jar Abrams sucks", " ruin Johnson ruined my childhood" crap. Hats of to you sir!

[@lucerfarul]

I honestly don't know how you were able to endure a second viewing of this Disney drivel. I remembering seeing it in the theater with my Father when it came out which felt like a special occasion going in, but I swear to you when we both exited, we looked at each other in an almost "did you just see what I just saw" moment, and I said to him, what was that? And he said, "It was awful, my son, that's what it was". Thanks, Dad. I knew there was still good in you. Reality confirmed.

[@Arphemius]

Absolutely agree with this. This movie looks quite good, there are no problems with that as far as I'm concerned, except maybe that everything looks a bit "clean" and not lived in. However, it really did do as much damage as TLJ, even more, considering it started it all. I remember arguing about this with people back in 2016, when everyone still thought this was a good movie, but to me it already fell apart during the title crawl and all got downhill from there. Another empire? The new republic is a non-entity? Han is a smuggler? Luke is uninvolved and isolated in the backend of the universe? Leia is a resistance leader? How did we go back to the beginning of episode 4? All of their achievements, everything they did for the galaxy, turned to dust in a few sentences of text scrawl. It really just pissed me off back then.

[@PnNK]

it still pisses me off today when i'm "forced" to think about it ^^

[@Acrocanthosaurus]

You sat through Force Awakens twice?

[@lsb2623]

A blue Yoshi baby becomes a blue Yoshi. You eat Koopa Troopers and get wings. That's just the way it goes.

[@1COMODIN9]

🐭 -"Don't ask questions. Just consoom product, and then get excited about next products".

[@allegrageller9308]

This review and break down was really well put together and concise. I really enjoy the perspective you bring to writing, films and storytelling.

[@DVSPress]

Thank you!

[@rogue8554]

J.J recently said any sane person wouldn't have liked TFA

[@1COMODIN9]

Sentinent fan bad.

[@hebruixe9125]

TFA was the first JJ Abrams movie I ever saw. I didn't know anything about him and I didn't realize that his writing was full of "empty mystery boxes." I gave TFA the benefit of the doubt, assuming it was going to lead somewhere amazing in subsequent movies. Then I saw TLJ and realized I'd been tricked. Haven't watched a single Star Wars movie since then, and probably never will again.

[@ronc166]

Of course it sucks. They have the TWO main character battling each other. Production is awesome.

[@Crash103179]

The one defense for JarJar Abrams: Bob Iger told him not to take risks and make something very Star Wars like. So, this is what we got -- an unimaginative corporate cloning of a classic movie. Had JarJar been left to his own devices (kleptomania, mystery boxes and "subversion is all I know"), would he have done better?

[@scepticalbeliever]

Same. See Star Trek.

[@toxicmix8029]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed the sound design issues. As someone who's mostly self taught in mixing watching both sequels I found myself noticing moments where I felt I could've mixed that better. Example when they blow up Republic planet no one cares about, the lows between the effects and music are so muddy that the explosion gets masked and takes even more impact out of the scene. A similar issue happens when Starkiller base blows up, where it's barely audible. Some weapons have way more punch than they should while others sound like pea shooters. The canons on the walkers in TLJ have the punch but don't seem to the have enough reverb to drive the effect home. But it also feels like how and where they applied the sound design is bad. For some reason they chose to make the Falcon's guns sound like something that doesn't even belong in the universe. Luke's/Anakin's lightsaber sounding like Vader's red one was distracting. When Fin was rushing the canon in TLJ, just layering some extra laser shots into the mix would only have taken a few minutes, and would've made it less of a plot armor moment, but they just couldn't be bothered. Overall a pretty bad showing, sound wise, considering many of the elements are just lifted from the prior films.

[@itsme-notyou]

TFA was disrespectful to star wars. They phoned it in. TLJ was obscenity, overtly insulting the audience.

[@geert574]

Now listen up, I want this thing to go smooth and by the numbers. I want DCS and tactical data base assimilation by 0800.

[@MrNpc81]

"NOW MOVE IT PEOPLE!"

[@jscottupton]

"Any questions?" "Ya...how do I get out of this chicken-shit outfit?" "Belay that Hudson".

[@mouseketeery]

I gave The Force Awakens a lot of leeway at the time, mainly because I knew it was the first of a new trilogy. I hadn't followed any production news and only saw one trailer, so I was a bit surprised to find it so 'reboot-y' - it was like a 2+ hour long deja vu (I kept thinking "didn't we already do this?"). But the other faults like the Mary-Sue thing and the plot gaps/problems I'd assumed would be resolved and answered in episodes 8 & 9. We all know how wrong I was about that!

[@Roofhack]

Almost four years ago I was bewildered by the fact that people actually believed this film was good. And through my search for answers I came to your channel David. So if it wasn't for horrible Star Wars fan fiction movies, I wouldn't have come to listen to your great wisdom through the years!

[@rickyandreou]

Props to Mr Stewart for being one of the very few youtubers who called out TFA for what it was when the blind hype & nostalgia surrounding it was at its peak. I can't say enough bad things about The Farce Awakens. It completely killed any potential the Di$ney Trilogy may have had right out of the gate & despite TLJ receiving most of the backlash, most everything wrong with it was pretty much a moot, foregone conclusion for me as I knew nothing was going to salvage the complete dumpster it inherited.

[@DVSPress]

Thanks

[@smashball]

Was waiting for this. Your evaluations are top notch and almost completely etched out bias

[@Xanlet]

Completely agree, the characters were thoroughly awful. Fin goes from being traumatized by the death of a squad mate to THE NEXT SCENE mowing them down by the dozens from a tie fighter. I remember my first viewing I felt completely disengaged by Mary Sue Rey and the hollowness of all the characters.

[@cityman2312]

Yes, it was like a fanfiction AU where Return of the Jedi never happened. The Empire is weakened, but not toppled and was eventually able to build super weapons again. Darth Vader never switched sides and the Emperor was in the shadows all along.

[@j.a.e.8682]

Thanks for being the best youtuber David!

[@Chou-seh-fu]

In Harrison Ford's defense, his lackluster performance may be partly explained by the fact that he was a man in his late 70s taking pain killers for a broken foot. One reviewer even went so far as to remark that Ford looked stoned in TFA. But I agree that he was probably dialing it in. In fact, to me it looked like Ford didn't even want to be in ROTJ. Especially in the Ewok scenes, he was cringing and embarrassed to be there. (Contrast that with Mark Hamill. Who, despite not being as good an actor as Ford, gave it his best shot when acting opposite a little green muppet.)

[@AM-os4ty]

Ford has been uncomfortable with Han Solo since the first movie. I guess the carbonite cliff hanger was a sort of attempt to bump him off so he did not have to come back. I suspect he's a Boomer who came up with his best Dad as a young man impression and thought it was cringy and embarrassing , not endearing. He really liked the Indy movies much better

[@dragonknightleader1]

God did try to kill Harrison Ford a couple of times because He didn't want to see this movie either. First, the door landed on his leg because God told him to "break a leg." Then He crashed Harrison Ford's plane. But because God couldn't stop TFA from happening, He opted to kill Carrie Fisher instead because she's easier to kill.

[@boozie773]

I think Harrison was good in TFA.

[@Chou-seh-fu]

@@AM-os4ty That may be true, but not many people complain about his performance in TESB. It's only in ROTJ that he checks out and gives the audience the bare minimum.

[@1COMODIN9]

@@dragonknightleader1 that's both dark and hilarious, and I love it!

[@naedolor]

I believe that John Williams got paid only for his name. The score is so default and bland that I don't think it can possibly be him behind the score. Maybe he wrote one or two themes on the piano like Rey's theme, made a crude orchestral outline and just passed it on to Jar Jar's cronies...

[@claykeough7898]

Love it. Agree on every level and your review is thought out, educated and fair.

[@thelowvisionary4297]

Hey David, I really enjoy your videos and I am interested in getting and reading your books. The only issue is I’m extremely visually impaired and therefore cannot read. Ha ha. Was wondering if you have them available in the audiobook format? Apologies if this has been covered before. Thanks for all you do and keep it up.

[@Rantsnrambles808]

im interested in that too so i can listen to something while i work

[@DVSPress]

I'm working on it. It's a big time investment though so it's hard to get to it with all my other obligations, especially considering it won't make me much money compared to just writing another book, for example.

[@thelowvisionary4297]

David Stewart thank you for your response. I completely understand. I know it takes time and probably isn’t the most lucrative of priorities. Just know, if/when the day comes when your books release on audio format, you will have an audience. Until that day, I always have your videos. Thanks again! Cheers.

[@abrahemsamander3967]

@David Stewart. I’ve always wanted to try audiobooks and I’d happily volunteer for free if your interested. I’ve read aloud to friends and family and class mates, they all extremely loved my reading and would love listening to my voice in an audiobook. If you end up not liking it though, or if your simply not interested, I understand.

[@charmawow]

I could write a long essay on why this movie is so bad.....but life is too short......

[@rchuso]

Maybe Disney will do what the new Ghostbuster is doing: ignore the latest movies as if they never existed and go back to decent stories that the fans want.

[@ToriRocksAmos]

Depends on how the rise of Skywalker does in the Theaters I'd think.

[@abrahemsamander3967]

And if the new ghost busters movie is good. P.S. Love the profile pic, foxes are awesome.

[@haydengarinduchesne9269]

Completely agree with you on Kylo ren . He’s the only character that has any real depth to him is these new films

[@soliloquist]

I completely agree with this as well. He is a very interesting character. The only problem is, he is a terrible villain.

[@claykeough7898]

But also very shallow compared to the depth and motivations of Jacen Solo in the EU

[@haydengarinduchesne9269]

Revan that is the concern yes , but he still currently is a far more interesting character than anyone else on display , he will have a pay off of some sorts obviously Wether or not it works ? We shall see

[@Chillitilli]

Spot on

[@Br1cht]

Jar Jar Abraham is a trickster without substance imo.

[@sebas8225]

And people still think he´s better than Rian, I hope RoS clears anyone´s doubts that he´s a hack director

[@kazikek2674]

At his worst he just rips stuff off slightly different. At his best he is still mostly setup and practically no payoff, with everything culminating in an emotional infodump right before the last action scene fooling you into thinking what you watched was better than it is.

[@larryvieira2859]

I really like you’re critiquing system I’d be interested to see it applied to a movie like My Dinner with Andre.

[@brucewayne1662]

Talk about fan service... what was the point of seeing the Cloud City Reactor shaft when Rey touches the lightsaber??? Its stuff like this that I found so cringe worthy in the movie.

[@chrissullivan6403]

I’m honestly of the opinion that TFA did more damage to the series than TLJ.

[@fundhund62]

Without a doubt. TFA laid a foul foundation, and the franchise did not recover to this day..

[@lumsais3832]

I also agree. JJ was a terrible terrible choise, and despite his stupid mistery box "method" TFA actually made a lot of decisions that set a much narrower path for the ST than most fans acknoledged at that time. I always use the same example. Let s forget how TFA destroyed Han. TFA already destroyed Luke too. How can you go on after a story in which the main hero is hiding in a fucking island while his friends are dying and the good guys (the New Republic) are being decimated? There were not many options really. Either he was trapped and cut off from the Force by accident, or he was cut off fron the Force by his own choise. Also, the whole subplot of "let s find Luke Skywalker with these pieces of a magical map he left when he went... to some place where he did not want to be found?" does not make any sense at all, it s one of the most stupid plot devices I have ever seen seriously.

[@ToriRocksAmos]

@@lumsais3832 yup and yet the Fans gobbled it up because of member berries.

[@CarlosCMTF]

I don't agree. It's true that TFA is a scene by scene remake of episode IV but you have to understand that it was Disney's first attempt to make a SW movie so they had a huge burden on their shoulders, specially after the reaction to the prequels. So it was natural, at least for me, that they would played it very very safe with TFA. It was a proof of concept, so to speak, a way to show the fans that they could make a Star Wars movie. And for me that first Disney movie was a free pass - the real challenge would be the following movie (or so I thought) where they could've develop the story in a completely different and original way. And that is where TLJ is much much worse that it predecessor - not only it ruins everything TFA established but, in the end, there is really NOTHING and NOWHERE you can go to correct the mess that that movie made to the characters and to the general SW lore! But you, and I, could imagine ways in which TFA could've been developed in interesting ways, even if that story was mediocre and a ripoff.

[@aralornwolf3140]

@@CarlosCMTF , All Lucasfilm, not Disney, needed to do was take the information at the end of ROTJ and give us that: - The Empire was Replaced by The Republic - Luke is at his Academy training Jedi - Han and Leia are Together As long as the threat is something that is reasonable and it is the Republic as a whole which needs to deal with it, I would have liked it (still needed plot, acting, characters to make it something I would love). That's what I was expecting when I learned that Harrison Ford, Carrier Fisher, and Mark Hamil were in it at any rate... I didn't want A New Hope remake... especially one which _IS_ a different movie halfway through... The Title Crawl has 1 paragraph for background information (setting), 1 paragraph for setting the stakes, and 1 paragraph to describe what the villains/heroes are currently doing, which is the lead to the opening scene. The Force Awakens throws the title crawl out within 20 minutes of the movie, the title crawl is destroyed by the half-way point... Even the most convoluted movie of the franchise, The Phantom Menace, still stayed true to the Title Crawl the entire way. The reason the Trade Federation invaded Naboo was the same reason they had a new chancellor... which is the same reason the negotiations between Padme and the Viceroy were important... and one which was forced to happen at blaster point... Yet, the final conflict resolved the problem which resulted in Naboo's invasion.

[@xineohpinakc264]

Star Wars: Elder Abuse 7,8,9

[@XellDincht]

i thought Han`s death scene was lame because we knew nothing about his relationship with Ben Solo

[@PoopaChallupa]

Besides the problems with the plot(s) you mentioned. Why were they looking for the map to Luke? I mean, after everything and they finally get it, what do they use it for?... nothing. They give it to some stranger girl along with Han's ship.

[@slamuel9797]

Making both Finn and Rey force sensitive.Would have made sense.Since the first half of TFA.Kind of foreshadowed that both of them are going to become Jedi in the future.

[@ProJatior]

The lightsaber giving visions was explored in Canon in The Clone Wars CG series under Lucas first so that aspect isn’t lore breaking considering Lucas introduced it.

[@ritamosss8589]

so nicely said everything. It was for me a shock when I saw that movie, I was bitching around I couldn't believe it what they did. The very first damage was from that movie, far worst than TLJ. TFA told me everything what was coming in the future. Crazy shit.

[@Bonko78]

I just watched the film too and I agree with pretty much everything you say here. I'd say the most annoying issue is the abundance of plot convenience, If I had to pick just one. Things happen constantly for no logical reason other than that the story needs it to happen. The writing is a lot worse than I remembered and I can't imagine JJ improving a lot in that department for Episode 9.

[@klarion]

Jar jar Abrams also botched up a few Star Trek films, true...

[@stingdragon17]

Harrison Ford was phoning in his performance because he didn't want to be there. Not because he thought the story was a glorified fan-fic. But because, if he had his way, Han Solo would have died in Empire Strikes Back. Which is a well documented fact.

[@nickmanzo8459]

Interesting analysis, did you happen to do a video about the new Ghostbusters trailer?

[@1COMODIN9]

70yo Han Solo had to be in the Starkiller base so Kylo could kill him just like Vader killed Obi Wan in the Death Star and provoque nostalgia...

[@JohnSmith-vd6fc]

Your last comment about how the first two of the Disney trilogies interrelated reminded me of the latest KZbin rewind. KZbin has been continuously criticized over the past couple of years for failing creators. So KZbin puts up a rewind with the cringiest of popular channels. They're basically saying: this is the crap you KZbin fans like. This is the stuff you're claiming we should support more. Well maybe you should let us decide what you should watch instead. Just like Roundhead Johnson lecturing us on why we need to have our notions about Star Wars subverted.

[@KipEarlywine]

Everything with Han Solo felt very forced. The axiom of "show, don't tell" was particularly relevant with Han and Kylo. We had no reason to be compelled by their interactions because them being father-son was just words on a fanfic written page. I knew the moment Kylo killed Han that I hated Disney Star wars, not because they killed Han but because they were completely clueless with how to handle it. Also, I think Kylo is a muddled character that is terribly written. Though I do agree that Driver is a solid actor who gives it his all.

[@njtxus]

agree with all you said. made me really appreciate the prequels.

[@stephenwatson2806]

All our fave sci fi franchises are getting shafted at the moment. I bet picard will be the same.

[@rendarsmith]

It's a remake of A New Hope with SJW politics infused in. Crap movie.

[@Lazurath101]

rendarsmith Having non-white and female actors in leading roles doesn’t mean a movie has SJW politics. TFA has basically no politics other than “Authoritarianism bad,” which is not a new take at all (it’s the same politics as ANH.) This faux-victim complex has to stop.

[@earendilsenordelamuerte9963]

@@Lazurath101 if you had to wait eight years to watch certain characters on screen and then you must wait another three to watch `The Last Jedi´, how would you feel after that last movie? `Cause really, I´ve seen botches, but... Reverse three movies with the stroke of a pen? Dude, this is worst than `Jurassic Park 3`, and that says a lot.

[@JVIoneyman]

I agree that TFA set up the trilogy for what it became, but it was still salvageable. You could explain things in the next movies and try to at least save or correct what story problems that existed. You could say Rey, for example was trained in the past and lacked the memory of it. Maybe create some backstory as to why Kylo and Snoke were so concerned with Rey. Maybe they had a history. Retroactive character development so to speak. TLJ made things unsalvageable because it fundamentally changed them, while also solidifying the bad choices of TFA.

[@DVSPress]

Yeah I think it was salvageable. Unfortunately they handed it over to ree-ann who pooped on everything JJ set up.

[@aaronmarshall]

The worst part about The Force Awakens is it did the "Lost" thing. I hate that about JJ Abrams. It feels like he just wings it and makes it up as he goes. It's not planned out from A to Z. Not even in a rough form. So then it becomes a victim to the whims of an incoherent group of people. How I imagine JJ Abrams in a pitch meeting, and while directing is Dana Carvey playing "Choppin' Broccoli". He's just making it up as he goes and bullshitting. Here's a link to that skit: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIbVk6eLrNiFjtE Star Wars deserved something a lot more than that.

[@maestro7058]

Ohh shit David you have Magic cards? Do you play Yu-Gi-Oh too? And yes like always I FUCKING LOVE YOUR ASTUTE ANALYSIS VIDEOS!

[@earendilsenordelamuerte9963]

I only wanted to see Mara Jade, but she wasn´t in the movie, so I waited one more triennial and... `The Last Jedi´ came out, not words.

[@churblefurbles]

Yea the fuel thing is amusing, scrap freighter full of precious fuel, then later on the entire plot is based on some how running out of fuel.

[@V01D72]

6:37 couldn't Anakin talk to droids? At least to r2? It made sense to me because he was shown growing up working on droids and around droids just wanted to counter your point about nobody understanding droids before

[@madcapmakov2]

Marvoushh R2 was projecting his communication to his cockpit controls in the final act and in III. Most of the time, he just commands R2 “R2 stay with the Ship” just as Luke does.

[@TheAnalystsAngle]

Is that a dual rectifier or triple rectifier ? :) Great analysis as always

[@tomclark1213]

To me it seems like Episode VII copied IV to fully supplant it. A corporate modern feminist reboot where Disney can lock I through VI in their vault and the mythos is no longer the male downfall arc followed by the son's hero's journey along with the most incredible redemption story that I can think of -- and turn that goodness into an infallible feminist worship fest. It's an affront to the modern mythology that was Star Wars and its boring to add insult to injury.

[@Infamous1892]

Most expensive fan film ever made.

[@boozie773]

TFA was a nice soft reboot of the franchise. Pulling from themes of the original trilogy it felt like a Star Wars movie. It didn’t fuck over any original characters and it setup lots of possibilities going forward then TLJ blew everything up.

[@DVSPress]

It turned Han Solo into a pathetic loser. The Last Jedi only continued what the force awakens began.

[@Lazurath101]

David Stewart I’d disagree David. I’d say TFA set up a lot of things that could’ve been answered in an interesting way in TLJ, which is what I imagine JJ was expecting RJ to do. Instead RJ either shot down or completely ignored the things set up in TFA, in order to force “subversion of expectations.” Going in to TLJ there was no reason not to expect we were going to get satisfying answers about who Snoke was, why Kylo betrayed Luke and turned to the Dark Side, where the First Order came from, and all that. Instead apparently half of that either doesn’t matter or was just the result of Luke’s fuck up, which is both unsatisfying and betrays establishes canon IMO. I agree that it’s not a perfect movie, not even a perfect SW movie, but at the time it came out there was no indication that the problems it had weren’t going to be wrapped up by the answers we got in Episode 8 and 9. For whatever reason though we didn’t get any of those answers (at least in a meaningful way) and TFA suffers retroactively as a result.

[@boozie773]

David Stewart I disagree as well. He was still Han Solo. What would you have preferred? Maybe he was a wealthy senator or something?

[@promcheg]

Yeah, I agree with you on all counts. JJ Abrams is a competent filmmaker, he is an abysmal storyteller.

[@matteofurlotti6211]

it made me wanna die out of 10

[@SeagullsGather]

lol

[@redpandarampage2191]

They never should have included Starkillerbase in this film and should never have ruined the characters of Han and Luke- maybe then the plot wouldn't have been so bad. Also I saw Han's death coming the moment he stepped on the bridge. Obvious set piece where everyone can see and he can dramatically fall, combined with Harrison Ford wanting Solo to be killed off for a while, and the fact that they were mirroring the Obi-Wan 'mentor' character death at round about the same time in the film as in ANH.

[@madcapmakov2]

Yeah Rey understanding BB8, what the fuck? If it’s a rare and important BB droid unit, how the hell does Rey understand it’s language? Same with Poe?

[@mpnuorva]

It really tells everything you need to know about how they write these that both movies would make more sense if Luke just killed Vader and Palpatine and called it a day.

[@autobotsNdecepticons]

I'd call it one of the biggest missed opportunities in movie history. They had the potential to reunite the cast for one last great movie, and they basically turned them into useless set pieces in Generic Sci Fi Action Movie.

[@joelhenry5489]

Kylo Ren might have been played well but his character doesn't make any sense either. Like Finn, his backstory doesn't match the character. This man is the son of heroes, the pupil of an ascended Jedi, and he turns to the Dark Side just cause. At least Lucas understood that in order to turn someone to the Dark Side you have to take them on a journey of pain - hence Anakin.

[@Lazurath101]

Joel Henry I feel like this was supposed to be answered in TLJ - Luke was going to explain just why Kylo turned to the dark side and why he wants to reject his past so much. Maybe something to do with seeing weakness in the New Republic, maybe some sort of trauma as a kid. Instead the answer TLJ gave us was the Luke got scared the very first moment he saw darkness and tried to kill him instantly 🤷‍♂️

[@woooweee]

The numbers that matter, Harrison Ford = 10-20 million, everyone else much much lower, that is the power of no.

[@CuFhoirthe88]

My thoughts? You like Drama? 'Cause Star Wars is dead to me. I've retreated into Greek classics and I've decided to give George R.R. Martin a run for his money after he tried to kill fantasy. That's where you and your channel come in, Mr (Professor) David Stewart.

[@H1Guard]

I think a 5 is high by at least one point. The bottom line: JJ didn't get the three main characters back together again. There is no do-over for that. The new characters are boring (no greater cinematic sin). Worse still, from the start, it has been a nihilistic deconstruction of the original characters (no greater fan betrayal). JarJar Abrams started this crapfest with an unoriginal, unimaginative, uninspiring, unfun piece of cinematic garbage. Yes, he polished this turd with $200M in visual effects, but a turd it remains. His idea of "story" is this stupid "mystery box" theory. I lost ALL interest in SW from Disney. There was nowhere to go from the story that JJ started. I don't know why more fans didn't see this coming. I did, and wasn't excited despite all the hype. JJ had just come off ruining Star Trek (at the time I didn't even know he was working on 3rd ST movie). My wife wanted to see it, and we went to the discount theater for $3.

[@elrond3737]

Force Awakings =3 Last Jedi = 1.5

[@cameronschmitt649]

what would you call a 1 out of 10 for a plot? what plot out there is a 1?

[@DVSPress]

"blue movie" by Andie Warhol

[@cameronschmitt649]

@@DVSPress gotcha

[@vulkanofnocturne]

What does 'telephoned in' or dialed in mean'? Dave says it a lot.

[@codeypendent1899]

Narrowed. Refined. Akin to the dialing in of a gun scope in order for a more accurate and true result.

[@Chou-seh-fu]

It means that the actor didn't care about his role, and therefore gave a bland, uninspiring performance. He just did it because he was contractually-obligated or wanted the money. (Imagine you've got a job interview, and you don't care about getting the job. So instead of showing up in person, you dial them up and do your interview on the phone. It would be quite an insult to your prospective employer.)

[@codeypendent1899]

@@Chou-seh-fu the phrase must mean something else here.

[@Chou-seh-fu]

@@codeypendent1899 Fair enough.

[@amadeusdebussy6736]

2. To perform a role or duty in a halfhearted, disinterested, or unprofessional manner. More commonly shortened to "phone in." A noun or pronoun can be used between "telephone" and "in." -Everyone telephones it in on the morning after a staff party. -I'm sure he got a good paycheck for the voiceover, so you'd think he could do better than telephoning in his performance [from Free Dictionary]

[@GeordiLaForgery]

You're really milking this for all it's worth, understandably.. though it's like reliving the trauma all over again.

[@codeypendent1899]

What frightens me is that all of Reys mary sue flaws can be explained away by making her a skywalker. Particularly the piloting inherent skills. Both Anakin and Luke could fly like moefoes. I hope not as even they had training to be powerful in gnostic use of the force rather than it revealing itself in more unconscious ways. They better not make the prophecy of Anakin bringing balance about Rey instead and her eliminating dark n light side for grey force bs to bring "balance" to the force. It follows the theme of tearing down everything that stood before the sequels... its the worst n most likely outcome.

[@craigusselman546]

Rey is godlike and uninteresting but super cute so...nobody will notice.

[@murderycatdoll1380]

100% Agree again! And thx for pointing out that Driver is the ONLY interesting Part in the Movie. Love him as an Actor, really like Kylo, sadly i hate the HOLE rest of the Movies lol And i can#t watch that shit even for him, because i know they will rape his Character anyways lol

[@Kilgore6549]

I initially liked the movie, but didn’t think it was a very good Star Wars film. One thing you barely mentioned was the lightsaber battle at the end. It makes no sense in the lore with Rey beating Kylo and even Finn fighting him. Then there’s the convenient earthquake that separates Kylo from the good guys, which is another example of terrible writing. It was like there is a list of things KK required in these movies that overshadows any story or character arc.

[@jagsdomain203]

Every scene is a problem. I could go through scene by scene EFAP stile because there is a problem in every scene.

[@jimn4315]

Generaly i like your assessment, but i think ratings (in general not yours) tend to be too inflated 10/10 should only be applied to the best movie of a genre even for single categories. In that regard a 5/10 would be what i consider a low average movie. The Mandalorian for example has no business sitting at 9.3/10 that is better than the OT.

[@DVSPress]

5 is 50%, just like school. I can switch to a percent if that makes it easier. It's like any grading rubric - very difficult to score a 0, but that is appropriate. This is how metacritic coverts it, too, so it should be pretty easy. 1/10 should be reserved for movies that are borderline not movies, like Any Warhol's "Blue Movie" rather than movies that are merely bad. Even a bad movie will have some things which are somewhat successful or effective. Force Awakens is no exception. The production is very solid, the writing is very weak.

[@jimn4315]

@@DVSPress ah right since my country doesnt use percent based school grades i did not immediately realize the connection, although i should have figured from you calling it an F. Very well then, mea culpa and the assesment while harsh holds up.

[@user-sh3vz3ol3j]

I honestly think you're being too generous. David. I give it a 0/10 because as you described it very well, EP7 (= mainly Rey) destroyed everything that was set in the previous films by being a total Mary Sue. You might then ask how I would score TLJ to which I would answer a -10/10 (a minus 10 out of 10) because it eradicated the future of SW.

[@aralornwolf3140]

Watching the Not-Coruscant get destroyed removed my ability to enjoy the movie, not that I was enjoying much of it at that point, too many "WTF? That doesn't make sense" moments. Everything about Starkiller Base is either illogical and/or impossible. It killed TFA and if that's the best Lucasfilm had, I wasn't interested in any of the other movies. Rogue One destroyed continuity, don't let anyone say otherwise, and it was the best of the 3 released movies I was forced to watch (curse you sister for forcing me to watch the movies with you).

[@Imlaor25]

Starkiller base blowing up several planets simultaneously was also the moment I realized the rest of this was going to suck. It didn’t make sense, I just knew how the rest of the plot was going to be, and I knew we wouldn’t get any explanation of what was going on.

[@klarion]

I would give that score a lot less... It was jarring and distracting in the theater... Very fragmented as well

[@AZITHEMLGPRO]

Kylo dies

[@pentelegomenon1175]

I would argue that the production of The Force Awakens is quite weak. If you look at the production of the old Star Trek TV show, it's clearly cheap but everything is well realized, the music and sets and models and effects and props and costumes have a considerable gestalt which becomes evident when modern attempts to "improve" it (changing the theme song, or converting model shots to CGI) only seem to deface it. The Force Awakens does have a certain slickness, but it's an illusion that breaks down with closer inspection; the designs of Star Trek are really evocative (the phasers, tricorders, how transporters are realized, the model Enterprise itself) in a way that is sorely lacking in The Force Awakens (the old designs are reused in senseless ways, and the new designs seem almost amateurish), making it clear that a lot more money than talent went into the actual production.

[@vannersp]

I felt ripped off when I saw it in the cinema, it felt like a clone of Ep. 4 but worse.

[@bluesnagg]

As a lifelong lover of Star Wars, the Disney trilogy is more cringeworthy than the Holiday Special. The endless virtue signaling, feminist propaganda, LGBT agenda, hatred of male success, undoing the character arcs of legacy characters, cut-and-paste rehashing of old plot points, etc. The prequels are Oscar worthy compared to this junk.