I'm going to update this over time to get all my thoughts in..... but here we go. Tiered hider tags will indicate clearly how far you should read.

[hider=totally spoiler free]This is [i]in the running[/i] for the best Star Wars movie ever. IN THE RUNNING -- not saying it's flat-out better than Empire. It's just really, really, REALLY freakin' good. It has all the charm of the original trilogy, none of the cheese of the prequels, and [i]off the scales[/i] better directed. The cinematography is great. The action is great. The script is great. The characters are great. The effects are great. It's.... dude. Go watch it, for real. Not convinced? Risk a few more spoilers and follow another click.

[hider=broad hints -- it should be fine to read this if you haven't watched yet]

Let's start out basic. The overall plot and pacing of this movie were [i]spot-on.[/i] You'll notice some STRONG parallels to older movies -- one in particular -- and a somewhat familiar vagueness as well, concerning the overall state of the galaxy. Remember in A New Hope, when Vader announces that the Emperor has dissolved the senate and from now on they'll rule through fear? You had no idea what the senate was, but you got the point -- shit was about to get bad. It's a lot like that. Don't expect any drawn-out hour-long forray into the nitty and gritty of trade franchises for the Naboo. JJ Abrams gets right to the goddamn point. You'll know as much as you need to know, to follow the characters, and that's it. That felt right to me -- if this was an RPGC entry, I might mention the possibility of doing a LITTLE exposition -- since there's friggin' none of it, it could probably handle a little. But it's fine, it's really fine, it's great even. Exciting.

Okay, so the characters then. Right? Characters are good. By now you've seen the previews, you have a pretty good idea of what people look like. What you don't understand yet is, they are [b]so real.[/b] These people are deep. The heroes are deep. The villains are deep. Nobody is perfect and everybody is developing and it's [i]just so good.[/i] 

Can we talk conflict? Not much, without ruining everything. Suffice it to say -- the movie cuts a clear path from point A to point B to point C and so on. You are joining a world already in progress, and you're following people who know just as much as you do. It's the opposite of convoluted, without being too simple. And best of all, it's character-driven in ways that [i]make sense.[/i] 

Getting to the action. It's [i]intense[/i], man. It's really intense. When people get shot they get [b]shot,[/b] and they [b]stay[/b] shot. [s]It verges on brutal -- like if they'd gone very much further at all, they would've had to look at an R rating.[/s] [i]Edit -- I'm walking that back. Watched it again, it's not AS hardcore as I initially thought. Blasters hit hard, that's the moral of the story.[/i] [b]This is not forced. It fits. It's done naturally and complimented by camera work and effects.[/b] 

How about the overall tone? The thing that shocked me most was, [i]it's funny.[/i] It's original-trilogy, witty, funny. Not 'ooooh icky icky pooo' prequel funny -- I'm talking "WHO YOU CALLING SCRUFFY LOOKING?" funny. Naturally. Not forced (okay maybe once or twice forced). This is a serious, brutal, and yet upbeat and exciting film. You haven't seen that since episode 4. It is [i]easily[/i] on that level. Right now, I think better. 

Dude -- go watch it. STILL NOT CONVINCED? Okay. Spoilers ahead.

[hider=spoilers -- for those who have not watched, but might be convinced]

Let's talk about some fears and expectations.

There was some concern that the villain in this movie is Darth Revan, from KOTOR. It's not. The reveal is made pretty early on, so you won't have to wait long to learn his identity. I won't tell you who it is -- what I will tell you, is [i]this is one of the most interesting people in the Star Wars universe to date.[/i] Not because of 'what the book says,' not because of his SUPER SECRET IDENTITY, but because of the depth of his character as seen on camera. [i]He has so much going on and it is absolutely goddamn brilliant.[/i] All the best parts of the prequels -- shut up, there were some -- dealt with a 'villain in progress.' Someone who's growing into their role, whether that was Palpatine's cunning rise to power or Anakin's (rare) moments of organic development towards the dark side. In this movie, the villain is [i]extremely[/i] "in progress." And it is so cool, so good. 

Weren't we all a little worried that this was gonna fall on its face? It doesn't do that. VII comes out of the gate running and it doesn't stop. I mentioned earlier that the pacing was brilliant. I meant it. It's not simply that "it moves fast." It does [i]all of the things[/i] it needs to do, [i]and[/i] moves at [i]the right speed[/i], AND it's interesting the whole time. 

[b]But isn't this just using nostalgia to make some more money? The old Disney treatment?[/b] A little, I suppose. There's definitely nostalgia factor times a million, you just can't avoid it with such a big release. Rest assured -- it is handled [b]masterfully.[/b] I mean [b]shockingly, hilariously, epically[/b] well done. You'll know it when you see it, and oh my god.

[b]So wait -- is there anything new, or is it a bunch of old stuff tacked together and re-released?[/b] It's the right amount of both. Strong, strong parallels to Episode 4. It's not literally the same story, but let's be honest, it's almost. And you know what? I [b]wish[/b] the prequels had done that. What's great though, is that the reason I want to watch Episode 8 has [b]nothing[/b] to do with the throwbacks -- I want to see what happens to [i]these new people.[/i] I care about these people and this story. We have been sorely missing that. 

Still not convinced? I, uh.... I'm not sure I can convince you. But if you want to learn more, keep reading. Otherwise, stop now until you've watched the movie.

[hider=heavy spoilers -- from now on, I am ruining the movie for you]

This is gonna be sparse for now. Dude..... Kylo Ren was [i]so fucking good[/i]. I can't believe it. Every line, EVERY LINE that Poe ever said was solid goddamn gold. Fin -- "I'm a Resistance fighter. This is what we all look like." Oh my god. The lighter thumbs-up? LOST MY SHIT. "Where is my boyfriend, Chewbacca?" Killed it. 3PO popping up in the middle of Han and Leia's reunion? The way Fin was introduced -- that bloody streak on his helmet, the fear, the look from Ren, then the PTSD and the shiny chicktrooper and..... holy shit. I [i]cannot believe[/i] how much JJ pulled off.

If I have a complaint -- and I do, and I whined about it already to my peeps -- it was casting the senior staff people on both sides of the war. Nobody in this movie looked like a general or an admiral or whatever, except I guess Han and Leia. Who were great. The new faces didn't really do it for me -- That's JJ Abrams signature style. Everybody must be young and beautiful, especially admirals. What can you do. But then, the people involved in action (even the people who were just voices, like "annnnnnnd I'm dropping my gun" trooper) were stellar. 

But the best part -- THE BEST PART -- they got the universe so right. Remember how shiny and bullshitty all of the prequels looked, because George wanted to play with his new VFX computers? This universe was [i]right[/i], down to the goddamn binoculars.

Okay. That's all for now. I'll come back and add more thoughts probably, and if I do, I'll note that it's been edited so you don't have to click through everything again. Or just talk about it in new posts, whatever, don't matter. Tired. This is the Star Wars movie I've been waiting for since 1992.
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edit -- modified the description of the action a little. It's heavy, but it's not quite as heavy as I was talking before.