Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) - MOVIE REACTION - First Time Watching 

My take on the Han Solo confrontation with Kylo Ren was that Kylo was deeply conflicted. He was struggling against what he earlier referred to as "the pull to the light". It could have gone either way, but in the crucial moment, his desire to be the new Vader, to earn his grandfather's mantle, tipped the scales. He thought by killing his father, that dark act would at last cement him within the dark side, it would wash away his doubts and give him the resolve and surety he was craving. And in the moment after he committed to that path, when his father looked in his eyes, touched his cheek for the last time, he was faced with the terrifying reality that it didn't work. He killed his father, and he felt more lost than ever.

That epic Star Wars opening with the music and the words crawling up the screen got George Lucas fined by the directors guild for not having opening credits. When the movie turned into the huge success it became, Lucas gave the Guild the finger by doing the same for each subsequent movie.

I had SO much fun watching this. Earlier I stumbled on a playlist where someone watch all 9 films and they got increasingly more negative and snarky until it was just all heckling, and it just bummed me out. This video turned my night around so thank you! So much fun to see it through your eyes, and so many great insights. You found a new subscriber tonight! Thank you for sharing your positivity!

Can't wait till you watch Rogue One.

His internal conflict was his conscience realizing he was fighting for the wrong team it just so happens that it was the force guiding Finn & Poe to meet

32:37 No-one could survive a fall like that, right? Qui-Gon: I wish that were so.

The stormtroopers are like “Nope we’re out of here screw this” 😂 28:26

Can you imagine...what Chewie was going through. It's very telling he doesn't kill Kylo, which he easily could have. That's his good friend's son. Who killed his good friend. Of 40+ years. I like that Chewie found some way to be honorable in that moment but I honestly wanted to see him go a little more crazy. Anyway, cool to see a reaction by someone seeing it fresh and unspoiled, that's not an easy thing to pull off these days. It was definitely a shocker and a strong start to the sequel trilogy for us older fans. Curious to see what you think of the next one(s).

The storm trooper that Rey mind controlled and dropped his gun was played by Daniel Craig.

I love Rey's intro in this film. Excellent showing vs telling. Plus Rey's Theme has quickly become one of my favorite Star Wars leitmotifs. I was so sold on her after the first half hour. By the end of the show I wasn't so sure, but trusted they'd flesh her out in the sequels.

Fun Fact: The valley & lake the Falcon flies over is a real place. It’s Derwent Water & Borrowdale in the Lake District here in England. Also, the name Starkiller was the original surname for Luke prior to it being changed to Skywalker.

That skeleton in front of the crashed Star Destroyer is supposed to be Jar Jar Binks. Someone suggested it and JJ Abrams thought it was funny, so they put it in.

BB-8 is one of the best designed droids in the star wars saga. The design team and character developers knew they had to bring their A-game. When you have to bring any rival to R2-D2 in the Star Wars universe. I know you love episdoe 1 but Jar Jar Bigs makes me feel such hate toward a character. Since then Star Wars knows it has to make the side companions to the main character great.

Fun fact : BB8 is a real robot theyve made that really works. Its not CG.

The female protagonist is Rey(Daisy Ridley). The small droid is "BB-8". R2-D2 and BB-8 are in the "same family".

I love seeing your natural reaction to the film befoe haters spoil the fun. Loved Rey and Finn and this one.

Battle of jakku. I don't know when but also all that debris was probably booby-trapped just for scavangers. Happened in the clone wars too....

Just in case you were wondering... the chrome "super" storm trooper: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brienne_of_Tarth

I would still think, that if Luke removed himself for failing Kylo, and unleashing a dark side agent on the galaxy, he would try to help the galaxy than leave it to the rising danger. I figured he went to the first Jedi temple to learn something that would be helpful. Fun fact: Mark Hamill said JJ was going to add rocks floating around him at the end, but Rian wanted to take it a different way so they didn't. Mark didn't realize it until he say TFA the opening night. He ask JJ what happened to the rocks and JJ told him they had figured something else out.

27:27 The Storm Trooper Rey is using the mind trick on is played by Daniel Craig (AKA 007)

22:39 Maz : No more training do you require. Already know you, that which you need. Finn : Then I am a Jedi. Maz: Who the f*ck knows? This is _Disney!_ Anything's possible ... somehow.

28:23 Hands down my two most FAVORITE stormtroopers ever!

the TRUE Sequel Trilogy, "Star Wars: Heir to the Empire Trilogy"by Timothy Zahn. Also known as "Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy". This is now under the Legends brand. This was a far superior sequel to the 1st 6 movies. The original characters are well respected but new and interesting characters are also introduced. Leia and Han are indeed happily married. Worth a read. the Mandalorain is actually working on their own trilogy, using these books and others as inspiration, to give fan a true sequel trilogy in it's own right. Are you ready? :)

36:30 Leia walks right past Chewie to console Rey, who has known Han for about 5 minutes. 🙄

If I could go back and rework the whole 9 film saga to work together more smoothly, BB8 would be the design choice for most droids. It's so versatile.

I'm almost afraid to look at the comments now... :D ... Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed your reaction. You essentially recreated how I felt in the theater beat for beat!

Tid bit of trivia. The stormtrooper that Rey encounters...(You will removed these restraints...) his model number is JB-007 played by Daniel Craig, the current James Bond.

It's good that you are seeing ALL of these films as an adult. I saw episode IV when it was released in 1977 as a college student and thus it doesn't have the nostalgic pull on me as I didn't play with the toys and make up my own adventures growing up. The people that did hated the prequels because they couldn't watch them on the film's terms and watch them for what they were. The same thing happened with the kids that grew up with the prequels. They hate the sequels. I've seen the whole series as an adult and enjoy all nine of the Skywalker saga. Yes some are way better than others but that's the nature of pop art. A lot of people complain that there are plot holes and there kind of are. I like to think of the series as Artoo's story and he is telling it long long in the future and in a Galaxy far far away. Perhaps in the Milky Way in the twentieth century. Like C3PO says in one of the films "You know how Artoo's memory gets faulty". So ignore the haters and form your own opinion. You're a grown up lady, enjoy them on your terms. I've never understood people who want to force their hate on others just because something didn't live up to their childhood nostalgia.

Awesome reactions, Laurenn. In my opinion, this is the only modern Star Wars movie that successfully re-captured the feel of the first three movies, but for obvious reasons, I was still upset by what happens! :)

Laurenn: "Oh, my God. Oh, my God! Wow, I really thought that was going to go differently." Hey, Laurenn! Your reaction to Han Solo's death echoed the sentiments of many! No one believed it would happen. In fact, there was an actual outcry in my theater! Lol. The background you need going in is that these films were not planned out by George Lucas like the other trilogies. Whatever issues the others had were ameliorated by a cohesive vision. However, Lucas sold the Star Wars IP to Disney. These films are Disney babies. The thinking was to give each chapter to talented up-and-comers with each one taking the baton from his predecessor and seeing what fruit that bore. With a property this beloved and hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, this strategy by Kathleen Kennedy -- the new head of Lucasfilm -- was very risky and proved disastrous. "The Force Awakens" was actually the least offensive of the Sequel trilogy and really just rehashed the plot of Episode IV. There are entertaining and beautiful sequences throughout and the nostalgia factor bolsters all the films but there is no unifying vision among the three movies and a general lack of coherence. What angered fans is that there was a tremendous amount of excellent sequel material to be mined in the Expanded Universe of books, comics and video games that had come out over the past 40 years which was arbitrarily made non-canon when Lucas sold the rights to Disney. I recommend trying to savor what actually does work in terms of performances and effects. Daisy Ridley was quite a discovery and makes a strong, likable impression as Rey despite a paper-thin character. In a franchise that celebrates rebel princesses and queens, Kennedy needlessly shoe-horned a pro-female, woke agenda into the franchise and Rey's innate talents were seen as part of that agenda; she's keenly Force-sensitive, knows how to wield a lightsaber, can pilot a starship, speaks multiple languages, can mentally manipulate, and exhibits psychometry and telekinesis! However, these and other abilities she later displays are all tied into the mystery of her character and, for better or worse, are explained. The actress had nothing to do with all that drama and was excellent! Adam Driver, already known as a versatile character actor, delivers a similarly powerful impression as Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. The deepening relationship between him and Rey is the trilogy's greatest strength! The other thing Kathleen Kennedy and director J.J. Abrams did right was returning to PRACTICAL effects after the inordinate use of CGI in the prequels. Of course, the returning CLASSIC CAST is another major asset to this trilogy. The most underserved character in this trilogy is Finn, the defecting stormtrooper played by John Boyega. Stormtroopers were originally clones loyal to the Jedi. After Order 66, they were loyal to the Emperor. After they aged out, they were replaced by willing human recruits and probably conscripts from conquered worlds. We learn that the First Order takes young children to indoctrinate them in the same way the Janissary Corps acquired recruits and molded their minds to be loyal to the Ottoman Sultan. The concept of Finn being an individualized storm trooper who resists his conditioning is an intriguing plot element that, unfortunately, doesn't get explored all that much. Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron is supposed to be some sort of brash Han Solo-lite but he's equally pointless and underdeveloped. Isaac is an accomplished actor and it is through sheer charisma that he makes any impression at all. Those were wrecked Imperial Star Destroyers Rey was scavenging on Jakku! The New Republic's war with the Empire continued for a year after the destruction of the second Death Star. Imperial forces made a last stand in orbit over Jakku and were finally decimated with many damaged ships crashing to the planet's surface. You recognized the 'Millennium Falcon'! Good for you, Laurenn! Not every reactor does. When it's suddenly revealed on Jakku that the garbage heap Rey is referring to is actually the 'Falcon', it always got an instant reaction out of the audience! The moment brought THE ENTIRE CROWD together! Some reactors wonder why Kylo kept pounding his lower left abdomen during his duel with Rey. It's because that's where Chewie shot him! When you have a throbbing injury, sometimes it provides momentary relief when you apply pressure. Alternatively, aggravating the pain might have stoked his rage giving himself an edge. Chewbacca is 234 years old at the time of "The Force Awakens". Wookiees are long-lived. The junkboss Unkar Plutt on Jakku who exchanges food for scrap is played by Simon Pegg in a prosthetic suit! One of the gangsters demanding payment from Solo is Iko Uwais, the Indonesian silat master and action star of "The Raid", "Beyond Skyline", "Mile 22" and "Stuber". The guard Rey tricks into releasing her from the interrogation room is none other than James Bond's Daniel Craig! Captain Phasma is none other than Brienne of Tarth from "Game of Thrones", Gwendoline Christie! The old Alderaanian Poe met with in the beginning who was slain by Kylo Ren is legendary Swedish actor and frequent Ingmar Bergman collaborator, Max von Sydow!

Despite the controversy that surrounds this "Sequel Trilogy" now, seeing the trailer for the first time, years after the "Prequel Trilogy" and decades after the "Original Trilogy", fans had high hopes. Seeing this for the first time in theaters was far more impactful than you can imagine. The big reveals and traumatic plot twists pertaining to the classic characters was absolutely mind-blowing if not devastating. Being a fan of the Expanded Universe novels I was a bit confused about Kylo Ren / Ben Solo since I was expecting Jaina Solo, Jacen Solo and Anakin Solo who were Han & Leia's children in the novels, as well as Ben Skywalker, the son of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade. (If you are a reader, check out the novels from the 1990s and early 2000s.) Disney's choice to de-canonize the E.U. was at the core of the controversy for many long-time fans. Regardless, I have grown to enjoy this movie despite the lack of follow-through and disjointed character arcs of Episodes 8 & 9.

This is going to be one busy and polarized comment zone. ;) The two most disappointing things about this one: 1. It's basically a remake of Episode IV (with the new characters being slightly rewritten versions of the original characters and 2: It throws away a lot of the lore about the force. Rey is, without training or experience, a superstrong force user that can use a light saber from day one. And they way the filmmakers treated Luke as a character was shocking to many of us. Even Mark Hamill who play Luke hate how they treated his character. We know a lot about why things went wrong; Disney being too busy to capitalise on their purchase of LucasArts, ignoring George Lucas completely and throwing his treatment of the new trilogy into the trashbin, a complete lack of careful planning and mapping of the trilogy before assigning this one to J.J Abrams who wrote it according to his own ideas without bothering with anything that George Lucas offered. Besides, Luke's original blue light saber shouldn't be there since it was lost/destroyed in Episode V: The Empire Strikes back when Vader cut off Luke's hand in cloud city hovering above the gas giant Bespin. Luke designed a new one with a Green blade between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi which Vader remarked on in Return of the Jedi. For those of us that have "lived" in the Star Wars universe for many years there are many issues with this movie. I still enjoyed it though even though it wasn't what I expected or had hoped for. I can't say the same for the last two movies in this sequel trilogy. The irony is that this sequel trilogy made me appreciate the sequel trilogy a lot more. It seems "new" Star Wars fans that haven't gotten deep into Star Wars lore found in all the games (esp. the Knights of the Old Republic games), books, animated series etc. ddin't mind or noticed the issues and discrepancies that kind of ruined the sequel trilogy for the more die-hard Star Wars fans. I just wish they hadn't thrown Luke on the trash heap like they did, trying to get rid of the most important characters from the previous 6 movies (well, they succeeded with Han Solo) or simply turn them into side characters. Sure, since Disney (with Kathleen Kennedy and J.J Abrams) wanted to distance themselves from the first two trilogies as far as they could in order to create their own version of the Star Wars universe it's understandable why they did it. It wasn't right as far as I'm concerned but for their purposes they did what they did. Most of us expected something completely different with Luke having a much bigger part (one of the main characters) in the trilogy as a kind of Obi-Wan-like character, a wise and very powerful Jedi Grand Master fighting a new and even bigger dark force threat against the entire galaxy while introducing new main characters as well as reintroducing old ones. We didn't expect a rinse and repeat of the Emperor/Anakin story. We also didn't expect a weak remnant (First Order) of the Empire to be the main threat to the galaxy. In the end it doesn't matter; you either like the new sequel trilogy or you don't. If you like it/them that's great. You had a better time than those that didn't like them. It all comes down to subjective opinions anyway. :)

22:29 Nice touch with the Bizkit. Great reaction, Lauren!

Oh yes Han Solo in the house y,all I mean space ship 14:35

I super highly recommend you check out the two SNL skits starring Adam Driver where they parody Undercover Boss featuring Kylo Ren. It's freakin. Hilarious. And Driver does SO good in them.

Don't know if someone else got to this first, but the Stormtrooper that Rey mind-tricked into letting her go? That was Daniel Craig, the most recent James Bond. Because of course it was.

In the theater we cheered for the millennium falcon and then when we saw Han Solo at that moment we cried and cheered it was so awesome

"That brings me back to A New Hope." That's the exact plan of Bob Iger when making this film.

Couple of interesting eastereggs: The dude handing out rations to Rey was Simon Pegg. The trooper Rey mind controlled was 007 Daniel Craig.

Totally worth $ 3 dvd at Pawn Shop the Star Wars Force Awakens

Oh and your reaction was great and 100% valid and fun. I think I saw this one a couple times in the theater.

I was, also, shaken by Han,'s death, but I found out Harrison Ford thought Han should have died in Return of the Jedi.

Hey Lauren, you do know the formula for writing the Star WArs characters. Geroge Lucas copied the format from the Japanese classic film, "The Hidden Fortress". The film has a pair of bugling bickering commers tasked with a mission and along the way they meet a hero/general that helps save us all. Well since C3PO and R2-D2 were the bungling bickering pair from the original movie (and the most popular pair). Each movie always tries to re-create that pairing to engage viewers with lovable side characters.

22:26 Oh shit! I went ROLLIN ROLLIN ROLLIN! And then you just * chef's kiss *

SEE?! Lauren watched this movie the "right way!" She enjoyed it for what it was! There's changes, holes, etc. But if you just ENJOY it, it's enjoyABLE! Excellent review Lauren! Thank you! 🤟👍🤙

16:55 it looks amazing

I think the chemistry between Finn and Poe worked better in ten minutes than between Anakin and Obi Wan in the whole of Episode 2 and 3. Just executed better.

This movie is so fun to watch. Regardless of my feelings of the trilogy or how things fit together, I can do easily turn my brain off and thoroughly enjoy this film. That's something I hardly can ever do. Of course, there's something to be said that the best way to enjoy this film is by turning your brain off. If you have to suspend any criticism to enjoy a film, there are some issues.

HEy Lauren, Force-sensitive creatures always find their way to being great pilots with very little training. THis is due to the fact the force gives one great ability of anticipation since the force helps you see into the future. The more you train in your force abilities the more to can harness this ability of foresight, such as Yoda and Palpatine. Anikin was a great pilot even in his early days as a pod racer. Luke is an excellent pilot, and now Rye and Kyleo Ren join the bunch.

26:43 You mean the Darth Vader that returned to the light side and killed the Emperor in the previous episode? Ok ...

C-3PO is still got it😂 24:50

Hey Lauren, I don't know if you've watched the Harry Potter movies or not, but if you had, the actor who played General Hux is the same actor who played Bill Weasley

On the helmet that she is wearing it says Rey so the person that died that used to have that helmet that she found is where she got her name

Hey Lauren, Fun Fact: The Stormtrooper that Rey did the Jedi Mind Trick on was played by Daniel Craig, the most recent actor to play James Bond 007

It was a fun movie though,aint gonna dis it. The picture quality is the one thing i miss the most, like on the original S.W. pre '97 edition,prequels diferent but awesome too. Really dig yer channel,cheers!

Ray is carrying the youngling slayer 3000

'Women always figure out the truth. Always.' followed by the (evil?) laugh...

This movie is very much a remake of Episode IV. It has almost all of the major plot points. Not a bad thing, but I do not recall anyone mentioning that.

When Han died, my sister wept. And I got chills seeing Luke after so many years!

How does Rey know how to force pull a lightsaber? Luke had Obi-wan introduce him to the force, training, him core ideas ("reach out with your feelings.") He barely got his saber from the snow and only by the end of the movie, after personal training from Yoda, could he pull it to him on Cloud City. Luke had Yoda teach him to unlearn things he learned in the desert. Rey, grew up poor, alone, and untrained somehow KNOWS you can call things with her mind? Who even told her that? It's been 40 years since most of the galaxy has even SEEN a Jedi. What was the point of her spelunking and climbing an old Star Destroyer for junk, when she knows you can just pull things out with her mind? How does she best Kylo with NO training? Kylo has been personally trained by LUKE SKYWALKER. Rey has NO training. She ought to just be swinging it around like a club, not dodging and parrying. How does she know to mind control? Even Obi-wan had to show Luke that it can be done at all. What was the point of her trading junk for food when she knew she could just mind control the fat guy? Couldnt she just mind control him into giving an extra "quarter portion?"

adorable BB8 robot 🤖 2:10

27:27 Fun Fact - that stormtrooper is Daniel Craig aka James Bond.

Kylo Ren was by far my favorite character of this trilogy.

So glad you saw this! J.J. Abrams really hit it out of the park with this one and yes there were some plot similarities to A New Hope but he hit the right balance of nostalgia and keeping the story going with new characters

Fun fact. The Storm Trooper that Rey mind tricks into letting her go was played by Daniel Craig AKA James Bond 007. He's a big Star Wars fan and asked JJ Abrams if he could play an anonymous Storm Trooper.

First time watching one of you're reactions and you are FANTASTIC. I think if you told me for no reason at all to give you money, I would

20:18 That's what _she_ said!

I'm glad you like it I'm not a nitpicker like everyone else in this world I take movies for what they give me and like I said before and comment before I love all nine movies I just love anything Star wars from Star wars New Hope to the Mandalorian I love it all

Yours was the first video I got to see after returning from Star Wars Celebration 2022. ^ _ ^ What a treat to come home to. "Force Awakens" was so much fun to watch in theaters when it first released, but even afterwards rewatching it with family and friends I still find myself enjoying the ride again and again each time. That for me will always be the trademark of the best Star Wars experiences.

The stormtrooper who lets Rey go from capture is Daniel Craig!!

Well you think about it everyone in Star wars should know how to pilot a starship just like nowadays everyone should know how to drive a car

This is still dark then I Remember 3:30

Thanks a lot for your reaction--seems you truly liked the Star Wars universe. I've subscribed & gave a thumb up. I'll look at your channel, if you did the other SW movies. It's always entertaining to watch younger generations reacting to these movies that I watched in my teen years. Cheers & Have a nice day.

My band and I produced a Star Wars punk-rock song in Chicago that is a spin on "The Empire Strikes Back". Please click on our sleeping tiger icon to possibly give it a listen. It is called "Lightsaber Language".

Loved your reaction!

Hi Lauren hope you are having an great and awesome day ❤

I liked this movie so much when it came out. I saw it back to back on opening night cause I was so hyped for new Star Wars. So it's not shocking at all that you enjoyed it so much cause honestly most people did. Everyone was so excited where this new Trilogy was going and to learn more about the new characters. Well, we'll see how you feel about the next one. People have... STRONG OPINIONS.

Awesome reaction keep it up ✌🏽

December 18th 2015 I saw it at opening night it was awesome and I saw the trailer the day before 12 years old I was saw it 9.9/10

The next words out of Luke's mouth should be "There was a hand with it. Did you bring the hand?"

So Harrison Ford wanted this to be one last movie of this franchise so Hans Solo dying was a way to solve it. I've also heard he also suggeste Hans Solo dying in Star Wars episode 6. So in way, he might say, yes I do this movie, but after that I'm dead.

They asked Harrison Ford to play han solo again but he said I will but 2 conditions,one they make a new Indiana Jones movie and they kill off han solo. Harrison Ford said in interviews he hated playing solo but really enjoyed Indiana Jones

There are many, many issues with the sequel series, but I have to point out the way they did our original heroes dirty. Luke, Leia and Han are all shown to have basically peaked in Return of the Jedi and gone downhill ever since. It's like saying "George Lucas created these characters, let's destroy them so we can show off our new, better heroes." Also, Force Awakens is almost a complete ripoff of New Hope's story.

That one trooper that fought Finn(with the baton)was named TR-8R.....get it?

22:50 Wookie crossbow was my most favourite weapon in games Jedi academy. 😀

The reason why Han Solo was killed off in this movie was because Harrison Ford wanted the character killed off and that was reportedly the only way he'd do this film.

Lauren little bit of trivia for you. The stormtrooper Rey mind controls and gets to drop his gun. Is played by James Bond himself… Daniel Craig. :)

I saw this twice in the theaters when it first came out the part where Kylo kills Han always gets to me cause Han has always been my favorite character from Star Wars and honestly I get teary eyed watching that scene every time

Laurenn, I'm a new(ish) subscriber and wanted to say I love you're reactions! You react perfectly to all the parts of the movie that SHOULD be reacted to, and at the intensity all of us we who have seen the movie are hoping for! Thanks for sharing your reactions with us. 👍

6:16 she’s on Jakku, it’s on the boarder of the outa rim.

I like the sequels I don’t love them but force awakens is one of my favorite Star Wars films

Oh the force awakens pretty interesting I've seen every Star Wars movie in the theater since the 70s all of them even the anime Clone Wars movie I saw in the theater

37:38 They'll pass quickly! 🤣

Threatening to blow up planets is one thing. However actually doing it makes no sense. If there's no one left to rule over than what was the point? Also still can't believe Han died that way.

I never really got into Star Wars, might watch one of the movies this summer.

I loved your reaction! I think it is cute how you sound like a Jawa at the very end when you flash the peace signs, After you do reaction videos to Episodes 8 and 9, could you do reaction videos to Solo and Rouge One after wards? That way, you could see all 11 Star Wars movies?

Yes. It is.

These were the only ones I got to see in theatres. The original six have my heart but I think some of the criticisms of these movies got out of hand

This became one of my favorite Star Wars movies when it was released. All of the new main characters were likable, and I was excited by the possibilities of what could happen in the next 2 episodes... Unfortunately, The Last Jedi kind of knocked The Force Awakens down a few notches for me, but it is still a fun watch if you can block what comes next out of your mind lol Your reaction to the Han and Kylo scene was spot on. I thought Han was going to make out of that scene, but I was wrong as well. It was shocking and tough to watch.

When this was produced, Ray was supposed to be Leia and Han daughter, sister of Ben (Kylo Ren), so she had Skywalker blood. She had a connection with Han and Leia. Han had invited her to be his copilot and Leia welcome her and send her to find Luke. Well, somebody didn't liked this and in the next movie they change everything. So sad.