This is probably one of the most insightful comments.
A severely injured trained user. Kylo took a gut shot from Chewie’s bowcaster, that thing was tossing storm troopers around like a grenade launcher.
so do we know who the old dude was with the map on the memory stick in the opening scenes?
I wonder if the killing off of Han was one of the conditions in which Harrison Ford agreed to reprise his role. He always felt Han should have been killed off in ROTJ.
Lor San Tekka.
Whoever the hell he is.
Or was.
He was reacting to that very strangely, I thought–kind of stopping and literally hitting the wound repeatedly every few minutes. Is that a thing that people do?
Almost certainly. Though I also think that, as it was a widely known fact, it would’ve been rolling around in JJ Abrams’s head anyway. Also there’s this TV show from ten years ago.
Your first sentence explains the last. Palpatine was thrown off by Vader, while electrocuting himself and was generally beat to shit anyway. Even Pinball Yoda wouldn’t have been able to do anything- can’t jump if you don’t have your feet. Maybe that’s why the Empire builds all those chasms- it’s the only easy way to kill a Jedi.
Ha! I was actually disappointed he said “trash compactor.” Then again, I’m still annoyed that Jake immediately spoiled the “1060 West Addison” joke in Blues Brothers, so…
I really liked it. I give it a B+/A-. Look, I’ll never be 7 again and utterly have my mind BLOWN the way I did the first time I saw the first one. (Fourth one–whatever.) But The Force Awakens got my love back after the prequels. I’ve blocked out one and two and never bothered seeing three. (Or six. I’m an old! Cut me a little slack.)
I really like Adam Driver as Kylo Ren. Yeah, he is young–that’s when a person is the most vulnerable to going down the wrong path. And you do see him being vulnerable to maybe going back. (I forget who it was upthread, (like them) I really did think for a second that maybe the movie will have him at least TRY to go good, right in the first movie. Huge, OMG, <record skip> change.)
But, you do have to dance with the ones that brung ya.
Domnhall Gleeson as Hux (the Nazi-esque speech giver) was driving me nuts. Not his performance–great. But b/c I knew I knew him from something–went thru it with Driver as well. (For Driver it was–This is Where I Leave You. I haven’t watched Girls.
For Gleeson–We had JUST watched Ex Machina. And we saw at least three other movies from his filmiography.
tl:dr
Really liked it. Great acting. I’ll probably go see it again. Yay, Star Wars!
From the sound it made when he slapped it, I think he was trying to pound his armor tighter, to put pressure on the wound.
Or, since he’s a dark side user, maybe he was trying to make it hurt more to keep his anger up.
Speaking of recognizing someone and not being able to place him, who was the fat, bearded X-Wing pilot in this one?
Matt Parkman from Heroes. I also recognized the girl from Killjoys as one of the super weapon operators.
The first time he did it, they made a show of the blood falling to the ground. So I had it in my head that he was trying to knock out the pooling blood collecting in his armor for whatever reason, but I couldn’t give a great reason for why he’d be doing so.
He also looked angry and frustrated, i think he was just annoyed he was actually feeling pain.
Just saw the movie and haven’t read anyone’s comments yet, but I LOVED IT!! Holy crap, it brought back the first two movies to me. The same sort of space opera and swashbuckling seat of your pants story line I was missing in space epic movies. There were some parts that were a bit flat, and the really shocking event actually came as a shock to me, though I kind of saw it coming. It’s funny all the speculation about Luke turned out to be totally wrong, and, honestly, while it might have been cool I think this is better. Cliff hanger ending just made me hungry for the next one.
Definitely has XT’s seal AND otter of approval though, FWIW. 
Because of the Black stormtrooper? That’s racist!!
The First Order is a lot more progressive than the Galactic Empire. They have women occupying all jobs in their armed forces.
He’s got a bit of his grandfather and his uncle in him. Don’t forget that Luke and Anakin were petulant little turds at that age too.
Look, The Force Awakens was a week entry into the Star Wars films. There were zero mitochloreans. They spent the first act on a desert planet with no mention of how course sand is or how it gets in everywhere. Neither Poe or Fen were nearly “stalky” enough to be with a girl as hot as Ray. And where’s all the CGI? What is this 1977?
Why does Ren call Vader “grandfather” if he’s Han’s son?
Because he’s also Leia’s son (you need a male AND female to make a human ;)), and she is Vader’s daughter.
Because he is Leia’s son also.