Rent Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

3.8 of 5 from 1018 ratings
2h 12min
Rent Star Wars: The Force Awakens (aka Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens) Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
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Synopsis:
Visionary director J.J. Abrams brings to life the motion picture event of a generation. As Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the sinister First Order rise from the ashes of the Empire, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is missing when the galaxy needs him most. It's up to Rey (Daisy Ridley), a desert scavenger and Finn (John Boyega), a defecting stormtrooper, to join forces with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) in a desperate search for the one hope of restoring peace to the galaxy.
Actors:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Pip Andersen, , , ,
Directors:
Producers:
J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, Kathleen Kennedy
Voiced By:
Erik Bauersfeld, Kipsang Rotich, Alec Guinness, Ewan McGregor, Frank Oz
Writers:
Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams
Others:
Stuart Wilson, John Williams, Matthew Wood, Maryann Brandon, Andy Nelson, Chris Corbould, David Acord, Christopher Scarabosio, Rick Carter, Neal Scanlan, Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Lee Sandales, Paul Kavanagh, Darren Gilford, Mary Jo Markey
Aka:
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
Studio:
Walt Disney
Genres:
Action & Adventure, Children & Family, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Collections:
10 Films to Watch if You Like: King Kong, 2016, 21 Reasons to Love, 21 Reasons to Love... Ingmar Bergman: Part 2, Award Winners, CinemaParadiso.co.uk Through Time, Films by Genre, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Ewan Mcgregor, Ireland At the Oscars, Remembering: Max von Sydow, Science Fiction & Fantasy, The Biggest Oscar Snubs: Part 2, The Star Wars Collection, What Order Should You Watch The Star Wars Movies?
Awards:

2016 BAFTA Best Visual Effects

BBFC:
Release Date:
18/04/2016
Run Time:
132 minutes
Languages:
Castilian Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Catalan Dolby Digital 5.1, English Audio Description Dolby Digital 2.0, English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
Castillian, Danish, English Hard of Hearing, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Portuguese, Swedish
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.40:1
Colour:
Colour
BBFC:
Release Date:
18/04/2016
Run Time:
138 minutes
Languages:
English Audio Description Dolby Digital 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, French DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1, Hindi Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
Arabic, Danish, Dutch, English Hard of Hearing, Finnish, French, Norwegian, Swedish
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.40:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
(0) All
BBFC:
Release Date:
31/10/2016
Run Time:
138 minutes
Languages:
Czech Dolby Digital 5.1, English Audio Description Dolby Digital 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, French DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1, Hindi Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English Hard of Hearing, Finnish, French, Norwegian, Swedish
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.40:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
BBFC:
Release Date:
20/04/2020
Run Time:
138 minutes
Languages:
English Audio Description, English Dolby Atmos, English Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, French DTS 5.1, German DTS 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles:
Danish, English Hard of Hearing, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish
DVD Regions:
Region 0 (All)
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.39:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
(0) All

More like Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Reviews (10) of Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The Audience Sleeps - Star Wars: The Force Awakens review by Alphaville

Spoiler Alert
14/05/2016

For pre-teenies and retarded fanboys only. If you like Star Wars, this is the sort of film you’ll like. If you’re new to Star Wars, it’s nonsense. Anyone looking for sci-fi thrills, humour, dialogue, plot and drama of an adult nature, look elsewhere. After showing such early promise in his career, director J J Abrams seems to be going down the George Lucas route into juvenilia.

It’s a shame. The cgi is faultless and the sets are imaginative. Keira Knightly clone Daisy Ridley shows verve as the heroine and Adam Driver (once he’s allowed to ditch that ridiculous helmet) adds some much-needed charisma. As for the rest… All clichés are present and correct.

There’s an anthropomorphic R2D2 update for the pre-pre-teenies. Those silly stormtroopers, like Dr Who cybermen, kill and get killed as boringly as orcs in a Lord of the Rings movie. There are the requisite number of explosions and cartoon-like spaceship fights to zap through on the DVD player. There’s the standard Mickey-Mouse rent-a-soundtrack to bludgeon home every single beat.

Naturally there’s no real ending, because there’s still money to be made out of the next sleep-inducing instalment in this interminable saga.

6 out of 11 members found this review helpful.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ - Star Wars: The Force Awakens review by MW

Spoiler Alert
30/06/2016

Boring, Boring, Boring. There's not much to recommend in this. This should have been a real event movie, instead we get a load of uninteresting goodies and laughably unscary bad guys. No back story telling us how we got here. Old characters mumble through some terrible dialogue on the way to the bank. CGI battle scenes galore, each more dull than the previous one. And Luke Skywalker gazing forlornly across the Atlantic off the coast of Galway.

It's probably not possible to recapture the magic of the original these days, but this doesn't even come close.

4 out of 4 members found this review helpful.

Biggest disappointment of the year!! - Star Wars: The Force Awakens review by CS

Spoiler Alert
06/06/2016

Given the amount of hype surrounding this new Star Wars episode, personally I feel it is one of the biggest let downs this year, if not in cinematic history! This so called new episode, is nothing more than a re-has of the very first film and doesn't even bother to give us new characters and personalities, relying instead in re-gurgitating everything which has gone before! Yes the original characters from the past make an appearance, but the actors seem as though they are simply going through the motions, as if they really don't want to be there. the new actors are given parts, which have no depth of character, there's no character development at all, no thing fr the actors to grasp on to. Direction is weak, as is the storyline and the special effects are so passe, this films simply trudges through already known territory and goes nowhere fast! They even have a new version of the Death Star for good measure, a new version of the bar scene, a new market place and so on, there's nothing fresh or new about tis film at all. Rather than this being a new episode moving us forward. it feels more like a remake, using new and old characters mixed together! The previous films paid strong attention to detail, giving us lots of weird creatures and interesting characters, they also took the time to develop the story line and characters, this new film does none of that, it merely trudges on! I found it very predictable and knew what was going to happen well before it did, no surprises here and it gave me no sense of excitement or anticipation. The worst part of all is the character of Kylo Ren, a new version of Darth Vader, but unlike Darth Vader, who had gravitas and presence, the actor who plays this part has no gravitas pr presence at all, in fact he seems so miscast, like he should be a pretty boy in an Aftershave advert instead! Having read the main critic review on here, I have to say that I completely disagree and feel the complete opposite about this film. I've been a lifelong fan of the Star wars saga and have all the other films, but I shan't be buying this one. It's like a typical Disney film where they go after the money and merchandising whilst re-hasing well trodden themes, rather than creating something new and refreshing with strength and a life of it's own! there's no passion, feeling or emotion in this film and perhaps that's echo George Lucas isn't on board for this one, instead himself choosing to sell up, take the money and retire. If this film is the shape of films to come, then perhaps it's time for the series to retire too, before they destroy what was once a true classic of its genre!!

2 out of 3 members found this review helpful.

Critic review

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (aka Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Director J.J. Abrams has been given the rarest and grandest of opportunities to direct the first Star Wars sequel in over 30 years. He’s had plenty of prep given how much effort he put into rebooting the Star Trek franchise - directing those films the way he would Star Wars. In many ways, he’s the right man for the job aside from being a huge geek for Star Wars. He’s solid at cleaning house on franchises in desperate need of a change (the last Star Wars movie in theaters was a pilot movie for the 2008 animated series The Clone Wars). He has a knack for keeping a picture visually pleasing and always moving (the Star Wars prequels are catatonic in comparison). But, most importantly, he knows what makes Star Wars so much fun.

He starts by creating new and likable characters. Though based on familiar archetypes of the Star Wars mythos, there’s a lot to like about the scrappy junker Rey (Daisy Ridley) and the emotional turncoat Finn (John Boyega). They have spirit, personality and quirk the way they become involved with the new struggle of the Resistance (the new Rebels) versus the First Order (aka the Empire 2.0). The plucky pilot Po Damaran (Oscar Isaac) provides the essential plot development for portions of the picture, but does so with plenty of charisma. Even the villain Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is given a surprising amount of depth - even more than Darth Vader had in A New Hope.

Next, Abrams mixes in the familiar elements. Harrison Ford reprises his role as Han Solo - older and grayer, but still just as fun as he ever was with his furry friend Chewbaca. Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) has grown stoic as the General for the Resistance and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is spoken of as a legend worth seeking. And if you love the Millennium Falcon, you’ll get your monies worth. From returning droids to familiar creatures, a spoonful of nostalgia helps the originality go down.

Lastly, Abrams injects Star Wars with a fat dose of visual thrills and energy. Using a combination of practical effects and computer graphics, nearly every scene is bursting with excitement. Aerial dogfights, blaster battles and clashing lightsabers flood the screen with a true sense of adventure. Unlike the Star Wars prequels, all these scenes carry emotional drive and weight rather than just being pretty choreography.

But in an effort to keep the movie fun, intense and charming at a progressive pace, Abrams also puts his own stamp on the series with similar flaws to that of his Star Trek reboot. The story echoes quite a lot of beats from A New Hope and even tries to up the ante by making his movie bigger and faster. Remember the Death Star? Now there’s a bigger Death Star and it can shoot multiple planets. Remember how long it took Luke Skywalker to master a lightsaber and learn the force? Rey is able to go from zero to Jedi knight by the end of the picture. The speed of the picture is able to give every character just enough to do, but doesn’t allow for much deeper character development. It also doesn’t give much time to explain the current political situation of which side controls what - not even explained where it usually is in the opening text crawl.

Nitpicks aside, The Force Awakens reignites the beloved franchise in dire need of a dusting. J.J. Abrams has taken the series back to its roots and recreated that true sense of adventure once more. It’s a movie that expands the mythos and gives the audience some new characters to cheer for in this continuing saga. In short, Star Wars is cool again and worthy of its hefty market reach as an exciting blockbuster.

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