Star Wars: The Force Awakens (12/18/15)

[RIDDICK]

 

[John Nada]

TFA was a palette cleanser whose primary mission was to introduce new characters. If you had expectations beyond that, it's your own fault. The only thing truly recycled in here are the postings by the same two people evangelizing their opinions over and over and over.

God damn right!

 

[DiFabio]

What's making this movie improve with repeat viewings is that there are no "bad" or "boring" parts that I will fast forward past just to get to the "good" stuff.

There aren't bad parts, but there are definitely boring ones.

By the time it comes out on Blu Ray and the Rogue One hype (and Episode 8) is in full force, you'll be fast forwarding through this ****, I guarantee it.

 

[Darth Snoopy]

TFA is getting a bad wrap for being a "remake of ANH." It really isn't. People are just being melodramatic because important information was hidden in BB-8 and then he ran off on a desert planet. THAT was all ANH, no question. Pretty much everything else is just TFA being "a Star Wars movie."

I find it funny that some Freaks are ranting & raving that TFA is a "remake of ANH" yet don't put the same energy when they're talking about Creed which is just Rocky 2.0.

TFA was a palette cleanser whose primary mission was to introduce new characters. If you had expectations beyond that, it's your own fault. The only thing truly recycled in here are the postings by the same two people evangelizing their opinions over and over and over.

Agreed.

Not only were they trying to appeal to the old fans, but to bring in new fans as well. I think they did a good job doing that.

Yup, TFA did an excellent job doing that.

 

[DiFabio]

I find it funny that some Freaks are ranting & raving that TFA is a "remake of ANH" yet don't put the same energy when they're talking about Creed which is just Rocky 2.0

Hmm, gee I don't know, maybe because Star Wars is much more in your face and mainstream than say Rocky. Not to mention the only thing people want to talk about and see is Force Awakens.


I don't remember having to endure any obnoxious Rocky hype for Creed or sit through a Rocky Disney World commercial and a Rocky Petco commerical, and a Rocky Toys R Us commercial and a Rocky Walmart commercial and a Rocky Target commercial as I was siting in the theater waiting for Creed to start.

 

[Darth Snoopy]

No one put a gun to your head telling you that you had to endure the "obnoxious hype".

 

[DiFabio]

I guess your theater doesn't play ads or sneak peaks before the trailers and movie starts? 90% of ours, no matter what movie you saw this season was undoubtedly Star Wars crap. If obnoxious isn't the word, then what is? I've seen that gross "dad forcing Star Wars on his daughter" Toys R Us and "which side of the Force do you choose" commercial more times than any sane person should.

And with today's media, there was no escape from the onslaught of Disney's Star Wars campaign. In fact, now that you mention it, it was the equivalence of someone putting a gun to your head shouting "go see this movie and buy the product", 24/7.

 

[Darth Snoopy]

I understand what you're saying and I can see where one can get really tired of seeing all the advertisements; However there are ways of avoiding the onslaught of news, ads, sneak peeks and trailers.

As for my theater; they play a ridiculously large variety of commercials which often makes me think I'm in my living room watching TV.

 

[jye4ever]

I watched the Rose/Lucas interview. Pretty silly of Lucas to puff himself up for not making Star Wars too "retro" by reusing previous planets, ships...or Death Stars. Carrying on like he has never made a movie like that. And people listening to him and saying, "yeah, he's right!" So silly. I guess he simply forgot that he made Return of the Jedi. The film that ended his relationship with Gary Kurtz because it was "too derivative."

Spoiler

“We had an outline and George changed everything in it,” Kurtz said. “Instead of bittersweet and poignant he wanted a euphoric ending with everybody happy. The original idea was that they would recover [the kidnapped] Han Solo in the early part of the story and that he would then die in the middle part of the film in a raid on an Imperial base. George then decided he didn’t want any of the principals killed. By that time there were really big toy sales and that was a reason.”

The discussed ending of the film that Kurtz favored presented the rebel forces in tatters, Leia grappling with her new duties as queen and Luke walking off alone “like Clint Eastwood in the spaghetti westerns,” as Kurtz put it.

Kurtz said that ending would have been a more emotionally nuanced finale to an epic adventure than the forest celebration of the Ewoks that essentially ended the trilogy with a teddy bear luau.

He was especially disdainful of the Lucas idea of a second Death Star, which he felt would be too derivative of the 1977 film. “So we agreed that I should probably leave.”

Did ‘Star Wars’ become a toy story? Producer Gary Kurtz looks back [Updated] | Hero Complex – movies, comics, pop culture – Los Angeles Times

TFA is getting a bad wrap for being a "remake of ANH." It really isn't. People are just being melodramatic because important information was hidden in BB-8 and then he ran off on a desert planet. THAT was all ANH, no question. Pretty much everything else is just TFA being "a Star Wars movie."

When I go see a new SW movie for the first time I look forward to seeing:

1. A hero stand strong against overwhelming odds
2. Some new hodge-podge of freaky looking aliens
3. A big battle featuring flying ships, typically with one side trying to destroy the other's "base."
4. A cool lightsaber duel

And literally all four of those elements were in ANH, ESB, and ROTJ. *Any* new SW movie that features them isn't "remaking" one of those movies, it's simply being Star Wars.

Now there are additional things that can be re-used without being derivative (someone saying "I have a bad feeling about this") and then there are things that are just way too specific (Han randomly copying 3PO's "delusions of grandeur" saying.) And those moments are kind of eyebrow raising. BB-8 carrying the crucial data definitely falls in the latter. Any SW movie having a "So and so is related to so and so, dun dun dunn!" moment would be the former however.

When you get down to it Abrams and Kasdan just made a super Star Wars-y Star Wars movie. It has elements of ANH, ESB, and ROTJ, but very little of those elements actually play out the way they did in the prior films. Yeah, the bad guy's base blows up at the end. But Han and Kylo's relationship is very different than that of Luke and Vader, Han's death was very different than Old Ben's, Rey's time on Jakku VERY different than Luke's time on Tatooine, the attack on the desert village was very different than the Stormtroopers raiding the Blockade Runner, the crazy critters in Maz' bar; all different than the Cantina, Executor Bridge bounty hunters, and Jabba's palace.

Yes, the film constantly reminded you that you were watching an episode of Star Wars. Thank God. It's about time a movie in the series actually felt like it was in the series. But it tried new things too. The whole "1986 version of Star Wars" is new, for one. The battle on Han's freighter is unlike anything in any previous SW film, and coincidentally gets the most cries of "these guys and creatures wandered in from another movie!" Well, yeah. When you introduce brand new things they're going to feel...not familiar.

But I know people are going to see what they want to see, ignoring things that are right in front of their faces if it negates whatever criticism they want to give voice to. For me Star Wars returned, I got to see that bittersweet, poignant SW film that Kurtz and Ford wanted to make, and I'm prepared for this to be "it." Since it's really looking like Hayden Christensen will be back for Ep 8 and 9 I just don't see how those films won't be tainted on some level with him involved. But hey, I'm totally open to the possibility of being proven wrong and having an entire new trilogy of Star Wars be awesome again.

The FO base didn't even explode, it imploded.

Regarding HC returning as Vader.

This new group of skilled producers/writers/directors might actually breath new life into the PT characters and in the process make them just as natural sounding and cool as Rey, Finn or Poe.

There aren't bad parts, but there are definitely boring ones.

By the time it comes out on Blu Ray and the Rogue One hype (and Episode 8) is in full force, you'll be fast forwarding through this ****, I guarantee it.

 

[Darth Snoopy]

View attachment 234222

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to jye4ever again.

 

[DiFabio]

Man, Jye and my fellow beloved Freaks were assimilated by the Force Awakens Thing. I'll never get them back.

 

[Darth Snoopy]

 

[DiFabio]

 

[moose]

The Farce awakens because that is exactly what it was Disney as to give it the kiddy formula , but this takes it to a whole new level or ridiculousness when they practical borrowed the whole story from other movies I could not belive what I was watching.

And all the critics what joke it's like they were complete paid off. Had I not seen the first movie then yes it would be fine , but who has not seen the first star wars come on.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk

 

[RIDDICK]

Man, Jye and my fellow beloved Freaks were assimilated by the Force Awakens Thing. I'll never get them back.

 

[Darth Snoopy]

The Farce awakens because that is exactly what it was Disney as to give it the kiddy formula , but this takes it to a whole new level or ridiculousness when they practical borrowed the whole story from other movies I could not belive what I was watching.

And all the critics what joke it's like they were complete paid off. Had I not seen the first movie then yes it would be fine , but who has not seen the first star wars come on.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk[/QUOTE

 

[Adolfo]

Disney could give a **** if da whole world hates this film ....all they want is those movie tickets bought and sold...those toys and DVDs bought and sold...and lastly the fish hook reeling you in, reeling your children in for eternity....$$$$$....Ed Wood could direct a Star Wars film and it still would make a billion...Sheep...Disney execs have a map of the world dressed like Tarkin and the gang ...and smirking...hmm hmm...

 

[a-dev]

at the last few pages.

As regards Hayden Christensen coming back, wellllll. It will help that he won't be delivering lines written by George Lucas or being directed by him. But should it be Christensen or should it be James Earl Jones.....

 

[Darth Snoopy]

Disney could give a **** if da whole world hates this film ....all they want is those movie tickets bought and sold...those toys and DVDs bought and sold...and lastly the fish hook reeling you in, reeling your children in for eternity....$$$$$....Ed Wood could direct a Star Wars film and it still would make a billion...Sheep...Disney execs have a map of the world dressed like Tarkin and the gang ...and smirking...hmm hmm...

That applies to all Hollywood executives and studios; not just Disney execs.

 

[rushmore223]

Disney could give a **** if da whole world hates this film ....all they want is those movie tickets bought and sold...those toys and DVDs bought and sold...and lastly the fish hook reeling you in, reeling your children in for eternity....$$$$$....Ed Wood could direct a Star Wars film and it still would make a billion...Sheep...Disney execs have a map of the world dressed like Tarkin and the gang ...and smirking...hmm hmm...

You mean a business wants to make money by encouraging people to pay for their product? Dastardly Fiends!