I would bet vast sums of money that Poe and Phasma will get extensive time and attention in the next film.
Poe was one of my favorite things about the film, but he was pretty 1-dimensional in this film IMO. Just a cool, likable guy.
If Ep. 8 is Empire rehashed and Ep. 9 is Jedi rehashed (of course, accounting for several fan critiques levied against the original--Ewoks will be much more menacing the next time out! The Solo character will be a total ******* this time!), than that will make people spit on Force Awakens for what it brought in its wake.
Poe was perfectly cast - you like him immediately because Oscar Isaac has so much charisma. He sets up the energy of the movie. If you're on board when he tells Finn "we're gonna do this" you're pretty much on board for the whole thing.
Poe was one of my favorite things about the film, but he was pretty 1-dimensional in this film IMO. Just a cool, likable guy.
You can be more or less objective but still assess the movie in context. And context matters. This is a Star Wars film, and should be analyzed as a part of the Star Wars film-verse. From that perspective, for many regular Joes/critics/super fans, it does get a boost because it brings the franchise back to a fun, rewarding place after decades of silence, disappointment, or mediocrity. If it wasn't associated with Star Wars, you're probably right in that it would be viewed as good, but not lavishly praised to the extent that it is. But I don't fault critics for that. You're never reviewing a film in a complete bubble. Every new Tarantino movie has to be understood in a post-Pulp Fiction world. Superman/Batman will be judged in relation to the Burton and Nolan films and Man of Steel. And all of these fall within a broader film-making paradigm that distinguishes movies now from movies 20 years ago, which themselves were very different than movies 40 years ago, etc.
Given that, of course opinions while a hyped up, beloved movie are playing aren't going to be held the same way 50 years from now. But I think historically this film will still be appreciated for all that things that it did right vs. all that could have (and in the past has) gone terribly wrong. My hope is that they innovate and try to improve moving forward, or I fear history may retroactively hurt Force Awakens more than it deserves, in the same way I was describing above. If Ep. 8 is Empire rehashed and Ep. 9 is Jedi rehashed (of course, accounting for several fan critiques levied against the original--Ewoks will be much more menacing the next time out! The Solo character will be a total ******* this time!), than that will make people spit on Force Awakens for what it brought in its wake.
It's not just fans though, it's the critics. I expected super fans to creamed their pants as well as most critics, but it's just annoying how so many film critics ignored the flaws...something they would never do with other films. It's their job as "professional" critics to be objective, not fanboys. I expect fanboys to be blinded by nostalgia, but critics should be above that. Is there any other film franchise that would be permitted by critics to recycle so many plot points? No, not really. It devalues their profession and any future criticism of other films. That's the worst part, imo...
While I think AOU was crammed much fuller than Avengers, and that that is an objectively more problematic issue than we saw with the first film, I agree that those films are very similar in terms of quality level. The novelty wore off a bit, and AOU suffered because of it. By extension, I think this issue will affect Batman V. Superman. Even if it does turn out to be good, people won't "geek out" the way they did for Avengers. Because we've already seen major comic book characters get together and team up multiple times now.The next film could go either way. Maybe they will "borrow" a lot from ESB, or it'll be very different. Either way, it could disappoint critics for different reasons. I can also see critics being less lenient next time, just like critics did with AOU. The same critics that loved Avengers gave the sequel a negative review in part because maybe they gushed a bit much the first time, so they felt they had to be less forgiving, even though both films are very similar in quality. Anyway, we already know Luke is far away in some island by himself, Yoda style, and Rey found him, presumably to begin her training, like Luke in ESB. We also know that the new Empire was defeated like in the original film, and if so, this will be the film where they "win", again like ESB. That's expected, but we'll see how much they borrow from ESB. I doubt they do something so obvious like Kylo saying to Rey,"I am your brother." Finn and Poe can make the next film very different from ESB, depending on how they use them.
I remember when Episode 1 was coming out, and seeing how cool the double bladed Maul saber was, that I thought, “I bet they will have someone get killed by having a lightsaber ignited though them! That would be so cool!” Of course all 3 prequels came and went and that didn’t happen. So I’m glad it finally did! It just sucks that it was at the expense of my favorite character.By the way, has that ever happened in the EU, a lightsaber ignited through someone? Or did I really make that up in 1999?
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Besides, what movie has no flaws?
Poe was perfectly cast - you like him immediately because Oscar Isaac has so much charisma. He sets up the energy of the movie. If you're on board when he tells Finn "we're gonna do this" you're pretty much on board for the whole thing.
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Khev will back me up here![]()
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Khev will back me up here
Die Hard and Raising Arizona are the runners up.
In the 80's I remember thinking that if Luke really wanted to kill the Emperor all he had to do was turn off his saber for a split second when Vader deflected his attack then turn it on again while it was pointed at the Emperor.![]()
As much as I like all 3 of the mentioned films, I'm sure a dedicated member of these boards could find nitpicks to make about them.