Star Wars: Episode VII: Revenge Of The Septuagenarian

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I mean, sure, TFA is unoriginal, but I can't compare such a lovingly and skillfully crafted adventure to the prequels. In terms of characterization, dialogue, VFX, cinematography, acting, editing, pacing, basically every possible facet that I can think of, TFA is preferable to at least Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Personally, I like it more than Sith as well, which is very good but has just enough Hayden Christensen to drop it down.

IMO, TFA will be celebrated down the road not for its fan service but its superior script and great newcomers. The casting is leagues ahead of the prequels so far and I hope the next film allows them to put a unique stamp on the series.
 
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youarenotimmune said:
Finally saw this. How the fuck did this poorly imagined remake of A New Hope garner such critical acclaim!?
Because most ppl have been so dumbed down and brainwashed to think CRAP is good these days....

I know,this movie was disgusting..... TOTAL DIGITAL TRASH!! (I wont ever see it and I know this)
 
I know,this movie was disgusting..... TOTAL DIGITAL TRASH!! (I wont ever see it and I know this)

riri_zps9700e0bf.gif
 
I have to disagree with the highs balancing out the lows in Attack of the Clones. The "romantic" lake scene is so bad that I cry tears of blood. That one scene literally makes me think twice about ever wanting to watch the movie again.



"I don't like Sand. It's coarse and rough...and it gets everywhere...."

Anakin-Padme was nothing more than a really bad soap opera. Attack of The Clones is mostly unwatchable.
 
Finally saw this. How the fuck did this poorly imagined remake of A New Hope garner such critical acclaim!? It's one thing to enjoy it based on your sense of nostalgia, but for fuck's sake this was like a fanboy's wet-dream of a Star Wars movie. And yeah nothing is completely original in the literal sense, but A New Hope was more of a pastiche of other genres, whereas this simply retreads the same ground without any semblance of originality. Maybe I've just never been a crazed SW fan, so I wasn't drooling over all the fan service dished out by Disney and Abrahams.

Interesting tangential aside: I watched the previous 6 movies (plus Tartakovsky's Clone Wars) in preparation for this one, and I have to say there's some real substance to be found there in those shambolic prequels. So much so that Attack of the Clones through Revenge of the Sith (with the excellent Clone Wars sandwiched in between) was the most satisfying sequence of my marathon viewing. The prequels have some shockingly abysmal lows, but also manage to hit some really high notes (especially the latter two; and even The Phantom Menace has a couple of high points). The Force Awakens has neither those peaks nor troughs, and is the worse off for it by playing it much too safe.


:love:


I mean, sure, TFA is unoriginal, but I can't compare such a lovingly and skillfully crafted adventure to the prequels. In terms of characterization, dialogue, VFX, cinematography, acting, editing, pacing, basically every possible facet that I can think of, TFA is preferable to at least Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Personally, I like it more than Sith as well, which is very good but has just enough Hayden Christensen to drop it down.

IMO, TFA will be celebrated down the road not for its fan service but its superior script and great newcomers. The casting is leagues ahead of the prequels so far and I hope the next film allows them to put a unique stamp on the series.

"Superior script"? If you think dialogue is all there is to writing, maybe. There's very little originality in TFA's script, with way too much borrowing from previous episodes, and idiotic choices like feeling the need to one-up A New Hope by blowing up 5 planets at once.

Outside a few legitimately funny lines and some of the character work, it's operating at a fairly basic levels. And even with the characters you have problems like Rey having a pretty easy path to victory in just the first film.

By contrast, Lucas was going for something considerably more intricate in terms of plotting, as well as the deeper subtext about governments and their relations to their constituents.

The editing and cinematography aren't better, either. Just because something was shot on film and has a few nice shots isn't a reason to make such a sweeping judgement. And same goes for the OMG REAL VFX. The prequels used a countless number of models and miniatures, and the effects on all of those films were groundbreaking; here they're no better than in any other contemporary franchise picture.

I have to disagree with the highs balancing out the lows in Attack of the Clones. The "romantic" lake scene is so bad that I cry tears of blood. That one scene literally makes me think twice about ever wanting to watch the movie again.

"I don't like Sand. It's coarse and rough...and it gets everywhere...."

Anakin-Padme was nothing more than a really bad soap opera. Attack of The Clones is mostly unwatchable.

Ehh, the "sand" line is awkwardly written and delivered, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. The picnic scene comes off very naturalistic in the way they debate politics but also how Anakin casually flirts with her. Portman rarely looked as comfortable in the trilogy. The intense stalker-esque stuff doesn't work, but the whole romance isn't garbage.

Also disposing of the entire film just feels like hyperbole. So many great action scenes, and pretty much everything with McGregor is well done.
 
I didn't mean that the script is "superior" in a general sense, just superior to the heavy-handed and overly expository prequels.

I do have my complaints with the script, and I've mentioned them several times over the course of this thread, but I appreciate that emphasis was placed on building characters through action instead of giving us the minutiae of every backstory. Because these are, after all, movies, not fan fiction.
 
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I got spoiled on the ending. Fucking hilarious shit.

Poor dialogue aside, at least the main story of the prequels was thought through properly. The DC cinematic universe is already a trainwreck.
 
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"Superior script"? If you think dialogue is all there is to writing, maybe. There's very little originality in TFA's script, with way too much borrowing from previous episodes, and idiotic choices like feeling the need to one-up A New Hope by blowing up 5 planets at once.

Outside a few legitimately funny lines and some of the character work, it's operating at a fairly basic levels. And even with the characters you have problems like Rey having a pretty easy path to victory in just the first film.

By contrast, Lucas was going for something considerably more intricate in terms of plotting, as well as the deeper subtext about governments and their relations to their constituents.

The editing and cinematography aren't better, either. Just because something was shot on film and has a few nice shots isn't a reason to make such a sweeping judgement. And same goes for the OMG REAL VFX. The prequels used a countless number of models and miniatures, and the effects on all of those films were groundbreaking; here they're no better than in any other contemporary franchise picture.
I agree with allllllllll of this. And I really like TFA.

so disposing of the entire film just feels like hyperbole. So many great action scenes, and pretty much everything with McGregor is well done.

I hate like 75% of this movie, but everything with McGregor on Kamino was incredible.
 
McGregor was good in the prequels and did the best he could with what was given him. Here you can see the struggle in action:



"Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil!" is a pretty simplistic, on-the-nose line to begin with, but his reading of it is hilarious. It's an implicit "What the fuck, Anakin. You've got to be kidding me with this shit, how stupid are you?" and it's very satisfying.

Then Christensen delivers possibly the worst line of the film: "From my perspective, the Jedi are evil!" It falls completely flat. This could be bad.

Thankfully, McGregor does us all a favor and kills the exchange by blurting out "well then you are LOST" as if he's trying to blast through the line without anyone noticing it happened. No arguments about moral relativism. It gets us to the lightsaber battle quickly. After shouting the obvious at each other for 7 seconds, a bunch of awesome action scenes happen and everyone goes home happy.

What this scene illustrates is that Lucas wasn't up to the task of directing the prequels himself. He really fucked up in leading the less experienced actors, whereas McGregor, Neeson, Jackson, etc. were confident enough to make the material work. Abrams did a great job with the newcomers in TFA.
 
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Its not that bad. Definitely has its issues, but not as bad as some of the reviews made it out to be.

Ben Affleck wasn't the worst batman at least (although I have my suspicions that the Lego is way better). Other than that, I'm not sure it had any other redeeming qualities. Not a lot of room for a story I guess when your movie is mostly just explosions and letting the kid from the Facebook movie re-imagine Lex Luthor into basically evil Mark Zuckerberg.

"Lois you can't take a helicopter to go after a story! Remember how we had to send you coach all over the country to find out about the bullet that got conveniently lodged in your day planner?"

"But Mr Fishburne, it's not for a story!"

"Oh well because it's for a personal matter totally unrelated to work, please by all means have our chopper guy fly into the middle of a fight between two super heroes!"

Not sure if that was my favorite part, or how batman changed his suit basically mid- fight. Or when Superman almost dies just going into the water with the spear, the zod monster gives him enough time to have a teary goodbye, and then he's able to pick it up and fly off with the thing. That was good too.
 
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Ben Affleck wasn't the worst batman at least (although I have my suspicions that the Lego is way better). Other than that, I'm not sure it had any other redeeming qualities. Not a lot of room for a story I guess when your movie is mostly just explosions and letting the kid from the Facebook movie re-imagine Lex Luthor into basically evil Mark Zuckerberg.

"Lois you can't take a helicopter to go after a story! Remember how we had to send you coach all over the country to find out about the bullet that got conveniently lodged in your day planner?"

"But Mr Fishburne, it's not for a story!"

"Oh well because it's for a personal matter totally unrelated to work, please by all means have our chopper guy fly into the middle of a fight between two super heroes!"

Not sure if that was my favorite part, or how batman changed his suit basically mid- fight. Or when Superman almost dies just going into the water with the spear, the zod monster gives him enough time to have a teary goodbye, and then he's able to pick it up and fly off with the thing. That was good too.

Like I said, it has its issues for sure.

Like are there no razors at Wayne Manor? No CVS nearby? Not only is Affleck always sporting scruff, but so is Alfred....no way a proper British butler isn't shaving.
Affleck is not too bad, certainly not on Bale's level, but miles ahead of Clooney. Probably 3rd of the recent 5, Bale, Keaton, Affleck, Kilmer, Clooney.

And I still think Cavill may be the best big screen Superman/Clark Kent we've had....certainly looks the part. A lot better than Routh, hard to compare fairly to Reeve since so much time has passed, but at least as good if not better.

I'm hopeful that things take a step up for Justice League part 1, we shall see.
 
Critics don't make a difference until the second week, if at all. Anyone that's interested in seeing it opening weekend will do so regardless of public reaction.

I'm guessing the second week dropoff will be brutal, but I'm wrong all the time.
 
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I can forgive TFA for the blatant nostalgia and lack of originality simply because its the most fun I have had watching a Star Wars movie in decades. For me the next movie is the big test, they have me hooked again, I really hope that they try to go in a new direction otherwise I'm out.
 
McGregor was good in the prequels and did the best he could with what was given him. Here you can see the struggle in action:



"Anakin, Chancellor Palpatine is evil!" is a pretty simplistic, on-the-nose line to begin with, but his reading of it is hilarious. It's an implicit "What the fuck, Anakin. You've got to be kidding me with this shit, how stupid are you?" and it's very satisfying.

Then Christensen delivers possibly the worst line of the film: "From my perspective, the Jedi are evil!" It falls completely flat. This could be bad.

Thankfully, McGregor does us all a favor and kills the exchange by blurting out "well then you are LOST" as if he's trying to blast through the line without anyone noticing it happened. No arguments about moral relativism. It gets us to the lightsaber battle quickly. After shouting the obvious at each other for 7 seconds, a bunch of awesome action scenes happen and everyone goes home happy.

What this scene illustrates is that Lucas wasn't up to the task of directing the prequels himself. He really fucked up in leading the less experienced actors, whereas McGregor, Neeson, Jackson, etc. were confident enough to make the material work. Abrams did a great job with the newcomers in TFA.


Exactly. The story itself wasn't bad, but Lucas just can't get a decent performance out of an inexperienced actor to save his life. That coupled with some clunky dialog delivered poorly, made for some super awkward scenes.

I recently rewatched the prequels, and there's a lot of good in there. It's just that bad is so very, very bad it almost overwhelms the good. Oh and I'm still mad at how Lucas wrote Padme in ROTS.
 
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