deep
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Lower your expectations
Star Wars: Episode VII: Revenge Of The Septuagenarian
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Oregoropa
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
I had a dream that I came home from work and Force Awakens was on SyFy channel and following it was Indiana Jones 5. I started watching Force Awakens questioning whether I should avoid spoiling it. It was not the real movie, but real scenes that were filmed. Just a bunch of vignettes, not really connected. The movie started with Luke suffering some kind of amnesia and the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn showed up and told him to look in the mirror and then he snapped out of it when it saw a younger version of himself. It was very artsy. During the commercial they had a coming up next "Indy 5" and it looked badass with him in the desert entering a big temple complex (or maybe the star destroyer)
Mack_Again
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Wait didn't Star Wars come out last summer?
elevated_u2_fan
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Yes, you missed it.
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BigMacPhisto
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Eh, I kind of want people to go in with high expectations as then they'll be able to give it an accurate assessment.
As I said earlier, if people just go into this happy to watch a Star Wars film for two hours that has a lot of the classic tropes and none of the weaknesses of the prequels, then they're going to act like it's the greatest thing since sliced bread merely because it's competent.
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lazarus
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It won't have many of the weaknesses. It will likely not have any of its peaks, either.
Abrams is a far less talented visualist, and the people who wrote the script don't have Lucas' imagination, either.
So if your primary concern is better dialogue and acting, with a lot of OT fan service, have fun. Me, I prefer to see things I haven't seen before from an artist who has control over his own personal vision.
Abrams is a far less talented visualist, and the people who wrote the script don't have Lucas' imagination, either.
So if your primary concern is better dialogue and acting, with a lot of OT fan service, have fun. Me, I prefer to see things I haven't seen before from an artist who has control over his own personal vision.
BigMacPhisto
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I completely agree with your post. I've also yet to see a single second of footage from the current film that excites me as a Star Wars fan as none of it has brought us anything we haven't really seen before...luckily, there's still two hours of footage we haven't seen...
Yeah, hopefully there's an awful lot more that they've been holding back. The footage thus far presses all my nostalgia buttons (Han! Chewie! Falcon! Vader's less menacing nephew!) but it'd be nice for it to be something more than just a competent retread.
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lazarus
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Well, this is certainly promising:
Abrams says drew on Terrence Malick films for new 'Star Wars' | Reuters
Props to Abrams for hitting the classics in preparation. Maybe there will be more of a through-line to Lucas' vision than I feared.
Abrams says drew on Terrence Malick films for new 'Star Wars' | Reuters
Props to Abrams for hitting the classics in preparation. Maybe there will be more of a through-line to Lucas' vision than I feared.
deep
Blue Crack Addict
Early tweets are that it's good
Not a stinker will be enough for many
Early tweets on the last Indy were good too
I will see it next week
Not a stinker will be enough for many
Early tweets on the last Indy were good too
I will see it next week
phanan
Blue Crack Addict
And the early reviews are rather glowing.
Getting excited now. My 10 year old daughter has been all about Star Wars the last month and begged me to take her opening weekend. I was going to wait until the holiday break, but I remember doing the same thing to my mother when Empire came out, and the feeling I had back then, and I want her to have that same feeling. So off we go for a Sunday matinee showing.
Getting excited now. My 10 year old daughter has been all about Star Wars the last month and begged me to take her opening weekend. I was going to wait until the holiday break, but I remember doing the same thing to my mother when Empire came out, and the feeling I had back then, and I want her to have that same feeling. So off we go for a Sunday matinee showing.
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
A brief skim shows glowing to rapturous reviews.
Mack_Again
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
why the hell am i still thinking that this movie will suck so hard? even though I'm die-hard star wars fan
bobsaget77
Rock n' Roll Doggie
So far 100% positive reviews from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
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lazarus
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When you traffic in nostalgia with the prioritized purpose of pleasing bitter Gen Xers, it's not hard to to get such a response.
Many prominent critics gave high praise to Revenge of the Sith, for what it's worth.
Many prominent critics gave high praise to Revenge of the Sith, for what it's worth.
Mack_Again
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
so apparently hype continues even after the movie is previewed
dazzledbylight
Blue Crack Supplier
enjoy!I'll probably go within the first 2 weeks There's one theater that hasm the biggest Imax screen in NYC so I have to see if it's playing there as part of the initial run!
GirlsAloudFan
Blue Crack Addict
Bout to watch THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.
monkeyskin
Refugee
So as the films out I believe we should be able to discuss without spoiler tags. But just in case someone waltzes in and ruins it for themselves, I'll tag my initial thoughts.
No 20th Century Fox fanfare, straight to LucasFilm logo, then you know the rest. Man, that orchestral blast as STAR WARS hits the screen never fails to pump me up. The crawl gets straight to it as well, "Luke Skywalker is missing" being a good as hook as any.
The opening scene is dark as, probably earns its rating right then and there with the village massacre. Loved everything really up until Finn and Rey board the Falcon, and my tempered expectations were more than met (side note - total Naussicaa vibe from Rey scavenging in the starship). But after a pretty sweet dogfight and Han and Chewie board to rapturous house applause, the film starts to meander and downshifts big time. Basically becomes half fan service (which starts with the first sight of the Falcon) and half rushed plot.
Things pick up towards the end with our heroes on the First Order planet, but it's essentially a replay of the RotJ Death Star assault and the originals entire second act aboard the Death Star. Like, beat for beat. I called Han's death since his confirmation, but didn't see him going out as an Obi-Wan surrogate.
I can also see why JJ silenced Mark Hamill in the promotional run up, can't go spoiling the fact he doesn't actually do anything in this film and is all set up for Ep 8.
All in all, they played safe and succeeded. It also means that the potential greatness of the film was limited from the get go. I'm not a fan of the prequels at all, but to me they failed on their own terms (as much as them being a prequel could anyway). But now that they've won back a lot of the audience who were soured on the prequels, I hope Rian Johnson can use this as a springboard to go for broke on his very own 'Empire'. I don't need to see that remade as they've just remade the original, but he's in a position to make a bold, risky film with our trust just as 'Empire' did.
Theory corner - so Rey is Han and Leia's daughter / Ren's sister? She's clearly got The Force from somewhere and it looks like she was part of Luke's Jedi Academy before being hidden for her own safety, just as her mother and uncle once were. Either that or she's Luke's daughter, but a brother-sister rivalry is better than cousins.
Edit - Uncharitable points:
*So that was Luke's light sabre that previously belonged to Annakin? When and how was that recovered from Cloud City?
*The whole map to find Luke plot was messy and poorly explained. Maybe Luke will elaborate in Ep 8, but it felt shaggy.
*Why was Leia using her best resources to find him anyway?
*R2D2 perked up out of nowhere, save for plot convenience.
*Shame we couldn't get Luke, Han and Leia sharing the screen one last time. But I can't complain about this AND fan service...
*Hey, maybe leave the highly identifiable droid on the ship when you go to a public place. Our heroes also didn't seem too fussed that they probably got every patron in that bar killed by the First Order, Hell, they practically acknowledged it was going to happen before it did!
*Poe disappears from the film and returns just as abruptly. Doesn't take much effort to follow his footsteps, but it still felt a bit handwavy when he meets up with Finn again.
*After all the criticism of a second Death Star in RotJ, they think a third is a good idea? Dispatched of just as easily?
The opening scene is dark as, probably earns its rating right then and there with the village massacre. Loved everything really up until Finn and Rey board the Falcon, and my tempered expectations were more than met (side note - total Naussicaa vibe from Rey scavenging in the starship). But after a pretty sweet dogfight and Han and Chewie board to rapturous house applause, the film starts to meander and downshifts big time. Basically becomes half fan service (which starts with the first sight of the Falcon) and half rushed plot.
Things pick up towards the end with our heroes on the First Order planet, but it's essentially a replay of the RotJ Death Star assault and the originals entire second act aboard the Death Star. Like, beat for beat. I called Han's death since his confirmation, but didn't see him going out as an Obi-Wan surrogate.
I can also see why JJ silenced Mark Hamill in the promotional run up, can't go spoiling the fact he doesn't actually do anything in this film and is all set up for Ep 8.
All in all, they played safe and succeeded. It also means that the potential greatness of the film was limited from the get go. I'm not a fan of the prequels at all, but to me they failed on their own terms (as much as them being a prequel could anyway). But now that they've won back a lot of the audience who were soured on the prequels, I hope Rian Johnson can use this as a springboard to go for broke on his very own 'Empire'. I don't need to see that remade as they've just remade the original, but he's in a position to make a bold, risky film with our trust just as 'Empire' did.
Theory corner - so Rey is Han and Leia's daughter / Ren's sister? She's clearly got The Force from somewhere and it looks like she was part of Luke's Jedi Academy before being hidden for her own safety, just as her mother and uncle once were. Either that or she's Luke's daughter, but a brother-sister rivalry is better than cousins.
Edit - Uncharitable points:
*So that was Luke's light sabre that previously belonged to Annakin? When and how was that recovered from Cloud City?
*The whole map to find Luke plot was messy and poorly explained. Maybe Luke will elaborate in Ep 8, but it felt shaggy.
*Why was Leia using her best resources to find him anyway?
*R2D2 perked up out of nowhere, save for plot convenience.
*Shame we couldn't get Luke, Han and Leia sharing the screen one last time. But I can't complain about this AND fan service...
*Hey, maybe leave the highly identifiable droid on the ship when you go to a public place. Our heroes also didn't seem too fussed that they probably got every patron in that bar killed by the First Order, Hell, they practically acknowledged it was going to happen before it did!
*Poe disappears from the film and returns just as abruptly. Doesn't take much effort to follow his footsteps, but it still felt a bit handwavy when he meets up with Finn again.
*After all the criticism of a second Death Star in RotJ, they think a third is a good idea? Dispatched of just as easily?
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phanan
Blue Crack Addict
It's not out in the U.S yet though, so yeah, use the tags still.
monkeyskin
Refugee
Amazed it came out early in the UK and Aus. That could have been awkward.
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lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
Got tickets for the first show tonight. Expectations pretty tempered, as even the good reviews seem to indicate that it's a very familiar homage to A New Hope. Not crazy about that lack of ambition/imagination.
I'm sure it will be fun either way, and there's no way it will be worse than Return of the Jedi.
I'm sure it will be fun either way, and there's no way it will be worse than Return of the Jedi.
BigMacPhisto
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Yeah, it seems like most of the great reviews still whinge about the fact that it doesn't really break any new ground, making me even less likely to want to go sit in a crowded theater this weekend and watch it...
david
ONE love, blood, life
Well, from what I have heard there are some interesting developments, and you do have to take into consideration that this is the start of a new chapter.
monkeyskin
Refugee
Pretty much. Again, hoping this is just restoring the status quo of what a 'Star Wars' movie is for the jaded fans before Ep 8 hopefully pushes the series in a new direction, like Empire did.
It's also much better than Jurassic World, which leaned way too hard on its original. Not particularly enthused the director will be helming Ep 9.
It's also much better than Jurassic World, which leaned way too hard on its original. Not particularly enthused the director will be helming Ep 9.
Mack_Again
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
EDIT: disregard my post
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I stand by Revenge of the Sith.
GirlsAloudFan
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Fuck.
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