Force Awakens: anyone going to see it?

[Roger]

I bought my ticket already, I was wondering if anyone else is planning on seeing it?

[robcat2075]

Eventually I will, but not tomorrow. Blame the prequels for damping my enthusiasm.

[Rodney]

Not sure when but soon.

I have to work the next few days and... I'm not in the mood to fight any crowds.

Perhaps Monday.

[Roger]

I'm going Friday, it may be a mistake to go so soon, I can't say I'm fond of crowds either. Hopefully these will be better than the prequels.

[Rodney]

Hopefully these will be better than the prequels.

 

 

As a fan of the prequels I expect the latest to carry on the tradition. Sure looks good from here!

 

I understand the criticisms leveled against the prequels but don't agree with many of them.

I just watched Ep 3 the other day (as a refresher to warm up for the latest) and I was reminded how good the prequels were (as standalone films or as viewed together).

I don't stand a chance of convincing anyone of that so won't even try but can you imagine other folks writing their own stories, creating their films/animation and then gladly embracing the critiques of those who know better than the authors themselves on how to tell their tale? Once upon a time, in a galaxy far far away it was George's story to tell and now the torch is passed to J.J. Abrams who from all appearances has told a splendid tale. I do regret that from appearances DIsney has shelved some/most/all of George's original ideas for the next three films in favor of going a different direction*. I was looking forward to hearing 'those' tales.

 

 

*Personal reservation: The timing/orientation of Lucas's interviews that reveal his 'divorce' from the storytelling of the next three films feels artificial. Perhaps at some later time we may learn that more of George is there than currently revealed. The lynchpin is Kathleen Kennedy who I have a hard time believing just abandoned everything George had in mind and said... ignore George... 'just do something for the fans'. Good story but I'm not buyin' that. Disney and Lucas are smart and will do whatever it takes to maximize profits while they tell future Star Wars tales. I wouldn't blame George for breaking away clean though. Either way, as long as the stories keep bringing in the fans, he's still getting max-paid. (While Lucas was cleared to sell off 2.2billion or so shares in DIsney it's not clear to me how much of his stake in Disney remains as of this date)

[Fuchur]

Saturday is star wars day for me .

i just stopped watching previews or reading any reviews and especially interviews... i want to decide by myself if the movie is worth it.

 

i think you just destroy the fun you may have had with the movie (any movie) if you are forcing yourself into what critics say... they are paid to say something and will overreact in most cases because it is more interesting for their readers that way.

 

i often had much fun with a movie even so the critics said it was a bad one (and i just did not know about that... like that I did get rid of that kind of prejudging feeling) and vise versa.

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[Rodney]

I think people that saw the original 'Star Wars' in theaters are predisposed to not liking... not only the prequels... but 'Empire Strikes Back' and 'Return of the Jedi'.

It follows that for those that saw Empire their interest begins to trail off significantly with 'RotJ'.

It may be that first experience in the theater is the major factor in all of it. What follows is rarely as good as was stems from our original experience.

 

I was one of the unfortunates who experienced little of (although studied) Star Wars long before I got a chance to see it.

I knew it first through the book/novel and through the Topps card set which my cousins and I collected/traded and of course through my friends at school that had seen it and acted out scene from the movie every chance they could. TV was more the norm for us po' folk back in those days and if the TV was on I was glued to it.

 

The world of Star Wars captured my imagination but it was mostly filled with that... my imagination.

I say I studied Star Wars because I used what I saw from every snippet of information I could find to create my own set of derivative characters and events. I wish I had those scratches on paper to prove it but I recall especially being inspired to create robots like C3PO and R2D2.

 

It wasn't until many years later when an older gentleman I worked with at the grocery store discovered my brother and I had never seen Star Wars and invited us over to see it on video.

In our tiny town we didn't get to the theater much and we barely knew what a video was; although i'm sure we knew it was something rich folks had in their living rooms.

[largento]

I saw Star Wars in the theater (I was 9) and liked the other movies and the prequels. I think I had an understanding though that these were kids movies and I was already okay with the idea of kids stuff not growing up with me. I'm 9 years old again every time I go to see a Star Wars movie.

 

I bought my ticket on Oct. 19th so my 9 year old me can see it tonight at 7pm.

[Rodney]

I'm 9 years old again every time I go to see a Star Wars movie.

 

I'll guess that is a perfect age for imagination to flourish. Everything is new and new worlds are ready to be explored.

This equates to Disney's stated goal of entertaining the 'child in us all'.

If I recall correctly the pivotal time he points to in his childhood (in Marceline, Missouri) was from 4 to 9 (5 to 10... something like that). That's when he first began going to the theater and venturing into worlds beyond his own.

 

I saw Star Wars in the theater (I was 9) and liked the other movies and the prequels.

 

Well, there goes that side of my theory.

[robcat2075]

I was 16 when "Star Wars" came out so it didn't quite knock me down like "2001: A Space Odyssey" did when I was 8.

 

None-the-less I enjoyed the original three.

 

Five hours to go, Mark. I hope it's great and hope you enjoy it!

[Shelton]

Yes!!

[Roger]

I guess I feel fortunate I got to see it in the theater when I was just 3, then. I lost track of how many times I saw it growing up. I watched it every time it was on TV, loved all 3 original movies.

 

As for where the prequels went off the rails, I can't say. Revenge of the Sith is certainly the best of them.

While I don't think George is a hack, I do think maybe the prequels might have benefited from collaborative input, perhaps if he'd been able to bounce things off Spielberg. But I can understand wanting to finish them without outside influence.

 

 

At any rate, I think the Star Wars universe will live on for a long time and am grateful for George bringing it into being.

[Fuchur]

you were allowed to watch that with 3 in the theater? with all the cutting off hands and stuff like that?

 

see you

*Fuchur*

[Simon Edmondson]

I'm not a star wars fan but, this was posted locally and it might amuse ?

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=793771697400799&set=gm.10153143446917553&type=3&theater

 

 

 

 

[Roger]

you were allowed to watch that with 3 in the theater? with all the cutting off hands and stuff like that?

 

see you

*Fuchur*

 

It was a PG rated movie. If it had been an R-rated movie I doubt I'd have been able to see it at all.

And the scene you're thinking of, the "gore" is on the screen for all of a 1/2 second. By the time Jedi came around I was I think 9 or 10 and I can't say that the hand-cutting scene bothered me all that much in either Jedi, or Empire for that matter (trust me, I'm as squeamish as they come).

[robcat2075]

I think we had already had "Jaws" by then where a guy gets bitten in half.

 

And we saw several limbs getting cut off in Monty Python's "The Holy Grail"

[robcat2075]

Looking forward to Mark's and Roger's reviews....

[largento]

I'll try to make some non-spoilery impressions of the movie. It's great fun. Without the impending doom of Anakin turning into Darth Vader, we're allowed to breathe again and go on a ride where we haven't already been told the ending.

 

It's MUCH more modern looking than any of the other six movies. You can wave goodbye to color, 'cause nowadays, all movies are de-saturated and grey.

 

The new leads are so good that I don't have a problem with them being in the forefront of the story.

 

As much as I enjoyed to the movie, I can already see pretty clearly what the attacks that will be focused on the film will be aimed at.

 

I saw it in 3D, which was fun from the beginning when you see the title and scroll floating in space and continued to be fun during the dogfighting space/sky battles.

 

My showing's audience applauded whenever something or someone from the original trilogy was introduced on screen, proving the suits right that people seem to be more interested in the familiar than the new.

 

We'll see if the DGA decides to attack Disney like they did Lucas because they do not break the established format by putting "A J.J. Abrams Film" at the beginning. They let Lucas get away with it once and then fined him and Irwin Kershner tons for Empire Strikes Back. Lucas quit the DGA over that and that's why he couldn't use DGA member directors in the other Star Wars movies.

 

Disney has much deeper pockets, of course. Disney did not put their logo in front of the film like 20th Century Fox did.

 

George gets a "based on characters and situations created by" title card early in the closing credits.

 

The PG-13 rating is probably earned in the movie's opening battle scenes, which are intended to be unpleasant. There are some gruesome deaths during the movie, but I don't think it's something that kids will be traumatized by.

[Rodney]

Excellent non-spoiler review Mark.

Thanks much.

 

 

Now... um... er... go animate your favorite scene as a comic parody.

[Roger]

I'm posting mine without first reading Largento's. I thought it carried on in the tradition of the first trilogy quite well.

 

It references the first movie in a lot of ways, you may find that good or bad. The plot in some ways might make you say "I've got a serious case of deja vu" (although I wasn't that put off by it, others might be). I think they will move in different directions in episodes 8 and 9, I have a rough idea of what they might do plot-wise but I guess we will have to wait and see.

 

The creature designs and vehicles were very cool, the action scenes were good and everything flowed well. The special effects serve the story rather than taking attention away from it.

 

The new villain is a complete and utter bastard. It will be interesting to see what they do with him. It was nice to see familiar faces along with the new characters, there are some strong performances by the new actors.

 

The First Order is carrying along the Empire's tradition of violating all manner of OSHA regulations (they've never heard of railings???).

 

The violence is dialed up a notch, although I wouldn't feel uncomfortable taking a young child to see it. I think the implied violence is worse, your mind sort of fills in the blanks.

 

BB-8 is freakin' adorable. I didn't think it was possible to out-cute R2 but they did it.

 

All in all, I really liked it, I think most others will as well. Probably going for a second viewing tomorrow, if that tells you anything.

[detbear]

Saw the original as a kid. Saw this one as a big kid.

 

I think most of us who are big fans of the original Star Wars want it to be good

soooooo desperately that even if it isn't as incredible as the original, we convince ourselves it was good.

 

In the case of the "Force Awakens" I'm somewhere in the middle of that result. It was a good movie.

[Rodney]

Saw VII today and enjoyed it.

I wanted to stay and watch it again but the real world intervened.

I expect to see it again soon.

 

In my estimation they played it safe with this one but it's hard to say how much was predicated on setup for the next two movies, how much was a hedge toward making sure the new disney-brandless brand got off to a good start, etc. I have more to say but can't without going into spoiler territory. My instinct is to say that I was really enjoying the first two acts but felt a little let down* by the third... but if one is to let folks down in a third act, well... that's a solid way to do that in a film. I really need to watch it again.

 

This one left a lot of questions dangling out there in front of us and I look forward to seeing those answered in the next two movies.

 

 

*I didn't feel let down so much as thinking several times over... oh, they are going to do that.... and then they did.

.

[Simon Edmondson]

https://www.facebook.com/talenthouse.es/videos/980535061985567/

 

playing with light, not light sabres, but don't let that put you off !

[robcat2075]

Well, I saw it today. Color me disappointed.

 

First, i will never go to an IMAX movie again. I think the extra money is just to have them play it painfully overloud.

 

And any future StarWars movies... I'll wait for home video.

 

The exciting thing about the original Star Wars movies was that you were seeing things you had not ever seen on screen before or not nearly as well done.

 

This one is mostly variations on themes that have already been over-mined previously. They will never be able recapture that magic again. And they definitely need to come up with some plot points besides attacking a Death Star. I'm baffled that critics are actually calling it a "best movie of the year." Was the year that bad?

 

Harrison Ford's and John Boyega's and BB-8's performance were enjoyable but everyone else's characters were rather flat and simple. If Carrie Fisher is going to be in the future installments, they need to get her a diction coach.

 

I did like that Chewbacca was more than just a prop in this one. He was actually doing assertive stuff here, probably the most nuanced Chewbacca we've seen.

 

The pacing is poor. The original Star Wars had quiet moments that were important to the story (like Luke meeting Obi Wan) and created contrast with the loud parts. This one is mostly of frantic running and explosions. The epic quality of the original is not here.

 

 

 

I also saw Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" in 70mm film projection. Probably my last chance to see such a thing.

 

Was it bloody? Greg "The Walking Dead" Nicotero did the "prosthetic effects" for it.

 

But it had great performances from the entire cast and it held up over three hours. I would describe it as combination of snow-bound western and old dark house mystery.

 

 

 

 

[Fuchur]

Small spoilers below:

 

I think the story is too close to the old movies... A little more difference but with the same humor and storytelling style would have been good. (at least make that not again a desert planet... Or call it tatoinee and give it a reason that all the jedi apprentice come from there...

 

But it is much better than episode 1-3 (because this movie has alittle more soul to it and can be quite funny)

If you are after "something totally new" this is not the best film for you.

 

But what i think they are doing there is not to try to please "old" people like us that much (yes they do by putting han and luke and lea back in, but it is not the mIn interest for them). They try to generate new fans and i think they could succeed with that.

 

See you

*Fuchur*

 

PS: Imax is a waste of money. It just is. If it would cost the same as 3d i would watch it from time to time but with even higher costs... Never again. I did not see star wars in imax but some of the transformer movies and it was exactly the same...

[largento]

The movie has the very definite plus of having some of the familiar aspects of Star Wars. The audience applauded every time something or someone familiar appeared. The prequels were doomed from the beginning in that they weren't going to be able to have those familiar elements.

 

I remember reading a Starlog in 1987 where Lucas said of the prequels: "Right now, it's much more humorless than this one. [Episodes 4-6] is where all the excitement is, which is why I started there. The other ones are a little Machiavellian—it's all plotting—more of a mystery."

 

Maybe that's why I've watched them with a different eye than most people.

 

I'll be interested to see what Lucas had planned for Episode 7-9. We probably won't get it until after they're finished, but I'd be curious to see where he would have taken it.

 

But this movie certainly scratched an itch, so I'm not that down on it.

[Roger]

Rob,

 

Sorry to hear you didn't like it. My main (only) quibble with it was the super weapon. I quit reading the Extended Universe books because every 3rd book had another ridiculous super-weapon (there were 2 Death Star prototypes and something called a Suncrusher, if I recall) and it just seemed like there had to be better plot devices than that. So I totally see that as a valid criticism.

 

Even with the feeling of "not this sh*t again" brought on by Starkiller Base, I still felt like this movie was in keeping with the original trilogy's spirit and we are going to see much cooler stuff and even better and more nuanced character development in 8 and 9.

 

Regarding Carrie, I saw a clip of her at a roast of George Lucas from back in 2009, she looked much better/healthier and there was no speech impediment. I think she may have had a minor stroke or something, because you can see that the corner of her mouth droops a bit. It was hard to see her age, I think I had my first celebrity crush on her.

 

I paid to see it in IMAX, too, but I think most IMAX theaters (around my part of the country, anyway) are just not nearly a large enough screen to make it worth it. I think the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry has a screen that completely overwhelms you with how big it is, and takes up your full field of view where the only other IMAX theaters I've been to in my area seem to be just a step up from a normal screen.

 

I don't regret seeing it. I think it will only get better from here.

 

I was watching some clips from Eps 1-3 on Youtube the other day, there was some good stuff there, I just think it could have been so much more. I think they'd have benefited by casting a 16-17 year old as Anakin and if the movies were spaced out over 2-3 years then he'd have been a much more believable love interest for Padme.

[Fuchur]

Ah... the suncrusher... long ago I read a book about it I think... was that the small, nearly undefeatable ship?

That one that just flew through a star destroyer to kill it?

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[robcat2075]

I recall going to see one of the Tom Cruise/Mission:Impossible movies and the deal was that some of the scenes were shot in IMAX.

 

I think during the IMAX portions there was a tiny extra sliver of image at the top and bottom and then that would disappear again for the normal scenes.

 

The most spectacular big screen effect I've seen so far is still "Napoleon" (1927). The first five hours were on a pretty large 4:3 screen and then... Ka-Voom... an equally large 4:3 screen gets added on each side.

That show was worth the $50 ticket and the $400 it took to fly out there.

 

[Roger]

Ah... the suncrusher... long ago I read a book about it I think... was that the small, nearly undefeatable ship?

That one that just flew through a star destroyer to kill it?

 

See you

*Fuchur*

 

The same. It's been so long since I read the book, but I do recall that it was supposed to be nearly indestructible. I think the only reason it was finally defeated was the person piloting it had a change of heart and hit the self destruct or something.

[Roger]

I recall going to see one of the Tom Cruise/Mission:Impossible movies and the deal was that some of the scenes were shot in IMAX.

 

I think during the IMAX portions there was a tiny extra sliver of image at the top and bottom and then that would disappear again for the normal scenes.

 

The most spectacular big screen effect I've seen so far is still "Napoleon" (1927). The first five hours were on a pretty large 4:3 screen and then... Ka-Voom... an equally large 4:3 screen gets added on each side.

 

That show was worth the $50 ticket and the $400 it took to fly out there.

 

 

 

That's definitely an ultra-large format. Star Wars would probably look awesome on a screen like that.

I think the Museum of Science and Industry has a 3 story high screen, that is also hemispherical so that it wraps around you.

I've only ever seen 2 IMAX movies there, though.

 

That's 2 good reviews I've gotten so far from friends on The Hateful 8, I may just go see that tonight.

[robcat2075]

Trailer for Napoleon

[Roger]

So I saw Hateful 8 and I find myself pondering what a Quentin Tarantino directed Force Awakens would look like.

Probably lots of amputations by lightsaber. An elderly Mace Windu that just happened to survive the dual with Palpatine somehow?

 

We can only imagine.

[Rodney]

I was hoping to go back and see 'Force Awakens' again today...err... yesterday, but didn't get it done.

Maybe today.

[robcat2075]

So I saw Hateful 8 and I find myself pondering what a Quentin Tarantino directed Force Awakens would look like.

Probably lots of amputations by lightsaber. An elderly Mace Windu that just happened to survive the dual with Palpatine somehow?

 

We can only imagine.

 

I'd like to see Quentin Tarantino do Downton Abbey.

 

Maybe a prequel with young Lord Grantham and Mr. Bates in the Boer War that they've alluded to previously.

[Rodney]

I just got back from watching 'Force Awakens" again.

I enjoyed the movie even more this time through..

 

It helped this time not to prejudge like I did on first viewing.

One thing I believe worked against the film on first viewing is my expectations based on seeing the trailers (specifically the first) which hinted at such things as a bigger role for Luke Skywalker.

[Steveotron]

I have also watched TFA twice now and it was a lot better the second time through.

 

 

 

It helped this time not to prejudge like I did on first viewing.

One thing I believe worked against the film on first viewing is my expectations based on seeing the trailers (specifically the first) which hinted at such things as a bigger role for Luke Skywalker.

 

Agreed. My Expectations on my first viewing were all over the place. The second viewing was a lot calmer for me, I saw it in IMAX 3D second time round and thought it made it a better film. Never thought that I would type that as I am not a fan of 3D Films, but I genuinely thought it made it a better movie.

 

looking forward to Rogue One next year. Gareth Edwards is a Director I like.

[Rodney]

looking forward to Rogue One next year. Gareth Edwards is a Director I like.

 

In the scene (in SWtFA) where Han and all go up against the smugglers/mercenaries etc. there is a guy who appears to survive that looks a lot like one of the crew from the Rouge One publicity photo.

Might not be related but the resemblance caught my eye on first viewing and seemed that way on second viewing also.

 

Probably just my imagination.

[robcat2075]

Just realized my dad has the same name as a Star Wars character. That would have been cool 40 years ago.

[Roger]

One of my friends was arguing (before the movie came out and we both saw it) that the reason that Luke wasn't on the movie poster was that he was actually Kylo Ren. I asked him what about all the press material with Adam Driver...he suggested it was a red herring to mislead us from the final reveal.

 

I admit that might have been interesting, sort of the Dark Empire story line where Luke falls to the dark side and is apprenticed to a clone of Emperor Palpatine (whose spirit/soul occupies the body of the new clone).

 

I was a bit disappointed at the lack of screen time for Luke, though.

[Rodney]

Getting a little into spoiler territory here so... watch out!

 

There are so many ways they could have gone.

I admit that I was quite drawn to the Dark Lord Jar Jar but mostly because I thought it'd shake the prequels to the very foundation (and I actually like Jar Jar).

 

There's only so much tale that can be told in the time allotted and as soon as they decided Han Solos story arc that pretty much sealed the deal on any other character arcs.

It's hard to say what constraints were placed on characters such as 'Don't do x with Luke Skywalker because he has be available for VIII to do y and z'.

 

I find myself now wondering if VIII will move forward 10 or so years like most of the original trilogy did between films as did the prequels.

If it does then we should see Kylo Ren as a character who has completed his training by the Dark forces, Rey as a (at least partially) seasoned Jedi, etc.

The biggest character question for me would be Finn's character.

 

Since I tend to be very wrong about such things it shouldn't matter that one interesting way to proceed would be to have Rey, Po and Finn all appear in the forthcoming movie as (matured) Jedi trained by Luke. The idea being that they all grew in the force in isolation in VII. Thus the 'awakening of the force' from the title.

 

My biggest guess would be concerning Rey. My theory of her genesis is one I haven't heard mentioned anywhere on the internet and it'd be a doozy that would reverberate all the way back through the other six films.

As I actually want it to be true I'm considering leaving my theory to myself because if it is a common guess then the filmmakers might change it or just leave it as a big question mark as things already stand.

 

Concerning Luke, I too was disappointed he didn't have more screen time but in considering what they might have done with the character the usage appears appropriate.

He's now a Ben Kenobi-like character (echos of regret filled Yoda and Ben) and given the bits and pieces of backstory dropped about what occurred in the 30 years absent I can buy into why he might be more apt to let the force play out at its own pace rather than aid in the creation of more evil force users like his nephew.

 

I've mostly accepted that the Death Star recurring theme is going to continually be returning but do hope they can bring additional story points into why folks find those constructs so compelling (aside from terrorizing galaxies of course). On second viewing that part of VIII (trench run and destruction of the Death Star... er... Starkiller) didn't read as badly as it did in the first.

 

As I said, I think once Harrison Ford's role was locked in place, VII had to keep that underlying plot moving forward at all costs and that limited where else they could go in the time allotted.

As far as the old guard was concerned, this was Han's story and knowing that going in the scene with Han and son at the climax certainly seemed more nuanced than I recall upon first viewing.

 

I do note that there were several elements of the opening text scroll that were addressed in interesting/indirect ways.

Luke Skywalker had disappeared..... we don't get much resolution with that but we found him.

Leah Organa has sent her best pilot to the rescue... but it's not the ace space pilot you'd guess.

 

I do wonder if cliffhangers of this type might be more the norm in the coming Star Wars films now that Disney is running the show.

That's an element that I think George Lucas would have liked to play up more but couldn't due to difficulties with producing episodic film.

 

And on and on and on...

[Roger]

Stumbled across this CG reel from The Force Awakens. Pretty cool stuff.

[/size]

Edit to fix: Link

[Fuchur]

Pretty damn cool... I often ask myself if I see something like that, how would you do it even better? And I often have not at all an answer for it... and then, just a few years later someone creates a set that looks even better and looking more real... but today I just can't imagine how that should be done...