Titan Network
Community => Comics and Other Media => Topic started by: Aggelakis on December 17, 2015, 06:11:17 AM
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Because sometimes you gotta talk about who said what to whom, who slapped what where, and that other thing over there that happened.
(No spoiler tags needed, thread title is spoiler tag.)
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The confirmations/rebuttals of the main rumors pre-release:
Kylo Ren is Leia and Han's son - his real name is Ben.
Kylo kills Han.
Rey is Force sensitive - Finn isn't.
There isn't anything made of Finn's origins, but Rey's origins are referenced and intentionality left mysterious.
Luke is only seen in the last shot of the movie.
In the lightsaber duel at the end, Kylo beats Finn, but Rey then beats Kylo.
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Ben Solo?
Bwah-ha-ha-ha!
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I especially liked at the very end when the giant saucer-shaped ship landed and a group of funny-looking aliens came out with Indiana Jones.
???
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Kylo Ren is Leia and Han's son - his real name is Ben.
Kylo kills Han.
In the lightsaber duel at the end, Kylo beats Finn, but Rey then beats Kylo.
Responses in order:
Ok, that's what Han said his name was. That's what my dad said, but I didn't hear it clearly in the theeater.
I sort of expected the death, after seeing a promo pic or something of Rey and Chewie in the cockpit of the Falcon without Han, but it didn't make the tension leading up to it any less dramatic.
So by the transitive property, Rey beats Finn?
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Rey beats Finn?
She almost did when he wouldn't let go of her hand :P
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I just saw the movie at an 11:45 p.m. screening on Thursday night. The audience seemed to enjoy it. But, I did not like it.
When I got home, I visited RottenTomatoes.com (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_wars_episode_vii_the_force_awakens/) and was surprised to see the movie has more than 90 percent favorable reviews from both critics and audiences. I expected critics to share my view.
- I liked Daisy Ridley. She was very appealing.
- Harrison Ford was cool.
- The little round robot was neat... more mobile and expressive than R2D2.
- The visual effects were awesome.
But, the story... I can't believe how bad it was. Retread... short thrift... pandering... reductive. I could further articulate my reaction, but it would take more time, effort, and thought than the story deserves.
The only lure for a sequel is to see more of Luke Skywalker... and maybe hear him speak. Otherwise, this movie convinced me, I don't want to buy a ticket for a sequel.
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Unfortunately, one of the fumbles in the story was the quite important one of bridging the 30 year gap - and I don't mean that it needed some prequel style detailed politics - just that it came across a bit too much like "It's Rebels vs Empire round 2 - now let's get to the action!"
It's especially strange when there we a couple of great openings for a bit more detail, especially the first meeting between Rey, Finn and Han - you've got a brainwashed Stormtrooper and a scavenger from an isolated world meeting one of the key players in the victory of the rebellion - after he confirms that the Jedi and the Force are real, the stage is perfectly set to have Rey or Finn ask him how things didn't work out after the fall of the Empire - not only would it help fill in the gaps for the audience, it'd also help develop Han's disillusionment and his return to his old smuggling ways.
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We don't know who Rey's parents are but we could guess ...
Hits a lot of the same beats as A New Hope but with gender and side swiping.
JJ inflated the size of the Enterprise in his Star Trek and he did the same with the Death Star clone.
Daisy was excellent.
The only background on Fin was we was spirited away as a baby/young child and raised clone like.
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There's a new Star Wars film? How come I never saw it advertised anywhere?
:o
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The "Resistance" needs to honor the true hero of the day - Diet Boba Fett. Clearly they couldn't lower the shield without her and did she choose to stall, delay or - god forbid - die to achieve ultimate victory for her side? Nope. Let me get this here shield for you.
Since it wasn't Kylo that turned on Luke's new Jedi order and wiped them out it was probably 'Snoke'. My friend was hoping that it would be someone from the old trilogy but that doesn't make sense to me.
I like that the internet mocked light saber quillons did indeed play a role in the fight with Finn.
All in all I liked the movie. The vehicles looked great, I liked every new hero character introduced, and enjoyed the story for what it was (A Star Wars story).
Who was the old man at the start talking to Poe supposed to be? I thought it might be Wedge Antilles or General Madine.
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The "Resistance" needs to honor the true hero of the day - Diet Boba Fett. Clearly they couldn't lower the shield without her and did she choose to stall, delay or - god forbid - die to achieve ultimate victory for her side? Nope. Let me get this here shield for you.
Since it wasn't Kylo that turned on Luke's new Jedi order and wiped them out it was probably 'Snoke'. My friend was hoping that it would be someone from the old trilogy but that doesn't make sense to me.
I like that the internet mocked light saber quillons did indeed play a role in the fight with Finn.
All in all I liked the movie. The vehicles looked great, I liked every new hero character introduced, and enjoyed the story for what it was (A Star Wars story).
Who was the old man at the start talking to Poe supposed to be? I thought it might be Wedge Antilles or General Madine.
Credits identify him as Lor San Tekka who I've never heard of before.
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Credits identify him as Lor San Tekka who I've never heard of before.
Had to look that up last night, myself.
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Lor_San_Tekka
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Regarding the story, I have to say that I thought it was fine. No better or worse than the original trilogy. Watching it this week, I discovered that A New Hope is way slower to develop than I remember. I don't think the plot of this film is as bad as some people here seem to think.
JJ Abrams clearly doesn't get how faster than light travel or how seeing things in planet atmospheres work, in any franchise. I mean, sure, hyperspace and warp drive are plot devices, but there are established rules about how they work. Also, it's one thing to have Spock see Vulcan's destruction without a telescope for dramatic effect, but when you've got a whole Resistance's worth of people seeing something halfway across a galaxy from their own planet, that goes beyond suspension of disbelief.
Since it wasn't Kylo that turned on Luke's new Jedi order and wiped them out it was probably 'Snoke'. My friend was hoping that it would be someone from the old trilogy but that doesn't make sense to me.
I like that the internet mocked light saber quillons did indeed play a role in the fight with Finn.
But... it was Kylo Ren that turned on the new order. That was pretty clear to me. He was seduced by Snoke, sure, but but it was him that did the killing.
I also enjoyed the utility of the hilt being proven.
Credits identify him as Lor San Tekka who I've never heard of before.
Even with the Wookieepedia link, I still don't know or really care who Mr. Old Guy Plot Device is.
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Regarding the story, I have to say that I thought it was fine. No better or worse than the original trilogy.
Problem is, it's the same story.
What cowardly, corporate film-making. Presumably, the suits at Disney figured, "We're spending a lot of money buying the rights, making the movie, and marketing it! We need to get a huge return! So, we gotta give the audience what they want!" And, they played it safe--to a stultifying degree--by merely stitching together pieces from previous Star Wars films.
Really, guys? You couldn't give us a new story? It's a sad thing when the "Star Wars: Clone Wars" cartoon series gave us better, original stories.
"May the pastiche (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastiche) be with you--always."
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I'm not entirely sure that's true. It served a purpose (moving Rey's force prowess along) beyond "oh look, this bad guy's dangerous so he's going to kill the token black guy." Finn is definitely not a token black guy - he's one of the new faces of the franchise. Plus, it made sense in context: Finn isn't a Jedi, he's just a guy with a lightsaber. No way he's going to win. Plus, he actually put up a fight, rather than being summarily taken out.
Speaking of Rey's force prowess, she got the hang of things pretty darn quickly. Almost too quickly, IMO.
Finn is an awesome character. Cannot wait to see where his story goes from here.
Likewise with Rey. That girl is definitely a Skywalker. No two ways about it. There's a reason we were introduced to her on a desert planet where she was left, abandoned, to be raised by an unsympathetic shop owner... think about it.
And those that say this story was too derivative or just a re-hash of the original trilogy are really missing the major point and tons of subtleties, besides. Yeah, they could have done a massive info-dump and told us everything that happened over the "missing" 30 years... or they could dole it out in subsequent movies and off-shoots making it a more enjoyable, potent, part of the ongoing story.
Here's what I brought away from the film, as it was. After the Rebels defeated the emperor in ROTJ, that left a vacuum atop the Empire's power structure. There was a scramble among the surviving top dogs to fill said void, while the ruling power of the Empire crumbled, allowing the New Republic to seize the reigns for the galaxy. However, the true die-hard fanatics of the Empire all retreated back to the outer-rim worlds and restructured the organization, which became the First Order. The New Republic sent their best and brightest out to set up the Resistance among the outer rim worlds to fight back against the First Order before they can gain enough of a foothold to re-seize the reigns of power throughout the galaxy.
So, during the missing 30 years, the Republic re-established it's rule and reconstituted the Galactic Council (hopefully, without Jar Jar holding a seat), and the remnants of the Empire retreated to lick it's wounds and reorganize into the First Order. The analog here is Germany after WWI, and how the fanatics seized power and founded the Nazi regime. I mean, they all but *told* you that in the movie in several places. It's not the filmmaker's fault if you don't know your 20th century European history. Ha Ha!
Anyway, meanwhile Luke sets about trying to re-establish the Jedi order, but fails, since that's what Mark Hammill always does. And his star pupil becomes Darth Vader happy happy fan boy #1. Probably also has something to do with his father Han constantly referring to him as "Princess" while growing up too... And possibly something to do with Han liking Chewbacca more than him, too. Oh, and I bet the following conversation took place, and had a part in it too...
"Hey, Ben, now that you're 16 and can get your starship license, I need to make a confession."
"What's that dad?"
"Well, you know that ship I promised you could have when you were old enough?"
"Yeah, the Mellineum Falcon... Yeah..."
"Um... well... um... I lost it."
"Whaddya mean you lost it?"
"Aw, you know how it is, son, one too many correllian ale's, and the next thing you know you wake up on Laos Vagus IV with a shaved Wookie and a strange new face tattoo and can't remember anything... but that's another movie..."
"Awwwwwww Daaaaaaaad...."
So, the reason made what is essentially yet another Death Star? I imagine it has to do with only having 30 years and already having the plans for that big gun just laying around in the Imperial ruins. Besides, it always worked out so well in the past... um... hold on...
And, one last point in this oddball stream of consciousness idiocy, Han *had* to be the sacrificial mentor in this film. The first film in both other Star Wars trilogies had a sacrificial mentor figure who took pointed the "hero" down his path, but died before he could prepare the hero for the journey. It's classic mythical storytelling. In this film, with who the villain was, and the story that needed told, and to show the audience the moment he fully embraced evil... Han *had* to be the sacrificial mentor, even though Harrison Ford is by FAR the biggest star in the franchise. It was a great moment, and a powerful moment. Now that the mentor has been sacrificed, we can move to the training, and in the next film Luke can fulfill the Yoda role for Rey, and then be killed/die before the training is complete. Again, a necessary component for this particular hero's quest story.
And in film three, she will need to embrace the dark side, and then reject it (as Luke did in the Super Star Destroyer when confronted by the Emperor, to finish her mythical hero's quest. But, since her training is incomplete, the dramatic tension of will she/won't she will be heightened, just as it was with Luke, for the same reason. Then there's also the beat of her being Kylo's kin...
Both previous trilogies followed that same template, except in episodes 1, 2, and 3, the "hero" did not reject the dark side and fully embraced it to end the story. Which is why his "trainer" survived the story, and, instead a stand-in trainer (Mace Windu) was made the sacrificial lamb to launch the final act.
All the pieces were laid, perfectly, in this first film. And, it makes perfect sense. Remember in Star Wars, nothing is by chance. Every step Rey, Finn and Poe took, every move they made was manipulations of the Force pushing them to their destiny.
There was tons more thought put into this movie than the general punters are giving Abrams credit for...
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And those that say this story was too derivative or just a re-hash of the original trilogy are really missing the major point and tons of subtleties, besides.
If you liked it, good. I confess, I missed its appeal. In my view, the major point was Disney needs to make a lot of money.
However, other people have different views... for example: Alex Jones Exposes Truth Behind Star Wars (http://www.infowars.com/alex-jones-exposes-truth-behind-star-wars/)
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Another Infowars review: Disney Killed Star Wars: Film Review - Horrible movie may be worse than The Phantom Menace (https://youtu.be/9SaeFp2470Y)
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My single biggest and only complaint:
JJ Abrams did the same thing he did in star trek and that was nuking an iconic planet that's been apart of the starwars universe since um FOREVER! And not just any planet but Coruscant. Freaking CORUSCANT! WTF?!!! I looked at my brother after they destroyed it with that sun weapon and was like "This is why I don't like JJ Abrams" He agreed with "Yeah, this really sucks" So here we are with two sci-fi franchises with iconic worlds suddenly just ripped away and annihilated the minute the same director gets control of the movie franchises.
Before that scene I gave this movie a 10/10 but now I'm not so sure... I can say that im glad he won't be directing the next two movies because he trashed star trek and I dont want the same thing to happen to starwars. I did watch and enjoy every other part of the movie especially a female main character but I feel if disney had not written off the EU we would of had a much better movie overall. So many books and games all these years continued where the movies left off... It just didn't make sense to throw all of that away.
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You should probably find better bad reviews than those ones - they lack credibility :P
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... they lack credibility :P
Do they ...? What if those reviewers are speaking truth? ;)
I'm not saying they are; but, it's thought-provoking. (At least, moreso than SW:TFA.)
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My single biggest and only complaint:
JJ Abrams did the same thing he did in star trek and that was nuking an iconic planet that's been apart of the starwars universe since um FOREVER! And not just any planet but Coruscant. Freaking CORUSCANT! WTF?!!! I looked at my brother after they destroyed it with that sun weapon and was like "This is why I don't like JJ Abrams" He agreed with "Yeah, this really sucks" So here we are with two sci-fi franchises with iconic worlds suddenly just ripped away and annihilated the minute the same director gets control of the movie franchises.
That wasn't Coruscant.
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Do they ...? What if those reviewers are speaking truth? ;)
I'm not saying they are; but, it's thought-provoking. (At least, moreso than SW:TFA.)
No one takes those conspiracy nutjobs seriously.
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JJ Abrams did the same thing he did in star trek and that was nuking an iconic planet that's been apart of the starwars universe since um FOREVER! And not just any planet but Coruscant. Freaking CORUSCANT! WTF?!!! I looked at my brother after they destroyed it with that sun weapon and was like "This is why I don't like JJ Abrams" He agreed with "Yeah, this really sucks" So here we are with two sci-fi franchises with iconic worlds suddenly just ripped away and annihilated the minute the same director gets control of the movie franchises.
That wasn't Coruscant.
Based on the movie itself, we don't really know for sure. It seems logical that Coruscant would still be the seat of power after all these years, but the planet's name was never actually mentioned in the film.
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After the Rebels defeated the emperor in ROTJ, that left a vacuum atop the Empire's power structure. There was a scramble among the surviving top dogs to fill said void, while the ruling power of the Empire crumbled, allowing the New Republic to seize the reigns for the galaxy. However, the true die-hard fanatics of the Empire all retreated back to the outer-rim worlds and restructured the organization, which became the First Order. The New Republic sent their best and brightest out to set up the Resistance among the outer rim worlds to fight back against the First Order before they can gain enough of a foothold to re-seize the reigns of power throughout the galaxy.
That's pretty close, actually.
The emperor's closest advisers held a council to decide what to do next (with one option being going hunting for the wellspring of the dark side in the Outer Rim). The council was attacked by the New Rebel Alliance and pushed out to the Outer Rim. The First Order would appear to be a resurgence of what was scattered to the Outer Rim working it's way back to the Core worlds.
Although they were all united in their dislike for the empire, once the war had essentially wound down, the planets in the Rebel Alliance didn't necessarily see eye to eye on what sort of government should fill the void, so they were far less cohesive without a common enemy to fight. As you pointed out, that's pretty much how WWII ended, planting the seeds of the Cold War. The Resistance is presumably one of the splinter groups that didn't exactly find themselves fitting neatly within the newly formed Republic.
Han *had* to be the sacrificial mentor, even though Harrison Ford is by FAR the biggest star in the franchise.
And he was asking Lucas to kill Han in the original trilogy. Just glad they did it well. There are so many other ways they could have done that without the impact it had.
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But... it was Kylo Ren that turned on the new order. That was pretty clear to me. He was seduced by Snoke, sure, but but it was him that did the killing.
I also enjoyed the utility of the hilt being proven.
Funny how one word can change the course of a movie. I (mis)heard Han say 'He should have gone to Luke', which lead me to believe that he hadn't - that they'd sent him away, and that the one who turned on the new order was Snoke, who then formed the Knights of Ren and recruited Ben, who has not yet completed his training and his fall to the Dark Side (until the bridge incident in this movie). I thought it was a great plot twist and opened a lot of story options for the future.
Sadly Han said "He shouldn't have gone to Luke" - which means that a whiny, emo, half trained apprentice betrayed his uncle and wiped out all the other acolytes yet still felt the pull of the light for some reason (so much for Yoda). It weakens every character involved - the unseen other acolytes, Luke (you... probably shouldn't let your nephew who just slaughtered everything you were working on go wander off), Luke again (oh, and you missed this Dark Side user named Snoke. Nice going.), Luke a third time (seriously, maybe you should have noticed something was off about your nephew), Leia and Han (yep, he just killed a bunch of people and went and joined the empire remnants - be casual when you say 'I saw our son')...
I enjoyed it more with the misunderstanding. :) Luke better have a really, really, really good reason for becoming a hermit instead of confronting Jacen - er - Ben. Obi Wan did because there was nothing he could do - both Palpatine and Vader were stronger than he was, were together by the time he realized Anakin had survived, and he needed to keep an eye on Luke as he grew - probably both to make sure the Empire didn't come looking and make sure that Luke didn't follow in his father's footsteps. For the record, I didn't give Yoda a pass on becoming a hermit, either.
But that is what sequels are for, after all. If this trilogy mirrors the first trilogy, as they've stated, and the second mirrors Empire as closely as Awakens mirrored Hope then Luke will have plenty of time to explain things as he trains Rey - until she runs off half trained because Finn and Poe get cornered by Kylo somewhere and it is revealed that he is her brother (or cousin).
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That wasn't Coruscant.
Based on the movie itself, we don't really know for sure. It seems logical that Coruscant would still be the seat of power after all these years, but the planet's name was never actually mentioned in the film.
The movie says it's the Hosnian system. Coruscant is in the Corusca system. Unless they changed it. I wouldn't put it past them to wipe it out but it's more likely to have just been another highly populated planet.
And frankly the freaking bar better have been on a moon of said planet. Hyperspace laser or not nobody should have been able to see it from any further out.
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That wasn't Coruscant.
no it was indeed coruscant. I'm trying to remember the exact lines said in the movie during the attack but i cannot. And you can clearly see the surrounds on one of the planets with people looking up and all those flying speeder cars.
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No one takes those conspiracy nutjobs seriously.
Alex Jones might respond, "Yeah, that's what the Globalists say."
Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_wars_episode_vii_the_force_awakens/) shows that 95 percent of movie critics gave a positive review to SW:TFA. I can't believe that sophisticated film critics gave a pass to this movie.
Maybe Alex Jones is correct, and there's a global conspiracy where the ultra rich (that is, people so wealthy, they can do whatever they want... like, jet to another continent and view a movie a few days ahead of its release in their part of the world) secretly run everything through major corporations. Hm... Disney is a major corporation.
Maybe the critics who work for media outlets owned by major corporations know to "play ball" with a corporate partner like Disney? Maybe Disney paid off film critics for positive reviews? Hm....
There's gotta be some logical, rational explanation. Film critics cannot really like this despicable corporate pap.
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Take off the tinfoil hat :P
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no it was indeed coruscant. I'm trying to remember the exact lines said in the movie during the attack but i cannot. And you can clearly see the surrounds on one of the planets with people looking up and all those flying speeder cars.
It's Hosnian Prime.
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And frankly the freaking bar better have been on a moon of said planet. Hyperspace laser or not nobody should have been able to see it from any further out.
Maz Kanata's hangout was on Takodana - it's a planet, not a moon.
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You should probably find better bad reviews ... :P
Challenge accepted: Star Wars The Force Awakens: Max Landis is sexist and Rey is a Mary Sue *spoilers* (https://youtu.be/cpS6TlqgLIQ)
KYLO REN - spoilers - Twitter Exclusive (https://youtu.be/TdEIzRUos4g)
MARY SUE SEXIST MAX LANDIS ON A RANT AGAIN HIS FORCE AWOKE (https://youtu.be/aWRg5fddADw)
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Worth a read:
www.dailydot.com/geek/star-wars-force-awakens-novelization-highlights/
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Challenge accepted: Star Wars The Force Awakens: Max Landis is sexist and Rey is a Mary Sue *spoilers* (https://youtu.be/cpS6TlqgLIQ)
KYLO REN - spoilers - Twitter Exclusive (https://youtu.be/TdEIzRUos4g)
MARY SUE SEXIST MAX LANDIS ON A RANT AGAIN HIS FORCE AWOKE (https://youtu.be/aWRg5fddADw)
I should have added "coherent" and "not stoned" :P
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Alex Jones might respond, "Yeah, that's what the Globalists say."
Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_wars_episode_vii_the_force_awakens/) shows that 95 percent of movie critics gave a positive review to SW:TFA. I can't believe that sophisticated film critics gave a pass to this movie.
Maybe Alex Jones is correct, and there's a global conspiracy where the ultra rich (that is, people so wealthy, they can do whatever they want... like, jet to another continent and view a movie a few days ahead of its release in their part of the world) secretly run everything through major corporations. Hm... Disney is a major corporation.
Maybe the critics who work for media outlets owned by major corporations know to "play ball" with a corporate partner like Disney? Maybe Disney paid off film critics for positive reviews? Hm....
There's gotta be some logical, rational explanation. Film critics cannot really like this despicable corporate pap.
This is hilarious. I laughed most of the night over this.
It *is* meant as a joke, right?
:o
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If you liked it, good. I confess, I missed its appeal. In my view, the major point was Disney needs to make a lot of money.
However, other people have different views... for example: Alex Jones Exposes Truth Behind Star Wars (http://www.infowars.com/alex-jones-exposes-truth-behind-star-wars/)
Alex Jones is a clueless putz.
Mom always told me if I didn't have anything nice to say about someone... And, well, that is me being nice about him.
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And, can't seem to find the post now, but didn't somebody say Rey was a "Mary Sue" in an earlier post?
http://io9.gizmodo.com/please-stop-spreading-this-nonsense-that-rey-from-star-1749134275
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Problem is, it's the same story.
What cowardly, corporate film-making. Presumably, the suits at Disney figured, "We're spending a lot of money buying the rights, making the movie, and marketing it! We need to get a huge return! So, we gotta give the audience what they want!" And, they played it safe--to a stultifying degree--by merely stitching together pieces from previous Star Wars films.
Really, guys? You couldn't give us a new story? It's a sad thing when the "Star Wars: Clone Wars" cartoon series gave us better, original stories.
Yeah. JJ should have done an original story like his Star Trek: Into Darkness.............oh wait......
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Yeah. JJ should have done an original story like his Star Trek: Into Darkness.............oh wait......
But, even then, people KEEP getting it wrong. Into Darkness was NOT a remake of Wrath of Kahn, it was a re-make of Space Seed, with a variation of the Wrath ending.
I think, as we move to the rest of this trilogy we'll find this movie isn't as derivative as we think now, and where it is, it was done so with a specific purpose. I think this movie is a lot smarter than the general public is currently giving it credit for.
I just hope my faith is well-placed, or I'm gonna come out looking like a goober. ;D
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Regarding the "Resistance is tiny" bit from the novel (via a link earlier): that was in the movie, since they say something like '2/3 of our fleet is gone' after several x wings are destroyed. It made it seem like the contingent that went to Starkiller was all they had, which seemed a bit silly to me.
Of course, there was also a line that sounded like 'without the republic's fleet' so maybe they rely more heavily on the new republic than it seems.
Sadly Han said "He shouldn't have gone to Luke" - which means that a whiny, emo, half trained apprentice betrayed his uncle and wiped out all the other acolytes yet still felt the pull of the light for some reason (so much for Yoda). It weakens every character involved - the unseen other acolytes, Luke (you... probably shouldn't let your nephew who just slaughtered everything you were working on go wander off), Luke again (oh, and you missed this Dark Side user named Snoke. Nice going.), Luke a third time (seriously, maybe you should have noticed something was off about your nephew), Leia and Han (yep, he just killed a bunch of people and went and joined the empire remnants - be casual when you say 'I saw our son')...
I did wonder why Luke would just up and hermit himself. It does seem... odd. I won't say uncharacteristic because we don't know how his character changed in 20 or so years from RotJ.
Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/star_wars_episode_vii_the_force_awakens/) shows that 95 percent of movie critics gave a positive review to SW:TFA. I can't believe that sophisticated film critics gave a pass to this movie.
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There's gotta be some logical, rational explanation. Film critics cannot really like this despicable corporate pap.
Maybe only 5% of movie critics are sophisticated. Also, film critics are notoriusly poor at matching what the public thinks of a movie, so any review has to be taken with a grain of salt.
Edit: Forgot to say that even though it looks like Coruscant, it's definitely not. The name of the planet / system is explicitly stated as something that isn't Coruscant, although I don't recall if it's before or after the destruction (or both). It makes sense to me that the Empire remnants still have control of their former capital and seat of their power (if they do). It also makes sense to me that the capital city of a major galactic government would look just as developed as Coruscant, in its massive cityscape and speeders and ships everywhere in the sky.
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The New Republic's capital is/was on Hosnian Prime.
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Just saw it last night. I thought it was pretty good overall.
There was one thing that I didn't like however; they didn't end the movie at the right time.
After Rey says her goodbyes and takes off in the Millennium Falcon, that's the end of the movie. Roll credits. When that didn't happen, I wasn't sure where they were going with things when they landed on Luke's planet, climbed stairs and had a super-awkward face off where Rey offers the lightsabre to Luke and they stand there like forever. She with her hand outstretched and Luke just staring at her. Weird.
That scene with Luke and Rey would have kicked off the next movie with a bang. If they needed Luke in it, the have a post credits scene where Luke looks up, anticipating Rey's arrival (since we last saw her flying off in the Falcon).
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Just saw it last night. I thought it was pretty good overall.
There was one thing that I didn't like however; they didn't end the movie at the right time.
After Rey says her goodbyes and takes off in the Millennium Falcon, that's the end of the movie. Roll credits. When that didn't happen, I wasn't sure where they were going with things when they landed on Luke's planet, climbed stairs and had a super-awkward face off where Rey offers the lightsabre to Luke and they stand there like forever. She with her hand outstretched and Luke just staring at her. Weird.
That scene with Luke and Rey would have kicked off the next movie with a bang. If they needed Luke in it, the have a post credits scene where Luke looks up, anticipating Rey's arrival (since we last saw her flying off in the Falcon).
Yes, I thought that epilogue was awkward, too.
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I found the movie to be "emotionally flat".
Something like a soft drink with all the fizz gone. It still tastes good but something is obviously missing.
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I found the movie to be "emotionally flat".
Something like a soft drink with all the fizz gone. It still tastes good but something is obviously missing.
The magic touch of George?
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More of a lack of stage presence.
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More of a lack of stage presence.
Is that code for Jar Jar Binks?
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But, even then, people KEEP getting it wrong. Into Darkness was NOT a remake of Wrath of Kahn, it was a re-make of Space Seed, with a variation of the Wrath ending.
I think, as we move to the rest of this trilogy we'll find this movie isn't as derivative as we think now, and where it is, it was done so with a specific purpose. I think this movie is a lot smarter than the general public is currently giving it credit for.
I just hope my faith is well-placed, or I'm gonna come out looking like a goober. ;D
I never thought it was a remake of Wrath. Nemesis was a remake of Wrath.
Into Darkness was like one of those movies where they edit two episodes together. In this case was Space Seed and Star Trek 2.
Don't get me wrong - I liked Darkness - just wasn't very original.
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Yes, I thought that epilogue was awkward, too.
I remember seeing Empire for the very first time. Me (and many people) thought that end was flat too.
It wasn't an end, as more of a "you have to pay $7 more in two years to see how this ends".
And Empire is my favorite out of all 6 that I have seen.
Jedi was also a rehash of the first with a new Death Star. I guess they just never learn.
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More than 41 minutes of Max Landis talking about ST:TFA 8)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens SPOILER Review! (feat. Max Landis) (https://youtu.be/TyQRp_1PjbU)
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I remember seeing Empire for the very first time. Me (and many people) thought that end was flat too.
Oh, I wasn't even thinking about that weird ending scene. There was way, way, way too much staring in that scene.
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After Rey says her goodbyes and takes off in the Millennium Falcon, that's the end of the movie. Roll credits. When that didn't happen, I wasn't sure where they were going with things when they landed on Luke's planet, climbed stairs and had a super-awkward face off where Rey offers the lightsabre to Luke and they stand there like forever. She with her hand outstretched and Luke just staring at her. Weird.
I kind of want to make a "Star Wars Soap Opera" parody using that scene.
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Finally got to see it last night. I'd had the Han killed by his son spoilered for me in a Reddit thread, but I don't think it really mattered.
Random thoughts.
Really glad they killed Han because I thought Harrison Ford puffing his way through the running and action scenes was just kind-of painful -- that sequence where he downs the trooper with one blow -- yikes. And the death scene was terrific -- a truly fitting send-off.
I thought Kylo Ren and his story was the best thing about the movie -- I was engaged and compelled. Thought all the performances were good -- Harrison Ford was terrific aside from the physical stuff -- Carrie Fisher seemed a bit like a prop but I'm glad they could get her to do it.
I like all the new guys. I liked Poe but thought it was weird to drop him from 2/3 of the movie and then just have him show up -- hi, remember me from the beginning -- I'll be tacked on now. I like Finn and Rey. Rey engaged me -- looking forward to more of her as our new prime Light-Side hero.
The whole new-bigger-not-quite-Death-Star seemed very tacked-on and not really important to the plot -- my favorite moment of the film was Han saying "there's always a way to blow these things up". You'd think they'd learn about defending the one thing that makes the whole planet-weapon explode after the first two, wouldn't you? How expensive ARE those things?
Rebel Alliance has really scaled back from the old days if their "fleet" is a couple squads of X-wings.
REALLY liked Snoke -- that's a dark side master I can run screaming from. I thought they did a VERY good job channeling the Nazi vibe in the brief shots of the First Order -- in a good Star Warsy way. (The original films were always anchored around GL playing with the stereotypical film tropes he loved -- walking the plank, captured by natives, gunfight in the bar, dogfight bombing run, etc).
Geeze, they didn't even give him a LINE.
I'm currently suffering from the worst case of raised expectations let-down I've ever had because I'd been insulating myself from info but the fact that everybody I'd talked to loved it had me super pumped.
It was okay. I enjoyed it. No strong objections. Vastly better than the second-made trilogy. I look forward to the next one or other Star Wars projects they develop.
Really hope they can come up with a better framing plot than "oh new big weapon we have to blow up". Enough with blowing up the big thing.
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I just got home from seeing it, and I thought it was enjoyable, even if it's in many ways a sort of remix of moments from 4-6. Originality is, thankfully, not required for a decent, entertaining bit of story.
The only parts I really didn't care for were when Darth Daddy Issues took off his helmet - put the mask back on, Nosferatu. The all-too-predictable death of Han, which started to be apparent from the moment he began bonding with New Jedi, and it became a certainty that he'd be killed while she looked on the moment we knew he was going with Finn to save her. And, finally, the awkward end scene with Luke - the iconic music used there will now forever be a love story between a boy and his long lost lightsabre.
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I saw this movie, while it was not bad it was no where near as good.
The only character I feel was the best character in the movie Phasma, was not shown as much as she should have. She was suppose to be in charge of the storm troopers yet never really showed her authority outside of telling Finn to put on his helmet and telling the storm troopers to whip out the village.
One of the biggest problems I have with this is Kylo acting like an emo, I was lead to believe he was overly in charge. Yet he played second fiddle to a general.
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Disney's The Force Awakens made me appreciate how good George's prequel trilogy was.
*Maybe* if 13 elves were taking turns hitting me in the groin with hammers while I was watching The Force Awakens. And the soundtrack was replaced with rap music. Maybe.
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Makes me wonder what $4B Lucasfilm/Marvel studio acquisition they have their sights set on next.
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I saw the movie last night. I thought it was a good movie. That said, it only seemed to be Star Wars in name and content, but not in feel. Even SWTOR, The Clone Wars and Rebels feel more like the other Star Wars movies. This isn't really a gripe as much as it is an observation. It's missing something....and not just George Lucas.
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It's missing something....and not just George Lucas.
That's all that it's missing.
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I saw the movie last night. I thought it was a good movie. That said, it only seemed to be Star Wars in name and content, but not in feel. Even SWTOR, The Clone Wars and Rebels feel more like the other Star Wars movies. This isn't really a gripe as much as it is an observation. It's missing something....and not just George Lucas.
I think it missed a plot, good acting, a believable badguys, a main bad guy who is not an emo, and not another super weapon that needs to be destroyed. In my opinion episode 7 was just a retread of A New Hope.
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I saw this movie, while it was not bad it was no where near as good.
The only character I feel was the best character in the movie Phasma, was not shown as much as she should have. She was suppose to be in charge of the storm troopers yet never really showed her authority outside of telling Finn to put on his helmet and telling the storm troopers to whip out the village.
One of the biggest problems I have with this is Kylo acting like an emo, I was lead to believe he was overly in charge. Yet he played second fiddle to a general.
I think that the general and Ren were just second to Snoke, who sometimes put one in charge of the other (or, one's goals in more prominent position). I liked the General's acting - he was clearly more willing to stand up to Ren than Imperials were to Vader, but was also clearly nervous about Ren's ability to chop him in half.
Phasma was nowhere near as prominent as all the interviews with the actress made it seem like she would be.
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I think that the general and Ren were just second to Snoke, who sometimes put one in charge of the other (or, one's goals in more prominent position). I liked the General's acting - he was clearly more willing to stand up to Ren than Imperials were to Vader, but was also clearly nervous about Ren's ability to chop him in half.
Phasma was nowhere near as prominent as all the interviews with the actress made it seem like she would be.
That is the thing Vader would not have a general run amok over his authority. I do agree the person who played the general did a decent job. I think a kitty in a wet paper bag could have stood up to Ren. Personally I did not see that, I saw him pretty much challenging Ren and winning.
I agree, with Phasma, she could have been sooo much better. That is why I said she was in my opinion the best character.
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I have heard talk of "redemption" for Kylo Ren. After sucker-lightsabering and killing his father, Han Solo, the only redemption I will accept for Kylo Ren will be moments before his death.
The only caveat to this is that Han is somehow not dead. Very, very unlikely that it is.
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I think that the general and Ren were just second to Snoke, who sometimes put one in charge of the other (or, one's goals in more prominent position). I liked the General's acting - he was clearly more willing to stand up to Ren than Imperials were to Vader, but was also clearly nervous about Ren's ability to chop him in half.
Kylo Ren and the knights are not part of the military structure, so when Ren starts telling General Hux how to do his job, Hux has every right to tell Ren where to stick it. Assuming Snoke would be unhappy with Ren interfering with Hux doing his job (because Hux is acting under Snoke's orders too, but with different priorities and goals), Ren would think twice about doing anything to anger Snoke. Likewise, Hux doesn't try to give orders to Ren because Ren has his own orders from Snoke. They're equals under Snoke.
Phasma was nowhere near as prominent as all the interviews with the actress made it seem like she would be.
Christie said she plays a much bigger role in Episode VIII. There's more background info on the character given in the Illustrated Guide. They wouldn't have fleshed out the character so well if they didn't plan on making her more prominent.
That is the thing Vader would not have a general run amok over his authority.
No, but he absolutely would from a Grand Moff. Go back and watch Episode IV again. Tarkin orders Vader around with no regard for how Vader feels about it.
And Ren is not a Sith Lord. He's still training in the ways of the dark side. Vader he is not, but he might get there with more training from Snoke.
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I have heard talk of "redemption" for Kylo Ren. After sucker-lightsabering and killing his father, Han Solo, the only redemption I will accept for Kylo Ren will be moments before his death.
The only caveat to this is that Han is somehow not dead. Very, very unlikely that it is.
Random thoughts I had during the movie that might be related:
Kylo Ren is in the position he's in because Luke put him there on purpose.
He's using Vader's mask to help cloak his true nature.
He had an exchange with his father that we weren't privy to right before he killed him that expanded on just what kind of help he needed and why.
Of course, I also got this insidious little notion creeping around the back of my mind that Luke is actually Snoke...
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Kylo Ren is in the position he's in because Luke put him there on purpose.
He's using Vader's mask to help cloak his true nature.
After all, when he says he's going to finish what Anakin/Vader started, we don't know if he means before or after the moment he chose to throw Palpatine over the railing.
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Keep in mind that clones are an established part of this universe.
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Christie said she plays a much bigger role in Episode VIII.
Ah, so that means she must have survived the trash compactor/destruction of Starkiller Base. Good to know.
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Kylo Ren and the knights are not part of the military structure, so when Ren starts telling General Hux how to do his job, Hux has every right to tell Ren where to stick it. Assuming Snoke would be unhappy with Ren interfering with Hux doing his job (because Hux is acting under Snoke's orders too, but with different priorities and goals), Ren would think twice about doing anything to anger Snoke. Likewise, Hux doesn't try to give orders to Ren because Ren has his own orders from Snoke. They're equals under Snoke.
Christie said she plays a much bigger role in Episode VIII. There's more background info on the character given in the Illustrated Guide. They wouldn't have fleshed out the character so well if they didn't plan on making her more prominent.
No, but he absolutely would from a Grand Moff. Go back and watch Episode IV again. Tarkin orders Vader around with no regard for how Vader feels about it.
And Ren is not a Sith Lord. He's still training in the ways of the dark side. Vader he is not, but he might get there with more training from Snoke.
That is true about Tarken, however, he is a Grand Moff who only reports to the emperor. In the same part of the movie a Admiral flipped his lid to Vader and he paid the price. A Moff is one thing when compared to the rank and file.
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My primary point being that just being strong with the force does not inherently give authority in the chain of command. Ren is nowhere near as powerful or high-ranking as Vader was when he choked that Admiral.
Also: Vader was part of the military chain of command (Moffs, on the other hand are civilian), so Vader had the authority to "discipline" his subordinates. Ren not being military, he has no authority to do something like that.
And Vader was on Tarkin's space station, so regarless of rank, Tarkin would have been able to pull that as his trump card as long as Vader's feet were planted on the death star. Ren is on Hux's star destroyer, so Hux can override anyone on his ship that doesn't outrank him within the military command structure.
Who knows how that dynamic might change once Snoke completes Ren's training.
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This movie has horrible flaws.
Retread of the OT.
Messy set up (how long has luke been missing? wtf is the resistance against?)
But, and this is important, I loved it. It was fun, the actors were very likable. Poe and Finn established a bromance in 5 minutes that Anakin and Obi-Wan couldn't establish in 7 hours.
You can dissect this movie a 100 ways, and one thing I don't think you can knock the movie for: acting. These actors nailed their parts, and brought an enthusiasm that was infectious.
Jedi
Empire
Force Awakens
Star Wars
Sith
Clones
Phantom Menace
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This movie has horrible flaws.
Retread of the OT.
Messy set up (how long has luke been missing? wtf is the resistance against?)
But, and this is important, I loved it. It was fun, the actors were very likable. Poe and Finn established a bromance in 5 minutes that Anakin and Obi-Wan couldn't establish in 7 hours.
You can dissect this movie a 100 ways, and one thing I don't think you can knock the movie for: acting. These actors nailed their parts, and brought an enthusiasm that was infectious.
Jedi
Empire
Force Awakens
Star Wars
Sith
Clones
Phantom Menace
While I agree with most of your points (although it's easy to figure out what the "Resistance" is and their relationship to the First Order and New Republic if you're paying attention), because you listed Return of The Jedi as the best of all Star Wars movies, your opinion is absolutely wrong and all points you make in your post must be completely dis-regarded.
As we are all aware, the only acceptable favorite Star Wars movies are: The first one (aka A New Hope) or Empire Strikes Back, or in an emergency, Revenge of the Sith (i.e. if the original three are removed from consideration and someone is holding a gun to your head.)
Sorry. Maybe next time. But, thanks for playing.
;D ;D ;D ;D
Ha Ha Ha Ha!
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OK. I just finished watching Episode 7, again, and I can say that from the clues dropped, I can now absolutely state without reservation how episode 8 will begin.
Remember, episode 7 ended with Rey standing on a mountaintop holding Luke's lightsaber out to him while he stood facing her and looking at her with resignation.
So, episode 8 starts, and the scene fades up to that exact same moment.
Luke's eyes get wide with excitement and he yells out, "Hey, Jar Jar, looks like we've got company!"
Then, Jar Jar will emerge from a nearby cave, wearing his Private Expressions(tm) French Maid outfit, with the optional BDSM kit, naturally, and respond, "Who'sa is eet, massa Luke?"
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OK. I just finished watching Episode 7, again, and I can say that from the clues dropped, I can now absolutely state without reservation how episode 8 will begin.
Remember, episode 7 ended with Rey standing on a mountaintop holding Luke's lightsaber out to him while he stood facing her and looking at her with resignation.
So, episode 8 starts, and the scene fades up to that exact same moment.
Luke's eyes get wide with excitement and he yells out, "Hey, Jar Jar, looks like we've got company!"
Then, Jar Jar will emerge from a nearby cave, wearing his Private Expressions(tm) French Maid outfit, with the optional BDSM kit, naturally, and respond, "Who'sa is eet, massa Luke?"
Brilliant! Imagine the sales on the action figures!