[blackzoid]

 Briar King, on 19 December 2015 - 08:37 PM, said:

Don't say your sorry for your own feelings. I'm in roughly the same boat as you with it.

Cheers Bk, sometimes its hard to be the guys/girls to say "I'm not sure" against the flow.
The film was ok and efficient and perfectly serviceable in what it did. Alas predictable. Heros never in real danger. So much forced humour. Twas unspiring. The next day I reread the first chapter of "Heir to the Empire"...well, theres a difference there!

This post has been edited by blackzoid: 20 December 2015 - 03:32 AM

[amphibian]

The EU is notorious for not killing any of the three mains at any point.

Given the furor over Chewbacca biting it when a moon crashed into the planet he was on, it's safe to say Star Wars fans don't really want their heroes to die. Ever.

However, there is a point to be made regarding dramatic tension and I raised that during the gunfights and the mass fighter battle late. I think the tension is present during the early chase scenes and the lightsaber battles though.

Ymmv.

[Silencer]

I think there are three types of people in this thread:

People who wanted a great Star Wars movie.

People who thought it would be the Second Coming in movie format.

And people who are beholden to the EU.

Group one loved it. Group two was let down, because that's never happening. And group three need to take Ben's advice and "let go".


Seriously, 4 out of 10? It was BELOW AVERAGE?! Four out of ten is what you give things like My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, ffs. *sigh*


Oh, and the Mad Max comparison is an odd one, imo. Mad Max was never anywhere near as big as Star Wars, didn't have the fanbase, the universe, the need to get it right. And it didn't actually need a story - long running desert car chase sufficed, as it should have. It did a great job of getting the feel of the previous films right, sure, and it was a fantastic movie - but it had NOTHING riding on it compared to SW. And with TFA we got something that delivered on the 'feel' in spades, and was a solid movie its own right. I don't see the comparison, regardless of which one someone personally prefers as a movie, or even as a sequel/reboot/refresh. *shrug*

[HoosierDaddy]

This thread is ridiculous.

Done reading it.

[Garak]

As someone who loves the EU - now Legends - I really like this movie. Legends and new cannon? Sure I can enjoy both without problem.

[Cause]

 A Demon Llama!, on 20 December 2015 - 02:41 AM, said:

Ok Just saw the movie. Gonna post my thoughts before reading anything.

Spoiler

Overall movie was unoriginal and underwhelming. I was never a large fan of Star Wars, but this is kind of disappointing. Literally just a remake of A New Hope with no new elements. Please someone tell me something original this film brought to the table?. How does something like this get made and the people making it say, hey lets just do the same shit all over again? Han Solo's death by Kylo Ren was obvious and I think everyone saw it coming, but necessary to prove he is on the dark side. Another death star that the rebellion goes and destroys... really? cant think of something new, just gonna rehash the same ultimate weapon, with the pretty much same sequence to take it down? And why are the good guys always the weak ones, how the hell did the baddies get so strong yet again in such a short time. Would be more interesting if the rebellion were the dark side forces. Rey the poor scrapper is literally Luke as the poor farmer on a planet that looks the same. The fight between Kylo and Ren was fine and Kylo looks like a badass but I think it would be better if the fight was a stalemate, but thats just my opinion. There wasnt enough of using the force like throwing around trees and such. Also, Kylo could have just choked Fin in no time instead of fighting with him, and actually getting stabbed once or twice.

I understand keeping it similar so its not a big deviation from the ones we all love but this was just lazy. Its still a decent film and there is nothing inherently wrong with its pretty much A New Hope just not as good. 7/10 max.

Spoiler

My view on this and I hope movie 8 proves me right is that they were in a difficult situation. Hype and expectation and even demand was high. They had to gain our trust. They chose to do this by sticking to the formula very strongly. Hence a new hope 2.0. They thought better to deliver a safe okay/good movie than a risky great one. If the fan base said great movie but I don't think it was really star wars they could have alienated the fan base (Ths is something I think the new star trek reboots have been suffering from). I think the death of han serves two purposes. It was a plot point and character growth for kylo ren but it also means going forward Han is out. Hopefully with a well received first movie under their belt and the death of Han we can move forward in 8. A star wars movie that does not require the millennium falcon, C3PO, R2D2 and every major character from the originals to put in a cameo.

Will also be interesting to see how rogue one plays out though.

[QuickTidal]

 Briar King, on 19 December 2015 - 09:53 PM, said:

Excellent. There's a 20% chance I ll give in and buy it at Walmart later this evening on my way home. Parking is a factor to. Hopefully it's not a madhouse when I drive by.

I think it's only available in eBook right now, the hardcover release looks to be Jan 5th.

[QuickTidal]

To stride off in a slighty different directiion. Can I just say how much I LOVED Kylo Ren? I thought he was great and Adam Driver nailed an emotional performance. Alos, with some of my christmas bonus, I spent the cash and bought the Black Series Kylo Ren Force FX lightsaber. It's awesome!

[A Demon Llama!]

I also enjoyed Kylo Ren, but I wish he was more badass, but I have a feeling he will beat Ren in round 2. I was disappointed with the silver storm trooper commander, and how easily she was swayed to do what she did.

[blackzoid]

 Silencer, on 20 December 2015 - 07:59 AM, said:

Seriously, 4 out of 10? It was BELOW AVERAGE?! Four out of ten is what you give things like My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, ffs. *sigh*

Don't mean to be the fly in everyones ointment but ya. Different tastes etc.

[QuickTidal]

Seeing it again on Wednesday night!

[Traveller]

 QuickTidal, on 20 December 2015 - 01:32 PM, said:

To stride off in a slighty different directiion. Can I just say how much I LOVED Kylo Ren? I thought he was great and Adam Driver nailed an emotional performance. Alos, with some of my christmas bonus, I spent the cash and bought the Black Series Kylo Ren Force FX lightsaber. It's awesome,

Nice! Does it crackle? That 'saber reminds me of a rusty old Claymore.

This post has been edited by Traveller: 20 December 2015 - 04:14 PM

[amphibian]

 Silencer, on 20 December 2015 - 07:59 AM, said:

Oh, and the Mad Max comparison is an odd one, imo. Mad Max was never anywhere near as big as Star Wars, didn't have the fanbase, the universe, the need to get it right. And it didn't actually need a story - long running desert car chase sufficed, as it should have. It did a great job of getting the feel of the previous films right, sure, and it was a fantastic movie - but it had NOTHING riding on it compared to SW. And with TFA we got something that delivered on the 'feel' in spades, and was a solid movie its own right. I don't see the comparison, regardless of which one someone personally prefers as a movie, or even as a sequel/reboot/refresh. *shrug*

Not sure you paid attention to why I brought it up - which wasn't because of similarities in rebooting.

It was because Mad Max Fury Road makes each and every action sequence brim with dramatic tension. It is one of the best ever at doing that and I happened to rewatch it a few days before seeing SWTFA.

Yes, SWTFA tackles a more complex story. I quite liked that story. My criticism relates to the action sequences themselves.

[QuickTidal]

 Traveller, on 20 December 2015 - 04:13 PM, said:

 QuickTidal, on 20 December 2015 - 01:32 PM, said:

To stride off in a slighty different directiion. Can I just say how much I LOVED Kylo Ren? I thought he was great and Adam Driver nailed an emotional performance. Alos, with some of my christmas bonus, I spent the cash and bought the Black Series Kylo Ren Force FX lightsaber. It's awesome,

Nice! Does it crackle? That 'saber reminds me of a rusty old Claymore.

It's crackles AND it ignites exactly how it does in the movie, blade first and then the cross guard/exhaust second. It's SWEET!

[polishgenius]

 amphibian, on 20 December 2015 - 05:01 PM, said:

Not sure you paid attention to why I brought it up - which wasn't because of similarities in rebooting.

To be fair to him though, I brought it up in that sense.


And yeah, Mad Max had less riding on it- but that's almost beside the point, because Mad Max didn't take too many storytelling risks except those intrinsic in making an expensive movie not guaranteed to make money, and in fact a few of the creative decisions that helped make Fury Road such a wonder to behold- the refocus on practical effects where possible, casting a female co-lead where there wasn't really one before- were ones TFA shared.

It's just that Mad Max was executed nearly flawlessly and TFA, for all that it's really good... well, it wasn't.


On another subject, I just learned from Werthead in the Westeros thread on this film that apparently, according to additional materials,

Spoiler

Starkiller Base isn't meant to be moving around at all, and when it 'kills' its sun it only does so temporarily.
I'm not sure of his sources on that but if it's genuinely meant to be the case than fuck me was everything to do with that badly edited.

[Defiance]

I enjoyed the film. It was a definite step up from the prequels. I really look forward to seeing Rey's journey. That actress did a hell of a job. Same for the guy who played Kylo Ren.

I have similar complaints to what most have voiced:

Spoiler

They played things way too safe with the writing. This was a complete rehash of episode 4.

The movie should have been 30 minutes longer. I felt like it moved at breakneck pace throughout, never stopping to immerse us in the current events of the world. That's not a bad thing for every movie, but it would have been nice to get some background on why exactly the Republic wasn't able to shape itself up. The destruction of the Republic home system meant absolutely nothing when it happened. And Death Star 3.0, really? Enough imperial super weapons already. The best Star Wars movie was all about personal conflict, not blowing up yet another space station.

Why the hell is there a map to Luke? Felt like a complete MacGuffin.

[Imperial Historian]

Not a huge fan of the original films but have read and enjoyed some of the eu. Liked this more than the originals, it had the usual movie logic flaws but was an enjoyable couple of hours. Thought the new cast were very solid, a lot of the returnees seemed to be phoning it in though.

[QuickTidal]

 Defiance, on 20 December 2015 - 08:48 PM, said:

I enjoyed the film. It was a definite step up from the prequels. I really look forward to seeing Rey's journey. That actress did a hell of a job. Same for the guy who played Kylo Ren.

I have similar complaints to what most have voiced:

Spoiler

They played things way too safe with the writing. This was a complete rehash of episode 4.

The movie should have been 30 minutes longer. I felt like it moved at breakneck pace throughout, never stopping to immerse us in the current events of the world. That's not a bad thing for every movie, but it would have been nice to get some background on why exactly the Republic wasn't able to shape itself up. The destruction of the Republic home system meant absolutely nothing when it happened. And Death Star 3.0, really? Enough imperial super weapons already. The best Star Wars movie was all about personal conflict, not blowing up yet another space station.

Why the hell is there a map to Luke? Felt like a complete MacGuffin.

Spoiler

1. The Republic did shape itself up. It extinguished the most of the Empire after Endor....the remnants went off tot lick their wounds. The issue comes down to Mon Mothma, who became Grand Chancillor after Endor....she decides to disband the majority of the Republic military after they get rid of the Empire...as a show of good faith to the Galaxy. Live in peace, and prove it by having no more large military. The issue is then when the First Order appears years later, no one is ready. The Resistance is the military they have been able to assemble in the interim....but they are still caught on their heels. Source: AFTERMATH by Wendig.

Did the destruction of Alderaan mean nothing in ANH? Just because we haven't yet seen the Republic in full yet doesn't mean it can
T bear weight to have a major planet of it destroyed.

If you were the remnants of the Empire, the military wing, and you had it in you to create a SYSTEM DESTROYING weapon that can fire through hyperspace...why would you NOT use that. These guys are ALL ABOUT the super weapons. Understand that they are the underdogs at this point. They only have a small navy, and need to be BIG hits to make dents in the Republic. No amount of ground war is going to achieve that. Big super weapon is the way to go.

With regards to the map. its not a map to Luke. I've seen that comment in a few places now, and it seems to have missed the dialogue. Leia notes on screen that it's a map to the first Jedi Temple, which was where Luke was headed. Kylo finds out that Luke went there and knows that's where he will find him. The map itself though is actually just a map to that first Jedi temple.

[worry]

I'm pretty much in the 'loved it' camp. I think some of the sadder moments -- while not by any means ignored -- were hit too quickly. Like "we acknowledge the sadness here, some of the characters are feeling it, but we gotta move on" and it could have stood to be 10 minutes longer with more funereal elements. Other than that though I thought it hit all the right notes. And if the movies are following the pattern of the first tril, that stuff might get much more screen-time in Ep 8, so I'm happy to wait.

[Nevyn]

 QuickTidal, on 20 December 2015 - 11:01 PM, said:

Spoiler

With regards to the map. its not a map to Luke. I've seen that comment in a few places now, and it seems to have missed the dialogue. Leia notes on screen that it's a map to the first Jedi Temple, which was where Luke was headed. Kylo finds out that Luke went there and knows that's where he will find him. The map itself though is actually just a map to that first Jedi temple.

Spoiler

I would have to rewatch to confirm that and have no intention of rewatching.

My recollection is that they mention Luke was looking for the temple , but I dont remember them saying that that is what the map is to. Even if it is, it was a bad plot device.

This post has been edited by Nevyn: 21 December 2015 - 06:25 AM