Star Wars

[StringerBell]

26 minutes ago, Paul71 said:

Think it was Kathleen Kennedy said all the cast shown at the premier would return.

Interesting. Not too sure what to make of that. I'd have thought it'd have been best to bow out like that for the sake of the story. A lot of people were anticipating it so it would be a bit of unexpected drama for this to happen. You know technically Darth Maul Survived? Not that I'm bothered about that glorified Morris dancer.

[Sith Happens]

3 minutes ago, StringerBell said:

Interesting. Not too sure what to make of that. I'd have thought it'd have been best to bow out like that for the sake of the story. A lot of people were anticipating it so it would be a bit of unexpected drama for this to happen. You know technically Darth Maul Survived? Not that I'm bothered about that glorified Morris dancer.

Part of me agrees, though maybe in a later episode...

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

I really wanted to see Han and Luke on screen together though. Maybe thats the fanboy in me.

 

 

[ossieram]

I went with my lad to see it and we both enjoyed it, not being a massive star wars fan means I can watch stuff like this and just enjoy it without having to thing about everything that has happened before or even care about what happens next.

Go to the pictures, grab popcorn and sit down, switch off brain, enjoy film, switch brain back on, walk out past the queue and resist temptation to tell them Han died, go home.

[StringerBell]

18 minutes ago, Paul71 said:

Part of me agrees, though maybe in a later episode...

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

**********************SPOILER ALERT*****************************

I really wanted to see Han and Luke on screen together though. Maybe thats the fanboy in me.

 

 

Yeah. All 3 of the main cast from the original together again would have been good. I actually liked the 'search for spock' element with Luke though so I don't know how they'd have done it apart from maybe delaying what happened until Episode VIII: The First Order Strikes Back.

[MrRamtastic]

Spoiler

Droid (R2D2) told to take secret document to hide from empire (new order) and bad guy in mask (vadar) on a desert planet (tattooine) to be found by a main character Ray (Luke).

Droid refuses to give documents to any old Tom dick or Harry, then an old character that is in the know of current/past affairs turns up to fill in lose plot points (Han/ obi one)

they go to a bar with a band and variety of weird and wonderful people where storm troopers turn up looking for the droid **** goes down and they escape

girl (leia) she gets captured by masked bady (vadar) and has to be rescued (again as in original), there's ANOTHER yes ANOTHER Death Star/planet now that's the 3rd one the empire really need to learn how to stop these from blowing up.

They have to take down its shields First (again) fly down this little valley/ravine (again) bad guy in mask turns out to be relative of good guys (again) old character dies to guy in mask Han/obi (again) go looking for old Jedi for help/training(again). Death Star blows up (again) guy in mask escapes (again) and there's a bigger uglier bady in control (again) 

now the other issues nobody from the old films seems to give a rats ass about hans death leia/chewie. leia smiles at Ray and has a quick hug fcuks given even though they were a thing. Chewie has a new pilot friend now so he's ok quickly forgot about hans after one quick temper tantrum. Even the random Jedis you hardly knew had a more emotional death in the prequels during order 66

Ray is such an over the top cartoon goody two shoes character that can't act for crap and is a struggle to watch at times, finds out she's a skywalker and runs off into the woods flapping her arms felt like I was watching a combination of the scarecrow and cowardly lion from wizard of oz 

Finn is bare able but once again poorly written character turns on empire just cuz it's the right thing to do despite being brainwashed from a small child that they are doing the right thing, gets put on an extremely important recon mission for the map despite all he was up to now was a toilet scrubber WTF?!! 

Poe pilot chap is cool I like him seems to talk to Finn as if Finn was a bit slow so yeh probably got it bang on

Luke's dramatic chipmunk turnaround at the end had cringe factor sent into warpspeed that awkward stare off was horrible

Just no I could go on and on about loads of other crap 

not all of it was in the first film but they've robbed so much and after all these years if they couldn't come up with an original story line with all the content out there in games/novels etc then I give up 

the galaxy seems to have shrunk at least the prequels made it feel like a huge expansive vibrant place with thousands of planets and species of aliens. 

 

 

[Stive Pesley]

Come on man - if you thought the echoing of the original film was anything but  deliberate you're a joyless so-and-so. Trying to use it to say that the film lacked originality is surely missing the point

I loved it anyway and it made me realise what was missing from the prequels - there was no real suspense or intrigue as to where the story/characters were going. Because we all knew how it ended, those films were really just explanations, and therefore as dissatisfying as they were satisfying

With this new one, I was genuinely enthralled from start to finish

And yes the dialog was as stilted as ever, but don't forget the whole style of Star Wars started out as a live action version of the comics/serials that George Lucas loved as a kid, so that's why each line of dialog feels like a comic book frame

[Sith Happens]

5 hours ago, StringerBell said:

Yeah. All 3 of the main cast from the original together again would have been good. I actually liked the 'search for spock' element with Luke though so I don't know how they'd have done it apart from maybe delaying what happened until Episode VIII: The First Order Strikes Back.

Yeah - i suppose its people like me that make fan films so rubbish - i'd have had them recovering han's badly damaged but not quite dead body and so on and so forth. Star Wars doesnt do flashbacks so no idea where they will go with it.

[StringerBell]

55 minutes ago, Paul71 said:

Yeah - i suppose its people like me that make fan films so rubbish - i'd have had them recovering han's badly damaged but not quite dead body and so on and so forth. Star Wars doesnt do flashbacks so no idea where they will go with it.

I know what you mean. I'm struggling to come to terms with his and Leia's romance not working out all that well. It was the one love story that it was ok for young lads to care about. They could still get together again right?

[Sith Happens]

6 minutes ago, StringerBell said:

I know what you mean. I'm struggling to come to terms with his and Leia's romance not working out all that well. It was the one love story that it was ok for young lads to care about. They could still get together again right?

I dont know, the jabbas palace leia was stunning, this leia looks like shes been hit in the face by a bag full of botox. Seriously though know what you mean, although i quite like that hans life had taken a down turn but the hero in him was there at the end.

[StringerBell]

13 minutes ago, Paul71 said:

I dont know, the jabbas palace leia was stunning, this leia looks like shes been hit in the face by a bag full of botox.

Yup.

[Stive Pesley]

1 hour ago, Paul71 said:

Yeah - i suppose its people like me that make fan films so rubbish - i'd have had them recovering han's badly damaged but not quite dead body and so on and so forth. Star Wars doesnt do flashbacks so no idea where they will go with it.

They're doing a Han Solo film as one of the anthology spin-offs, so maybe he'll be in that, and that's what they meant by "returning"?

[davenportram]

50 minutes ago, StivePesley said:

They're doing a Han Solo film as one of the anthology spin-offs, so maybe he'll be in that, and that's what they meant by "returning"?

that's going to be an origins film I think. Doubt ford will be in that. Although he may feature in the bounty hunter film that's rumoured too.

[davenportram]

Harrison Ford has said he wants "nothing to do with" Disney's Star Wars spin-off movie featuring a young Han Solo.

 

Announced in July, the 2018 spin-off will tell the story of "how young Han Solo became the smuggler, thief, and scoundrel whom Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi first encountered in the cantina at Mos Eisley".
Read more at http://www.nme.com/filmandtv/news/harrison-ford-on-star-wars-spin-off-featuring-youn/395825#bRAW66Yi0FOKpDl3.99

[EssendonRam]

On 16 December 2015 at 19:52, Daveo said:

Only just got round to watching Star Wars which is crazy given how huge this series of films is, the missus is a big fan and with the new one coming out I thought I had better watch them as I'll be dragged to the cinema.

I've only seen the first 3 so far but I don't get it, I get the storyline, I don't get the hype, I don't see how this has become so popular.

The storyline is Eastenders level of basic, special effects truly horrific, fight scenes cringeworthy, characters shocking, there's only a handful that actual talk. R2D2 and the Wookie are irritating and Jabba the Hut reminds me of an ex.

People have said on Twitter to me if I don't like the first 3 don't continue as it gets worse, the missus claims they get better. 

I just can't face watching anymore and this is coming from someone that has watched Prison Break all the way through.

To me it's another example of how branding can mask how poor it is, just like The Walking Dead.

 

By now no doubt, it's all been said.

But, since I'm too tired to read the entire thread (to be fair, it is 6.24am here; I've not yet been to bed; and it's ranged between 35 and 42' C here for three + days...) but you may be overlooking two often neglected factors at play, Daveo.

First, the original Star Wars film dates from 1977. It was revolutionary in its use of FX for its time and the attempt to infuse a little humour (or irreverence at least) into science fiction storytelling  was, to put it mildly, unusual. That said, it's an exceptionally simplistic story - a biblical allegory at that - and, personally, I started watching the first film 5 times before I managed to actually reach the finish. (I was only 11 in 1977 but still thought aspects of it a bit silly.) Once you drop the pretence that it's a work of art and/or utterly redefining of modern culture, it is a perfectly adequate tale; one I now also religiously anticipate I might add. But its "significance" is now so bloated now as to be absurd. That reflects in the roasting Episodes I-III received from the true disciples; Episode IV was incredibly dull but V and VI were (in my view) not too bad at all.

The second oft-overlooked factor is that the inherent storyline of Star Wars is quite cheesy and very unpretentious and unsophisticated. Not to suggest "silly" and very cliched.

Exhibit A for the prosecution is the oft-stated criticism of the 'comedic' character, Jar Jar Binks. It is a great example of the overwrought hype affecting brains. Yes, JJB was stupid and annoying...which is why he fitted right in to the 'world' of CP3O, R2D2, Chewbacca, Jabba the Hutt, Ewoks, Mark Hamill's acting...need one go on? 

Unlike the fans who bagged JJB's inclusion, George Lucas remained true to his corny, simple, insubstantial style of storytelling...neither anticipating the level of self-deception, nor realising how prevalent the lack of perspective and humour had become, among the "serious fans" of the franchise.

Am I, after all, the only one who can see Darth Vader's mask is made of cheap plastic? Hardly, the stuff to terrorise entire galaxies; if you poked at it with your finger, you'd put an enormous dint in it, possibly a hole.

However...after that rant...I confess I am a fan. I saw the new movie on the second day after its release and thoroughly enjoyed it for the entertaining bubble gum it is. And, as there will still be many yet to see it, I can't give my overwhelming impression of the plot as I seemed to perceive something I've not heard anyone else mention...albeit that might be because they don't wish to spoil it for everyone else. Or perhaps I am just imagining it.

 

Anyway, Daveo, if you do go and see it, just let it wash over you...like a Jose Morinho presser...it doesn't matter if you know it's unfeasible and inherently silly and unbelievable...your role isn't to analyse things but to sit there and recognise how much smarter the people behind it are...because they make dosh out of suckers like us.

 

 

 

 

[Tombo]

3 hours ago, RamDon said:

 

By now no doubt, it's all been said.

But, since I'm too tired to read the entire thread (to be fair, it is 6.24am here; I've not yet been to bed; and it's ranged between 35 and 42' C here for three + days...) but you may be overlooking two often neglected factors at play, Daveo.

First, the original Star Wars film dates from 1977. It was revolutionary in its use of FX for its time and the attempt to infuse a little humour (or irreverence at least) into science fiction storytelling  was, to put it mildly, unusual. That said, it's an exceptionally simplistic story - a biblical allegory at that - and, personally, I started watching the first film 5 times before I managed to actually reach the finish. (I was only 11 in 1977 but still thought aspects of it a bit silly.) Once you drop the pretence that it's a work of art and/or utterly redefining of modern culture, it is a perfectly adequate tale; one I now also religiously anticipate I might add. But its "significance" is now so bloated now as to be absurd. That reflects in the roasting Episodes I-III received from the true disciples; Episode IV was incredibly dull but V and VI were (in my view) not too bad at all.

The second oft-overlooked factor is that the inherent storyline of Star Wars is quite cheesy and very unpretentious and unsophisticated. Not to suggest "silly" and very cliched.

Exhibit A for the prosecution is the oft-stated criticism of the 'comedic' character, Jar Jar Binks. It is a great example of the overwrought hype affecting brains. Yes, JJB was stupid and annoying...which is why he fitted right in to the 'world' of CP3O, R2D2, Chewbacca, Jabba the Hutt, Ewoks, Mark Hamill's acting...need one go on? 

Unlike the fans who bagged JJB's inclusion, George Lucas remained true to his corny, simple, insubstantial style of storytelling...neither anticipating the level of self-deception, nor realising how prevalent the lack of perspective and humour had become, among the "serious fans" of the franchise.

Am I, after all, the only one who can see Darth Vader's mask is made of cheap plastic? Hardly, the stuff to terrorise entire galaxies; if you poked at it with your finger, you'd put an enormous dint in it, possibly a hole.

However...after that rant...I confess I am a fan. I saw the new movie on the second day after its release and thoroughly enjoyed it for the entertaining bubble gum it is. And, as there will still be many yet to see it, I can't give my overwhelming impression of the plot as I seemed to perceive something I've not heard anyone else mention...albeit that might be because they don't wish to spoil it for everyone else. Or perhaps I am just imagining it.

 

Anyway, Daveo, if you do go and see it, just let it wash over you...like a Jose Morinho presser...it doesn't matter if you know it's unfeasible and inherently silly and unbelievable...your role isn't to analyse things but to sit there and recognise how much smarter the people behind it are...because they make dosh out of suckers like us.

 

 

 

 

This is sorta what I mean. Jar-Jar is nowhere near as ridiculous as the Ewoks. But people love Ewoks. It's nostalgia. If the prequels had come out shortly after Return of the Jedi, and were similarly made with the kind of SFX those films had, they would have been much better received.

[RicME85]

Going on my own on Monday to the midnight screening as the wife doesn't like SW. Chosen midnight showing so I can go to a supermarket on the way home and get the bits needed for Christmas dinner without facing all the lunatics.

Anyway, never been to the Showcase in Intu/Westfield/Eagle Centre, do I have to go up the Riverside car park to get in to such a late showing?

[StringerBell]

3 hours ago, Tombo said:

This is sorta what I mean. Jar-Jar is nowhere near as ridiculous as the Ewoks. But people love Ewoks. It's nostalgia. If the prequels had come out shortly after Return of the Jedi, and were similarly made with the kind of SFX those films had, they would have been much better received.

People like the Ewoks? In my experience thats not true. But the Ewoks co-existed in a film that had so many other great aspects. It's a tragedy that Jar Jar Binks and Anakin were the two most lively characters in The Phantom Menace whilst simultaneously being two of the worst characters in the history of celluloid.

People who like the prequels cannot possibly be taking from the original trilogy what many do. Like the Plinkett analysis said, George Lucas doesn't get Star Wars. The only good thing to come out of those films I can think of is The Dual of Fates and the introduction of some characters that could be expanded upon in fan fiction. Even the lightsabre fights some people say were really good were terrible. They're just people dancing around hitting their sticks together. How about you actually look like you want to kill the other person guys?

[Tombo]

37 minutes ago, StringerBell said:

People like the Ewoks? In my experience thats not true. But the Ewoks co-existed in a film that had so many other great aspects. It's a tragedy that Jar Jar Binks and Anakin were the two most lively characters in The Phantom Menace whilst simultaneously being two of the worst characters in the history of celluloid.

People who like the prequels cannot possibly be taking from the original trilogy what many do. Like the Plinkett analysis said, George Lucas doesn't get Star Wars. The only good thing to come out of those films I can think of is The Dual of Fates and the introduction of some characters that could be expanded upon in fan fiction. Even the lightsabre fights some people say were really good were terrible. They're just people dancing around hitting their sticks together. How about you actually look like you want to kill the other person guys?

Have to say, watched them all again in the last few days in anticipation for the new one. For me the tragedy of the prequels was that Anakin's journey to the dark side was 0-60 in a nanosecond. The end of the Phantom Menace, he's this enthusiastic and talented kid that's gonna bring balance to the force. Attack of the Clones starts up and he's an intolerable ***** that basically does nothing according to Jedi principles. I'd have preferred to have a slower deterioration because there's literally no character progression from the first minute of Attack of the Clones all the way up until the point he joins Darth Sideous in Revenge of the Sith.

I realise though that they don't want to make a Jedi that everyone likes, to have him switch alligences like I would have liked to have seen, because he's Darth Vader! You can't like Vader under any circumstances! That's why they use the Imperial March in loads of Anakin scenes to highlight that. It was just too on the nose for me. There's no subtlety about it.

Perhaps off topic since this thread is to discuss the new one, but there you go. Something that bugs me.

[Posh Ram]

I re-watched the prequels and had forgotten quite how bad they were. Just a dull plot, devoid of charismatic characters and the closest thing to humour is the painfully unfunny Jar-Jar Binks. Also way too many puppets/CGI imo, I still want Star Wars to feel like a universe inhabited primarily by humans. The only good bits are Liam Neeson/Ewan McGregor/Samuel L Jackson, the really good lightsaber fight at the end, and the chance to look at Natalie Portman.

[Sith Happens]

12 hours ago, davenportram said:

that's going to be an origins film I think. Doubt ford will be in that. Although he may feature in the bounty hunter film that's rumoured too.

According to Kathleen Kennedy all of the main cast will return for ep 8.