Star Wars - The Force Awakens - Did J.J. Abrams and Disney Ruin Star Wars?
- Thread starter Marter
- Start date
just....ewwwwwcraddoke said:
Saw it last night - had my reserve ticket n such. I arrived an hour early - I should've arrived 2 for a good seat. It was fun being a part of the early showing circus - haven't done that since Spider-Man 3, which I deeply regret. And yes, everyone in the auditorium wooped and clapped when an old character was reintroduced, yes even the first time the millennium falcon is on screen, but this was expected so didn't detract from the brilliant film on screen. Abrams really does know how to hit all the nostalgia buttons and I'm glad the new trilogy is in his hands rather than in George's. Loved the movie - it had great comedic timing. Imagine that, a Star Wars movie that made me laugh, on purpose! The villain, while a man-child, has room for growth and I suspect we're going to see with this character what we didn't see with Vader, how he truly became what he became after he dawned the cloak and helmet. So while all the notes might be similar in the next film, the way they'll be presented - a dark lord possibly rising to power and coming into their own, will be very different. There are just so many great things in this movie. I'm not one to visit a theater more than once for a movie - comes with living 30mi from the nearest theater - but I may just for this one. It's an experience you simply have to have.
Saw it yesterday at the 7PM premier it was great. its been so long sense I saw a star wars that didn't suck.
And yet every single person I know who saw the movie said "Nooooo, it's totally not just the first Star Wars with a fresh coat of paint!" Oh yeah? Then why has every critically-minded movie reviewer said that it is? That's not a bad way to go about things, but it's certainly not going to make the movie franchise great again if all they do is give us the movies we've already seen. Especially if they give us Return of the Jedi... *shudder*
Before, there were only two excellent Star Wars movies, one good one, and three bad ones. So I guess now there's two good ones.
Before, there were only two excellent Star Wars movies, one good one, and three bad ones. So I guess now there's two good ones.
I'd call it less "derivative" and more "reverent". Yes, there were plot points highly reminiscent of some in the Original Trilogy. But they WORKED, and they had enough new charm and detail to really stand out from the pack.
I used to theorize about a remake of the original trilogy. As a teenager, I really wanted to see episodes 4-5-6 redone with a better unified vision (No implied incest, better handling of plot threads extending between films, etc.) and modern technology to give everything a polish. With episode 7, I think we're getting that. TFA is relentlessly faithful to the look and feel of the best that the original trilogy had to offer, and to call that "derivative" is unfair.
Also, I feel like the film benefited from a healthy dose of Avengers-style action/comedy. This is the funniest Star Wars has ever been, and it's accomplished without moving into cornball territory.
Look: we were never going to get wholly original Star Wars stories. The Extended Universe tried that, and with a few notable exceptions, we got mediocre content at best out of the deal. If pure originality was never on the table, I'll happily settle for an accumulation of all that works well in Star Wars, and that's what we got. Episode seven wound up exceeding my expectations and being one of the very best films I saw all year.
I used to theorize about a remake of the original trilogy. As a teenager, I really wanted to see episodes 4-5-6 redone with a better unified vision (No implied incest, better handling of plot threads extending between films, etc.) and modern technology to give everything a polish. With episode 7, I think we're getting that. TFA is relentlessly faithful to the look and feel of the best that the original trilogy had to offer, and to call that "derivative" is unfair.
Also, I feel like the film benefited from a healthy dose of Avengers-style action/comedy. This is the funniest Star Wars has ever been, and it's accomplished without moving into cornball territory.
Look: we were never going to get wholly original Star Wars stories. The Extended Universe tried that, and with a few notable exceptions, we got mediocre content at best out of the deal. If pure originality was never on the table, I'll happily settle for an accumulation of all that works well in Star Wars, and that's what we got. Episode seven wound up exceeding my expectations and being one of the very best films I saw all year.
It wasn't bad. But it was a rehash of the OT.
Also, Star Wars was never ruined in the first place.
Also, Star Wars was never ruined in the first place.
No, it WAS derivative. Knights of the Old Republic was *reverent* with plot points that were lifted straight from OT but weren't nearly as obvious about it.Yojoo said:
Honestly I was disappointed by it. I found the new characters bland with far too much of a rush to advance relationships between characters while not enough time was given to establish or even develop them in a significant way, basically Abrams trying to cram too many explosions into a single movie at the expense of character development, also found Rey far too Mary Sue-ish. A certain plot twist reveal, if it can be called such since it's revealed so early, was more just a fact without any emotional investment with the characters involved. I also couldn't help but have a bout of fridge logic with how anything could have survived outdoors on that planet in the final confrontation without some type of protective gear to deal with extreme cold.
That being said some of the comedy was a nice touch especially the humanisation of the stormtroopers who weren't Finn, like having an actual survival instinct at one point. I do hope the next movie will try to pull back the throttle a bit to establish people more and not rush from explosion to explosion.
Now I need to put on my flame retardant suit and despite the risk to my health perhaps it should be asbestos lined.
That being said some of the comedy was a nice touch especially the humanisation of the stormtroopers who weren't Finn, like having an actual survival instinct at one point. I do hope the next movie will try to pull back the throttle a bit to establish people more and not rush from explosion to explosion.
Now I need to put on my flame retardant suit and despite the risk to my health perhaps it should be asbestos lined.
It also means we'll likely get an Abrams interpretation of the already infuriating Ewoks, I predict an entire race of mini, furry Jar Jar Binks... And then give them some nonsense like "Personal transwarp beaming device" to act at a giant deus ex machina for the contrived finale.kris40k said:
I can't believe Captain Kirk was the villain the whole time! And then when they had to team up to fight the Tau was just shocking!MarsAtlas said:
OT: It was good, not great. I do think that the movie kind of falls apart after they leave Jakku though. Not enough to ruin it for me but that is what brings it down to good for me.
That and Kylo Ren. Oh dear god Kylo Ren. I won't spoil it because I have some standard but dear god is he annoying.
Leave some seconds for me, I'd also like to inflict a pox upon his home if we can fit that into the schedule.MarsAtlas said:
In the meantime, I've got to schedule some brain surgery, see if they can't poke around the memory part of my brain and make me forget what this joker just said.
And this is why you don't read message boards, or youtube comments, before seeing a movie. Without fail, there will be spoilers, every, single, time! Good luck with that brain surgery. I understand the area around your temple contains vocabulary memory.Extra-Ordinary said:
Fret not! Abrams is now done with Star Wars. He only signed on to direct this one film and start a new trilogy. And he did a great job of that. It was safe, it was fun, it felt like Star Wars, and it made you want to see more of the universe again just like Marter said. It wasn't terribly original, but I loved it and am excited to see if the next two will build on the foundation that's been laid.vallorn said:
the force awakens was a poorly made movie i think there was no development of the new characters and the plot was basically a mash up of the return of the jedi attack of the clones and the empire strikes back i felt like i rolled in to watch a film ive seen 3 times before just updated effects and with crappier character development and plot
but at least Harrison Ford finally had his greatest wish come true
but at least Harrison Ford finally had his greatest wish come true
I found it to be a very good movie, not great but still a worthy entry in the series. I was impressed by Adam Driver. I have a feeling he may end up being what we wish Hayden Christiansen had been.