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apex-twin

 Rep: 200 

Re: The Star Wars Thread *NO SPOILERS ALLOWED!*

apex-twin wrote:

I feel for Lucas because he even offered the prequel treatments to other directors such as Ron Howard and Speilberg.

I'm sure Robert Zemeckis, Joe Johnston and Barry Sonnenfeld would've all been happy enough to work for him and help him complete his 'vision'.

Me_Wise_Magic

 Rep: 70 

Re: The Star Wars Thread *NO SPOILERS ALLOWED!*

Me_Wise_Magic wrote:

I feel for Lucas because he even offered the prequel treatments to other directors such as Ron Howard and Speilberg.

I'm sure Robert Zemeckis, Joe Johnston and Barry Sonnenfeld would've all been happy enough to work for him and help him complete his 'vision'.

Third guy was Zemeckis and he turned it down too. Almost forgot about that.

polluxlm

 Rep: 221 

Re: The Star Wars Thread *NO SPOILERS ALLOWED!*

polluxlm wrote:

Daunting task for them probably.

Thank God they turned it down. For me those films are Lucas at the top of his game.

Me_Wise_Magic

 Rep: 70 

Re: The Star Wars Thread *NO SPOILERS ALLOWED!*

Me_Wise_Magic wrote:

Daunting task for them probably.

Thank God they turned it down. For me those films are Lucas at the top of his game.

I can agree with that.

polluxlm

 Rep: 221 

Re: The Star Wars Thread *NO SPOILERS ALLOWED!*

polluxlm wrote:

First review. Beware spoilers.

Hidden Text:

Once the excitement dies down, you start to peel back the layers and realize there aren't any. It's time to kill the death star again again. The movie spends so much time referencing the past, walking you through the Musem of Star Wars that you wind up lost in the musem... with little reason to root for the new leads.
Rey spends the first 3/4ths of the movie meandering. Finn runs away from the stormtroopers because he is afraid, but he'll literally run towards a firing squadron for Rey... but there's no why. Maybe because she helped him, maybe because he thinks shes hot. You never really believe that relationship. You're just supposed to think they're tight. You wind up caring for Rey by the very end when she accepts her destiny/teaches herself a jedi mind trick out of nowhere. She just sort of starts knowing how to use the force really ****ing well out of nowhere. There are hints to her past but nothing concrete. She was left on Jakku and told to wait for her family (or people that important) to come back for her. By the middle of the movie she realizes through Maz (who is super awkwardly portrayed, I get why JJ had to re-do a bunch of this stuff now) that no one is coming back for her. Luke's lightsaber calls out to Rey at Maz's place from her basement. But Luke Skywalker never says a single word and he was the entire mcguffin for the movie? And Han Solo, the greatest character in cinematic history meets his end after telling Leia he knows his son (Kylo Ren) is all bad. And then randomly decides on a very dark bridge... **** it, I'll ask him to come home with me? Kylo Ren, meanwhile is supposedly conflicted about being bad, but he's pretty seriously down with kicking back and watching the destruction of a Republic solar system.
He also is super down ****ing up people left and right, but because he SAYS outloud "I'm so conflicted!" we're supposed to buy in. But I didn't, I wanted to but I couldn't. The First Order and the Resistance spend the whole movie ****ing people up from left to right trying to find out where Luke is. Rey finds Luke and that's the movie, head home folks. I get that they're setting up the next movies, but holy ****... that would be like Indy finding the lost ark at the end of the first movie and he smiles at it, rather than doing anything with it that furthers his character. And as soon as the Resistance knows where Luke is... they send Rey? A stranger? Alone with Chewy and BB8? The same Rey who Leia references to Finn as "that girl?" Just weak all around, Force Awakens was a HUGE letdown for me.

Questions from various people about the movie

Is there a romantic relationship between Rey and Finn?
No, Rey kisses Finn on the cheek at the end of the movie as he's unconscious. Then she leaves to see Luke.

Any indication of Rey's parentage at all?

No indication of Reys folks, just that she was left on Jakku and was waiting for them to come back. The opening crawl is all about Luke. It opens with "Luke Skywalker has vanished." and basically "General Leia Organa dispatched Poe Dameron to acquire a map to reach Luke so he can restore peace to the Galaxy" obviously I'm paraphrasing. The whole opening crawl is about Luke being gone though. I don't get why JJ and company were so secretive about all things Luke when they give away him being the plot in the first 15 seconds. You also find out pretty early (say 45 mins in) that Han and Leia are mommy and daddy Kylo Ren. It's not treated as a huge reveal, Snoke and Kylo mention it.

Was there any stuff that you really, really liked?

Harrison Ford was great as Han. That might be nostalgia talking, but he didn't do the "grumpy Indy." BB8 was built up HARD I think we can all agree, and all in all didn't do much. I found myself waiting for the mains to come back on screen (Han, Leia, Luke) and wasn't too interested in what Rey, Finn, and Poe were up to. Finn has some funny moments though. But ultimately wasn't given a lot to do other than escape and hang out with Rey. It's Rey's story for sure.

Could you reveal something that hasn't been spoiled yet?

There isn't much that wasn't leaked quite frankly. Off the top of my head right now: Han winds up liking Chewie's crossbow more than his old blaster. Check my badge if you don't believe me. Ask me individual questions and I'll answer them.

Oh cool. So is what everyone suspected true: The ice planet is the starkiller weapon, it shoots a laser that blows up a solar system, and the resistance drop a bomb or something in an X-Wing run?

Basically yes. Only the resistance bombing run gets a little help from Han and Chewie setting charges inside Starkiller base. Finn goes with them to get Rey after she's captured by Kylo after the raid on Maz's place.

Does Hux survive? How does the duel between Kylo and Rey/Finn go down? (i.e. how does Kylo not demolish two novices?)

Yeah, and frankly you don't really give much of a **** about Hux. Kylo isn't as experienced as he lets on. Which you see at a part of the movie where he's whining to Snoke and then snaps into character when Hux enters. The fight happens when they storm the new new death star aka Star Killer base (it's not a moon sized battlestation it's a PLANET sized battlestation holy ****! /s) Kylo confronts Rey and knocks her out... Kylo isn't out to kill Rey, he knows she's strong in the force and wants to train her... Finn steps in with the lightsaber, which gets knocked into the snow. Kylo notices the saber and goes for it (the first time Kylo has seen Skywalkers saber in this movie or acknowledges it) and when he uses the force to pull it out of the snow a la Empire Strikes Back it flies into Rey's hand instead (she's stronger with the force than he is).

What does Snoke look like? Is there a romantic relationship between Rey and Finn?

Snoke was the biggest disappointment of all, he looks like ****ing Smeagol from LOTR. He spends the whole movie like the emperor in episodes 3 & 4. They do a cool thing with the "hologram" effect now where it looks like you're actually in the same room as who you're talking to. Then they "blue flicker" at the end of the communication. So no in person Snoke, so I'm not sure if he's actually as big as they had him via hologram. He was basically a gigantic Smeagol though.

Do we have any background on Snoke? And mention of the Emperor or other significant Vader references?

None whatsoever. Vader is mentioned, not the emperor. Kylo refers to Vader as his grandfather at one point. He talks to the mask once. He asks it to "show him again the power of the dark side" because he's drifting towards the light. So I think they're implying Vader has been visiting with Kylo, no payoff for that in TFA though. If I had to guess I'd say Snoke was manipulating Kylo into thinking Vader was doing so. No reason to think that other than Han telling Kylo (aka Ben) that Snoke is only using him for his power.

AtariLegend

Re: The Star Wars Thread *NO SPOILERS ALLOWED!*

AtariLegend wrote:

Not reading spoilers .

Just seen Star Wars on Sky Movies a few minutes ago while flicking channels. Those remastered versions do not look good at all. It's a testament to Lucas's insanity and desire to add CGI to those films that my old VHS copy in the 90's when I was a kid looked much better.

How earth can you see CGI Jaba the hut and think that's a good idea. I feel bad for the generations that'll always see that version first.

polluxlm

 Rep: 221 

Re: The Star Wars Thread *NO SPOILERS ALLOWED!*

polluxlm wrote:

Some pretty big spoilers in that one, so yeah stay away.

Not 100% sure the review is legit, but he posted a picture of his pass together with his reddit screen name. I think it reads like someone who has seen it, just my gut feeling.

The Jabba scene was far from the worst. At least it looked sorta organic. Greedo shooting first, the ROTJ dance sequence and the "nooo" at the end of Jedi are the real deal breakers for me. Especially the last one, I can never watch the ROTJ blu ray because of it.

buzzsaw

 Rep: 423 

Re: The Star Wars Thread *NO SPOILERS ALLOWED!*

buzzsaw wrote:

I'm trying to decide when to go see it. I hate crowds, but I don't want to know the whole story before I go either. Quite the dilemma.

apex-twin

 Rep: 200 

Re: The Star Wars Thread *NO SPOILERS ALLOWED!*

apex-twin wrote:

Daunting task for them probably.

Try Richard Marquand.

Saw Empire again just yesterday. Holds up really well.

Thank God they turned it down. For me those films are Lucas at the top of his game.

I can agree with that.

We are still talking about the prequels, right?

To me, his high-water mark were THX 1138 and Star Wars.

polluxlm

 Rep: 221 

Re: The Star Wars Thread *NO SPOILERS ALLOWED!*

polluxlm wrote:

Try Richard Marquand.

Saw Empire again just yesterday. Holds up really well.

The most impressive thing is that the effects hold up. Not just some of them but nearly all. For films made in the 70s and early 80s that is near unique. Other films that still hold up, 2001, Alien are much more plodding and careful with their effects. SW offers near 2015 style intensity and realism.

We are still talking about the prequels, right?

To me, his high-water mark were THX 1138 and Star Wars.

Search your feelings. I feel the conflict within you, let go of your hate!

Lucas' first 3 movies are all classics in their respective genre. THX is top notch sci fi, American Grafitti is still the best teen movie ever made and Star Wars was both an innovator and leader in fantasy/adventure. That's a pretty talented director right there.

While I agree he may have lost a bit of edge in his more mature years, as happens, the sensibilities are still there. A man who no longer needs to prove himself. Financially secure and a respectable figure in the industry. He did those films because he wanted to, and that love shows. It has valleys, but it also has incredible highs.