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Paolomania posted:*GASP* Not a movie that feels like an episode in a sci-fi serial! George must be seething. A New Hope wasn't made to start a merchandising franchise and even with what followed as a whole is much different than the vulgar marvel model. Regardless, even if the intent is to specifically create vacuous desire the film itself stands on its own regardless with its own ideological assumptions, which is what we should analyze.
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Dec 17, 2015 03:22
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Just returned from a midnight showing. Some quick thoughts: Great cast, good characters. Some underdeveloped. Like Phasma, who has a great look but is ineffectual. Suppose that might be a general Star Wars bounty-hunter thing, but nonetheless a bit of a waste. Or the ace pilot, a character who either should've been explored at least a tiny bit, or preferably been allowed to stay dead (really don't see why he should return). Reeeeeally disliked the hippie alien, who felt out of place for a number of reasons. Her joint was great, though. Rey's quick grasp of the Force felt cheap, though I guess it was necessary. Other than that she was fun and competent and a great contrast to the brooding Ren. On that note: Finn, too, was fun and interesting. His inclusion really emphasized that although the new movie feels familiar enough, it also sports some modern traits. Humanizing a storm trooper and making him a main character wouldn't happen in the OT. Rey and Finn had a good dynamic, which bodes well for the sequels. Plenty more POC and female characters - awesome. Enjoyed Kylo Ren's journey, which felt like a reversal of Darth Vader's. He worships the old Sith Lord, attempting to appropriate his presence, but beneath the mask he's an immature and scared boy. He wears the uniform without having "earned" it. Being humiliated and deformed by Rey puts him on the path proper. I wonder if this will lead to him ditching the helmet and voice-modulator, forming his own identity. Him feeding on pain by beating on his wound was a great touch. I groaned a bit when I saw the supreme leader or whatever he's called - decent enough design (or at least the larger-than-life presentation was good - hello Wizard of Oz (wonder who'll be the master behind the curtain?)), but I immediately recognized Andy Serkins mannerisms. I do understand that this is a super-stupid complaint for mostly everybody, but does the guy have a monopoly on CGI-acting? Very heavy on references and call-backs. I can understand why, but at times it felt like I was force-fed (pun not intended). However, I laughed at the T-17 discussion... Script was super-polished. Audience laughed on cue. Too quick and clever, I thought. The pacing is way faster than the OT - wish it would've been slower, but the movie already clocks in at over 2h. Photography was generally good. Abrams didn't go crazy with tilted/shaky cam. A couple of really good shots - action and otherwise. Loved the zoom-in on the Falcon when it entered the titan. Wouldn't have minded a few takes that channeled the OT some more, maybe some pulled back shots with old-school theatrical framing. Can't have everything, I guess! I absolutely hated the 360-shot at the end! What else? Oh, the design was great. Almost everything looked like it belonged in the same universe as the OT. The people who coordinated that stuff did a terrific job. Score was at its best when using the old melodies and kind of just there when not. Disappointing. The duels were great! Thankfully a lot more like the OT than the prequels. Not a dance-routine, but an actual fight with weapons that have weight, where each swing was accounted for and backed by raw emotion. I want more.
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Dec 17, 2015 03:25
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George intended there to be sequels. Hence why he did that crazy rights thing and funded the other two out of his own pocket.
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Dec 17, 2015 03:26
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computer parts posted:This review makes the movie sound exactly like what I was worried it would become: The New Yorker posted:The reason to describe the plot in only the hedgiest and dodgiest of terms isn’t so much to avoid spoilers as to avoid giving away the only thing the movie’s got. I wouldn’t have wanted to know the great twists of “Psycho” before seeing it for the first time, but, even after having once seen it and knowing all of the script’s tricks, the pleasure of watching it again (and again and again) is nonetheless undiminished, and possibly even enriched. The hearty sentiment and the breathlessly clever plotting of “The Force Awakens” are delights, but narrowly limited delights. There’s pleasure within measure, but no uninhibited joy or terror, no ecstasy, no unmanaged passion. The secrets of the movie are the secrets of its plot; the mysteries are purely narrative, not at all visual, symbolic, metaphorical, or experiential. Nothing of the true force of the cinema. I sure hope that's a mischaracterization. Because that's, like, the worst thing you could possibly say about a Star Wars movie. Seriously, who watches Star Wars for the plot?
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Dec 17, 2015 03:31
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anatomi posted:
Yeah I agree that was loving weird and looked like complete garbage. It felt so out of place too, I have no idea why they did that, just end it on Luke's face.
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Dec 17, 2015 03:32
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CelticPredator posted:George intended there to be sequels. Hence why he did that crazy rights thing and funded the other two out of his own pocket. Lucas originally conceived it as part of a trilogy protesting American imperialism in the Vietnam War alongside American Graffiti and Apocalypse Now.
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Dec 17, 2015 03:40
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Cnut the Great posted:I sure hope that's a mischaracterization. Because that's, like, the worst thing you could possibly say about a Star Wars movie. Seriously, who watches Star Wars for the plot? I think what he means is that this is a typical Abrams movie. A perfectly crafted movie, but with plenty of cookie cutter imprints. He misses the scenes which made the original movies magical and these made the difference between a good movie and great cinema.
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Dec 17, 2015 03:47
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Why are spoilers allowed in this thread when theres a perfectly good spoiler thread?
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Dec 17, 2015 03:54
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Baron Porkface posted:Why are spoilers allowed in this thread when theres a perfectly good spoiler thread? Because the spoiler thread is about upcoming events, and the film has been released in many parts of the world now.
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Dec 17, 2015 03:55
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Because the movie is actually out right now and people are allowed to discuss it.
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Dec 17, 2015 03:55
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The movie really reminds me a lot of the new Star Trek movies, a lot of fan service but the story feels kinda cheap and has to do more fan service than everything else. First of all it really lacks any explanation about what happened between SW6, where in the closing sequence everyone cheers because the Empire is defeated, and the current status quo, in which the First Order (basically the Empire without Emperor) somehow managed to still be as powerful as it once was with Star Destroyers and a DeathPlanet while the Rebels are now called Resistance for some reason but are backed by the Republic (gets destroyed by DeathPlanet). Than we get Rey and Finn, with most of their subsequent actions motivated by some kind of puppy love for eachother. Oh and Rey is like the uber-Anakin with regards to inherent control of the force, she not only beats Kylo, who was trained by the new uberSith AND Luke in some kind of force-mind-duell but also beats him with a Lightsaber, because ~reasons~. On the other hand it could be that Kylo is simply poo poo at everything (except using the Force to freeze stuff, he is really good at that), because he also has to put effort into defeating Finn, someone who doesn't seem to have any force affinity. So after getting Death Star I and Death Star II blown up because of ~one weakspot~ the Dark Side decides to construct their DeathPlanet (actually the first 2 should be called Death Moon and this one is a Death Planet, if we look at the sizes) with ~one weakspot~ because, and this is a pun line in the movie, those things always have a weakspot. and instead of answering any questions (e.g. who are Rey's parents, who is Supreme Leader Snoke, why is the First Order still a thing etc.) the big reveal at the end is that Rey meets hermit Luke, because no one else from the "resistance" (like his sister) wanted to go to him, even though the whole point of the movie was the struggle to get the coordinates to the planet where Luke resides. I hope the second movie will be better.
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Dec 17, 2015 03:56
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computer parts posted:Because the spoiler thread is about upcoming events, and the film has been released in many parts of the world now.
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Dec 17, 2015 04:00
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Kurzon posted:Well, then the spoiler thread is irrelevant, now, isn't it? Until we get Episode 8/ Rogue One/etc news, maybe.
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Dec 17, 2015 04:02
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The really interesting thing that will only be answered in 2017 is if there's more to Rey and her past and why she's so good at Force stuff. Cause if she does not have a history of training it would make Kylo the shittiest Sith ever.
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Dec 17, 2015 04:03
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VIII has to have more of Rey's past. I assumed when she met BB8 and was all "where are you from? "Classified"? Me too", that it was a reference to her not remembering her past. Also interesting from the flashback that she appears to have been given to that fat junker alien as a child. Was she stolen from her parents, or deliberately hidden on a busted-rear end desert planet, like that other guy was? When they stole the Falcon and the fat dude was like "that's miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnee!!", I wondered if he was referring to Rey. Also I liked the insta-muffin.
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Dec 17, 2015 04:24
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The fridge logic of the movie makes my head spin. Why do they need a complete map of the galaxy to find Luke? The chunk that BB had was pretty big - couldn't they have figured out what sector Luke's planet was in by referencing adjacent stars? If I live in New York and want to tell you where, I don't have to send you a map of the entire Earth, I could just send you a map of New York. Or just an address. The name of Luke's planet and the latitude & longitude of his island would have sufficed. When Obi-Wan's ghost sent Luke to find Yoda, all he had to say was "Dagobah". The previous movies made it fairly clear that you need training to pull off even the most basic Jedi tricks. By the end of the movie, Rey is manipulating minds and defeats Kylo in a duel - a guy who actually had training. How did the First Order manage to build something so colossal without the Resistance and the Republic finding out about it? If the First Order is just the leftovers of the Empire, how did they find the means to build a superweapon that eclipses the Death Star?
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Dec 17, 2015 04:28
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Hammerstein posted:The really interesting thing that will only be answered in 2017 is if there's more to Rey and her past and why she's so good at Force stuff. Cause if she does not have a history of training it would make Kylo the shittiest Sith ever. Pretty sure part of the point is that Kylo the shittiest Sith ever (he couldn't even beat off Finn - Kylo has never been properly tested like you need to to become a jedi). But also that Rey is exceptional
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Dec 17, 2015 04:31
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Hammerstein posted:The really interesting thing that will only be answered in 2017 is if there's more to Rey and her past and why she's so good at Force stuff. Cause if she does not have a history of training it would make Kylo the shittiest Sith ever. Her using the mind trick was odd, but beating Kylo was because she trusted the Force and basically let it act through her. I liked both scenes just because it showed her having an intuitive understanding, the way the mind trick played out was a great 'fear leads to the dark side' and 'there is no try' moment. I really liked how strongly the film straight up says 'droids are people too'. Poe and Rey treating BB-8 like a person, as opposed to the strip-it-for-parts or slave-trader scavengers. The captured aliens being basically big, biological versions of BB-8. They even had R2 fall into a depression when Luke left, it was great. Getting absolutely no information about the state of the Republic/Resistance/First Order and how they were getting their resources was disappointing, especially after how well the prequels did that stuff. Also am I crazy or was there a lot of Lord of the Rings in there? The whispering of dying younglings (loved that they addressed that) from Anakin's saber, Rey's vision, the final planet turning into Mordor at the end, and a ton of the scenes with Rey in a landscape I swear she looked like a hobbit. Poe absolutely stole the show for me, loved the chemistry between him and Finn. Overall it was a pretty good action film, not nearly as effective as Star Trek 09 but still fun. A lot of it felt very perfunctory to be honest. Mola Yam posted:Also I liked the insta-muffin. Yeah that thing was pretty great.
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Dec 17, 2015 04:33
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Saw in IMAX was really good, a lot like the original trilogy. None of my fears came true.
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Dec 17, 2015 04:45
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Carecat posted:Saw in IMAX was really good, a lot like the original trilogy. None of my fears came true. So there's no giant spiders in the movie? That's good to know.
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Dec 17, 2015 04:45
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Kurzon posted:
When has the Republic in Star Wars ever not been crap? The Order were probably sold the parts and labour by the capitalists now running the galaxy. For all everyone is saying this is a return to the OT it actually feels a lot more magical and fantastical to me. The baddies built a gateway to Hell and live in the seven circles of it.
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Dec 17, 2015 04:55
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Carecat posted:Saw in IMAX was really good, a lot like the original trilogy. None of my fears came true. was IMAX worth it? was the 3-D annoying? question open to anyone who saw it in IMAX or 3-D
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Dec 17, 2015 05:01
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Arkane posted:was IMAX worth it? I felt certain scenes were given a decent sense of grandeur and scale from seeing it in the IMAX format, and the 3D was certainly not offensive in my eyes. I think it is one of those films where if you dont like 3D at all, dont bother but it certainly doesn't hurt the film in any way so if 3D is your thing go ahead. I loving loved that. Just a really good Star Wars movie. I think JJ Abrams basically realised that the only way to please Star Wars fans is to basically ape the originals and he ran with it and had a great time and made a fantastical fun film in the end. The actors had good chemistry, it had well timed comedy moments, the pacing was fine, the scenery was amazing and they generally nailed that "Star Wars feeling" to the universe. Certain characters were definitely underused but that felt okay to me because honestly there was enough going on with our main cast and others characters were interesting because of the way that they have been set up to go forward into episodes 8 and 9. Shame that my showings IMAX projector crashed midway and when they restarted it, they opened up onto a spoiler moment. You should have heard the nerd outrage, it was beautiful. FiftySeven fucked around with this message at 05:07 on Dec 17, 2015 |
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Dec 17, 2015 05:03
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I guess all of this just feeds my desire for a slower and deeper Star Wars movie. Imagine Daniel Day-Lewis, in Jedi master robes, meditating on the nature of the Force for 3 hours. Something more mystical with less super weapons and more insight into the ways of the Jedi. Something without midichlorians and vision-inducing light sabers.
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Dec 17, 2015 05:31
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Hammerstein posted:I guess all of this just feeds my desire for a slower and deeper Star Wars movie. Imagine Daniel Day-Lewis, in Jedi master robes, meditating on the nature of the Force for 3 hours. Something more mystical with less super weapons and more insight into the ways of the Jedi. Something without midichlorians and vision-inducing light sabers. Sounds to me you should just watch David Lynch's Dune.
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Dec 17, 2015 05:33
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Maxwell Lord posted:Sounds to me you should just watch David Lynch's Dune. Seen that way too often. It takes a weirdo-genius like David Lynch to bring something like that to the screen and the movie is a double-bladed edge. On the one hand the highs are really high, like the first sandworm ride or the navigator's audience with the emperor and on top of that the whole atmosphere, music and costumes. On the other hand the movie would leave a modern audience, not familiar with the novels, absolutely confused. But imagine what someone like David Lynch, Terry Gilliam, Jim Jarmusch or Wes Anderson could do with the Star Wars material. As comedy option add Mel Gibson  , because Apocalypto was great, no matter how crazy Gibson might be in real life.
Hammerstein fucked around with this message at 05:46 on Dec 17, 2015 |
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Dec 17, 2015 05:43
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Some aspects of Dune were done so perfectly that I can't go back to the book anymore. Gurney, for instance. Or the Fremen in general. Some additions were so amazing that it's surprising Herbert didn't think of them, like the heartplugs or the sound weapons. Some additions, like constant voice-over, turning the Guild into floating vaginas or Thufir having to milk a cat are bold and hit or miss. Then some changes, like the entire loving point of the story, are unforgivable. Why did we go through all this? So Paul could make it rain? So he could bring peace or whatever? Uh no. The point is he saw all future lines of mankind and every one of them ended in extinction, save for the Golden Path. They made the prophecies of the Missionary Protectiva and the false religion of the Fremen that Paul and Leto exploit true things. How can this be? Because he is a god! And now he's gonna MAKE IT RAIN! Why
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Dec 17, 2015 05:59
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There is literally no way to please the critics of this film. We wanted a star wars movie--as in a movie that was nostalgic, yet new--and that's exactly what was delivered. Maybe someone at some point will come out with some hot sci-fi, heroe's journey IP, but this is all we've got. Most of the complaints sound like expectations regarding Abrams versus reality which is one of the most tightly constructed wide audience movies of the year (up there with Creed, which nailed a different, yet similar approach). Boyega was fantastic. Isaac was good, if a bit lacking in importance outside of the first 15 minutes. Daisy seems like she has her big scenes in front of her. Driver should be the most memorable figure of the series. This film has set up the trilogy perfectly, now it's up to Rian to take the reigns. All this could ever be to succeed was a transition from the old trilogy to something new and Abrams absolutely nailed it. The film promises a new hope for a until now destitute franchise. And it's an absolute blast for any fan of the franchise (8/10 normal movie...10/10 given the parameters that the franchise permitted)
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Dec 17, 2015 06:00
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I managed to snag the soundtrack and I know the music has come up a few times as generally "meh" but you people are crazy. This is vintage Williams right here. Maybe that opinion will change when I hear it in context with the film, but purely off the album, it's marvelous.
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Dec 17, 2015 06:22
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I heard some of it on YouTube. It's pretty dang great.
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Dec 17, 2015 06:25
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We arrived at the theater about half an hour ago, it's already about half full and it turns out the marathon is a completely sold out house. 500 people are coming to this theater to watch all of the Star Wars. This is gonna be a hell of a show.
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Dec 17, 2015 06:28
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Good movie. Good 3D. Good acting. Only thing I thought was ungood was the relationships between returning characters and brand new ones. Poe/Leia was inoffensive and believable enough, but I didn't buy Maz/Han at all during their scenes. Not sure why. Maybe because the former seems like a working relationship and they didn't dwell on it much, but Maz and Han are established as having ~history~ pretty much immediately. I don't know that whole thing reminded me of the Nest Of Gundarks elevator scene and it pulled me out a bit
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Dec 17, 2015 06:58
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jivjov posted:We arrived at the theater about half an hour ago, it's already about half full and it turns out the marathon is a completely sold out house. 500 people are coming to this theater to watch all of the Star Wars. I can't believe you have to watch Phantom Menace at 4 in the morning. That sounds hellish.
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Dec 17, 2015 07:00
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CelticPredator posted:I can't believe you have to watch Phantom Menace at 4 in the morning. That sounds hellish. I'm watching phantom menace at 1 in the morning! Even better. I did completely rearrange my sleep schedule though. It feels nice and early to me.
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Dec 17, 2015 07:31
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I guess that's not as bad.
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Dec 17, 2015 07:34
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I hope somebody in that theater with you has never seen a Star Wars movie before, jiv.
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Dec 17, 2015 07:38
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The only thing I remember about the prequels is how half the audience broke out in laughter during the awkwardly forced fireplace scene in "Attack of the Clones".
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Dec 17, 2015 07:51
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Arkane posted:was IMAX worth it? I'd say seeing it in 3D IMAX definitely adds something. There's no gimmicky 3D moments, which is good, and some of the location shots and ship battle/chase scenes are totally engrossing in IMAX. The only shot that I felt was made worse by the 3D was the very last one, the 360° shot of Rey and Luke. The depth really messed with my head and made the whole shot look really fake.
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Dec 17, 2015 07:57
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straight up brolic posted:There is literally no way to please the critics of this film. Really wish people would stop saying this. Movies can have flaws! I am not hearing a whole lot of people making GBS threads on the movie just yet so I don't think we have to throw up our hands and go "UGH NERDS ARE NEVER HAPPY"
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Dec 17, 2015 07:59
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Could only find the meme version of this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhQPu-5C-WY
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Dec 17, 2015 08:03
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