Star Wars: The Force Awakens [SPOILERS ABOUND]

Look, people, we're old and disillusioned. We're the same people that listen to $3k headphones and get upset about the slightly uneven treble.

If the original Star Wars were released today, we'd probably be mildly entertained and then move on. It has terrible acting, huge/strange plot holes, and all kinds of issues. But, nobody had ever seen anything like it. Most of us were young. And therefore, magic, followed by decades of lifting it up into cinema fame.

I'm taking my little girl to see FA today and, for her...this is going to be magical. She's obsessed with the original trilogy, and to see a spectacle like this on the big screen is a huge deal.

For that alone, I fully expect to enjoy this movie, to buy it on blu-ray, and to watch it about a 100 times before I keel over one day. Nitpicking the plot and character development seems a bit silly. I'll save that for the arthouse films and take this for what it is. A fun, special effect-filled, nostalgic, sci-fi romp.

 

Before the TFA came out, i was expecting it to be what "The Hobbit" was to the LOTR. MIght not be as epic, but sure as hell can hold its own.

But it was quite disappointing tbh. Although, having watched all the Star Wars movie again, they weren't that good in terms of story telling etc, but they were at least mindblowing if you were to turn back time and watch it from the older perspective.

 

I sure hope you're talking about the book and not the movie(s).

Talk about an abomination...

 

You mentioned Looper before so I looked it up and watched it tonight. If he's in charge of the next instalment, then There's Some New Hope

 

There's no way it can be worse than Jurassic World. At worst, Disney will send someone on set to lord over him like Lucas did on Jedi

I felt like my face was being raped watching Jurassic World. Instead of a paleontologist who hates kids, the male lead is just some asshole who lives in a van down by the river who sexually harasses his boss who's some incompetent dumb bitch and the two kids were just two bored tweens who wandered on set. The type of bored tweens who stick their heads in the oven to try to get high off the carbon monoxide fumes. They were never in any danger in the film unlike the original where children suffer actual bodily harm and Sam Neill scares off the wisecrack dick kid at the beginning.

Some of the actors could barely say their dialogue with a straight face. The asshole in the van included when in the climax of the movie he had to lure the raptor back to the light side of the force. The action scenes felt like you were watching Beast Wars more than Jurassic Park as the Lakitu CGI camera means that none of the movement had any weight to it. Your reptile brain knows it's all fake. Compare the death star battle with Admiral Ackbar and Lando in Return of the Jedi where you can tell everything is optically composited mattes and models but the fast, computer controlled movement of a real camera generates far more excitement than anything in Jurassic World or the Force Awakens. The miniatures even actually explode instead of dying in a wobbly, bloodless cartoon death.

 

The movie does not exactly follow the LOTR canon exactly, but ignoring the book i found it pretty decent on it own.

 

I think if these movies had come out in isolation, rather than in the shadow of the LotR masterpieces, they would have been tolerable. As it is though, knowing what could have been possible, I have to agree that they are an abomination. I wish I could have those hours back in my life.

 

To a reader of the LOTR, the path Peter Jackson was going to take w the Hobbit was sadly predictable.

 

See, I could tolerate that cuz the elf chick was a major hottie. But all the goofy fight scenes, and Legoland surfing around, and the stupid pale orc. Plus production values were sucko.

 

Is anyone as tired of the Star Wars theme as I am?
The fact that they didn't retire it says it all, really. I've been having those blary brassy trumpets enter my listening field at pretty even intervals over my 35 years. It's a good piece, not great, and yet this might be the most listened to melodic theme in the West today outside of the national anthem. Why ruin a good thing, right? Except that it's a very different world back then in 1977 than it is now. I wouldn't call keeping it a cynical move because it remains a good, not great piece. Plenty of contemporary composers could have done something more adventurous and in line with the times. So they played it safe. I'd expect that from the Peanuts movie but this is freakin Star Wars, it's all about taking risks.
I hate to rant during the holidays but *flip it over, it's done already!*

 

Just got back, and yes...it was about as great a parenting moment as I could have hoped for. Watching her face (she's 5, by the way) as the music started the the Star Wars logo flashed on the screen was worth the price of admission alone.

On the way out, she grabbed my hand, kissed it, and said, "I'm glad I have a Dad like you".

Best. Movie. Ever.

 

Haha, its been some time since i read the LOTR books, perhaps my standards may have been lower. Having said that, i still think its a decent movie for most people who have not read the books (or read too deeply).

@Skyline , despite me not enjoying it, im happy your daughter did. One great part of TFA is the amount of little girls who seem so inspired by it, and that's enough for me =)

Looper was good, lets hope Rian Johnson makes something good out of the next star wars.

 

Just read up about it on rottentomatoes, sounds fuckin awful.