The easiest and best example would be Kylo "Anakin" Ren. While not a "rip off" of ANH - one could argue the similarity between the Kylo Ren and the (prequel trilogy) Anakin Skywalker characters. Yes, Anakin had Jedi training that I'm sure could reason helped keep his emotion in check - and while he had his struggles with emotion (the Padme relationship, the Tusken Raider massacre), I hope I'm not alone by saying I would've loved to have seen more emotional outbursts from him like we did from Ben Solo.
I think that's crafting something in a new way that worked. You might not think so.
I did like how Kylo came unhinged so easily, and would've liked to have seen more of that out of Anakin. When Kylo carved up that room and the Stormtroopers turned around and went the other way was one of TFA's few bright spots. But, while I like your example, it is completely overwhelmed but how much was wrong with the movie.
I mean...was it ever a question that doing so was deliberate and part of the design of the film? It was pretty obviously always intended as a "bridge" film, and to do that, it had to have one foot solidly in the past.
I get that you don't like the film, but I don't think you've, like, blown the lid off of a conspiracy. If it's a conspiracy it's one of the most obvious, poorly disguised conspiracies ever. :lol
I guess what I don't get is this: you don't like the film, ok, but the thing you keep pointing to (e.g. "It's a rip off of the original!") hasn't been denied by...um...anyone. Most people just...don't care. So, why continue to say "But it's a ripoff!! Don't you see?! Look, he even admits it here!" We know it's a ripoff. Many of us aren't that bothered by this fact.
Exactly. I mean, this basically gets back to the notion that box office takings somehow equate to the objective quality of a film. *****, the Transformers movies make money hand over fist and they are AWFUL films. They are, however, successful films, and I don't think anyone could deny that.
So saying something like "It'll never beat Avatar..." well, so what if it won't? TFA has been a complete success. At this point, the only question is just how astronomical a success it ends up being.
I didn't know TFA was gonna be a total ripoff of ANH before I saw the movie. Maybe you did. But I was spoiler-free when I walked into the theater on December 17th.
I agree, there is no correlation with a film's box office haul and its artistic quality. I was merely pointing out that it bombed in China, thereby dooming it to fall short of Avatar's worldwide record. That, plus the fact that it's faltering domestically, as well, nearly being toppled by The Revenant this past weekend.
Your characterization of TFA having one foot solidly in the past is a gross understatement. It is a lazy, uninspired, shameless, and cynical rip-off.
But it being a ripoff is not the only problem I've articulated in this thread. I have past posts buried somewhere in this monstrosity that point to other faults in the film, such as the out-of-character part they wrote for Chewie. The writing was awful, much of the acting was phoned in (Ford), the film was improperly lit, the soundtrack was dull to the point of being conspicuously absent, and the laws of physics were blatantly ignored like in so many other movies in the last decade or so.
However, the two most egregious faults in the film are that it is a blatant ripoff of ANH, and that the protagonist is a Mary Sue. I'm all for girl power, but the feminist movement is ill-served by studios creating heroines who know everything, who never struggle with their gifts, who never work at honing their gifts, and never make sacrifices along the way. Perhaps Rey will do that in Episode VIII, but it'll be too late. It should've happened in TFA. I love Daisy Ridley, and I posted on this thread previously that I think she did a fantastic job in the role--I just didn't like how her role was written to be so instantly all-powerful. I posted that I fell in love with Rey when she quipped to Finn, "That was lucky!". But my love for her was stunted time after time after time in the movie, by her absurd facility with the Force, just hours after learning of its existence.
I agree. Since J.J. is a part of the community here, I think you should edit your previous comment.
JJ's a celebrity, and a member here or not, is fair game for ad hominem attacks. He'd be the first one to tell you that. But, if you're telling the truth, then cool, what's his handle? I'll send him a PM with an apology, regardless--simply cuz I'm a nice guy.
The Wook
