Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Pre-release)

Bryancd said:
Probably a good instinct on the part of KK and JJ...

http://makingstarwars.net/2015/05/george-lucas-star-wars-episode-vii-was-to-focus-on-younger-people/
Click to expand...


as much as I love and appreciate GL and his original vision.. I'm not so sure I would have wanted to see his vision for 7-9 after his work on the prequels. then again, he got the prequels out of his system so who knows. i certainly would love to hear what exactly GL had in mind and would have done specifically but in the end its all irrelevant now. GL doesn't own it, has no say in it. If he only had let other's direct and had a more open mind to work with other writers I think the prequels could have been what we all hoped they would have been. I always felt GL should step back and be an consultant and let others write, direct. Had no idea this would really happen.. in my lifetime anyway. GL will always be our SW Dad... and I applaud him for selling and allowing it to live on through fans that have worked their way up into the business. JJ and KK are gonna make it ROCK!
 
"The media that celebrates ripping the prequels to shreds will probably turn their sights onto the sequel trilogy after a little bit of times goes by and the hype dies down. "

I COMPLETELY disagree. Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but this guy makes it sound like it's inevitable they will rip the new ones to shreds like the prequels. The prequels are understandably ripped on, and the hate and vitriol will only turn to the new trilogy if it's warranted. If JJ hands in a great trilogy, and not something like the prequels, the hate simply won't be there.

I have so little doubt in JJ that it doesn't even register that this could be a BAD film. Even if it doesn't completely blow my mind like Star Wars did my 6 year old mind, there is no way I won't be entertained. I've been following this guy since I saw the Felicity pilot (I know... that's weird)... I can't believe one of my favorite writers/creators is directing/writing for my favorite property.
 
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The problem with that logic @NeoRutty is that you have "little doubt in JJ and that it doesn't even register that this could be a BAD film" really sounds like even if JJ doesn't deliver what the fanboys are already guaranteeing to be the most amazing thing ever, that your (and perhaps the fanboy populace at large) blind faith might cloud your judgement on these new films.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about a lot of what we've heard - I'm willing to put certain things aside for a great story and a solid film. Yeah, I could go into how I think they're doing a lot of lazy things - the Empire, no clone Stormtroopers, etc. (I'm not looking to debate those things, as it's been done to death and I've already said enough about them); but, while I'm willing to overlook a lot for the sake of this movie, I can't simply turn a blind eye and have blind faith about it as much as I want to.

I'm cautiously optimistic about the SW:TFA and the movies that will follow... SW has been such a huge part of my life that it's hard to not get nostalgic about the whole thing. I saw the OT first run in the theater; but, I also liked the PT much more than most - I will argue to the day I die that they're not nearly as bad as many want you to believe.

In all honesty, I could really see the PT being done the way it was by JJ had GL not done them... I think his Star Trek flicks make that argument for me :)



(Of course, I have an unpopular opinion about some of this. I guess I just don't play follow as well as the rest of the flock sometimes... nothing wrong with having an open mind).
 
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Have never had blind faith, never will... my faith is based on his track record... For example, I didn't care for Super 8, but I see that it's not a BAD film, just didn't live up to what I hoped. When I see it on, I'm not angered or roll my eyes at bad dialogue and forced relationships. Maybe I'll walk out of Episode 7 disappointed it didn't bring me to tears, or maybe I'll have problems with it, but I won't go home and want to toss any of the Ep 7 stuff I have off at Value Village.

Abrams couldn't have made the same PT, because the guy would never have had a problem with the main thing I don't like about the PT, which is the dialogue and relationship aspects.

George writes stilted unnatural dialogue... Everything between Anakin and Padme was painful...

JJ writes like this:


Star Trek may not be loved by hardcore Trek guys, but casual Trek fans like me and my friends thoroughly enjoyed it. I mean I GET why Trek guys don't like it, I watched the entire 60's series right before it, but watch that opening scene with Kirk's father talking to his mother about naming his new baby, and tell me he missed an emotional note.

Star Wars only works when the characters do, and because of his track record with characters I have faith...

I mean he's the guy wrote the pilot for Lost... he's responsible for those characters... Love or hate the ending, he brought in a strong core group of Characters.

Hurley
Jack
Kate
Sawyer
Sayid
Charlie
etc.

If he can bring Characters that distinct to this flick, we're golden.
 
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See... I read that and I see quite a few excuses. You made them for both Super 8, Star Trek... and then you talk about TV - which is very clearly a different animal altogether than a feature film, where development needs to happen and there is episode after episode after episode after.... You're comparing apples to oranges - both are fruit, but very, very different. (I won't even touch the soap opera clip you posted - while Star Wars obviously needs characters and development, I don't want a soap opera I want a space opera :)

We could get in the detail and bits about Star Trek and debate them forever and a day... the bottom line is he took something and changed it to a homogenized, generic popcorn movie with very predictable beats - emotional notes and all (you call it hitting an emotional note, I call it hammy).. Most importantly: it was not faithful to the original product. (Not saying I didn't like a lot of it... could've done without Khan). I think this version of Star Trek shows that JJ could've very easily given us some a whole lot like Prequel Trilogy (Keenser anyone?)

I do get what you're saying... but, your first post makes it sound like your ready to drink the Kool-Aid and not judge this movie on its merits.

I'll still be in line December 18th... I'm not faithless for TFA at all.
 
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I don't see excuses, I'm backing my reasoning that JJ won't make a movie that critics will attack like the prequels. I just don't believe he can make something that bad.

There's amazing technical stuff going on in the prequels, but all I care about is story. STORY STORY STORY, and man, did those stories blow... and this by the guy who followed the hero's journey to a tee with Star Wars. Where he lost his sense of story is crazy.

And I don't worry about flicks like "Gone Fishing". JJ gotta eat. I've written on terrible children's shows, I would hate for that to be held against me.

Oh and Star Trek wasn't Star Trek, and there are holes all over it (and can't even use "The Force guided it!" to fix them) but I had a great time. I've watched it multiple times.

Why does everyone love Empire Strikes Back?! SOAP OPERA IN SPACE. Han and Leia. Is there an ounce of Han or Leia in Anakin and Padme? Nope. When the pilot for that Soap Opera was floating around Hollyweird, before it even aired, everyone wanted a piece of this new writer/creator, cuz it was a step above every other drama airing on TV. I still say it's one of the best pilots ever written on basic cable.
 
We can agree to disagree.

Personally though, I thought the story of the Prequel Saga was great - the execution, well that's a little more debatable.

...ESB was so much more than soap opera in space. By that reasoning, AotC would be the best of the bunch... it even has the soap opera acting down pat. :D



Basically, my fear of JJ is summed up by these two quotes:

JJ has a good feeling of what stupid mass Americans want in sci-fi. Such as unknown or unseen terrors, Inception-style panging basslines, and people hanging from cliffs.


He's an average to good director whose works are limited to the quality of writing behind them. The Star Trek movies aren't bad action movies. They're bad Star Trek movies because of the awful writing.

I want Star Wars - not stripped down, bland Star Wars that hits all the beats because of a formula. I want Star Wars that holds true to itself and doesn't give us thing simply to appease the fans and make money... I want some integrity with this product (sure, sell toys... but we don't need pandering (well, the SW geeks want to see this so, we'll work the story around it). Too many of us are too dazzled by the flash to be subjective... new armor, new droid, new fancy lightsaber, the Falcon back doing fancy moves, ooh, X-Wings and TIE Fighters... drool, drool.
 
J.J. Abrams said:
...you know that in the Star Wars universe there are going to be certain things that you’re going to want to see, and that’s cool and that’s great. But what I realized early on was it was all about point of view—meaning it’s not like you just objectively throw in a star field or a spaceship or a desert planet or whatever the thing. The question is, who is that person in that experience? Why does it matter to them? What are they desperate for or afraid of? For me, you could reference all the stuff you want, but the experience of the audience in this is that they’ve got to be sitting with someone who happens to be on-screen going through these experiences. And then that’s not just a desert planet; it could be the most desperate place in the world. Or that’s not just a spaceship flying by; it could be the greatest, most heroic moment of your life.
That, to me, has been the constant struggle: to make sure that none of these things are treated like either they’re a museum piece and we’re trying to honor them or they’re gratuitous and thrown in because, well, it’s a Star Wars movie so you’ve got to put these things in. Everything has got to be essential to the characters in the film.
Click to expand...

As far as I'm concerned, he's saying all the right things. We'll find out on Dec.18...
 
Whether it is great/good/mediocre/bad/sucks, some people are going to hate on it. Believe it or not, but back in 1977 there were a lot of people who actually hated Star Wars (Harlan Ellison anyone?). While the first one was great and a box office smash, there were still PLENTY of people who did not like it (not me of course!). Despite the lore, it did not unite the world in song and peace. If the internet had been around back then it would have gotten a LOT of razzing.

Haters are gonna hate, no matter what.
 
I firmly believe that the prequel trilogy are better films than the star trek movies (which hold no more weight than the transformers movies)

The thing I've come to realize is that adventure movies tend to hold more weight than action movies. Sure, you can love the ride of a fun action flick. But adventure movies hold a place in your heart.

So the real question for me about George Lucas is this: how involved was he with the clone wars? Because that was incredible.

As for jj, I felt that super 8 was amazing. He was trying to make an adventure movie to capture our hearts. Bravo
 
That sounds about right to me!

He could do a film about obi Wan. Something where he gets called back to Mandalore to deal with death watch
 
A couple of cool pictures I thought I would share :)
Kylo Ren.pngTrooper.png
 
According to Dave Filoni, GL was heavily involved with the story for each and every episode of CW. Whether he made script contributions or not, Idk.
 
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