Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (USE SPOILER TAGS!)

[chip75]

Originally Posted by rodneyfaile

I like the sound of that.

[Show spoiler]We don't know the extent of Finn's injuries though. I wonder if his spine was damaged? He might not be up for much adventuring. Maybe he gets more of a role in the command with Leia. He did actively participate in an important mission to Starkiller. He could get some sort of rank now

.

Spoilers, please!

[Gamma_Winstead]

Originally Posted by Nightrunner

I loved the movie. I saw it five times and plan to go back for more.

I saw the originality in it and even like what they did with the OT crew. What I was saying was Disney gave us what we wanted and I am thankful. The spin-offs should give us more insight to the SW universe.

Ah, ok! Fair enough! I loved the film too, and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[VaporX94]

George is really being inappropriate/unprofessional in his remarks towards Disney lately. The "white slavers" comment seems to be taking it a bit far. Meanwhile, you don't see Disney releasing any statements back toward him. So, hopefully, they'll release the UOT now.

[Rblu-Dblu]

Originally Posted by VaporX94

George is really being inappropriate/unprofessional in his remarks towards Disney lately. The "white slavers" comment seems to be taking it a bit far. Meanwhile, you don't see Disney releasing any statements back toward him. So, hopefully, they'll release the UOT now.

I read his comments as "they didn't like what I wrote for episode VII and wanted to appeal to the fans so screw them, and screw the fans because Star Wars is a story for me."

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by JamesKurtovich

Count me in for a Poe film. This is a big, diverse universe and it deserves to be explored.

Sounds good. Oscar Isaac as Poe; I wonder if his father will be part of the rebel alliance in Rogue One?

Originally Posted by Nightrunner

I loved the movie. I saw it five times and plan to go back for more.

I saw the originality in it and even like what they did with the OT crew. What I was saying was Disney gave us what we wanted and I am thankful. The spin-offs should give us more insight to the SW universe.

5 times, that is something.
I agree that the movie delivered what many fans were hoping for. Solid acting, great energy and an engaging conflict between the First Order versus the Rebels, evil versus good.

VII's like a new adventure with new and old characters, but with a familiar theme running through it, which I don't mind at all since the performances were generally great and believable, the characters were interesting, the pacing was exciting, the action intense and the costumes, scenery, battles and ships faithful to the Star Wars saga.
As a fan, it was awesome. Safe to say based on the polls out there, so far the majority of audiences enjoyed it for what it offers and with any big series, there will always be those who are opposed to it for their own reasons. Even the best movies in cinema have those who can't stand it and are very vocal about it, which is their right.

I hear non fans of VII mention plot holes, but I'd like to see a specific list of what they are that is making them dislike the movie so much. I found a few untied character threads but they weren't breaking the main plot, which was resolved by the end of the film, and those threads can be tied up in VIII, as any continuing series has the option to do.

[Lord Method Man]

Originally Posted by Rblu-Dblu

I read his comments as "they didn't like what I wrote for episode VII and wanted to appeal to the fans so screw them, and screw the fans because Star Wars is a story for me."

Talk about wanting to have your cake and eat it too. If he wanted creative control over the future of Star Wars then he shouldn't have sold the franchise.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by Guydowood

Lucas should let the public decide and release his treatments for sequel trilogy. I'm very curious on how much Abrams used and didn't use. The love/hate relationship with the prequels will never stop. Hardcore, loyal fans will dispute it and that's fine. The generation is was aimed to please made its point and they'll continue to enjoy them for years. The Force Awakens love/hate relationship banter is somewhat laughable only because currently Disney is laughing it's way all the way to the bank with the loot the flick is still making.....it's unfortunate that movie business cannot seem to make anything 'original' anymore and it's all about the 'franchise'.

You are only half right about the movie business not being able to make anything original any more; the bigger problem is that audiences won't bother to go to the movies unless they are familiar with the property in 99% of the cases. Look at all the biggest hits of 2015 - almost everything based on franchises that started decades ago in film, TV or comics.

There were some daring, fairly original movies aimed at discriminating audiences made and released this year, almost all of them were box-office failures.

So it all comes back to audiences craving only the big-budget movies that rehash the old ideas from decades ago; SW:TFA is certainly a good example, but it isn't the only one, and studio heads won't want to risk their jobs green lighting anything that smacks of originality.

This is why I have so much admiration for the prequels - whatever their flaws, Lucas aimed very high and dared to go in directions that weren't necessarily predictable or that meant making the least amount of effort possible in terms of developing new characters, planets, new vehicles, new costumes, etc.

TFA can be fun to watch but is tremendously weak in originality, especially when it comes to new planets or vehicles that really grabbed your imagination - all of the main ones are slightly modified (if at all) versions of what we had already seen decades ago... a real nostalgia-indulging throwback to the very things Lucas came up with in the first place

[JamesBenjamin]

Here's a pretty good rundown of everything Lucas has said about selling the franchise to Disney, in a timeline:

http://io9.gizmodo.com/a-not-so-brie...abo-1750464055

[Geoff D]

As horribly phrased as Lucas put it (his flippant - some might say brutally honest - viewpoint on things over the years has never done him any favours), he *has* basically sold his "children" into a lifetime of servitude for some evil, nasty corporate machine - as opposed to the benevolent, sincere and-in-no-way-wanting-to-sell-you-every-Star-Wars-branded-product-under-the-sun corporate machine which he himself had long presided over.

Let's call it what it is: a classic case of seller's remorse. When Disney were gonna use his outlines he was happy enough to see his creations overseen by somebody else, but when they decided to chuck all that out at the last minute and remake ANH almost beat for beat he *really* couldn't do anything about it, so he's settling for sniping from afar instead.

[Elbie]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

As horribly phrased as Lucas put it (his flippant - some might say brutally honest - viewpoint on things over the years has never done him any favours), he *has* basically sold his "children" into a lifetime of servitude for some evil, nasty corporate machine - as opposed to the benevolent, sincere and-in-no-way-wanting-to-sell-you-every-Star-Wars-branded-product-under-the-sun corporate machine which he himself had long presided over.

Let's call it what it is: a classic case of seller's remorse. When Disney were gonna use his outlines he was happy enough to see his creations overseen by somebody else, but when they decided to chuck all that out at the last minute and remake ANH almost beat for beat he *really* couldn't do anything about it, so he's settling for sniping from afar instead.

Basically.

Originally Posted by JamesBenjamin

Here's a pretty good rundown of everything Lucas has said about selling the franchise to Disney, in a timeline:

http://io9.gizmodo.com/a-not-so-brie...abo-1750464055

Thanks for sharing!

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Let's call it what it is: a classic case of seller's remorse. When Disney were gonna use his outlines he was happy enough to see his creations overseen by somebody else, but when they decided to chuck all that out at the last minute and remake ANH almost beat for beat he *really* couldn't do anything about it, so he's settling for sniping from afar instead.

I'm pretty sure if he had thought it was that big a deal that they use his story concepts for the new movies, he could easily have had that added as a condition in the sale agreement, so that Disney had to give him creative approval much like JK Rowling and Harry Potter (IIRC, not a big Potter fan).

Sure, he may not be crazy about the way they moved forward with the story, but I'm sure he's happy that SW is still as popular as it ever was and breaking all kinds of records. He's a 71-year old billionaire so I'm sure he has things he looks forward to doing in his retirement and will be dedicating much of his time to philanthropic pursuits.

That he got the $4 billion from Disney makes it easier to be generous when giving to charities and other organizations that work for the public good.

He will be remembered as a unique creator, as well as a generous philanthropist, for many generations to come...

[AaronJ]

Jesus, man. Every single post from you sounds like a press release form Lucas' agent.

[supersix4]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Jesus, man. Every single post from you sounds like a press release form Lucas' agent.

Hes salty Force awakens didn't suck like the last 3 tries he did, and they're poised to recover 50% of that purchase on 1 film

Failed his last 3 movies, and failed at selling his product for what it was actually worth

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by supersix4

Hes salty Force awakens didn't suck like the last 3 tries he did, and they're poised to recover 50% of that purchase on 1 film

Failed his last 3 movies, and failed at selling his product for what it was actually worth

Ouch, when you put it that way ...

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by nst7

I specifically went to see this in Dolby Atmos after seeing it in a normal theater. The experience was a pointless waste of money.

This was my second time going to see a movie in Atmos (the first was Guardians of the Galaxy). Both times I could hear hardly anything different, other than that both times it was louder (too loud in my opinion).

I am completely sold on Atmos for the home as I have heard great demos in home theater stores. But something seems to get lost in translation at the commercial theater. Perhaps it's the fact that it's such a big room, or maybe there are not standards being applied to make the experience consistent from theater to theater. I know others have had great experiences in the theater, so I'm not sure what's going on.

It could also be that these two particular movies had very non-agressive Atmos mixes.

So based on my experience, I wouldn't make that kind of drive. But I am looking forward to setting up Atmos in my home, and hope that the Blu Ray of this movie is encoded with it.

Which Atmos theatre did you see it in? Because there is no specific standard for Atmos theaters other than using the Dolby CP850 processor. While there's certain recommendations, the theater can have any number of speakers. Even the Dolby screening rooms have fewer speakers than most of the Atmos theaters I've been to.

My experience has been that about 3/4 of the films I've seen in Atmos have had spectacular mixes in the theater. But it may be that the sound mix on SW was so rushed and it wasn't originally supposed to be released in Atmos that they just did a drop of sweetening with objects. (I haven't seen it yet).

But even a 5.1 or 7.1 mix will sound better in an Atmos theater because every speaker has its own amp channel resulting in far lower overall distortion.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

Which Atmos theatre did you see it in? Because there is no specific standard for Atmos theaters other than using the Dolby CP850 processor. While there's certain recommendations, the theater can have any number of speakers. Even the Dolby screening rooms have fewer speakers than most of the Atmos theaters I've been to.

My experience has been that about 3/4 of the films I've seen in Atmos have had spectacular mixes in the theater. But it may be that the sound mix on SW was so rushed and it wasn't originally supposed to be released in Atmos that they just did a drop of sweetening with objects. (I haven't seen it yet).

But even a 5.1 or 7.1 mix will sound better in an Atmos theater because every speaker has its own amp channel resulting in far lower overall distortion.

my atmos experience was the same didn't sound any different than a normal Liemax movie. However, same theater and watching desolation of of smaug and it was a completely different experience. I think SW TFA was just poorly mixed.

[Brightstar]

Originally Posted by supersix4

Hes salty Force awakens didn't suck like the last 3 tries he did, and they're poised to recover 50% of that purchase on 1 film

Failed his last 3 movies, and failed at selling his product for what it was actually worth

I think he liked TFA I think the fans are going to love it. It’s very much the kind of movie they’ve been looking for.”

[motorheadache95]

Originally Posted by NARMAK

I have been thinking how some people aren't happy that this movies a 're-tread' over old ground, but i think in a way, it needed a solid restart on common ground of the old made new.

The only issue i will have with future movies is if they don't actually bother to do something new in them. The Rogue One movie next year should perhaps be our first indication of how they might branch out the stories, but the true sequel, Episode 8 will hopefully diverge a lot more from the OT and give a new glimpse into the new world they're creating for the next generation of fans and for old fans to experience.

That's exactly how I feel about it-- The "job" of The Force Awakens was to essentially re-establish "Star Wars." And to do that, you start with the familiar, and then it grows into it's own thing. People pointed out this was kind of "Star Wars Greatest Hits: The Movie," which I think is true to at least the backbone of the film. I think JJ Abrams was a great choice to do that and he pulled it off.

But like you said, the real test will be seeing what Rian Johnson does with Episode VIII (and with how these Anthology movies come out). That will be the time to really move forward with the story and characters without framing it specifically with the classic films.

[Sylentwolf]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

You are only half right about the movie business not being able to make anything original any more; the bigger problem is that audiences won't bother to go to the movies unless they are familiar with the property in 99% of the cases. Look at all the biggest hits of 2015 - almost everything based on franchises that started decades ago in film, TV or comics.

There were some daring, fairly original movies aimed at discriminating audiences made and released this year, almost all of them were box-office failures.

So it all comes back to audiences craving only the big-budget movies that rehash the old ideas from decades ago; SW:TFA is certainly a good example, but it isn't the only one, and studio heads won't want to risk their jobs green lighting anything that smacks of originality.

This is why I have so much admiration for the prequels - whatever their flaws, Lucas aimed very high and dared to go in directions that weren't necessarily predictable or that meant making the least amount of effort possible in terms of developing new characters, planets, new vehicles, new costumes, etc.

TFA can be fun to watch but is tremendously weak in originality, especially when it comes to new planets or vehicles that really grabbed your imagination - all of the main ones are slightly modified (if at all) versions of what we had already seen decades ago... a real nostalgia-indulging throwback to the very things Lucas came up with in the first place

Just in case nobody saw or can find George Lucas' interview with Charlie Rose...
https://www.yahoo.com/news/george-lu...258.html?nhp=1
I only hope Yahoo keeps the video up.

I do have to agree with not only George Lucas but also Blubonnet about Hollywood' scared attempt at "creativity," and what it has done to the innocent and genuine nature of filmmaking and what "franchises" like Alien, Ice Age, James Bond, Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, Mission: Impossible, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Trek, Star Wars, and Toy Story; Nevertheless, Marvel's Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Thor, and X-Men, as well as DC/Warner Bros.' Batman and Superman all have done to isolate themselves from other independent studios and/or filmmakers (which some are still financially backed by larger studios) within the more demanding movie industry; Some of which, those same large studios, have reluctantly risked making more original films (due to either creative risk like smaller Independent filmmakers / studios, or from financial profit) as in recent years like... American Sniper, Argo, Birdman, Boyhood, Captain Phillips, Dallas Buyers Club, Gone Girl, The Hateful Eight, Interstellar, Lone Survivor, Nightcrawler, The Revenant, and The Theory of Everything just to name a few films these last few years (almost all of which have big named directors that have handled films on a more larger scale ).

I would be willing to bet that some of George Lucas' ideas for 'The Force Awakens' were probably very interesting and possibly very cool, but hearing his take on wanting to be "different" everytime, makes me question his actual "overly-creative" process within each of his films. I do believe that his time apart from filmmaking between Episode VI to Episode I did help not only him but practically every other studio/filmmaker based on a "technological" stand point. But in regards to actual filmmaking, I believe that his time away actually hurt or interupted his filming style and/or process, and because with technology having advanced so much, his genuine "practicality" began to fade. What I saw in 'The Force Awakens' was something I was sort of expecting from him in 1999. Maybe his "Worlds" and "Spaceships" would have been considered great achevements from him, possibly to be seen in 'The Force Awakens' as wonderful compliments for the film and possible future sequels, if they ever did make it into these new films; I just hope that Rian Johnson will look into George' options a little more and with respect to being "different" and in "Detail" to Episode VIII, which I believe was lacking to some degree from Episode VII

I haven't re-wached Episodes I, II, and III in some time but I do believe that Lucas does know how to do battle scenes, let alone, how to orchestrate a "lightsaber" battle between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi and General Grievous, and by far my favorite, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Maul I thought Abrams did good job in that department and I believe Johnson will only add to what is looking to be a well anticipated sequel

Lucas wanted to be as far away from his baby as possible, any connection or relationship he may have had with these new films would have drove everyone crazy, because of Lucas' admiration for creativity. If he couldn't be the creative-force for 'The Force Awakens,' then he wanted no part of it. He tried just a little but Disney and Abrams had other plans. It's like he said, "it's like opening a wound."

[BluBonnet]

Well said Sylentwolf! I think in some ways Lucas is way too creative to simply do a repeat of what he has already done before - he couldn't feel he was growing as an artist if he merely repeated himself exactly with slightly different story elements.

That is the nature of the truly creative mind.