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

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by octagon

I'm starting to worry that he might go a little too far in the other direction - ie add too many things just for the sake of old-timers.

I'm very excited at the thought of seeing X-Wings and the Millennium Falcon again. Han, Leia, Luke...welcome back, one and all. Can't wait to see them again.

Buuuuuuuuuut...

One of my biggest gripes about Return of the Jedi was the sense that it was a collection of Star Wars moments with no real purpose or direction. The speeder bikes seemed like nothing more than a gimmicky way to work in a chase sequence or three. The Death Star and the trench felt like retreads because, well, they were.

And while I generally like the approach JJ took with the two Trek films there were definitely some fairly significant moments and references that felt very forced and unnatural.

I don't expect that here but to be totally honest that trench run image - while very, very cool - has me a little nervous.

+1

We don't need a third Death Star run (or even a fourth if you count the homage in the pod race canyon scene in TPM) so I sorely hope those recent 'spoilers' are bullshit.

[stvn1974]

The villain will capture and then strand Luke on a planet and make him watch as Tattooine is blown up by a new Death Star.

[Geoff D]

So JJ will be referencing himself referencing Star Wars? (Because Leia was made to watch as her planet was destroyed by a giant weapon.) You can't get much more meta than that.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

+1

We don't need a third Death Star run (or even a fourth if you count the homage in the pod race canyon scene in TPM) so I sorely hope those recent 'spoilers' are bullshit.

There's always a high speed chase scene in a SW film.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

There's always a high speed chase scene in a SW film.

Yes but they don't have to be redundant or derivative.

The asteroid chase in Empire was a cool way of doing another high speed chase without going over old ground. The second trench run inside a second Death Star was not.

And that's not to say yet another trench run can't be cool. The seismic charge chase in Clones was basically just another asteroid chase but it worked.

Could YATR work? Sure, but it would have to be really cool to overcome the whole 'been there, done that' thing.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

"Spoiler Dump Guy" had this to say on that...

[Show spoiler]Luke isn't in exile, and hasn't been driven mad with God-like powers. He's off somewhere training a core group of new, young Jedi, but because of what happened in the past, he doesn't want the Jedi involved in the long and continuing war. He thinks it was a mistake for the Jedi to be used as a police force for a government, and so he refuses to take part. It's kinda the old saw about evil flourishing when good men do nothing. But then, sure, something happens, and then Luke and his crew get engaged and kick all sorts of ass.

If that's accurate, that's too bad (IMO) because it sounds very ordinary. In fact, it sounds exactly like "The Patriot".

Originally Posted by octagon

'This movie sucks' or 'jesus, that was freaking boring' might not be all that eloquent but they can be every bit as valid as reasoned and logical arguments informed by literature, art, history and the history of cinema and criticism.

"I don't know art but I know what I like" is often used as a punchline but there's a reasonable enough position in there.

Replace art with entertainment and reasonable becomes practically unassailable.

I couldn't disagree more. A movie may indeed suck (in fact, most do), but simply saying "this movie sucks" helps no one because it provides absolutely no perspective on where the reviewer is coming from and is not a rational argument. If I were moderating a postings board, I would ban all such posts because all they do is clog up the board and waste readers' time. It's simply masturbation. I would have said that it's simply mental masturbation, except that there's no mental powers used at all. If one can't make a case for an opinion, then don't plague me with it, because an "it sucks" statement is absolutely and completely useless.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

There's always a high speed chase scene in a SW film.

I didn't say that I didn't want (or even expect) a high speed chase in a SW film, I said I didn't want yet another X-wing run on a Death Star.

Really starting to get the feeling that this is gonna be another typical JJ joint, i.e. it'll be a fun but ultimately soulless grab bag of genre tropes. Still, at least those double****s Orci and Lindelof aren't involved, so there's a chance the story might actually make sense.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

A movie may indeed suck (in fact, most do), but simply saying "this movie sucks" helps no one because it provides absolutely no perspective on where the reviewer is coming from and is not a rational argument.

I don't know about that. I've been turned onto some pretty good movies here by 'reviews' no more complex than 'Woohoo, day one!!!'. One can develop a sense for the tastes and sensibilities of other posters and their feedback - even the feedback that isn't informed by the history of cinema and criticism - can be useful.

At least I think it can.

[StingingVelvet]

I'd bet money it will be way too self-referential in at least one way.

[Ernest Rister]

Disney Still Using Lucas' Star Wars Ideas

Cinemablend has convinced everyone in the world that George Lucas' original ideas for the sequel trilogy have been abandoned and the story is running around like wildfire.

Here's the quote in question:

George Lucas: The ones that I sold to Disney, they came up to the decision that they didn't really want to do those. So they made up their own. So it's not the ones that I originally wrote.

That gives us articles from sites like /Film headlined: Disney Abandoned George Lucas's Ideas for "Star Wars" Sequels and JoBlo's Disney Did Not Use George Lucas' Story Treatment for 'Episode VII'. There's countless others. It's spreading like wildfire and it's killing me since that's not what the quote says and it's hard to infer a complete abandonment of his ideas.

In my view, the use of the quote is definitely overblown. After George Lucas handed his handpicked screenwriter over to the process, JJ Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan took over the writing duties, which is something you'd expect when a director comes on board a project. Is the final version of this film going to be different than the one Lucas envisioned? Undoubtedly. Is there anything here to indicate that they've thrown out everything Lucas did? Not one bit.

But do you want to know the reason I think the reports of this quote are reaching hyperbolic highs of idiocy? Here's an interview with Simon Kinberg, the creative consultant for "Star Wars" and writer of at least one of the new spinoff films. I did this in July on Full of Sith, where I asked about this issue specifically:

Host: How much of Lucas' blueprint do you rely on or is it even in play anymore?

Kinberg: It depends from movie-to-movie, is the answer. But it's definitely a part of the planning of all the different movies and it was something that I was exposed to from the beginning of the process.

I think it's safe to say that Simon Kinberg is more involved with the day-to-day of "Star Wars" now than George Lucas and that it's even safer to say that Lucas's "blueprint" is still very much in play. They obviously changed screenwriters. But this new Lucas quote shouldn't give people any reason to think that they just tossed Lucas' story in the garbage.

http://bigshinyrobot.com/58402/disne...ar-wars-ideas/

[Elvis]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

Disney Still Using Lucas' Star Wars Ideas

Cinemablend has convinced everyone in the world that George Lucas' original ideas for the sequel trilogy have been abandoned and the story is running around like wildfire.

Here's the quote in question:

George Lucas: The ones that I sold to Disney, they came up to the decision that they didn't really want to do those. So they made up their own. So it's not the ones that I originally wrote.

That gives us articles from sites like /Film headlined: Disney Abandoned George Lucas's Ideas for "Star Wars" Sequels and JoBlo's Disney Did Not Use George Lucas' Story Treatment for 'Episode VII'. There's countless others. It's spreading like wildfire and it's killing me since that's not what the quote says and it's hard to infer a complete abandonment of his ideas.

In my view, the use of the quote is definitely overblown. After George Lucas handed his handpicked screenwriter over to the process, JJ Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan took over the writing duties, which is something you'd expect when a director comes on board a project. Is the final version of this film going to be different than the one Lucas envisioned? Undoubtedly. Is there anything here to indicate that they've thrown out everything Lucas did? Not one bit.

But do you want to know the reason I think the reports of this quote are reaching hyperbolic highs of idiocy? Here's an interview with Simon Kinberg, the creative consultant for "Star Wars" and writer of at least one of the new spinoff films. I did this in July on Full of Sith, where I asked about this issue specifically:

Host: How much of Lucas' blueprint do you rely on or is it even in play anymore?

Kinberg: It depends from movie-to-movie, is the answer. But it's definitely a part of the planning of all the different movies and it was something that I was exposed to from the beginning of the process.

I think it's safe to say that Simon Kinberg is more involved with the day-to-day of "Star Wars" now than George Lucas and that it's even safer to say that Lucas's "blueprint" is still very much in play. They obviously changed screenwriters. But this new Lucas quote shouldn't give people any reason to think that they just tossed Lucas' story in the garbage.

http://bigshinyrobot.com/58402/disne...ar-wars-ideas/

I'm not quite sure this really matters does it? I mean face it Kasdan was responsible for much of the success of TESB and Kurtz was there for SW and Empire to slap George across the face when needed to make changes. Look what happened without those two involved in someway. With ROTJ it all started going downhill like a rollercoaster from hell. I prefer that he is not involved at all at this point, and if that means throwing what he had into a small round filing cabinet then so be it.

[Himmel]

Some cool Custom Figures i found online. (wouldn't be surprised if this guy nailed it.)

[Show spoiler]

http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...-kylo-ren.html

[Himmel]

Originally Posted by Elvis

I'm not quite sure this really matters does it? I mean face it Kasdan was responsible for much of the success of TESB and Kurtz was there for SW and Empire to slap George across the face when needed to make changes. Look what happened without those two involved in someway. With ROTJ it all started going downhill like a rollercoaster from hell. I prefer that he is not involved at all at this point, and if that means throwing what he had into a small round filing cabinet then so be it.

So what are you're concerns regarding (THE FORCE AWAKENS)???

We value your thoughts....share them with us.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by Terminated

Some cool Custom Figures i found online. (wouldn't be surprised if this guy nailed it.)

[Show spoiler]

http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...-kylo-ren.html

That is some awesome stuff! I remember the good ole days of modding GI Joe figures, and He-Man figures.

[Elvis]

Originally Posted by Terminated

So what are you're concerns regarding (THE FORCE AWAKENS)???

We value your thoughts....share them with us.

Read back in the thread...

[aiman04]

Originally Posted by Elvis

I'm not quite sure this really matters does it? I mean face it Kasdan was responsible for much of the success of TESB and Kurtz was there for SW and Empire to slap George across the face when needed to make changes. Look what happened without those two involved in someway. With ROTJ it all started going downhill like a rollercoaster from hell. I prefer that he is not involved at all at this point, and if that means throwing what he had into a small round filing cabinet then so be it.

I mostly agrees with you (though Kasdan wasn't involved with the excellent original). Except for the Gary Kurtz part.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by Terminated

So what are you're concerns regarding (THE FORCE AWAKENS)???

We value your thoughts....share them with us.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm very optimistic. It seems that every step of the way, from top to bottom, everyone is bending over backwards to make all the right decisions with this film.
Personally I think this is going to usher in a new era for, not only the Star Wars Saga, but Disney as well!
Excitement level: off the charts!
Excitement meter: finally broke when the teaser released!

[Himmel]

Originally Posted by rickah88

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm very optimistic. It seems that every step of the way, from top to bottom, everyone is bending over backwards to make all the right decisions with this film.
Personally I think this is going to usher in a new era for, not only the Star Wars Saga, but Disney as well!
Excitement level: off the charts!
Excitement meter: finally broke when the teaser released!

I agree...

Also people need to realize that Disney took a look at what Lucas's ideas were and someone (worth their salt.) at Disney hit the panic button and said (hell no that won't go!)

[Himmel]

I personally would like to see Sith Witches at some point in the new trilogy...and no not the one from the cartoon...i mean these WITCHES:

[Elvis]

Originally Posted by Terminated

I personally would like to see Sith Witches at some point in the new trilogy...and no not the one from the cartoon...i mean these WITCHES:

Witches from Dathomir with their Rancor pets would be awesome. Loved fighting those things in SWG.