Why do people keep propping up the fact that it's Star Wars as an excuse that it can't be good? I think people had the same thought about another Disney-owned property... Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier. No one thought much about that movie given the lukewarm reception of the original movie, but it ended up surprising most moviegoers.
Yes, it's sort of observing the obvious but it's a good counterpoint to some of the sentiment on the opposite extreme. It also puts things in perspective for some of the more vocal critics.Funny how that LA Times review pointed out the commercialization of TFA like it's a bad thing. Hurr durrr it's a Disney franchise, you think they're going for a Sundance or Cannes award? I don't think movies are even their top priority, but it's the merchandise/commercial tie-ins and theme parks around the globe that bring in a constant cash flow. From Disney's perspective, this trilogy HAS to have a mass appeal from grandparents to grandchildren for obvious reasons, therefore it has to err on the side of caution when it comes to the story. People are misplacing their criticism the same way they're criticizing the transformers franchise.
I like the Red Letter Media review of Revenge of the Sith where they talk about how almost all non-fighting scenes are either walking, sitting, or both while talking. If they're walking, then the scenes are done at a slow pace because the green screen is only so long. So, they can't walk too far.
Apart from the silly over-choreographed nature of the prequel fights, one thing that always disappointed me was that whenever people fight with lightsabers in the movies, they rarely ever use their force powers. If they do, it's almost always exclusive of the lightsaber. I've never understood why people don't throw a force push or something after swinging or whatever.
Like you said, it wasn't a bad movie, and if anything, it ranks up there with V and VI..so I really don't get what the die-hard fans are complaining about. It has the same heart and soul as the OT but are made with today's standards.Yes, it's sort of observing the obvious but it's a good counterpoint to some of the sentiment on the opposite extreme. It also puts things in perspective for some of the more vocal critics.
When Lucas sold the rights to Disney, wasn't there a lot of moaning and gnashing of teeth by many fans? Maybe it was just people I knew but I got the impression it was a pretty widely held fear. Well, this was why. Those people understood what Disney was and its priorities. And while the movie isn't awful, I think it's largely confirmed many of those fears.
There's also the undeniably crass pimping of the franchise to sell everything from oranges to cars to makeup and god knows whatever else. Not to say that George didn't make some coin over merchandising but I don't think even he was this shameless.
I think there are probably a few answers to that question. I think for hard core fans it's offensive in the same way that the commercialization of Christmas is offensive to some Christians.Like you said, it wasn't a bad movie, and if anything, it ranks up there with V and VI..so I really don't get what the die-hard fans are complaining about. It has the same heart and soul as the OT but are made with today's standards.
I don't think the marketing for this movie is anymore shameless given the conglomerate that Disney is. In Disney's defense, George Lucas isn't the leader in providing "high quality family entertainment" across the globe with 150,000 mouths to feed. Again, I still don't get why the commercialization of this movie is made into a big deal or why it's even a mark against the movie, in general.
I didn't realize people hated the choreography of the lightsaber fights in the prequels. I remember thinking yoda's fight (in episode 2 i think?) looked silly and the Obi Wan/Anakin fight in episode 3 was ridiculously long, but other than that I didn't really mind them. Everything else stunk, of course.
If you go back and watch Episodes V and VI, you can see Luke's use of a lightsaber often looks ridiculously bad. He basically just waves it around back and forth in wide arcs like he's trying to swat a swarm of angry bees. I prefer something that's over-choreographed to that.
but the end result is that it's edible, and while it may not be a 5 star Zagat caliber of a movie, it also wasn't bland and flavorless.I think there are probably a few answers to that question. I think for hard core fans it's offensive in the same way that the commercialization of Christmas is offensive to some Christians.
For me, it's mainly the fact that this sort of marketing actually works. People WILL buy the Star Wars oranges over whatever else is available. Why I don't know. I'd like to blame it on kids but I don't think most of them are that dopey.
It's also because of the affect it has on the finished product. If Tarantino does a movie, you might love it or hate it but it will have his signature style. When a faceless corporation has tremendous input to the creative process, it affects the final product. There's just no way around that. You tend to end up with something that while edible, is bland and flavorless.
Watched TFA today finally. I'm not a Star Wars geek, have seen the previous 6 either once or twice max, never even touched any other fiction on the universe. I enjoyed TFA pretty well, I'm hoping this releases on 4K bluray next year, it will be on my wish list.
I'm really surprised at some of the comments here, notably about the Kylo Ren character. I thought the role was written and acted very, very well. It seemed obviously explained that he hadn't completed training, I think it comes across well that he's immature and naïve, he has an ego that is based on nothing. It makes sense that he was somewhat easy to take down. He was acting solely on emotion, not skill or intelligence. You can tell this easily throughout the movie.
I also feel it's obvious that most of what you don't understand in this movie is likely to be explained by the story in the next one. Probably not directly, but a lot more stuff will make sense. I really like the set-up of Kylo Ren being left alive and he will probably make the full jump to the dark side now, given that he killed his father and now has some type of redemption to work towards for himself.
Overall, great movie, entertaining. I feel bad for those of you who over-analyze every single detail and forget that it's supposed to be fun.
The Phantom Edit is now available on Youtube in 1080p as well: (all 3 of the new movies cut into a single movie, although people complain too much was taken out)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9LEhOZZbuk
nice!
Regarding the new 3, I think they would have been a lot better had Jar Jar not been in them & if the dialogue was improved. There was still a lot to like about them - Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, awesome spaceship graphics, etc. To that end, the Anti-Cheese edited versions are up on Youtube: (with the dumb parts edited out)
http://imgur.com/gallery/04zn19m
The Phantom Edit is now available on Youtube in 1080p as well: (all 3 of the new movies cut into a single movie, although people complain too much was taken out)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9LEhOZZbuk
That looks watchable. How long before yt removes them?
Well, as always to be fair, there was a lot of good stuff about the new movies. It gave the backstory on Vader, on Palpatine's rise to power, how the twins were separated, etc. Lots of CGI eye candy (I am a CGI fan!), shiny spaceships, droids, cool lightsaber fights, etc. Wasn't a fan of the casting of adult Anakin & his girlfriend or how the show was kid-oriented (not that I'm against it, but there were too many obvious toy & game tie-ins & the originals weren't made for younger kids to begin with).
Rey is a Kenobi: The Case for Why Shes Obi Wans Granddaughter:
https://medium.com/@benostrower/rey-is-a-kenobi-362b5af09849#.7kdg542xf
Similarities:
1. British accent (note that Finn is British IRL & has an American accent in TFA)
2. Obi-Wan's voice is heard in the lightsaber flashback
3. Same clothes & boots
4. Both are dope @ Jedi mind tricks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mjFfdrTJrQ
Rey Kenobi:
But all of the CGI was horrible and looked far worse than the puppets and real models that were used 25 years earlier.
I think the end result of the back story is that it was so hamfisted and failed on every single beat that it was better off if they had never been made--if those movies were the only option. Vader was far, far, far better with an undefined origin after those disasters.
also: graphics = video games
effects = film
The reason I laughed up there is because all but 4 minutes of The Phantom Menace was cut. Should have done the same with AOTC.
hahahahaaaaaBut all of the CGI was horrible and looked far worse than the puppets and real models that were used 25 years earlier.
I think the end result of the back story is that it was so hamfisted and failed on every single beat that it was better off if they had never been made--if those movies were the only option. Vader was far, far, far better with an undefined origin after those disasters.
also: graphics = video games
effects = film
The reason I laughed up there is because all but 4 minutes of The Phantom Menace was cut. Should have done the same with AOTC.
Rey is a master tinkerer with gadgets and wunderkind pilot, just like Luke and Anakin.
In the first trailer, with the Luke voiceover (not in the film, and mostly cobbled from dialogue from Jedi), you pretty much come away with Luke talking about his family line.
Also, assuming the original trilogy is still canon (it is), the force sensitives should only be Skywalkers, right? Or, I guess...Luke was training some others, so I guess all could not have come from him or Leia....was Chewie getting it on with Leia?
Still, when there truly only was Ben, Yoda, and barely Luke, there was never any mention of Obi Wan doing the nasty. He was always such a prude, anyway.
In the whole galaxy only the Skywalkers are force sensitive?