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Can't bring myself to watch The Force Awakens more than a couple of times
- Thread starter Gunslinger
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Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
Everyone put in that work during the production. Just genuinely lots of energy in every scene from the actors, to the camera work, to the sound design, and that's what makes it such a great film.
kraspkibble
Permabanned.
force awakens was the one that got me into star wars so take that as you will. i had watched 1-6 before (my best friend was a huge star wars nerd) but never was interested in it. only when i decided to go see TFA because I was bored did i get into it.
really enjoyed Rogue One too. Can't wait for TLJ. can't stand the prequels but quite enjoy 4-6 now.
really enjoyed Rogue One too. Can't wait for TLJ. can't stand the prequels but quite enjoy 4-6 now.
Ristifer
Member
Yeah, Lucas added terrible CG, awful writing which turned into terrible acting performances, absolutely atrocious storytelling and pacing issues, etc., etc.
What did Lucas try to add? World building? Yes, the prequels did that fairly well over three movies. Not much else after that. I mean, what's new about it? Clone troops? Masturbatory Jedi duels? Political mumbo jumbo that bored the audience to tears? I must be missing something when people say the PT has so many new layers to it because of Lucas. He made Star Wars an absolute chore to get through for an entire trilogy. Even if TFA is a chore for some, it's still better off for now, since it's only one movie. I'll take my chances with the next two movies for improvement. We can't do that with the PT. They're done. And they're brutal.
At the end of the day, it's an awful way to defend the PT. "Oh, well, at least the creator of Star Wars tried to make new Star Wars." Sorry, but that doesn't really hold water when the results were piss poor.
I'll never understand this line of thinking, what does it matter that he tried if he failed miserably? No awards for trying.
Vader building C3PO, R2 hanging around with Vader and Obi-Wan, Yoda hanging out with Chewbacca, the clones coming from Boba's dad etc. You think these ideas expand the universe?
HawksWinStanley
Member
I just found Rey boring and uninteresting. Good thing the whole trilogy doesn't hinge on her!
Oh...
Oh...
Jangowuzhere
Banned
Here's one of the big problems I have with TFA (and the MCU movies). The constant need to remind you that you're watching a movie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAboVYPXkfU&t=2m30s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grtJjUmkJmk&t=0m15s
It's not quite breaking the fourth wall, but it's these kinds of little jokes that just remind you "hey, don't take this stuff too seriously, it's just a movie!" The characters in the movie are almost winking to the audience. The original trilogy had nothing like this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAboVYPXkfU&t=2m30s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grtJjUmkJmk&t=0m15s
It's not quite breaking the fourth wall, but it's these kinds of little jokes that just remind you "hey, don't take this stuff too seriously, it's just a movie!" The characters in the movie are almost winking to the audience. The original trilogy had nothing like this.
Nothing wrong with that, ROTJ contains some of the best scenes in the whole franchise.
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
What's interesting about Luke in the first film?
Spieler Eins
Member
I liked it quite a bit in the theater and then again on a rewatch. It's hard to take criticism of the movie seriously, since sooner or later most people making arguments against it usually come out as prequel defenders, who probably waited years to finally cling on some fruitful narrative (i.e. "the prequels were inventive" - even though they did fanservice even worse than TFA).
Crayon
Member
It's interesting that he's mentally weak and has a long long way to go before he can face darth Vader.
Compare to Rey who can push around kylo if she just furrows her brow a bit. No struggle necessary.
QuantumZebra
Member
Great film. I throw it on all the time while I'm cleaning or my daughters want to watch it (they love Rey and Kylo Ren).
Also great film to throw on with company over because the sound and visuals are spectacular on 7.1 and 4k HDR.
Also great film to throw on with company over because the sound and visuals are spectacular on 7.1 and 4k HDR.
That's Poe's personality, I thought it worked for his personality. I get why it would take some people out of the film though.
But that second scene is pure fucking awesome
One of my favorite lines in the whole film.. "the droid.. stole a freighter.."
kunonabi
Member
I mean, this released the same year.
Don't forget Creed which was pretty much a master class in pulling off the sequel/soft reboot thing. The emotions at the end of that movie are far more resonant and genuine than anything TFA attempted.
Ristifer
Member
That's an assumption that Kylo is stronger than Rey automatically, which the movie points out as false several times.
It's funny that people keep berating TFA for being so similar to the OT, yet a lot of people still want the same tropes for the main characters. The Kylo/Rey dynamic isn't the Luke/Vader dynamic. I thought that was fairly obvious.
The Scollard
Member
Nah, it's probably the best way to describe the movie. It's plot is about as poorly constructed as one from the prequels (things happen, like the tentacle monster, that have no effect on the rest of the movie and serve no purpose; the second act is a carbon-copy of the first that has no effect on the plot at all). The characters are bland and forgettable. It shoves in a bunch of fanservice and OT callbacks that takes away from what promising characters it does has (Krennic does pretty much nothing outside of his opening scene, and I believe had Vader and Tarkin not been shoved into the film, he would have had more to do, and thus been a better villain). The CGI on Leia and Tarkin is horrendous, and the action, while well-filmed, ends up being boring since none of the characters fighting are interesting.
WadiumArcadium
Member
Kylo had been shot and injured by Finn because of his overconfidence before even taking on Rey. He also threw her into a tree knocking her unconscious with barely any effort. No struggle at all.
Come on.
I like how anytime the subject is brought up, this bit is conveniently omitted
People on this forum bash on Hollywood all the time for playing it safe, rehashing movies. While TFA was a good movie, that's literally what it was.
As for ideas that expand the universe, he probably means the unique planets we saw, Pod Racing, the political aspects, the Jedi order, etc. It also gave us the amazing The Clone Wars series, which was just brilliant.
I'm not saying the Prequel Trilogy is better than Episode 7, I'm just saying one plays it safe and rehashes an older film & basically soft reboots the whole universe, while the other tried to really show off and expand the Star Wars universe.
FA kind of had to do that if you think about it. Even though a long time has passed the movies are linked. The original cast passing the torch to the next generation in a familiar story format that we already love. It tugged on that nastalgia string hard and as the old cast slowly fade the new cast will go in their own direction. At least that's what I hope they do. If they made it too different then people would say it's just star wars in name, kind of like R1 minus the Vader scene.
Spieler Eins
Member
I completely forgot everything about Creed except that they didn't have the courage to kill off Rocky.
Hmmm, you seem to have a poor memory of certain scenes, watching it a second time could actually be useful for you
Crayon
Member
I did assume that the vader-esque badyguy was supposed to be some kind of threat. My bad. I can now see that Rey is stronger than every badguy. She a masterful martial artist. An ace fighter pilot. A top fencer. And can do force tricks. All on her first try.
kunonabi
Member
Kylo shows off mind reading powers that are pretty much off the charts compared to everything that came before and Rey shuts him down almost immediately.
Her outclassing Kylo in and of itself isn't the worst thing ever but it's the fact that she outclasses pretty much everybody at everything with no explanation that makes her stick out so much.
I understand why they did it, and I like the movie as well. But other people need to understand also that fans who have waited years for a continuation of Episode 6, basically were treated to a soft reboot rehashed Episode 4. Sometimes I feel like The Force Awakens was basically made to bring in casual fans/folks not into Star Wars yet.
I hope with Episode 8 they forge their own direction. And really deliver. All in all I enjoyed Episode 7 and Rogue One, so imo the franchise is in the right hands.
Ristifer
Member
Kylo isn't Vader-esque at all, though. He wants to be. It's a totally different dynamic.
Did you watch the movie? Just because he wears a mask and plays villain doesn't mean he's the same powerful bad guy that Vader was in the OT. Come on now.
Psychoward
Banned
Lol nah
I didn't like tfa as much as r1 but the acting and characters are pretty much undeniably better, except for PG HK-47 in rogue one of course.
You should watch Silence too, he'a great in that albeit a bit underused.
Jangowuzhere
Banned
In the context of the scene in which people are dying and everyone looks ready to kill someone, that sort of nonchalant jokey behavior just feels out of place. I'm not asking for Star Wars movies to be totally realistic, but I do expect the people to act like actual people. This type of SNLish humor just feels dumb.
The second scene is amusing, but I don't think it's worth squashing the tension in the movie just to make a joke like that. It's funny not because the characters are funny, but more so that the camera, pacing, and music are trying to be funny. It's like stopping the music in a comedy trailer before someone delivers a joke. Works well in trailers, feels out of place in a movie.
Ristifer
Member
Honestly, The Clone Wars should've been the PT. That show makes the PT look even worse, really.
ryutaro's mama
Member
Luke didn't even get an audience with Vader until the end of the second movie and he got his ass handed to him...AFTER being trained by the oldest, wisest Jedi instructor left in the galaxy.
Crayon
Member
I can tell you I probably will see it again for the same reason I saw it the first time. I have a very dear friend who is CRAZY for everything star wars and I would never bag on tfa like this in his presence.
So one day he's going to want to pop this in and I'll say okay.
Hello? This is Hailun!
Member
> more than a couple of times
Better than me. I've watched it one time.
Not a good movie.
Better than me. I've watched it one time.
Not a good movie.
The Scollard
Member
The problem with Kylo as a villain isn't so much about him, but about the other villains. I think he's an interesting character, but I can see why some people wanted him to be stronger and more intimidating, since none of the other villains in the film are and he made quite the impression stopping the blaster blot in his opening scene.
Basically, all the other villains of TFA suck as villains, making it hard to take the First Order seriously (even when the movie wants us to, since they have something dangerous like Starkiller Base). Snoke is a giant CGI monstrosity who we know nothing about; Hux is so over-the-top and hammy that he's hard to take seriously; and Phasma was literally thrown in the garbage. If one of the other villains had been competent and menacing, I think people would have been less likely to have a problem with Kylo's character or arc.
I mean, it's kind of obvious to see when you consider that the "Traitor!" guy became a really popular and memorable character, since he's probably the most competent of the villains that gives the hero the toughest time. He holds his own against Finn and has him on the ropes when he gets taken out by Chewie.
Basically, all the other villains of TFA suck as villains, making it hard to take the First Order seriously (even when the movie wants us to, since they have something dangerous like Starkiller Base). Snoke is a giant CGI monstrosity who we know nothing about; Hux is so over-the-top and hammy that he's hard to take seriously; and Phasma was literally thrown in the garbage. If one of the other villains had been competent and menacing, I think people would have been less likely to have a problem with Kylo's character or arc.
I mean, it's kind of obvious to see when you consider that the "Traitor!" guy became a really popular and memorable character, since he's probably the most competent of the villains that gives the hero the toughest time. He holds his own against Finn and has him on the ropes when he gets taken out by Chewie.
Spiritwalker
Member
lol I had a hard time watching it more than once. It's kinda bland to be honest. I'd rather watch the prequels.
Crayon
Member
I think the concept of the wanna be Vader who couldn't measure up was one of the most interesting things in the movie. I really doubt anything in this kids show went over my head.
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
Luke used the force and landed a once in a lifetime shot into a small hole on a space station. It took all of this to happen before Rey even remotely stood a chance:
I like how you said there's no struggle. When the tables straight up turned when Rey was on the edge of a cliff. She struggled worse than Luke during his first fight against Vader. This movie couldn't have telegraphed anymore that Kylo was severely weakened besides him audibly or even better, thinking "i'm at my limit, better finish her off." Like, what even constitutes a struggle to you people when Rey only won during the last two minutes and got her ass handed to her because she was using the lightsaber similarly to the way she uses her staff.She certainly wasn't a master either. Second is due to the following:
Mentally weakened due to this:
Physically weakened by this:
If Kylo was anywhere near 100% it would've been an easy win since Rey spent the majority of the fight running away.
but as it stands, the guy who did this earlier in the film:
was so weakened that he couldn't even pull a lightsaber out of snow:
Show don't tell.
That's true but fans were gonna see it no matter what and movies are trying to make money so bringing in as many people as possible was the smart move. Hopefully episode 8 will be the movie fans have been waiting for.
I'm not arguing at all that TFA didn't play it safe to a certain extent, Lucasfilm felt that's what was needed. However we still got an enjoyable movie because it did important things right.
What I find strange is this:
"Movie 1 tried something, but in the end it sucked"
"Movie 2 played it more safe but in the end it was better than movie 1"
"I'm going to use movie 1 as an argument against movie 2 because he tried!"
Ristifer
Member
So, it should be more like the OT?
I liked it, thought it played it safe but I don't buy into the hyperbole that it was a 'bad' movie.
I do agree that it made the universe feel smaller.
I remember a lot of backlash against the movie due to the main cast being a woman and a black man, I'm actually disappointed they didn't take it farther.
They delegated Lupita to a fucking CGI character. What the fuck?
I do agree that it made the universe feel smaller.
I remember a lot of backlash against the movie due to the main cast being a woman and a black man, I'm actually disappointed they didn't take it farther.
They delegated Lupita to a fucking CGI character. What the fuck?
The Scollard
Member
Maybe if you read and responded to the rest of my post where I explain a couple of major issues with Rogue One's plot (like entire sections of the movie have no effect on the plot like the tentacle monster scene), then I might change my mind, but as it is, a two-word post isn't going to do it.
Hashmal_Bringer_of_Order
Member
I love The Force Awakens and I've seen it like 3 times.
Lord of the Rings are my favourite films of all time and I've seen them like... 7 or 8 times in the 15 years since their release.
It's not a bad thing, if anything I think watching a film again and again without break diminishes the experience.
Lord of the Rings are my favourite films of all time and I've seen them like... 7 or 8 times in the 15 years since their release.
It's not a bad thing, if anything I think watching a film again and again without break diminishes the experience.
Upon her request
You don't get it. He made the original films worse retroactively. Lucas got mad skills.
Avatar definitely had that 'wow' factor going for it because of the remarkable new technology on display but TFA is a much more enjoyable and entertaining movie.
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