Star Wars Lives!

I really want to let loose on an anti-JJ Abrams rant right now… but I will keep cool. Everything I could say has been said before. And better by others.

I don’t know what I can stand less: the slathering, orgasmic fan-boy/girls who just think this is going to be the most awesome thing ever or the film itself.

Also did not need to see a warp field effect for the Falcon in hyperspace, then again JJ used the hyperdrive effect for the Enterprise in Trek XI. So all this crap is blending together in one big JJ-verse. At least this doesn’t look as stilted as the prequels.

I would prefer stilted while respectful and true to form over whatever the heck this is… New, fresh, sleek and decidedly modern… Star Wars has never been that.

In the end, we all going to see our bodies sitting in cinema and watching star wars e7.
Sighhhhhhhhhh. :-)

Not me man! I am holding strong.

I am one of the biggest LoTR fans you will find, but The Hobbit 1 bored me and made me afraid for the future, The Hobbit 2 pushed me into anger and despair.

Still haven’t seen The Hobbit Part 3.

I am well on the path to the dark side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFnFr-DOPf8

@aequitas:

In the end, we all going to see our bodies sitting in cinema and watching star wars e7.
Sighhhhhhhhhh. :-)

I’ll buy a ticket to something else and sneak in but I won’t give them money for a porcelain hamburger.

@LHoffman:

Not me man! I am holding strong.

I am one of the biggest LoTR fans you will find, but The Hobbit 1 bored me and made me afraid for the future, The Hobbit 2 pushed me into anger and despair.

Still haven’t seen The Hobbit Part 3.

I am well on the path to the dark side.

:lol: :lol: :-) :-) :-D :-D :-D

HA HA Ha Ha

@LHoffman:

Not me man! I am holding strong.

I am one of the biggest LoTR fans you will find, but The Hobbit 1 bored me and made me afraid for the future, The Hobbit 2 pushed me into anger and despair.

Still haven’t seen The Hobbit Part 3.

I am well on the path to the dark side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFnFr-DOPf8

Awesome stand, Hobbit movies were bad. Battle of Five Armies did not need to out do the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

Hey ABWorsham, how are ya?
Haven’t seen you in while.

@ABWorsham:

Awesome stand, Hobbit movies were bad. Battle of Five Armies did not need to out do the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

Truth. I was deeply disappointed in the Hobbit films to say the least.

I know some more-than-casual Tolkien fans who say to the effect of, “Hey lighten up!” or “Don’t be that guy.” But I will certainly be that guy in this situation. The Lord of the Rings remained true to the spirit of the book and made relatively minor alterations. From what I saw of The Hobbit 1 & 2, the source material was abused wherever it was seen fit to do so. What annoyed me perhaps more was just how fake and digital the entire films looked in comparison to LoTR.

@LHoffman:

@ABWorsham:

Awesome stand, Hobbit movies were bad. Battle of Five Armies did not need to out do the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

Truth. I was deeply disappointed in the Hobbit films to say the least.

I know some more-than-casual Tolkien fans who say to the effect of, “Hey lighten up!” or “Don’t be that guy.” But I will certainly be that guy in this situation. The Lord of the Rings remained true to the spirit of the book and made relatively minor alterations. From what I saw of The Hobbit 1 & 2, the source material was abused wherever it was seen fit to do so. What annoyed me perhaps more was just how fake and digital the entire films looked in comparison to LoTR.

I quite agree.  A friend of mine once said that Kubrick’s film Eyes Wide Shut was, in a strange sort of way, a true artistic triumph because it achieved the impossible: it made sex look boring.  My feeling about to the Hobbit trilogy is that it too was, in a strange sort of way, a true artistic triumph because it achieved the impossible: it made the original LOTR trilogy look realistic.  I loved the original three films, and I like the extended DVD edition even more, but to my great disappontment I found the Hobbit prequel to be a bloated monstrosity.

@CWO:

My feeling about to the Hobbit trilogy is that it too was, in a strange sort of way, a true artistic triumph because it achieved the impossible: it made the original LOTR trilogy look realistic.  I loved the original three films, and I like the extended DVD edition even more, but to my great disappontment I found the Hobbit prequel to be a bloated monstrosity.

Never thought about it that way, but it is definitely true. LoTR Extended Editions are probably the best home film experience ever made. The films themselves are superb and the attention to detail, quality and sheer volume of extra items is utterly unsurpassed.

There is 122 minutes of total (very good and substantial) extended and added footage in the film itself (that is like a whole extra freaking movie!) - which adds up to 683 minutes of total movie time, (4) Commentary tracks for the total length of the film including all principal actors (which is a massive number in these films), directors, producers, writers, artists and designers! - that alone is unheard of - plus you have the seemingly endless labyrinth of special feature documentaries which spend a great deal of time showcasing behind the scenes development, production, writing, history of the books and Tolkien, geography of filming locations, new and old filming techniques, costumes, weapons, set design, adaptation process, pre-visualization, editing, musical scoring, sound effects, theatrical premiers… the list just goes on and on. It is insane.  Plus, if you get the blu-ray extended versions you also get an extra 305 minutes of unique-footage documentary on all three films from Costa Botes.

For $50 on Amazon… this is a total steal. http://www.amazon.com/The-Lord-Rings-Fellowship-Extended/dp/B0026L7H20

Obviously, I cannot recommend this highly enough. All other great film experiences I compare to The Lord of the Rings and, unfortunately, each and every one is going to fall far, far short.

Heh heh heh… back to Star Wars.

Read this:  http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/what-if-the-new-star-wars-sucks-too-1737539377

Then read this:  http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/return-of-the-jedi-was-great-you-ewok-slandering-fools-1738290933

Pretty funny if you are a Star Wars fan and operate in a segment of society that references the movies. I don’t necessarily agree with all gripes in the first article, but the second is an amusing counterpoint.

ROTJ is a great movie. All three films work up to this payoff. Luke looks down at his father’s severed arm. And stops. Looks at his own hand. Decides he will not become that and delivers THE line of the whole trilogy. “Never. I’ll never turn to the dark side. You’ve failed your highness. I am a Jedi. Like my father before me.”

Whatever sins ROTJ may commit are redeemed then and there and we see it when Anakin is inspired by it to stand up make his penance and claim his redemption. Everyone bags on ROTJ because they won’t let go of their cynicism. Because they can’t believe like Luke does.

Haha, glad you linked those LHoffman. Both writers make decent points, but Drew (one of my favorite online columnists) reinforces Jedi is the kind of movie where the sum is greater than all it’s parts. I for one enjoy the Tatooine act as it finally introduces Jabba’s lair to us (he is referenced in both preceding films) and demonstrates Luke’s new skills. It even includes a humorous reconciliation between Han and Lando.

However I do feel the shoehorning of Leia as Luke’s brother is still a compromise of compressing future storylines (like Luke going AWOL looking for his sister - it does seem like he is AWOL in the new movie) into one film that never feels right. Then again as Drew said Obi-Wan is a failure.

Ewoks are still a tough sell for me, I also just can’t believe how dumb the Imperial commanders were: their task was to defend the shield generator and they have the firepower advantage. It’s not like the Rebel commandos and Ewoks could stage a siege or frontal assault of some kind. Chasing them into the woods is exactly what the Rebels wanted!

The space battle is an amazing accomplishment of special effects, it holds up very well. I just wish the final battle of the series was fought over Coruscant or a critical core system, not another Death Star. Also I find it hard to believe the flagship of the Imperial fleet didn’t have a battle bridge set up for the specific event of the main bridge going down. Minor gripe there.

There’s no doubting the excellence of the Throne Room/Duel scenes, especially the work of Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor.

@frimmel:

ROTJ is a great movie. All three films work up to this payoff. Luke looks down at his father’s severed arm. And stops. Looks at his own hand. Decides he will not become that and delivers THE line of the whole trilogy. “Never. I’ll never turn to the dark side. You’ve failed your highness. I am a Jedi. Like my father before me.”

Whatever sins ROTJ may commit are redeemed then and there and we see it when Anakin is inspired by it to stand up make his penance and claim his redemption. Everyone bags on ROTJ because they won’t let go of their cynicism. Because they can’t believe like Luke does.

Very well said and I agree. Your point about Luke cutting off Vader’s arm is spot on. There are some flaws in the movie (and the trilogy) - and in what film are there not flaws? - but this is the heart of the story that so many people overlook. They look at the plot holes and ancillary characters to render judgement while ignoring what is overall a very good fantasy epic. I think that is true even of Ep I-III. The overall story arc and plot is actually quite good. The implementation often fails, but as a story it is both grand and classic.

Purely as a film, I think ROTJ is better than Empire Strikes Back. ROTJ has its own pacing issues, but I think those in Empire are far worse. Empire is a much weightier film thematically and artistically, but the entire middle (75% of the movie) is literally bogged down. ROTJ has that, but gets out of it pretty quick and moves right into the buildup for the (2) final battle(s).

@General:

Haha, glad you linked those LHoffman. Both writers make decent points, but Drew (one of my favorite online columnists) reinforces Jedi is the kind of movie where the sum is greater than all it’s parts. I for one enjoy the Tatooine act as it finally introduces Jabba’s lair to us (he is referenced in both preceding films) and demonstrates Luke’s new skills. It even includes a humorous reconciliation between Han and Lando.

However I do feel the shoehorning of Leia as Luke’s brother is still a compromise of compressing future storylines (like Luke going AWOL looking for his sister - it does seem like he is AWOL in the new movie) into one film that never feels right. Then again as Drew said Obi-Wan is a failure.

Ewoks are still a tough sell for me, I also just can’t believe how dumb the Imperial commanders were: their task was to defend the shield generator and they have the firepower advantage. It’s not like the Rebel commandos and Ewoks could stage a siege or frontal assault of some kind. Chasing them into the woods is exactly what the Rebels wanted!

The space battle is an amazing accomplishment of special effects, it holds up very well. I just wish the final battle of the series was fought over Coruscant or a critical core system, not another Death Star. Also I find it hard to believe the flagship of the Imperial fleet didn’t have a battle bridge set up for the specific event of the main bridge going down. Minor gripe there.

There’s no doubting the excellence of the Throne Room/Duel scenes, especially the work of Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor.

Yes. ROTJ has some of the best Star Wars moments. I love the Jabba’s palace act; it has become iconic and reinforces the dirty, used-future of Star Wars. Bounty Hunters, gangsters, slime of the earth guys, evil droids, fat crime boss, dancing women; it’s all rather edgy. It is exciting too.

The space battle over Endor is easily the best one in any of the Star Wars films. A New Hope is classic, but the Endor one is just massive and the omnipresent destruction is palpable. Not only that, but the models and digital techniques of the day make it look far more realistic than anything in Ep. I-III. It completely surpasses today’s special effects, which I find amazing.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2015/11/03/mark-hamill-and-john-boyega-support-terminally-ill-star-wars-fans-bid-to-see/?intcmp=hpff

If it were not so sad, I would make a joke about why they would want a huge disappointment to be one of the last things they experience in life. But I wouldn’t do that…

Don’t want to make light of a dying person’s wish but what will be the surprise?

Desert planet but NOT Tatooine.

Ice planet but NOT Hoth.

Cute spunky droid but NOT R2-D2.

Planetoid sized super-weapon but NOT a Death Star.

Black clad villain in a mask with a red lightsaber but NOT Darth Vader.

Millennium Falcon, TIE Fighters, X-Wings, Star Destroyer

Spunky force-sensitive farm boy scavenger girl long to leave hisher subsistence farming scavenging life, finds droid with secret plans to the villain’s dread Death StarStarkiller.

Refugee from Space Battle also with vital information about the villain’s Death StarStarkiller finds his way to farm scavenger camp and meets farm boyscavenger girl.

Villains destroy everything farm boyscavenger girl has ever known trying to recover the information.

Refugee and farm boy scavenger girl meet Han and Chewie and fly away from TatooineJakku in Millennium Falcon.

Exposition outlining assault on Death StarStarkiller.

Battle to destroy super-weapon.

Everyone get medals.

Roll credits.

I like that, again :)

@frimmel:

Everyone get medals.

Roll credits.

:lol: