MOVIES 2018

@Cmdr:

Got it.  So I will watch it on my TV at home, and not pay $17 for a ticket, popcorn and sit in a nasty theater.

I saw it over the weekend.  It was enjoyable, in a fast-moving popcorn movie way, and it certainly wasn’t dull, and frankly I liked it better than Episodes VII and VIII, but it tended to feel like empty calories.  The main problem I had with it, in contrast with Rogue One (which I liked more), is that there wasn’t a clear and compelling storyline that drove and unified the plot; the film felt more like a checklist of elements from Han Solo’s past, which were being dutifully checked off as the film progressed.  As a result, the film seems a bit unfocussed.

The fact that we already know (from the earlier movies) various things about Solo’s background also undercuts some of the suspense.  Without spoiling anything, here’s one example: About halfway through the film, we think we’re going to witness a major event in Solo’s life which we already knew about from the earlier films…but it deviates from what we were expecting in a critical way, and in fact it doesn’t have the expected outcome.  Since we know perfectly well that this event has to happen to Solo, it’s clear that at some point the film is going to revisit that event so that it can happen…and sure enough, that’s what happens near the end of the film.  The payoff only felt mildly satisfying because, even though we didn’t know for half of the film how it was going to happen, we did know it was going to happen somehow.  And when we finally get to that scene, the film drops a clear advance hint about how the events are going to unfold, which does in fact turn out to be the case.

Several elements of the movie are highly contrived, so before you watch the film it’s best to turn off some of the parts of your brain that control your higher reasoning functions.  For example, there’s a gigantic space monster that exists, for no discernible reason, near a spatial phenomenon so dangerous that no sensible ship captain (a category that excludes Han Solo, which is why he’s such a popular character) ever goes there.  Where the creature came from, and what it lives on, is never explained, and the creature is quickly dispatched once it’s served its plot purpose.  It reminded me of those stock monsters and enemy knights in Arthurian legends whose only purpose in life is to hang around a particular road or bridge and wait for the arrival of someone against whom they can fight, and who are hard to take seriously as a credible threat because they’re so arbitrary in nature.

One thing that really bugged me (again, without spoiling anything) is that there’s a “major reveal” towards the end of the film that I found utterly baffling because it involves someone who died long before the events of the film and yet who’s still alive in this one.  This made no sense to me.  Perhaps the answer is somewhere in one of the many Star Wars spin-off novels, but I haven’t read any of them, so this plot element completely lost me.

On the up side, most of the characters are reasonably well-drawn, with distinct personalities, and are interesting to watch.  In fact, one of the characters whose personality comes across the most vividly is a droid, L3, who in that respect is as good a scene-stealer as the droid K-2SO from Rogue One.

So all in all, I’m glad I saw it but I didn’t like it enough for me to plan getting it on DVD when it’s eventually released (unlike Rogue One, which I did like enough to buy subsequently).  Jen’s planned tactic to do the reverse with Solo is a completely valid alternative too.

@CWO:

One thing that really bugged me (again, without spoiling anything) is that there’s a “major reveal” towards the end of the film that I found utterly baffling because it involves someone who died long before the events of the film and yet who’s still alive in this one.  This made no sense to me.  Perhaps the answer is somewhere in one of the many Star Wars spin-off novels, but I haven’t read any of them, so this plot element completely lost me.

I believe there was some old EU stuff in which said character was “not really dead” as it appeared. Not sure of the backstory behind it all, but I am positive it was just because the character was too popular to have been shortsightedly killed off so soon. Doesn’t matter how far fetched the “back from the dead” story would be, it would elicit more interest.

@LHoffman:

I believe there was some old EU stuff in which said character was “not really dead” as it appeared. Not sure of the backstory behind it all, but I am positive it was just because the character was too popular to have been shortsightedly killed off so soon. Doesn’t matter how far fetched the “back from the dead” story would be, it would elicit more interest.

Ah, I see. Thanks.  No wonder it made no sense to me; I’ve never read any of that expanded universe stuff.  In fairness, Star Wars isn’t the only sci-fi franchise that brings back dead characters; over in the Star Trek universe, for example, Denish Crosby once said that her best roles on the show were in the episodes that were made after they killed off her character.

@CWO:

Ah, I see. Thanks.   No wonder it made no sense to me; I’ve never read any of that expanded universe stuff.  In fairness, Star Wars isn’t the only sci-fi franchise that brings back dead characters; over in the Star Trek universe, for example, Denish Crosby once said that her best roles on the show were in the episodes that were made after they killed off her character.

Oh by far. Selah was a far more interesting character than Tasha Yar. To be fair, TNG season 1 wasn’t great and most of the characters were not well fleshed out… Geordi, Worf, Wesley all really stand out in addition to Yar. But once the show developed more and they were able to work in an interesting plot line for her, she worked out well. Even to the point of being a favorite character for video game spin offs.

They brought Spock back in ST:III, but that seemed like a planned story arc from ST:II. Although I think I remember Leonard Nimoy asking to be killed off at one point. Maybe they just all thought better of it after the fact.

They set the same thing up for Data in Nemesis, with him downloading what amounted to his memories into his long lost brother before going on his suicide mission. Unfortunately we never saw where it went from there.

Hell they killed Kirk and then brought him back all in the same film. (Edit: and then killed him again.)

Nothing is as bad as the Emperor in the Star Wars expanded universe. He was killed in RotJ and then brought back as a clone like, what, at least 3 times?

Can’t let the good established characters permanently die it seems. The universe just isn’t as good without them apparently. If you count the Death Star as a character (and I do), they did it at least twice with that (RotJ and FA). And even more times with the whole Superweapon concept.

Incredibles 2 comes out today! Unfortunately I can’t see it today, but I have tickets for the 18th. I am taking my parents and my little sister. I can’t wait…

All this talk about Star Wars has piqued my interest.  Would Solo be a good choice for me to watch even if its my first impression of the series?  I know that the movies are all connected yet not chronological or necessary to watch in order, but it this a good one for someone new to Star Wars?

@Charles:

All this talk about Star Wars has piqued my interest.  Would Solo be a good choice for me to watch even if its my first impression of the series?  I know that the movies are all connected yet not chronological or necessary to watch in order, but it this a good one for someone new to Star Wars?

The traditionalist in me says you should start with the original movie (Episode IV - A New Hope), but if you’re new to Star Wars, Solo is far from the worst choice. I found it much more entertaining than The Last Jedi or Episodes I-III.

The problem with Solo for the uninitiated and even diehard Star Wars fan is there are many scenes where you can’t see the characters. Ron Howard is an old pro, wouldn’t he hire a competent director of photography? Unless he was saddled with holdovers from the previous crew.

@aequitas:

If you are below 40 take a ten sided dice and roll:

1= Episode 1

2= Ep 2

3= Ep 3

4= Solo

5= Rogue 1

6= Ep 4

7= EP 5

8= Ep 6

9= Ep7

10= Ep8

I’m below 40—way below—and I almost feel offended that the younger generation is stereotyped as “role the dice and follow.”  It’s sad how much my generation doesn’t care.  They call me “old-fashioned” and “boring.”  I guess a fellow can’t like Axis and Allies and be a “normal” teenager.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I don’t have a ten-sided die.
:|
…why are you looking at me like that?

I’ve been with Star Wars since I was 10 in 1977 and watched every movie in theater as they were released… having said that, I had to decide how to introduce the movies to my children who were born well into the 21st century… I waited until they were 8 and 10 so they weren’t too young to miss plot points and debated over the Ep 4 through 6 then prequels or simply 1 through 6 in order…

I ended up showing them Episodes 1 through 6 in order and I am glad I did… it really becomes a story about Darth Vader’s fall and redemption of you watch it in that order… at the time I showed it to my kids, Rogue One wasn’t out yet, but it definitely needs to be inserted… consider Rogue One episode 3 and a half… it really does a great job of setting up Episode IV (the original Star Wars movie).

If you’ve never watched the saga, I recommend in Star Wars universe chronological order, not in release date order… just remember Rogue One needs to be watched between episodes 3 and 4.

I was nearly 9, when it was released amd I saw it.
Good advice Nowhere Man.

I can understand the rationale for watching them in Star Wars universe chronological order, but an argument can also be made that a brand-new viewer should first watch them in release order, and that watching them in universe chronological order is something that is best done after you’ve already watched them once.  This essentially has to do with how much the viewer is assumed to know about the previous releases while watching any given movie.  With the original film (now called Episode IV), the viewer was assumed to be starting fresh because there had previously been no Star Wars movies.  With Episode V, the viewer was assume to have seen IV.  With VI, the viewer was expected to have seen IV and V.  And so forth.

If you watch the films in universe chronological order, you won’t get this systematic build-up of knowledge about the Star Wars universe, and this will have two basic effects.  First, the films won’t make as much sense.  In Episode I, for instance, we’re thrown straight into a conflict that supposedly revolves around “a dispute about the taxation of galactic trade routes”.  I’d seen all the previous films, and even then my reaction was, “Huh?  This is a movie about taxes?” – so I can’t imagine what a complete neophyte would think.  The movie also assumes right off the bat that you know what a Jedi Knight is, whereas Episode IV didn’t and it introduced the concept in a more easily graspable way.  The second problem is that, even if you can make sense of the movies by initiallty watching them in universe chronological order, you won’t “get” any of the ominous or tragic or funny or suspenseful or continuity touches that depend on knowing what will happen in the original releases.  For instance, the Episode I line of dialogue “Anakin Skywalker, meet Obi-wan Kenobi” is just a routine introduction on the surface – but if you’ve seen the original trilogy, you’ll realize that it’s actually a momentous and pivotal moment of the entire Star Wars saga.  And on a purely technical note, it may be a bit jarring to go from the moderm CGI-heavy prequel trilogy to the 1970s-era special effects of Episode IV (even in its upgraded release), whereas in release order you can see the F/X technology improving as you go along.

:?

I sense a rift in the fanbase’s opinions.

@Charles:

I sense a rift in the fanbase’s opinions.

The Star Wars version of that phrase would be “I sense a great disturbance in the Force” – but at any rate, that’s not terribly surprising.  My knowledge of Star Wars fandom is very superficial, since I’m by far much more of a Star Trek person, but I would imagine that the SW folks are just as passionate and opinionated and diverse in their views as the ST folks (which the latter certainly are).

Whooooooo Hoooooooo!!! Well I took my parents at 1:00 to the movies today to see the Incredibles 2, and we all loved it. I loved it soo much that when we got home I told my mom if she would drive me back to the theater, I would buy her another ticket. So as I am writing this, I am on my way home from the movie theater… again. It’s 9:30 EST where I live and I’m going back home to rewatch the Incredibles. I am a little disappointed that there were swear words and God’s name used in vain. I just wanted to tell y’all about my Incredible experience. :-D

@Topmat:

Whooooooo Hoooooooo!!! Well I took my parents at 1:00 to the movies today to see the Incredibles 2, and we all loved it. I loved it soo much that when we got home I told my mom if she would drive me back to the theater, I would buy her another ticket. So as I am writing this, I am on my way home from the movie theater… again. It’s 9:30 EST where I live and I’m going back home to rewatch the Incredibles. I am a little disappointed that there were swear words and God’s name used in vain. I just wanted to tell y’all about my Incredible experience. :-D

This is quite possibly the most confusing thing I’ve ever read on AxisandAlies.org. :?  are you actually saying you watched the same movie twice then watched the original?

I think I better stop it with the movies and go role some dice.  My head hurts.

@CWO:

@Charles:

I sense a rift in the fanbase’s opinions.

The Star Wars version of that phrase would be “I sense a great disturbance in the Force” – but at any rate, that’s not terribly surprising.  My knowledge of Star Wars fandom is very superficial, since I’m by far much more of a Star Trek person, but I would imagine that the SW folks are just as passionate and opinionated and diverse in their views as the ST folks (which the latter certainly are).

Ok… what order should someone who has never seen Star Trek movies watch Star Trek Movies (all the way from Star Trek The Motion Picture through the JJ Abrams ones… and should ST:V just be thrown in the trash?)

Star Trek movies should be watched as follows: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search of Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Continues, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.  Then get really drunk and watch Star Trek V and pretend that it makes sense… There are a few scenes in there worth watching, but it really is a mess.

You are now done watching Star Trek motion pictures.  It is kinda sad, but even this fanboy realizes that the actors were getting old and the writers were running out of ideas, so it is almost certainly for the best there was never another Star Trek movie made.