Star Wars: The Force Awakens

[CaptainWacky]

Indiana Jones will return to the big screen on July 19, 2019, for a fifth epic adventure in the blockbuster series. Steven Spielberg, who directed all four previous films, will helm the as-yet-untitled project with star Harrison Ford reprising his iconic role. Franchise veterans Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall will produce.

“Indiana Jones is one of the greatest heroes in cinematic history, and we can’t wait to bring him back to the screen in 2019,” said Alan Horn, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios. “It’s rare to have such a perfect combination of director, producers, actor and role, and we couldn’t be more excited to embark on this adventure with Harrison and Steven.”

Famed archaeologist and explorer Indiana Jones was introduced in 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark – one of AFI’s 100 Greatest American Films of All Time – and later thrilled audiences in 1984’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The four films have brought in nearly $2 billion at the global box office.

(This seemed like the right thread.)

 

[Fuddlemiff]

Oh dear.

If he doesn't look entirely ropey, then the CG probably will.

 

[whisky]

Who says anything about CGI? Did you notice no Lucas this time?

 

[The Tomtrek]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that there will be CGI in this action/adventure film to be released in 2019.

 

[whisky]

Yeah, but where its needed, not to provide things that would have been easier to do practically.

 

[Eggs Mayonnaise]

Only if George Miller is directing it.

 

[CaptainWacky]

Remember when Lucas used to sneak in at night on Crystal Skull after Spielberg had gone to bed and insert CGI?

 

[Eggs Mayonnaise]

The "Indy Gets Raped" episode of South Park was brilliant.

 

[Fuddlemiff]

I doubt the Crystal Skull had loads of CGI because Spielberg couldn't make up his own mind. Whether it was for financial reasons or he thought audiences wouldn't know the difference, the CG was there because it was part of his vision. I put up with it in new franchises, but what I always loved in the old Indy movies was how realistic the action was (no, I'm not including face melting). It meant that when something crazy happened, that still felt believable too.

 

[CaptainWacky]

The opening of Temple of Doom was awesome (this is a completely unrelated post.)

 

[whisky]

Its pretty much a given, that 77 years old or so, Harrison Ford would probably kick all of our arses if we all rushed him at once.

 

[Eggs Mayonnaise]

Not if we had weed.

 

[SAUSAGEMAN]

This is the only thing I know about Indiana Jones
YTMND - Indiana Jones Can't Stop the Rock

 

[CaptainWacky]

Wow that site's still up.

 

[Mentalist]

OK, here we go. I finally watched The Force Awakens. I was sick as a dog when it was released here and basically bed bound and so for the week we actually had it I couldn't go. To say I was pissed would be a monumental understatement. I've felt like I've been in geek exile for months.

Finally got the Blu-Ray and watched it twice in the last two days and then went and absorbed a shitton of Star Wars goodness that I have been avoiding like the plague. It's been 48 hours of Star Wars and nothing else for me. I just woke up from a Yaddle centric fever dream.

Now for my opinions that nobody cares about anymore since everyone is now eyeing Episode VIII and has already talked about all this ad nauseum.


Han dying wasn't a spoiler before going into the film but otherwise I did a pretty good job of avoiding anything else too spoiler-y. I mean, I knew about Poe, Finn, Rey etc but I was able to go into the film without knowing exactly how it all fit together which was nice.

I enjoyed the film! I enjoyed it more on the second viewing for sure though. It's definitely got quite a few flaws but due to some of the really good elements of the film none of them "RUIN MA CHILDHOOD, ESSE".

Those good elements first:

The casting. Rey and Finn are great and thank fuck for that. This was the make or break point for the films and luckily it was a home run. They are both good actors that make you feel like they are living through the action and are likable straight off the bat. You root for them. Rey especially is great in this film. Plus she's cute.

It looks pretty! I am a staunch defender of the Prequels but there is absolutely no doubt that the practical effects being the crux of TFA is a huge help. Design wise I was very happy. The film was a visual trip.


BB8 IS GR8 I R8 8/8! He really is adorable and it's cool how much he emotes in the film and the thumbs up to Finn was legit funny.

Finn being a Stormtrooper having a crisis of conscience was probably the most original thing in the film and I liked it!

Han and Chewie was great obviously and I am glad Carrie was in the film even though I kept imagining her saying mental things to everyone on set and everyone politely nodding and cringing at the same time between takes.

Kylo Ren was good but on the first viewing I was a little miffed about how he is able to get beaten by Rey; a girl that has never used a saber in her life. On the second viewing it made a little more sense given how Kylo had taken a gut shot from the bowcaster, a weapon we are reminded 20 times in the film is "really powerful guys"! I know it's not straight up canon but I would have preferred that the bowcaster had shot green bolts. It's been seen shooting both red and green before but I prefer green because I lovingly remember wrecking everyone in the Dark Forces and Jedi Knight games with it. MOVIE RUINED!


On the second viewing I liked that Kylo wasn't some OP Sith. He's learning too and having the internal struggle with the light and the dark was an interesting twist instead of it being like an on/off switch. Rey and Kylo are obviously going to rise in power levels by the time VIII rolls around....

About that...


Loved Rey but is she just a bit too good at fucking EVERYTHING? I've seen the "Mary Sue" complaints now and I do tend to agree, it did becomes a bit much during the film. She is basically brilliant at everything and as a result you don't feel as much danger for her. Sure, she's clearly a force sensitive and probably a Skywalker but still... they should have toned it down a bit. In a film that makes it clear Kylo is on a progression path this seemed out of place. I did imagine Men's Rights Activists getting angrier and angrier during the film so this helped offset it a bit though! STRONG FEMALES MAKE ME INSECURE!


Starkiller base.....*sigh* .... It was lame. I mean, it makes no fucking sense whatsoever for a start. The whole idea is silly but that's hardly a dealbreaker in a Star Wars film but while it's confirmed that it does move from official sources it doesn't make this clear in the film and the whole thing does reek of Deathstar 3.0. They really could've come up with a credible threat without using this. The First Order is shown to be extremley powerful although this is very much Empire 2.0 as well. I would have preferred a fleet battle for sure. The film is chock full of winks (too many IMO) to the audience but this was one we didn't need. Especially with another thermal exhaust port!

Are the criticisms of this being a reskinned New Hope fair? For the most part yes. It's a good reskin but I think they could have changed up the story somewhat to not be so blatant. It seems like a bit too much fan service.

I thought Finn would be the Jedi in training so was actually surprised that it was Rey that is clearly going that route. I have done my damndest to stay away from spoilers so I just assumed it from the trailer.

I knew about Han's death but it still didn't feel THAT meaningful in the film. It just wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be.

Why didn't Poe take his jacket?


I don't know, the film feels like it exists in a closet. The instant travel times make Hyperspace feel like as much of a scene changer as the classic fade in/out wipes. it relies heavily on nostalgia and despite the missteps I noted it does that well but it still feels like we have substituted the threat from the OT like for like into this new trilogy. The first installment at least.

I really hope they try mixing it up and doing something a bit more ORIGINAL LOL in VIII and IX.

It's a criticism I have about the Star Trek reboots. You don't have to play it safe and rehash old stories. You didn't need to make the crew Kirk, Spock and McCoy etc again and you didn't need to remake New Hope either. These stories are taking place in the sandbox backdrop of entire galaxies and yet the trust to find new stories within them is too scary to take apparently.


There were no nods to the Prequels whatsoever. I get annoyed by this prevailing view that they are absolutely worthless trash and should basically just be ignored entirely. It's a fucking meme and simply not true.

OK, now I do sound like I'm whining but despite all of these things I still liked it! Really!

I still enjoyed the film a great deal but it's certainly not without its flaws.

 

[Mentalist]

Oh yeah, forgot about Captain Phasma...


Probably because so did J.J!

Her entire contribution to the film was lowering the shields of the entire planet which was entirely too fucking easy.


OK... now coffee...

 

[whisky]

Rey is a good pilot, but then again, apart from stormtroopers everyone in star wars is a good pilot.

As for her abilities with the force, it seemed to me every time she got stronger it was because Kylo was there, and his powers seemed to get weaker, and it all started when he tried to probe her.

Now to me it seems she is either like Rogue from the x men and can absorb other force users powers, or her own abilities had been locked away with some of her memories, and his probe broke though that.

The saber seemed to make her stronger too, family connection maybe?

 

[CaptainWacky]

The problem with Rey being so great at everything is that she doesn't have much of an arc in the movie other than a few underdeveloped "she doesn't like leaving home" moments. So her journey is basically: is really good at everything > becomes even better at everything using the Force. I think the "Mary Sue" thing is a red herring though. She would have been written exactly the same if she'd been male. As I said in my initial review, it reminded me a bit of how Kirk became Captain of the Enterprise at the end of his first movie wihtout even finishing Starfleet Academy. It's like JJ wanted Rey to be able to use all the iconic Force powers right away just like he wanted Kirk to be in his iconic Enterprise Captain position right away.

Poe didn't take his jacket because in the original script he died in that scene. So I guess Finn would have taken his jacket from his dead body or something lol. After they cast Oscar Isaac they decided to keep Poe alive which is why he just appears again like the aligator in that episode of The Simpsons.

They did mention a "clone army" at one point so that could be taken as a nod to the prequels, but of course the "clone wars" were mentioned in the original movie...

I don't think Phasma was ever intended as a big deal. HE was probably meant to be a minor character, but then it was pointed out that there were only two female characters in the movie so they gender-flipped Phasma and cast Gwendoline Christie. People automatically thought "SHE MUST DO SOMETHING BADASS IF THEY GOT BRIENNE TO PLAY HER" and she looked cool in the trailer, but in the actual script she remained a minor character.

 

[Mentalist]

I think the "Mary Sue" thing is a red herring though. She would have been written exactly the same if she'd been male.

I totally agree there. I don't for a second think it's because of her gender. The term is often interchanged to "Gary Stu" when it's a male character that is written the same way so as to be inexplicably amazing at everything without explanation. I am sure that we are going to find out that there is more to Rey (obviously) and that she might even have been left on Jakku by Luke (her father perhaps?) to hide her. For a film that parallels New Hope so much I don't think this is a totally wild theory but it still doesn't help that there is no real explanation in this film. I've seen the whining about "feminist propaganda" claptrap online and we know it's coming from a bunch of absolute insecure assholes. The charge against Rey as a character regardless of gender though does hold some water.

Luke was getting punked by the training robot when he first used a lightsaber and gets repeatedly saved from all sorts of other situations from other characters. His big moment is blowing up the Death Star but he fails a lot before getting to this point. He's definitely not a Gary Stu.

Even Rey's ability to bond with people is strange. People instantly love her to bits. Han, Finn and Leia all think she's the bizz. I think there might be something to Han and Leia knowing about who she is that we are to find out but I'm going on the film itself. She is an incredible pilot and can fly the Falcon as good or even better than Han and also fixes every problem in sight while Han looks on. She is totally in control of every fight up until Kylo Ren who she also dispatches, can immediately use the force on the Stormtrooper and turn it around on Kylo who has been trained by Luke and Snoke despite not knowing what the hell Jedi or the Force are up until moments before. Oh, and she can speak every single language needed fluently.

I love Rey. I think Daisy was great but it was a bit distracting whilst watching the film is all. I'm not THAT bothered by it. It didn't ruin my enjoyment of her character but I do think it should have been written better as well.

One thing is for sure, this film makes me REALLY hype for VIII. I can't wait to see where it all goes from here so in that it's succeeded. I just hope that they try to branch off and be more original by being less Original (you know what I mean) in the next installment.

 

[Mentalist]

I can't stay mad at her!