Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) non-spoiler Review

I cannot speak for all fans, but those I've spoken to and myself feel that TFA feels much akin to Lucas' vision than the prequels. Yes, Star Wars was his property and creation, but by and large he made it up as he went and left the storytelling in the hands of others. From that point on, with the Expanded Universe and constant fan enthusiasm, it became something bigger, something beyond one man's vision.

You use the example of Friday the 13th, but the series is known more by the sequels than Cunningham's vision, which was only a cash grab to begin with.

 

The problem with the "original vision" is that I don't trust it a bit. It was quite clear that Lucas was making it up as he went along (Luke and Leia being brother and sister is evidence of it) and he changes the vision repeatedly. He always said he envisioned a grand 9 part story, the original trilogy being parts 4-6 obviously. So really, the claptrap that was 1-3 was all part of the plan?? I don't believe it for a second.

As I already said, The Force Awakens doesn't really break any new ground in the SW universe, but it had the elements the prequel trilogy forgot: This is supposed to be fun.

What I'd like to see is this trilogy follow the blueprint of the original: a fun intro that introduces us to the characters and the world, along with a sinister element. Middle part is when shit gets real, so to speak, and the sinister element wins. Finale will be a triumphant victory for the good side, and possibly redemption of the sinister side. It's not rocket science.

People are bringing up the Bond series. The Craig films are the equivalent of the SW prequel trilogy (in several ways); they're forgetting what makes the movies so fun and are trying to provide backstory when we don't want it.

 

This

 

That's debatable, and can be applied to any number of things (even entire genres) that were created seemingly by one person, but have since morphed into something far beyond over a long period of years. It can be argued that the new Star Wars still has "Lucasfilm" and much of the original talent that made it such a success still intact and evolving, and many are almost equally important to what Star Wars evolved into. The world, canon and success couldn't have happened without additional brilliant talents like John Williams, Ben Burtt, John Dykstra, Phil Tippett, etc... to help make his vision happen.

Lucas was the genesis of Star Wars, there's no doubt about that, but he was hardly a one man show in getting it to where it is today... he borrowed and transformed much from universal world myths, Akira Kurosawa films, and so on. He didn't invent science-fiction or space operas, he made them marketable. Star Wars really just grew beyond him and became a sprawling global phenomenon (from a Jedi religion to Mac 'n' Cheese and Cover Girl makeup; ad naseum) years ago. I think when that finally set in and became too much he admitted that fact and sold it off lock, stock, and barrel... thus wiping his hands of it. He may have once been the one man behind Star Wars, but that just is no longer the case. Like it or not, Disney now owns Star Wars and Lucasfilm like you said. Lucas has relinquished his creative control of the beast...and Disney didn't put Donald Duck in the first film as was feared.

The Star Wars universe and mythos has grown exponentially over the decades, and old George has since only contributed a small percentage to that vast and ever expanding canon. He wrote the stories and sometimes screenplays (but only had others expand those into novels and beyond), designed (more often just approved with barely a second thought) some elements, often directed his films rather poorly and haphazardly, was miraculously "saved" by editing magic more than once, and so on.

His prequels just weren't that great or special. Sorry George, but they weren't, and without much of the talent beyond Lucas they would have been far worse. I think the proof of the pudding was that he tried to have "complete control" over more aspects of the prequels. He wrote the scripts himself, he directed them himself, he simply bit more than one man could chew in an attempt to make the Prequels what the original trilogy was. The "magic" was still there at times, albeit in a much diminished state. Jar Jar Binks was bad enough and still makes me cringe. I for one thought The Force Awakens restored the original "magic" much more than George's last few wandering outings.

I agree, and with the new Star Wars, we are now getting the frontstory, and I did want that. I had fun with it, lots of fun.

 

Sorry, but that is patently wrong. Gary Kurtz was equally as responsible for the initial success of the Star Wars franchise. And considering the general dip in quality of the series immediately after he left it completely to Lucas (after Empire), he has never been given the credit he was properly due.

 

And that one man fucked the series over with his terrible prequels. I thank the movie gods every night that Disney booted Lucas and handed the series over to the right people.

 

Non-spoiler question:

I haven't found this addressed elsewhere and it's been bugging me since I first saw TFA. What is the difference between the Republic and the Resistance? My viewpoint has been skewed by the now non-cannon Expanded Universe stories, namely the Thrawn Trilogy, which sees the members of the Rebellion/Alliance taking over the government. All battles take place between the New Republic and the remnant of the Empire. The fight in TFA is between the First Order and the Resistance. Yet the New Order attacks the Republic. Did the Republic not know the First Order was their enemy? Did they invest in Resistance via proxy war? Why were those responsible for the fall of the Empire not involved with the new government?

 

Not sure if this is official:

http://scifi.stackexchange.com/ques...nship-between-the-resistance-and-the-republic

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Resistance

 

My understanding is that the Republic is like the U.N., while the Resistance is their secret security force against any bad guys who appear in the galaxy.

 

I just saw it in Imax 3D having successfully avoided all reviews, spoilers, etc beforehand. I've seen every Star Wars film on its opening night since Empire and have always enjoyed the series (loved the originals). I did not like the film. As a horror fanatic, it is my opinion that a good antagonist is as important (if not more so) than the protagonist. Kylo Ren was simply Hayden Christiansen-like. The supreme chancellor was dreadful. The "special" stormtrooper is only in the film to lower shields. Not one character was imposing or threatening at all. The soundtrack was forgettable which is surprising because say what you want about the prequels, they all had amazing scores. Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac were all excellent. The original cast just didn't have enough to do. Their interactions seemed forced. I'm sure you're all going to disagree with this as well, but the non-human characters all looked really off (i.e. Admiral Ackbar). Practical or CGI, they didn't look any better or worse than the prequel characters (they just had better lines and delivery). All in all, the film felt like an old-timers game. Way too much of the original trilogy was jammed into this film. Perhaps my opinion will change once I've seen the other two, however I said the same thing after watching The Phantom Menace.

 

After having some time to contemplate TFA, count me in the minority that think it doesn't feel like Lucas' vision (also I liked the prequels ). But I still loved it and am excited to see where it goes.

 

For all you Lucas Truthers out there (), this is his vision for Boba Fett:



"Get 'em, Dad!"

And this vision fucking sucks.

Lucas had some great ideas back in the 70s, but like any great idea man, he eventually ran out of them. I'm speaking about his narrative here. Sure, he had--and still may have--great ideas about spaceships and engines and political trade federations between aliens. But he lost his spark decades ago from a story standpoint. And he got too big for people to tell him "No," and he got too big to listen to others when it came to telling stories (there's a reason Disney brought Kasdan back aboard and not Lucas). His vision fizzled with the prequels into complete bullshit like the above.

 

I'm convinced that the only reason why Lucas' work from the 70s was good is because he had Kurtz there to bounce ideas off of and to tell him when his ideas sucked. Once Gary called it quits, George entered an echo chamber and never left again.

 

I doubt any of Boba Fett's origin was considered during the original trilogy. But he died like a noob in the Pit of Carkoon. Deal with it.

Also has anyone seen THX 1138? I hear it's only good because someone other than Lucas was involved!

 

Thus proving my point? By the time his origin was considered, Lucas' vision had fizzled.

And Boba's death is one of the most memorable in the SW universe, I think.

 

Yes I was agreeing with you. Boba, who is a relatively minor character, was certainly only included in the prequels because of how much the fans liked him. Assuming otherwise would be ridiculous.

 

Who is assuming otherwise?

 

I feel that this Rick McCallum lacked the balls to say "This doesn't work George" at any point during the prequels. When all is said and done, Lucas put Star Wars from pen to paper. He secured the merchandising rights which is a huge reason why these films maintained their popularity in the 70's, 80's and 90's.

It is because of Star Wars that countless companies, jobs, industries even exist. Everything worked out perfectly with the imput of countless talented individuals, especially John Williams' flawless soundtrack.

As far as that Boba "Get 'em Dad" scene, the special effects and sound are incredible. Other than Ewan McGregor, the acting in that scene (and in that film) is awful.

 

Nurf Herders.

 

I rewatched the movie during the weekend, and it was even better the second time
Noticed a couple of details that I missed out on the first time, and I had more time to fully concentrate on the movie, without having an fan-orgasm every five minutes
I actually think that Snoke looked better this time, as the shock of having a CGI character suddenly pop up, didn't bother me now.

I REALLY love the comical situations, the dialogue and the new characters. The scene with Han Solo, having a stand off, with the other smugglers/gangsters, and the tentacle monsters going berserk,
was even more hilarious this time

At the moment, I actually feel like it surpasses "A New Hope" as well, but we'll see how I feel on my third and forth viewing.
Empire never gets old, but I'm having a harder time to sit down and watch A New Hope and Jedi these days, after having seen them about a billion times, during the last 30 years

The theater was still packed, and the magic in the air, was just as strong as on the opening night.

Wonder if I can wait until the Blu-Ray release, or if I'm going a third time as well