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Star Wars Force Awakens viewing thread (spoilers)

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Chris said:
And yeah. That was the most common complaint I saw in each review, was that it took itself too seriously and was humorless.
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Kind of a strange complaint. Just seems like they were going for a different tone with this one.
 
Decent, but not great reviews so far. Same criticism about lack of depth etc.

It was a troubled production with the Edwards actually being locked out of the editing process. Two visions for the film competing against each other and it appears the reviews are reflective of that.

But, most seem to agree it is enjoyable as the actors and the basic premise is interesting. Will be fun to see this thread in a week.
 
Jack Brickman said:
Kind of a strange complaint. Just seems like they were going for a different tone with this one.
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I saw a decent number of reviews that had a tone of "it takes itself too seriously".

I get it that if you are a movie critic and not a big Star Wars fan, you see the franchise as somewhere between a way to sell toys to kids and a silly fantasy space opera. And they have evidence to support that. But I think some of them aren't capable of viewing the franchise as possibly being able to tell a darker story (even though the generally most loved entry, Empire, is also definitely the darkest"). They think of SW as BB8 and Jar Jar and Ewoks and no depth.

/rant
 
Catalyst review

I'll put it in spoilers, but doesn't really spoil anything from Rogue One, I think.

The main point of the book was to establish the relationship between Galen Erso (Madds Mikkelson) and Orson Krennic (Ben Mendelson). Both met while students in "college". Krennic went on to be an engineer in the Republic military and Erso became a researcher. The novel starts during the Clone Wars. Erso is trying to create sustainable energy. He's a pacifist, so he's working on a neutral planet. Eventually, he and his pregnant wife get captured by the Separatists. Krennic organizes a rescue for Galen, his wife, and now baby daughter (Jyn). Erso has trouble finding work, and refuses to work for the military in any capacity, even after the war ends.

Krennic, meanwhile, is a Commander trying to advance his way up the Republic/Imperial military. His plan is to get the Death Star built, which he feels will get him promoted to Admiral. He makes some progress in getting the facility built, and develops a rivalry with Tarkin. When he hits a snag, he realizes that his old friend Erso is really the only scientist with the knowledge to create enough energy to make a weapon this big, however he knows Erso will never work for the military. He eventually gets Erso to work a special energy project for empire, under the guise that the project is to provide sustainable energy to underdeveloped planets.

Krennic is engaging is some black market arms deals that allows the Empire to pillage some natural resources from planets that were supposed to be ecologically protected. Galen's wife, who is a geologist, eventually uncovers this, and convinces Galen that his energy project is actually going to be used for a superweapon. While Krennic is busy trying to outscheme Tarkin, Galen, his wife, and his daughter escape to remote planet to hide from Krennic and the Empire. The novel ends with the Ersos living peacefully on this planet, and Krennic being demoted for losing Erso and putting the Death Star construction in jeopardy.

My guess is that the movie picks up with Krennic finding Galen and forcing him to renew his work.
 
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gourimoko said:
Wait.. really?
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I remember a story where they brought in a different editor late in the process. The initial reports were that Edwards wasn't in the editing process, but I believe they were at least partially debunked.
 
gourimoko said:
Wait.. really?
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Seems to be just how Disney does business at this point. If you don't agree with their vision, you get replaced. They basically did the same thing with Edgar Wright on Ant-Man. I think he technically walked away, but only because they said it was their way or nothing.
 
Jack Brickman said:
Seems to be just how Disney does business at this point. If you don't agree with their vision, you get replaced. They basically did the same thing with Edgar Wright on Ant-Man. I think he technically walked away, but only because they said it was their way or nothing.
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Although Wright signed on to do Ant Man well before Disney bought Marvel, and even before the concept of the MCU was formed. It was supposed to be more of a stand alone instead of part of a shared universe.

Edwards was hired by Disney/Lucasfilm. I think some of the stories about reshoots and production problems were overblown.
 
col63onel said:
Edwards was hired by Disney/Lucasfilm. I think some of the stories about reshoots and production problems were overblown.
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That's probably the case with a lot of stories like this. There are always going to be creative disagreements when you're working for a massive company like Disney that wants things done a certain way.

Hard to really argue with Disney's success these days, though. Their Marvel movies have just been killing it, both from a profit perspective and a quality one. The jury is still out on Star Wars, as we're only on movie number two and I haven't seen it yet, but their Marvel success should at least show they know what they're doing.
 
Jack Brickman said:
Their Marvel movies have just been killing it, both from a profit perspective and a quality one. The jury is still out on Star Wars, as we're only on movie number two and I haven't seen it yet, but their Marvel success should at least show they know what they're doing.
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I'm not so sure I would say their Marvel movies have been killing it; at least, not if we're talking about quality of the films rather than just how much they've made.

The Marvel films, to me at least, mostly feel like cookie cutter money grabs. The vast majority of them are forgettable summer blockbusters; again, IMHO. There's a few gems like Strange, Guardians, Deadpool and the first 2 Cap films, but the rest of the movies have been pretty meh as far as like actual movie standards are concerned.
 
After seeing a few more reviews, here are a couple other common thoughts on the movies. Spoilers JIC

- No opening crawl, and the film utilizes time jumps and title cards the way a "normal movie" would.

- A lot of easter eggs and references that a casual SW fan might not get.

- The first half or so moves slowly and the last 1/3 is all action, including what is supposed to be a pretty awesome space battle.
 
gourimoko said:
I'm not so sure I would say their Marvel movies have been killing it; at least, not if we're talking about quality of the films rather than just how much they've made.

The Marvel films, to me at least, mostly feel like cookie cutter money grabs. The vast majority of them are forgettable summer blockbusters; again, IMHO. There's a few gems like Strange, Guardians, Deadpool and the first 2 Cap films, but the rest of the movies have been pretty meh as far as like actual movie standards are concerned.
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Well, Deadpool wasn't Marvel, so it doesn't really belong in this conversation.

They are certainly cookie cutter money grabs. Why would we expect them to be different? Marvel found a formula that works and has been pumping out solid films ever since.

Regardless, I think their quality has remained pretty high. The worst Marvel films are still decent, and the best are quite good. I can't really think of any of their movies that outright sucked. Avengers 2 was kind of bleh, and the third Iron Man is probably the worst of their films, but other than that I guess Thor isn't some peoples' cup of tea, although I enjoyed both of those films even if they weren't amazing.

They're doing a hell of a lot better than DC at maintaining quality, at any rate.
 
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