Star Wars: Episode VII to be directed by J.J. Abrams **NON SPOILER THREAD** — Page 77

Just a rumour, but potentially exciting if true:

http://www.jedinews.co.uk/news/news.aspx?newsID=14102

Just about the only part of this rumour that's even remotely close to being exciting is the speculation that Ford (allegedly) deemed the story (not the script) potentially not shit in the form it's (allegedly) been presented to him. Or, more accurately, the part of the story that's related to his character. Yay.

That aside, I don't see how going back to the old characters is a good idea at this point. Leave them be, think of something new. Indiana Jones 5 is an equally horrible idea. Friggin' Hollywood :/

The Indiana Jones 5 news excites me. I believe there's still potential for a great Indy movie. The real problem will KOTCS was the script. The film was actually enjoyable, just unfocused. If they can get that right (and I don't see why they can't, there won't be another two decades of re-writes) then everyone will be happy because we'll all walk home with one last great adventure.

DominicCobb said:

The Indiana Jones 5 news excites me. I believe there's still potential for a great Indy movie. The real problem will KOTCS was the script. The film was actually enjoyable, just unfocused. If they can get that right (and I don't see why they can't, there won't be another two decades of re-writes) then everyone will be happy because we'll all walk home with one last great adventure.

I don't share your optimism. And I disagree about it being enjoyable.

The way I see it, the single element that gets screwed up completely almost every single time in modern big budget movies is the script, and KotSC had a lot of problems aside from that. Passing the torch/the bits about shoving in Indy's son (indicative of the general approach to the film), general fakeness due to CGI extravaganza, Ford being an old man (I like the guy, but he's hardly a convincing Indy at this point and people need to get over that) and so on. Yeah, all of that could potentially be solved and if it gets solved there's a chance the movie won't suck, but that's a huge "if".

DominicCobb said:

everyone will be happy because we'll all walk home with one last great adventure.

That already happened back in 1989.

m_s0 said:

Just about the only part of this rumour that's even remotely close to being exciting is the speculation that Ford (allegedly) deemed the story (not the script) potentially not shit in the form it's (allegedly) been presented to him. Or, more accurately, the part of the story that's related to his character. Yay.

That aside, I don't see how going back to the old characters is a good idea at this point. Leave them be, think of something new. Indiana Jones 5 is an equally horrible idea. Friggin' Hollywood :/

Each to his/her own, of course. But I AM excited by the prospect (key word) of an Indy 5. Harrison can still do a perfectly good job with the part in my humble opinion. Having to think his way out of situations rather than relying on his brawn of the past could be interesting. Those who just want an action film of course wouldn't be interested - but their loss... I think he did a great job with what little he had in Crystal Skull. I think a return to exploring (instead of running into and out of a temple within a few minutes and wasting those superb sets) & a more serious tone (with MOMENTS of natural rather than forced humour) WITHOUT any family members tagging along, and using brains and a little good luck in his escapades could make for a decent Indy flick again. I didn't think Crystal Skull was an absolute disaster, but like Last Crusade it went way too far into comedy and parody. They might as well have had Indy winking at the camera in the 'snake as rope' scene - truly awful!

Frankly, I think Indiana Jones - AND Harrison Ford - both deserve a decent send off. Something truly spectacular. A good film in its own right, without having had to have seen any of the others. I'd love for Lucas to just say OK, I'm never going to get around to doing this, I realise it's now or never & we owe this to Harrison and all the fans, hand the story idea over to somebody who's young and hungry to prove themselves, and let them get on with making a great film. I'm sure if the script was truly solid, it would rekindle Spielberg's enthusiasm to do this right - I sensed he was on auto-pilot mode in Crystal Skull.

So I'm not excited by the prospect of another Indy 4, but I am excited about the potential to get things back on track again.

And the news that Han Solo might have some sort of multi-film story arc is also exciting, at least to me. Shows he cares about what they're going to do with the older characters. And the fact they're taking their time with the script is also encouraging. Time will tell......

Those who just want an action film of course wouldn't be interested - but their loss...

Wait, what? It's an old-school adventure movie. Yeah, you'd need to have the old man think more and punch people less, but you can't lose the action entirely, because that's what these movies are about.

That kind of reasoning and lack of understanding of the source material got us the bloated mess that is the "plot" of the prequel trilogy, for crying out loud.

using brains and a little good luck in his escapades could make for a decent Indy flick again.

Right. "Look ma, no hands!" I just can't see Indy as MacGyver at all.

And once again, these movies did get a pretty good send off. In 1989.

m_s0 said:

Those who just want an action film of course wouldn't be interested - but their loss...

Wait, what? It's an old-school adventure movie. Yeah, you'd need to have the old man think more and punch people less, but you can't lose the action entirely, because that's what these movies are about.

That kind of reasoning and lack of understanding of the source material got us the bloated mess that is the "plot" of the prequel trilogy, for crying out loud.

using brains and a little good luck in his escapades could make for a decent Indy flick again.

Right. "Look ma, no hands!" I just can't see Indy as MacGyver at all.

 

And once again, these movies did get a pretty good send off. In 1989.

No need to be quite so brash - these ARE just films we're discussing here...

Indy 1-3 had their fair share of action & 'fisticuffs', but what the films also had is a lot of intelligence above/beyond the average shit that passes for entertainment these days. I think it'd be interesting to see an older Indy for one more. I like seeing Harrison do his thing - he thrives with a good script. With a bad one he phones it in & looks & sounds bored. And as I said, I think there's potential for one more great film left assuming the script is a cracker. You disagree - that's life. Ford's still more than capable of running around, punching, driving, flying a plane etc - he does all these things in real life... perhaps not the punching..... (!). He's stayed in shape, and could probably kick the shit out of any of us still... So why can't he still do one more? It just takes a bit of imagination to come up with suitably exciting situations to make the most of that in, whilst acknowledging his age. A decent script writer could manage this without any daft nuked fridge moments... No he probably couldn't get dragged behind a truck anymore and climb back upto the front as a character, but he was never THAT aggressive or full-on an action-based character compared with other franchises when you stop and think about the other films. There's FAR more walking around and talking in these films than wall-to-wall action, despite the fact there are memorable action moments in each - Indy was never a Bond or a Bourne, and thank God for that.

Depends what people get out of the films though. It's the iconic character moments for me, seeing Harrison do his thing, over the action. I still think the first half of Crystal Skull was actually pretty solid (fridge moment aside), as it was Indy driving the story & action beats. Then he tags along for the adventure in the second half, where it all went to pieces.

Last Crusade: 100% agree it was a perfect sendoff, but now they've spoiled that with Crystal Skull, I'd like to see a proper send off for both Indy and Harrison. I think they both deserve it... IF it's good.

Anyways, we obviously disagree on what constitutes a great Indy film, so I'll respectfully bow out here... ;)

Back to Star Wars.

The Abrams Star Wars may not be great in the end, but I don't think it's possible that he could turn in a movie that is worse than any of the prequel films. As much as I dislike Abrams as a director, I don't he could make a deadly combination of CSPAN, CGI demo reel, toy commercial, and bad soap opera. In other words, the bar has been set too low for him to mess it up.

crystal skull is not bad, i've seen far worse. i'm happy that harrison keeps going. one of the last big time movie stars.

vacuum said:

crystal skull is not bad, i've seen far worse. i'm happy that harrison keeps going. one of the last big time movie stars.

The Indiana Jones saga should have ended in 1989.   Crystal Skull shouldn't have been made.  'I've seen far worse',  what a great way to convince someone to watch a movie.  

The last one was set in '57 or so, so the new Indy film could be right in the middle of the '60's......'Yeah Baby'

J

A CATCH ME IF YOU CAN-era Indy movie, directed by Spielberg from a story he actually wants could be pretty cool. 

All this really suggests that Han (and by extension at least some of the old gang) is getting a more substantial role in the rewrite. 

It's the same link posted at the top of this page. And for now it's only a rumour.

To me it sounds too good to be true (three more movies with Han Solo plus an Indy movie that might rectify KOTCS?).

He wont die in Episode VII, but I think he will sacrifice himself before the end of the trilogy.

Ford may have wanted Solo to die back in the days of ESB and ROTJ, but the only purpose he served in ROTJ was to be saved, so you can understand Ford's reasoning.  After that, he didn't do much that affected the story.

If his character arc in the new trilogy serves to be meaning and impactful, he may have no problem reprising the role two or three more times.  And he may end up dying anyways (like I said, hopefully in a sacrificial way), but it wont be in Episode VII.