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Anyone else blase' about the New trilogy? — Page 2

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I've done without mainstream Star Wars for about 30 years, so I really don't have a horse in this race.  That said;  I'm expecting it to be considerably different and much better than anything Lucas could have done.  For that reason alone, I'm looking forward to it.  I'll go out of curiosity and out of respect for what Abrams has given me as a movie-goer; Super 8 and Star Trek 09.

Abrams brought me back to mainstream\current Star Trek.  That's another franchise where I'd long since thought my interest and personal canon had been a completed chapter.

I suppose if I had to come up with a word or thought to describe my views of the next Star Wars film, it would be something along the lines of apathy. 

Lucas ruined the franchise for me back in 1983, so my interest has been 1970s Star Wars or EU that respected the 1970s timeline and characters. Anything even close to that from Abrams will be a gift.  The original cast is back, as are full-size sets, models, techniques, locations, etc. 

All from a director who appears to be a fan or the original feel and story. He's very obviously aligning himself and the film with the 1970s and distancing it all from the prequels.  That's a good sign.

I understand people not being excited though.  This is a franchise that is extremely contaminated with Lucas' arrogance and near resentment of the fan base.  Changes no one asked for, lying about the history and motivation, deliberately squelching the originals, and the total disrespect of the fans by altering the story and then making\selling T-shirts mocking the fans who were upset by it. (Han shot first T-shirts).

Those types of slights by the owner\director are hard to get over.  Particularly when they've been going on for over twenty years.  The franchise is a colossal mess because of Lucas' megalomania.  If anyone can bring respect back to it, it's Abrams.

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hairy_hen said:

...Jar Jar Abrams...

 Oh yes, this.

Oh yes.

[Re: the topic: Yes, completely 'blah-zay'.  I'm only interested in the project to the extent it will potentially entail a release of the OUT as a promotional tie-in.  "Episode VII" I will probably rent on Netflix out of morbid curiosity.]

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Like many here, I'm not hyped up about the ST, but I do plan on seeing it, and I am looking forward to it. I'm trying to keep my expectations low so that I'll enjoy it more, but they aren't low enough that if it sucks I won't be disappointed. From what I've seen so far, I think it's going to be at least moderately good, so that's what I'm expecting.

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imperialscum said:

I am not excited or anything. Still when the films come out I will definitely go see them.

I might warn people who are excited about them going "old school" with SFX etc. That doesn't guarantee that the films will have OT feel at all. It takes much much more than that.

 It's an interesting point, and I do agree that going 'old school' with effects won't mean its going to blend seamlessly with the OT.

But its a start.  The one thing about the PT & OT, is they LITERALLY look like 2 different movie franchises, as they look nothing alike.  The PT is populated with CGI worlds, and the OT is populated with real locations.  From what I have seen, Abrams is going back to filming on real locations.  So from that point of view, they will atleast LOOK alike. 

The key thing is the characters and story.  If the public doesn't care for the new generation ST characters, the same way we didn't care for the PT characters, then the trilogy will be no different.  Luke, Leia and Han are the hook that gets us back into the galaxy and in a sense, make us feel at home again.  But when we walk out of Episode 7, we need to care about Daisy Ridley's character (most likely a Solo Daughter), John Boyega's character, Dominic Gleeson's characters, etc.  Because they are supposedly the Luke, Leia and Han of Episode's 8 & 9. 

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lordsidi said:

Well, IMHO I really liked Super 8 because I grew up in that period and it was nostalgic for me and as much as I had enjoyed most of the previous Star Treks I thought he put a breath of new life into a somewhat old dog. I guess the only gripe with Into Darkness,even though I adore Benedict Cumberbatch is that all the other characters were pretty much similar in look and tone as the original crew,but Khan was supposed to be from India or southeast Asia, I think so why they would cast a very proper sounding Englishman in the role confuses me.   Getting back to my original post though, I maybe in a minority but I'm not even interested in reading anything about Ep 7 or the fact they are bringing Han, Leia and Luke back.  Should I be?

 Agree about Super8.  To me, looking back on it, Super8 was actually proof of concept that JJ Abrams could capture the visual style of Star Wars.  The PT visually appeared to be a different franchise.

The sequels hinge on a couple key factors. 

1. Can it capture that same visual style and feel?

2. Will JJ be able to make us like the characters?  none of the PT characters seemed like anything more than acquaintances to each other.  There was no real bond between any of the character and therefore we could not care less about them.  As I said in another thread, the Millenium Falcon is a key device to that end and I believe it is being used in the sequels as more than just fan service.

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CO said:

imperialscum said:

I am not excited or anything. Still when the films come out I will definitely go see them.

I might warn people who are excited about them going "old school" with SFX etc. That doesn't guarantee that the films will have OT feel at all. It takes much much more than that.

 It's an interesting point, and I do agree that going 'old school' with effects won't mean its going to blend seamlessly with the OT.

But its a start.  The one thing about the PT & OT, is they LITERALLY look like 2 different movie franchises, as they look nothing alike.  The PT is populated with CGI worlds, and the OT is populated with real locations.  From what I have seen, Abrams is going back to filming on real locations.  So from that point of view, they will atleast LOOK alike. 

The key thing is the characters and story.  If the public doesn't care for the new generation ST characters, the same way we didn't care for the PT characters, then the trilogy will be no different.  Luke, Leia and Han are the hook that gets us back into the galaxy and in a sense, make us feel at home again.  But when we walk out of Episode 7, we need to care about Daisy Ridley's character (most likely a Solo Daughter), John Boyega's character, Dominic Gleeson's characters, etc.  Because they are supposedly the Luke, Leia and Han of Episode's 8 & 9. 

 LOL...I pretty much typed the same exact thing.

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The likability of the characters is something I forgot to mention before. Everyone involved with the production is saying how 'human' this movie is, and judging by the ability of Abrams to get a real sense of camaraderie among his actors (Super8, Star Trek 09), I'd say that there's a good chance that Ep 7 is better than even the OT in this regard. It's important to note that Alec Guinness and Harrison Ford hated their lines even in Star Wars, but the trilogy managed to soar despite the stilted dialogue and occasionally awkward delivery.

You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)

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I'd given up on Star Wars totally until the announcement.

It was dead; iterations of meddling with the films I loved and prequels so badly disappointing.

But it's now open and anything is possible and that's exciting, and I love it.

Between Rebels, the new trilogy, the spin offs, the prospect of the OUT, something is going to be good and I can't wait.

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I swore after TPM I would not allow myself to be overly excited by the prospect of a new film.

I failed.

Then I watched Prometheus.

NO MORE!

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To be honest I am not fond of JJ or the new cast. The two bright points I see are John Williams and Lawrence Kasdan. John Williams' music very rarely disappoints. And it is Kasdan who is really to be credited for the amazing character development in ESB.

真実

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I'm excited. However, and this may sound silly, I feel kind of weird about the fact that Lucas isn't involved. While I believe any creative talent he may have had disappeared a long time ago, someone else taking over everything seems kind of...inauthentic. Kind of like if your Mom remarried while your asshole dad is doing life in prison. The new guy might be nice, but he's not your Dad

40,000 million notches away
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Windexed said:

I'm excited. However, and this may sound silly, I feel kind of weird about the fact that Lucas isn't involved. While I believe any creative talent he may have had disappeared a long time ago, someone else taking over everything seems kind of...inauthentic. Kind of like if your Mom remarried while your asshole dad is doing life in prison. The new guy might be nice, but he's not your Dad

 

Absolutely.

Lucas conceived , wrote, produced and directed it(and even when he was not directing.......he was still calling the ultimate shots)

For good or for worse...through the good times and the bad ,Lucas was the common denominator.......the man who put it together.....and who pulled it apart......but he was always there.....he is the undisputed pap of the series.

As for Abrams.......he is nothing more than a Spielberg/Lucas wannabe.

And a poor one at that.

I saw Star Wars in 1977. Many, many, many times. For 3 years it was just Star Wars...period. I saw it in good theaters, cheap theaters and drive-ins with those clunky metal speakers you hang on your window. The screen and sound quality never subtracted from the excitement. I can watch the original cut right now, over 30 years later, on some beat up VHS tape and enjoy it. It's the story that makes this movie. Nothing? else.

kurtb8474 1 week ago

http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=SkAZxd-5Hp8


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 (Edited)

Windexed said:

I'm excited. However, and this may sound silly, I feel kind of weird about the fact that Lucas isn't involved. While I believe any creative talent he may have had disappeared a long time ago, someone else taking over everything seems kind of...inauthentic. Kind of like if your Mom remarried while your asshole dad is doing life in prison. The new guy might be nice, but he's not your Dad

 I felt the same way you did until a saw an interview with Terry Gilliam (Director movies like Twelve Monkeys) and a conversation he had with George Lucas:

Gilliam told a story about a conversation he had with George Lucas who insisted that the computer-generated Yoda was so much better than the puppet version: “I couldn’t get through to him, he couldn’t see how wrong he was!”

As much as I love what George Lucas gave us for the OT, THAT isn't the man who gave us the PT, and would have been involved in the ST.  It really scares me how much the man is obsessed with CGI, and to think that one of his greatest creations:  Yoda Puppet, is secondary to CGI puppet?

Sorry, but Lucas is Darth Vader now.  The good man that he was is more machine then man!

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CO said:

Windexed said:

I'm excited. However, and this may sound silly, I feel kind of weird about the fact that Lucas isn't involved. While I believe any creative talent he may have had disappeared a long time ago, someone else taking over everything seems kind of...inauthentic. Kind of like if your Mom remarried while your asshole dad is doing life in prison. The new guy might be nice, but he's not your Dad

Sorry, but Lucas is Darth Vader now.  The good man that he was is now more CGI than man!

 Fixed.

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 (Edited)

Never again.  If after 6 months, people are still talking about how great it is and still have no complaints, I'll rent it.  The _only_ thing that would get to go see it on opening night would be if Disney gave me an indication that they "get it"
 by releasing a fully restored OT prior to the first official teaser trailer... so that I know they aren't just doing it to hype VII, but because they actually care.

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Good luck avoiding spoilers for that long after the movie is out. ;)

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Where were you in '77?

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Can he really do any worse than Attack of the clones? 

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I'm hoping to see Episode VII on day one for the sole reason that when the thread I created explodes with people's opinions about it, I want to be involved in the discussion, or at least able to read it.

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So many people on this forum seem super jaded. Perhaps I'm just a sci-fi fan, but I'd be hyped about this project even if it didn't have Star Wars in the title. An epic space opera shot on film with old-school sets and practical effects, all scored by John Williams? A whole lot of yes please. I can only assume that people are turned off by the fact that it has Star Wars in it.

You probably don’t recognize me because of the red arm.
Episode 9 Rewrite, The Starlight Project (Released!) and ANH Technicolor Project (Released!)

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On the contrary, I wouldn't be interested at all, and probably not even aware of this, if it wasn't Star Wars. I'm only cautiously optimistic, rather than excited, because I want to be pleasantly surprised. I think it will be far better than the prequels, but I'm trying to suppress any excitement so that I won't be disappointed if it isn't as good as I'm hoping.

Then again, that's just me. I don't get excited about much...

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.Mac. said:

I sense a great deal of pessimism in this thread.

 And it's totally understandable, if we could imagine that this thread is happening 15 years ago before TPM came out I bet that everyone would be in a orgasmic joy since all the reasons to think that the PT is going to be equal or better than the OT are there: Same guy who created SW is behind the PT... what could go wrong?? Then 15 years later, here we are wondering what the f*** George did. I think that we all disagree at some point on how bad the PT was but we all agree that the PT IS worse than the OT.

It's funny if you come to think that the fact that Lucas isn't behind the ST is actually what creates a good expectation because we don't know if it's going to suck or not, if Lucas were the man behind the ST as he was on the PT we would be far more pessimistic.

<span>The statement below is true
The statement above is false</span>

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I'm not excited in the sens that I do not try to catch all the spoilers like when Episode 1 was made. But I have  hopes that it will be good. And I'll probably see it hopening night (or just after) just because I prefer watching it with a bunch of fans rather than in a room full of people texting on their Iphone or talking about something else during the screening...

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CO said:

Windexed said:

I'm excited. However, and this may sound silly, I feel kind of weird about the fact that Lucas isn't involved. While I believe any creative talent he may have had disappeared a long time ago, someone else taking over everything seems kind of...inauthentic. Kind of like if your Mom remarried while your asshole dad is doing life in prison. The new guy might be nice, but he's not your Dad

 I felt the same way you did until a saw an interview with Terry Gilliam (Director movies like Twelve Monkeys) and a conversation he had with George Lucas:

Gilliam told a story about a conversation he had with George Lucas who insisted that the computer-generated Yoda was so much better than the puppet version: “I couldn’t get through to him, he couldn’t see how wrong he was!”

As much as I love what George Lucas gave us for the OT, THAT isn't the man who gave us the PT, and would have been involved in the ST.  It really scares me how much the man is obsessed with CGI, and to think that one of his greatest creations:  Yoda Puppet, is secondary to CGI puppet?

Sorry, but Lucas is Darth Vader now.  The good man that he was is more machine then man!

Gilliam ended up looking dumb in this situation. He is basically saying that someone's opinion is wrong which is stupid. I mean if Lucas thinks CGI is better, that's his opinion. That is like someone preferring oranges to apples while this guy would try to convince him how wrong he is.

真実

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TMBTM said:

I'm not excited in the sens that I do not try to catch all the spoilers like when Episode 1 was made. But I have  hopes that it will be good. And I'll probably see it hopening night (or just after) just because I prefer watching it with a bunch of fans rather than in a room full of people texting on their Iphone or talking about something else during the screening...

 

I'm the exact opposite. I had no interest in Ep III, but went to opening night anyway just to keep the ol' streak going. With the excitement and energy in the theater, I kind of fell victim to the "group think" thing, and left thinking "hey, that wasn't that bad."  Upon later, more objective viewings, I was "yeah, it's pretty lousy."

I do like the point that was brought up about how the ST is viewed as a part of the SW film franchise versus just a new top-tier sci-fi/fantasy IP. I'm not sure at this point whether the SW moniker is more or less influential on my anticipation. What other original properties coming out in the future are interesting? While I'm definitely a jaded SW fan, there's not much else to look forward to that isn't some sort of sequel or adaptation. Channing Tatum with dog ears? No thanks.

I still kind of wish GL was involved in some minor capacity (perhaps extremely minor). Kind of like how Arnold Palmer makes golf courses. He might tell them to put a tree here and a bunker there, but otherwise he just shows up for the opening ceremony, smiles, cuts the ribbon, takes a piss in the bushes, and leaves. The architects, engineers, and other skilled people do 99% of everything, which is how it should be.

40,000 million notches away