TavorX

I feel the opposite. I think TFA is brimming with so much potential that it’s been consuming my mind. For instance, I kept thinking about, if Rey was such a good pilot all along, why was she ‘stuck’ on Jakku? Then it struck me. Rey kept saying she stayed on Jakku, living a rather bleak life, only because she was waiting for her parents to come back! She feared if she left her home that she’d miss a chance to see them return, if ever. That’s so heartbreaking to think about. Usually, when I watch a film, if I linger on more about it, the more I view it less favorably. This has not been the case with TFA and want to see it more!

hydrospanner said:

SilverWook said:

George worked much the same way. He didn’t have the sister thing worked out yet when Yoda spoke of another in Empire. Did Irvin Kershner have to know if Vader really was Luke’s father or not to make that scene work?

I think someone at Lucasfilm will be guiding things. People are not just going to make up whatever they want.

That is true, but also remember that Star Wars was intended to be a stand alone film. A big difference here is this was known to be a trilogy from the get go. So the possibility that they put a bunch of mysteries in the first act that they don’t have any clue what the answers to them are and are then are handing it off to someone else is concerning. I am hoping that is not the case and they have something fleshed out.

This is where I’m fuzzy on the details, but didn’t Lucas already have the drafts for three movies ready before STAR WARS landed in theaters? He let FOX showoff the first Star Wars, but Lucas wanted to run with his other two scripts as an independent studio. From what I infer, if Star Wars flopped at the box office, then there wouldn’t be sequels, however, if it did succeed, it gave Lucas the green light to go on with two more movies with full rights.

This is something I’ve never really sure about when people say STAR WARS was meant to be a stand alone movie.

TK428 said:

Very cool full length Q&A with J.J. Abrams & Lawrence Kasdan at the DGA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlrfnT5KNGc

Thank you for that link! Enjoyed watching that 😃

Erikstormtrooper said:
As for my nitpicks, the only real weakness for me is the whole Starkiller subplot. I’m still not sure what the weapon was destroying with its multiple beams. Was that one system with multiple planets? Was it supposed to be planets from different systems?

Those planets were the capitals of the New Republic in the system called the Hosnian system. During the movie, someone mentions that now all of the Republic fleets are wiped out.

To be honest, I was expecting Starkiller base to have a completely different primary power based on its name: destroying a sun. In the trailers you heard Ren talking about “showing them the darkness”. I figured the First Order would bring about a different kind of terror - the terror of a world and its inhabitants freezing to death in the dark, or maybe the sun exploding and taking out its whole system.

Well, it is a “star” or “sun” killer. It literally drains the star’s energy for its weapon capabilities.

But despite this flaw, I think the movie still works, and it’s filled with plenty of wonderful moments. My personal favorite was the Falcon’s introduction as “garbage”.

I 100% agree there! There were many great moments in this film, but that one sequence stole the show for me! It really caught me off guard as I didn’t pick up on the garbage reference since the Falcon is referred to as “junk” rather than “garbage”. Writers did a brilliant job!

MJR80 said:

I had mixed feelings when I first learned of the Starkiller Base. I don’t know if this has been posted, but does anyone else think it was all a set-up by Snoke? Unless the New Order is completely stupid, it makes sense that this would be the thing to lure Luke out of hiding. In other words, Snoke isn’t above wasting resources, manpower, and Resistance systems and planets to track down one man. It seems like a Sith thing to do.

The way I interpreted it, Snoke achieved what he wanted within that time frame. “We will crush the Resistance.” His Starkiller base does just that, it destroys a significant amount of any mega power resistance against the First Order when it fired on all those Republic planets. Destroying the Republic helps make the path to Luke easier since Luke will have little aid from outside forces if such outside forces, like the Republic, decided defend Luke from the First Order. Of course, we still have the small branch of the Resistance around, but to Snoke, they’re small beans. It would be easier to deal with them than a whole Republic armada.

brash_stryker said:
If they really had to have Starkiller base, I think the Resistance ought to have failed to destroy it (only disabled it). This would have subverted our expectations and made it less of a rehash of ANH/ROTJ. Also it would have made it much darker (Han died for nothing, and Luke is now the Last Hope for the galaxy, just as he was once the NEW Hope).

I too felt disappointed with Starkiller and even had similar thoughts (in my mind, I thought somehow the Resistance would have to take control of it while they figure out its weakness). However, the more I thought about it, Starkiller achieved A LOT than we imagined, compared to the other two Death Stars. The first Death Star was only used for intimidation and only destroyed one peaceful planet, Alderaan. Death Star II only destroyed a few Rebel cruisers but never any other planets. What did Starkiller do? It destroyed actual military targets! It basically wiped out entire Republic fleets. Without a Republic fleet, the Republic is really no more, no more control over a galaxy. Starkiller is no longer really needed at this point, it served its purpose. Now yes, First Order got their crushing blow from the destruction of Starkiller, but it appears it’s no big deal considering how Snoke took it lightly and only instructed that Kylo Ren be returned safely to him for more training. This galaxy has a power vacuum, and it’s up to both the Resistance and the First Order to quickly reclaim control.

joefavs said:
It’s definitely in Clones. I think Owen introduces Beru as his girlfriend when they meet Anakin and Padme? I can’t find the clip on youtube.

This turned out to be fun as I had to literally pop in my DVD. Yep, you are correct after all!

I remember more about a deleted scene than I do about an actual scene that took place in the film. That should say a lot lmao

joefavs said:

TavorX said:

I will admit, there are little things that take me out of the film. When for example, Finn asks Rey, “Do you have a boyfriend?” That right there, like what. Boyfriend? That’s never something ever in the vocabulary in any of the six films. Closest would be Han asking Luke, “Do you think a guy like me and a girl like–” “No” but I dunno, what Finn said felt like such a Earthy thing to say.

I think someone says “girlfriend” in the prequels.

My initial thought was that “I think that’s totally from a deleted scene of AotC”, and yep, around 5:00, “boyfriend” is mentioned instead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM5Lu40PZJQ

Still, I don’t think I recall boyfriend/girlfriend mentioned in any true form of the films. I could be wrong, but I’m almost sure it’s the case.

Harmy said:

Maybe they just renamed Coruscant, just like they renamed everything else that is otherwise exactly the same 😃 Hopefully, we’ll learn more about these things in The First Order Strikes Back 😉

I’m so very curious what the next title will be because this is seemingly the first time both parties are knocked down a lot. Republic was already “striked” hard by Starkiller, and the Resistance landed their blow on Starkiller. Essentially two parties with little power on the galaxy. There’s a huge power vacuum now in the galaxy! So there’s no really any “ATTACK” of the _______ or ________ Strikes Back. But something else. A race to reclaim that power?

I will admit, there are little things that take me out of the film. When for example, Finn asks Rey, “Do you have a boyfriend?” That right there, like what. Boyfriend? That’s never something ever in the vocabulary in any of the six films. Closest would be Han asking Luke, “Do you think a guy like me and a girl like–” “No” but I dunno, what Finn said felt like such a Earthy thing to say.

Man, the more you all talk about this film, the more I’m loving it. Rey is just gold, and I really feel for her.

You make some very nice points Alderaan and I now understand where you’re coming from now. You brought up how you loved RotJ the most as a kid, and that was the same case for me. I’m only 20 and currently, Empire has an edge over RotJ for me, but it does seem like I’m in that ‘phase’ based upon your Star Wars exposure over the years.

So who knows, I might warm up to ANH later on, as you have. Thank you for that insight overall as you put some things into perspective for me.

StardustCamellia said:
“If you’re watching this, then chances are, I’m probably dead. Chewie, don’t let that crazy kid crash the Falcon too bad.”

In all seriousness, I’m not sure how I’d feel about that. It’s tidy, but Han doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to leave a sappy note behind. He was always one to put all his cards on the table. It would work as a narrative device if done right, but at the same time would (at least to me) feel genuinely OOC.

I wasn’t thinking along the lines of Han giving a “In case I’m dead” message, but something else entirely. It could be a happy moment of him with Leia, Han, and Ben. It could be him reaching out to Ben after the incident. Who knows. Spit-balling here mostly, but I think it could work. They say becoming a father is life changing, and during that 30 year gap, he could had gone a little soft and taking a liking to record some good moments in the presence of his kid. Of course, he goes back to regular Han after he cut ties from Leia and Ben heartbreakingly so.

Of course, none of this is really needed. This is only an interesting idea to me IF Kennedy was really serious about what she said.

SilverWook said:

It could always be a hologram recording. Especially if he thought he might not come back from confronting Kylo.

This is actually the most interesting suggestion. Some heart felt holo recording could really offer a balance of sadness and nostalgia that doesn’t take away from his death AND it negates the need for any flashbacks. Brilliant!

Alderaan said:

SilverWook said:
And lest we forget, the original film dropped us into the middle of a conflict we knew little about.

It was structured though to slowly introduce the audience to the Force and nuances of the Star Wars world.

That’s another reason the prequel fanboys like ANH even less. They like to start watching “The Saga” from Episode I and by the time you get to Episode IV, all of that slow-paced, introductory stuff seems out of place.

I wouldn’t consider myself a prequel fanboy here, and I actually grew up mostly with the OT on VHS ('97 SE), but as much as I’m sure many will blow me up faster than I can say Alderaan, I still find A New Hope not all that enticing. I absolutely understand it was a marvel in sound design, scale, and story, but even without the prequels, I much preferred ESB and RotJ. Those two films feel more fast paced in comparison and more engaging to watch in my opinion. A New Hope simply goes in a straight line while the other two start from many points and converge later on.

A New Hope is vastly necessary to introduce Star Wars, but I feel as though as a Star Wars fan, once I get the intro, I’m ready to rock into ESB and RotJ over and over. Different strokes for different folks, but it’s not just Prequel fans that may find ANH slow. However, I assume you saw ANH in theaters and I can understand the nuanced experience you had over me.

joefavs said:

http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/star-wars-producer-kathleen-kennedy-confirms-that-entire-cast-will-return-for-eighth-film-a3139911.html

Kathleen Kennedy confirmed at the European TFA premiere that “all the cast members you see here tonight” will be back for Episode VIII. Present at the event? Harrison Ford. Now, KK could very well have been bending the truth to avoid spoiling TFA, but if she wasn’t, what do we think this means? Personally, my money is on Kylo having an hallucination of the old man.

Max von Sydow is also in that shot too and he was killed within the first scene! I’m thinking they’ll show some flashbacks then as well in VIII…?

I really don’t want to see Han again. Even cameo appearances will make his death feel cheapened.

Edit: Actually, it could work to help flesh out Kylo Ren if need be. Han for flashback (although, that’s a weird territory for a SW film to go into), I’ll tolerate. Han SURVIVING, that’s a huge no-no.

SilverWook said:

It would be an interesting experiment for someone who has never seen the OT to watch TFA.

Edit: Disregard this post.

Depends if some theory floating around that ties some brief mention in the prequels will cross over into the new trilogy (I really hope not). For right now, prequels are definitely not needed in order to enjoy/understand TFA.

StardustCamellia said:
Anyhow, my biggest disappointment thus far was Phasma. I know KK and Abrams have said she’s ‘important,’ but it’ll be hard now for her to pick her self-respect up off the ground given she was seen in TFA. Chalk it up to another part of TFA where it feels something was lost in the editing room.

It’s a little heartbreaking too to think about how the actor herself was saying how this was a powerful role, especially for a woman. Then we go to see her performance and scratch our head of what she meant. Her armor told us she was important, but it didn’t show us what made her remarkable.

It’s a guarantee she’ll come back for VIII, but I too was caught off guard how underwhelming she was in the film.

Just moments later, the whole fucking movie stops in mid-sequence, so Kylo and Finn can look across the battlefield at each other for no reason at all. Could you ever imagine Vader stopping in his tracks to give a random stromtrooper two fucks of time? Is Finn really such a poorly fleshed out character that we need artificial moments like these to spotlight his importance?

Um, no reason at all? Kylo sensed and/or saw that FN did not fire at all. A Stormtrooper not doing what he’s supposed to be doing is something would catch your eye.

But he stops everything he’s doing so he can look up and go “yippee” and laud Poe Dameron’s piloting skills.

I mean yeah, when you thought you were pinned down, some heroes come in for the rescue. I think I’d be thankful and praise whomever came to save the day too.

Also, why does the Resistance not treat Finn with any suspicion whatsoever? Poe and Finn are friends immediately?

Uh, Finn bailed Poe out of abduction early on in the film. Finn SHOT at his own former troopers as Poe tried to free the Tie Fighter. And also, Finn helped out to fight against the First Order when they laid siege on Maz’s place. What could had Finn done that would lead to suspicion at this point? Not to also mention, Finn is walking with Han Solo, and anyone walking with Han on friendly terms I’m sure wins some major street cred.

Regarding Finn with the lightsaber. Yes, I agree, he shouldn’t be skilled with one. Guess what? He isn’t! Han had to save Finn from that melee trooper. Finn never killed anyone with that saber.

hydrospanner said:
Wasn’t there a snake slithering around in his hut when he was making that stew for him and Luke?

Quickly looked up a clip on Youtube, and you’re correct! Case solved.

hydrospanner said:

TavorX said:

^Lmao

Screw it, REY, YOU HAVE NO FATHER!

Just like prequel Anakin?

Is she not the chosen one to bring balance to the Force???

I kid of course. Kinda.

hydrospanner said:

TavorX said:

^Lmao

Screw it, REY, YOU HAVE NO FATHER!

Just like prequel Anakin?

Is she not the chosen one to bring balance to the Force???

I kid of course. Kinda.

Anchorhead said:

I got to the theater about 30 minutes early. As usual with Alamo Drafthouse, the pre-film adds and such are tailored to the feature. In this case it was a bunch of old Kenner toy adds from the late 70s/early 80s. Crazy what a cultural phenomenon it’s been for so long. One was for the toy Yoda Is Your Father has as his avatar. I never did understand that snake part.

Maybe it was a nod to the snake you see Luke walk by when he faces his ‘self’. Only thing I can think of.