Star Wars: Episode 7

[mattster]

Since my childhood, I've anticipated nothing more than an addition to the StarWars saga, and episode VII is a dream come true!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7CtvaartRY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snph22qSUMU

What are our comments/thoughts on the new film(s)?

Personally I can't wait, and hopefully with Disney's money and the latest technology this film should be incredible!! :D

[Agilemind]

I'm sure the effects and visuals will be great but the story and the acting worry me. I've heard Harrison Ford/Han Solo is going to a reasonably big part and in all the recent movies Harrison Ford has been in he just looks tired and a bit fed up of acting, plus Ford never liked playing Solo in the original trilogy so I just can't see him doing a good job of it.

Plus Star Wars is a fantasy-adventure franchise it needs young actors who run around shooting blasters and feel exciting, I just can't see the old cast being able to pull that off. -> I would have rathered an all new cast with perhaps a cameo from one of the original cast like the Star Trek reboot.

I also worry about JJ Abrams getting caught up in excessive fan-service/references like Star Trek Into Darkness again, that tends to ruin stories because the plot is forced through ridiculous hoops so that this or that reference can be put in.

But OTOH they can't be worse than the prequels.

[Reverend Jim]

First of all, JJ Abrams doesn't know shit about Star Trek. See the excellent Star Trek by the Minute blog for more explanation. Against my better judgement I watched "Star Trek Into Darkness". More of the same nonsense and idiotic plot holes. for example, they establish that the new transporters can transport with shields up (Carol Marcus is taken off the Enterprise), then cannot (Khan is unable to beam his "crew" off the Enterprise). Then there is the "Windows pipes screen saver" nightmare of en engine room. Does Abrams think that the Enterprise is steam powered?

For the record, Harrison Ford actually wanted the role of Han Solo but was refused by George Lucas. He was, however, allowed to read with the cast until Lucas finally relented.

[deceptikon]

But OTOH they can't be worse than the prequels.

O ye, of little faith. It could be much worse than the prequels. In terms of suckage, the prequels failed in three big areas:

1. Trying to explain the force.
2. Shoehorning a romance in the unlikeliest of places.
3. Comedy relief character(s) that only pissed us off.

My personal opinion is that Disney could easily acquire rights to any of the book series for Star Wars and have an instant blockbuster storywise. The Thrawn series or X-Wing series come immediately to mind as good choices.

[<M/>]

Ford never liked playing Solo in the original trilogy so I just can't see him doing a good job of it.

I am pretty sure a fat check will make him happy enough to play the role.

First of all, JJ Abrams doesn't know shit about Star Trek.

I wouldn't say he knows nothing... he may surprise you... also, i am not sure who else should direct the new film, he may be the best pick.

1)Trying to explain the force.
2)Shoehorning a romance in the unlikeliest of places.
3)Comedy relief character(s) that only pissed us off.

1)They didn't too bad... but yes they could explain more like they do in their video games.
2) I am not into romantic scenes in movies, so I don't really have anything positive about it.
3)Hopefully they don't bring back Jar Jar Binks as an important character...

Harrison Ford actually wanted the role of Han Solo but was refused by George Lucas.

He would be a good pick when you think about it... only if he played a retired version of him...

I kind of wished Star Wars VII was about the Old Republic... but oh well, lets hope for this best for this one...

[deceptikon]

1)They didn't too bad... but yes they could explain more like they do in their video games.

Or they could not explain it. That's a huge problem with sci-fi and fantasy these days: authors try to explain phenomena in their world when it's completely unnecessary and often detrimental to the story.

2) I am not into romantic scenes in movies, so I don't really have anything positive about it.

Romance is fine, provided it's done in a way that doesn't break immersion. One thing good authors learn very quickly is that romance is freaking hard to get right.

He would be a good pick when you think about it... only if he played a retired version of him...

The Han Solo from the books is a badass despite not being runny shooty as much anymore. I'd be all for them going that route.

[mike_2000_17]

1)Trying to explain the force.

I agree that some things are just better left unexplained. I think that fans love the Force as just this mystical force that gives some awesome powers. The fans think "If the Force existed, it would be awesome!", and the only explanations that are needed is to explain exactly how awesome it is (i.e., like Yoda's training of Luke), but not where it comes from or how it could be worked around the rules of physics or whatever.. that's just part of the suspension of disbelief.

2)Shoehorning a romance in the unlikeliest of places.

Well, the problem is that they needed to create this very critical romance between Anakin and Padme in order to get Luke and Leia conceived. So, you can't blaim them for putting that one romance in the prequels. However, you can blaim them for doing a really bad job at it. Since romance is so hard to get right, they should have planned it out better and given more efforts writing, acting and directing those scenes.

The only reason that the Leia / Han romance worked pretty well in the original series is because it just came out naturally from the chemistry of the actors, the contrast between the characters, and the well-written dialogue between them.

3)Comedy relief character(s) that only pissed us off.

I think that if it was only about George Lucas, then entire movie would be a comedy for children. There's been plenty of evidence that Lucas constantly pushes for two things: special effects and child-level slapstick comedy relief.

4) I would add that the prequels suffered mainly from really terrible writing. For once, Lucas played a major part in writing them, did it in haste, and is a self-admitted terrible script-writer. The original series was written with much more time and a lot of collaborations with some really good script-writers, and that's the main reason it was so good. When I watch the prequels again, that's what really stands out: really terrible dialogue.

[Reverend Jim]

The only reason that the Leia / Han romance worked pretty well in the original series is because it just came out naturally from the chemistry of the actors, the contrast between the characters, and the well-written dialogue between them.

It didn't hurt that Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford were romantically involved during filming. Apparently the chemsitry wasn't just on-screen.

[deceptikon]

Well, the problem is that they needed to create this very critical romance between Anakin and Padme in order to get Luke and Leia conceived. So, you can't blaim them for putting that one romance in the prequels.

Hmm, they needed to get Luke and Leia conceived, that I'll agree with. But I can blame them for the choice of characters as it didn't have to be Padme. The whole Padme thing seemed poorly thought out to me. It struck me as "well, we have this high profile female character, and this critical male character, and the male character needs to get some for the next three movies to make sense. Let's put them together in a weird way because it would be too much trouble to think of a more realistic progression of events!"

[Agilemind]

My suckage list for the prequels:

1) Action scenes have too much shit going on and not enough emotion and often are too long. Like the Obi-Wan vs Anakin fight should have been half as long as it was because I was just bored by the end. Also there are so many scenes of Jedi easily trashing the useless battle droids that again they were boring. Each prequel only has one action scene I actually remember since watching them: 1 = pod race, 2 = gladiatoral battle, 3 = Anakin vs Obi Wan. None of the others were memorable at all.

2) Plots didn't make any logical sense so all the characters end up looking stupid. And I didn't really care who won because it was never clear what the stakes were.

3) All the characters other than Obi-Wan were just dull and nothing-y (because of the bad writing & bad acting). I actually sort of liked Jar Jar, even though he was annoying, because at least he had some personality unlike pretty much everyone else.

[mike_2000_17]

But I can blame them for the choice of characters as it didn't have to be Padme. The whole Padme thing seemed poorly thought out to me.

I don't think that the choice of Padme as the "lucky lady" was inherently bad. After the first of the prequel movies (The Phantom Menace), they had a decent setup to work with (at least, on paper). They did need a high-profile female, they did need it to be a romance (What else? .. A one-night stand?), and it also made sense to have the seed of the affection planted before any Jedi training. So, overall, they were in a decent position (plot-wise) at that point.

It's really on the second movie that they missed the mark completely. They clearly had no inspiration on how to make that romance happen in a believable way; it felt like the kind of romantic fantasy that a pre-teen with a crush would make up (e.g., something will force us to be together somehow, then we'll play and laugh together, and we'll be in love, and then we'll kiss on the lips!). It's the least imaginative and most forced way to create a romance. It was just really lazy on their part.

And in the third prequel movie, they just had to build on the terrible foundation of the previous one, but mainly they had really terrible dialogue and acting between the two characters. The dialogues in that movie should go down as some of the worst dialogue ever written, I mean, just look at this pile of crap:

Anakin Skywalker: You are so... beautiful. 
Padmé: It's only because I'm so in love. 
Anakin Skywalker: No, it's because I'm so in love with you. 
Padmé: So love has blinded you? 
Anakin Skywalker: [laughs] Well, that's not exactly what I meant. 
Padmé: But it's probably true. 

This dialogue is so bad and uninspired, it crushes your soul.

This is slightly off topic but I just went to see transformers today and it pains me how movies these days seems to be all about fitting as many special effects as possible into the film. It was diabolical, 2 and half hours of crapola, there's no sense of drama or event a hint of a well thought out storyline.

Your senses are crammed with fast moving special effects you have no appreciation for it. There is no anticipation or build up leading you to gasp in awe... That was some of the reasons I liked the old style movies.

I'm not soppy... well maybe I am just a tad but a good romance script binds you to the characters. It isn't bad. You feel part of the story, you live the characters struggles and celebrate their victories.

Gravity was ground breaking because it was something I'd never seen before, the special effects were sparse and savoured and it had a catching storyline to boot.

Movies are made by their scripts, and a good script usually sells itself. I just hope in this next starwars movie it isn't a crappy special effects bonanza.

[deceptikon]

I don't think that the choice of Padme as the "lucky lady" was inherently bad.

Not inherently, but very poorly executed. ;)

This is slightly off topic but I just went to see transformers today and it pains me how movies these days seems to be all about fitting as many special effects as possible into the film.

Rear Window is one of my favorite movies, and a stellar example of the exact opposite of our current special effects extravaganzas. Special effects are icing on the cake, but a compelling plot and interesting developed characters are the core.

Rear Window is one of my favorite movies

Interesting James, I might try and watch that somehow on the interweb, loved Hitchcock's 'The birds' and of course 'Psycho.'

Another favourite movie director of mine has to be Kubrick, now those guys really knew how to create memorable movies when they didn't have all these special effects to muddy the script.

A masterclass in, scripting, music choice and drama.

I have mixed feelings about it. I have always been a big fan of star wars and having Disney make a 7th episode is kind of nervous for me.

[Reverend Jim]

Disney will probably add "based on a true story" to the intro.

I might cry if they do!

[<M/>]

Disney will probably add "based on a true story" to the intro.

Or they might throw in a mickey mouse in there somehow... or maybe some form of a disney character in there...

[jwenting]

hmm, Disney Star Wars... Hannah Montana meets a tribe of dancing Jar Jar Binks and they sing Kumbaya together while the planet explodes around them, only to be saved at the last second by Han Solo flying by in a shining white space ship that runs on moonbeams and leaves a rainbow trail as it goes into hyperspace.

[happygeek]

Starring Jim Carrey as...?

[mike_2000_17]

And Miley Cyrus can make a comeback to disney as a tongue-flailing, crazed, twerking, naked, alien... no makeup required.

[<M/>]

... they already throw in star wars into other disney shows, have you guys seen the latest Phineas and Ferb?

the Star Wars scream is in many other movies. In Indiana Jones raiders of the lost. ark there is a seen where the ark is being carried out and enshrined on it is a picture c3po and r2d2.

[<M/>]

@Warrens, well... that must have came out before disney was even involved with anything George Lucas did

here is something I found at wookepedia http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Wilhelm_scream
I also found all the movies with the famous scream http://www.cinexcellence.com/complete-list-of-wilhelm-screams/

[vegaseat]

A agree with <M/>, Mickey Mouse needs to be introduced as the real hero of the silly thing.

[Reverend Jim]

In the movie THX 1138, a voice on a car radio says "I think I ran over a wookie back there on the expressway."

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[mattster]

Maybe Disney will throw all of their money in, hijack George Lucas' ideas and come up with a bloody good film?

Or not lol

All I know is that it will be In their best interest to not screw this up otherwise they are going to have the whole nerd population on their doorsteps and there will be a hanging.

[mattster]

Aha lol exactly ;)