Star Wars: The Nerds Awaken [SPOILERS WITHIN]

kien · #1 12-24-2015, 05:06 PM

Yes, spoilers!! Turn back now if you don't want SPOILERS!

WarDog · #2 12-24-2015, 05:16 PM

WARNING! WARNING!

DO NOT SCOLL DOWN!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!!

WarDog · #3 12-24-2015, 05:23 PM

OK, first off, I enjoyed the movie... but where was the original content?

A lovable droid, in the desert, carrying top secret plans(map).
An ultimate weapon, destroyed at the end.
A mission to disable the shield generator.
Young protagonist with unknown force ability.

I can deal with the Han Solo closure, but I thought the Ben Solo relationship could have been avoided. I mean, for a franchise that is famous for the 'I am your Father' reveal, why did they decide to play that card again?

...and where was the music? I found the soundtrack was very drowned out in the background.

kien · #4 12-24-2015, 05:26 PM

Right, now that we've got that out of the way

First off, I thought that on its own merits as a standalone movie it was phenomenal. It had all the hallmarks of a Star Wars movie. Great visuals, actions, pacing, the mythology. They were all there. It was quite entertaining in its own right.

Now, if I may put on my uberfan critics hat..

I felt that it was more like a reboot of Episide IV than a sequal to Episode VI. I've heard this sentiment from a lot of other fans. I guess they decided to play it safe and just recycled all the plot, theme and base story of Episode IV. This is unfortunate (for an uberfan like me), as I was hoping for a somewhat original story. Like most, I didn't like Episode I either, but at least it had somewhat of an original story/theme/plot (within the context of the Star Wars Universe of course). Actually, I felt All Episodes I through VI where pretty original despite their faults (bad acting, dialogue, etc). Episode VII unfortunately didn't feel at all original. You can take the entire script of Episode IV and translate it to Episode VII by just changing genders, and inverting a few themes. Even the ending where they lead into Episode VIII felt like we were just about to watch Episode V all over again, and revisiting all of those themes and plots.

kien · #5 12-24-2015, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarDog

OK, first off, I enjoyed the movie... but where was the original content?

A lovable droid, in the desert, carrying top secret plans(map).
An ultimate weapon, destroyed at the end.
A mission to disable the shield generator.
Young protagonist with unknown force ability.

I can deal with the Han Solo closure, but I thought the Ben Solo relationship could have been avoided. I mean, for a franchise that is famous for the 'I am your Father' reveal, why did they decide to play that card again?

...and where was the music? I found the soundtrack was very drowned out in the background.

uh, yup. +1

Oh, and on your note about the music, yes! That hadn't occurred to me until you just mentioned it. That was the other lacking element that I couldn't quite put my finger on until you mentioned it now. I was totally missing the blaring music that pushed the scenes of the original movies. The music/soundtrack was much much more subdued in comparison. I hardly felt that the new Stormtroopers were marching at all, unlike the original movies where you knew they were marching with that intense imperial march theme.

WarDog · #6 12-24-2015, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kien

uh, yup. +1

Oh, and on your note about the music, yes! That hadn't occurred to me until you just mentioned it. That was the other lacking element that I couldn't quite put my finger on until you mentioned it now. I was totally missing the blaring music that pushed the scenes of the original movies. The music/soundtrack was much much more subdued in comparison. I hardly felt that the new Stormtroopers were marching at all, unlike the original movies where you knew they were marching with that intense imperial march theme.

Exactly! I heard a few of the original themes throughout the film, but for the life of me I couldn't hear one new theme at all. Lucas always said that the music was half the film (which, despite their faults, was successful in Ep I - III).

WarDog · #7 12-24-2015, 05:35 PM

Surprisingly, after watching EP VII last night and thinking about it... I have to say I have a much greater appreciation for I -III.

kien · #8 12-24-2015, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarDog

Surprisingly, after watching EP VII last night and thinking about it... I have to say I have a much greater appreciation for I -III.

Yes! I actually like episode 2&3. But as you said, I definitely appreciate them more now

I dunno, aside from the obvious recycling, maybe we just miss the Lucas feel of Star Wars. This definitely didn't feel Lucasy, which might be why so many people loved it :-)

WarDog · #9 12-24-2015, 05:55 PM

I think that might be right. It felt like a Star Wars film, just lacking story wise.

WarDog · #10 12-24-2015, 05:59 PM

So, what did we like about the film? I thought the humor was good and not overwhelming. BB8 was pure awesomeness, I was in love with him after only a few minutes. Finn seemed to be an interesting character, looking forward to seeing his development... and Rey was interesting. Seems she has a lot of self discovering to do.