[quote=“Chris”]I hear that Spock dies at the end of this one, but then Captain Kirk and the crew revive him in an act of heroism, saving the galaxy.
[/quote]
Spock is the pointy-eared, half Vulcan half Orion green dude right?
[quote=“hansioux”]
Star Wars fan sites:
[quote]
“The original lightsaber duel in Star Wars: A New Hope was choreographed by Peter Diamond. According to Diamond, George Lucas wanted a broadsword-dueling style of fighting, with a touch of Japanese Kendo included. All of the fighting moves in the duel were two-handed strokes, in keeping with Lucas’ initial concept that lightsabers were incredibly heavy and difficult to handle.” [/quote][/quote]
Learn something new yesterday. Learn something new today. Thanks for the nerd lesson
After thinking back, since the first film I watched was RotJ, I never considered the light saber to be heavy in any way. The way Luke wielded it and even when the handle was clipped onto his belt did not really give the illusion that the handle was heavy or if the saber was heavy. I mean, how can you portray that when it’s called, a “light” saber? 
Going to avoid this thread (and the internet) until next Monday after I’ve seen the movie.
Goddamn. I’m already picking up more than I wanted to know from my RSS feed. Even if I do go on Friday, it’s going to be hard to go into this film as blessedly ignorant as I am now.
I saw it!
I was ambivalent about the scene where Jabba Junior clones an army of Darth Vaders to fight the Gungan army of General Jar Jar, the new Jedi Master protagonist. But it was saved when the two armies break out into a Bollywood-style dance number a la West Side Story, in which Bib Fortuna is the lead dancer.
I’ve given in and booked myself tickets for tomorrow evening - avoiding spoilers is already proving difficult!
At least Vieshow now lets you register with an ARC number. That’s new since the last time (long ago) I tried to register with them. Not that it’s much of an issue, since I don’t think I’ve gone to see a film this early in its release since … um … “Return of the King”, I guess.
I just showed up at the Breeze Center theater this morning, bought a ticket to the 11:10 a.m. 3D showing, and got in as if it was nothing big. No crowds. The theater was only about a quarter full.
That’s a classic. So is this one.
I thought it was good. Definitely far far better than the prequels, probably better than Jedi.
And, to be honest, if you’re showing the film in isolation, it’s probably the best movie out of all seven. It didn’t really have any of the acting or writing weaknesses of the first trilogy, although of course a film like this one - one that recaptures magic - is never going to be as good as the film that introduced you to the magic in the first place.
Mild spoilers:
OK, so the plot is a bit of a retread, I have no idea what’s going on with the politics, and the score was a bit overdone without being moving, but still, I enjoyed it.
[quote=“lostinasia”]I thought it was good. Definitely far far better than the prequels, probably better than Jedi.
And, to be honest, if you’re showing the film in isolation, it’s probably the best movie out of all seven. It didn’t really have any of the acting or writing weaknesses of the first trilogy, although of course a film like this one - one that recaptures magic - is never going to be as good as the film that introduced you to the magic in the first place.
[/quote]
I hope new characters backgrounds will be well addressed in the next two movies. I enjoyed how they worked in the old characters. That was handled very well. I think you do need to have watched 4, 5, 6 to fully understand the dynamics on screen though.
[quote=“lostinasia”]
Mild spoilers:
OK, so the plot is a bit of a retread, I have no idea what’s going on with the politics, and the score was a bit overdone without being moving, but still, I enjoyed it.
As I was leaving the theater my wife and I were arguing about the last act recycling A New Hope’s “let’s go on a daring mission to target the super weapon’s fatal flaw!” but then I realized that the act is really about all of the events that take place against that familiar backdrop as in the Solo/Ren confrontation, the Finn/Ren duel, and the Ren/Rey tree slice off. Since all of the other events felt new and different while also feeling quintessentially Star Wars, I found that I didn’t mind the plot concern you raised as much as I did when I left the screening.
They played it too safe. It straight copied from the other stars wars episodes. The acting and special effects were A+ though.
There’s one plot point that doesn’t make much sense to me
So Poe’s jacket means a lot to Finn, it symbolizes Finn’s desire to be more than just a Stormtrooer/machine of war, but how exactly does Poe’s jacket get stuck on the nose of the TIE fighter while he himself is ejected elsewhere without harm? If the jacket is caught on something and separated from Poe, it should have been torn apart, otherwise Poe should have been torn apart. The only way for the jacket to be in tact and separated from Poe is for Poe to have taken his jacket off during the intense escape from the hanger in the tight confined cockpit of the TIE fighter. Sure Poe’s the best pilot of the resistance and all, but I just don’t see him dodging enemy fire and taking his jacket off at the same time… I guess that’s why he got hit?
I didn’t mind the plot similarities that much. The character’s journey is different, that’s enough to make it feel distinct.
Some people are unhappy that the new Starkiller has a exposed weakness just like the old death star. This time around it’s much more engineering sound though. There’s the shield that protects it from being hit. Even when the shield is down the X-wings squadrons failed to take it down. Without Han Solo and the main characters’ unplanned assist from the inside, the Starkiller wasn’t exactly vulnerable.
Since the next part is in the trailers, I will dispense with the spoiler tags. Do people need the force to wield a lightsaber? Finn in the trailers used one. Can we conclude that he is force sensitive from that?
I don’t think using a lightsaber requires the force - doesn’t
General Grievous from the movies that shall not be named
wield a bunch of lightsabers? I head-canoned Finn’s use of a lightsaber by assuming he’d had earlier general weapons training - not necessarily in lightsabers, but, well, sticks/staffs.
The similarities: I didn’t mind them, although had I not grown up with the franchise, I’d probably be more annoyed by them. I freely admit that the fog of nostalgia has dimmed my critical faculties for this one.
A plot hole (?) that may have been answered in the film in a way that I missed:
[spoiler]Han and Chewy just find the Millennium Falcon a few minutes into its first flight in a decade or so?! OK, I know these films always rely on coincidences - Finn crash-landing on a whole planet walking distance away from where the droid he needs is, or for that matter the same thing happening with the droids landing near Obi-Wan back in the very first film - but there’s stretching credulity, and there’s breaking it. But at least in the Star Wars franchise you can always claim that the force so willed it.
On Finn and the force: he was awfully good with the guns too. I think we’re supposed to be wondering if he’s force-sensitive - perhaps that’s one of the reasons Kylo Ren (sp?) noticed him on the planet surface. I’m also guessing that, as per the title, the force is more powerful than we’ve ever seen it before - remember back in the prequels the Jedi talked about how they weren’t able to use the force as well as they had previously. And again, I’m using that as head canon to justify Kylo Ren’s blaster-freeze (boy THAT would have been useful when the Jedi were wiped out!), and especially the way Rey progresses, with no training, from not particularly believing in the force to proving about as adept as Luke was at the end of Jedi. And that’s in 30 minutes or so.[/spoiler]
[quote=“hansioux”]There’s one plot point that doesn’t make much sense to me
So Poe’s jacket means a lot to Finn, it symbolizes Finn’s desire to be more than just a Stormtrooer/machine of war, but how exactly does Poe’s jacket get stuck on the nose of the TIE fighter while he himself is ejected elsewhere without harm? If the jacket is caught on something and separated from Poe, it should have been torn apart, otherwise Poe should have been torn apart. The only way for the jacket to be in tact and separated from Poe is for Poe to have taken his jacket off during the intense escape from the hanger in the tight confined cockpit of the TIE fighter. Sure Poe’s the best pilot of the resistance and all, but I just don’t see him dodging enemy fire and taking his jacket off at the same time… I guess that’s why he got hit?
I didn’t mind the plot similarities that much. The character’s journey is different, that’s enough to make it feel distinct.
Some people are unhappy that the new Starkiller has a exposed weakness just like the old death star. This time around it’s much more engineering sound though. There’s the shield that protects it from being hit. Even when the shield is down the X-wings squadrons failed to take it down. Without Han Solo and the main characters’ unplanned assist from the inside, the Starkiller wasn’t exactly vulnerable.
Since the next part is in the trailers, I will dispense with the spoiler tags. Do people need the force to wield a lightsaber? Finn in the trailers used one. Can we conclude that he is force sensitive from that?[/quote]
No, you do not need to be force sensitive to use a lightsaber. You need to be force sensitive to build one, which btw I’m upset that in 7 episodes it has not shown this. It’s one of the most important steps to become a jedi. Anyone can wield a light saber, but it’s not really a good weapon unless you are force sensitive. Most enemies use blasters, can without being force sensitive, you don’t have the reflexes to deflect blaster shots. General Grievous is a good example. I think the only reason Fin was able to use it without cutting off his own limbs is he most likely had close quarters combat training with melee weapons. Like that one scene he fights another stromtrooper with wielding some sort of energized stick or whatever you call it.
And so the discussion begins. I love it!
[quote=“hansioux”]There’s one plot point that doesn’t make much sense to me
So Poe’s jacket means a lot to Finn, it symbolizes Finn’s desire to be more than just a Stormtrooer/machine of war, but how exactly does Poe’s jacket get stuck on the nose of the TIE fighter while he himself is ejected elsewhere without harm? If the jacket is caught on something and separated from Poe, it should have been torn apart, otherwise Poe should have been torn apart. The only way for the jacket to be in tact and separated from Poe is for Poe to have taken his jacket off during the intense escape from the hanger in the tight confined cockpit of the TIE fighter. Sure Poe’s the best pilot of the resistance and all, but I just don’t see him dodging enemy fire and taking his jacket off at the same time… I guess that’s why he got hit?
Ah, this is something that I also questioned, however if you think back
Poe took off his jacket when he entered the TIE fighter and BEFORE the TIE fighter lifted off. I think he sat down in the pilot seat and immediately took it off. I think the real question/plot hole is, how did the jacket not burn when much of the parts of the TIE were on fire. Another question worth asking is how the f did Poe get off the planet and not go looking for BB8 or Finn?!
[quote=“hansioux”]There’s one plot point that doesn’t make much sense to meI didn’t mind the plot similarities that much. The character’s journey is different, that’s enough to make it feel distinct.
Some people are unhappy that the new Starkiller has a exposed weakness just like the old death star. This time around it’s much more engineering sound though. There’s the shield that protects it from being hit. Even when the shield is down the X-wings squadrons failed to take it down. Without Han Solo and the main characters’ unplanned assist from the inside, the Starkiller wasn’t exactly vulnerable.
I have to agree that
it was all too easy to weaken and blow up Starkiller (btw a reference to what Lucas initially wanted Luke’s last name to be). However, I think it’s a homage more than a copy. I think a lot of people that did not enjoy the movie thought that a lot of the plot/story was a repeat/copy of the old movies. I think Abrams had a perfect mix of old and new. I know for certain that if there wasn’t enough references, nerds would go crazy and if there was too much new…nerds would go crazy. Fanboys and fangirls are impossible to please.
I think one of the biggest questions (imo) everyone should be asking is who is Rey and
[spoiler]how did a trained jedi of Kylo Ren get defeated by someone that supposedly has never touched a light saber in her life. You can say that she’s pretty handy with a staff, but last time I checked, staff and a sword/lightsaber are pretty different. How did she block out Kylo Ren trying to read her mind? How did she use jedi mind tricks with zero training?
Is she that much of a bad ass? Even Luke needed 2-3 years of training with the most bad-ass of Jedi’s, Yoda, to hone his Jedi skills.
My theory is she’s Luke’s daughter and does not remember her past because Luke erased her memories when being dropped off on Jakku.[/spoiler]
[quote=“Andrew0409”]
No, you do not need to be force sensitive to use a lightsaber. You need to be force sensitive to build one, which btw I’m upset that in 7 episodes it has not shown this. It’s one of the most important steps to become a jedi. Anyone can wield a light saber, but it’s not really a good weapon unless you are force sensitive. [/quote]
You make a good point. I think most of agree that it’s a very important step to becoming a Jedi, but how can it really be played into to the main plot? Unless the movie was kind of a Karate Kid like plot where it’s training, training, go to outer rim to find kyber crystal, build lightsaber, get arm/hand cut off by a brother from another mother/family member, training, wax on, wax off and then final battle(s).
[quote=“lostinasia”]
I don’t think using a lightsaber requires the force - doesn’t
General Grievous from the movies that shall not be named
wield a bunch of lightsabers? I head-canoned Finn’s use of a lightsaber by assuming he’d had earlier general weapons training - not necessarily in lightsabers, but, well, sticks/staffs.[/quote]
Grievous has mechanical arms which he doesn’t particularly mind getting cut off. You don’t need the force to turn a lightsaber on, but I thought the point is it is really difficult to even swing it around without the force.
I remember building mine in KoTR I and II. Fun times. I had a black saber.
[quote=“lostinasia”]
On Finn and the force: he was awfully good with the guns too. I think we’re supposed to be wondering if he’s force-sensitive - perhaps that’s one of the reasons Kylo Ren (sp?) noticed him on the planet surface. I’m also guessing that, as per the title, the force is more powerful than we’ve ever seen it before - remember back in the prequels the Jedi talked about how they weren’t able to use the force as well as they had previously. And again, I’m using that as head canon to justify Kylo Ren’s blaster-freeze (boy THAT would have been useful when the Jedi were wiped out!), and especially the way Rey progresses, with no training, from not particularly believing in the force to proving about as adept as Luke was at the end of Jedi. And that’s in 30 minutes or so.
Maybe the force is like cable internet. The more users means worse performance.
[quote=“ranlee”]And so the discussion begins. I love it!
Ah, this is something that I also questioned, however if you think back
Poe took off his jacket when he entered the TIE fighter and BEFORE the TIE fighter lifted off. I think he sat down in the pilot seat and immediately took it off. I think the real question/plot hole is, how did the jacket not burn when much of the parts of the TIE were on fire. Another question worth asking is how the f did Poe get off the planet and not go looking for BB8 or Finn?!
Didn’t notice that. It would make sense if that’s the case.
Then again, didn’t know he had that much time during all that ruckus. Isn’t a flight jacket meant to be worn during flying anyway? Why take it off when you are about to fly? I think by the time Poe didn’t return with the map, the rebels came to search for him. By that time the First Order has been tracking the millennium falcon else where, leaving Poe’s rescue less dangerous.
[quote=“ranlee”]
I think one of the biggest questions (imo) everyone should be asking is who is Rey and
[spoiler]how did a trained jedi of Kylo Ren get defeated by someone that supposedly has never touched a light saber in her life. You can say that she’s pretty handy with a staff, but last time I checked, staff and a sword/lightsaber are pretty different. How did she block out Kylo Ren trying to read her mind? How did she use jedi mind tricks with zero training?
Is she that much of a bad ass? Even Luke needed 2-3 years of training with the most bad-ass of Jedi’s, Yoda, to hone his Jedi skills.
My theory is she’s Luke’s daughter and does not remember her past because Luke erased her memories when being dropped off on Jakku.[/spoiler][/quote]
Or it could be the force is cable internet theory… Although Luke should have enjoyed about the same force bandwidth, given that most force users were gone by a New Hope.
[spoiler]Rey definitely is hiding something. She knows about the force and what it can do. She just never knew she could use it as well. There is no way she just suddenly goes for the mind trick if she never knew about it. Otherwise it should have just happened, and Rey realizing that it’s a power, instead of Rey going for it directly and failing two times. I think her past experience with the force is also why she refused to take Anakin and Luke’s saber.
If Rey is Luke’s child, that would make Rey and Ren cousins. I’ve heard of even more twisted theories, that Rey is the daughter of Luke and Leia, but that’s not gonna happen in a Disney property. As of Finn, twisted theories has it he is the daughter of Lando and Leia. If that’s the case, Finn would be Rey and Ren’s cousin. Again, highly unlikely.[/spoiler]
[quote=“ranlee”]
You make a good point. I think most of agree that it’s a very important step to becoming a Jedi, but how can it really be played into to the main plot? Unless the movie was kind of a Karate Kid like plot where it’s training, training, go to outer rim to find kyber crystal, build lightsaber, get arm/hand cut off by a brother from another mother/family member, training, wax on, wax off and then final battle(s).[/quote]
but that’s the basis of the original trilogy. Luke even practised deflecting blasters using that flying ball thing, before seeking more help. Since the new one is going to be another trilogy, there should be ample time to work that in.
Isn’t it nice how this film has opened fun doors for speculation? None of this “Mitichlorians? You’ve got to be f’n kidding me!”, or “Only two Sith, never more, never less”, and how the f*** does that even make sense?! Who instantly became a Sith as soon as Darth Maul got cut in two?!
On Rey:
[spoiler]I hope she’s nobody. It’s a giant galaxy and the fact that the force seems stuck with this one family is rather annoying. But yes, there’s definitely more to be revealed about her story. In the film, both Han and Leia were giving looks that made me think “Oh, now’s when they reveal that she’s their daughter, put on that planet to protect her from Ben’s fate”, but that never happened - and if that’s what’s eventually revealed, I’ll be annoyed. That’d be too much of a retread.
I’m having trouble figuring out where the line is between clever recurring patterns and annoying recycling: I didn’t mind the echoes of past films in The Force Awakens, whereas they ruined Star Trek II Into Darkness for me.[/spoiler]