Star Wars Episode 7 and Disney buy Lucas Film

[Eric Plumrose]

I can't even begin on the ridiculousness of complaints about Rey...

No one complained about Luke and she's not got more skills than him...

Not being a fan my knowledge of the films is at best average. Saying that, I don't recall Luke being able to do anything force-related in STAR WARS until after Ben showed him how to tap into it and even then it was once only. "No one complained" because blowing up the Death Star was as much due to the conceits of heroic fiction as it was any inherent ability Luke had.

[Colin YNWA]

Well I'm about to got in again with the kids... wish me luck...

Uhhh hark on me quoting myself. Well it doesn't get better with age does it. Watched in the cold light of day its still an absolutely ridiculous bit of tosh dressed up as a fun thrill ride.

More importantly than this 44 year old man's thoughts my kids loved it... alas... means I'll sit through it again and once again get grumpy at the whole debacle. They're not sure if its as good as the originals and I've resisted the urge to point out its numerous problems, rather taking what little pleasure I can from them really enjoying it.

[Colin YNWA]

Not sure if this is my most Necros of these necros of late, but its pretty necro and I'm disturbed to see I'm the last to post here as well... like some weird stalker haunting a movie he hates, but secretly is utterly fixated on it...

...I'll not psychoanalyse myself as I might not like what I find.... ANYWAY...

Watched this again encouraged by enjoying both Rogue One and Solo more enjpoyable second (or more) time around and lo and behold ... still think this is tosh. Damnit.

I've looked back at my previous thoughts here and it all pretty much holds. I'm slightly less annoyed by the utterly wanky fan service that dominates. I guess forewarned is forarmed or some such. But its still fundamnetally a poorly written movie. I know Star Wars has a whole is littered with moments that require you to suspend belief, as coincidence collides with serendipity time and again but TFA takes this to a new level.

This leaves the whole thing with a sense that nothing is earned.

Finn can just walk up and rescue Poe now
Finn can then bump into Rey now
Oh look its the Millenium Falcon lets take that then
Don't worry Han just happens to be here
Ohhhh Luke's lightsaber is in the box
We can just pootle around the Deathstarsun Destory Base
Lets build Phasma up just to put a gun to her head so she flips the single turn off all the shields switch
Oh look there's Rey
Rey's red hot with force power now

And on and on and on and on and on. There's so many more of these. It just means the makers can get away with anything by just making the things that sort the problem happen - to a level I've never seen in a movie before. Or at least never been so poorly papered over in a movie before. Stories in all media do this all the time I accept, but never with such a lack of guile and craft in my memory. JJ's two best tricks are:

1) Don't worry about that here's a big explosion
2) Don't worry about that look heres a fanwank reference

Sigh I need to stop obsessing about this and just get a room don't I!

[TordelBack]

I like TFA for the characters, all of whom are just plain cute and funny, but heavens the plot is awful for all the reasons Colin cites. It's a JJ film, he just doesn't do plot.

There are so many moments where it feels like there should/could be a really interesting explanation for why people and things are where they are (and it feels like there was at some point or other version in the rushed development), but the very nice scenes have just been strung together in a line, and having there be any time expended on story logic isn't even a secondary consideration. The entire film is one long coincidence.

This is where TLJ exceeds its predecessor: with the exception of DJ's presence, who is a bit of a Sequel Lando red herring, the whole story spins out naturally from two simple premises.

Still enjoy TFA though, some terrific stuff in the mess, Gird's performance in particular.

[TordelBack]

"Gird"??? What kind of predictive text is this? Ford, obviously.

[Colin YNWA]

Oh and the other thing I forgot to whine about is the relationships aren't earnt either. Everyone becomes everyone they meets best friend in like 28 minutes of time together or something.

So Poe and Finn and all hugs and oh my gosh I'm so excited to you see after spending a frankly frantic for moments together most of which is spent shooting tie fighters.

Rey and Han bond over what is essentially a road trip of an hour or two.

Its all a bit unconvincing.

[TordelBack]

Ah I don't see really see that, OTT Bro-hugger is just the kind of guy Poe is, and the Han & Rey relationship gets as much time as Han & Luke or Luke & Ben get in ANH. Both Poe and Rey start the film desperate for any kind of positive relationship.

[Greg M.]

Ah I don't see really see that, OTT Bro-hugger is just the kind of guy Poe is

Yeah, I thought the bromance between those two was one of the few decent things in the movie.

[The Legendary Shark]

They stole a T.I.E. fighter together, escaped and crashed in it (more or less) together. I think I'd become instant friends with virtually anybody who went through that with me.

[TordelBack]

I see it more as Poe having been captured by the worst monster in the galaxy, tortured, had his mind violated and his secret mission blown, with no hope of escape; then this supposedly brainwashed stormtrooper shows up and rescues him, turns out to be a lost child who hasn't even got a name, trusts him to get them both away, which Poe fails to do, and thinks the kid has died in the process. And then that kid turns out to have survived, recovered BB8 and completed Poe's mission - I think that's a good foundation for a friendship. Certainly worth a hug.

[The Legendary Shark]

Yes, that too.

I can also cope with all the coincidences because it's the Force awakening, innit?

How does it go in ANH?

Han: "There's no mystical force controlling my destiny."

Obi Wan: (silently) "Heh."

[Tiplodocus]

I never see character A bumping into character B and them both having something in common as a problem. Isn't that how life and friendships work?

You're in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally you become heroes.

[Professor Bear]

Having learned my lesson when I dared to suggest the space casino bits in TLJ were pointless, I now know the tentacle monsters bit in TFA is actually really good and fleshes out the world and political backdrop of the galaxy.  Han Solo has fallen so far without his masculine status symbol the Millennial Falcon that he is forced to undertake sex trafficking of hentai monsters - it's a really great bit of world building that shows how both sides are as bad as each other or something.

[TordelBack]

The only point of the tentacle monsters in TFA was that all the OT movies have tentacle monsters (I'm counting the monster that ate R2 on Dagobah and the Space Slug as acceptable variants). As everyone hated the tentacle-free Prequels back then, it was reasonable to suppose that tentacle monsters were essential for popular success. TLJ was the control. I predict tentacle monsters in Rise of Skywalker.

[Greg M.]

On the basis that Solo has the biggest tentacle monster ever, and is the best SW film since RotJ, there may be some weight to this theory.