Star Wars Force Awakens Spoiler Slumber Party!

[Sideshow Spock]

It seems Red Letter Media like The Force Awakens too.

As ever, lots of big boy language.

[Hector]

I've said this time and time again, the hardest thing about being a SW fan is so many other fans fall into the two extremes of Lucas can do no wrong and Lucas ruined my childhood.

To even insinuate that Lucas has been left out in the cold by the Disney corporation is pretty far removed from the truth. Kathleen Kennedy was his hand picked successor at Lucasfilm. He has been in the loop on the development of the new SW movies since the beginning. Force Awakens and its director JJ has shown nothing but respect for Lucas and the universe he created.

Lucas is a complicated man.

He was once staunch film preservationist that spoke before congress about the moral imperative of preserving films and film history for generations to come. Then years later he openly mocked fans wanting the original theatrical cuts of the SW trilogy preserved. He even refused to send The National Film Registry, which was formed in response to his impassioned speech before congress, theatrical copies of the original trilogy for preservation and would only send copies of the heavily altered special editions.

He is truly an intelligent, creative and innovative filmmaker. Who at times has had absolutely no problem saying SW was a collaborative effort and pays respect to all the talented artists, writers designers, editors and technicians which all help shape and turn SW into what we know. SW, as we know it, wouldn't even exist without Ben Burtt, Ralph Macquarie, Lawrence Kasdan, John Williams, etc. Then other times he tries to rewrite history and talks about his singular vision which changes often, contradicts itself and is easily disproven. Example, Greedo shooting first.

I cannot forget to mention his absolute brilliance in licensing and marketing reshaped the toy industry.

He isn't perfect and nobody is. It doesn't make him a bad person. It makes him human. He doesn't deserve a lot of the venom or worship directed at him.

Spot on post...

[samurainoir]

I think it's already been stated somewhere officially that Snoke is seven feet tall.

here's Constable Zuvio, a character promoted prior to the release, that ended up on the cutting room floor

[alex]

Well Ill go on a ramble, first of all kept away from any promotional stuff, I think I watched one trailer right at the start. I certainly had a tear in my eye when the film started, and the opening scenes were just magic, giving it a really star wars feeling. I too picked up, that Ive seen all this before. The baddie was great until he took his mask off, and why would U wear a mask, if U have nothing wrong with your face??? maybe he was paying homage to his grandad??? yet again we get a cry baby for a lord, it seems only maul was truly evil in any of the films. I thought it was great that a lot of natural sets had been used, rather than the monster that Lucas created. The whole Han death scence was "I am your father" bit, and we know Luke survived falling down some shoots. Also having a stretch of path, with no railings, wheres the health and safety team The millenium falcon seemed to be able to land in any nook and cranny, where the hell did all the other ships land, at the bar scene, it seemed in the middle of a forest. Han and Chewie finding the falcon, almost seemed like a comedy sketch(although I knew that bit was coming up somewhere), and what the hell were they carrying, the monsters almost seemed out of a 60's B movie. The gangs that turned up to confront Han about the cash were just cringe worthy, especially the Yakuza types. So U can just jump on board a ship, without any problems ??? I liked the one liners used, but sometimes over stepped the mark, turning the film into a parody of itself. The saber fight at the end was laughable, Im sure Ive seen better fights on youtube made by fans. As someone pointed out here, there was no back story to anything here. First thing when I saw the emperor, I thought of Golum. I actually watched " A new hope" earlier in the year for the first time in ages, and thought it was quite a weak film, was it because I had seen it so many times??? Was Star Wars just a nostalgia trip, that was great at the time??? It also seems that in the SW universe, parents cant control thier kids, so U turn your back, and your son has become a Sith lord ???, or just dump your kids to forege for themselves on a desert planet ??? Finn was very good, and brought a lot of fun into the movie. They made the character Poe, seem a bit too shiney, there to save the day, U could almost imagine him in a "Biggles" type outfit. We basically got all the same types of planets in this one as well, Hoth etc, and what the hell was Luke doing on a small Welsh island , which looked meticulously looked after, did he have a herd of goats to eat the grass ??? The whole map thing didnt really make sense, it almost felt like "Indiana Jones and the lost map", so R2 goes into a sulk and shuts down ??? I mean he had most of the map anyway, there wasnt much missing ??? Sorry if none of this makes sense, watched the movie yesterday and still coming to terms with it. It started out brilliantly, and then kinda crashed, still enjoyed it, and will go and see it , in 3D , and then 4D. I think we are spoilt these days with a lot of great tv shows like Game of Thrones, which could easily be shown on a big screen, but is obviously too stretched out to be seen that way, and trying to cram everything into 2 hours doesnt seem to work in this day and age.

[thunderbolt]

The only bash I have with that is that personally, I'd have kept MORE of it. Charity isn't something that sways me all that much one way or another on how I view one as a person. After all, there's a lot of factors surrounding an act of charity that come into play.

guess he felt more passionate about giving back to the world that made him a success.

[Bruce Banner]

Deleted scenes are going to be fascinating to watch.
One scene from the trailer that didn't make the final cut had me wondering... and Abrams explains it below:

Abrams said:
“As much as you try to kick the tires and write and shoot only what is necessary — no one wants to waste anyone’s time — when you’re in the editing room you realize, for instance, that introducing the character there actually diminishes their power. Or, giving that information actually distracts you from what you should be concentrating on. Or, having that moment happen concurrent with that moment actually gets in the way of both — things like that.”

As for the scene from the second teaser where Maz Kanata appears to hand Leia Luke's old lightsaber, Abrams said,

“That was a scene actually filmed, but we took out. At one point, Maz used to continue along with the characters back to the Resistance base, but we realized that she really had nothing to do there of value, except to be sitting around.

Lupita did film scenes on set for that sequence, but it felt it unnecessary. So we ended up leaving those things out.”

[MIB41]

I've said this time and time again, the hardest thing about being a SW fan is so many other fans fall into the two extremes of Lucas can do no wrong and Lucas ruined my childhood.

To even insinuate that Lucas has been left out in the cold by the Disney corporation is pretty far removed from the truth. Kathleen Kennedy was his hand picked successor at Lucasfilm. He has been in the loop on the development of the new SW movies since the beginning. Force Awakens and its director JJ has shown nothing but respect for Lucas and the universe he created.

Lucas is a complicated man.

He was once staunch film preservationist that spoke before congress about the moral imperative of preserving films and film history for generations to come. Then years later he openly mocked fans wanting the original theatrical cuts of the SW trilogy preserved. He even refused to send The National Film Registry, which was formed in response to his impassioned speech before congress, theatrical copies of the original trilogy for preservation and would only send copies of the heavily altered special editions.

He is truly an intelligent, creative and innovative filmmaker. Who at times has had absolutely no problem saying SW was a collaborative effort and pays respect to all the talented artists, writers designers, editors and technicians which all help shape and turn SW into what we know. SW, as we know it, wouldn't even exist without Ben Burtt, Ralph Macquarie, Lawrence Kasdan, John Williams, etc. Then other times he tries to rewrite history and talks about his singular vision which changes often, contradicts itself and is easily disproven. Example, Greedo shooting first.

I cannot forget to mention his absolute brilliance in licensing and marketing reshaped the toy industry.

He isn't perfect and nobody is. It doesn't make him a bad person. It makes him human. He doesn't deserve a lot of the venom or worship directed at him.

Excellent post! I think that's true of most public figures. Movies in particular are always a collaborative effort, but typically only the top names get the credit or blame.

[huedell]

guess he felt more passionate about giving back to the world that made him a success.

Or maybe it was a sense of guilt. Or tax reasons. Frankly, I don't see why its been a big factor because I'm more focused on "movie talk" than hypothesizing or asuming (like many have) about his intentions, let alone giving the guy "charity brownie points" in the midst of a discussion about the guys' art.

[Gorn Captain]

Finally saw it, and enjoyed it.
Personally, I would call this one "A New Hope". Why? Because it's a new beginning to SW. Kind of a reboot, yes, but we got what we all wanted to see, and it's just the beginning.
True, it's yet another Death Star, and a lot of scenes remind of us the original, but I reset my mind to 1977 and went with the flow. Just enjoyed it without dissecting every aspect.
It feels like a new hope, because it puts SW back on track. We got to see a lot of what we wanted to see, and didn't get in the prequels.
It has a fresh feel to it, and I enjoyed stuf like the humor, which didn't work with Lucas, but which Abrams "gets".
Would I change things? Yes. The new Death Star is boring.
When Han dies, I would have increased Chewie's agony by tenfold. Hey, it's a wookiee. Have him tear someone's arm out of the socket.
Leia was there, and not much else. She had little to do or say.

But I enjoyed myself, I want to see it again soon, and that's more what I can say of most recent movies. I'm a LOTR fan, but have no need to see Hobbit again. The ST movies are getting pretty bad, no need to see those again.
Star Wars, on the other hand? Book my seat on the Falcon, I'm in!

[thunderbolt]

Or maybe it was a sense of guilt. Or tax reasons. Frankly, I don't see why its been a big factor because I'm more focused on "movie talk" than hypothesizing or asuming (like many have) about his intentions, let alone giving the guy "charity brownie points" in the midst of a discussion about the guys' art.

instead, its ok to belittle his charitable actions.

[Gorn Captain]

It's a odd world, where, when someone gives so much to charity, there's a need to start taking shots at him or questioning his motives.

Let's get back to Force Awakens.
A movie by JJ Abrams, made out of guilt and for tax reasons...

[thunderbolt]

It's a odd world, where, when someone gives so much to charity, there's a need to start taking shots at him or questioning his motives.

Let's get back to Force Awakens.
A movie by JJ Abrams, made out of guilt and for tax reasons...

yeah, some people just have to believe there is something sinister behind any good deed.

[Hedji]

It's a odd world, where, when someone gives so much to charity, there's a need to start taking shots at him or questioning his motives.

Let's get back to Force Awakens.
A movie by JJ Abrams, made out of guilt and for tax reasons...

I'm moving to Belgium.

[phil]

Saw it again yesterday and enjoyed it even more.

[Klosterheim]

Spoilers

Spoilers

Spoilers


Cool, now I know what Constable Zuvio looks like.

I had been thinking that I can't really judge The Force Awakens until I see the other two films. This new trilogy is more linked with purpose than the original trilogy because I think it is one big movie instead of three separate movies that continue character adventures. The new might have a larger destiny where all threads are woven together at the end, with the missing history explained.

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I guess the Lucas charity would have gone over better, if he donated anonymously like Charles Winchester in MASH. Ha!,Ha!