Star Wars Force Awakens Spoiler Slumber Party!

[Hector]

Force Awakens just passed Avatar as the number 1 movie at the box office.

Domestically, USA. Not adjusted for inflation.

It will probably pass Titanic...but the question is, will it pass Avatar for total worldwide box office? China is the key for total international box office...and early reports has Chinese audiences not as hype for SW Awakens as they were for Avatar.

We shall see...

[Hector]

Yeah, I'm just gonna put this here.

Not a Jar Jar fan, but I still think that's really cool. If you love Star Wars, anything from the universe, especially if it's personalized, should be appreciated and enjoyed...very cool...

[toys2cool]

Force Awakens just passed Avatar as the number 1 movie at the box office.

was there any doubt?

[Werewolf]

Force Awakens just passed Avatar as the number 1 movie at the box office.

[MIB41]

I don't agree with all of this, but it's an interesting read.

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cul...george-awakens

That was a great read. Thanks for posting! Allot of insight in that article. For me, it's also symptomatic of the deficits not yet apparent to the masses. I see this as another "Phantom Menace" movie. I'll NEVER forget the mayhem leading up to that film and all the people who quit or lost their jobs to experience the Star Wars "effect". Oh if Lucas only had 3D back then. And people walked out with pretty much the same OTT observations as this installment is getting. I walked out wondering what the hubbub was all about. Many years later, the world fell out of love and begrudgingly started looking at it for what it is rather what they wanted it to be. The funny part? Everything I didn't like about it was deemed "generational" and that this movie was not your "daddy's Star Wars". We old timers had to step aside and let the new generation embrace the prequels as their turn in the Star Wars trance. Funny how that perspective didn't endure.

But after Revenge of the Sith, society began to sit back and re-evaulate the entire trilogy. Slowly, the prequels took on a decidedly negative connotation. I think some people felt duped by their own fandom in the series and decided to reject Lucas and his toy empire (which it has been since day one) and jettison his "second generation" efforts as shameless toy commercials (as if the first trilogy was not). Once again, an emotional reaction. Lucas reacts to the backlash and sells his property not understanding what all the fuss is over. Abrams takes the property and essentially says, " Okay all of you are saying you DO want your 'daddy's Star Wars' after all," and that's EXACTLY what he does....beat for beat. Heck 30 years of evolution doesn't even spare the Death Star 3.0 from having the same defect revealed thankfully due to the attentive eye of a misfit Storm Trooper in JANITORIAL SERVICE. Line up the engineering rationale there.

So people line up and...same reaction as Menace. "Oh THAT is what we really wanted! Feels just like the original!" It's because it is. And so now, only three weeks into it's first run, it's a day away from passing Avatar as the all time biggest domestic grossing film... THREE WEEKS folks! And I'm once again looking around with a feeling of deja vu. Only this time critics are quickly stepping back in self examination, thinking, " Did we just get duped again?" And so the evaluation and reflection begins once more. NOW the prequels are being given a second look because maybe they weren't so derivative as this latest installment. I found myself falling into that trap. I spent the past couple of weeks re-watching each one and oddly praising them for trying to be different. But ultimately what it came down to is the same issues I had from the first time I saw them - stilted acting and a story truly lacking a great villain (although I did like the KISS reject, Darth Maul).

This article really illustrates how cyclical the Star Wars franchise is. I think the series evokes allot of emotions from childhood that guide allot of folks into making knee jerk assessments as to it's meaning. I believe it's ultimately one big nostalgia rush above anything else. Each new era brings it's expectations and heralded status as the best in the lot. This movie is certainly playing to that choir. For me, I quit taking the chapter reference serious after Jedi. This is Star Wars 7 - soft reboot. It's been fun to watch this craze over the film again. There's a nostalgic quality just for that. Where this leads the new trilogy and the spin offs (and how this crazy success services those movies in the future) is hard to know yet. One thing I do know is the current Rotten Tomatoes score for critics sits at 93%. The audience score is 90%. Lets revisit this on the one year anniversary and see how much it's been revised at that point, then lets take one more look before the next sequel opens. Don't be surprised if opinions have settled down and people are a little less enamored at the retro approach. The history of this franchise certainly suggests that will happen.

[Gorn Captain]

It just dawned on me that Jar Jar speaks Dutch.
"Mooi, mooi" is a common Dutch phrase meaning "that's great".

Yeah, I'm just gonna put this here.

[Gorn Captain]

I could rant about George... but to bring to this back on topic...

Thank you!
George is out of the picture, He's history. Let's move on.

[Werewolf]

But for a movie that is getting panned a bit as "some uninspired retread", I will say that I am way more interested in learning about Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren than I ever was invested in any of the two dimensional characters of the prequels.

I agree. The new cast and characters are great. I want to learn more about them and see where the adventure takes them.

[sprytel]

I could rant about George... but to bring to this back on topic...

Watching it again, I noticed that when Kylo interrogates Rey, he sees that she "dreams" of an ocean with an island. This is clearly the island where she finds Luke. So when people wonder how she picks up the Force so quickly and with no training... she had been to the Jedi temple and trained there before (and for some reason, those memories were lost or buried?). Han and Leia did not know where the island was. And of course, Luke goes off to find it after Ben turns bad guy. So I am thinking Rey is not the daughter of any of them.

Which leads me to two crazy theories:

1. Who else do we know that could be a living, reproducing Jedi during this period of time? Ezra Bridger from SW:Rebels! Could Rey be Ezra and Sabine's kid? And could the Knights of Ren be somehow related to Sabine "Silent W" Ren? I think it would be super awesome if Rebels was tied in so closely with the new movie universe... but I doubt Disney would do it. It also begs the question of where Rey would have picked up that accent, which neither of her parents have.

2. But thinking of the accent... who does speak with a British accent in the movies? The Empire. I haven't worked it out yet, but wouldn't it be wild if she was somehow the "clone/child/grand child/or some such" of the Emperor?


I doubt either are really the answer. But for a movie that is getting panned a bit as "some uninspired retread", I will say that I am way more interested in learning about Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren than I ever was invested in any of the two dimensional characters of the prequels.

[Werewolf]

Yeah, I'm just gonna put this here.

I actually think that's neat and if you love Jar Jar, that's awesome.

But let's be totally honest here, the character is just not that popular and Jar Jar merchandise sells poorly. It took years for the Walmarts in my area to sell down the plush Jar Jars, action figures and tongue candy. PM 3D merchandise nearly killed SW at retail and Jar Jar (and Ric Olie) again cluttered the toy isles of the Walmarts in my area. Last I checked the books a million in my area still had vintage collection Jar Jar figures up to a few months ago.

[Hedji]

Jar Jar for example was created to pander to little kids and sell toys and candy. Problem is people and kids hate him.

Yeah, I'm just gonna put this here.

[Figuremod73]

I think he has a case of sellers remorse.

If it bothers him enough he does have enough money where he could do animated versions for his and his friends enjoyment. Maybe put it in a vault to be seen someday.

[Werewolf]

The prequels had their fair share of misguided pandering. Jar Jar for example was created to pander to little kids and sell toys and candy. Problem is people and kids hate him. The original trilogy was also full of pandering. Leia's metal bikini for teens and Ewoks were created to sell toys. BB-8 is pandering too. But people don't care because he is so darn cute and lovable.

I also think he could be a smidge less grumpy considering life of wealth, privilege and independence the SW movies and merchandise afforded him.

[Hedji]

I don't agree with all of this, but it's an interesting read.

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cul...george-awakens

[Hedji]

Absolutely. He really has no right to complain. No one forced him to sell. And yet, I stand by my statement that it takes a bold filmmaker to not always want to pander to the audience, as crazy as that sounds. He does what he wants, because he can. But once he inked the deal, that was it, and he has to let it go.

I listened to the whole interview on my ipod at the gym today. I'm disappointed he can't be more excited about passing the torch, but at the same time admire his brutal honesty. Now, if only he could stay consistent in what he says, and not revise his statements. (There's that 25 % I disagree with). Grumpy? Yes. But he's earned it, God bless him. I realize SW was a collaboration, but Uncle George gave me a terrific childhood, and a whole lot of fun flicks and stories to enjoy.