Star Wars

[inverarity]

Didn't suck. Was not great. I liked it, but it wouldn't become a blockbuster, or a classic, without 35 years of nostalgia and hype behind it. JJ Abrams does epic eye-candy well, and he's better at characterization than George Lucas (but who isn't?), but there wasn't a damn thing original in this film. It took no risks, did nothing new, and thus it's hard to see it as anything other than a cynical merchandising machine.

As a snobby serious science fiction fan, I have always been willing to suspend my disbelief for cinematic sci-fi, but Star Wars still has to offend with egregious stupidity. The first Death Star really made no sense, and a super-duper Death Star makes even less sense. Who the hell builds these things? Where did the "First Order" get the income to build planet-sized war machines when the Empire has fallen apart? So the Republic remains a useless collection of idealists who sit around drinking martinis until their planets are blown up, while a new Empire just pops up and is capable of wiping them off the map? What is the Rebellion rebelling against if the Republic is supposed to be the legitimate government now? The politics and economy are as incoherent as the science.

These are the things that bug me, not Kylo Ren's stupid cross-guard light saber or his being p0wned by two novices in a duel.

Comments

I liked the Force Awakens but...

[yllems.livejournal.com]

The lack of original ideas was my biggest complaint about the movie too. It's like the writers were scared to do anything different, or they were all such big fans that they couldn't imagine that any world-building they thought up would compare. The only new thing I can think of is the weapon that blocked a lightsaber, but that was a very superficial addition that actually handicapped the storm trooper wielding it (why not shoot Finn? He doesn't have Jedi reflexes). It didn't feel like a cynical merchandising machine to me. I believe all the people working on the movie loved Star Wars. I just think no creative vision in the collective of people working on the movie was strong enough to break through the wall of nostalgia. Overall, that made for a visually impressive but bland reboot.
I forgive some things people point out as weak points. I wasn't bugged by Kylo Ren being p0wned because I figured that he was still learning too. Powerful enough to get by, but not very well trained in swordsmanship. But some I can't find the logic to. A lot of events got twisted for the sake of plot. How did the First Order hide such a big project (literally planet sized, with the proportional movement of manpower and machinery) from the Rebellion/Republic? It's like the good guys weren't gathering any intelligence at all, as if they were completely useless because they had no protagonist to guide them. What about Finn and Rey being forced to choose the Millennium Falcon, and Han being free to chase after it as soon as they left the planet? And why did no one explain to "Ben" that Darth Vader turned against the sith in the end? It seems like something a new jedi order should put a lot of focus on. A lot of conveniences you can say are explained by the influence of the force, but nevertheless, they feel forced.
Like you said, the characters were mostly good. I liked Finn and Rey, but not as a couple. I liked Kylo Ren, as long as the writers are aware that he's not actually scary while he remains junior Darth Vador (and his hair is ridiculous). Poe (and Poe's hair) was cool, even though his "death" and miraculous return were contrived. Han and Leia were treated well. Luke might be interesting next movie. I'm willing to follow along with the new characters, which is the important thing. I'm waiting to really judge them until I see them in a movie that isn't preoccupied with bridging new and old.
I could say more, but I have to stop because my comment is longer than your post.

[indigo-mouse.livejournal.com]

I had to stop and try to remember who Poe was after reading yllems comment. That is probably a bad sign...

All I could think of when Kylo Renn takes off his mask is "Oh my god, its SNAPE!" That is exactly how I always imagined Snape to look, and despite how much I loved Alan Rickman, I always thought he was way too old to be Snape, who should have been 31 when Harry started at Hogwarts. So that kind of blew the drama for me as I started seeing the whole film as a crossover fanfic. With a big budget, a really really big budget.

[clanoblique.livejournal.com]

Well, it's March now, but I just read this...and thank you! (If you read this response at all, thanks in advance.)
I've been arguing with my friends about this movie, it's like they didn't care that it was basically nonsense. I mean, I love the new characters, I really do, and it was a visual treat (but that means almost nothing for Hollywood movies these days). I think JJ Abrams and Co really don't understand how space works, how truly vast it is. I think the first films did (the slow journey to Alderaan, the reveal of the size of the Death Star, the asteroids in comparison to the Imperial Star Destroyers...) Still, even if you don't care about politics or economics or physics in your movies (which I do), the plot was basically The New Hope, as you pointed out. Unfortunately it was "updated" for contemporary movie-goers. And by "updated," I mean it was bloated, poorly written, and far more complicated than it needed to be. They wanted to be "Rebels" again and broke the universe to justify they're bizarre world. Alas, poor New Republic, we hardly knew thee.

[inverarity.livejournal.com]

Hi there,

Still here, still reading.

I suspect one reason so many people love the new Stars Wars movie and are willing to overlook its flaws is that compared to the previous trilogy, it failed to completely suck, and thus looks really good in comparison.

[clanoblique.livejournal.com]

Absolutely! It was a lot better than the Prequels, but not great. I hope that the second improves, that's about it.