Star Wars: Episode VII: The Nerd Rage Awakens

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Yeah he stle a bike from teh garage.. or it might be his bike.
That's what happened.
But filmmaking is about teh assembly of shots to build a scene with the details, and to use that to add to tension.

How did he steel the bike? Were there guards nearby as they went into lockdown? How did he get air to jump over the CGI barrier.

In T2, they steel a cop car to escape form the mental institution.. and if Cameron had just shown the cop car leaving, we would have gotten it. But Cameron is (was at the time) a master craftsman.. he crafted the scene to show us this bit of action quickly but effectively. It made it more rewarding then just "oh they stole a cop car."

 

[Reverend]

The explanation of Coruscant to boy Anakin never bothered me. At all. Ever. And it's been almost 16 years since I first saw the movie. I liked that piece of dialogue then and it sure doesn't bug me now.

Until today, I don't think my brain even registered that line of dialogue.

People nitpick the silliest things.

Yeah, of all the awkward lines of dialogue in the prequels, that's probably the least offensive.

I mean sure, it's a *little* on the nose but it never really stood out for me.

Yeah he stle a bike from teh garage.. or it might be his bike.
That's what happened.
But filmmaking is about teh assembly of shots to build a scene with the details, and to use that to add to tension.

How did he steel the bike? Were there guards nearby as they went into lockdown? How did he get air to jump over the CGI barrier.

In T2, they steel a cop car to escape form the mental institution.. and if Cameron had just shown the cop car leaving, we would have gotten it. But Cameron is (was at the time) a master craftsman.. he crafted the scene to show us this bit of action quickly but effectively. It made it more rewarding then just "oh they stole a cop car."

Brevity is also a valuable film making tool. Unless you think the audience are complete halfwits they're fully capable of spotting when something is implicit. As for that particular scene, you're talking about a matter of pacing, not plot logic. Stopping for 30-60 seconds after the elevator scene to show Cap stealing the bike and taking out more guards before escaping and taking out the quinjet would kill the tempo of the sequence.

It's the same basic reason why they cut the scene that explains what happened to his uniform between that scene and the next. It was extraneous.

 

[Ithekro]

I recently loaded out a DVD copy of Star Wars to a neigbor to show his grandkids. I don't know if they are enjoying it, or if their attention span it extremely short (I also don't remember how old these kids are) but they seem to be able to make it through about a half hour or so of the film each time before they fall asleep.


This is Star Wars we are talking about. A New Hope. "Faster and more intense" being the only directions Lucas knows inthe 1970s.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Brevity is also a valuable film making tool. Unless you think the audience are complete halfwits they're fully capable of spotting when something is implicit. As for that particular scene, you're talking about a matter of pacing, not plot logic. Stopping for 30-60 seconds after the elevator scene to show Cap stealing the bike and taking out more guards before escaping and taking out the quinjet would kill the tempo of the sequence.

It's the same basic reason why they cut the scene that explains what happened to his uniform between that scene and the next. It was extraneous

I agree.. I just felt a few more shots would have helped.

But there are other cases in which I agree completely.
Take "Rocks and Shoals (DS9) where in a crewmember tells Sisko that Garak and Nog are missing. Cut to the men out on the plateau on formation. We didn't need to hear Sisko gives the next order.. we just had to cut right to it.

 

[fireproof78]

Here's a question, then. Keeping in mind that Anakin is an 8 year old kid, how would you have the dialogue go as they come to Coruscant? It doesn't even have to be the pilot. Feel free to use whatever characters you think would make the scene work better.

Open to anyone

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Despite him being only 8 yeas old I almost think the "one big city" line altogether. It could be replaced by a genuine reaction shot from Anakin.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Here's a question, then. Keeping in mind that Anakin is an 8 year old kid, how would you have the dialogue go as they come to Coruscant? It doesn't even have to be the pilot. Feel free to use whatever characters you think would make the scene work better.

Open to anyone

Slightly wise-ass captain (to Anakin's reaction): "What's the matter, kid, you've never seen a planet that's one big city?"

OR

Anakin: "Wow...Is the entire planet one big city?"

Slightly less on-the-nose ways of giving the same exposition.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

Anakin: "Wow...Is the entire planet one big city?"

Slightly less on-the-nose ways of giving the same exposition.

That would have been better, yes. And it would still preserve the Foundation allusion.

 

[fireproof78]

Here's a question, then. Keeping in mind that Anakin is an 8 year old kid, how would you have the dialogue go as they come to Coruscant? It doesn't even have to be the pilot. Feel free to use whatever characters you think would make the scene work better.

Open to anyone

Slightly wise-ass captain (to Anakin's reaction): "What's the matter, kid, you've never seen a planet that's one big city?"

OR

Anakin: "Wow...Is the entire planet one big city?"

Slightly less on-the-nose ways of giving the same exposition.

While I'm all for sarcastic space captains (Han Sol, Malcom Reynolds, Ted Stryker), Olie would really need a rewrite to make that work. Again, all for that, but its a little rough start.

The second is much better, in my opinion.

 

[JoeZhang]

All these years and I didn't know about this poster!

https://twitter.com/ClassicStarWars/status/577168658545315840/photo/1

 

[JD]

I've never seen that poster either.
EDIT: I just realized something. If they don't make surprise ghostly appearances, then TFA will be the first canon SW movie in the main saga not to feature Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in some form. They even both appeared in Spark of Rebellion, the pilot movie for Rebels, Obi-Wan as a hologram and Anakin as Vader.

 

[cooleddie74]

I know many fans don't like Hayden Christensen but I would really like to see both he and Ewan McGregor return for the new films as the Force ghosts of Anakin and Obi-Wan. There are ways to pull both of them off if the writers and producers simply want to include them.

 

[Corran Horn]

I know many fans don't like Hayden Christensen but I would really like to see both he and Ewan McGregor return for the new films as the Force ghosts of Anakin and Obi-Wan. There are ways to pull both of them off if the writers and producers simply want to include them.

If I had to guess I'd imagine they'll limit the prequel trilogy nods.

 

[cooleddie74]

True, but Anakin and Obi-Wan would be very awkward to exclude from the new films, especially since they were in every previous movie in one form or another. I can see them making relatively few or no references to, say, Gungans or Separatists or Kamino, but a few characters from the Prequels seem like must-haves at some point.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Hayden Christensen can be a good actor, see Life as a House or Shattered Glass and The Virgin Suicides. Yes he's not the most gifted actor but in the right directors hands, he can be better then you expect.

I think he's okay as Anakin, he was let down by very poor writing and even worse direction.

 

[DWF]

With the Republic back in place we're sure to see Coruscant again and I doubt it'll have changed all that much from the prequels. It'd be interesting to see if the Jedi temple is still there and if Jedi are still being trained there.

 

[theenglish]

I think he's okay as Anakin, he was let down by very poor writing and even worse direction.

In all fairness to Christensen, this needs to be taken into account in any review of his performance in the prequels.

He had some of the worst lines to deliver in any of the six movies, and let's face it, there were only two actors who managed to deliver the bad dialogue in any way approaching acceptable: James Earl Jones and Harrison Ford.

 

[Mr Light]

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

 

[cooleddie74]

George Lucas script dialogue in Episode II was much worse than the performance that Hayden gave in delivering those lines. There's only so much you can do when the script has crappy dialogue and the director is rusty when it comes to directing basic human emotions.

 

[fireproof78]

I think he's okay as Anakin, he was let down by very poor writing and even worse direction.

In all fairness to Christensen, this needs to be taken into account in any review of his performance in the prequels.

He had some of the worst lines to deliver in any of the six movies, and let's face it, there were only two actors who managed to deliver the bad dialogue in any way approaching acceptable: James Earl Jones and Harrison Ford.

I'll be honest that while I did not love the acting in the PT, Ewan McGregor, Ian McDiarmid, and Liam Neeson (for what it's worth) all delivered fine performances. The OT is still a little rocky, but I think the main cast carries it better, and Alec Guiness gets a special mention.

Sorry, I disagree with the idea that only two actors were able to do something with the dialogue.