Star Wars: Episode VII: The Nerd Rage Awakens

[davejames]

I'd put ESB above the other two, which are rather equal in my opinion.
As for TFA being the best one yet, I do see it as a possibility, but there's an equal possibility that it could be the worst. I'm pretty sure I will at least enjoy it, if not love it, but I'm not going to get myself so hyped up for it before it comes out that it totally destroys me if it sucks.
That said, I'm definitely excited for it, and I've even fallen for the hype and gotten myself some merchandise and may very well get more.

Even if the underlying story isn't as strong as the OT, I could still easily see it being the most thrilling, fun, and viscerally exciting SW movie there's ever been. Especially when you factor in JJ's dynamic style and the sheer fun of seeing Han, Luke, Leia and Chewie on screen again.

Unless of course the story is so wrong-headed from the start (as was the case with Into Darkness, IMO), that the movie just never manages to recover from it. But given the involvement of Kasdan I don't really see that being a problem with this movie.

 

[Set Harth]

Moreover, Wars doesn't attempt to explain why time distillation fails to occur as you approach light speed either.

That's because someone in the Star Wars universe figured out that time dilation is bullshit.

But given the involvement of Kasdan I don't really see that being a problem with this movie.

For mental health reasons I'm telling myself that every time Abrams gets out of line Kasdan pummels him into submission.

The poll tells us that upwards of 63% of fans expect The Force Awakens to be the best Star Wars movie ever made

This tells us that 63% of fans are on glue.

 

[sojourner]

I still put ANH on top as it's The Original. ESB is almost on par with it due to story and technical matters. ROTJ is in third with the prequel trilogy below that.

TFA has a chance to knock ROTJ out of the top three, but that remains to be seen.

 

[Set Harth]

^ All of this.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

For mental health reasons I'm telling myself that every time Abrams gets out of line Kasdan pummels him into submission.

Yes, becuase Star Wars has started to become pretentious and stuck up its own ass enough that the new film will suck if it isn't about taxation of trade routes, or have a monologue about sand.

 

[BillJ]

Watched Attack of the Clones tonight.

There was definitely some bad dialogue and wonky CGI (especially at the end), but, overall, it wasn't as bad as I remember.

Must be getting soft in my old age.

 

[DWF]

For mental health reasons I'm telling myself that every time Abrams gets out of line Kasdan pummels him into submission.

Yes, becuase Star Wars has started to become pretentious and stuck up its own ass enough that the new film will suck if it isn't about taxation of trade routes, or have a monologue about sand.

TPM wasn't about taxation and traded routes. And for the sand speech, well JJ Abrams isn't actually well known for his Shakespearian dialogue.

 

[sojourner]

"Buckle up, Buttercup!"

 

[fireproof78]

For mental health reasons I'm telling myself that every time Abrams gets out of line Kasdan pummels him into submission.

Yes, becuase Star Wars has started to become pretentious and stuck up its own ass enough that the new film will suck if it isn't about taxation of trade routes, or have a monologue about sand.

TPM wasn't about taxation and traded routes. And for the sand speech, well JJ Abrams isn't actually well known for his Shakespearian dialogue.

TPM wasn't about taxation and trade routes?

Also, Shakespeare was not always Shakespeare. And Star Wars was rarely Shakespeare either. It just depends on the nature of the work. I still prefer Abrams dialog from most of Abrams films (the ones I've seen thus far) to much of the PT script. Beautiful films to look at but much of the dialog leaves much to be desired.

Also, I enjoy Star Wars the most, with Empire and ROTJ tied, depending on my mood. The space battle in ROTJ is one of my favorite sequences, hands down, though.

 

[cooleddie74]

I don't know. I thought Lobot was very meddlesome.

And he did it all without speaking a single word of dialogue. Those fancy cybernetic hats open up a world of possibilities for wacky troublemaking!

 

[sttngfan1701d]

Every time I watch New Hope I look at it and think it just plods along, with pacing issues and not much story. The saving grace is the setting. And Vader.

I know that without it being a success we never would've had Star Wars, but it still is a flawed film. Not 4 stars on my personal rating scale. Empire, however, is. Despite having a cliffhanger ending it is a more complete movie in every way. Jedi is just frustrating because it could've been something great but fell short.

As for the Prequels, I watched them again last year and they all have their flaws and horrible dialogue, but certain sequences were still great. Obi Wan meeting the Clone Army. Coruscant chase scene (it was very atmospheric in a cool sci-fi way). and ROTS still has that "Shakesperean tragedy" vibe about it despite being flawed as well. But again, certain parts are well-done, and even though you know what's going to happen, you still root for Anakin to say "no" to the Dark Side.

 

[Trek Survivor]

My favourite is "Star Wars", but I love the ending of ROTJ - specifically, the Vader/Emperor/Luke scenes on the Death Star. Vader's saving his son and final exchanges of dialogue with him ("tell your sister you were right about me...!") are the BEST scenes of the entire saga, and really the culmination of the story of Anakin Skywalker (that we know of...). Superb.

Rewatching TPM and AOTC with my sons... and I enjoy them. TPM is my favourite of the prequels, and ROTS is my least favourite. Yes, it's contrary to the majority view but there you have it. TPM is the most "Star Wars-y" of the prequels.

 

[RoJoHen]

Rewatching TPM and AOTC with my sons... and I enjoy them. TPM is my favourite of the prequels, and ROTS is my least favourite. Yes, it's contrary to the majority view but there you have it. TPM is the most "Star Wars-y" of the prequels.

TPM is also my favorite of the prequels, though it still leaves much room for improvement. The biggest downfall of the prequels, in my opinion, is the horrendous dialogue. There are actually some pretty talented actors in these movies, but you wouldn't know it from the crap they're forced to say.

 

[fireproof78]

Every time I watch New Hope I look at it and think it just plods along, with pacing issues and not much story. The saving grace is the setting. And Vader.

I know that without it being a success we never would've had Star Wars, but it still is a flawed film. Not 4 stars on my personal rating scale. Empire, however, is. Despite having a cliffhanger ending it is a more complete movie in every way. Jedi is just frustrating because it could've been something great but fell short.

As for the Prequels, I watched them again last year and they all have their flaws and horrible dialogue, but certain sequences were still great. Obi Wan meeting the Clone Army. Coruscant chase scene (it was very atmospheric in a cool sci-fi way). and ROTS still has that "Shakesperean tragedy" vibe about it despite being flawed as well. But again, certain parts are well-done, and even though you know what's going to happen, you still root for Anakin to say "no" to the Dark Side.

I wish I could root for Anakin to say "no" but I find it difficult to do so, beyond a superficial way that I don't want anyone to go the Dark Side.

Empire, for me, is just too dark. Star Wars has its dark moments, to be sure, but the whole thing doesn't sit on top of the movie like a gray storm cloud of bad news.

My favourite is "Star Wars", but I love the ending of ROTJ - specifically, the Vader/Emperor/Luke scenes on the Death Star. Vader's saving his son and final exchanges of dialogue with him ("tell your sister you were right about me...!") are the BEST scenes of the entire saga, and really the culmination of the story of Anakin Skywalker (that we know of...). Superb.

Rewatching TPM and AOTC with my sons... and I enjoy them. TPM is my favourite of the prequels, and ROTS is my least favourite. Yes, it's contrary to the majority view but there you have it. TPM is the most "Star Wars-y" of the prequels.

I think TPM has the most Star Wars-y feel to it, especially in visuals and atmosphere. I think the overall story is poorly set-up and the dialog is frustratingly stilted, but it looks great. Has some of my favorite sequences in the PT as well.

As for being contrary to the majortiy, I'm even more contrary. AOTC is my favorite prequel, hands down, and Obi-Wan's plot, as well as the Geonosis sequence.

 

[davejames]

Actually the style of dialogue in JJ's movies is pretty much what I'd expect it to be in a SW movie-- simple, fun, and a bit cornball. It's the same style that was used in the OT and something that was sorely missed in the prequels (and even when Lucas did try to go cornball at times, it just never sounded remotely as natural or clever as it did in the earlier movies).

 

[Tulin]

.

People also complain about the time/ distance thing in Empire, things which I have no problem with at all (I'm talking about the Falcon's ability to go to all these places without hyperdrive, I mean that's what ships do in Star Wars but every so often people still nitpick it, but even more to the point that Luke's story is happening simultaneously).

I've never heard this particular criticism outside of a small group of sci-fi fans.

Nope.

Just nitpicky nerds.

 

[cooleddie74]

Which is a redundant term to a large extent, let's be honest.

 

[Tulin]

Gotcha!

 

[Tulin]

Meanwhile, TEN WEEKS from TONIGHT at midnight and I'll be sitting in my local cinema, waiting for the lights to dim ......

And is anybody listening to Now Playing Podcast's review of the old films? They've done the OT and are today reviewing the first Ewok film. Here in Australia, both Ewok films were released to the big screen and I saw BOTH at the cinema.

I wonder if they hold up?

 

[cooleddie74]

I don't know if I have the stamina or willpower to stand in line at midnight for the premiere, but I hope to be seeing it later that day!