• It’s OK to like The Force Awakens
    111 replies, posted
Thanks, I was insecure about my opinion on a popular movie and I needed someone to validate it
[QUOTE=GoDong-DK;52840314]Yeah well if you're a big studio spending $250m on a movie + marketing, Blade Runner 2049 is an exceedingly good argument against not playing it safe. At least if you wanna make any money.[/QUOTE] The thing is, it's Star Wars, it was going to sell regardless. Some people thought the same of Blade Runner but it's not anywhere near Star Wars level of mass consumer appeal, and whatever money they spent on marketing was a fat waste because a lot of people didn't even know it was out and it did nothing to stand out from the failure Ghost in the Shell movie. I don't really think that's a valid comparison. A new generation of Star Wars films with the flagship first movie having returning characters, a mega budget, and a story they could take anywhere shouldn't have been so damn boring and tame.
[QUOTE=butre;52840140]I fell asleep during the force awakens. that nap was probably the best use of $8 ever[/QUOTE] Same thing for me. I don't think I've been as bored in a cinema as I was while watching TFA.
I prefer to watch TFA in a vacuum. Seriously, I have a vacuum chamber I sit in with a little crt tv and i watch TFA.
Oh thanks, glad I am now allowed to like the movie.
Yeah, I really don't get it. When TFA first came out. Everyone loved it, saying it was a great return to form and very enjoyable. Then people started realizing it followed a lot of the same beats as Episode IV, and all of a sudden, you had people hating the shit out of it to the point where some people were saying the prequels were better and that George Lucas should come back and direct the remaining movies. Personally, I thought it was great, if a bit uninspired.
[QUOTE=Rahu X;52840698]Yeah, I really don't get it. When TFA first came out. Everyone loved it, saying it was a great return to form and very enjoyable. Then people started realizing it followed a lot of the same beats as Episode IV, and all of a sudden, you had people hating the shit out of it to the point where some people were saying the prequels were better and that George Lucas should come back and direct the remaining movies. Personally, I thought it was great, if a bit uninspired.[/QUOTE] It's the same formula for anything ever. [New Thing] Is announced Hype builds like mad for [New Thing] [New Thing] is released [New Thing] is given praise by critics and consumers alike [New Thing] rides a high for a few months People start to criticize [New Thing] [New Thing] Is now trash compared to [Old Thing] You tubers churn out videos in the thousands about the failings of [New Thing] Company announces [[B]NEW[/B] New Thing] Back to start This has me convinced that time is cyclical
[QUOTE=Rahu X;52840698]Yeah, I really don't get it. When TFA first came out. Everyone loved it, saying it was a great return to form and very enjoyable. Then people started realizing it followed a lot of the same beats as Episode IV, and all of a sudden, you had people hating the shit out of it to the point where some people were saying the prequels were better and that George Lucas should come back and direct the remaining movies. Personally, I thought it was great, if a bit uninspired.[/QUOTE] people are way too reliant on the opinion of others. youtube critics and channels started talking shit so their fans followed. the worst part is that if you argue with someone like that irl they'll fucking [I]stand[/I] by those arguments that they didn't even come up with. they just watched a video, the content creator has a point, sure, but then they immediately vow to that point of view lol. i see this happening a lot with people who watch redlettermedia, even though i myself love the channel, i've disagreed with some of their points before and whatever man, these vague opinions over mundane shit don't really matter. so i guess life is worthless in the end, so just watch TFA and say "eh it was good" and get the cool soda pop flavors that you can only get in the cinema and whatever.
Rogue one is lame and I’m so baffled by how many people ADORE it I’ve had friends enthusiastically call it “The Best Star Wars Movie Ever” and I felt ill
Is it OK to just say Star Wars in general is vastly overrated?
TFA wasn't a game changing artistic success or anything like that. But do you know what it was? It was strangers coming together in a vast galaxy and having a space adventure. It wasn't fucking actually boring politics and gigantic spans of nothing. No, fuck you, it was people coming together to be friends and having a space adventure. After dealing with Lucas at the helm for a decade and a half, that kind of felt refreshing. While I do agree they could have tried to hit just a little less of the same beats as the old movies (Death Star 3...ok...), TFA, by comparison, [I]is[/I] the best film thing to happen to Star Wars in what... 15 years?
all these people getting mad at the title statement like it's being condescending about being allowed or not to like the movie, man he makes a ton of great points regarding a bunch of shitty 'WORST MOVIE EVER' arguments that we've all heard (and a handful of people even repeated in this thread lmao) that anybody with two braincells to rub together already thinks are dumb arguments, but it [i]is[/i] necessary to voice it, because it's directly in response to a review trend that's been shitting all over youtube since like 2 weeks after release. He shouldn't have to have made this in the first place but that's the youtube movie review environment right now. Even beyond 'responding' to negative critiques, this is a great movie review that judges it on the merits of what it did right and wrong (death star 3 death star 3 death star 3) with the property, in choosing to go with a safe revival of ANH's spirit (with many of the parallels being vague at best) instead of trying to basically invent a whole new universe with characters completely unrelated to the original trilogy I think one of the dumb complaints he only skimmed past is about returning characters being a lazy cop-out. Why are they? If you consider the billion cameos shoehorned into the prequels (anakin built c3p0 etc etc), the OT is 95% return characters and their immediate family and close friends, that's just how the movie universe formula is built to go. At that rate TFA [i]was pretty removed[/i] from the formula, only getting Han involved as the new mentor/enabler, with Leia there for closure on Han's story and Luke as a mystery figure to drive both the protagonists and antagonist into trying to get the same mcguffin (the map), which further drives them into direct confrontations. TLJ Is gonna have more focus on leia and luke, sure, but the trailers are already showing it's well off on its own merits [sp]and also doesn't involve a death star[/sp] [editline]e[/editline] I disagree with him on BB8- despite being a big marketing magnet, bb was a fun new droid to have after [i]half a century[/i] of astromechs, gonks, and purposefully stiff robotic bipeds. What I [i]don't[/i] like is that alongside the porg (seriously fuck the porg shoehorning already) we're already seeing advertisements and cardboard cutouts at target with [sp]EVIL BB8.[/sp] Besides the fact its existence already feels like a surprise we should only have gotten in the movie as a cute one-off interaction, it's a popularity milker ON TOP of trying to make a new cute popularity milker out of the porgs
The one thing that pissed me off was at the end where the woman just holds out Luke's lightsaber and stares at him like some scarecrow, all the while the camera pans out and spins around. I was expecting him to use his force powers to pull the lightsaber from her hand, but not even that, just a le dramatic drone footage. Otherwise it was an okay movie, nothing new but hey more star wars lore. Still enjoyed Rogue One more, it was something new and [sp]expecting the heroes to pull off the deathstar plans heist alive like every do-good movie, but then they don't.[/sp] was refreshing. Sad that it completely retcons the Dark Forces games while most star wars mediums still has the dark troopers going.
I didn't think rogue one was great but I thought it was sort of ok, until I rewatched it with the red letter media commentary. They make so many good points about that movie.
at the same time its okay NOT to like it, okay? i dont personally dislike the movie, technically it feels very impressive, i just feel like it should have been much more
The only big problem with TFA is the story. When it comes to the technical side, I simply love it. The cinematography, music and overall production design are great and waaaay better than say, the prequels. I know many people don't care about these aspects, and I'm just a nerdy film student, but they shouldn't be overlooked.
[QUOTE=Reds;52839842]But they told me I wouldn't be cool if I didn't parrot RLM quotes every time Star Wars is mentioned.[/QUOTE] As much as I love RLM, the constant annoying fans screeching, "Endless Trash" and "Thing I know!" at almost any movie ever is so grating. Especially if you ever hint at anything Star Wars related.
i think i'll need people to elaborate on what was so apocalyptically horrible about Rogue One i liked it more than TFA, because at least it recycled familiar elements in a more original way. and maybe because i wanted to see a film set in the Star Wars universe instead of an actual Star Wars film with lightsabers and such. the start was a bit rocky, i think the early stuff with the cargo pilot up until they actually met him was unnecessary, and since Saw was apparently needed to highlight the more extremist edge of the rebellion, his part in the film should've been handled better. somehow he felt like filler. so what are the damning parts?
I feel a little weird about this as a very critical person but TFA is one of those movies that I have an [I]extremely hard[/I] time hearing criticism of. I just wanna tell the people who dislike it to shut up. I guess since that's not particularly productive here's a link to a video I'd use as the best argument against any and all criticisms of the movie itself: [url]https://youtu.be/nVZGUV77aRg[/url]
It's okay to like a film that is objectively well made (even if subjectively it isn't what everyone wanted) and actually accomplishes what it set out to do, unlike the last three films in the series. Who would have thought?
I did enjoy it but I did not love it. Ultimately I don't really remember much about it except for [sp]Han Solo's death [/sp] and the ending, visually it was nice but in this day and age that's not really something that sets a film apart from the rest. 7/10 would be my TLDR assessment of TFA.
I think the argument about characters hasn't gotten any less true. With TFA I [i]remember[/i] all of the scenes that establish the relationships between everybody for example [sp]Poe and Finn teaming up early on, Rey mistaking Finn for an enemy before they team up, Rey's confrontations with Kylo Ren.[/sp] All of this shit is the stuff I enjoyed and makes me want to see the new one. It was more consistently entertaining for me. Sure [sp]star killer base[/sp] was super on the nose but if the strongest criticism is "oh no the plot is a lot like the original" that really doesn't hurt the movie too much. In Rogue One I sort of remember a few places where they were going for this but I can't really explain what the dynamic between anybody was supposed to be. Rogue One had nice set pieces but I can't point to anything that I really enjoyed about it other than that. We've got so many high budget movies that do decent action these days that if you take the cool star wars backdrops away the best way to describe it is "it's a movie."
[QUOTE=Splarg!;52841702]In Rogue One I sort of remember a few places where they were going for this but I can't really explain what the dynamic between anybody was supposed to be. Rogue One had nice set pieces but I can't point to anything that I really enjoyed about it other than that. We've got so many high budget movies that do decent action these days that if you take the cool star wars backdrops away the best way to describe it is "it's a movie."[/QUOTE] They movie didn't really aim for them to have relationships though. Where TFA has heroes who are saving each other and giving each other life advice, Rogue one was mostly a movie about normal flunkies coming together to strike at the empire. They didn't really have the force to bail them out. Just a group of people with the right skills to attempt a heist and their own motives for doing it.(Though I do think Chirrut and his friend did feel tacked on) Most star wars movies have been about extraordinary force users and large galactic conflicts. Rogue One was a group of mostly normal people performing a surgical strike.
People hate The Force Awakens and Rogue One? I thought they were equally good films, since when were they bad?
[QUOTE=General J;52840805]TFA wasn't a game changing artistic success or anything like that. But do you know what it was? It was strangers coming together in a vast galaxy and having a space adventure. It wasn't fucking actually boring politics and gigantic spans of nothing. No, fuck you, it was people coming together to be friends and having a space adventure. After dealing with Lucas at the helm for a decade and a half, that kind of felt refreshing. While I do agree they could have tried to hit just a little less of the same beats as the old movies (Death Star 3...ok...), TFA, by comparison, [I]is[/I] the best film thing to happen to Star Wars in what... 15 years?[/QUOTE] its better than the prequels, sure, but it's also better than troll 2. not exactly a big accomplishment [QUOTE=Mio Akiyama;52841922]People hate The Force Awakens and Rogue One? I thought they were equally good films, since when were they bad?[/QUOTE] pretty much since release day there have been people saying its shit
[QUOTE=DinoJesus;52840778]Is it OK to just say Star Wars in general is vastly overrated?[/QUOTE] Star Wars and every other new or old big thing. Basically we live in an era of excess of worthwhile media being released each season alongside easy access to said media and everything before it, allowing people to consume vast quantities of media. The vast consumption leads to people finding their niches and not move far from them, leading to people disregarding a lot of noteworthy stuff because it doesn't fit their niche. That's part of what leads to myself being more interested in how stories and media is created as well as inspired. I look into what inspired such media and what else is inspired by the same source. Long story short, I think people need to move out of their isolated tastes and try varieties of stuff as we are in an era where we have ongoing century,and centuries, of media at our fingertips.
[QUOTE=Untouch;52841359]at the same time its okay NOT to like it, okay? i dont personally dislike the movie, technically it feels very impressive, i just feel like it should have been much more[/QUOTE] That's pretty much the guy's point. He personally feels it's OK, and could have been much more - but that a lot of the criticisms it gets are either really nitpicky or not all that valid and that are plenty of valid things to criticize it for (for example, early on he shows someone talking about it's super fast pace and how it's easy to miss some details because everything just moves so damn fast).
I enjoyed both Force Awakens and Rogue One. I watched Force Awakens three separate times in theatres, with three different groups of people (housemates the first time; parents the second time; a friend whom I don't hang out with often the third time). After the first watching, any magic and illusions were washed away for me, but I was still able to enjoy the film. Kylo's temper tantrums never fail to get a chuckle out of me, same with Han's banter outside the Starkiller Base ("Oh, [b]you're[/b] cold?!"); and I still appreciate all of the technical work that went into making the film. I watched Rogue One twice, once in theatres, and then a second time on Blu-Ray. Both times with my housemates. I enjoyed the film, and I don't regret seeing it, but I went through the entire film not knowing anyone's names. They were just "Rebel rebel", "Heavy weapons guy," "blind monk", "snarky robot", and "Forest Whitaker" to me. And that was for both times I watched the film. The second time, I actually fell asleep for about a third of Rogue One. And it was only 6pm when we watched it. I didn't even realize I fell asleep during it until one of my housemates told me. I honestly didn't feel like I missed anything, though I'm sure my first watching helped inform my memory on the details I missed. I don't regret seeing either of them, and I don't think they're bad films. But with that being said, I don't find Rogue One nearly as rewatchable as Force Awakens. And, to be totally honest, I find Rogue One boring. But that's okay. I find Blade Runner - both the Final Cut, and 2049 - to be insanely boring. Yet I absolutely [b]love[/b] both films. They're just films you have to be in a certain mood to watch.
Much of RLM's problems with Rogue One were just stupid as shit imo. Like how the film was stupid for not explaining things like the Empire or who Tarkin is, or how it used stuff like x wings and star destroyers for fan service and not simply because those were vehicles used during that period. Don't get me wrong, as much as I like the film it does have big problems, but those sure as hell aren't them.
[QUOTE=Cliff2;52841887][b]They movie didn't really aim for them to have relationships though.[/b] Where TFA has heroes who are saving each other and giving each other life advice, Rogue one was mostly a movie about normal flunkies coming together to strike at the empire. They didn't really have the force to bail them out. Just a group of people with the right skills to attempt a heist and their own motives for doing it.(Though I do think Chirrut and his friend did feel tacked on) Most star wars movies have been about extraordinary force users and large galactic conflicts. Rogue One was a group of mostly normal people performing a surgical strike.[/QUOTE] What? It sounds like people are just saying that it's okay to not have compelling characters in a movie now. Like a big, general audiences movie to boot. And what does the outcasts banding together thing really have to do with that? Can they not interact in a way that makes you care about them more?
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