Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

[McParadigm]

I'm still happy to think about how much dime, strat, and durd get out of this. But then there's stip.

[LoathedVermin72]

This is not a bad movie. It's just a boring one. It's in such a hurry it makes Into Darkness look like a character study

How is it not bad?

It's a lot like the JJ Star Trek stuff: if it had "Space Fighter 2" as the title, I'd say "well, it's about as good as generic space adventure movies get now. Forgettable but with some redeeming qualities." But when you tack a title on that comes from something with subtext, characterization, humanity, and resonance, you belittle that title without gaining any of its qualities outside of the pictures and laser sounds.

JJ can still direct actors, and come up with "it'll look cool if we" stuff. But he can't tell a story or create a person to live in it to save his soul, and he couldn't tell you the thematic subtext of a piece if you had his stupid head in a Casino vice.

That definitely registers as "bad" to me.

[BurtReynolds]

[EJ]

Final report: dime, that is just a rock. It is not, as you suspected, a movie.

It's true. All of it.

[dimejinky99]

I'm still happy to think about how much dime, strat, and durd get out of this. But then there's stip.

That's one of the classiest put downs I've ever seen.

[Strat]

Just because you are naked it doesnt make you are sexy, just because you are cynical, doesn't make you cool.


I think McP actually liked it.

[dimejinky99]

Probably loved you it. We'll never know.



Imagine how dirty you'd feel if he said he loved it.

[McParadigm]

I make no apologies for the things I love. Not ever.

[stip]

i ordered the Blu-Ray so I won't have this for a few more days to see how it holds up on a small screen, but I think the Rey and Ren characters are great, with a fair bit more depth and interesting places to go than most of their action/fantasy counterparts.


I mean, what the hell is there to furiosia's character beyond a dislike of using women as cows (feminist masterpiece!)? And Ren is brilliantly done.


Fair point about the speed, I suppose, but that's always been part of the appeal of Star Wars. Pulpy serials that move quickly

[stip]

God I hate the generic villains we get in movies these days. Fit throwing, cartoony fist clenching, and we just increase the weapon size to compensate. Like a fat bald guy with a hot rod.

This is nonsense. Having your lead villian be an inversion of the story arc of your previous primary hero is pretty original, and the characterization of an immature, tantrum throwing villian who is trying to live up to an ideal he doesn't fully believe in is also pretty great. It's a layered, petulant performance informed by the two Skywalker Jedi that preceded him, and the over the top anger is part of the dark side mythology.

Characterization is not what the character does, it is why the character does it

[stip]

Rey really is the greatest pilot ever. If she's this good at everything I hope she dies.

I bet you really hated that moment in a new hope where the rebellion lets some random farmer from a desert planet fly an x-wing for the first time as part of the life or death military assault on the super weapon coming to kill everyone. Also he saves the day with his magic powers.

[stip]

The self-rising food gets a very long, loving moment from the camera

Practical effects! A lesser movie would have cgi'd that bread.

[stip]

Free robot I don't have to feed? Fuck that. In the morning you go.

[stip]

It just kicked into a Force theme, and I realized how unremarkable the music has been so far.

Yeah, the only really strong original contribution is Rey's theme.



Dime, who is scoring the other movies?

[dimejinky99]

Compiling a list of the things McP missed cos he was posting

[Coach]

Leia looks like David Hasslehoff!!!!'

I actually thought she looks more like Caitlyn Jenner.

[McParadigm]

Fair point about the speed, I suppose, but that's always been part of the appeal of Star Wars. Pulpy serials that move quickly

Don't be dumb. New Hope spends more time on Luke's Tatooine misery than this movie invests in all of its non-plot-rushing character development, period. 30 minutes of Empire is a dude chatting with a muppet in a swamp, and a portion of that is intercut with a love story.

This is nonsense. Having your lead villian be an inversion of the story arc of your previous primary hero is pretty original

I was actually referring to the cartoony Imperial general guy here. I think Ren actually plays ok, aside from too much JJ (or Avengers) "why write depth or complexity when he can just smash some things when he's angry" dumbdumb stuff. But they really undercut both their own ability to show that character and the First Order's ability to feel like a threat by having him paired up with a crazy-eyed screaming ginger and a stupid white Orc that never offers anything useful to the movie. Luke was paired with kind-hearted idealism and sneering cynicism, and that gave him something to bounce off of. Ren basically plays like a mix of Loki and that loony queen from Snow White and the Huntsman, except for those terribly few scenes that allow him to be around people who are not other generic bad guys.

I bet you really hated that moment in a new hope where the rebellion lets some random farmer from a desert planet fly an x-wing for the first time as part of the life or death military assault on the super weapon coming to kill everyone. Also he saves the day with his magic powers.

Well I admit I did hate it when, 3 minutes after stepping into the Falcon, Luke showed Han how to cut the power and slide into a back flip in order to target incoming fighters. That was pretty hokey, and it really diminished any sense of threat to him as a character. It was almost as bad as when he got in trouble in that bar and Obi-Wan started to rush in, but then Luke just kicked the guy's ass. It just resulted in a feeling that, rather than Luke being a miserable disenfranchised kid embarking on a grand adventure, he was just there to be a series of bite-sized wish fulfillment moments that we'll call a character. What a dumb movie.

Practical effects! A lesser movie would have cgi'd that bread.

And a better one would have known how to incorporate it without taking 5 long seconds to stare directly at only the fucking food while characters are waiting to be developed.

I actually thought she looks more like Caitlyn Jenner.

That's a trio I'd watch on film.

[McParadigm]

Honestly, I think Maz was my favorite character in the whole thing.

[LoathedVermin72]

Thinking about Rey's run-into-the-woods temper tantrum still makes me laugh

[dimejinky99]

It just kicked into a Force theme, and I realized how unremarkable the music has been so far.

Yeah, the only really strong original contribution is Rey's theme.



Dime, who is scoring the other movies?

I know Williams isn't doing Rogue one but has it been said he isn't doing the remaining films in this trilogy?

I was deeply underwhelmed by the score the first couple times I watched this but it sneaks up on you quite quickly. It's perfect for this film.