OT - New Star Wars is the Real Deal!

[RUChoppin]

More to the point - who cares. Freaking Jurassic world was awful and its one of the top selling movies of all time now. All this proves is that if you take great movies and update them, people will flock to them. To put it another way - Episode 1 is still in the top 10 in unadjusted gross domestically 15 years after its release.

It's really just a matter of popularity, more than quality. A means of keeping score.

It will be interesting where Episode VIII lands, though.

While Ep. I made a ton of money because people flocked to the theaters to see it (hoping for more of what they liked in Eps 4-6)... it was largely disappointing, and there was a steep fall off in interest for Ep. II. The flip side of that is something like Batman Begins, which led to a huge bump in popularity/ticket sales for The Dark Knight.

Will Episode VIII top even Episode VII, given the massive success of the first coupled with widely positive public opinion?

 

[mildone]

Didn't you hear what our Governor, the hero of the stupid, said at the last debate? "People across this country are terrified!"

Terrified I tell you!

If the Governor is correct, then it seems that, by definition, the terrorists have won.

 

[mildone]

Rarely, if ever, does it.

Very Yoda-esque response.

 

[RU848789]

You mad bro? ...

LMAO

In all seriousness, do you really feel like the world is against you because the lead in the new SW is a female and the second lead is black? Last I checked we white males are fairly well represented through all positions of power and leadership in politics, business, film, etc in this country. I think if we play our cards right we just might survive this injustice!

To paraphraise one of my favorite songs, by They Might Be Giants (Ana Ng), he doesn't want the world, he just wants your half. Poor oppressed white males.

 

[DJ Spanky]

So essentially you're arguing for affirmative action within the First Order?

Well that's the whole impetus behind the First Order: the "Man" is keeping everyone else down!

 

[RUMcMahon]

$4 Billion will seem cheap in hindsight. Disney knows what they are doing.

This , Lucas is already pissed off , just wait for his tone in 2020.

 

[NYCknight]

To paraphraise one of my favorite songs, by They Might Be Giants (Ana Ng), he doesn't want the world, he just wants your half. Poor oppressed white males.

It's nice to be blessed with multiple degrees and high incomes. However, snarkiness just masks the useful idiot factor. I find it sadly amusing that liberal people have no problem assuming categorical disadvantage for women and minorities, but assume white privilege (particularly white male privilege) all by virtue of their skin tone with all of the advantages in the world and no problems to overcome.

You know, because there is zero difference between whether your ancestors came over on the Mayflower versus being the offspring of peasant immigrants who came over at the start of the industrial revolution with nothing. Because we don't need to do nuance- let's lump them all in together.

Mind telling where this guy's advantage is???

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/guy-170-000-law-school-204811509.html

 

[mildone]

It's nice to be blessed with multiple degrees and high incomes. However, snarkiness just masks the useful idiot factor. I find it sadly amusing that liberal people have no problem assuming categorical disadvantage for women and minorities, but assume white privilege (particularly white male privilege) all by virtue of their skin tone with all of the advantages in the world and no problems to overcome.

You know, because there is zero difference between whether your ancestors came over on the Mayflower versus being the offspring of peasant immigrants who came over at the start of the industrial revolution with nothing. Because we don't need to do nuance- let's lump them all in together.

Mind telling where this guy's advantage is???

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/guy-170-000-law-school-204811509.html

You're attempting to turn a movie discussion thread into some kind of political debate. The CE board would be a perfect place to start a new thread bemoaning the horrific situation in which white males in America find themselves.

 

[NYCknight]

You're attempting to turn a movie discussion thread into some kind of political debate. The CE board would be a perfect place to start a new thread bemoaning the horrific situation in which white males in America find themselves.

Overly dramatic much? And last I checked the people I responded to were the ones to start cracking wise about the pigment and phallic advantage. Go lecture them.

 

[RUChoppin]

Overly dramatic much? And last I checked the people I responded to were the ones to start cracking wise about the pigment and phallic advantage. Go lecture them.

But seriously, though... CE Board.

If people respond to your post, this whole thread will get moved to the CE Board anyway - so might as well just go there in the first place.

 

[NYCknight]

But seriously, though... CE Board.

If people respond to your post, this whole thread will get moved to the CE Board anyway - so might as well just go there in the first place.

Agreed. We did get off topic.

 

[RU848789]

It's nice to be blessed with multiple degrees and high incomes. However, snarkiness just masks the useful idiot factor. I find it sadly amusing that liberal people have no problem assuming categorical disadvantage for women and minorities, but assume white privilege (particularly white male privilege) all by virtue of their skin tone with all of the advantages in the world and no problems to overcome.

You know, because there is zero difference between whether your ancestors came over on the Mayflower versus being the offspring of peasant immigrants who came over at the start of the industrial revolution with nothing. Because we don't need to do nuance- let's lump them all in together.

Mind telling where this guy's advantage is???

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/guy-170-000-law-school-204811509.html

I was simply making fun of your ridiculous assertion that there was a "leftist agenda inserted into the movie." Even T, who is as anti-PC as they come, dismissed that claim: plenty of backstory reasons why Rey has surprising powers with the Force and if they were being PC, I don't think they would've made Finn so weak (relatively speaking, vs. Rey).

The rest of your post above is weak nonsense, where you seem to be implying I think in "black and white" (pun not intended). I wasn't "blessed" with multiple degrees and a relatively high income (I think I earned them) and I started out relatively lower-middle-class, despite having ancestors that came over on the Mayflower (didn't seem to help much, lol) and I like to think I completely get nuance. I just don't agree there is anything PC or "leftist" about SW7.

And last I checked, you were the first one to inject politics into this thread, causing it to predictably veer off course. I'm done with hijacking the thread if you are...

 

[NYCknight]

I was simply making fun of your ridiculous assertion that there was a "leftist agenda inserted into the movie." Even T, who is as anti-PC as they come, dismissed that claim: plenty of backstory reasons why Rey has surprising powers with the Force and if they were being PC, I don't think they would've made Finn so weak (relatively speaking, vs. Rey).

The rest of your post above is weak nonsense, where you seem to be implying I think in "black and white" (pun not intended). I wasn't "blessed" with multiple degrees and a relatively high income (I think I earned them) and I started out relatively lower-middle-class, despite having ancestors that came over on the Mayflower (didn't seem to help much, lol) and I like to think I completely get nuance. I just don't agree there is anything PC or "leftist" about SW7.

And last I checked, you were the first one to inject politics into this thread, causing it to predictably veer off course. I'm done with hijacking the thread if you are...

It's far from ridiculous to believe there was a political agenda (others in this thread have agreed) and political donor history of JJ Abrams is about as one sided as it gets.

http://www.followthemoney.org/show-me?f-core=1&d-eid=162065#[{1|gro=f-eid

http://time.com/4084807/hollywood-political-donors-hillary-clinton/


Your response on the other stuff was kind of funny because it reveals a defensiveness that seems pretty natural. But I will continue the rest on the CE Board, if you care to continue.

 

[derleider]

You know, because there is zero difference between whether your ancestors came over on the Mayflower versus being the offspring of peasant immigrants who came over at the start of the industrial revolution with nothing. Because we don't need to do nuance- let's lump them all in together.

Mind telling where this guy's advantage is???

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/guy-170-000-law-school-204811509.html

Actually liberals dont assume that. You assume that is what liberals assume because its a much easier to argue against that than against what liberals actually beleive. No one says that white men have all the advantages in the world and no problems to overcome.Classic strawman.

As for movies specifically. Look at the main characters of best selling movies of all time before this Star Wars movie- Avatar, Titanic, Jurassic Park and World, Stars Wars (original and Ep 1-3), the Avengers movies, Harry Potter, Frozen, Transformers, Lord of the Rings, James Bond, Bat Man, Pirates of the Caribbean, Toy Story, the new Alice in Wonderland movies, Despicable Me, the Hunger games, Twilight, Spiderman, Inception, Fast and Furious - that covers movies in the top 50 all time gross where the characters have an identifiable human race (i.e. arent aliens or animals). Of those - only the Fast and Furious has a main character that isnt white and Vin Diesel is ambiguous. There are supporting rolls for non-whites - but lead roles - well the list says it all.

Only one of them is based on a historical moment where a black main character would have been really out of place (Titanic).

If I didnt know better, I would think that those Saul Alinksy style radicals down in Hollywood has some kind of agenda to put white people in every leading role. Now you'll say - well thats what sells or the original material had white people in those roles - but thats kind of the point right.

 

[mildone]

Actually liberals dont assume that. You assume that is what liberals assume because its a much easier to argue against that than against what liberals actually beleive. No one says that white men have all the advantages in the world and no problems to overcome.Classic strawman.

As for movies specifically. Look at the main characters of best selling movies of all time before this Star Wars movie- Avatar, Titanic, Jurassic Park and World, Stars Wars (original and Ep 1-3), the Avengers movies, Harry Potter, Frozen, Transformers, Lord of the Rings, James Bond, Bat Man, Pirates of the Caribbean, Toy Story, the new Alice in Wonderland movies, Despicable Me, the Hunger games, Twilight, Spiderman, Inception, Fast and Furious - that covers movies in the top 50 all time gross where the characters have an identifiable human race (i.e. arent aliens or animals). Of those - only the Fast and Furious has a main character that isnt white and Vin Diesel is ambiguous. There are supporting rolls for non-whites - but lead roles - well the list says it all.

Only one of them is based on a historical moment where a black main character would have been really out of place (Titanic).

If I didnt know better, I would think that those Saul Alinksy style radicals down in Hollywood has some kind of agenda to put white people in every leading role. Now you'll say - well thats what sells or the original material had white people in those roles - but thats kind of the point right.

Excellent point.

@NYCknight created a thread over in the CE board to discuss this though, so maybe move this over there and continue the discussion. Incidentally, from what I can tell, the CE board discussions have been much more congenial, nuanced and multi-sided lately, with fewer ad hominem personal attacks.

 

[anon_ivydyf0amkzay]

Very miserable. The movie just made $600m in 12 days, a record beyond belief. Almost everyone loves it, including critics who are notoriously harsh on sci-fi/fantasy movies, but not some schmucks on this board.

It was an underwhelming movie that stole from itself...nothing about it, except the amazing special effects, said fresh...if that offends your touchy sensibilities...too bad!

 

[T2Kplus10]

It was an underwhelming movie that stole from itself...nothing about it, except the amazing special effects, said fresh...if that offends your touchy sensibilities...too bad!

93% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, one of the best reviewed films of the year. Sorry if this offends your insecure sensibilities, too bad!

 

[wheezer]

93% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, one of the best reviewed films of the year. Sorry if this offends your insecure sensibilities, too bad!

--------------
I liked this one way more than the last set of three.... it brought back memories of how it all began

 

[RUMcMahon]

It's really just a matter of popularity, more than quality. A means of keeping score.

It will be interesting where Episode VIII lands, though.

While Ep. I made a ton of money because people flocked to the theaters to see it (hoping for more of what they liked in Eps 4-6)... it was largely disappointing, and there was a steep fall off in interest for Ep. II. The flip side of that is something like Batman Begins, which led to a huge bump in popularity/ticket sales for The Dark Knight.

Will Episode VIII top even Episode VII, given the massive success of the first coupled with widely positive public opinion?

Episode VIII will most likely top VII. With regards to The Dark Knight, keep in mind that Heath Ledger passing away before the movie opened increased demand by a large quantity and then of course tremendous word of mouth.

 

[RUChoppin]

Episode VIII will most likely top VII. With regards to The Dark Knight, keep in mind that Heath Ledger passing away before the movie opened increased demand by a large quantity and then of course tremendous word of mouth.

Oh, definitely. Had Dark Knight been following "Batman and Robin" instead of "Batman Begins", though, that interest amplifier would have had less of an impact.

The examples are bit all over for sequels:
Lord of the Rings had bigger box office hauls with each installment.
Hunger Games had a big opening, and topped it with Hunger Games: Catching Fire, then dropped for Mockingjay Part 1 (and dropped still further for Mockingjay Part 2)
Iron Man had a big opening, then dropped a bit for Iron Man 2, and then surpassed the first with Iron Man 3.
SW Ep 1 had a big opening, then plummeted for Ep 2, then bounced back for Ep 3 (but not as high as Ep 1)
Spiderman dropped a bit to Spiderman 2, then a little further to Spiderman 3
Shrek had a fairly big opening (#17 all time, at the time), but had a massive opening for Shrek 2 (#6 all time, at the time), then fell off for Shrek 3, and still further for Shrek 3D

So, will be interesting to see. The Force Awakens had its first day under $20M on its 18th day (all the way down to single-digit millions!), but we'll likely see it add another $60M+ by next monday.

 

[JQRU91]

It was an underwhelming movie that stole from itself...nothing about it, except the amazing special effects, said fresh...if that offends your touchy sensibilities...too bad!

It wasn't a particularly good movie. It basically piggybacks everything on it being a Star Wars movie and rides the wave of people's affection for the original films. If it wasn't a Star Wars film, I doubt many people would bother to see it again.

 

[RUChoppin]

I really enjoyed it (wasn't able to see it until Jan 1st, so avoided this thread until this past weekend).

It was fun, funny at times, emotional at times, action packed, good performances, great visuals and music - and it fell right into the ethos of Episodes 4-6.

Did it pay homage to a lot in the original trilogy? Sure - but SW has mirrored plot points in the past, too. As an easy example, there was a Death Star in both Eps 4 and 6, but that doesn't make RotJ a bad movie because of it.

The biggest test for me, as a fan (former "superfan" until the prequels came out), was whether I want to watch it again. The answer is a huge "yes". I've seen Ep 4 north of 30 times, and seen ESB and RotJ around 20 times each. I'd watch any one of them again. On the flip side, I rewatched Attack of the Clones with my wife last night (we watched 4-6 prior to seeing 7, and I'm catching her up on the prequels) and it was just painful. We skipped Phantom Menace entirely because it's not worth wasting 2 hours, and I'm not super enthusiastic about rewatching Revenge of the Sith, either.

Right now there are 4 "good" Star Wars movies, in my mind, and 3 that had some good ideas/elements but ultimately fell victim to terrible execution (script, direction, performances, CGI... the works).

Are there some elements in Ep 7 that I didn't particularly like? Sure. But I can say that about Eps 4-6, too. Didn't detract from my overall enjoyment - and looking forward to seeing Rey, Finn, Po, and BB-8 continue on in Ep 8.

 

[rutexan84]

It wasn't a particularly good movie. It basically piggybacks everything on it being a Star Wars movie and rides the wave of people's affection for the original films. If it wasn't a Star Wars film, I doubt many people would bother to see it again.

Couldn't have wrote it better myself.

 

[mildone]

Couldn't have wrote it better myself.

I believe you.

 

[Hawks!!!]

I'll just leave this here:

 

[Scarlet Jerry]

I was very excited to see the movie because I'm a huge Star Wars fan. I just saw it tonight, and I was very disappointed.

The first Star Wars had a major "wow!" factor. Almost everything, the opening titles, the special effects, the characters, the music...were innovative and iconic. This one just seemed like a rehash of old ideas. I really liked episodes 4 and 6. Episode three wasn't bad either.

I really wanted to like The Force Awakens, but I left the theater feeling like I needed to see a remedial movie.

-Scarlet Jerry

 

[T2Kplus10]

SW just became the top grossing movie in history, beating Avatar. The way the sales are coming in, domestic box office should top out between $850 and $900 million.

 

[RUBlackout]

Do people not understand that that this was a film that was trying to be promoted back into the current generation and move away from ep1-3? The whole point was to look back and what made Star Wars great and if the same story line was followed from ep4 then so be it. They had to start somewhere and now they can use the next 2 to change the script and do something g great because they have the interest of the people again

 

[RUChoppin]

Do people not understand that that this was a film that was trying to be promoted back into the current generation and move away from ep1-3? The whole point was to look back and what made Star Wars great and if the same story line was followed from ep4 then so be it. They had to start somewhere and now they can use the next 2 to change the script and do something g great because they have the interest of the people again

Agreed, to an extent. It's clearly a different story, but it used some of the structural underpinnings that had success in the original trilogy (which, by the way, just copied Joseph Campbell's heroic journey, anyway, so it's not like it was hugely original from a plot arc perspective to begin with).

Abrams had to walk the fine line between fan service and building something new. Give the fans the look and feel of 4-6 without any bad flashbacks to 1-3... include beloved characters and dialogue/plot call-backs in a reverential way... introduce new characters and structural elements that will carry the story forward... He needed to be conservative enough to reengage the crowd that's been craving more Star Wars since 1983 and felt they got bait-and-switched from 1999-2005, but introduce enough new stuff that would provide a platform for 8&9 to be successful. I think he managed to hit on all of those cylinders.

 

[T2Kplus10]

Agreed with the 2 posters above. This was a film about reconnecting to the SW roots and transitioning so the story can move forward. JJ did a great job juggling both objectives.

 

[lighty]

It's pretty sad that people can't even watch a film about a fantasy world without bringing their politics into play or swearing there is some sort of agenda at play. Ever think that since this film takes place in the far future that maybe attitudes like these are gone?

Rey is the best new Star Wars character I've seen in a while. Fin was good too. Can't believe people didn't like the characters or thought there was too much Han Solo. It's a fun film. Definitely see it in Imax 3d -- but go to a real Imax theatre like in Atlantic City. 90% of the imax theatres are imax in name alone...

 

[RUtrumpet92]

Ever think that since this film takes place in the far future that maybe attitudes like these are gone?

Ummm....

 

[T2Kplus10]

Ummm....

+1
Someone needs to read more carefully.

 

[T2Kplus10]

SW up to $860 million and should top out just over $900 million (and $2B worldwide). Pretty nice!