Jump to content

Non-Star Warsy Stuff About TFA


RamonAtila
 Share

Recommended Posts

Does anybody else notice how fast The Force Awakens starts? Usually Star Wars makes a sprawling entrance but this just got right into it with the robot and the key, don't you think? Although I must say the Star Destroyer silhouette was new and different in the best way.

 

But the quick opening is something I find non-Star Warsy about the new movie. Who knows what Ep 8 and 9 will be like. Maybe they will be closer to GL's style or even further. But I think the fast Max Von Sydow opening is very JJ Abrams in ep7.

 

Did anyone else find certain elements of the new movie non-Star Warsy?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll go to the opposite end. My biggest "didn't feel like Star Wars" moment was the sweeping crane shot to end things. Every single other movie ended on a beautifully framed virtually still shot. But they just had to go Peter Jackson.

 

Also, some of the dialogue is just too modern. I love Whedon as much as anyone, but there's a specific reason why I didn't want him to take over for Star Wars when they were looking for a director. Kasdan and Abrams trying to mimic The Avengers vibe in a few scenes just didn't have a place in a Star Wars movie no matter how clever it was.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ANH was soooooo slow with its opening scene and info dump.

I'll go to the opposite end. My biggest "didn't feel like Star Wars" moment was the sweeping crane shot to end things. Every single other movie ended on a beautifully framed virtually still shot. But they just had to go Peter Jackson.

 

Also, some of the dialogue is just too modern. I love Whedon as much as anyone, but there's a specific reason why I didn't want him to take over for Star Wars when they were looking for a director. Kasdan and Abrams trying to mimic The Avengers vibe in a few scenes just didn't have a place in a Star Wars movie no matter how clever it was.

Totally agree on both counts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it would have been hard to go to somewhere like Skellig Michael and not do a crane shot

 

Opening scene was fine for me

 

Score was a bit hmmm; I saw a YouTube clip (deleted now, obviously) of Starkiller Base imploding (as the MF etc. fly away) and the music just didn't fit for me

 

Flashbacks are new

 

Some of the dialogue too... the things I liked least in the trailer were the Kylo having some sort of internal monologue (another new thing) with Vader's helmet (but it mostly worked in the movie because it was condensed in the trailer) and the "it's calling to you... just let it in" stuff from Maz... still not sold on her, something a bit Disney about her...

 

Han v those two groups of generic generic monster fodder

 

Biggest thing is probably the family / relationship dynamics with Han, Leia, and their son (who presumably were a happy family once); they are new, and I'm still not sure if they will ever be really Star Warsy (makes me wish that Kylo wasn't related to anyone sometimes)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Biggest thing is probably the family / relationship dynamics with Han, Leia, and their son (who presumably were a happy family once); that's new, and I'm still not sure if it will ever be really Star Warsy

 

The failures and triumphs of father/son relationships make up the backbone of the entire saga. Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan/Anakin. Vader/Luke.

 

Han/Ben is merely the latest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was great how in the original films the main characters had to buy themselves some time while the computer made calculations before they could go into lightspeed in case they collided with a planet or bounced into a supernova or whatever the line was..... Now Han just times it and shouts..... "NOW"... then they pull a lever or something, and then they can come out of lightspeed just a few feet up from a planets surface.....LAME.....If that's not a Farce I don't know what is... To make it even worse Han used to be able to dodge Asteroids in Empire but now he can't even dodge a few trees, which manage to cause more damage than a shot from a Tie Fighter.

 

Oh yeah, as mentioned above, the crane shot at the end was like something from a 90's music video. It also reminded me of the shot of Picard at the end of 'Generations' after he had buried Kirk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was great how in the original films the main characters had to buy themselves some time while the computer made calculations before they could go into lightspeed in case they collided with a planet or bounced into a supernova or whatever the line was..... Now Han just times it and shouts..... "NOW"... then they pull a lever or something, and then they can come out of lightspeed just a few feet up from a planets surface.....LAME.....If that's not a Farce I don't know what is... To make it even worse Han used to be able to dodge Asteroids in Empire but now he can't even dodge a few trees, which manage to cause more damage than a shot from a Tie Fighter.

 

Oh yeah, as mentioned above, the crane shot at the end was like something from a 90's music video. It also reminded me of the shot of Picard at the end of 'Generations' after he had buried Kirk.

 

Computers work faster, its 30 years later. LOL.

 

I can;t believe this kind of stuff bothers people. I mean didn't this exact same thing happen in ESB?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In ESB they never got the lightspeed to work till the end, and it was going into Lightspeed, not coming out. It bothers me because as silly as the Science is in Star Wars, JJ has managed to dumb it down in even more, he's neglected something that was already established in ANH and used this as a cheap and easy way to get the characters to the surface of Starkiller base, instead of actually thinking of a more clever and interesting way to do it. This is just one of the many dumb aspects of this film.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, the difference (and remember I'm not trying to describe something that I think is bad, just something that I think is new / different and might take me a while for me to get used to) between Han/Ben and Luke/Anakin is that there was never a time when Anakin taught Luke the Star Wars equivalent of riding a bicycle or playing catch (unless Han ran off as soon as he was born)... so Han ends up asking his son to come home (?) whereas Luke is trying to draw out the good in someone he has never known. I think the break up of Han/Leia/Ben nudges SW a little bit in to soap opera territory, and I think it's a new development.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the break up of Han/Leia/Ben nudges SW a little bit in to soap opera territory, and I think it's a new development.

 

About that...

 

 

I think the Han/Ben conflict is the same basic idea come at from a different angle. Even if Daddy Vader never changed Baby Luke's diapers, the concept of fathers and sons in conflict is about as Star Warsy a storyline as you can ask for. That Han and Ben are switching roles with Vader and Luke is simply a logical way to stay within the Star Wars structure without completely repeating it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Considering that the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second, you would need to have some serious skills to be able to accomplish such a task.

 

Well considering the closest star to the sun is over 4 light years away, it must take years to travel between systems in Star Wars. Leia was a prisoner on the Death Star for a long, long time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Han v those two groups of generic generic monster fodder

 

I hate this scene. The two gangs were very Star Trek/EUish. If they were aliens with the same accents, people would have screamed racist. The Rathtars were forgettable.

 

The scene ultimately serves three purposes. Introducing Han and Chewie which we all geek out over. But Culture Club and Rathtars drag the whole scene down. It also gives us another harrowing scene for Rey and Finn to bond over. Lastly it sets up the Falcon being able to jump to lightspeed in a pinch (and them later dropping out of lightspeed).

 

The scene could have went so much smoother had had they dumped the gangs. And had them jump to lightspeed because the First Order was closing in on them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We don't know how fast light speed is in Star Wars, and in ANH Han say's.... 'She'll make point five past lightspeed'.

 

We don't have to be pedantic about it, we just know and accept that in the Star Wars universe people have to travel at a very vast speed to reach other planets, and if planets are as distant from each other than they are in our own universe then it makes sense for the ships to have on board computers to make the precise calculations... it adds credibility to a fantastical idea / storytelling device. To have Han just pull out at the right time discredits not only this idea but also the films that came before it and in some cases, the audience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But it's ok in ESB for R2 to just activate the hyper drive and send them off? I mean even if the coordinates were in the computer from when they first attempted to make the jump, they moved all over the place after that which would completely and utterly change their angles for the jump, hence making the earlier "precise calculations" basically useless.

 

That doesn't bother me, neither does Han coming out of hyper space approaching the planet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Watch the film again, Lando attempts to make the jump but there is a fault with the hyperdive, R2 fixes it. Lando even say's 'All the co-ordinates are set, it's now or never... punch it'. All R2 did was get the thing working. It probably doesn't matter so much where you are when you enter, but where you exit, hence the reason for having it in the first place, so you don't crash into something you can't see because your approaching it at such a ridiculous speed. Makes sense, Han pulling out doesn't. If you buy that you'll buy anything, even in a fantasy film.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm pretty certain, R2 goes over while 3PO is yelling at him. The little spot he sticks his arm into is red, he sticks his arm in and like turns it and it turns to blue and they immediately go into hyperspace with R2 flying across the Falcon.

 

Neither is more realistic or believable than the other. You are just "buying" what you pick and choose. I'm just being consistent in not giving 2 craps about the science in Star Wars.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's more believable because the co-ordinates have been set by Lando. Have you ever heard of a Sat Nav ? It's a bit like that. A computer which tells you your destination on a map. The main difference is that a hyperdive computer on a ship in Star Wars pulls you out at your precise destination so you don't crash, because at that speed it would be impossible to pull out in time travelling at that speed. That's why it's more realistic and credible than just timing it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.