Star Wars: The Force Awakens Reactions - SPOILERS HERE ONLY

[odessasteps]

One of my friends said disney will probably make their money back by episode 8.

It could be one of the biggest steals since vince bought wcw for $5m.

[stro]

George Lucas had one of the most valuable IPs of the last 30 years and did next to nothing with it. And when he did do something, it was disappointing. Then he got 4 Billion. I hope no one feels sorry for him. I am glad that Disney got it so that I can enjoy Star Wars again.

What do you mean did nothing with it? A multi-billion dollar franchise with 6 successful movies, 7 million video games, 30 years of popular EU comics/novels, insane merchandising, and permanent cultural foothold that 30 years after the first movie you have the president of the United States playing with lightsabers on the White House lawn. 

 

I think he did a lot for a dude who just wanted to make a movie like the shorts he saw as a kid.

[Raziel]

Um, only the 6 movies, and the licencing the IP to make fucktons of money off it was Lucas' work.  Everything else you mentioned was the work of other people playing in sandbox Lucas built then pretty much paid passing attention to.  the only involvement in any of the Games/Books/Comics/Cartoons was "Luke, Leia, and Han can't die".  And everything besides the movies don't count in the story anymore anyway.

[Craig H]

http://io9.gizmodo.com/a-not-so-brief-history-of-george-lucas-talking-shit-abo-1750464055

 

The article itself is fine and talks about much of what we talked about already, but the comments for this are one of the first times I read through the comments for an article and didn't immediately feel sad. Someone posts a video clip from an interview George Lucas had in 2005 where he didn't see the story continuing on, but now he says he's had these additional stories. In other interviews from this year he's said he didn't want old stuff and wanted to do new stuff and take people to new places, which prompted someone to highlight how many times they revisited Tatooine, the two Death Stars, taking from the EU. He says no one else would "get" Star Wars, and yet, JJ, Kasdan and Katherine Kennedy did it their first go. He continually says Star Wars is his and takes sole ownership of it, never giving credit, at least in interviews, to Lawrence Kasdan, his ex-wife, Gary Kurtz, and so many more.

 

Gee, you wonder why the prequel trilogy and that dogshit Indiana Jones movie with that fuckhead Shia Lebouf were total horseshit. Maybe it's because George Lucas really, really, really, really sucks when he tries to go it alone and is unfiltered. Maybe he just sucks in general, but had a couple really good ideas that everyone else around him made better.

[EVA]

The first Star Wars was unfiltered George Lucas. Even most of the people working on that movie had no idea what the fuck was going on while they were making it. That was purely his vision.

He just got old and lost it. Happens to everybody. Francis Ford Copolla made that Robin Williams movie where he's a kid that looks like...Robin Williams.

[Kevin Wilson]

 

George Lucas had one of the most valuable IPs of the last 30 years and did next to nothing with it. And when he did do something, it was disappointing. Then he got 4 Billion. I hope no one feels sorry for him. I am glad that Disney got it so that I can enjoy Star Wars again.

What do you mean did nothing with it? A multi-billion dollar franchise with 6 successful movies, 7 million video games, 30 years of popular EU comics/novels, insane merchandising, and permanent cultural foothold that 30 years after the first movie you have the president of the United States playing with lightsabers on the White House lawn. 

 

I think he did a lot for a dude who just wanted to make a movie like the shorts he saw as a kid.

 

I said next to nothing, your quoting needs work, and compared to what he could have done, he did next to nothing after Return of the Jedi. Episodes 7, 8, and 9 (plus the movies, toys, etc. between) will make more money than Star Wars did from 1983 to 2013. He gets credit for the first three movies, that's it. And he should have just sold it in the mid 1980s for lots of money if he wasn't interested in doing more with it, no one would have blamed him and he'd still be rich.

 

The whole thing is silly, no he shouldn't feel salty. He created a product, he made lots of money with it, and then sold it for a lot of money. Americans do that every day, just with much much much much smaller numbers. It is an IP, not an actual baby.

[EVA]

Some of y'all need to get jobs in Hollywood.

GODDAMMIT WHY IS THAT IP JUST SITTING AROUND WITHOUT SOMEONE FUCKING WITH IT? FUCK IT. FUCK IT TILL IT'S DEAD. THEN WE'LL REBOOT IT AND FUCK IT SOME MORE.

[Jingus]

He gets credit for the first three movies, that's it.

Between the prequels and the other movies he's written and directed, he's responsible for almost four billion dollars' worth of worldwide theatrical ticket sales. That's hardly a shabby resume.

I understand his bitterness. He spent over three decades of his life working on the series, and completely re-invented the entire movie business on multiple levels, but eventually it got to a point where he heard nothing but complaints about his new projects. So finally he said "fuck it, this shit ain't worth it anymore!" and sold out, but he still feels guilty about abandoning his baby. It's a perfectly natural response.

[Jingus]

Some of y'all need to get jobs in Hollywood.

I wish, brutha. I can only wish.

[Kuetsar]

I wonder if someone will make Christopher Tolkien a godfather offer to get their hands on the Simarillon and other properties. . . .

[stro]

 

 

George Lucas had one of the most valuable IPs of the last 30 years and did next to nothing with it. And when he did do something, it was disappointing. Then he got 4 Billion. I hope no one feels sorry for him. I am glad that Disney got it so that I can enjoy Star Wars again.

What do you mean did nothing with it? A multi-billion dollar franchise with 6 successful movies, 7 million video games, 30 years of popular EU comics/novels, insane merchandising, and permanent cultural foothold that 30 years after the first movie you have the president of the United States playing with lightsabers on the White House lawn. 

 

I think he did a lot for a dude who just wanted to make a movie like the shorts he saw as a kid.

 

I said next to nothing, your quoting needs work, and compared to what he could have done, he did next to nothing after Return of the Jedi. Episodes 7, 8, and 9 (plus the movies, toys, etc. between) will make more money than Star Wars did from 1983 to 2013. He gets credit for the first three movies, that's it. And he should have just sold it in the mid 1980s for lots of money if he wasn't interested in doing more with it, no one would have blamed him and he'd still be rich.

 

The whole thing is silly, no he shouldn't feel salty. He created a product, he made lots of money with it, and then sold it for a lot of money. Americans do that every day, just with much much much much smaller numbers. It is an IP, not an actual baby.

 

He gets no credit for being in charge of a company that employed 2000 or more people at some point to work on Star Wars (and Indiana Jones) stuff? Your thesis is he didn't do enough with Star Wars, while discounting all the stuff he did with Star Wars and all the people he employed to make more Star Wars stuff.  

[DTTW]

As Warhol warned, now that everyone can get their 15 minutes it seems like there is no way to have any success without a loud chorus of people shitting on you.

I don't understand why Lucas even cares enough to comment on this. Unless he's been living under a rock the last 30 years he should have know a shit storm would happen if he said anything. He should have just been chilling on the ranch lighting up doobies with hundred dollar bills and loving life like only a guy with over a billion dollars and all the free time he wants can.

Someone correct me, did Lucas reinvent the movie business or was it more like pure dumb luck? The only thing I've heard that it wasn't luck was the toy deal, but even then there's no way he could have known it was going to turn out this huge.

[Stennick]

Yeah but I mean to that degree 99.9 percent of people that become successful have no way of knowing its going to be that big. For every guy that thinks "yeah this is going to be huge" and it turns out huge there are millions of others with ideas they think will be huge as well and turn out to be nothing. Luck plays a part in everything. Vince McMahon was at one time regarded as his master promoter and this generations P.T Barnom when virtually everything that happened to him had to break the right way. I'm not sure Lucas set out to change the movie business but did so by having fresh and new ideas for the time. I would imagine thats how almost everything changes for better or worse someone comes along with something they think is cool and then others agree and copy it until its stale and someone new comes along. 

[andrew8798]

Think some people forget all the stuff he did for the movie Industry. He will always be remembered for ILM  If he was smart he would keep his mouth since he will still make money off the movies 

[Ace]

Um, only the 6 movies, and the licencing the IP to make fucktons of money off it was Lucas' work.  Everything else you mentioned was the work of other people playing in sandbox Lucas built then pretty much paid passing attention to.  the only involvement in any of the Games/Books/Comics/Cartoons was "Luke, Leia, and Han can't die".  And everything besides the movies don't count in the story anymore anyway.

 

There was an article recently about the fall of LucasArts where Lucas would either meddle poorly or when he was specifically asked for input (giving a Darth title to Starkiller in the Force Unleashed games), he would half-ass it and come up with terrible ideas.

[andrew8798]

Always heard he did that for FU as a joke and so they leave him alone

[DTTW]

After seeing it happen at jobs, with the WWE, Playboy, and Lucas, is it crazy to think after you get older, your attempts at trying to recapture your previous cultural success is pretty much a recipe for disaster?

[goodhelmet]

I saw it a second time and I have to say I enjoyed it even more the 2nd time. I know the standard thought is it is A New Hope version 2 but it really is a tribute to the entire first trilogy. The first time I watched it, Han's death was a shocking moment. The 2nd time, it was much more emotional. I paid particularly close attention to a few things people criticized such as the lightsaber battles, the relationship between Poe & Finn, Captain Phasma's role and Chewie's reaction to Han's death. 

 

First, people thought Poe and Finn were having a love affair and it wasn't really like that at all. They both needed each other when they escaped. They had some nice "get to know you" banter but when Finn thought Poe was dead, he didn't cry, scream out Poe's name in vain. He carried on trying to continue his escape. When they reunited, it didn't feel like two old friends but two guys who were genuinely and happily surprised the other one was still alive. Zero complaints about the way their relationship was handled. 

 

in my first viewing, I was disappointed with Captain Phasma as well but that is because I was expecting Brienne of Tarth in a silver storm trooper outfit. Phasma was more of a bureaucrat than a warrior in this film. I think they hype for the character and my expectations were more than what the film was going for. That is my fault, not the film's. Supposedly, she will have an expanded role in the next one so I look forward to that. 

 

In the lightsabre battles, I was less emotionally caught up this time in the action and more critical but came away with a more favorable impression. When Ren is fighting Finn, he dominates him. He is toying with him, doesn't take him seriously and knows Finn is no match. Finn gets in one shot when he wounds Ren's shoulder. That's it. Finn got smoked and rightfully so. In the bigger scheme of things, I really like how Finn was portrayed as the Cowardly Lion. He's brave but his M.O. throughout the film is to run away. Run away with Poe. Run away from Jakku. Run away from the forest planet. Keep running and he emphasizes this throughout the film. It isn't until Rey is captured that he summons the courage to fight. When he fights Kylo Ren with the lightsabre, Rey had just been thrown against a tree and he was still trying to protect his friend. It is surprisingly consistent within the story arc and his battle with Ren did not feel forced or hokey. He was no match but he bought Ray time to regain her senses and that leads to...

 

Kylo Ren vs. Rey - If you pay attention, even though he is wounded, Ren isn't trying to win this fight. He already recognized Rey's connection to the force and was trying to seduce her to the dark side. It's a bit like Vader and Luke in Empire. Rey isn't ready the same way that Luke wasn't ready but she could hold her own, discovering these newly acquired force powers while still using her basic survival fighting skills to fend Ren off long enough to make her escape. She was fighting for her life. Ren was fighting to impose his will. The fact that Ren was powerful but had not completed his trip to the Dark Side, still a petulant little brat made the scenario completely plausible and when Rey escaped, it was because the combatants had two completely different goals from the start. 

 

My buddy was really pissed off that Chewbacca didn't tear people limb from limb when Han died. I paid attention to Chewie's reaction after the death and he single-handedly took out 6 storm troopers, shot Kylo Ren and pressed the detonators. Chewie was pissed and then his sadness when they escaped hit home even harder. 

 

One more takeaway... I am convinced more than ever that Rey is Skywalker's kid. When Maz Kanata talks to Rey about the lightsaber being Luke's and his father's before him, this is a scene about lineage. My guess is that when Ren turned to the Dark Side, he probably killed Rey's mother and to protect Rey (just like every character from the past), Luke did what he knew best... kept her "protected" on a desert planet until she was ready to know her true destiny. He probably didn't kill Kylo because it was his nephew but it probably drove a wedge between him and Han\Leia. That is just fanboy speculation on my part. 

 

Anyway, after a second time, I loved the film even more. Flaws from my initial reaction melted away and I am firmly hooked into the Star Wars universe again. Still loved the Kylo Ren character. Loved Rey and Finn. Was torn up when Han died. Enjoyed General Hux. Discovered creatures I didn't notice the first time around. I can't rank it with the original trilogy because those are movies from my childhood that have been part of my entire life. It's an unfair comparison. I have too much emotional investment in the original to truly evaluate where this last installment ranks. I only know I loved this film on its own and made me completely emotionally invested in the new story. 

[DTTW]

How any Star Wars fan can say this film is good when it contradicts an established scene and general concepts in how things work, keeps making me questioning the sanity of some people.

[ivpvideos]

How any Star Wars fan can say this film is good when it contradicts an established scene and general concepts in how things work, keeps making me questioning the sanity of some people.

 

Have you watched the movies or just read about them the past decade?

[JCM]

I thought the action was great, the acting was mostly hits with a few misses, and the story had some holes and was an obvious tribute to the OT. My biggest problem was probably how they just the let the one storm trooper (who just happened to be under review for his conduct on the battle field) out of I'm guessing 100's of storm troopers available be the one to bring Poe wherever they were taking him. First off Fin should've been under surveillance until the review was done. That whole escape was just some half assed writing.

 

I think it's a pretty big problem that the only characters I care about going into the second movie are ones from the OT. Fin and Rey were ok, and I'm interested in seeing how Kylo Ren develops as a villain but if the movie were only about these 3 I really wouldn't care. I'm much more interested in seeing bad ass bearded Jedi master Luke, and Chewie fuck some more shit up.

[Kevin Wilson]

I thought the action was great, the acting was mostly hits with a few misses, and the story had some holes and was an obvious tribute to the OT. My biggest problem was probably how they just the let the one storm trooper (who just happened to be under review for his conduct on the battle field) out of I'm guessing 100's of storm troopers available be the one to bring Poe wherever they were taking him. First off Fin should've been under surveillance until the review was done. That whole escape was just some half assed writing.

I am pretty sure he made that up, he wasn't told to bring Poe anywhere. He went in there on his own to get him out and lied to the guard.

 

Poe getting off Jakku, that was half assed writing. But not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

[DTTW]

How any Star Wars fan can say this film is good when it contradicts an established scene and general concepts in how things work, keeps making me questioning the sanity of some people.

Have you watched the movies or just read about them the past decade?

I stopped watching Star Wars when it started sucking too. Doesn't mean I still wasn't interested in what they were up to.

[Kevin Wilson]

 

 

How any Star Wars fan can say this film is good when it contradicts an established scene and general concepts in how things work, keeps making me questioning the sanity of some people.

Have you watched the movies or just read about them the past decade?

I stopped watching Star Wars when it started sucking too. Doesn't mean I still wasn't interested in what they were up to.

 

Well luckily you're in the only 10% that doesn't like the movie, maybe Star Wars just isn't for you. I wouldn't like the Harry Potter movies, so I didn't watch them and didn't complain about them. Just an idea.

[JCM]

 

Is there any idea on what Arndt wanted to do with the film? 

 

Apparently all that Abrams and Kasdan kept from Arndt's script was the female lead Rey-type character and a Stormtrooper abandoning his post, Finn.  Those were the ideas Abrams wanted to focus on.

 

Arndt also said this:

 

“Early on I tried to write versions of the story where [Rey] is at home, her home is destroyed, and then she goes on the road and meets Luke. And then she goes and kicks the bad guy’s ass. It just never worked and I struggled with this. This was back in 2012.” Apparently the issue was Luke’s presence was always upstaging everyone in the script. “It just felt like every time Luke came in and entered the movie, he just took it over,” Arndt continued. “Suddenly you didn’t care about your main character anymore because, ‘Oh f–k, Luke Skywalker’s here. I want to see what he’s going to do.’”

 

 

So basically we had a Daniel Skywalker Roman Reygns situation. Also I can't get over Poe cracking jokes to Kylo Ren while standing maybe a few feet from his dead father's recently gutted body.