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Red Letter Media - The Star Wars Awakens Review

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When seeing the review appear on youtube
After watching the review

IgMyx.gif


Maybe wanting this review so much, we were destined for failure.
You know.. like back when waiting for Ep 1.
OH WAIT! This review itself is a lesson!
Its boring and meandering on purpose!
WOWWW!!!
 
I mean I can see why so many would be disappointed, but it was pretty damn entertaining to me. Not going to be as legendary as the earlier reviews but it was serviceable...kinda like the Force Awakens in that way, a retread of the original format that didn't really add anything new or take any risks, a safe low-risk product.
 
Oh, I see, so all of those prove that Creed and Fury Road are great movies but all of TFA's numerous accolades, nominations and personal opinions don't mean anything? Weird how that works.

I mentioned TFA notable accolaide, your free to mention the others but I don't think they stand up quite as much
 
And why is liking any of those movies over another ridiculous? If someone said any of those movies were their favorite movie of 2015, I would not bat an eye because they're all great movies, so why is it so ridiculous to say TFA was someone's second favorite?
I dunno, because it's my opinion? I don't see how the movie remotely stands up to the accolades that other movies got last year for doing more interesting and more fresh things.

You're free to think it's the top movie of the year. I'm free to think that's a totally shitty opinion that speaks to a bad taste in film.
 
Oh, I see, so all of those prove that Creed and Fury Road are great movies but all of TFA's numerous accolades, nominations and personal opinions don't mean anything? Weird how that works.

It's because TFA was more popular/successful than the other acclaimed movies. Want to see someone get real upset, admit to liking Avatar, which was nominated for 9 Oscars.
 
I genuinely don't think that was at play here, especially considering Abram's Star Trek films had a interracial couple in it. I think it's more likely they didn't want her to be involved with anyone romantically to further drive her home as a strong female lead.

black man and white woman is a whole nother story breh
 
I dunno, because it's my opinion?

You're free to think it's the top movie of the year. I'm free to think that's a totally shitty opinion that speaks to a bad taste in film.

"Opinion on a film" and "opinion on a person" are radically different things

So far all I've seen is a person offended by opinions. But I hope that your special opinion on TFA makes you feel good
 
I don't know what people were expecting. If you saw their episode vii review from half in the bag then you know they like the movie. Anyone who likes episode IV will probably like this movie somewhat as it is almost a carbon copy.
 
You don't understand. If you enjoyed TFA a lot, you can't prop yourself as being above al lof the plebs



Free to disagree? People are taking the high ground and talking down to someone for liking TFA more than most of the movies of 2015.

Of course they your talking about peoples tastes in favourite movies. You'll see the exact same sort of people doig that with almost anything gaming side serves as a poignant examples. Tastes are tastes and not everyone likes certain films the same as others.
 
Of course they your talking about peoples tastes in favourite movies. You'll see the exact same sort of people doig that with almost anything gaming side serves as a poignant examples. Tastes are tastes and not everyone likes certain films the same as others.

This is not an entitlement to bother people for their opinions. There's a good reason why the criticism of that person's opinion has had nothing but subjective viewpoints.

I don't know what people were expecting. If you saw their episode vii review from half in the bag then you know they like the movie. Anyone who likes episode IV will probably like this movie somewhat as it is almost a carbon copy.

Mike likes Titanic too (I believe), does that mean that the Titanic review sucked?

Also, why did Mike make the video if he had nothing to say? Are we silly for expecting him to have better foresight?
 
I'm glad RLM called out the lame clickbait prequel apologists that came out of the woodworks before VII.


The marketing of the movie in general had become fucking obnoxious, it was one click sort of brainwashing. It also exposed many "journalists" and critics for the movie industry shills they are.
 
This is not an entitlement to bother people for their opinions. There's a good reason why the criticism of that person's opinion has had nothing but subjective viewpoints.



Mike likes Titanic too (I believe), does that mean that the Titanic review sucked?

Also, why did Mike make the video if he had nothing to say? Are we silly for expecting him to have better foresight?

Well of course but you shouldn't be suprised, like even the slightest, why do you think the phrase good taste even exists. Taste isn't entirely subject a lot of people simply don't give a shit anyway.
 
Commentary on stuff surrounding the prequels and the run up to TFA coming out was nice although a tad long-winded.

I generally agree with the things he points out about TFA. I really would have preferred an idea like the one he presented in the review for a movie. With a few tweaks, it would have been way more interesting than what we got.
 
Read a YT comment...

"Much better than his review of the Titantic."

Bwah? The Titanic review is his best work as Plinkett.

Well of course but you shouldn't be suprised, like even the slightest, why do you think the phrase good taste even exists. Taste isn't entirely subject a lot of people simply don't give a shit anyway.

Doesn't make it a justified thing to do, attack someone for their taste (or lack thereof). It's kind of like how Super Mario RPG and Twilight Princess appreciation threads for a period inevitably devolved into threads that bash both games and its fans.
 
He keeps talking a about the other movies. Where does it get to the part about TFA?
 
Doesn't make it a justified thing to do, attack someone for their taste (or lack thereof). It's kind of like how Super Mario RPG and Twilight Princess appreciation threads for a period inevitably devolved into threads that bash both games and its fans.

Why does it matter if it's justified, this is not some serious attack on a person's character or beliefs, if you can't question someones taste then how do we mock bad movies. In this very thread that's happened more than a fair bit. Since when do these things have to be so serious
 
There were some fun bits in the video, but I'm a little disappointed the criticism of the actual film was such a small part of it, and kind of scattershot. There's plenty to criticize at a basic drama/structure/character level, beyond what a lame rehash it is on the surface.

Holy shit at the joke about Napalm being his birth control, I couldn't stop laughing.

Yeah, that one got a big laugh out of me.
 
Why does it matter if it's justified, this is not some serious attack on a person's character or beliefs, if you can't question someones taste then how do we mock bad movies. In this very thread that's happened more than a fair bit.

" You're free to think it's the top movie of the year. I'm free to think that's a totally shitty opinion that speaks to a bad taste in film. "

Shit like this goes far beyond mocking bad movies and goes into the territory of actively criticizing and mocking posters. It would be one thing to say it about the prequels, it's a whole 'nother thing to say it about a film that is generally viewed pretty positively across the board.
 
My favorite part was the
sex
part.

"One of my big problems with Star Wars TFA was there was no sex. Star Wars was always oozing with sexuality... you may not have noticed - but your brain sure did" - cut to "Luke! If we go in at that speed, are we going to be able to pull out in time?" Biggs quote / sexy Star Wars montage
 
" You're free to think it's the top movie of the year. I'm free to think that's a totally shitty opinion that speaks to a bad taste in film. "

Shit like this goes far beyond mocking bad movies and goes into the territory of actively criticizing and mocking posters. It would be one thing to say it about the prequels, it's a whole 'nother thing to say it about a film that is generally viewed pretty positively across the board.

No it's not it's critcizing posters taste in something or another. It has no real barrings on anything else. His or her opinion is just as valid as mine just as they are just as capable of disregarding my opinion as I am of there's.
 
There were many good gags, but yeah, apparently the movie didn't really provide anything worth of two hours of discussion. Even with the added discourse about the SW brand in general, many parts felt padded. The whole ring theory thing didn't need to be mentioned at all, who gives a crap about that? Yet there's like one quarter of the hour spent on it. Then they kinda scratched the bottom of the barrel to really talk shit about the movie. So there's no love triangle... eh, okay?
 
There were many good gags, but yeah, apparently the movie didn't really provide anything worth of two hours of discussion. Even with the added discourse about the SW brand in general, many parts felt padded. The whole ring theory thing didn't need to be mentioned at all, who gives a crap about that? Yet there's like one quarter of the hour spent on it. Then they kinda scratched the bottom of the barrel to really talk shit about the movie. So there's no love triangle... eh, okay?

There's no love period. Just

HUGS
U
G
S
 
He definitely had to pull at straws to find things to criticize in the movie when not only he liked it a lot, but also did everything he wished they would have done.
 
There were some good moments but yeah...

I probably won't be revisiting this review in the future unlike the other ones. Too unfocused and really spent way too much time focusing on the pequels and not TFA itself.
 
Holy shit that diversity section is pathetic. "Star Wars is immune to the race and gender thing"? Kids don't care about seeing people who look like them in movies? Try again, dumbass. Easy to say when you're a straight white guy, Mike.
 
He definitely had to pull at straws to find things to criticize in the movie when not only he liked it a lot, but also did everything he wished they would have done.

It was a good movie, so it was expected they'd focus on aspects like Lucas apologists falsely thinking it would be a good opportunity to retcon the prequel's reception and whatever Disney is doing.

Though the reading of prequel defense force articles reminded me of the South Park episode about photo memes. Pointing out internet stupidity like that just makes me somewhat angry (i.e. I usually avoid these kind of things). And then it just wasn't enough to focus an hour on.
 
Holy shit that diversity section is pathetic. "Star Wars is immune to the race and gender thing"? Kids don't care about seeing people who look like them in movies? Try again, dumbass. Easy to say when you're a straight white guy, Mike.

yes its always funny when people like that complain about diversity and also complain about non-white characters in traditionally white roles. if it doesnt matter then what do you care what color someone is?
 
Force Awakens is up there with Empire Strikes Back and Revenge of the Sith as top 3 Star Wars films. Anyone calling it bland or soulless maybe needs to get some taste?

Force Awakens was also the 2nd best film of 2016 (just behind Mad Max: Fury Road). People try (and fail) so hard to tear it apart. Can't wait for Rogue One to flop so people can turn their attention to dragging it and leave Force Awakens alone.

I dislike the movie and my reasoning has little to do with the actual quality of the film. Also your argument is a false dichotomy as you imply that people that take issue with the film in calling it soulless or bland think that the film is bad and don't know what good films are when the reality is that a movie can be well made and also be soulless.

My primary issue is that the movie is a parasite that essentially just reuses the same star wars material we've already seen while adding nothing interesting to the overall mythology. The ships used by the Rebels and First order are the same ones that were used 30 years ago. Pretty much none of the planets besides Jakku get any amount of attention and they're all just generic planets that were already used in the Original Trilogy. Rey comes along and pretty much single-handedly solves every problem the group comes across, making all the previous Jedi look like shit in the process. Her existence feels like a marketing ploy from Disney so they could have a Star Wars character they could market to little girls. And before I get labeled a misogynist I have no issue with prominent female characters in Star Wars. Leia and Ahsoka from the Clone Wars series were both empowered female leads that didn't simultaneously make all other characters in the series look weak. Admittedly they both did get captured a lot but I chalk that up to George Lucas recycling the same plot points and not due to the characters themselves being weak.

The whole film just seems like a movie that was created by some corporate suits trying to make the most agreeable and likable star wars film. The overall story is intentionally similar to A New Hope to the point where pretty much every major plot point was reciprocated. (And by the way pointing out that this is a common complaint doesn't invalidate it) There's shitloads of callbacks to the original trilogy but NONE for the trilogy that a lot of people didn't really like. The overall story reads like some Original Trilogy fanfiction. Of all the new main characters all of them are human besides BB8 because general population feel more comfortable with human characters. (In fact aside from the CGI plot device there's no new aliens really showed off)

Finn was cool and it was kinda nice that they attempted to make the Storm Troopers more threatening. But the First Order as a whole just feels like Empire lite. Everything about them besides their doomsday weapon just seems massively scaled back, like the stakes have massively been lowered. The prequels in particular and especially the clone wars tried to show how the conflict between the Republic and the Separatists was impacting the Galaxy. Everywhere the story went it was made known how the war was impacting the planet they were on and whose side they were on. This was less of a focus in the Original Trilogy but it still showed how far-reaching the Empire's grasp was and how it affected the planets they went to. (That scene that was added in place of the Ewok song in episode 6 where they showed people celebrating the Rebels victory helped illustrate that) The First Order? If they didn't have the totally-not-deathstar no one would care about them. They're probably less then a million people strong and the biggest opposition to them can muster up like 15 Xwings. (Also no talk about how the new Galactic Senate works because the general population hated that they had such a strong focus in the Prequels) Seriously even ignoring Kylo the First Order is a joke.

Now I know a lot of you are reading this and saying "Who cares about all that stuff? TFA was a well made and enjoyable movie why can't you just accept that and enjoy it for what it is?" But the stuff I complained about matters to me and it matters to other people too. I want the new Star Wars movies to be an expansion of the Star Wars universe, not an arguably better made version of something we have already seen a ton of times. There is just so little new stuff from TFA it's disappointing.

I watched a bit of the Pinkett review so far, and although I do agree that the Ring theory is crap I think it's dismissive to say that there was nothing redeemable about the Prequels besides Obi Wan and Palpatine.
 
I get the feeling that they are doing this critique way too early. They should have waited until all the movies in the new trilogy came out. It's not like it is absolutely guaranteed that the next movies wont try to do their own thing, or that the characters wont get into relationships with each other down the line. Mentioning how movie studios are milking franchises out of everything and making them all look the same could have been its own video.
 
I watched a bit of the Pinkett review so far, and although I do agree that the Ring theory is crap I think it's dismissive to say that there was nothing redeemable about the Prequels besides Obi Wan and Palpatine.
Why? He did a very extensive series of videos that detailed exactly every single flaw he could find with the prequels, and Obi Wan and Palpatine were the only redeemable parts he could find with them.
 
I found the "Star Wars has become a big calculated money machine!" thing a little silly, given that it's arguably been one since the 80s.

Also, yeah, the diversity stuff was a little off-base I thought. I'm pretty much echoing what other people have already said, but the irony of lamenting "forced diversity" and then trying to back it up by saying that people don't care is always funny, if a little sad.
 
I found the "Star Wars has become a big calculated money machine!" thing a little silly, given that it's arguably been one since the 80s.

Also, yeah, the diversity stuff was a little off-base I thought. I'm pretty much echoing what other people have already said, but the irony of lamenting "forced diversity" and then trying to back it up by saying that people don't care is always funny, if a little sad.

He was saying kids don't care. I don't think he ever said people don't care.
 
Man, it's incredibly obvious the dude just made this to cash in. It's not even particularly funny, except for the joke about napalm being birth control. I appreciate the idea of using the review to comment more on the state of Star Wars fandom, but he said literally nothing that hadn't been said before about virtually anything. The entire thing RLM bring to the table is insight into how films are made from a production standpoint, and he barely even got into the filmmaking at all. Random episodes of Half in the Bag have more insight than this.

I'm not even a Star Wars fan (the original movies suck, too, just in a simpler way), and I've heard most of this stuff already.
 
Okay, finally finished. Very disappointed with his review. His complaints were mostly that it was a rehash and that there were too many minorities. Didn't go into detail at all about what's actually wrong with the story.
 
Okay, finally finished. Very disappointed with his review. His complaints were mostly that it was a rehash and that there were too many minorities. Didn't go into detail at all about what's actually wrong with the story.

I mean, he explicitly says the diversity is a good thing, just that the way it's done feels kind of like marketing and that it's undermined by their shying away from an interracial romance.
 
I mean, he explicitly says the diversity is a good thing, just that the way it's done feels kind of like marketing and that it's undermined by their shying away from an interracial romance.

At the same time though, he gives some credence to the idea of market-researched diversity when he talks about how they did diversity in "safe" ways or talking about it being a "university ad"
 
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