Wow, even South Park? I guess that means it's a copy then
Come on ,if there is one South Park chapter dedicated entirely to that, I think that its obvious that some people can see on that movie that and, so, debatable.
Wow, even South Park? I guess that means it's a copy then
The Force Awakens is a "well executed" Star Wars movie, it's a safe star wars movie, I enjoyed the experience - but the fact it retreaded so much ground is what prevents it from being a "good" one to me. So much of what joy there was came from seeing old faces again, and decent casting for the protagonists and villain. Hopefully the sequels will live or die on their merits. The DeathStarXtreme was lame. If Lucas had given us CG Snoke, the Internet would have jumped down his throat.
In many respects, Lucas is great at the world building and the ideas side of things, and he arguably advanced digital effects and digital photography in cinema more than anybody else. On the prequels, he just needed fewer yes men and personal friends at his side, and more rewrites. But that wasn't his way. He'd made all his money, so he could do whatever he wanted. It's his world, I think it's only right the people who have inherited it would still listen to what he has to say.
![]()
Anakin in the original version having the same outfit as Obi-Wan argues against that interpretation.
A whole bunch of people are parroting shitty "critiques" for reasons they maybe don't even understand all that well, but they know it makes 'em feel good
TPM is a bigger rehash than TFA. People get confused because like ANH, TFA is a decent watchable film. TPM is so mediocre, no one takes the time to compare it.
Lucas did an awful job with the new trilogy, but hey, at least he didn't went the soft reboot path and basically re-telling the same plot to keep it safe!
Nah. It has way more new elements than TFA. It plays similar, since Anakin backstory is meant to be like Luke (duh!), but other than that it feels way more fresh.
And I say this well aware TPM is trash, is one of the worst movies I saw in my life (the whole prequel trilogy). But let's not lie ourselves in TFA and how safe it plays and how is basically a reboot of the original ANH.
you're basically arguing semantics since "find a skywalker on tatooine" and "cross paths with a skywalker on tatooine" are basically the same thing
Lucas has basically done nothing in the last decade and suddenly within the last few years it seems like there have been a ton of prequel defenders popping up out of nowhere trying to say these movies are original what not.
My only armchair theory is that since disliking the prequels is more of a common thing today than it was back in the 2000s, contrarians shifted over to defending the prequels in order to satisfy their underdog complex
Or maybe the critiques (which are in most cases opinions) are valid and don't align to your view on things so you call them "shitty".
It could be that too.
No, they didn't. Most of the overall narrative, themes, and characters from TFA have direct paralells or are sometimes blatant ripoffs of ANH.they did
That's an absolutely terrible argument, which really makes me pause whether I should even discuss this matter with you any further or just stop.
Well, you're the one who brought up this alternative. So unless you were leading me on, I don't know what the point was.
What I'm arguing is that Obi-Wan knows Luke is there, he doesn't 'find' him until the latter openly goes out to look for him. Qui-Gon is the only one who actually finds the Skywalker on Tatooine.
Same goes for the princess stuff. You could say both Anakin and Luke meet a princess, but that's super vague. One actively goes out to look for her, the other just ... well, meets her.
But if I started drawing parallels between TFA and ANH, picking out one from the beginning, I would end up with a droid carrying secrets plans, stumbling upon the main protagonist on a desert planet. That's quite specific actually, and basically just copied over.
Oh are we doing this nonsense again?
Prequels aren't fresh at all.
Revisionist bullshit. A Star Wars film with a female lead and a black lead is somehow the safe option because the film isn't rubbish and is entertaining.
No, they didn't. Most of the overall narrative, themes, and characters from TFA have direct paralells or are sometimes blatant ripoffs of ANH.
Abrams has even said that they "very consciously tried to borrow familiar beats so the rest of the movie could hang on something that we knew was 'Star Wars'."
And I'm wondering is why they thought they needed to do that. Why did they feel it wouldn't be star wars without borrowing from ANH's story? I don't understand that line of thinking.
Safe in terms of plot...changing genres dosn't change the overall plot of a movie...
Based on the critical reviews of the PT compared to TFA, they're not.
AT ALL.
No, they didn't. Most of the overall narrative, themes, and characters from TFA have direct paralells or are sometimes blatant ripoffs of ANH.
Abrams has even said that they "very consciously tried to borrow familiar beats so the rest of the movie could hang on something that we knew was 'Star Wars'."
And I'm wondering is why they thought they needed to do that. Why did they feel it wouldn't be star wars without borrowing from ANH's story? I don't understand that line of thinking.
Here's the thing: they were always terrible. The whole "you can't win against the Sith by turning to hate, however if you try and stop the Emperor you're somehow instantly no better than them" nonsense in ESB and ROTJ is stupid. .
A lot of late Millennials and early Gen Zers who grew up watching the prequels first are now posting on forums.Lucas has basically done nothing in the last decade and suddenly within the last few years it seems like there have been a ton of prequel defenders popping up out of nowhere trying to say these movies are original what not.
My only armchair theory is that since disliking the prequels is more of a common thing today than it was back in the 2000s, contrarians shifted over to defending the prequels in order to satisfy their underdog complex
Eh? They never told him not to stop the emperor, they warned him that if he gave into hate he would be corrupted and turned evil himself. Luke rejecting murdering his father is probably the most important moment in the franchise.
Or maybe the critiques (which are in most cases opinions) are valid and don't align to your view on things so you call them "shitty".
It could be that too.
No, they didn't. Most of the overall narrative, themes, and characters from TFA have direct paralells or are sometimes blatant ripoffs of ANH.
Had the star wars brand become that toxic? I know the PT trilogy was terrible and not wrll liked but I don't see how that would cause such little faith in the brand. They were probably going to make a billion dollars anyway off the name and circumstances alone.Because it was critically acclaimed and made 2 billion?
How is this difficult to understand? They were right to do it. In every conceivable way.
I could be remembering incorrectly, but was the world not in star wars fever before anyone saw the movie? It could've just been my social circle but I thought it broke opening weekend box office records.It would not have been necessary to make an OT remix/mea culpa if Lucas had not cocked up the prequels so badly. Those films did not leave anyone outside the hardcore fanbase excited about Star Wars.
Now that Abrams has reminded people of why they fell in love with Star Wars in the first place, Rian can break more new ground.
DIDN'T I JUST SAY IT'S OFTEN MORE THAN ONE THING AT THE SAME TIME, RYU?
It would not have been necessary to make an OT remix/mea culpa if Lucas had not cocked up the prequels so badly. Those films did not leave anyone outside the hardcore fanbase excited about Star Wars.
Now that Abrams has reminded people of why they fell in love with Star Wars in the first place, Rian can break more new ground.
Abrams has even said that they "very consciously tried to borrow familiar beats so the rest of the movie could hang on something that we knew was 'Star Wars'."
And I'm wondering is why they thought they needed to do that. Why did they feel it wouldn't be star wars without borrowing from ANH's story? I don't understand that line of thinking.
DIDN'T I JUST SAY IT'S OFTEN MORE THAN ONE THING AT THE SAME TIME, RYU?
That it's not always some big dumb either/or?
Didn't I also say something about people not fucking reading?
Jesus Christ
You said plot. The plots are pretty different. Also the themes are fairly different. And so is the narrative in general, really.
It feels the same, but it's not that similar when you start breaking shit down beyond a very surface read. That it feels the same is deliberate. That it plays like a remix of the entire OT isn't an accident. But the idea that it's just a copy+paste with new characters doesn't wash.
Complaints about "ripoffs" are thin bullshit for the most part, I've found.
Had the star wars brand become that toxic? I know the PT trilogy was terrible and not wrll liked but I don't see how that would cause such little faith in the brand. They were probably going to make a billion dollars anyway off the name and circumstances alone.
As for critical acclaim, they could have made a movie critically acclaimed by writing a new story. People weren't basing their reviews on how close to the first movie this new one was. I don't see how either of what you mentioned means they had to do it the way they did. It seems like they just took the safest, laziest option.
It could have been so much more. I think it's perfectly valid to feel disappointed that they went in that direction. To suggest people are being contrarian just conjures the image of someone with their fingers in their ears unwilling to hear valid dissent.
Remember in A New Hope where Luke beat Vader in his first lightsaber duel on a Death Star that was about to explode? I can't believe JJ ripped that off.
TPM had a ton of callbacks yes, but each of the prequels had plenty of self-contained narrative and ideas (that people largely hated). TPM had disputes between the indigenous races of Naboo, Trade Federation nonsense, droid armies, slave society on Tatooine, pod racing, a different, more acrobatic style of lightsaber duel, a look at Coruscant society before the Empire, the senate in action, the Jedi Council chambers, a wouldbe Emperor in Senators clothing, stupid farting aliens etc.
TFA had some new stuff too. Cool post-rebellion, post-war imagery, AT-ATs rusting in deserts, downed Star Destroyers, that weird anti-lightsaber gun thing, Maz Kanata, hints at a hitherto unrevealed series of events between Episode 6 and 7. My favourite part of the film is probably the opening and the time Rey spends onTattooineJakku. A great proportion of the movie though was "Hey look! X-Wings! Remember X-Wings? Remember Chewbacca? Remember Han Solo? Remember the Death Star? Remember Storm Troopers? They come in chrome now! Trash compactors! Weak points! Massive damage!". It leaned heavily on replicating and referencing the story beats of ANH in a much closer sense than TPM did. Probably for quite deliberate reasons. Too safe IMO.
Don't get me wrong, in terms of tone, visual quality and delivery of the overall product -
it's leagues better than TPM.
I could be remembering incorrectly, but was the world not in star wars fever before anyone saw the movie? It could've just been my social circle but I thought it broke opening weekend box office records.
Yes, there was declining in interest in Star Wars as the prequel trilogy progressed. There has been and will always be a dedicated fanbase (just like Trek) - but SW has always been a blockbuster saga that had more casual acceptance - it's why you see these films do better than Trek, for example. The first goal of these new films was to not just preach to the converted.
It's a very lazy estimation to just call TFA an ANH ripoff, it is an intentional pastiche of the entire OT. Again, this approach would have been unnecessary if the prequels left people wanting more - they didn't.
TFA uses that pastiche approach to break some new ground - by movie's end, it sets things up to be completely different than anything we've seen yet.
Yeah that ending was great,LukeRen goes to go to train withYodato become a proper Jedi.
New grounds broken status confirmed.
Don't need suggestions, George. The next Star Wars will have a super duper Death Star that can destroy entire galaxies every second!
Okay, agree to disagree then. I found a lot of it rather repetitive but I understand if other people think otherwise. I will say I don't think the whole movie was a rip-off. I thought Kylo Ren was one of the most refreshing villains this franchise has had in a long time and was probably my stand-out character from the film.You said plot. The plots are pretty different. Also the themes are fairly different. And so is the narrative in general, really.
It feels the same, but it's not that similar when you start breaking shit down beyond a very surface read. That it feels the same is deliberate. That it plays like a remix of the entire OT isn't an accident. But the idea that it's just a copy+paste with new characters doesn't wash.
Complaints about "ripoffs" are thin bullshit for the most part, I've found.
Yeah that ending was great,LukeRen goes to go to train withYodaLuke to become a proper Jedi.
New grounds broken status confirmed.
This is reaching.
What is the point of using critiques in parenthesis and the descriptive shitty
Yeah that ending was great,LukeRey goes to go to train withYodaLuke to become a proper Jedi.
New grounds broken status confirmed.
Because there are shitty critiques out there?
You do know that Ren and Rey are two separate people, right?![]()
Look at this lazy horseshit right here.
And you wonder why I would possibly call this smug garbage out offhandedly.
Annnnd that's my point.
We CAN have a discussion on these topics without using terms like that to bully or shame others into capitulation with our opinions on what is or isn't shitty.
It is possible.
The prequel movies weren't critical stinks at the time. Aotc still has a fresh rating because it didn't have new reviews added which sunk the tomato scores of the other films.Revenge of the Sith still made ~850m - they were a critical stink, but commercially - undisputedly profitable endeavors. They absolutely did NOT have to 'remind' people why they love Star Wars, as is evidenced by practically anything Star Wars on the Internet -- it's clear that people are enthusiastic and energised by even hearing other people talk about it. As is evidenced by the box office numbers for pretty much all the films, especially TFA. People love Star Wars and they are hungry for more.
Basically I agree with this:
It could have been so much more. I think it's perfectly valid to feel disappointed that they went in that direction. To suggest people are being contrarian just conjures the image of someone with their fingers in their ears unwilling to hear valid dissent.
What's up with all these TFA apologists lately?
What are you even talking about.
Who is being "bullied and shamed"
What's up with all these TFA apologists lately?
See but the second Death Star made total sense, purely from Palpatine's POV. It was 100% hubris driven over the first one getting bloweded up.
The First Order, on the other hand, had 2 clear examples as to why NOT to pursue a Death Orb as their endgame...30 years later, master stroke is...another fucking death orb.
You're ultimately missing my point.
My point was that if we boil Phantom Menace down to its basic plot points you can absolutely draw pretty direct lines to it being a rehash of A New Hope - just like people do with The Force Awakens. Which is why calling TFA a rehash of ANH is stupid and doing a disservice to the movie and makes me wonder if people who say this actually payed attention.