excelsiorlef
Member
Lol. Even if she was? So what? Dynamic voice acting, great animation. She was a fun character.
She was a great brief mentor character.
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[SPOILERS] Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Thread #3) - That's Not How the Force Works
- Thread starter Bobby Roberts
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Lol. Even if she was? So what? Dynamic voice acting, great animation. She was a fun character.
She was a great brief mentor character.
Yoshichan
And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Cringe-worthy animations, terrible CGI and a shit voice. She never made me laugh. She only took me out of the movie.
Comfort Jones
Banned
Loved it, brought up my biggest complaint with people saying they prefer the Prequels, which is the actual film making. You know, the things you see on screen? People seem really big on breaking down movies to nothing but their plot points, not discussing the camera work, look of the film, the emotional performances, etc.
DiipuSurotu
Banned
She came into the picture only to serve a specific plot point (give the heroes Luke's lightsaber), didn't even explain how this plot point is even possible ("it's a story for another time"), and immediately disappeared from the movie once this was done. She was the fakest character in the movie and I'm not even talking about CGI. All the other characters felt like actual people.
At least her castle had amazing alien extras and there were a few good jokes in it (as in the rest of the movie).
excelsiorlef
Member
She also gave Rey the insight into the force that she needed in the fight against Ren. She also gave Finn an out which further explired his issues if fear and helped Han get back on track in terms of being a hero.
DiipuSurotu
Banned
So, plot device.
Astral Dog
Member
She was lame, but after prequel Yoda i kinda see why people would like her or at least tolerate.
Was she supposed to?
It's Reyn Time!
Member
He threw it towards the stairs seen earlier in the fight, not down the chasm. He has it when he is back to Endor in the ending scene:
Of course he does. He wouldn't just leave it there. That is his lightsaber. That is his LIFE.
Maz as a character does not compare to Yoda. Even if you just watched the prequels, inc ugly puppet. What is this? Maz was paper-thin.
Tomasoares
Member
Woah, that's a nice review, I agree with the authors most points he brought. Also, very detailing and explaining well the general trend "too similar to episode IV"
Maz Kanata wasn't terrible, just a sort of missed opportunity as far as I'm concerned. Her voice work was fine (not nearly as bad as the trailers suggested it might be). The problem is that she was just weak enough [visually] to hurt my immersion as I was watching. Considering that Maz Kanata was my #1 fear about the film going in, that she was going to be 10 times cheesier and have a much more cartoony presence, I'm satisfied enough.
And she was nowhere near as bad as Snoke. Snoke is, to me, the one thing about the film from a design/execution standpoint that I feel is genuinely poorly done and detracts from the viewing experience. All my other nitpicks faded away on the second viewing, but Snoke stuck out even more.
And she was nowhere near as bad as Snoke. Snoke is, to me, the one thing about the film from a design/execution standpoint that I feel is genuinely poorly done and detracts from the viewing experience. All my other nitpicks faded away on the second viewing, but Snoke stuck out even more.
Maz was definitely was clearly a plot device, but she did atleast have a couple of quirks to her personality that made her feel not completely two-dimensional. Maz calling Chewie her boyfriend was pretty funny, though I would've liked to see them interact and I'm curious to see just how much of a connection she has to the Force.
I know it was originally planned for her to use some Force powers in the battle, but that pbviously ended up being cut. I wonder if she returns in the next film will we get see it.
I know it was originally planned for her to use some Force powers in the battle, but that pbviously ended up being cut. I wonder if she returns in the next film will we get see it.
I bought it too and just started it, so far I'm not so sure it was a good idea, maybe it'll get better later on
Yoshichan
And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Besides, nitpick incoming but the way she shows Finn that he's actually got a weapon (two movements, one that puts the lightsaber above her head, and one that pushes the lightsaber closer towards Finn) is terribly 'acted'. Anyone who has good attention to detail would notice that.
SolVanderlyn
Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
I don't hate Snoke as much as others do, but he's definitely the giant red flag that says the property has been handed off to someone new. He's the least "Star Wars-y" thing about the entire movie. Maz is the runner-up in that regard. Even his name seems out of place in the Star Wars universe. Most villains had a terrifying sophistication to them - Palpatine was an evil emperor, Vader was a machine-man, and even people like Revan and Malak from the EU felt more grounded in their portrayal. They had a human element to them. Snoke is like some big bad evil Satan type character, more monster-like than anything we've seen before.
The second movement is because if he turned it on at that moment it would be a bad time. I thought that was funny.
Comfort Jones
Banned
When I see retorts like this I struggle to figure out if the person is intentionally missing the point of the criticism or if they've genuinely never heard that sort of criticism before.
Edit-Just for the record I'm not even agreeing or disagreeing with his statement.
Yoshichan
And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Interesting. Didn't think of it that way.
how are Snoke and Maz not "star wars-y"?
if Grievous is, everything is star wars-y
excelsiorlef
Member
Dude most characters who aren't leads or major supporting are essentially plot devices on varying levels. Yoda was a plot device to get Luke more training. Obi Wan in ANH borders on a plot device. Plot devices aren't inherently bad.
Trigonometrize.
Member
...and she also helps Rey come to terms with her abandonment.
So, Characters interacting about their problems = plot device
If that's the way we're using it plot device ceases to be a dirty word.
Maz Kanata does plenty besides giving away the lightsaber. For example, she points out Finn's fear and brings him to his pivotal moment of choosing to leave or stay.
If anything, Snoke felt too Star Wars... Too Star Wars prequels.
I have no idea why people are so fixated on this. The exact details of how Maz came upon Luke's lightsaber are completely irrelevant to the plot and the explanation is just going to be "Some guy found it."
Comfort Jones
Banned
Yeah pretty much. Might as well go into a museum and start asking WAIT HOW'D THEY GET THAT for every major thing on display.
Well uh...a dude found it?
DiipuSurotu
Banned
See this kind of fan comics? You can do that with many characters in TFA because they have character and personality that go beyond "plot devices". You can't do that with Maz because, if you remove her monomyth-esque purpose of giving the heroes the Magic Item and feeding them information, there is nothing left.
Trigonometrize.
Member
TR-8R then must have the most character in the whole movie if that's what we're going by.
And I thought she had plenty of personality.
DiipuSurotu
Banned
He has more character than Maz, yup.
excelsiorlef
Member
You just compared the main villain to a side, not even supporting character...
Well done...
Now you're just being ridiculous
You don't think awkwardly clambering on the table during a conversation to psychoanalyze Finn showed personality?
I understand it's not important, but that line "A good question, for another time" really did annoy me. It just felt kinda clumsy. Obviously I don't know the story of how she got the lightsaber so I don't know if this would work, but changing the line to something like "an old friend gave it to me" would've worked better for me. Keeps the mystery of where she found it intact without feeling like the film is trying to avoid the topic.
Again, super nitpicky and unimportant but it still bothered me!
Astral Dog
Member
The Supreme Leader is one of the characters that most reminded me that this is, indeed, a Star Wars film, he is cool.
Also, its a new type of look for a villain.nothing outrageous. he is an Alien after all.
OricWindstar
Member
Not every character needs to be super deep. She's a bit quirky and fun while she's on-screen and that's enough. The film has enough characters to develop as is.
Comfort Jones
Banned
Care to explain how? If I was asked to genuinely describe his character in a way that would make him stand out from any of the other troopers without describing some physical feat it would be that he's perhaps slightly more brash?
You're getting a little silly now.
excelsiorlef
Member
To be fair the house was crashing down on them.
If how she got it was really important beyond it being a guy found it and then someone else got it and then another person and then me then that dismissive answer would be an issue.
Also an old friend would imply a mystery that they might never resolve.
As some fellow Gaffers have already said, I really think we will see both. That he will gradually become a badass and more confident etc, both emotionally (stone cold,dead on the inside) and physically (ie Anakin and Dooku fights in 2-3).
Maz's character became great the moment she walks up to Solo and demands to knew where her "boyfriend" is. Her boyfriend being Chewie. Such a great intro.
I can see that. "An old friend gave it to me" would be nice because it sets up some mystery for the audience. Still, I'm satisfied with her non-answer as is.
I'm a few chapters in to the novelization and really enjoying it. Someone mentioned in one of the previous spoiler threads it can be overly-descriptive. I've notice that, but I think it has more to do with the nature of the film as it seems to get that way for moments the movie used to tell the story visually.
That said, the actual exchanges between the characters really get to breathe here. The passage where Rey almost trades in BB-8 for portions is expanded upon nicely and makes the seen even better.
Goddamn, Rey is great.
That said, the actual exchanges between the characters really get to breathe here. The passage where Rey almost trades in BB-8 for portions is expanded upon nicely and makes the seen even better.
Goddamn, Rey is great.
excelsiorlef
Member
what, For real? This was lost in translation... Oh shit.
For some reason, I thought Kylo started the organization and the knights were the ones who joined and accepted Kylo as their leader\master.
excelsiorlef
Member
Ask though, do you think they are going to really tackle that story? Or maybe ven more importantly if they do, do you think it'll be anything more than a montage of hands (which was in the script at one point I believe).
I'm with you the answer she gave is sufficient, adding a mystery is making that story more important then it ever will actually be in this new series.
GordonHalfman
Member
The "for another time" thing was a bit too lampshadey for me, though I liked Maz overall.
What language did you watch the movie in?
User 73706
Banned
I thought Maz calling Chewbacca her boyfriend was a good character moment. It helped establish that they had known eachother for a while, and it's totally believable in the sense that she's, like, possibly thousands of years old.
I do agree the monomyth structure was way too apparent around Maz, including Rey rejecting the call to action and then being forced back. Though I don't think it's solely on Maz, just yeah kind of lazy writing. I was annoyed that she was too much like Yoda in a film that already had an overabundance of nods. In and of herself though, the character was well designed I thought.
German. The word for platonic friend and boyfriend is the same
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