Poll: Poll: Star Wars Episode VII

[Ryan Hughes]

Well, coming from someone who despised the original trilogy, for the most part I could not care less. I mean, the practical special effects were great, and John Williams is always good, but everything else about the series just turned me off.

In short though, I do hope Disney throws out the entire extended universe, just because I would like to sit back and watch the ensuing nerd rage over the whole thing. Then, maybe we can finally be done with Star Wars and realize it was all tripe from the very beginning.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Disney made the lion king, UP and Wreck it Ralph. I'm not worried at all.

They also made High School Musical, Lone Ranger and the Pirates Of The Carribean sequels.

High school musical was good, it was just not to our demographic, The Lone Ranger looks good (from what I've seen of it) and Pirates of the Carribean is a great trilogy series.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Disney made the lion king, UP and Wreck it Ralph. I'm not worried at all.

They also made High School Musical, Lone Ranger and the Pirates Of The Carribean sequels.

High school musical was good, it was just not to our demographic, The Lone Ranger looks good (from what I've seen of it) and Pirates of the Carribean is a great trilogy series.

Well... The third was rubbish. I haven't seen the fourth (wikipedia tells me that it's not in the same trilogy?) but I suspect that it shares the same problem as The Lone Ranger- that it's been awkwardly mangled to be a Johnny Depp vehicle.

The point I was going to make isn't disagreeing with you though, but rather that thinking Disney making it means that it's going to be good/bad is a bit silly. The project is under Kathleen Kennedy's control and (with a few big exceptions like The Last Airbender) a lot of projects that she's been involved with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Kennedy_(film_producer)] have worked out very well. From what I gather from interviews she seems fairly sensible. Basically, all those Disney movies' quality is pretty much no indication of the future Star Wars films.

 

[Saltyk]

Oh, look a Poll Poll.

Anyway, count me as cautiously optimistic. Disney will be making these movies. And they made all the Marvel movies, including Avengers. Now, at worst, those movies were watchable. At best, they were fun, even great, movies. If they can bring the same love and casting to Star Wars that they brought to Marvel, these could be some great movies. Or at least enjoyable movies.

Full Disclosure: I don't hate the prequels. I don't exactly want to rewatch any of them, but, for the most part, they didn't enrage me. Though, I found Anakin to be VERY annoying. Especially in Episode 3.

 

[Basement Cat]

I remember watching the original trilogy back when I was in its target demographic: I was a child.

Lucas tried the same approach with the prequels but also tried to satisfy the older fans--it didn't turn out so well.

One of the greatest weaknesses Lucas had as a Director was this: HE DIDN'T DIRECT HIS ACTORS! Seriously, listen to the commentaries and "Making Of" documentaries on the OT and Prequels and you'll repeatedly catch the same comment time and again: Lucas' directions to his actors included but rarely went beyond "faster, more intense". That was it except for the kid in Phantom Menace whom he had to shepherd because the boy was, you know, a kid.

Lucas has repeatedly stated that he hates the Extended Universe that deals with Star Wars post-RotJ. He did take bits and pieces from the pre-OT EU such as Exar Kun's double bladed light saber as well as the blue Twi'lek jedi...I can't recall her name right now.

Disney knows it's got a major cash cow on its hands if it plays its cards right--they didn't invest over $4 BILLION dollars buying Lucas Arts to squander its potential. Abbrams has the potential to do a darned good job and I seriously--very seriously--doubt that Disney will turn a blind eye to the common criticisms about his "lens flare" obsession: $4 billion, remember?

They can't but be painfully aware that they have to navigate a mine field to avoid repeating the same pratfalls that got the Prequels so much criticism.

Lucas was a visionary, but beyond his technical innovations his story telling ability and directing skills are minimal. Disney has full control now and the way they've already planned out a new trilogy in addition to yearly separate films is quite telling: They're planning ahead rather than making things up as they go like Lucas did.[footnote]$4 billion, remember?[/footnote]

I actually liked episode 3, and how they portrayed Anakins fall to the dark side. Anyone else agree?

I'm with you, Pink! I liked it, too. It was easily the best of the Prequels as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Blue_vision]

I feel like it's going to be worse than the prequels in the sense that you'll exit the theatre without any recollection of what you just watched. I'd rather watch a spectacularly bad movie than an average one, and I feel like that's what the new trilogy is going to be. Average.

Of course, I stopped caring a long time ago...

 

[Goofguy]

I have no friggin clue how to initially gauge what to expect from the next Star Wars movie. I'm optimistic for it but without much information revealed at the moment, it's hard for me to say. J.J. Abrams is a capable director who has the potential to do the original trilogy justice.

That said, the one Star Wars release I was most looking forward to was 1313. I was excited to see a grittier, darker side of the Star Wars universe. One where the protagonist is morally ambiguous and who has to make questionable decisions. The Star Wars universe is huge and I'm somewhat tired of seeing it portrayed within a classic good vs evil conflict.

 

[Casual Shinji]

It's funny you bring up Beserk, as I just this week finished watching the anime, which covers the Golden Age arc which I guess you're referring to. On that topic:

Spoiler

While I get what you're saying, I think it's worth pointing out that Beserk and the Star Wars prequels deal with very different character types, and very different falls.

The implication I got from the end of Beserk was that Griffith was always a bit of a sociopath. Not just sociopathic tendencies, but a full on sociopath. Throughout the series, we see that he's always valued the pursuit of his own dream over anything else. Whether he is fully aware of the Behelit and the whole 'demonic transformation' thing or not, it seems like he always knew that he was going to have to climb a mountain of corpses to get where he wants to go, and he just doesn't care. He doesn't so much 'fall' as willingly dives in. Now, you may disagree here, but my interpretation is that the only thing that gave him a moment's pause was the appearance of Guts, and what appears to be a very homoerotic attraction to him by Griffith. I know a lot of fans deny that, but for me the subtext in the anime is too strong to ignore. Griffith is willing to sacrifice everything right from the outset in order to achieve his dream, but the appearance of Guts gives him a brief period where he actually cares for someone other than himself. As soon as Guts fucks off, he reverts right back to being a selfish ****, going so far as to quasi-sorta-rape the Princess in order to make himself feel good. Cut to a year later, and he willingly murders the very people who rescued him in order to finally achieve his dream, and rapes Casca in order to get back at Guts for symbolically 'dumping' him.

I see the Eclipse not as Griffith falling, but as him finally manifesting as the **** he always was. Or at least, had been since a little kid. He was never a 'good' person, and the reason Beserk works so well is because in looking back, you realise that Griffith was always a heartless bastard.

Anakin is different, in that the story has to revolve around him at one point being a genuinely decent person. Griffith, as far as I'm aware, hasn't shown any sort of repentance or regret over his frankly awful actions. Whereas the Star Wars saga relies on Anakin/Vader eventually coming to regret his decisions, and briefly reverting back to a decent character before he dies. If he had always been a sociopath like Griffith, there would be nothing for him to revert back to. There'd be no remorse, as he'd feel genuinely empowered in his position as an evil Sith Lord. Whereas in the prequels, he may be whiny, bratty and self-centred, but you can at least get the impression (even if the execution is lacking) that at this core, he's supposed to be a decent person. Someone brash, egotistical and conceited, sure, but someone who genuinely wanted to do what was right.

I only ever read the manga so I don't know how much they changed in the anime.

Spoiler

With Griffith it's that he sees his love for Guts as a weakness. Griffith is ofcourse very egomaniacal, but you know he greatly cares for Guts. And when we truly care for someone, we doubt ourselves in their presence. After Griffith assassinates the queen and ties up all the loose ends, he turns to Guts and says, "Do you think me cruel?" He never would've asked that with Casca or anyone else, because he feels they're beneath him. But not Guts.

And that was the tragedy of it all. Guts left the Hawks because he wanted to become his own person who can stand next to Griffith as an equal. But too late he realizes that was already the case, and that him leaving his side sent Griffith spiraling down. Even at the very end, it's him seeing Guts' face and realizing he was the "cause" of his swayed ambition that makes his decission to join the Godhand final.


I never got the homoerotic tension though. At the very beginning when they meet there might be some, but in the end I think it's simply that Griffith can sense that unbreakable spirit in Guts.

The rumor that Brad Bird at one point was considered to direct also made my heart skip. The way he always creates these fun Rube Goldbergian action scenes, is something I think would be a pefect fit for Star Wars.

I dunno... I love his Pixar stuff, but John Carter left me questioning his live action sensibilities. Maybe an Indiana Jones flick would better suit those Rube Goldberg action scenes you mention, but I think I'd be just a teensy bit nervous if I heard he was helming the new Star Wars.

Oh I agree, John Cater was terrible, but thankfully that was directed by Andrew Stanton of WALL-E fame. Brad Bird directed Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocal. Not the greatest action movie, since it loosely hung together, but it had some really great moments. And it showed Brad Bird can make engaging action that doesn't just involve either punching, shooting, or explosions.