Okay, this is just speculation. No spoilers, none of that nonsense.
I know you’re most likely excited about Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I know you most likely can’t wait to see it.
But from an objective standpoint (or as objective as you can be) do you think it will be good?
I’m a long time fan of the series. To the point where, as a teenager, I consumed a lot of the Star Wars expanded universe. Episodes 1 to 3, however, really burned me. To the point where I’m being very conservative in my excitement for this movie.
That being said, I’m a big fan of J.J. Abrams and I absolutely loved his Star Trek reboot. He hasn’t made a dud yet and I suspect he’s about as invested in this movie as a director could be. It’s probably the closest we’ll ever get to a Steven Spielberg directed Star Wars movie and I like that. I’m optimistic that the movie will deliver.
What are your thoughts?
Comments
92 responses to “Off Topic: Will Star Wars: The Force Awakens Actually Be Good?”
I’m hopeful too though I’m not sure when I can go see it yet so I will be going internet blackout soon to avoid spoilers and such.
Yeah I can’t see it midnight showing which sucks so I’ve gotta go full radio silence until I get to the cinema.
Yeah, something is definitely going down with Luke, so I am on internet blackout from release time till I get to see it.
Probably.
I reckon there’s going to be revelations on the scale of “I am your father”. There needs to be to justify the buzz. Unfortunately, trying to preserve that surprise means that I’ll probably have to brave the cinema in the first few weeks after release, which is something I’m usually loathe to do. And I expect this is going to be the worst ever, where I won’t necessarily have decent choice of seats or even sessions for aaaages.
That’s why I am going to the Blue Mountains to see it. Great cinema, plenty of seats available, less crazy crowd.
Gold Class at a weird time – I reckon most folks won’t be shelling out for the comfier seats and in-theatre food service.
I think you’re wrong. I expect that more people than normal will be willing to make a special occasion of it.
Edit: Noooooooo. That’s not true… that’s impossible!
On the plus side, online booking at the last minute should hopefully give a pretty good idea of how crowded each session is. 🙂
Oh man, major missed opportunity for “that’s not true… that’s impossible” there!
…
I’ll just fall off into the clouds, now.
We need a canon spin-off movie about what happened to Luke’s hand after it was cut off.
http://i.imgur.com/qGnnIZd.jpg
Obviously it teamed up with Ash’s hand from Evil Dead and Thing from the Adams Family to become a rag tag band of time jumping interdimensional bounty hunters.
http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s–TR9n1DgW–/1308295427754104679.jpg
Holy crapnuts, I just looked up gold class sessions at two different venues near me and they are all just about sold out for the next two weeks.
I’m hopeful. Hopeful that J.J can work some magic and bring back the old feels!
Or risk being called Jar Jar Abrams forever more…..
Yes.
Sticks fingers in ears and talks loudly until Thursday.
The Force is strong with this one. You know it to be true.
Yep
With the fantastic trailers and the insistence on practical effects to stay true to the originals, I would be really surprised if it disappoints. Plus Abrams just seems like a massive fan like everyone else.
All signs point to ‘awesome movie’ in my opinion.
No
First of the prequels weren’t as bad as many people make out. The phantom menaces was the worst Star Wars film in the franchise but after that the prequels were okay and RotS was as good as any of the original trilogy in my opinion having watched them recently.
Second is JJJjjj Abrahams really that great a director. I think he’s talented but the last Star Trek film was very average and disjointed. The Star Trek reboot was well done but nothing amazing and enough with lens flare already!
Good that he’s saying the CGI will be kept to a minimum. I have a (bad) feeling that the film will be very well paced with lots of action but not enough pathos or peril to make it a real classic. We shall see …
I wathed ROTS last night, and would seriously place it as worse than TPM, and I am not a fan of it.
Yeah it’s rotten. The characters motivations are painfully unreasonable, they do things that don’t make sense or just come across as brain dead. And most of the acting is boring and stiff except for the scenes where they’re screaming at each other (not that screaming automatically = good drama). And the script is just horrendous. Anakin’s fall to the dark side makes me face palm.
I wonder how it would have turned out with Lucas’ original vision. That Jar Jar backlash….
I think it’s the best paced of the sequels. The opening space battle is one of best space sequences in the series. The fall of Anakin and his internal conflict is well done. And it’s very dark. Enjoyed it apart from the “nooooooooo” which stood out for all the wrong reasons.
I think it will be a good movie, possibly not the best in the series. If you go in with the expectation of the best movie ever, then you’ll be dissapointed – enjoy it for what it is. Admittedly, I’ve tried to shield myself from most of the trailers, as I wanted to look on the movie with fresh eyes.
I’ll be so happy when all this Star Wars mania is behind us.
Seriously, have you been into a Big W lately? It makes me want to vomit.
There’s only 2 things in this world that are guaranteed to sell, sex and star wars.
Toys and books make you want to vomit? Wow.
I actually like Star Wars. But even for me this is insane.
I mean, they have branded almost every single product ever.
Isn’t there a photo doing the rounds of Star Wars oranges?
LOL, and grapes and apples!!
http://www.techinsider.io/star-wars-fruits-and-vegetables-are-not-the-droids-youre-looking-for-2015-12
And Mascara. Special limited edition.
Man, I saw a pack of Frozen-branded mandarins the other day. Movie is 3 years old damn it.
Sooooo couldn’t be any further from how you feel on this.
It makes the giant kid inside me jump with glee.
Maybe that’s why they want to vomit? There’s a big kid inside shaking everything up.
Thats generally when i punch my stomach a few time to tell him to quieten down, lest people suspect me for being an overgrown child.
It’s generally at that point the mothers shield their children and back away slowly, leaving the toy aisle just for me! \o/
That’s how they get all of your money. The mentality of a child, with the finances of an adult.
Cha-ching!
Yes, I work at Big W and it’s pretty insane how much SW merchandise there is. They literally have a product in every section, from health and beauty to manchester.
There’s going to be a star wars movie every year for the next 5 at least. By the time this lot of star wars merch goes dow nthe new stuff will be going up. Get used to it Bro 🙂
I’m not judging this by the OT.
It just has to be better than the prequel trilogy in my eyes.
Just imagine if it is awful… You will feel a great disturbance in the force, as if millions of nerds cried out in terror, and were s̶u̶d̶d̶e̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶i̶l̶e̶n̶c̶e̶d̶ really vocal about it on the internet.
Simple solution is to have low expectations… Then you’ll never be disappointed and if something is good. you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
SORRY, I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF THE HYPE TRAIN.
The hype train ends at disappointment station =)
No matter how good it is, it won’t live up to some people’s expectations, mostly because they are not 10 years old this time around, and there will never be as big a jump in reality in movies like the time that little ship flew overhead, followed by the massive Star Destroyer that just kept going while the entire theatre rumbled and you immediately believed you were in a galaxy far, far away, in a way that had never been achieved before.
Having said that though, I am happy to turn a good portion of my brain off and become 10 years old again for the 2 or so hours.
As long as the universe looks lived in, that there is tension and excitement and reasonable dialogue.
If it feels like the same universe that I visited in 1977 then I will be happy – and I was so burned by the prequels and the Special Editions that I spent the last decade trying to put the original trilogy back to its original state.
I think it will be a pretty well written, well executed film, made with love, effort and dedication, and that you will get as much out of it as you bring to it. I intend to enjoy it and I am pretty sure I will.
Haters gonna hate, there was a great article in the HufPost where the guy was very proud of his ignorance of the movies and even more proud that he was ignoring this one. There will be people who will hate it because it is JJ, or because it doesn’t measure up to some impossible, vague version of the movie they have in their head. But for everyone else, I reckon it will be a good time, and we can sit in the cinema, feel excited again like only kids can, and for a few hours at least, disappear into that galaxy far, far away.
I’m expecting it to take it’s cues from most of the marvel movies. Which means it will be a fun and enjoyable action film which I’d classify as “good” but at the same time it will suffer from a lack of depth and substance that keeps it from being memorable and a “great” film.
Yes, I agree. I’m expecting Disney to apply the Marvel formula, which means it will be good, but not amazingly good.
I’ve not bought into the hype for this one.
Granted, I’m not a massive Star Wars fan. I like the originals, don’t like the prequels, and know enough to be able to talk about it. But am I invested in the new era of Star Wars we’re blundering towards at this very moment? No.
I’ll watch the first few, I reckon, and I’ll probably enjoy them. These days, though, sheer visual spectacle doesn’t hold me the way it used to. I haven’t seen any of the recent Marvel movies, and have no interest in them.
With that being said, Force Awakens will probably be “good” and and when I see it I’ll likely enjoy it. I just won’t care when that is, and certainly won’t brave the horrors of the modern cinema experience to see it upon release.
Mark I’m getting way too good at picking your articles from the titles, you bloody Scottish Agent Provocateur. 😛
It’s definitely going to be better than the prequels, but the aesthetics are going to drift much further away from what’s seen as ‘traditional Star Wars’ at times, particularly in action sequences.
Oh and there’ll be lens flare. Lens flare for… daze… *makes pun face*
Never seen the prequels? Lucas puts JJ to shame for lens flares…
I’m just hoping the trailers are lying to us and this first one isn’t just a “Harrison Ford and friends” show. I like Han as a character, but screen time with the others needs to be shared around.
I think I will need a couple of screenings to let it sink in before I make any judgement on quality. The midnight session is just going to be a hype explosion, so I will need at least one more to digest. 🙂
Mark Hamill has stated that this film really is all about the new characters, that he, and he figures even his fans don’t want to see the geriatric adventures of Skywalker and friends going forwards.
So hopefully it looks like you will get your wish.
I’m thinking it will be better then the prequels but nothing will top the original trilogy from my point of view. Fingers crossed it will be still be epic though!
As long as it is better than the last 3 then i am satisfied.
inwoukd just like it to be a good, fun, adventure movie. Like the Star Trek reboot. Anything more is icing on the cake.
I’m cautiously optimistic. It’s a little bit weird – anticipating the prequels I was most interested to see how the story worked in a bigger context
Ep 1 was a massive disappointment, 2 was a lot better but only because of big ‘reveal’ moments like ‘oh so the Stormtroopers were with the good guys!’ But it waster down by a heavy reliance on computer effects.
3 was the best of the prequels and was only let down by dragging on all of the action sequences too long (seriously the elevator action, the chase after Greivious, the Lava fight all went in too long) and the ridiculous way Padme died (seriously why couldn’t it have been a crushed wind pipe)
Now anticipating this – I have no idea what kind of story it’s going to be – they don’t really need to explain anything so I’m interested to see where they take it
Hope so. I taking the afternoon off on Thursday to go see it.
Big Star Wars fan of the expanded the universe. Especially the Thrawn Arc. I am willing to keep an open mind and give this a try. Storm Troopers, Tie Fighters and X wings always win me over. 😛
That thrawn arc was an amazing trilogy of books I agree . Kevin Anderson I think it was, dude always tore thru the star wars universe
Finally watched episodes 4-6, still haven’t watched 1-3 (though it may be better because of the CGI). I literally do not understand what the hype is about, or how the previous movies got so popular. The dialogue is terrible, the acting is pretty piss poor in a lot of parts. Why is this such a cult classic? I’m not trolling here. Can not for the life of me understand why people are so obsessed with the franchise. Mediocre films at best, Though the last 45 minutes of Ep 6 were pretty good.
New one looks reasonably good too. Perhaps my upbringing with better quality movies is the downfall. But, please, someone enlighten me about this garbage.
EDIT: Cheers for some actual replies. I can’t usually get further then Me: “I don’t like star wars”
Everyone Else: “Fuck off”
You need to remember when these Movies were released in the late 70’s and early 80’s there was nothing even close to the story/special effects. The story seems a bit predictable now, and the special effects not as amazing as the latest CGI extravaganza, but that’s only because every sci-fi movie since Star Wars was influenced by it in some way.
I went into this knowing the CGI and effects were going to be outdated, but I still expected a lot more from the story. It’s just SO underwhelming. It doesn’t, in my opinion, deserve the pedestal it has been put on.
That makes it hard to think you are not trolling… but just in case…
Grab a handfull of movies from, say, 1974 – 1976 and watch them, and then watch Star Wars again, and you will have your answer.
Watching breakthrough movies from the early 50s is difficult now, as so much of what made them stand out was appropriated by the movies that came later, and have often been quoted and lampooned so often, that it is near impossible to come to them later with any real appreciation of what made them great.
There are some exceptions, Gone with the Wind still holds up pretty well, but honestly, go watch the pick of the crop for sci-fi for 75-77 and see how they look in comparison.
Let me clarify – Episodes 1-3 may be more to my taste because 4-6 were made 30 years prior. The CGI in episodes 1-3 may be more to my liking, and therefore more enjoyable.
I’ve watched plenty of old movies. As I mentioned above, I also went into it knowing the effects were going to be bad. Still disappointing.
For the most part, at the time of release, the original trilogy was very much a new concept. When you compare it to a lot of the older sifi movies at the time, it was a big step up in quality, scale and story. Plus, a New Hope was made on a shoestring budget and still has not aged that badly.
I have talked to a few people who have only just watched the series recently and have a similar opinion as yourself. Possibly because the films are not new and fresh, they have too much competition now? Plus there is the case that they have been referenced so much in other things that everyone already sort of knows the story prior to watching. At the end of the day though, the original trilogy had, in many people’s opinion, a very good overarching story that allowed them an escape into a well rounded fantasy universe that was fun.
Not sure why you thought the dialogue was so bad though. There are so many memorable lines in it!
I understand all of those things, That it was new and exciting for it’s time etc. I’ve watched old movies, I also studied film / movies whatever at school. I understand why the generation that watched it in the cinema love the movies. Completely get it. New, exciting, big special effects. That’s fine.
What I don’t understand, Is why anyone born past say 1985-1990, raised watching things with better effects, could go back to it and enjoy it so much. It is so prevalent in pop culture, and it certainly isn’t just a bunch of 40-60 year olds that saw it when it came out and still love it. Sure, they probably raised their kids watching it, but.. still.. It just defies belief for me that something (in my opinion) with such a crappy story can continue to be popular. It is just so outdated. Have you watched Citizen Kane? That did a whole bunch for cinematography and people don’t blow their loads about it anywhere close to star wars. In my opinion It’s also a fairly crappy movie. Perhaps in another 30 years people will share my view on star wars, who’s to say.
I certainly do not know anyone who shares this opinion either, but I legitimately did not enjoy Star Wars ep 4-6. I’ll still give the other ones a chance, but on recommendation of watching 4-6 and skipping the prequels, all I can say so far is I was really REALLY not impressed.
So maybe you just don’t like it? Obviously the things you think are bad, others consider strong points of the movie.
YMMV
The Star Trek reboot was the best Star Trek movie ever made. It was actually tolerable, compared to the others.
Yes. Force Awakens will be brilliant.
Flying from regional WA to ‘the big smoke’ Perth *gazes at tall buildings, Wow. It’s like the future* and booked in with various friends to watch it numerous times over several days so it had wanna be good.
Otherwise the second and third viewings could be loooooong. And my ‘unbridaled enthusiasm’ for the film may give the game up for my friends.
My hope is that they kill of Han, Luke, and Leia in the first 15 minutes. Loved them in the original three but if the franchise is to continue to grow they need new blood. That’s not going to happen with Hamil and Ford in every scene.
I think this movie will be a ‘handover’ as such. These are all your fav characters. Remember them? And now these younger guys have a story and will take it from here. Thanks gramps.
This has pretty much been confirmed by the actors as being the case.
Didn’t want to drop names and mention that I was good mates with all the cast. But it kinda speaks for itself now. 😉
My thoughts exactly. They’ll be there, but their screen time will be limited, and if any make it over to episode VIII it’ll only be one or two of them.
I am optimistic.
I can remember enjoying Phantom Menace when I saw it in the cinema (apart from the stupidity of Anakin accidentally destroying the droid ship, and Jar Jar being himself). The pod race was pretty exciting, and the Darth Maul fight was also pretty awesome and I think just seeing a new Star Wars film in the cinema is an experience in itself.
The previews for the new one look good and Abrams has proven he knows how to take the reigns of a long-term franchise and make it good. Plus it’s not a prequel, so they’re not limited by storylines for future films.
It looks fantastic and I think if anyone can approach doing it justice then it’s j.j. Abrams.
It won’t be as good as the originals of course and I have no doubt it will contain a layer of , I dunno, sort of trendy gloss that can seem a little forced at times,but I’m looking forward to it
I REALLY hated what JJ Abrams did to Star Trek, so I’m a bit nervous about the new Star Wars.
I’ve never been big on Star Trek, but I loved the reboot, so I have every confidence he’ll be able to pull it off again with Star Wars.
The fact that George Lucas had little to do with it fills me with hope.
JJ Abrams is also fantastic so I think this movie will be great.
Having said that, I’ve just re-watched all 6 episodes in time for the release on Thursday and I’ve got to say, apart from Episode 1, the prequels weren’t actually THAT bad.
I’d even go so far as to say Episode 6 was actually quite a good film and I think it gets rubbished unfairly.
I’m cautious – I think there is too much fanservice here. Ooooh Millenium falcon, tie fighters (its been 30 years – tie fighters are like bringing bi-planes to WW2), death star (again!), and so forth. Bad guy kinda like darth (mixed with a bit of whiney younger Anakin judging by the trailer…). A plot that looks very much like a rehash of new hope.
Is there anything of substance new in this movie? But everything ‘new’ in the prequels was rubbish, so maybe JJ is just playing the percentages.
The main bit I am interested in is luke. Good guy, bad guy – or my hope is he is a third team, wants to stop both jedi and sith to end the conflict forever.
That’s what gets me too. It seems they’re putting so much effort into getting people to turn into gushing, giddy, kids again. But not by chance, oh no. It’s completely calculated in a manner to get people spend as much money as possible on merchandise. And you know what, it’s working! So many adults acting like children [and, SPENDING like children].
I used to love the Star Wars universe, but actually in spite of the movies, which I felt were always the weakest pieces of the IP.
But, Disney has all but killed off the EU and all of their actions moving forward seem to point to them only supporting things which will enhance their ability to market and merchandise the movies. So, I’ve checked out.
I want my movies, books and games to be able to stand on their own feet, not have to pull on the ‘ol nostalgia strings to make it enjoyable.
I’m the opposite. The only Star Wars I know is the movies, I’ve never even attempted to look into the expanded universe. Hell, I didn’t even know it existed until a few years ago.
Call it fanservice or whatever you want, it looks great to me.
My view, it’ll either be mind blowingly awesome, or it’s gonna suck hard. Personally I’m going with awesome, simply because I think Disney knows how much is riding on this and are pulling out all the stops to make the fans happy. Honestly, if it sucks they might as well just cancel all the planned sequels and spin-offs right now.
Either way, we don’t have long to wait to find out.
I still have the first few seconds of the original trailer stuck in my head and it makes me think of the movie as more like a remake of Blazing Saddles.
Hopefully Mel Brooks will make good on his comment earlier this year and make Spaceballs 2: The Search For More Money.
http://www.eonline.com/ca/news/622887/spaceballs-2-a-go-mel-brooks-talks-sequel-its-perfect-obvious-title-and-rick-moranis
I hope it’s four hours long.
It doesn’t matter any more. Those prequels don’t matter any more. We’re excited about this, the first Star Wars sequel in forever – but next year, and the year after, and the year after that forever until you die there will be Star Wars. Its a genre now. There will be good ones, there will be bad ones. There will be so many that you can just say, yep, I loved the first two, the Jabba Mafia one, Han Solo as a boy, 1000 years with a Sarlacc, episode 8, 10 and 11 and thats it.
it’ll at least be the most overhyped movie of the past decade.
THE WORLD WILL BE A DIFFERENT PLACE TOMORROW. THIS FILM WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING.
This hype train is point five past lightspeed, and is never going to stop.
Cautiously optimistic about it….
And really just hoping the main characters aren’t as fucking terrible as Hayden Christensen. God he was AWFUL. As bad, possibly worse, than Jar Jar. Not joking.