Star Wars VII

[City_Sean]

Watched it again online last night.

Just my opinion or did they make Rey far too powerful by the end of the film?

 

[Tugay One Cup]

I never bother with 3D. Just a shit gimmick that doesn't add anything to films in my opinion.

I usually avoid 3D, which I think is for theme parks (the Star Wars ride at Disney being a fine example of where it works well), but have seen this movie in both formats. You'd be right that the 3D didn't add anything unmissable. Haven't done IMAX.

3D is fantastic for some things like Gravity which are intended as wholly experiential movies (I haven't even bothered to watch Gravity at home as I think it will be a lot less enjoyable). I remember seeing Avatar on DVD when it came out and I just sat watching it knowing that all the tracking shots of things running through the jungle were intended for 3D viewing and that the film doesn't hold up without it. That being said, Avatar is shit anyway.

The problem is when images are retrofitted for stereoscopic viewing and the image quality is degraded as a result. I watched Star Wars at the IMAX in 3D and thought it was pretty enjoyable compared to others that I've seen. That being said, the image quality was definitely worse than standard "2D" viewing would have been.

All this being said, the state of cinemas as a whole seems to be dropping anyway. I'm not talking about the buildings, the fact that my feet don't have to be peeled off the floor anymore, number of screens and all that but I've paid £15 for an IMAX ticket before and had to sit through 2 hours of staring at a small rip in the middle of the screen. At the AMC half the time the speakers distort and need replacing. I've been to Home too and the screen room I was in was absolutely tiny and could barely fit my legs in the aisle. The big screen in the Cornerhouse seemed to be the best maintained and cared for but, for the rest, 3D sometimes detracts away from the small things that niggle at you through a film by becoming the single thing that niggles at you through a film.

Anyway, back to the point, kids/ casual viewers will love the 3D version of Star Wars because it makes all the lasers and space flight look more epic but I think it does the film a bit of a disservice because, for all the criticism it's taken, The Force Awakens is gorgeously shot.

 

[ancoats]

Watched it again online last night.

Just my opinion or did they make Rey far too powerful by the end of the film?

yes

it was like you never knew about the power you had and not learnt how to use them but bang your fighting a master of evil who turned from being a time served jedi to the darkside but I loved the new film and maybe the next 1 will open up about how many jedi are really left now luke been found

 

[Damocles]

Watched it again online last night.

Just my opinion or did they make Rey far too powerful by the end of the film?

No.

I've seen this argument a few times and it doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[City_Sean]

No.

I've seen this argument a few times and it doesn't make any sense to me.

Because she's had no real form of training yet is able to command the force already as powerful as Ren, who has had years of training.

Btw Damo, what do you think of Finn? I believe they'll make him a jedi as they dropped plenty of hints he's force sensitive. Ren looking at him, his ability with the lightsaber, when Ren says there's been an awakening etc.

 

[I Hart Man City]

Watched it again online last night.

Just my opinion or did they make Rey far too powerful by the end of the film?

I can see why people are saying she's a bit Mary Sue but with the Force almost anything can be explained (for better or worse). The stuff about her knowing as much if not more about the Millennium Falcon than Han Solo is fishy but surely it's for a reason that they will explain later down the line.

Knowing for a fact that there will be sequels is a luxury that Lucas didn't have in 1977 so New Hope had to work as a film completely on its own. This one doesn't so it can raise a lot of questions. It's a bit annoying but hopefully in the long run it will pay off.

 

[DenisLawBackHeel74]

Because she's had no real form of training yet is able to command the force already as powerful as Ren, who has had years of training.

Btw Damo, what do you think of Finn? I believe they'll make him a jedi as they dropped plenty of hints he's force sensitive. Ren looking at him, his ability with the lightsaber, when Ren says there's been an awakening etc.

Im thinking that the comment Ren made about the awakening was relating to Finn but I suspect ...see spoiler

Spoiler: Finn & Awakening Comment

The first order are taking force sensitive children to train as storm troupers....perhaps it makes them easier to condition/control (just my opinion btw). This would imo explain the comment that Finn was 'awoken'...ie perhaps due to a change in the balance of the force, the 'hold' over the force sensitive troupers has weakened.

 

[Damocles]

Because she's had no real form of training yet is able to command the force already as powerful as Ren, who has had years of training.

Said this earlier, the idea that the Force needs some years long training is an invention of the prequels and summarily ignored by the entirety of the new canon. Luke didn't go to school yet went toe to toe with the most powerful Force user in existence. Ok he was played with the first time but the second time after barely any real training from Yoda he was his equal.
The Force has always been something which clicked and the philosophy behind its usage such as Jedi or Sith or First Order is the thing that people learn.

And Ren for the record is consistently shown as a young individual with little control of either the Force or himself, wildly lashing out in anger rather than attempting to focus this into his combat. And even the new Emperor suggests at the end that his training is nowhere near complete.

Btw Damo, what do you think of Finn? I believe they'll make him a jedi as they dropped plenty of hints he's force sensitive. Ren looking at him, his ability with the lightsaber, when Ren says there's been an awakening etc.

I think he'll stay as non-Force sensitive or the "Han Solo type" which is never really explored. He's the most relatable character they currently have and it's easier to keep him relatable if he's not dunked into the whle Force monk mumbo jumbo thing.

 

[Tugay One Cup]

Because she's had no real form of training yet is able to command the force already as powerful as Ren, who has had years of training.

Btw Damo, what do you think of Finn? I believe they'll make him a jedi as they dropped plenty of hints he's force sensitive. Ren looking at him, his ability with the lightsaber, when Ren says there's been an awakening etc.

Spoiler

Finn held Kylo off for a while and his lightsabre skills were so impressive that he had to be saved from a stormtrooper with a stick. Factor in that Kylo isn't fully trained, had managed to force himself to kill his dad and got shot in the process and you can sort of see why Rey held her own.

Like @Damocles said, Luke's training was hardly intensive; he got blindfolded and shot at by an orb and did a couple of somersaults with a balding green dwarf on his back. Contestants on Takeshi's Castle had a harder time than Skywalker.

So it's still a bit silly and goes against real logic but most of the criticism of this film and supposed plot holes seem to arrise from people taking the franchise out of it's own context. None of it actually goes against what the original trilogy stood for.

Spoiler

Apart from the fact that nobody had a power adaptor for R2, that still makes me laugh.

 

[Blue Maverick]

Spoiler

Finn held Kylo off for a while and his lightsabre skills were so impressive that he had to be saved from a stormtrooper with a stick. Factor in that Kylo isn't fully trained, had managed to force himself to kill his dad and got shot in the process and you can sort of see why Rey held her own.

Like @Damocles said, Luke's training was hardly intensive; he got blindfolded and shot at by an orb and did a couple of somersaults with a balding green dwarf on his back. Contestants on Takeshi's Castle had a harder time than Skywalker.

So it's still a bit silly and goes against real logic but most of the criticism of this film and supposed plot holes seem to arrise from people taking the franchise out of it's own context. None of it actually goes against what the original trilogy stood for.

Spoiler

Apart from the fact that nobody had a power adaptor for R2, that still makes me laugh.

Maybe he's like an Apple product and they've changed to a lightning adaptor lol