Topic: Happy New Year all!!!

[VANGUARD]

I hope you all have a great new year!
I am finally almost feeling back to normal. I got sick with bronchitis the weekend after Thanksgiving.
I got to see Star Wars a few days after the release and will see it again this next Sunday, right after New Years!
My resolution now is to pay off most debt throughout the year 2016.

May you all have a great new year and your resolutions happen

[-<WillyP>-]

We saw it in 3d a few days ago, which was pretty cool.

[Scyphi]

Saw it this last Saturday myself for the first time. Was forced to admit to Techpro afterwards that I did like it, very much. Which is a bit of a deal because I famously (or infamously, pending on who you are) have never been much of a Star Wars fan in the past.

[Kaiaatzl]

Haven't seen it yet, I've been too busy at work.  But I'll probably have time to see it on Wednesday.  The funny thing is, I didn't realize it was such a generation-transcending thing until three generations of family said they wanted to go see it with me.   Should be fun!
Also have to work late-ish new years eve which means I can't go to the lake with everybody like I usually do... so gotta make plans to spend it in the city with somebody else.

I do have a resolution for 2016 actually; I'm going to get some people together and do at least one live performance of my music before the year's over.  They new EP I've got coming out soon has got some good material already and I'm writing it to be easier to do with a band setup.  I've got a deal with a promoter for a "battle of the bands" type thing which should be cool...

[Ionized]

Happy new year from NZ.

I have to admit that I was disappointed in the new Star Wars film. I'm not much of a Stars Wars fan though. Like Jurassic World I think most people are so caught up in the nostalgia of it that they aren't looking at it objectively. The film had major pacing issues throughout it (typical of JJ Abrams), but  not as severe as Star Trek: Into Darkness. I found myself bored half way through and just not able to engage with the action sequence that was going on. Ulimately it just didn't bring anything new to the table and felt like Star Wars had truely slipped into the mediocracy of modern mainstream film making. That being said it was an OK film but that's also the problem with it. Oh, and please don't get me started on Darth Emo. Anyway just my opinion, 80% of people I speak to seem to love it.

Darth Vader wore a helmet to cover up his hideous, deformed face; Darth Emo (Kylo Ren) wears a helmet to cover up his hideous haircut.
--- end of rant ---

[Kaiaatzl]

Eh, now I've seen it I agree on some of those points but I thought it was fun enough.
But I think I pulled my bladder.

[Scyphi]

The film had major pacing issues throughout it

I had heard something like this prior to seeing the film. In fact, a professional critic speaking of the film on the day of it's release commented on pacing issues too (but he saw it more "slight"). But I was surprised when I finally did see about how well it felt it flowed, and I didn't feel there were any real major pacing issues, at least none that all the previous Star Wars films had in spades.

...which is part of the reason why I haven't really been a Star Wars fan. The previous films really aren't that well written. ALL of the previous films have whole stretches of sections that are nothing but filler to support thin and superficial plots that were not altogether thought through as well as they could've. And something that has long bugged me about the previous Star Wars film is that it was set in this lush universe...and was doing so very little to explore it! Details are just blurred over, present only when relevant to explain major plots, if then, and only the major characters are only given any real attention and detail to, leave whole worlds of other cultures and characters sorely underdeveloped.

And this is why I personally would argue The Force Awakens is at least the best written of the Star Wars films.

Period. Bar none.

Because it's clear some thought was put into it. The pacing is oodles better, the plot is lush and has depth, it has far less filler, and when it does do the filler, it's at least still relevant to the overall tale being told, it still puts priority focus on the major characters, but it also conveys a sense that there is still a life outside of "Star Wars" that is going on, that there is still a sense of "life as usual" in that galaxy so far away for all the rest of the populace, and the film hints that there is meaning to that. And the characters are all very lush and fleshed out. Even the returning veteran characters feel like they have new layers added to them to keep them fresh and interesting.

And personally for me, it is Kylo Ren that is the most interesting of the bunch, as he's not quite like anything else the cast has had to up against. He is a seriously conflicted character; you can easily see it. He has this near fanatic respect for Vader that he's trying to emulate to the point of desperation (hence the helmet) yet I think Leia's right, there is still good in him, which he recognizes but is troubled by and doesn't have the foggiest idea what to do with. He has serious anger issues, to the point that he makes Vader seem calm and collected in comparison...and Vader had serious anger issues too. Furthermore, it's clear that he's grasped how to use the force enough to use it's raw power with the sheer brute force of a club, but lacks such a finesse to it that it's clear to me that he lacks training to truly use the force, and I think he doesn't understand it as much as he likes to think he does...something I suspect he starts to realize as the film progresses, and that really troubles him. There is so much depth and potential to this character, I really cannot empathize it enough, and I am genuinely anxious to see where he'll go next in the films yet to come.

Also, Kylo's hair is so shaped obviously so to emulate that of a certain Anakin Skywalker, don't tell me you didn't catch onto that, because it's quite plain.

Plus, small quibble, but Vader wore the helmet because his life actually did depend on it; it was part of a life support system that became necessary for him to use after suffering said injuries. But to be fair, they don't convey that very well in the films (you see what I mean about blurring over details?)

(Spoilers!) Do we not have spoiler tags on here?

No, what I want to know, is how the heck did Maz get a hold of Luke's lightsaber? Because last time we all saw that thing, it was still in Luke's hand right after said hand got chopped off in the duel with Vader on Cloud City, and left to fall that big windy room they were in, where it most likely, if what happened to Luke shortly thereafter is any indication, got sucked up into some vent where it probably bounced around through Cloud City's inner workings for awhile before finally getting jettisoned out of the city to fall to the planet below...which apparently is a gas giant, which means that lightsaber, for all intents and purposes, should've been lost forever. That's why Luke builds the green-colored replacement in the subsequent movie. So...how is it popping up again, still intact? 

Anyway, my lengthy two-bits on the matter.

[Ionized]

I know Darth Vader's helmet was for more than covering his face, I'm just poking fun at things. He probably didn't need to cover his entire face for the sake of that mechanical breathing system though. Kylo Ren's hair may be to emulate Anakin but it just doesn't work on that actor. The look of Kylo Ren's armour reminds me of Revan from the KOTOR games.

The point with the lightsaber is very true.

[VANGUARD]

I agree. That didn't make much sense to me as well.

I enjoyed 7. Is it better than the original? Somewhat yes, somewhat no.
Better than the prequels? YES!

The prequel was mostly filler, especially episode 3. Like myself, and probably many others out there, I have better ways of bringing the trilogies together, that makes MORE sense.



Hear me out:


How does some mother-to-be lose the will to live when she is about to give birth? And why is she naming them if she lost the will to live?
How does Vader know Luke and not Leia? He does evidently in episode 6, but that's only because Luke's feelings for her got too strong.

My thoughts on how this should have gone.



Episode 6 - Luke & Leia

"Leia, do you remember your mother? Your real mother?"
"Just a little bit. She died when I was very young."
"What do you remember?"
"Just images really, feelings."
"Tell me."
"She was very beautiful, kind, but sad. Why are you asking me this?"
"I have no memory of my mother. I never knew her."

I find it impossible to have images & feelings of a person at birth. My idea is this, when the two are born, Obi-Wan takes Luke to Tatooine, and Leia and Padme are sent somewhere far away, both in hiding.
I understand Luke's part is in episode 3 & 4, but Padme's here should be as well. In time, Leia is old enough to have those feelings, and images, but at a very young age, Padme dies. She dies either from fighting Anakin/Vader, or something other than "lost the will to live."

In Episode 6, Luke learns that Leia is his sister, and Obi-Wan says "Bury your feelings deep down. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the emperor."

My idea is that Obi-wan gets so attached to Luke inbetween 3 & 4, that the feelings get too strong. Vader then can sense this and feels as though Obi-Wan betrayed Luke, like Luke did with Leia in episode 6. This can make sense that Vader had no clue about his daughter until episode 6.


Just some thoughts of mine that I think would tie them in a lot better!

[Scyphi]

Yeah, see? It's seriously too easy to poke holes in the Star Wars canon. George Lucas clearly did not have things as planned out in advance as people sometimes give him credit for.

Personally, I think what Star Wars really needs is a good reboot, so to get those plot holes, especially the ones that popped up after the fact, squared away. But I somehow doubt the Star Wars fans will roll with that, because it seems to be taboo to even suggest changing anything about the original trilogy, and there's no point to adjusting the rest if you can't do the original trilogy too.