STAR WARS: Episode 7 (All-Time #1 opening box office.) (2 Viewers)

[Insein]

Never should have gotten rid of Darth Maul in the first prequel. Sure, he eventually has to die because of that whole "Always two...no more...no less" (and even that's kind of stupid) rule....but replacing him with crusty old (not an indictment on Christopher Lee) Count Dooku was definitely a step down in the action department; particularly since they never showcased a real sense that Dooku was a top level Jedi. Maul also would have been better than General Grievous....perhaps one of the lamest robots of all time. That mother####er coughs?....seriously? Killing Maul robbed them of showcasing any sweet Jedi fighting moves.

But he wasn't a robot. He was a humanoid that had virtually all of his body replaced with cybernetics.

As big a star wars geek as I am, I have to say I never saw grievous coming. I looked at almost nothing pre ep3 and when I saw a coughing robot in the first act I was like, who the #### is this?

That's my biggest gripe of the prequels. 3 different enemies in each move that are basically canon fodder. They are nothing more than glorified henchmen. They should have kept Maul. If he couldn't act, then they should have recast him.

 

[Aerial Assault]

Probably a question for another thread, but do you guys think the original trilogy would survive the internet age?

For example, I never knew there was a group of people that hated the Ewoks. My entire life I thought they were a huge part of the Star Wars film and never thought a negative thing about them.

But at some point in the late 90's or early 2000's, I realized that many people didn't like the Ewoks. Now when I watch ROTJ, I find myself thinking some of those negative thoughts (how could little cuddly bears take down the empire, etc)

The CGI and Hayden are my primary offenders from the prequels, but I wonder if I would enjoy the prequels a lot more if I hadn't spent years reading how bad they were on the internet.

LOTR just killed it. And those movies were basically sendups of StarWars without spaceships.

LOTR, as in the books, heavily influenced Star Wars (Episode IV in particular).

 

[Aerial Assault]

And agree with everyone that McGregor was outstanding in the prequels. In fact, I thought he (and Neeson in Episode I) were so good, and it was so fantastic to see the Jedi in their prime, that I really didn't mind the "many sins of the prequels" that everyone drones on about.

 

[Scoresman]

McGregor was the absolute highlight of the prequels. Even with the horrid script in all 3 movies, his was the only character where you could actually feel emotion at the end of 3 when Anakin turned.

 

[Capella]

Grevious was a human in robot form? I'm sure they mentioned that somewhere but I didn't catch that. When I watched 3 last week I sat there wondering why this dumb robot was coughing.

 

[MikeIke]

Grevious was a human in robot form? I'm sure they mentioned that somewhere but I didn't catch that. When I watched 3 last week I sat there wondering why this dumb robot was coughing.

Yes, that's why Obi-Wan had to shoot his heart to kill him. He was more machine than man, but he still had organic parts.ETA : Though he wasn't human, he was Kaelish (not sure about spelling on that one)

 

[MikeIke]

And I agree that Maul should have been the main bad guy through all 3 prequels.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

The novelization of Revenge of the Sith was good. I really liked how they expounded on what was going on inside Yoda's head, "Oooohhhh.....fuuuuuuddddggge. Win, I cannot."

I've said before that the thing that pisses me off the most about E1-E3 is how they ruined a potentially fantastic storyline, E3's in particular. In an era of remakes, E3 cries out for one. It's a brilliant story that suffers under the hand of a hack director.

 

[Otis]

The novelization of Revenge of the Sith was good. I really liked how they expounded on what was going on inside Yoda's head, "Oooohhhh.....fuuuuuuddddggge. Win, I cannot."

I've said before that the thing that pisses me off the most about E1-E3 is how they ruined a potentially fantastic storyline, E3's in particular. In an era of remakes, E3 cries out for one. It's a brilliant story that suffers under the hand of a hack director.

This is a good call. This thing was packaged into an awesome story that you already had a massive fanbase dying to see. This had all the potential in the world, had it been done right.

 

[shader]

Gonna be a long time until a remake. But I'm sure one day it will happen

 

[Capella]

Gonna be a long time until a remake. But I'm sure one day it will happen

Of 1-3? I seriously doubt it. Too many other movies to make.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Star Wars Episodes 1-3 A Phantom Edit is actually a good stand alone movie. You can't do anything through editing to make the change to the dark side any more believable than what this guy did. A must watch on YouTube.

 

[Riversco]

Fun youtube video on how Jar Jar is actually Darth Plagueis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq559Vzc5MA

I thought it was a joke until the very end. They show that only 4 characters in the movies have glowing yellow eyes: Darth Maul, Palpatine, Anakin after he became Vader, and Jar Jar Binks.

 

[Statorama]

For those that have watched the previous movies as a ramp up to next week, did you watch them in order of chapter or order of release date?

 

[NewlyRetired]

For those that have watched the previous movies as a ramp up to next week, did you watch them in order of chapter or order of release date?

There are three main ways people are rewatchingRelease order: 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3

Pretending prequels don't exist order: 4, 5, 6

Machete order: 4, 5, 2, 3, 6

 

[AAABatteries]

For those that have watched the previous movies as a ramp up to next week, did you watch them in order of chapter or order of release date?

There are three main ways people are rewatchingRelease order: 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3

Pretending prequels don't exist order: 4, 5, 6

Machete order: 4, 5, 2, 3, 6

We ended up doing 4, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6

We intended to watch 5 after 4 but some hadn't seen 1-3 so we moved it around. Watching 3 I had the same thought as others - it could have been great and actually was pretty good.

The CGI is the first 3 is almost comical - I like the effects in 4-6 better. 5 is so good by comparison to 1-3.

 

[AAABatteries]

My 10 year old was disturbed by the Anakin killing the younglings scene - I had forgotten it was a little over the top disturbing and in retrospect kind of gratuitous. Just MO though.

 

[KarmaPolice]

My 10 year old was disturbed by the Anakin killing the younglings scene - I had forgotten it was a little over the top disturbing and in retrospect kind of gratuitous. Just MO though.

Over the top disturbing? Don't they just have a quick cut after he fires up the lightsaber?

 

[Capella]

Yea I don't get that. They don't show him slaying any kids.

 

[NewlyRetired]

My 10 year old was disturbed by the Anakin killing the younglings scene - I had forgotten it was a little over the top disturbing and in retrospect kind of gratuitous. Just MO though.

Over the top disturbing? Don't they just have a quick cut after he fires up the lightsaber?

yeah they don't show anything but still for young kids it is the darkest moment in the entire 6 movies probably surpassing the cave scene on Dagoba in EP5 which will go over most kids heads.

Think of the difference between what that younglings scene emotes to young kids vs watching Jar Jar scenes in EP1.

 

[GROOT]

My 10 year old was disturbed by the Anakin killing the younglings scene - I had forgotten it was a little over the top disturbing and in retrospect kind of gratuitous. Just MO though.

One of the many FAILS of that #### production

 

[AAABatteries]

Yea I don't get that. They don't show him slaying any kids.

I probably didn't articulate that well and over spoke. I just meant it doesn't fit and was gratuitous, IMO. Don't think it was a necessary scene to show how evil Vader was - they could have just mentioned that he did it without having that exchange where the kid is talking to him.

 

[snogger]

So.. 2d or 3d or both??

As long as this isn't a big pile of :X I'll probably end up going to see it in the theater twice..

Right now leaning 2D the first time and 3D the second time.. thoughts?

 

[NewlyRetired]

So.. 2d or 3d or both??

As long as this isn't a big pile of :X I'll probably end up going to see it in the theater twice..

Right now leaning 2D the first time and 3D the second time.. thoughts?

I am doing 2d simply because 3d gives me a headache if I watch it for too long.

Also note that Star Wars was not shot in 3d, it was converted to 3d in post processing.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

I'm starting to feel towards Star Wars how I feel towards FanDuel/Draftkings/George Lucas...

Stop bludgeoning me with your product.

The Dodge commercials are the last straw.

 

[Tom Servo]

So.. 2d or 3d or both??

As long as this isn't a big pile of :X I'll probably end up going to see it in the theater twice..

Right now leaning 2D the first time and 3D the second time.. thoughts?

I'm doing 2D with my sons. Since I have depth perception problems, 3D is a waste for me. And since I bought the tickets...

 

[Tom Servo]

Bloom County takes on Star Wars

 

[KarmaPolice]

I'm starting to feel towards Star Wars how I feel towards FanDuel/Draftkings/George Lucas...

Stop bludgeoning me with your product.

The Dodge commercials are the last straw.

Dude, they have $4B to make back.

 

[snogger]

So.. 2d or 3d or both??

As long as this isn't a big pile of :X I'll probably end up going to see it in the theater twice..

Right now leaning 2D the first time and 3D the second time.. thoughts?

I am doing 2d simply because 3d gives me a headache if I watch it for too long.

Also note that Star Wars was not shot in 3d, it was converted to 3d in post processing.

I did not know that.... Made up my mind.. very few "Shot in 3D" movies have been worth it to me... Post production 3D is even less..

 

[NewlyRetired]

I'm starting to feel towards Star Wars how I feel towards FanDuel/Draftkings/George Lucas...

Stop bludgeoning me with your product.

The Dodge commercials are the last straw.

Dude, they have $4B to make back.

I am always surprised by the commercial comments as they are near invisible to me.

I have not watched commercials in 15 years ever since I got my first Tivo. Even for Live events, I just let them run ahead and time shift.

 

[Billy Bats]

So.. 2d or 3d or both??

As long as this isn't a big pile of :X I'll probably end up going to see it in the theater twice..

Right now leaning 2D the first time and 3D the second time.. thoughts?

I am doing 2d simply because 3d gives me a headache if I watch it for too long.

Also note that Star Wars was not shot in 3d, it was converted to 3d in post processing.

I did not know that.... Made up my mind.. very few "Shot in 3D" movies have been worth it to me... Post production 3D is even less..

All of it is nothing but a money grab. No need to see any movie in 3D IMO.

 

[KarmaPolice]

So.. 2d or 3d or both??

As long as this isn't a big pile of :X I'll probably end up going to see it in the theater twice..

Right now leaning 2D the first time and 3D the second time.. thoughts?

I am doing 2d simply because 3d gives me a headache if I watch it for too long.

Also note that Star Wars was not shot in 3d, it was converted to 3d in post processing.

I did not know that.... Made up my mind.. very few "Shot in 3D" movies have been worth it to me... Post production 3D is even less..

All of it is nothing but a money grab. No need to see any movie in 3D IMO.

Agree, but problem is with big movies like this you don't have many options. Any decent size screen or sound was in 3d. It isn't like one screen is showing it in 3d. Seems to me more like 80% of them are.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

My buddy said he read that Disney has sold $4b in merchandise already.

 

[Billy Bats]

So.. 2d or 3d or both??

As long as this isn't a big pile of :X I'll probably end up going to see it in the theater twice..

Right now leaning 2D the first time and 3D the second time.. thoughts?

I am doing 2d simply because 3d gives me a headache if I watch it for too long.

Also note that Star Wars was not shot in 3d, it was converted to 3d in post processing.

I did not know that.... Made up my mind.. very few "Shot in 3D" movies have been worth it to me... Post production 3D is even less..

All of it is nothing but a money grab. No need to see any movie in 3D IMO.

Agree, but problem is with big movies like this you don't have many options. Any decent size screen or sound was in 3d. It isn't like one screen is showing it in 3d. Seems to me more like 80% of them are.

Not around me, thankfully I have to go out of my way to see it in 3D.

 

[netnalp]

My 10 year old was disturbed by the Anakin killing the younglings scene - I had forgotten it was a little over the top disturbing and in retrospect kind of gratuitous. Just MO though.

Over the top disturbing? Don't they just have a quick cut after he fires up the lightsaber?

yeah they don't show anything but still for young kids it is the darkest moment in the entire 6 movies probably surpassing the cave scene on Dagoba in EP5 which will go over most kids heads.

Think of the difference between what that younglings scene emotes to young kids vs watching Jar Jar scenes in EP1.

The charred remains of Luke's aunt and uncle are pretty harsh too for young kids. Parents probably shouldn't be having their young kids watch the movies. Stick with the cartoons of Star Wars if it's too much. It's PG-13 for a reason.

 

[gump]

My buddy said he read that Disney has sold $4b in merchandise already.

That can mean a few different things. Royalties from co-branded sales...wholesale sales...retail sales?

I can tell you we've sold about $1.5M in co-branded SW product at wholesale, and I'm sure we're way, way down the list in volume.

 

[Insein]

Fun youtube video on how Jar Jar is actually Darth Plagueis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq559Vzc5MA

I thought it was a joke until the very end. They show that only 4 characters in the movies have glowing yellow eyes: Darth Maul, Palpatine, Anakin after he became Vader, and Jar Jar Binks.

Where you been the last 2 months?

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

My buddy said he read that Disney has sold $4b in merchandise already.

I saw these Star Wars themed Hot Wheels at the store the other day. $7 a pop. Regular Hot Wheels are less than $1.50. Silly.

 

[Insein]

My buddy said he read that Disney has sold $4b in merchandise already.

I saw these Star Wars themed Hot Wheels at the store the other day. $7 a pop. Regular Hot Wheels are less than $1.50. Silly.

I think the jumping the Shark was the Star wars makeup line.

 

[netnalp]

I'm getting a bad feeling with this cutsie little robot that's now appearing in every TV commercial out there. Like Jar Jar Binx level bad. God I hope I'm wrong.

Even R2 becomes obsolete tech. I think it's cool that the new robot isn't CGI.

Except when it IS CG in more than a quarter of the shots in the movie.

But if you believe it's a real, touchable thing...mission accomplished!

From the video I saw, the production guy said they used the real robot they made for most of it. I'll have to look for a link.

 

[gump]

My buddy said he read that Disney has sold $4b in merchandise already.

I saw these Star Wars themed Hot Wheels at the store the other day. $7 a pop. Regular Hot Wheels are less than $1.50. Silly.

That is Hot Wheels trying a cash grab. Disney doesn't charge a crazy royalty.

 

[Billy Bats]

My buddy said he read that Disney has sold $4b in merchandise already.

I saw these Star Wars themed Hot Wheels at the store the other day. $7 a pop. Regular Hot Wheels are less than $1.50. Silly.

I think the jumping the Shark was the Star wars makeup line.

The Mrs came home with that maybe two months ago already. I was speechless for a number of reasons.

 

[Billy Bats]

Companies are paying lucasfilm to use them in their commercials, right?

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Companies are paying lucasfilm to use them in their commercials, right?

Well Disney, but yes.

 

[Brady Marino]

Just finished watching the Machete order (4-5-1-2-3-6) of Star Wars. This was actually my first watch of any Star Wars movie in quite a while. Thoughts:

1. Phantom Menace is useless. It is not in the Machete order because it adds NOTHING to the trilogy. Movie is 99% filler.

2. Attack of the Clones was actually not bad. Still 5th best of the 6, but the gap isn't as striking. Hayden Christensen wasn't the issue here, it was the lousy writing, dialogue, and lack of direction he got. I get what he was going for, but he was handcuffed.

3. Revenge of the Sith probably beats Return of the Jedi for me. Story stayed focused and it was as dark and grim as it needed to be. It was also nice to see how Anakin became Vader following his reveal at Empire. More later.

4. A New Hope is still great and I don't find the difference between it and the prequels as jarring, though the stuff Lucas added in later helps.

5. Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars movie. Perfect blend of action, character development and cinematography. Only hitch is 3PO was especially annoying in this movie, though I still cheer when he blows up in Cloud City.

6. In this watch, Return actually dipped below Revenge for me, and I watched the two back to back. A lot of bloat that didn't add much, but still enjoyable. But the big thing is I had a lot more sympathy for Vader having just watched the prequels right before. I no longer saw him as the big bad guy, but rather the conflicted father he was. I almost got up and cheered when he chucked the Emperor down the shaft.

Order of preference: 5, 4, 3, 6, 2, BIG GAP, 1.

 

[Billy Bats]

Companies are paying lucasfilm to use them in their commercials, right?

Well Disney, but yes.

Yeah daddy gets the biggest cut.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Companies are paying lucasfilm to use them in their commercials, right?

Well Disney, but yes.

Yeah daddy gets the biggest cut.

They get all of it. Lucasfilm is owned by Disney. It's not a partnership.

 

[gump]

Companies are paying lucasfilm to use them in their commercials, right?

Well Disney, but yes.

Yeah daddy gets the biggest cut.

They get all of it. Lucasfilm is owned by Disney. It's not a partnership.

Right...Lucasfilm is just a creative division of Disney...they still manage that end for SW, then all checks go to Disney.

 

[Billy Bats]

Companies are paying lucasfilm to use them in their commercials, right?

Well Disney, but yes.

Yeah daddy gets the biggest cut.

They get all of it. Lucasfilm is owned by Disney. It's not a partnership.

Well yeah, but lucasfilm checks are cut from Disney. It's all relative.

 

[KarmaPolice]

So.. 2d or 3d or both??

As long as this isn't a big pile of :X I'll probably end up going to see it in the theater twice..

Right now leaning 2D the first time and 3D the second time.. thoughts?

I am doing 2d simply because 3d gives me a headache if I watch it for too long.

Also note that Star Wars was not shot in 3d, it was converted to 3d in post processing.

I did not know that.... Made up my mind.. very few "Shot in 3D" movies have been worth it to me... Post production 3D is even less..

All of it is nothing but a money grab. No need to see any movie in 3D IMO.

Agree, but problem is with big movies like this you don't have many options. Any decent size screen or sound was in 3d. It isn't like one screen is showing it in 3d. Seems to me more like 80% of them are.

Not around me, thankfully I have to go out of my way to see it in 3D.

Maybe it is just around here. Any decent screen was automatically 3d. 2d were on the small screens or the ones more catered to families and eating.