894 replies to this topic

[sharpshooter]

Beat me to it RD! A glorious teaser if ever there was one. Super excited.

I’m a born again Star Wars fan thanks to TFA. I lost the passion in years gone by, but it’s back again big time. I’ve bought a bunch of books - TFA visual dictionary, cross sections, art book, and the making of TESB. And I’m playing Battlefront on PS4. I’ll definitely be following Episode 8 more closely than TFA, and I’m excited about Rogue One’s potential. Good times ahead. If Disney released the OOT on Blu-ray that’d be even better.

[thecasinoroyale]

I really think Disney know what they are doing with this franchise; they're handling it so well. Think about it - the first of their films, 'TFA' comes out in 2015 and breaks over $2bn - and months later in 2016 we see 'Rogue One' has almost wrapped filming, and a first glimpse at production on 'Episode VIII'.

 

Talk about giving fans what they want.

 

EON should follow suit. It's not THAT hard to plan for the future production of films, is it?

[Hockey Mask]

Beat me to it RD! A glorious teaser if ever there was one. Super excited.

I’m a born again Star Wars fan thanks to TFA. I lost the passion in years gone by, but it’s back again big time. I’ve bought a bunch of books - TFA visual dictionary, cross sections, art book, and the making of TESB. And I’m playing Battlefront on PS4. I’ll definitely be following Episode 8 more closely than TFA, and I’m excited about Rogue One’s potential. Good times ahead. If Disney released the OOT on Blu-ray that’d be even better.

Same here. The prequels really put a damper on my Star Wars excitement. Since TFA I have been revisiting the original trilogy with a smile on my face again.

[hcmv007]

I have an idea on who Snoke is, my guess he is tied to a character in Rebels. I mean why make this show, knowing a sequel trilogy was being made, and not have any of the characters tie in to the new trilogy. In my opinion, it is a waste of time. Just my 2 cents.

 

 

But on the toy front Hasbro really blows. My Resistance Rey action figure looks great with my General Organa action figure, oh wait. No Leia. Or better yet the Jedi Master Skywalker action figure, oh wait. No Luke. We get tons of crappy background characters, but finally get Han, but no Luke or Leia. Go f--k yourself Hasbro! and don't even get me started on the lack of figures on shelves leading most to play 2-10 times over retail to get a figure.

 

 

On the new EU front, most of the comics have been good. Really dug the Vader Down story and the Darth Vader monthly is well worth the read!

[thecasinoroyale]

Admiral Ackbar voice actor Erik Bauersfeld dies at 93. The voice that launched a million memes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...canada-35965835

[thecasinoroyale]

The first trailer for 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' lands later today via GMA...

[Royal Dalton]

[thecasinoroyale]

That pleases me a great deal.

 

A fresh look at the SW universe and a brave move, going away from the Jedi and Force era to a more gritty "war" feel.

 

Very excited to see how this plays out, and a super cast too I see.

[SecretAgentFan]

Excellent teaser.  They seem to know what they are doing.

[sharpshooter]

I like this trailer too. The Star Wars franchise is back on track. 

[x007AceOfSpades]

Sold.

[Professor Pi]

That scene where they're assembling the Death Star is stunning.

[Hockey Mask]

I had no idea what to expect from Rogue One but it is really starting yo look great. Can't wait.

[thecasinoroyale]

Nice to hear that, Ace!

 

 

And I have to say I don't know if they ARE assembling the Death Star looking at it...I mean, that laser orb seemed to be fixed during the closing shots of 'ROTS'. I'm thinking is this some huge...hangar door almost that comes in and out to let Star Destroyers out or something? There seems to be nothing on the outside "constructing" it, so it looks like it's going in from internal controls.

 

Just a thought.

[hcmv007]

December 2016 looks to be as promising as December 2015. When I saw the superlaser being put on the Death Star in the Rogue One trailer it made me think of the engineering joke in one of Kevin Smith's movies (I think it was Clerk's but I may be wrong. Mallrats?)

[x007AceOfSpades]

December 2016 looks to be as promising as December 2015. When I saw the superlaser being put on the Death Star in the Rogue One trailer it made me think of the engineering joke in one of Kevin Smith's movies (I think it was Clerk's but I may be wrong. Mallrats?)

You mean this scene from Clerks?

[S K Y F A L L]

Didn't think I'd be excited for this but boy oh boy.

- red empirical guards

- at-at's

- mothma

- yavin 4, i think

- classic star wars alarm

- new death troopers

- possibly a blind jedi

- that death star shot looked wicked although it seems impractical imo 

- plus Vader is rumored to be in it

[sharpshooter]

^ I'd say there's a good chance Palpatine and Tarkin will appear, too. 

[the man with the BB gun]

I haven't seen The Force Awakens yet , does it matter that i haven't seen many star wars movies or can i just watch it and understand what the hell is going on?

[SecretAgentFan]

You lost me at "I haven´t seen many Star Wars movies".

[thecasinoroyale]

Sorry, just back from recovery after my collapse reading tmwtbbg's post!

 

'TFA' can be watched as a solo film and the first of a new 3, but of course there are characters returning from the original trilogy whose relationships and personalities play a key part in this, so you may be a little out of the loop as to their role.

 

BUT saying that they are also introduced to the "new generation" of heroes, so you'd just be in their position really and it may just tempt you to watch the original ones to find out more about their story that is mentioned here, as this is set 30 years after 'Return Of The Jedi'.

 

Give it a go! I doub't you'll regret it.

[tdalton]

Finally saw The Force Awakens last weekend.  A solid film, to be sure, and probably right up there with Rogue Nation as the best of the blockbusters from last year.  That said, I don't quite understand the hysteria over the film.  I would imagine that a good deal of it is due to the fact that, unlike the prequels, it doesn't outright suck, but that shouldn't be the only bar to clear in order to make the kind of bank that the film has made to this point.

 

It was a solid enough film, but I think they needed to lay more of a foundation for what this new trilogy is going to be.  And the villains.  My goodness was that a weak cast of villains.  I was expecting Kylo Ren to be one of these great villains due to how much he was being talked about, and referenced by name by people I've talked to, people who would usually just refer to him as "the bad guy", but he was just a whining, petulant teenager who throws temper tantrums every once in a while.  The character played by Domnhall Gleeson wasn't much better, coming off as a bit too green to really have the power bestowed upon him.  I didn't think it put The First Order in such a "good" light if these two amateurs hold so much power within their ranks.

[thecasinoroyale]

I'm hoping the foundations are all there to work on now - relationships and weakness/strengths have been revealed and now we can expand on it to make some really strong returns.

 

And, like you say, I think it was the first Star Wars film in over 30 years the whole family could actually watch and enjoy without confusing plots about politics and guessing who becomes who and all that nonsense. It was a clean slate for old and new fans, and I think was just something everyone wanted to enjoy over and over AND relish seeing iconic characters like Han Solo, Chewie and Leia return.

[SecretAgentFan]

For me, it was exactly this youthful, unstable bad guy, unpredictably lashing out and worshipping past evil dictatorships, who was terrifying.   And an absolutely timely portrayal of - yes - ISIS or neo-nazis.  

 

Amateurish?  Maybe.  But all the more deadly because Kylo Ren proves that he does not have one moral fiber in his body (left) and will stop at nothing.  Gleeson´s character was pure maliciousness, and both did make me shiver again and again because this is the next generation of highly dangerous people following a code of destruction to make them feel superior.

[tdalton]

I think if the film had dealt more with the rise of The First Order rather than starting with them firmly in place, Kylo Ren and Gleeson's character might have made a bit more sense.  But, we're essentially dropped off in this film in the same place we were in A New Hope, which is with the bad guys in charge.  Now, that storyline made sense in A New Hope (both at the time of its release, because there was no previous reference point, but also after Revenge of the Sith, where we see Darth Vader's transformation and the fall of the Jedi), but it makes little sense in The Force Awakens.  We've gone from Luke and company defeating Vader and the Empire in Return of the Jedi to a point thirty years later where the reset button has essentially been hit.  At the end of that film, they've defeated the villains who control the Storm Troopers and now, all of a sudden, with no explanation, the Storm Troopers are back in charge.  

 

I think the better way forward would have been to show some of The First Order's rise to intergalactic power.  Show us how Kylo Ren and Gleeson were able to win over some of their power, because just telling us they're powerful isn't enough when they don't demonstrate any basis in their character for having obtained it.  There was potential there, and for the most part still is, for the film to feature a great villain, but in their efforts to hit the same plot beats as A New Hope, they sacrificed the chance to make their villains great, hoping that the costume, mask, and altered voice would be enough for people to think of him as the next Vader.

[Gobi-1]

From StarWars.com
http://www.starwars....the-first-order
 
The First Order
The New Republic’s rise reduced the once-mighty Empire to a rump state hemmed in by strict disarmament treaties and punishing reparations. But in the galaxy’s Unknown Regions, former Imperial officers, nobles and technologists plotted a return to power, building fleets and armies in secret. This movement became the First Order, ruled by Supreme Leader Snoke, and is now ready to reclaim the Imperial legacy.

The New Republic
The Rebel Alliance became the New Republic after its victory over the Empire at the Battle of Endor. Eager to win over the war-weary citizens of the galaxy, the New Republic revived the Senate, signed a peace treaty – the Galactic Concordance – with the Empire’s remnants, and drastically reduced its military capabilities. That policy aroused the ire of rebel hero Leia Organa, who warned that elements of the Empire were still seeking power. Sidelined from the political process, Organa founded the Resistance to oppose the Empire’s successor state, the mysterious First Order.

 

The Resistance
A small, secretive private military force, the Resistance was founded by rebel hero Leia Organa to monitor the actions of the First Order. Most New Republic power brokers tolerate the Resistance while regarding Organa and her fighters as dead-enders with an unfortunate fixation on the past. Organa’s cash-strapped movement relies on credits, ships and equipment quietly funneled to it from the few senators who share her concerns.

 

Hosnian Prime
The capital of the New Republic, Hosnian Prime is a cosmopolitan world on the outskirts of the galaxy’s Core Worlds region. One of Mon Mothma’s reforms in establishing the New Republic was that member worlds would host the Senate on a rotating basis, a sharp break from the millennia in which Coruscant was the center of galactic power. But Hosnian Prime’s tenure as Senate seat makes it the target of a terrifying attack by the First Order.
 
The current state of the galaxy is one of the weak points of The Force Awakens. We're never given a clear picture of who controls what and how powerful The First Order, The New Republic, and The Resistance are. Just watching the film one could assume that The First Order is just as powerful as the Empire and thus undercutting the victory at the end of Return of the Jedi. However if you read the ancillary materials you learn that the First Order is not nearly as powerful as the Empire, but that they're power is growing. I tend to think of them as North Korea. They do have a supreme leader after all.
 
The First Order building Starkiller Base and destroying the Hosnian system would be the equivalent of North Korea building a nuclear bomb and dropping in on Washington D.C. Now that the Republic capital, senate, and fleet has been destroyed The First Order can begin a march across the galaxy. The only one to oppose them is The Resistance and The Last Jedi.

[tdalton]

Thanks for that information.  

 

That is a big problem with The Force Awakens.  A film like The Force Awakens, which is catering more to families, both those that grew up on the originals as well as their children, moreso than the hardcore fans that would seek out that kind of background information, should give the audience something to work with.  Just from watching the film, The First Order feels very much like the Empire of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.  It feels like they're in control and that, to an extent, the forces controlled by Leia are back on their heels somewhat.  

[Tiin007]

Fully agree with the last few comments.

 

I really enjoyed The Force Awakens, but my biggest issue with it was that Kennedy and Abrams hit "the reset button" (tdalton's words). Not just regarding the state of the galaxy as a whole, but even the lives of our heroes. Luke had founded a new Jedi Order (which would've been great to see, especially how it compared to the Jedi Order in the prequels), but that Order was destroyed by-- you guessed it-- one of their own who had turned to the Dark Side and wiped it out. So no more Jedi. (And this traitor was of Skywalker blood.) Luke has now taken on the older Jedi hermit role of Obi-Wan and Yoda. 

 

In the originals, Han had left his selfish life of gambling and smuggling for a greater cause-- namely, the Rebellion against the evil Empire. But now he has relapsed into his old ways. 

 

After defeating the Empire, the Rebellion helped form a new Galactic Republic. But in this movie, the seat of the Republic was destroyed by the First Order, returning the galaxy to its former state of chaos. 

 

Then there is the fact that the division of power between Snoke, Hux, and Kylo Ren perfectly mimics that of Palpatine, Tarkin, and Vader. 

 

It's as if all of the accomplishments of our heroes in the Original Trilogy (both galactic / political AND personal) were rendered obsolete. Are you really telling us that Luke, Leia, and Han's actions were essentially meaningless? That history would repeat itself so soon? 

 

That is my biggest problem. 

[SecretAgentFan]

I actually like that idea (the accomplishments were diminished by the next generation which did not learn from history but instead sought to repeat it) very much - since it is absolutely realistic.  Unfortunately.

[S K Y F A L L]

Prince Will, Harry ‘film secret Star Wars scene’

 

 

http://thenewdaily.c...-stormtroopers/

 

 

pffft