Finally saw it. Overall, well done, competent and enjoyable. Easter eggs generally well done. K2SO had some great lines. Loved how she turned and shot one, the expression the droid’s head made, and then K2SO appearing and saying, “did you know that one wasn’t me?” Enjoyed seeing Evazan and Ponda Baba and the physical chess set, T-15s being called obsolete.

Was surprised Vader’s fortress is on Mustafar.

Wondered if Donnie Yen would disappear instead of die, force ghost style. I know he’s not as strong with the Force as Jedi but still..

I liked how vader’s arrival in the battle smashed up some ships attempting to escape. Would have been interesting if he appeared and occupied the same space as one of the ships. Could have caused major damage, perhaps even reactor destruction.

Also, if they had transmitted the file, perhaps when the Empire intercepted it they might have reviewed the file and been alerted to the flaw and nailed a 4x8 of plywood over the opening.

Now the rants:

The lack of the “Star Wars” music blast and fade it doesn’t set the mood from the start like the others.

Agree that CGI Leia was very, very disappointing. They have all the money and resources in the known universe and that’s the best they could do?

Tarkin was overdone, but I agree it was better than recasting him.

Vader’s voice didn’t sound menacing enough. It was like you could tell James Earl Jones was geeked to be able to do the voice again.

Thought the R2, 3PO insertion was poorly done. Would’ve made more sense for them to be seen, and not heard, aboard Capt Antilles’ spaceship.

They used the shield gate from Space Balls? (Though the Star Destroyers crashing into the gate was super cool).

Music lacked and missed out options to really build emotion in the movie.

The shoretroopers looked a bit silly to me.

Would’ve thought Leia would not have been in such a suicidal and hasty battle, particularly when she is charged with getting Obi Wan. Getting Obi Wan and getting the plans are 2 separate missions.

Why couldn’t they EMP the Star Destroyers a few years later in RotJ?

Maybe not an Easter egg, but seeing the Blockade Runner so many times reminds me that it was the original design for the Millennium Falcon...



Speaking of the Millennium Falcon, what the picklefork was for...

ChuckFinley said:

quote:

Vader’s voice didn’t sound menacing enough. It was like you could tell James Earl Jones was geeked to be able to do the voice again.

Thought the R2, 3PO insertion was poorly done. Would’ve made more sense for them to be seen, and not heard, aboard Capt Antilles’ spaceship.

Music lacked and missed out options to really build emotion in the movie.

Three areas where I really agree.

Re: Vader's voice. Someone mentioned on a past page the JEJ is no in his mid-80's. Perhaps his voice is just not as strong anymore, but you'd think computers could do something about that. It was noticeable.

I too would have rather have seen the droids on the ship, and not a forced cameo. Why would they tell you about that C3PO? If they had to 'voice' him, then have one of the soldiers on the ship bump into him while they are running and have him comment about them being rude or something.

Re: Music.

Truthfully the music was my biggest complaint. It was as if the composer tried to sound like John Williams, but had to change certain things to not sound too much like him. It was actually distracting when you would think you knew where a score was going and then...nope. And your comment about the music missing an emotional connect? Spot on. How many movie scenes have we witnessed where two main characters were sitting on a beach, planet, containment room, etc, waiting to die? Knowing it was about to happen. It is the music that drives that relationship home, it is the music that emotionally connects the viewer to the characters on the screen. I'll never forget watching Titanic for the first time. The ending scene where Jack slips into the water for good? I wept. Literally wept. Music is a very powerful too.

I haven't seen A New Hope in a couple years, but wasn't there talk of a tracker being on the Leia's ship and that's how Vader found it?

quote:

Originally posted by Skull Leader:
I haven't seen A New Hope in a couple years, but wasn't there talk of a tracker being on the Leia's ship and that's how Vader found it?

The tracker was on the Falcon, which led them to Yavin 4. Vader found her through hot pursuit at the start of the movie, I believe.

quote:

Originally posted by ChuckFinley:

The lack of the “Star Wars” music blast and fade it doesn’t set the mood from the start like the others.

They did that on purpose, to separate this film (presumably, the first of many) from the 9 'main' films. I didn't have a problem with it, really, but of course this is subjective.

quote:

Agree that CGI Leia was very, very disappointing. They have all the money and resources in the known universe and that’s the best they could do?

What really surprises me most is that an ENTIRE production crew saw this creepy CGI and green-lighted it. It was horrible.

quote:

Vader’s voice didn’t sound menacing enough. It was like you could tell James Earl Jones was geeked to be able to do the voice again.

I honestly thought they got somebody else to voice him. It didn't sound like Vader at all. The costume was also 'off' somehow. These two elements were distracting. I did, however, LOVE how he entered the battle personally at the end. Besides being awesome, it shows how badass he was, to personally get his 'hands' dirty in the fighting. Many leaders will let the minions do all the fighting, but it showed a lot of Vader's true nature to see him wade in there and get stuff done.

quote:

Thought the R2, 3PO insertion was poorly done. Would’ve made more sense for them to be seen, and not heard, aboard Capt Antilles’ spaceship.

Agreed. I am actually sick to death of C3PO. He's been a major character in 6 films so far, with a modest role in Force Awakens, and now this. I just want him to go away. It's like they think "Well, this is Star Wars, and we HAVE TO have 3PO in there somewhere. . . " Just write him out. K2SO and BB8 showed that there are OTHER droids that people can like and enjoy. Get on with the story and have new characters for a change. At least his role here was relegated to a cameo; and I hope they get rid of him for Eps VIII/IX (but they won't).

quote:

Music lacked and missed out options to really build emotion in the movie.

I honestly cannot remember ANY music from this movie. You are correct that music is a HUGE, yet often subliminal, aspect of a film. Go back and watch Empire again, where Han is frozen in Carbonite. The music is STUNNING, and frames the tragedy perfectly. Watch it on mute to get an idea of what it would be like without the score.

quote:

Would’ve thought Leia would not have been in such a suicidal and hasty battle, particularly when she is charged with getting Obi Wan. Getting Obi Wan and getting the plans are 2 separate missions.

Agreed. There was NO REASON whatsoever for Leia to be on board that ship. It entirely clashes with the beginning of New Hope. You don't send somebody that important off on a suicide mission (it's only pure luck that she survived) ESPECIALLY when she is supposed to be doing something else somewhere else. It was all contrived, which goes back to the point about prequels. They ALWAYS screw stuff up and create paradoxes for the 'main' story. Like when Vader is confronting her over her blatant lie about 'this is a consular ship on a peaceful mission.' Knowing they just came from a blatant space battle completely invalidates that argument, and she wouldn't be so stupid as to make that claim. Really, she is a known terrorist, and couldn't even PRETEND to hide behind the 'peaceful mission' stuff. All the Imperials had to say is "We tracked this ship an HOUR ago leaving a major insurrection/terror attack on Sarif, so you have no claim of diplomatic immunity." Boom. Done.

Now, there aren't as many paradoxes in this film as in "The Three Films Of Which We Do Not Speak," but they are still there.

quote:

Why couldn’t they EMP the Star Destroyers a few years later in RotJ?

Well, were there many Y-Wings left at that point? The main thrust was against the Death Star, and the rebel fighter force was pretty thinned out by this point. It took several bombers to disable that ONE Star Destroyer, and in ROtJ, there were dozens of them (plus at least one Super Star Destroyer). Perhaps it wouldn't have made much of a difference, so they prioritized them against the Death Star (the main objective)?. . . I re-watched parts of ROtJ where they show the space battle, and X-, B-, and A-Wing fighters make up the majority of the fighter force. There are only a handful of Y-Wings.


Now, keep in mind that I did enjoy the movie. It was good. However, it could have been great. I'm more upset of it not living up to my expectations than anything else. If they would have spent a bit more time on some of the key issues (music, shoring up plot holes, better CGI or removal of Tarkin/Leia, etc), it could have been so much better. I WILL get the Blu-Ray, and I WILL watch it dozens of times. Perhaps, with repeated viewings, I will come to like it more. I'm sure I will. The gripes, for me, are pretty minor (but I'm far from the only Sci-Fi fan who nit-picks).

Saw it a 2nd time yesterday and noticed one thing that made me laugh...

Most of the rebels are using an AR-based rifle. Heck, even Cassian's personal weapon is the upper/lower of an AR built into a pistol that turns into a sniper rifle.

The Empire must not have implemented a ban on 30-blast mags...bet they regret that.

quote:

Originally posted by JDHunz:
Saw it a 2nd time yesterday and noticed one thing that made me laugh...

Most of the rebels are using an AR-based rifle. Heck, even Cassian's personal weapon is the upper/lower of an AR built into a pistol that turns into a sniper rifle.

The Empire must not have implemented a ban on 30-blast mags...bet they regret that.

LOL, FTW

If Disney is going to milk the franchise, and of course they will, I wish they would go back in time to the Old Republic. I want to see the war between the Sith and Jedi. We've been watching the same story and cast of characters for over thirty years now. Give me something else from the Star Wars universe.

Vader's neck piece attached to the mask made it look like a cheap halloween costume. Watched the original 3 the week before going to see it and i noticed the difference right away. Agreed on the music, music alone would have made this movie 100times better. A standalone Vader movie would be pretty damn awesome too.

Old republic needs to happen, even if they change the canon I want to see Darth Plaguis and darth Malgus.

There needs to be a Jedi stand alone film with the Sith, agreed.

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog:

quote:

Originally posted by ChuckFinley:

[QUOTE] Agree that CGI Leia was very, very disappointing. They have all the money and resources in the known universe and that’s the best they could do?

What really surprises me most is that an ENTIRE production crew saw this creepy CGI and green-lighted it. It was horrible.

After the third watching, I didn't think Leia's CGI was as bad. The first viewing, I nearly blurted-out a laugh. After the second and third viewing, not as bad anymore. It's not perfect but, I think it's done as well as could be.

As for her presence at the battle of Scarif...yup, why is the representative of Alderaan at a battle? The Galactic Senate is still in existence and Chancellor Palpatine who has crowned himself Emperor, still has to deal with the political and diplomatic issues that exist.

quote:

Originally posted by Jaywendland1981:
Vader's neck piece attached to the mask made it look like a cheap halloween costume. Watched the original 3 the week before going to see it and i noticed the difference right away. Agreed on the music, music alone would have made this movie 100times better. A standalone Vader movie would be pretty damn awesome too.

Old republic needs to happen, even if they change the canon I want to see Darth Plaguis and darth Malgus.

His eye bubble things were almost reddish and clear which I do not recall at all before, weren't they jet black like the rest of his helmet and opaque?

I agree that his suit, especially the neck, looked "off" to me. Didn't he have a little black chain holding his cape on in all the other movies?

Vader's eyes are reddish in A New Hope also.

FWIW, they use an ion cannon to disable ships in the exodus from Hoth.

Just saw it tonight. I slept through parts of it. Did not recognize the CGI actors for who they were. Thought they found a good sub for leia with lots of make up.

This was most definitely Star Wars Porn. If that's what you want, that's what you got. I saw it on IMAX and CG Tarkin and Leia looked pretty good. I can see complaints if you saw it on a normal screen because I doubt a lot of the facial details wouldn't carry over. I thought it worked really well with Red Leader and Gold Leader as they were carryovers from Ep 4. Only question is how tall was Peter Cushing? I always thought he was standard actor size but in this movie they made him look 6'2".

As far as the music, it sounds exactly like what it was: The work of a composer that just finished writing 2 hours of music for an epic (like Doctor Strange) and brought on for an emergency in post-production to write another 2 hour epic score without any break or time off. Keeping that in mind AND the fact it doesn't sound like a 4th rate Hans Zimmer knock-off like every other BIG movie, I'll call it a win.

I finally got around to seeing it. I liked it. Wasn't the greatest movie I've ever seen, but it was pretty good. FAR better than any of that Jar-Jar nonsense of years ago. There should have been FAR more Vader and less Tarkin in this. And lose some of the Jen back story. Some of the bits with her father and Saw could have gone away and not hurt it. Adding more badass Vader could have improved it.

And as far as it holds up against the other Disney offering, The Force Awakens, I think it's better. I thought the plot of TFA was almost a direct ripoff of A New Hope, but I think the entire Jar-Jar mess almost necessitated that. When word leaked out that Disney bought the franchise, many worried that Star Wars would become nothing more than extended toy adverts and we'd all be wishing for a character as serious as Jar-Jar. TFA was like them yanking back on the stick and saying "we're not going THERE!"

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

I agree that his suit, especially the neck, looked "off" to me. Didn't he have a little black chain holding his cape on in all the other movies?

If you watch the original release of A New Hope (haven't watched any of the myriad re-releases) it is a discontinuity you'll see if you look for it. During scenes with Vader, during a conversation the chain holding his cape will be outside, then inside, then outside his neck piece.

I'm pretty late to the party but I just saw it yesterday. I'm 47 since that seems to matter. I liked the movie overall. I'm also one that doesn't catch too much detail and I don't even remember all the the character names. Anyhow I agree with a lot of the criticisms. These were things I didn't care for...

During the movie but a lot of scenes seemed anti-climactic. Music has been mentioned and that could be why.

I didn't feel any connection to the protagonists and as someone else mentioned I didn't care when they died.

The dialogue was off for me in a few places. I didn't really think Vader's lines would be they types of things he would say. Too casual seeming. IDK, I haven't seen this criticism by anyone else but something just seemed off.

The droid had a few joke lines that just didn't seem funny. It seemed like they wanted to make him into C3P0 and it didn't work for me.

The first 2/3rds were slow and too much back story.