SW - Episode 7: Mary Sue wakes up but there's no coffee. RAGE.

[Segoris]

I'm reading that this isn't really worth going for IMAX 3D or RealD 3D, anyone input on that? Basically I'm reading that there just aren't many parts in the movie that are taking advantage of 3D to be worth the extra cost, or the possible headache that some people get from 3D.

[Merusk]

*gush**Gush**gush*

That is all.

Saw it in 2d, very front row of the theater since the daughter didn't get back from her driving school road instruction. Will be seeing it again on Sunday in IMAX but based on the 2d I'd wager it's not worth the 3d other than the large screen or extras at some theaters.

[Riggswolfe]

Great movie. Somehow I'm not shocked I disagree with some of the posters in here. Not perfect, some editing in some spots was probably needed. CGI for one character should have been avoided. That's all I'll say.

[Segoris]

Will be seeing it again on Sunday in IMAX but based on the 2d I'd wager it's not worth the 3d other than the large screen or extras at some theaters.

And that is pretty much what I'm reading. I think I just didn't want to believe it, but will happily save $10+. So thanks

[Cyrrex]

I saw it in 3D, but I don't think it added anything...except that it was in the good theater with the great sound system, and that DOES add something. 

[Der Helm]

First movie I ever saw in 3d ... I forgot about it 20 minutes in or so ..

[eldaec]

I saw it in 3D, but I don't think it added anything...except that it was in the good theater with the great sound system, and that DOES add something. 

This is what annoys me about 3d. It adds nothing, reduces picture quality, gives me a mild headache, but all the really good imax cinemas show nothing but 3d. So for something like star wars you are stuck between two bad choices, tiny 2d theatre or 3d abomination.

 

[Cyrrex]

Some of the 3D tech is better than others. At the theater I go to regularly, they have good tech (both the projector and the glasses), so you get used to it pretty quickly and nobody complains about headaches.  That said, I would have opted to see this one in 2D if I had the option.  You lose a bit on the periphery in 3D.

There was one scene where a Star Destroyer looked like it was going to crash into my head, but other than that I don't remember any specific 3D effects.

[SurfD]

I think most of the problems with 3d come down to how the film was shot, when the 3D was  put in place.  Avatar is still what I consider the Pinnacle of 3D movies.   The 3D in that film  was just breathtaking, and it improved damn near every single scene in one way or another.  It helped that the entire movie was shot in natural 3D, or with 3D rendering in the heavy cgi scenes being there from the get go.  It also wasnt one of those movies where they try to tack on the 3D as a gimmic effect and are constantly using it to throw things at you, but it was used almost entirely in natural Depth of Field type aspects.    By comparison, most other 3D movies (like 99% of them) are shot in 2D and then converted to 3D after the fact, which just never comes close to the truely natural feeling the 3D in Avatar had.

[eldaec]

When you get into how it is shot, it is not just technical aspects of filming that need to be changed for 3d. To make a 3d film bearable, you have to increase the contrast in every scene, slow down panning, reduce the number of cuts, and simplify composition. The hobbit is a great example. 3d usn't as awful as elsewhere but the visual impact gets reduced because of the limitations it puts on the film. Naturally, 3d adds nothing whatsoever in return for those compromises and you still have to put up with 40% less light than you could have had in the end result.

The reason the first half of Gravity is the only good half of a film in 3d, is because the plot happened to call for very high contrast and very simple composition, plus the sense of space was relevant to the film for probably the only time ever.

I'd agree retro fitted 3d should lead to imprisonment. But it is still bloody awful in almost every other case.

Avatar I struggled to have strong feelings about the 3d, because it was just a bit of a boring film.

[RhyssaFireheart]

Saw it last night (and decided to sleep in before getting to work this morning) and loved it.

[Cyrrex]

One of Us!  One of Us!  One of Us!

[Segoris]

Some of the 3D tech is better than others. At the theater I go to regularly, they have good tech (both the projector and the glasses), so you get used to it pretty quickly and nobody complains about headaches.  That said, I would have opted to see this one in 2D if I had the option.  You lose a bit on the periphery in 3D.

There was one scene where a Star Destroyer looked like it was going to crash into my head, but other than that I don't remember any specific 3D effects.

The Star Destroyer scene is the one scene everyone says looked great in 3D, meanwhile it seems pretty consistent that 2D is the way to see this.

[Evil Elvis]

Just got back from seeing it.  I thought this was watchable, but by no means great.  I've no urge to re-watch it again any time soon.

It felt as Star Warsy as the Star Trek reboots felt Star Treky. Everything felt a bit off.  The beat of the humor, the shots, the dialog, the action. Event the music somehow didn't feel right.  The prequels - as bad as they were - at least felt like Star Wars.

Harrison and Fisher genuinely felt too old, and Adam Driver was miscast. There were some genuinely funny moments, though.  The sets looked great, the story was passable, and I never felt really bored.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Just got back from seeing it.  I thought this was watchable, but by no means great.  I've no urge to re-watch it again any time soon.

Event the music somehow didn't feel right.  The prequels - as bad as they were - at least felt like Star Wars.

WAT

[Falconeer]

The prequels - as bad as they were - at least felt like Star Wars.

You worry me. This is the most delirious thing I've read in a long time.

[Evil Elvis]

I don't get what's difficult to understand. Even a spoiled banana tastes more like a banana than an orange.

This felt very much like a JJ Abraham's movie in a Star Wars draping.  Ignore the nostalgic characters and iconography. This felt like Star Wars to you?

[Bunk]

Far more so than the prequels, yes. I'd explain why but I don't half an hour right now.

[Evil Elvis]

Fair enough.

To be clear, I think this is a much better movie than the prequels. It just didn't ever feel "right".

[Abagadro]

I think the pacing was a bit off because they were trying to jam so much in connecting the old and the new that it never had time to breathe. If you watch the original trilogy there are stretches of down time to catch a breadth and have some character development and interaction.  They were cramming so much in here (both plot wise and fan service) that the only down time is heavy, heavy exposition.  I didn't ultimately mind it, but that is one very big stylistic difference I noticed.

[Velorath]

I think it feels as close to Star Wars as you're going to get 30+ years after the OT ended and even the OT varied in tone from movie to movie. The only thing that really felt off to me here was Boyega's acting the few times when he goes for the over the top comedic effect, where it feels like it belongs in a buddy cop comedy or something.

[Lakov_Sanite]

I think it feels as close to Star Wars as you're going to get 30+ years after the OT ended and even the OT varied in tone from movie to movie. The only thing that really felt off to me here was Boyega's acting the few times when he goes for the over the top comedic effect, where it feels like it belongs in a buddy cop comedy or something.

I think his emotions are very much in line with who that character is when you imagine what his backstory would be like.  They never come right out and say it but that was my impression.

[Evil Elvis]

It wasn't just Boyega though.  Harrison and Ridley have their fair share of comedic lines. It's not that they're not funny, or that they're as forced and lame one-liners int the prequels... it's just off.

There's a self-awareness and self-reference - especially in the humor - that was never in the pulpy, 2-dimensional Lucas movies.

[Ironwood]

Does anyone have a bad feeling about it ?

[Falconeer]

I don't get what's difficult to understand. Even a spoiled banana tastes more like a banana than an orange.

This felt very much like a JJ Abraham's movie in a Star Wars draping.  Ignore the nostalgic characters and iconography. This felt like Star Wars to you?

The prequels DID NOT feel like Star Wars. You clearly have no idea of what Star Wars is or isn't.

[Venkman]

This might be a generational thing, so I'm gonna ask: how old are you?

At 45, this was the perfect SW movie, the one I wished Ep 1 was, the one ESB is but only because 30 years later it holds up through a mix of being good with a heavy dose of nostalgia, the one that matches perfectly the modern tone A New Hope would take (which I saw in theater at 7).

However, if the only SW movies people have seen in theaters are the prequels, then I could see why one wouldn't think this movie was a SW movie. It's very similar to MMOs being defined by WoW for a significant number of people.

I don't think of it that way of course. I loved this one. It was exactly what it should have been from the guy who has basically become the 21st century's generation Stephen Spielberg.

But I saw all of them in the theater in three life stages (kid, tween, teen, young old, I guess technically middle aged but fuck anyone who calls me that ). I've read almost all of the books and all of the comics. I've seen almost every fan-made thing going. I wholeheartedly agree with every decision made about what parts of the EU to maintain (i.e., the son's real name) vs the 99% dropped (everything other thing from the other kids to Chewie dying to Kyp Durron to Mara Jade, etc,. characters I watch grow over fictional decades I am fine with not having around).

So to me, it was perfect. I'll be seeing it again Sunday. Not IMAX though. Somewhere in here I read only one scene was shot in it, and non in 3D. 2D is perfectly fine.

All that aside, my kids are equally excited to see it (they couldn't make it to my viewing today). And as God is my witness, they will never ever see the original Ep 1-3 theatrical releases, only the edits (once I decide which ones are the best).

Only one question:

Edit: wait nevermind, I see the other thread now

[Evil Elvis]

I don't get what's difficult to understand. Even a spoiled banana tastes more like a banana than an orange.

This felt very much like a JJ Abraham's movie in a Star Wars draping.  Ignore the nostalgic characters and iconography. This felt like Star Wars to you?

The prequels DID NOT feel like Star Wars. You clearly have no idea of what Star Wars is or isn't.

Not as a whole, but there are small moments where there's a glimmer of the feeling of the OT in there. There was only one moment in TFA when they played the Skywalker theme where it touched a nostalgia nerve.

Maybe don't be a dick and act like you're the only one who gets it.  It's my feeling about the film.  You can have yours, and I can have mine.

Darniaq: almost 40. Remember seeing RoTJ in the theater as a kid fairly well. I remember being sick in the hospital, and have good memory of my parents coming and cheering me up with some Star Wars action figures.

Also, I went with 11 other people from work ranging from 24 - 45-ish (all software engineers, so plenty of SW nerds) and everyone's reaction was pretty "meh".

[Falconeer]

I shouldn't post between Rainbow Six rounds.

[Shannow]

Yeah Elvis um ..drugs are bad k?


This was good, maybe great. I think I'll have to see again. Can't wait for the next one!

[Venkman]

Darniaq: almost 40. Remember seeing RoTJ in the theater as a kid fairly well. I remember being sick in the hospital, and have good memory of my parents coming and cheering me up with some Star Wars action figures.

Also, I went with 11 other people from work ranging from 24 - 45-ish (all software engineers, so plenty of SW nerds) and everyone's reaction was pretty "meh".

Wow interesting. So you experience things in roughly the same "natural" fashion and feel the prequels were slightly more SW-y than this one. Your comments had me pegging you as an early 30-something "eh, what's this SW thing all about, Phantom Menace sucked and the stuff from the 70s might as well be Casablanca or It Came from Outer Space" aged

I'm genuinely curious: what about the prequels felt more SW-y?

As an aside, I understand you're point about TFA being very JJ Abrams. I agree, though in TFA he got the actors and script to a faithful remake of ANH with some twists* But I'm ok with that. He hasn't directed a movie I haven't like (I liked his second Trek movie, though accept that's a minority opinion). I'd be happy if he did Avengers three for example. I don't hold anything as sacrosanct

* Btw, I totally agree that TFA was largely ANH redone, with Ford now having become Guiness as the establishment actor handing off to a new generation of largely-unknowns. But that's the way things work, and Abrams handles it masterfully.

[Draegan]

This was better than a new hope by just a hair. Second only to empire.

Amazing movie. Saw itbinnimax 3d. Need to see it again.

[WayAbvPar]

I pretty much loved it. Was a great reboot to the franchise, and makes me really want to see the next movie. IMAX 3D was not worth it. I didn't realize it was 3D when I bought the tickets in October...I just wanted the big screen and the sound. Not being able to see things in focus if I turn my head to talk to my son for a moment was really annoying. Overhead some AMC staff on phone and it sounds like the regular 3D (non-IMAX, non-2D) is the red-headed step child of this release- up to 80% of the tickets are still unsold for the next couple of days.

[HaemishM]

I enjoyed this very much with a few nitpicks. I think this should have been called Star Wars: The Homage because it's basically about 3/4 homage to the original movie with shittons of callbacks with about 1/4 new plot.

And it definitely felt more like Star Wars than the shit that was the prequels.

[WayAbvPar]

It was a retelling of ANH, but sets the scene for a new franchise and hands off the heavy lifting to the new cast. Getting to see everyone from the original cast was a lot of fun.

[lamaros]

Can we go back to where JJ is compared to Spielberg?

What the fuck.