Yeah, I know a lot of people have been hesitant about the crossbar on Kylo Ren's lightsaber, and while I'll admit, the first time I saw it, I was like "what's up with this?" it has definitely grown on me the more I've seen it.
Yeah, I know the prequels are certainly holding some back from being majorly excited. I really am trying to go into this one fresh, and not letting any of the previous ones influence it (obviously, the original trilogy will have influence because this one picks up after that and features the original cast). To me, it's almost like going into a James Bond movie. Some of them suck, some of them are great, but I'm excited for the one coming out next (speaking of which, that looks really solid as well). I also am actually excited that the trailers haven't given all the story or major scenes away. That's such a problem with trailers these days that you know some things to expect when you're watching the movie because you saw it in the trailer. You can piece things together, you wait for certain moments, instead of just enjoying the movie. I think they have done a really good job in this ad campaign of giving people exciting moments (Seeing Han and Chewbacca at the end of the 2nd trailer, seeing the Millennium Falcon in the first trailer, general battle shots, lightsabers, etc.) but not giving the whole story away.
Yeah, we haven't officially seen Luke yet, Leia has only been in the most recent trailer as well. It's interesting because we know Mark Hamill will be in it, but we haven't seen Luke yet. There is a theory that the hand in this picture is Luke, but that's just speculation. I personally believe that there will be some sort of reveal toward the end of the movie that involves Luke, but beyond that, I'm not very certain. There is speculation that Luke could be evil (which would be a major, major, major development), there is some speculation that one of our new main characters could be a child of Luke (main characters on both sides of the Force), Luke could be estranged from the rest of the major players and there is some mission to find him, we just don't have solid proof of anything yet. The fact we haven't seen him yet does lead me to believe that we are in for some sort of reveal in the 3rd act, almost like a tease for him to play a bigger part in the next movies in the series, but it's all up in the air. Again, I like not knowing at this point, as opposed to going into the movie knowing that x character is Luke's kid or that he's become the new Yoda and is chilling on a deserted planet without anyone. These things are possible, but not certain at this point, and that's part of my excitement.
Yeah, and this is why I have to see this movie soon after it opens. It will be impossible to avoid spoilers unless you disconnect from the internet altogether.
Crap. Hadn't thought about that. I don't want to be part of the initial mob trying to see it, so maybe I'll have to take in a Tuesday afternoon movie or something.
In terms of the story, yeah, it's pretty meaningless, but I think it's a fun scene. In the wasteland of trade negotiations, Jar Jar, midicholorians, Jar Jar, parliamentary procedure, and Jar Jar, it is a scene that is at least reasonably exciting. I know it's a scene that not everyone enjoys, and it certainly doesn't advance any story (much like the movie as a whole), but I personally still think it's one of the better parts of that movie. The lightsaber fight with Darth Maul is the unquestioned best part of the movie though.
Yeah, that opening weekend is going to be going nuts with spoilers and people trying to see it to avoid those spoilers. I wouldn't be surprised at all if it broke the (just recently set) record for opening weekend box office.
Yeah, but by the time the race happens, Qui-Gon already knows Anakin has more midichlorians than Yoda, so he's aware of his Force abilities, at least somewhat. Again, it's not 100% necessary, but I think it's a fun scene overall.
I was also a fan of Abrams' Star Trek films and most of his other work that I've seen. I do agree, I think Luke will be isolated, but he has to be worked in there somehow, so it will be very interesting to see how that happens, what happens to bring him into the mix. I still feel like it will be something towards the very end so that Luke will be more prominent in the next one than he is here.
There are certainly many instances where a trailer is great, and a movie not so much, so I totally get that. I just feel with everything else I've seen like behind the scenes interviews, plus the fact the got the original people back, I think they have really tried to just knock this thing out of the park. I could be wrong, but I just have a feeling it's gonna be awesome. I was skeptical at first, but they have really won me over.
I think that is certainly possible with Luke, and could very well be what the title is referring to. As for the EU, I know since they made those non-canon they won't really factor in, but I get that it could be hard to separate those in your head. To me, it's kind of like the Marvel movies, there may be some things that are straight from the comics, but the movies are free to be their own thing. I've read some of the books, but I just expect this to be a whole new thing and I'm fine with that.
I don't have an AMC nearby, my two theaters are Carmike and UEC, but I am still just planning to watch the dvds at my house. I'll probably spread it out over the course of the week before as well.
There will be three new episodes that should be released in fairly regular intervals. I believe they have announced that Episode VIII will come out in 2017. If that's true, it's a faster pace than the previous trilogies which were released every 3 years. There will also be "stand alone" movies that come out between the others. The first of those is named Rogue One and will be released in 2016. That film will focus on the story of the Rebels stealing the plans for the Death Star, so it would take place shortly before the events of the original film and will be all new characters. They have announced a couple of plans for the other stand alone films, including a prequel about Han Solo to come out in 2018 that will be directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord, the guys who made the Jump Street movies and the Lego Movie. There is also talk of a stand alone Boba Fett movie, a possible Yoda movie, and I think one other, but it's hard to keep straight what's confirmed and rumored.
