Jar jar Binks. Now what the hell was all that about

A long time ago in galaxy far away.

I must say I preferred the original 3 movies. The latter 3 with cgi graphics etc... didn't really do it for me.

I hope this one goes back to the way it was done originally. A new hope.

Star Trek used to be a sensible show, more realistic and believable, with a hint of philosophy added to the mix. Unfortunately JJ turned the franchise into a submoronic production for the intellectually-underperforming, adolescent audience in the US. Some scenes like Spock doing the Rocky Balboa and swinging punches left and right... on top of a moving shuttlecraft... oh my.

Reminds be a bit of the dumbest ever scene in a Bond film, in Die Another Day, where Bond falls off the edge of a gigantic, rapidly-melting iceberg for what looks like a mile... only to appear surfing seconds later. It honestly didn't look like a Bond film but a parody of one, that's how bad it was.

Getting back to Star Wars, the original trilogy was obviously by far the best. The next three they filmed were lousy, and I must admit that I haven't even seen the third one as the previous two were just so bad. I don't have a lot of faith in JJ Abrams looking at how he sent Star Trek down the drain, and to make matters worse, one of the greatest directors out there - who makes JJ look like he should be filming soap operas instead - didn't get the gig. How did they not give Star Wars to Christopher Nolan?

Or as it's otherwise known; a popcorn flick as per his orders.

I'd argue that Star Trek was never realistic, but when Marvel is making out like gangbusters with frankly silly pap, it's no wonder that eye candy + simple plots are the order of the day. They have to target people who actually go to cinemas anymore; and that's people looking for wizzbang on the big screen, and kids with their friends.

As for Star Wars, realistically it doesn't hold up as adult fare, and never did. It's a simplistic story for kids, always was. That's why Jar-Jar, boo-hiss bad guys and virginal good guys. If you are looking for moral ambiguity, philosophy or realistic plots you couldn't drive the titanic through you need to look elsewhere.

Yeah, but the three productions that followed took it to an even lower level. Jar-Jar, some silly race (with video games to follow of course), etc.

Nolan was the only person who could have taken Star Wars to a new level as most of the die-hard audience are people who are much older now. Just look at Batman and how Nolan took it to a more mature audience.

Well, we're off to see it tonight.

Despite all the massive plot holes, I really enjoyed it

Good story, superb CGI, so so baddies

Rey's smoking hot, Finn's a good character, Poe the pilot was annoying

It's sci-fi - a bit of fun and nothing to get too excited about (as many are)

Watch on 3D imax - awesome

Recommended

I agree.

I suffered it until the end. Poorly crafted. My teenage daughter walked out half-way through it.

I didn't see a huge amount of science in it

But as Space Opera goes, it was pretty damn good. Won't post spoilers here, but look forward to a proper conversation in a couple of weeks time...


S

So did JJ Abrams manage to turn it into a pick of muck like he did with Star Trek or did he actually do a good job with Star Wars?

The younger generation don't get movies like Star Wars as they have much more modern movies now and live in the technology age. As in keeping with the original Trilogy, I thought it did very well and gauging by the reviews, most people in the world that have seen it seem to like it. I go with the majority.

Decide for yourself.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens review: 'the magic is back'

Real space stuff, with SpaceX launch (in 15 mins from now) :

SpaceX | Webcast

Can they land the first stage back on land ?

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Yes, it appears - and the crowd went wild.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5bT...tu.be&t=41m46s

Minute 42 for the stage 1 landing

I thought the new Star Wars was great - took me back to my childhood (have never sat and watched the prequels all the way through as to me they're not Star Wars). The storyline was a bit basic and so much like the originals, but I'm hoping that's just to bring new Star Wars fans up to date with what's happened previously and open the way up for a more sophisticated storyline in the next episode.