tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post5943741142693308358..comments2024-03-27T08:49:38.786-03:00Comments on Siskoid's Blog of Geekery: This Week in Geek (21-27/12/15)Siskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-88683562316484225182015-12-28T11:13:42.331-04:002015-12-28T11:13:42.331-04:00On TFA specifically, I still got the impression of...On TFA specifically, I still got the impression of JJ as a TV director. There's a fascinating article (which I might have linked to before) about viewing the prequels with no sound...<br /><br />http://www.tor.com/2013/01/16/watching-the-star-wars-prequels-muted-an-experiment/<br /><br />Again, for all their many flaws, there's a large number of visually brilliant shots. The only real ones from TFA that struck me tended to be SFX stuff (like Rey and BB-8 in front of the giant wrecked Star Destroyer), the sort of thing Lucus was berated for.<br /><br />I kinda admire that Lucus followed up a fairly simply "good vs evil, son redeems the father" story with a story about how people will give up their freedoms in exchange for a fraudulant security if convinced to do so by people cunning enough. People remember "I love you" "I know", "I've got a bad feeling about this", "I am your father" etc, but Padme's "So this is how democracy dies... to raptuous applause" has always stuck with me, and seems to get more revelant as the years go on.<br /><br />Finally, I'm kinda hoping that the next one moves away a bit more from the Episodes IV-VI template. I actually laughed in cinema at "no no no, it's much worse than the Death Star. Look, it's, like, 50 times bigger and everything!"LiamKavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01996095233681105682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-7764315288874081232015-12-28T11:07:10.758-04:002015-12-28T11:07:10.758-04:00(Small Star Wars rant)
I liked The Force Awakens....(Small Star Wars rant)<br /><br />I liked The Force Awakens. I thought the new characters were charming and well acted, and I liked the humour. However, I'm slightly turned off by the incessant prequel bashing that accompanies them. The prequels have many flaws. Dodgy plotting, acting, and much more. Criticising that is fine, but a lot of the ranting goes back to "TFA is what Star Wars is SUPPOSED to be". It's created a horrible sense of entitlement amoungst fans. The Special Editions were the first time I ever heard "raped my childhood" with regards to a piece of entertainment.<br /><br />I'm 36, so my original experience of the movies was seeing them in bits and pieces on TV. The cinema releases of the Special Editions were the first time I saw them properly and in order. And I loved them. My friends loved them. That panning shot of the Rebel Fleet approaching the Death Star that Siskoid wasn't keen on? We went crazy with excitement when se saw it during the original trailer for the Special Editions. Now, being older, I can see a fair number of flaws with the changes, but also an equal number of improvements. The sheer ANGER of some fans over them though astonishes me.<br /><br />With the prequels, I remember having mixed feelings, especially with Episode 1. I was frequently bored with it. However, I quite liked both episode 2 and 3. Where everyone was complaining about the badly written romance between Anakin and Padme, I was gushing over Yoda's lightsaber fight. While people were complaning about how abruptly Anakin goes "well, guess I might as well be evil now", I remember how affecting the "General Order 66" scene was.<br /><br />Any you know what? I've got nephews who love the prequels. They love the pod race. They cheer on Anakin. They are really involved with Anakin and Obi-Wan's lightsaber fight. Who am I to tell them that they're actually wrong, the prequals are terrible, and The Force Awakens is ACTUALLY what they should be watching?LiamKavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01996095233681105682noreply@blogger.com