So I saw R1 again last night. This time in IMAX 3D. The way they used 3D is pretty spectacular in my opinion. They didn't rely to heavily on it, but it did enhance several of the battle scenes, and looked really good in the space battle.
I paid a little more attention to the score this time, as many had complaints and I just didn't notice it the first viewing. It is a little underwhelming. There were times if felt almost like a John Williams score, but it just wasn't. It seemed to be more Michael Bay like, and rely on a few pitch changes for emphasis. Aside from a couple of moments, didn't really add any emotions to the movie.
The plot of this movie was still strong, and it was still entertaining the second viewing. I was able to catch glimpses of The Ghost, and Chopper. Even heard Chopper say hello as he was rolling off the screen.
Vader's final scene was still "most impressive."
Yeah, this movie is still good. Already pondering a third viewing in theaters. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
He wore himself out, hence the Bacta tank before that event
I haven't followed the books or series so this may have been explained, but why would Vader be so physically weak while he is so powerful with the force? Yoda walked around with a cane but showed no signs of wearing down after a lengthy fight with Sidious [Reply]
Originally Posted by sedated:
I haven't followed the books or series so this may have been explained, but why would Vader be so physically weak while he is so powerful with the force? Yoda walked around with a cane but showed no signs of wearing down after a lengthy fight with Sidious
Ehh, that little green guy got his *** kicked.
He could have jumped back into the fray if he wanted to. He chose to GTFO of dodge. [Reply]
Originally Posted by sedated:
I haven't followed the books or series so this may have been explained, but why would Vader be so physically weak while he is so powerful with the force? Yoda walked around with a cane but showed no signs of wearing down after a lengthy fight with Sidious
Supposedly, using the Dark Side of the Force wears out one's body.
When Vader's helmet was removed in ROTJ, he was portrayed by an 86 year old actor when in reality, Anakin/Vader was only 45 years old when he died on the second Death Star. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
Supposedly, using the Dark Side of the Force wears out one's body.
When Vader's helmet was removed in ROTJ, he was portrayed by an 86 year old actor when in reality, Anakin/Vader was only 45 years old when he died on the second Death Star.
That is covered in numerous books. While not canon, they do provide a basis that is followed in the movies. In the Bane trilogy, the most powerful dark side users were pretty much rotted away. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud:
He wore himself out, hence the Bacta tank before that event
I believe it was more of more of an urgency-thing. Vader always lets the front-line troops go blasting their way in, while following closely behind( Echo Base etc. ). But in this case, the plans were literally a few seconds difference away from being able to take them right back before the Tantive went blasting off to hyperspace whereas in Epi 4, they've clearly captured the ship, and there's really no need to rush.
At that point, they can pretty much follow standard procedure. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Dagnabit:
I believe it was more of more of an urgency-thing. Vader always lets the front-line troops go blasting their way in, while following closely behind( Echo Base etc. ). But in this case, the plans were literally a few seconds difference away from being able to take them right back before the Tantive went blasting off to hyperspace whereas in Epi 4, they've clearly captured the ship, and there's really no need to rush.
At that point, they can pretty much follow standard procedure.
This was my thought. Only a shuttle and a couple of tie fighters went over to the rebel ship. Vader was in a hurry, so he only took a few stormtroopers with him and took care of business himself. [Reply]
So was this movie made in response to the death star weakness plot hole, or has this back story been around a long time? I found the movie to be frankly forgettable sans the last 30 minutes. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigBeauford:
I found the movie to be frankly forgettable sans the last 30 minutes.
I went and saw the movie a second time. I think that 3rd act may not be the most consequential and climatic act in Star Wars but it was one of the best, if not the best, Star Wars act put on film.
I think setting up the characters and their motivations to sacrifice themselves in the first two acts is essential for that payoff in act 3. [Reply]
Went and saw the movie today in XD at the local Cinemark Theater....I'm not a big 3D guy and for me it kind of takes away from the enjoyment for me.
That said....the XD experience at the local theater was exactly what I was looking for. (I have seen Dr. Strange and Sully in XD also)
In regards to the movie.....I really enjoyed it and liked that it tried to tie up some loose ends. I'm not as deep a Star Wars junkie like many on here so my dedication to the letter of the lore is not as deep as others. For entertainment value it was just what I was looking for....now I am even more excited about seeing the next in the series of the episode VIII. [Reply]
For me, the movie is pretty much "hey let's bop around in SW universe for 3/4's of the film" then, BAM; last quarter of the movie we get solid entertainment and tie-up the loose ends.
I would have paid the admission price for this movie just to watch the Vader content alone and make no mistake; Darth Vader is what sells and puts asses in the seats. Look closely at how Vader is woven in to EVERYTHING new. [Reply]
Just saw it. On the whole I really liked it and would welcome more "stories". I know it will never happen, but Shadows of the Empire would be great though it would be much harder to port over most of the original stories considering the limitations with how Fisher and Hamill have aged.
The issues I have:
Spoiler!
Pacing. Just dawned on me that there could have been a lot more dramatic impact if you remove the entirety of the Eadu scene and replace holo-Galen with real Galen and have him killed off on Jedda after exposing the Achilles' heel to Jyn in person and without losing the tension of Andor fulfilling the original mission. Though I enjoyed the brief battle that accompanied the scene, I felt the film dragged on by about 10-15 minutes (though I think it probably had more to do with the frenzied pace of the first few scenes that segued into a more natural pace) and cutting Eadu scenes would allay that.
and
Spoiler!
The score combined with the minor differences from Eps I-VII gave me a feel that it was a Star Wars movie while trying its hardest not to be a 'Star Wars' movie. The score wasn't bad at all and there were the right cues when necessary (Dark Helmet and Yavin) but it had kind of the same issue of Force Awakens in not having a stand-out piece that you associate with the movie.
As for the differences, the easiest example to use is the lack of a title crawl which made sense as to why it's not there but it would have been nice to see some sort of variation of the same text-narration that the crawl serves as. Subtitling the planets is an example that bothered me though I understood the concept to handhold the slower minds of some audience members through the plot. Another example was the more comic or lighthearted moments -particularly K-2 and the banter between Chirrut and Baze feeling somewhat mistimed with the overall foreboding mood of desperate rebels racing against the clock to stop a superweapon.