“Star Wars”: The Good, The Bad and the Dark Side Discussing Episode 7 and the disappointments it brings to the franchise

Comments

1. Blue Bogle says

   February 1, 2016 at 11:40 am

   Oh, thank god, I thought I was the only one who didn’t like this new movie. Pretty much on point with most of the people on here – the new actors were great, the new characters were fun, it all looked very cool and the effects were awesome.

   The plot, endless recycling, pacing of the movie (endless action scene, none of the mysticism or philosophy) and the BS money grab were all terrible.

   Reply

   • Gini Koch says

     February 10, 2016 at 5:01 pm

     You’re not alone, babe. We’re here for you!

     Reply

2. Jonnie says

   February 18, 2016 at 4:12 am

   Just for comparison, how would you guys rate the original trilogy and the prequels?

   Reply

   • Gini Koch says

     February 18, 2016 at 1:05 pm

     My ratings:

     A New Hope – 5 stars (this remains one of my top 10 movies of all time, but I’m starting to pretend the other movies don’t exist anymore)
     The Empire Strikes Back – 4.5 stars (I hated the cliffhanger ending and the Luke I Am Your Father stuff that, in retrospect, is the reason the overall series goes downhill; because of that I’m tempted to rate this lower, but it’s still a good movie and it still stands up)
     Return of the Jedi – 4 stars (I don’t mind the teddy bears, I mind the ease with which they win and the recycling of the “terrible weapon” motif that will forever haunt this series as a great idea done to death)

     Phantom Menace – 3 stars (taxation IS a reason for rebellion, it’s just boring)
     Attack of the Clones – 3.5 stars (though I don’t buy the “romance” of Anakin and Padme for even a moment)
     Revenge of the Sith – 2.5 stars (this movie makes Return of the Jedi’s ending nauseating. In Return we don’t know how many innocents Anakin has murdered. Now we do, and yet he’s forgiven? But they had to change it to Han shooting second because, and I quote, Lucas felt “that a murderer can’t be redeemed.” But a MASS MURDERER can be? Okay, gotcha. And the less said about the “homages” to Frankenstein and A Streetcar Named Desire the better.)

     Original Trilogy – 4.5
     Prequel Trilogy- 3

     Reply

3. Summer Brooks says

   February 18, 2016 at 10:19 am

   For me, I’d rate the original trilogy as a whole as 4 stars, and the prequel trilogy as 2.5 or maybe 3 stars.

   As for each individual movie, let’s see:

   Ep 4 – A New Hope : 4 stars
   Ep 5 – Empire Strikes Back : 4 stars
   Ep 6 – Return of the Jedi : 3 stars

   Ep 1 – Phantom Menace : 3 stars
   Ep 2 – Attack of the Clones : 2.5 stars
   Ep 3 – Revenge of the Sith : 3 stars

   I also think the rewatchability factor plays a part in this. I would definitely rewatch any movie from the original trilogy without hesitation. I don’t think any of the prequel trilogy films would make it to my Top 100 “I’m bored and I feel like watching something again” list, and realizing that now after so many years makes me a little sad.

   Reply

4. Tim says

   February 21, 2016 at 10:21 am

   My rating for the previous movies:

   Star Wars (no “A New Hope”!): 4 stars
   The Empire Strikes Back: 4 stars
   The Return of the Jedi: 2.5 stars

   The original Star Wars has become something of a curiosity to me: while it started the whole thing – and I remember how mind-blowing it was when released in 1977 – I find over the years that it lacks a deeper emotional core. Empire, however, is my favorite of the Star Wars series because of its emotional depth; the performances are more nuanced and the entire story feels much more character-driven. The cliffhanger ending doesn’t bother me at all. As far as Jedi, I liked Episode VI-a – The Rescue Of Han Solo – but the rest of the film leaves me cold.

   The Phantom Menace – 2.5 stars
   Attack of the Clones – 2 stars
   The Revenge of the Sith – 2.5 stars

   The prequels are much more problematical. There are great story elements struggling to breathe, but Lucas’ penchant for changing plot direction at whim prevents any of that from coming to life. I don’t think they are as horrible as general fandom thinks, but, like Summer, these movies don’t make the bored-rewatch list at all.

   Reply

5. Suzanne Grant says

   March 11, 2016 at 1:07 pm

   I called earlier, but I don’t think that my message came out as well as it should-I’m a better typist than a talker.

   I had high hopes for The Force Awakens, I liked the new characters and that the film wasn’t CGI heavy. I didn’t like that it was a full-on remake of Episode IV, right down to blowing up the Death Star a third time. If a fourth Death Star shows up in the next entry, I’m going to boycott the film.

   I wish that the film had given us more background as to what happened with the New Republic that allowed the Empire to make a comeback as it would have made the film more interesting and grounded it better.

   Finally, you all were on point with Kylo Ren not being a credible villain-he’s not menacing enough. I get that he’s conflicted between being like his grandfather Darth Vader and being noble, but the struggle should have been fleshed out more. Abrams should have looked at Anakin Skywalker in Revenge Of The Sith for tips on villains-in-training. You could see the menace there.

   In summary, Star Wars VII-The Force Awakens was a good film but it needed more originality.

   Suzanne Grant

   Reply