I'm not sure which I find more annoying — the fanboys who can say nothing bad about a movie because it's THE BESTEST MOVIE EVER, dagnabbit, or the anti-fanboys who can say nothing good about a movie because (a) it's not the movie they would have done or, commonly, (b) it's a commercial success.
The author here is one of this last group. TFA "stinks" because it is simply a commercial effort, a way to make money, not actual cinematic art. Indeed, it shouldn't be called a movie, just a long commercial for toys and future movie tickets. It's unimaginative and dull. It's a franchise, part of a "formula-bound assembly line." Because Disney. And because Hollywood. And all of this is blindingly obvious for anyone who's not too busing being one of the consumer sheeple lining up to see it, if one is one of the "few reviewers who braved the intimidating weight of 'Star Wars: the Phenomenon' to write critical pans."
Feh. TFA has its weak points, and even some confusing creative decisions, but it's also a lot of fun, vastly entertaining, and I've no regret dropping the money I did, even if it isn't the newest art house phenomenon.
Admit it: ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ stinks — and here’s why
On Christmas Day, I fulfilled my duty as an American consumer and took the family to see the new “Star Wars” movie. The excursion solved a mystery: Why do so many of the reviews, even the enthusiastic ones, carry an undertone of disappointment?
He needs to take a chill pill. I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I watched a piece of cinematic art, and the reviewer probably doesn't have any recent examples either since the titles he mentioned are from the 70s and before.
He hit the nail on the head when he mentioned TFA being the first Star Wars film released since Disney acquired it. That's the big difference. The Mouse House can pretend and put on a good front by talking about entertainment and having fun, but Disney is all about making money, and they will squeeze every ounce of commercialism out of every single product they have. They knew they were buying a money-making machine when they grabbed Star Wars and yeah, they played it safe by copying a lot of what worked in A New Hope. That's called smart business.
I love Star Wars and thought TFA was great. I hate seeing Star Wars on just about everything these days, ranging from kitchen appliances to cereal boxes and dog toys. It does somehow seem to cheapen it, but that's the world we live in.
Disney didn't buy a one and done film. They bought a franchise that has tons of nostalgia attached to it, and they didn't fork out that cash just to limit themselves to what the movies can earn. Sounds like the reviewer has more of a problem with how modern Hollywood conducts business than the actual film itself.
TFA might have had a tighter plot, but whatever. The Mouse made sure it was entertaining, so I’ll want to buy the Bluray. And I want to.
Did you get bullied at School or something similar squire?
I was just happy the film was not "Jar Jar'd".
I enjoyed the film and even reading your thoughts until I hit "gotten stupider". I suppose it's irony but all the same, not in tone with the piece. Stopped there.
+Martin Scott , just wanted to clarify. The 'gotten stupider' remark isn't Dave's. That's from the LA Times writer.
TFA was alright.
Interestingly, apart from Hayden Christiansen’s acting, no one has been able to actually state what is wrong with the prequels. Jar Jar is annoying? A bit over the top for comic relief, but people hate him for the way he speaks. He’s an alien, though given the racism in the Big Bang Theory by the script-writers towards Kuthrapoly, I’m not surprised.
To me Jar Jar was actually less annoying than the damned Ewoks. The major issue with the prequels was poor plotting and Padmé turning into a moron after starting out strong. Anikin’s Face Heel Turn was not convincing.
I will say that as someone who’s tried writing prequel scenes to action at develops from those scenes it’s a bitch to keep continuity straight and you sometimes have to railroad characters into things they might not otherwise do.
+Marty Shaw Of course Disney (as a corporate entity) bought the Star Wars franchise to make money. They bought Pixar for the same reason. They've put out every movie they've put out for the same reason. As has Lucasfilm (when it was independent) and as did 20th Century Fox (distributing the originals). If, to make money, they crank out films like this, I am perfectly happy to give it to them.
As to the inescapable swarm of commercial tie-ins … well, I was prepared to go into TFA hating BB-8, just because that little droid has been everywhere, but even there I couldn't. I don't know if the tie-ins here were more pervasive than in previous movie tie-in campaigns, but there were actually a few that I enjoyed, and, regardless, if it incents the production of further movies like TFA, I can put up with it as much as I can put up with the commercialization of Christmas.
+Marty Shaw sure, I could have worded my comment better. Guess I gotten stupider too…
Not a bad movie, but it's massively, hilariously recycled and self-referential, and I found that very off-putting.
Still, three stars out of five. Action movie set in Star Wars universe, warrants about that.