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George Lucas Criticizes the Force Awakens (theguardian.com)

RogueyWon writes: While many critics have responded positively to JJ Abrams's take on Star Wars, one particular industry figure seems rather less impressed. George Lucas has criticized the "retro" tone of The Force Awakens and lamented his own lack of involvement in it. Speaking to television talk-show host and journalist Charlie Rose, Lucas quipped that he had sold his "kids to the white slavers that take these things". "They wanted to do a retro movie. I don’t like that,” he said. “They weren’t that keen to have me involved anyway, but if I get in there, I’m just going to cause trouble, because they’re not going to do what I want them to do. And I don’t have the control to do that any more, and all I would do is muck everything up. And so I said, ‘OK, I will go my way, and I’ll let them go their way.’”

7 of 562 comments (clear)

  1. God I hate to say this, but by NotDrWho · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I agree with him.

    There was way too much slovenly fan service in that movie. As I expected with a Disney movie, it played it totally safe and took no chances. It looked test-marketed to within an inch of its life.

    A real filmmaker would have made his own film, not just remade someone else's.

    --
    SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
    1. Re:God I hate to say this, but by Lisandro · · Score: 5, Interesting

      It did not. For starters, the plot is basically identical to EP IV.

    2. Re:God I hate to say this, but by NotDrWho · · Score: 5, Interesting

      it was a very 'safe' boring movie

      Yeah, that's what disappointed me the most, just how BORING it was. For all the FX setpieces and explosions, it was, at its core, boring as fuck.

      Maybe if Abrams had slowed down the breakneck plot long enough to make the characters more relatable or believable it would have helped. It may be the kind of movie that really benefits from a 4-hour Director's Cut that explains why these characters actually give a shit about each other. As it is, it goes from "I don't know you" to "We're running...and some more running...and yet more running" to "I would risk my life to save you" so quickly that I'm wondering if 90% of the original script wasn't cut out to make room for more cool action scenes.

      --
      SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
  2. Re:Yeah yeah by TigerPlish · · Score: 5, Interesting

    You sold it to DISNEY of all companies, you know that they only produce the most shallow of crap these days

    Ever since John Lassater and Ed Catmull went from Pixar to Disney, Disney's features and shorts have shown an improvement.

    Wreck-it-Ralph was amazing and quite deep; Frozen was a good movie that somehow went on to be their biggest hit yet and Big Hero 6 wasn't exactly a superficial, shallow piece.

    Man. I can't believe I just typed nice things about the House of Mouse, I used to loathe it with a passion.. back in the Eisner days. But again.. since Pixar guys went to Disney, Disney's improved a bit.

    Now, there's nothing that will make me forgive Disney for what they did to their IT people. No amount of good film will make up for that.

    --
    The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
  3. Re:The world is happy about Lucas not participatin by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Interesting

    No, the whole way he killed Padme off was terrible. How is it Leia could remember her mother when she was about thirty seconds old when she died?

    And midichlorians...

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  4. Re:The world is happy about Lucas not participatin by bondsbw · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Mine was "Anakin, you're breaking my heart!"

    It's really easy for me to "get into" a performance and to stay focused, especially when it gets to the climax scenes, but this totally took me out. I was actually mad when this happened, and it was hard to get back into the movie before it was finished.

    --
    All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
  5. Re:The world is happy about Lucas not participatin by WheezyJoe · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "I...I killed them. I killed them all. They're dead, every single one of them. And not just the men, but the women and the children too." Anakin Skywalker Episode II. The most cringe worthy scene in the entire series.

    Yes, that was horrible. But one of so damn many. For me it was the drivel about Midichlorians, and then a child's half-baked "yippee"s in horrid Episode 1. The prequels broke suspension of disbelief many many times, but even Jar-Jar didn't bug me as bad as the boy actor playing young Annakin because, you know, the whole damned story is ultimately about Annakin. The kid was so poorly directed and his lines so bad, I never believed in him or in any of his abilities or that someday he would become an arch-villain who would choke the life out of people as easy as look at them. Every seen he was in, every line, and every ridiculously contrived tie-in with the other films (I fucking built C-3PO!!!) shoved me out of the movie to look for the nearest exit. I couldn't forgive that shit. Kids can act well and carry a movie if a director takes them serious enough (e.g., The Sixth Sense), but Lucas didn't bother to give a shit.

    Count Dooku in Episode II was pretty fucking cringe-worthy as well, stopping a fight with Yoda because, you know, let's fight with light saber instead. And does Yoda defeat him? No... he does a little thing and walks away, leaving three Jedi holding their limp little dicks. Clued me in on something, though: the Force sucks, particularly the good side. "Failed, have I" in Episode III. No shit, Yoda, because you SUCK! Mace Windu almost smoked Palpatine, except the good side didn't clue him in to an attack coming from amateur Annakin.

    You didn't watch the prequels, you fucking endured them, waiting out one dull scene after another, hoping something redemptively cool would happen. Next thing you know, the movie's over. Two hours and ten bucks you'll never have again. Fuck you, Lucas. Take your billions, buy an island, and live on it with all the most expensive, pure, uncut highest-quality coke money your billions can buy. That'll get your mind off Disney giving you the shove.

    --
    Take it easy, Charlie, I've got an Angle...