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'Star Wars: Episode VIII' Delayed By Seven Months (hollywoodreporter.com)

Mr.Intel writes with bad news for those of you champing at the bit to see the next Star Wars movie. Engadget reports: "You'll have to wait a bit longer to see what the heck is up with Luke Skywalker. Disney announced this afternoon that it's delaying Star Wars: Episode VIII from May 26, 2017 by seven months to December 15, 2017. Disney didn't give any reason for the delay, but sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that it'll allow the studio to give the film a Christmas release treatment, which worked pretty well for The Force Awakens. Additionally, it'll give director/writer Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper) more time to work on the film. THR's Borys Kit notes that may include rewrites to focus more on the new class of Star Wars characters."

120 of 203 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Star Wars should cease by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Please turn in your "Nerd card" at the door. That is all

  2. The Disney treatment by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Because you sell more toys and other merchandise at Christmas time

    1. Re:The Disney treatment by burtosis · · Score: 3, Funny

      Star Wars: The flamethrower!

      The kids love this one.

    2. Re:The Disney treatment by Mashiki · · Score: 1

      Star Wars: The flamethrower!

      The kids love this one.

      Everyone loves Star Wars: The flamethrower! Adults because you can use on anything, from gopher holes to door-to-door salesmen at 8am on a Sunday. Kids, because who doesn't want to make human torches!

      --
      Om, nomnomnom...
    3. Re:The Disney treatment by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 1

      What was the one thing George Lucas told Mel Brooks he couldn't do with Spaceballs?

      Sell toys.

  3. Delayed for opening of Star Wars land at Disney by Bruha · · Score: 2

    That's about when those new parks open.

    1. Re:Delayed for opening of Star Wars land at Disney by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      They can't build a theme park in under 12 parsecs?

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  4. Re:Star Wars should cease by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    But it has swords, spacey ships, little toys, and fluffy teddy bears. That has to make up for the stilted dialogue, plots for simpletons (aka space cowboys), complete disregard for science in favour of space magic, and stupefying repetition.

  5. The Deal by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 5, Funny

    I am altering the release date.

    Pray I do not alter it any further.

    1. Re:The Deal by UnknowingFool · · Score: 2
      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    2. Re:The Deal by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 1

      I find your lack of release date disturbing

      --

      Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

    3. Re:The Deal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      But Disney asks the impossible... I need more men!

  6. Re:Star Wars should cease by rsborg · · Score: 1

    Please turn in your "Nerd card" at the door. That is all

    That's ok - I have a fairly cromulent "Geek Card" here anyway.

    --
    Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
  7. Re:Star Wars should cease by rsborg · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Star Wars is an awful franchise. Star Trek is far superior -- better characters, better plots, more imaginative, better writing, etc... Star Wars should cease.

    Star Wars is a space opera. Star Trek is more real sci-fi. Both have their purposes, and can co-exist. why do we have to choose?

    --
    Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
  8. Stop liking what you don't like? by BenJeremy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think the box office returns have made their statement, but thanks for your opinion, which, of course, means absolutely nothing.

    I liked the new Star Wars film. My family enjoyed it very much.

    I look forward to many more movies to come.

    1. Re: Stop liking what you don't like? by Billly+Gates · · Score: 4, Funny

      Star wars episode 1 phantom menace broke records too!

        The box office has spoken. People love Jar Jar Brinks!

    2. Re: Stop liking what you don't like? by lucm · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Star wars episode 1 phantom menace broke records too!

        The box office has spoken. People love Jar Jar Brinks!

      I'm a Star Wars fan, always been, and I have no problem with Jar Jar Binks. There's always been a goofy/family element in Star Wars, from C3PO to the Ewoks.

      I think there's value in this type of comic relief. It adds depth and texture to the story, which otherwise gets a bit stuffy and pompous like that other sci-fi franchise.

      --
      lucm, indeed.
    3. Re: Stop liking what you don't like? by invid · · Score: 2

      Jar Jar is a Sith Lord.

      --
      The Moore-Murphy Law: The number of things that will go wrong will double every 2 years.
    4. Re:Stop liking what you don't like? by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1, Troll

      I didn't really like the most recent film. I came away from it thinking it was ok but that was it, certainly not something that deserved rave reviews. I thought the acting was generally terrible, the plot was surprisingly weak and poorly paced and several of the characters annoyed me from the second they came on the screen.

      But I have also come to the conclusion that my tastes must completely differ from the rest of the world. I didn't like the Kylo Ren character and in particular his lame wisecracks, as I found nothing about him to be dark or intimidating. Yet the reviews I read praised his casting, the writing and his modern day wise cracking nature. And I'm not even going to comment on Poe or Finn, except to say I wanted them to both die really really really early on.

      That said I didn't like Fury Road either.

      So my ticket price has contributed to the box office returns. But I wouldn't be lining up to see it again or buying it on disk later.

    5. Re: Stop liking what you don't like? by dinfinity · · Score: 1

      Thank you. Fallacious reasoning getting a +4 Insightful on Slashdot is a crime.

    6. Re:Stop liking what you don't like? by allcoolnameswheretak · · Score: 1

      The film was ok, they did many things right. But the fucking "Starkiller Base" practically ruined it for me. The whole thing is fucking ridiculous. Yet another superweapon, bigger and badder than the last one. Firing sun-powered laser beams through hyperspace destroying all republic worlds in one shot! Woohoo! Except this time nobody seems to gives a fuck about the billions of lives destroyed. Then its blown up by the rebels, again.
      Talk about lazy, dumb ass writing.

    7. Re:Stop liking what you don't like? by oztiks · · Score: 1

      Firing sun-powered laser beams through hyperspace destroying all republic worlds in one shot! Woohoo!

      Just as if Episode 1 2 3 did not exist? That's how i see it. They never needed the republic before, why did Lucas put it there in the first place?

    8. Re: Stop liking what you don't like? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Hatred of Jar Jar comes from a combination of things that didn't exist in the original trilogy, which is why C3PO and Ewoks were tolerated.

      - The film was overall quite shitty
      - Jar Jar was one of a number of overtly racist characters, although probably not the most offensive
      - He had a major role in the film
      - Being entirely CG, he looked fake and embodied one of the biggest problems with the prequels - overuse of CGI
      - C3PO had a normal voice, Ewoks don't speak much, but Jar Jar was just irritating to hear

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    9. Re: Stop liking what you don't like? by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 1

      Someone actually did an edit that cuts some of the superfluous gungan scenes, and replaces Jar-Jar's and the Nemoidians' dialogue with more classical Star Wars alien speech (i.e. non-english) that's subtitled, and changed many of the lines to make more sense. It's amazing how much less shitty the result is. For example:
      https://youtu.be/KfQBdRcgizc?t...

      It certainly doesn't fix all the problems of the film, but it's a noticeable improvement that just highlights how awful the original was, because it could have easily been better if he'd had an editor.

    10. Re: Stop liking what you don't like? by T.E.D. · · Score: 1

      Hatred of Jar Jar comes from a combination of things that didn't exist in the original trilogy, which is why C3PO and Ewoks were tolerated

      I'm guessing you weren't particularly old in '83 when Return of the Jedi came out. No, adult fans were not tolerant at all of the Ewoks. Pretty much every complaint you ever heard about Jar Jar is a rehashed complaint about the Ewoks. However, we didn't really have the Internet back then as a place for fans to get together and amplify their voices, so all those complaints just sort of sat around festering and honing themselves to a nice sharp edge in Usenet newsgroups for the next 16 years until Lucas unwittingly unleashed them upon the world by providing us Jar Jar.

    11. Re: Stop liking what you don't like? by jdavidb · · Score: 1

      Thank you for posting this - it's good to hear someone else say it. Binks was a bit too much and I have some other things I wish were done different in the prequels, but I like them, and Binks is clearly in the tradition of Star Wars comic relief (even to the point of using lines C-3PO used in the original trilogy).

      Side note: in the next room, my kids are singing a rousing chorus of Weird Al's "The Saga Begins" as I type this.

    12. Re:Stop liking what you don't like? by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      But I have also come to the conclusion that my tastes must completely differ from the rest of the world. I didn't like the Kylo Ren character and in particular his lame wisecracks, as I found nothing about him to be dark or intimidating.

      I just figured they made him a lame wanna-be Sith on purpose. Even the name/title ("Kylo" instead of "Darth") makes it seem like he's not a genuine full-fledged Sith Lord.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    13. Re: Stop liking what you don't like? by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      FYI, Ewoks speak Tagalog, they are actually speaking a human language which originates in the Philippines.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    14. Re:Stop liking what you don't like? by Talderas · · Score: 1

      I felt like I was watching a rehash of Episode IV. My friends and I have taken to calling Han Obiwan Solo.

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
    15. Re: Stop liking what you don't like? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      It's also a pretty short film after a decent editing. There was some good stuff, and a lot more ridiculous stuff.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    16. Re: Stop liking what you don't like? by toddestan · · Score: 1

      Well, part of the problem is that the prequels already had C3PO and R2D2 in them to serve for comic relief, and to top it off the their antics had already been turned up a few notches compared to the original series. So why do we need yet another comic relief character?

      Though I do have to agree that Binks doesn't actually bother me that much. When looking at all the problems that the prequels had, Jar Jar is kind of down a ways on the list.

    17. Re: Stop liking what you don't like? by iridium_ionizer · · Score: 1

      I speak Tagalog.
      The Ewoks do not speak Tagalog, but the cadence and some of the phonemes are similar.
      Ang mga Ewok di nagsasalita sa Tagalog.

      I have not verified the DVD special feature source but this seems a likelier explanation. http://message.snopes.com/prin...

  9. Re:Star Wars should cease by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Star Wars is an awful franchise. Star Trek is far superior -- better characters, better plots, more imaginative, better writing, etc... Star Wars should cease.

    Star Wars is a space opera. Star Trek is more real sci-fi. Both have their purposes, and can co-exist. why do we have to choose?

    Why choose ? Because of vim versus emacs, commodore versus atari, amiga versus the world etc....We long for conflict and confrontation. There is nothing sci-fi about Star Trek. It's about as fantasy as Star Wars.

  10. Afraid of Guardians of the Galaxy 2? by evil9000 · · Score: 2

    Oh wait, no, Disney owns both titles.

    1. Re:Afraid of Guardians of the Galaxy 2? by SeaFox · · Score: 2

      Yes, so they don't release them both at once or they will competing against each other. So let's release them far enough apart people will see both.

  11. Fuck Star Wars by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Having watched all 7 movies this week, I've decided that the franchise really died after ESB.
    RoTJ was mostly crap (Jabba's palace an Ewoks were equally as bad as Jar Jar), and the prequels need no further explanation.
    Ep7 was so pathetic it's not funny. Lame characters, unoriginal script and plot, and massive holes in the story. I'll watch Ep8 when it comes out, but only because I found a new way to enjoy them, picking the shit out of their weak production.

    1. Re:Fuck Star Wars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You've decided.

      Like your decision is the one all others should be judged by.

      Hey, different folks different strokes. Not everyone is as nit-picky as you. I enjoyed all of them (except jar-jar) to some degree or another because I didn't take them seriously.

      Try suspending disbelief and when you come out of the theater remember that it's just an entertainment medium, not something to be taken so damn seriously.

    2. Re:Fuck Star Wars by David_Hart · · Score: 1

      Having watched all 7 movies this week, I've decided that the franchise really died after ESB.

      RoTJ was mostly crap (Jabba's palace an Ewoks were equally as bad as Jar Jar), and the prequels need no further explanation.

      Ep7 was so pathetic it's not funny. Lame characters, unoriginal script and plot, and massive holes in the story. I'll watch Ep8 when it comes out, but only because I found a new way to enjoy them, picking the shit out of their weak production.

      Each franchise has good entries and bad ones. The bad ones in the Star Wars franchise overshadow the good ones. And it's not for lack of material, the people charged for doing the stories just can't wrap their heads around it. Why is it that the cartoons based on Star Wars are so much more epic than the fucking films ? ...

      Because fucking George Lucas didn't have absolute power over the first couple of movies, and he only lent^H^H^H^Hsold his name to the cartoons and didn't get involved enough to fuck them up.

      Disney? They're just milking it for the bucks.

      But Disney makes the cartoons, at least now they do... Which I believe was the OP's point... If the cartoon writers have good stories, why can't they use them for movie ideas...

    3. Re:Fuck Star Wars by Harlequin80 · · Score: 1

      I think it is because all the best story writers are writing cartoons or games. Seriously look at the story in the original 1999 PC Alien vs Predator game if they had made that the basis of the movie it would have been amazing.

    4. Re:Fuck Star Wars by rockout · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The difference is, he came to read a discussion about Star Wars, and saw some asshole saying he'll only watch the new movie so that he can complain about it. He didn't come in here specifically to comment on what a huge douchebag you are (nor did I), but after reading that comment, it's the appropriate response to let you know what a douchebag you are. After all, there's a small chance we might help you realize why you have no friends.

      That's where your attempt to project your own loser behavior onto him falls apart.

      --
      I've learned that they're worthless, so I don't read AC comments anymore.
    5. Re:Fuck Star Wars by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      As a Jar Jar fan, they better bring Commander Binks back, or I'll be very upset and leave gum in the seats.

    6. Re:Fuck Star Wars by LaurenCates · · Score: 1

      My theory on this is that once Star Wars blew up with the Expanded Universe, when the stories were given more room to breathe, Star Wars as a universe became more complicated and interesting and the movies since Episode I have had the worst time trying to keep up. (Whereas Star Trek was complicated and interesting to start with. I enjoyed the original trilogy as much as anyone, but complicated was something they were not.)

      That's why a lot of excuses made for Episode VII have been of the "you'll have to wait for the next one" stripe or the "fan-wank" stripe.

      I think a lot of people, expecting gaps in the story to be told elsewhere, just kind of expect that it will be. And you kind of have to expect that in the time of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where people will tell you that you have to watch ALL of the Marvel properties for "full appreciation" of any one property (which, in all fairness, kind of started with Star Wars, but I never felt the movies were in any way supplemented by the books or whatever).

      --
      Some people don't believe in fairies. I don't believe in The Patriarchy.
    7. Re:Fuck Star Wars by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Which lame characters? I thought they were more interesting than the characters in the original. Not that anyone watches or reads space opera when they want to see good solid complicated characters. The script and plot were more original than they may seem to you. As far as holes go, there are apparent holes that I think will be explained in the next movie or two.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    8. Re:Fuck Star Wars by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      it's the appropriate response to let you know what a douchebag you are.

      No the appropriate response would be ignore me, but since you have no self control, sucks to be you!!!

      After all, there's a small chance we might help you realize why you have no friends.

      But I have a lot of friends. Maybe you are projecting your own social deficiencies on others as a way to compensate for this?

      That's where your attempt to project your own loser behavior onto him falls apart.

      And I succeeded in bringing you down to my level. Ouch.

    9. Re:Fuck Star Wars by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      Which lame characters?

      Poe didn't work for me. He seemed like an extra from Friends rather than a Wedge Antilles which I think he was supposed to be. "Oh I just happened to eject from the TIE fighter when you weren't looking" was lame.
      Fin was supposed to be a disillusioned stormtrooper but despite working as a janitor, was thrown onto the front line, then couldn't handle it, yet everyone knew who he was. Then he does a pretty good job on the toughest Sith in the universe. Lame
      Rey was pretty good I admit, except she was too good at everything, and looked too much like Hermoine from Harry Potter. I had to wait til the end credits to learn if it was her or not. Not lame, but too perfect.
      BB8 was just stupid. It's supposed to be a robot, but the puppy dog expressions are obviously aimed at kids. Lame. (yes R2 was too to an extent but it was more subtle than in your face BB8)
      C3PO was not required as usual
      R2 switched off after Master Luke left and humans just accept this? He is a computer with mission critical data, no-one thought to reboot/reconfigure/restore him to get the data back? And then he just wakes up randomly at the appropriate time that the story demands? And humans accept this? Lame.
      Leia was redundant, no need for her character at all. Lame.
      Solo was too old and arthritic to be a convincing swashbuckling hero who wins fights with young people. there's a reason why you don't see many people over 40 at the Olympics. They are useless at physical activity. Like Kenobi, he should've been wise and old then died in a noble fashion, not cheaply by some teenage Marilyn Manson lookalike. Lame.
      The blob octopus monsters in Solo's ship were the worst plot devices I've seen in years. We'll kill everyone instantly except one of the heroes who we'll drag along for enough time for someone to save them. Lame.
      The bad guys in the scene with the blob monsters made no sense. They looked and sounded tough, but disappeared with no effort. Lame.
      Lastly I can't remember too much among the lameness, but Kylo was the weakest villain in movie history. a whiney brat who can't beat anybody, and Snoke looked like a stupider version of Gollum. And Phasma, despite huge publicity did nothing and lay over at the first sign of trouble. All Lame.
      Wall to wall lamenees.

      The script and plot were more original than they may seem to you.

      I'm happy for you to explain the bits that went over my head. But having watched all 7 movies in one week, Ep7 had nothing new. A slightly bigger Death Star, slightly different Star Destroyers, a slighter cuter R2, a slightly uglier Emperor, a slightly differently named "Rebellion" even though it was never made clear who the Resistance were resisting? A slightly different Tatooine, a slightly different Mos Eisley Cantina scene, a slightly different script (but mostly the same).

      As far as holes go, there are apparent holes that I think will be explained in the next movie or two.

      Not good enough.
      Ep 4 was a standalone movie. Ep 5 wasn't but had enough original content to be satisfying. Ep 6 was enough of a standalone movie too despite being too much Fraggle Rock.
      Eps 1-3 seemed like they were all just trying to explain Ep 4, and Ep 7 was just Ep 3 "re-imagined" (the worst word of the 21st century)
      Ep 7 had no hero (sometimes it was Solo, sometimes Rey, sometimes Fin) and no bad guy (Kylo was lame, Snoke did nothing and has a stupid name), and no real threat (really would Leia, Han, Chewy etc be threatened by a bigger Death Star that they'd already disposed of twice before?)
      In short, there was nothing new or interesting, just a rehashed story with weaker characters.

    10. Re:Fuck Star Wars by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      I thought they were more interesting than the characters in the original.

      And now I'll tell you what I like about Ep4 and 5.
      Luke starts off as a bit no-hoper from nowhere and comes good. And he does good not by some miracle super skills, but being in the right place at the right time, and having some faith, which is believable.
      R2 is simply a robot that is there because of his skills as a space ship control droid, not included into irrelevant scenes for merchandising value (as from Ep 6 onwards)
      C3PO was annoying mostly, but needed to translate R2 (and having a major character that just beeps was original for it's time)
      Kenobi was great, a mysterious old wise guy that dies halfway through the movie (popular now, but quite rare in its time)
      Leia was a strong female leader, yet another reasonably original character for the time.
      Tarkin, Piett and other Empire leaders were convincing pseudo-Nazis. That guy in the Ep 7 was a parody by comparison
      Darth Vader is one of the baddest villains of all time. No contest
      Ep4 while more of a classic tale than original, was the first to do it in the location of a completely foreign Space Universe. I can't think of many non-animated movies that don't try to tie back to the real Earth in some way
      Ep5 was the first movie I remember where the heroes are worse off at the end than the beginning.
      Lots of ground breaking originality there, I'd love to hear your take on how Ep7 did anything similar.

    11. Re:Fuck Star Wars by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      They really didn't use Poe all that much. I was expecting him to be more significant.
      What Finn couldn't take was massacring innocents. He still presumably had Storm Trooper training, and could fight well.
      Rey obviously has a significant backstory she isn't aware of, which the next few movies will presumably cover. In the meantime, I'm reserving judgment.
      BB8 is one heck of a lot less annoying than giving C-3PO lots of screen time.
      If you couldn't activate my iPhone, you couldn't read anything on it, no matter what. The content is protected by an AES-256 key partly in hardware that is hardware-protected from intrusion. People may have tried rebooting him unsuccessfully, or may have feared it would wipe the information permanently (I can set my iPhone up so that the contents are permanently gone after ten failed tries to unlock.)
      Leia was there for family reasons. If you hadn't noticed, she and Han were Kylo Ren's parents. I think this is one of those things we'll know more about after a few more movies. In addition, she was heavily involved in the earlier revolt, so why not be a big shot with the Resistance?
      You apparently have no idea how physically effective an older person can be, and Han really didn't do anything that physically demanding. You want a significant death? How about being killed by your own son while trying to turn him from the Dark Side?>
      The scenes you refer to on the Millennium Falcon and in the area were lame.
      Kylo Ren was a whiny teenage Darth Vader wannabe, yes. He also took a shot from Chewie's bowcaster (the one that apparently can kill multiple enemies with one shot), ran after the fleeing heroes, defeated a well-trained fighter (Finn), and faced another competent fighter (Rey) who wins by out-Forcing him rather than skill. He's pretty darn good at what he does.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    12. Re:Fuck Star Wars by Jack+Griffin · · Score: 1

      They really didn't use Poe all that much. I was expecting him to be more significant.

      Same, but I didn't think he worked as a character.

      What Finn couldn't take was massacring innocents. He still presumably had Storm Trooper training, and could fight well.

      You learn to fight well by fighting, If this is his first battle then he shouldn't be any good at it. (at least not as good as veterans from the same school of training) And the whole janitor excuse was weak. The whole universe is covered in menial-task-performing robots, yet we're expected to believe the Empire would use specialist soldiers to clean toilets? And despite being the most junior ranked guy on the DeathStar Mk3, he knew all the technical detail to destroy it. It was lame.

      Rey obviously has a significant backstory she isn't aware of, which the next few movies will presumably cover. In the meantime, I'm reserving judgment.

      She obviously Luke's relation (either daughter or niece) No surprises there (and the family connection surprise has worn a bit thin now).

      BB8 is one heck of a lot less annoying than giving C-3PO lots of screen time.

      but he's a more annoying version of R2.

      If you couldn't activate my iPhone, you couldn't read anything on it, no matter what.

      No quantum computer? No forensic analysis? I reckon the NSA could figure it out, so any more advanced race should have some idea how to.

      Leia was there for family reasons. If you hadn't noticed, she and Han were Kylo Ren's parents. I think this is one of those things we'll know more about after a few more movies. In addition, she was heavily involved in the earlier revolt, so why not be a big shot with the Resistance?

      What was she resisting? And if she is the hardass leader, why not show that? She just seemed to hang in the background looking stupid with her botoxed face.

      You apparently have no idea how physically effective an older person can be, and Han really didn't do anything that physically demanding.

      Not at the top level no. Which is why all the top sports/action people in the world are under 40. Han couldn't even run properly he's that old.

      You want a significant death? How about being killed by your own son while trying to turn him from the Dark Side?

      He died almost exactly like Gandalf which was lame, and then he was forgotten about almost instantly. Han is probably the greatest character in the Star Wars universe. He was poorly handled in this film.

      defeated a well-trained fighter (Finn),

      This should've been no contest. Ask yourself, would Darth Vader have struggled with a Stormtrooper, even if injured? The entire cannon has Stormtroopers as disposable fodder, but as soon as one takes off his mask and joins the good guys, he suddenly really really capable?

      and faced another competent fighter (Rey) who wins by out-Forcing him rather than skill.

      Yes with zero force training she out forces the most force trained person in the universe. It makes the baddies lame since even their best can't compete with amateurs on the goodies team. Any story needs a bad guy who is really tough. There simply wasn't one in this film.

      He's pretty darn good at what he does.

      Whining and looking extremely ugly? Seriously, when he took the mask off it jolted me out of the story, he was that ugly. And it wasn't ugly like a cool ugly monster, just ugly like an emo goth kid from the local mall. Extremely poor casting.

  12. Not stupid enough yet... by Dr.+Spork · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Apparently, Disney is asking for 40% more shocking plotholes. Also, the film in its present form contains several original ideas, and it takes time to meticulously edit these out.

  13. Re:Star Wars should cease by lucm · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Star Wars is a space opera. Star Trek is more real sci-fi.

    My phony detector always goes on when someone brings out the "space opera" bullshit. It's like saying: "Under Siege is an action movie. The English Patient is a real movie."

    Guess what, one is a subset of the other, so your comparison is just phony and lame.

    --
    lucm, indeed.
  14. I know a good way to speed it up by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 1

    Bring George Lucas in, let him come up with another funny "Jar Jar" character to make the movie even better!

    1. Re:I know a good way to speed it up by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

      How about "Luc Luc" the half man, half Ewok, half Wookie who is always bringing up stuff that never really happened but earnestly insists that it's true.

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
  15. Re:Star Wars should cease by newcastlejon · · Score: 1

    But it has swords, spacey ships, little toys, and fluffy teddy bears. That has to make up for the stilted dialogue, plots for simpletons (aka space cowboys), complete disregard for science in favour of space magic, and stupefying repetition.

    Are you talking about SW VII or Trek 11?

    --
    If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
  16. Re:Star Wars should cease by Derec01 · · Score: 2

    No, it's not phony. Fine, say hard sci-fi rather than real sci-fi, since it may seem less snooty, but it makes the same point. Star Wars is focused on an adventure in a society with advanced technology, not so much the societal implications of a particular imagined technological advance. I'm not sure why you consider "space opera" pejorative, it's just focused more on a personal journey than on a narrative about the effect of hyperdrive on a society, for instance. I love Star Wars, but I don't think the cast and crew consider it a priority to deeply consider the ramifications (or even consistencty) of the technology it presents.

  17. They figured by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    with all the money they made from the first movie, they can afford an original script.

  18. Re:story development... by lucm · · Score: 4, Informative

    to dick about with a 3-decade-long complex story by IGNORING THE PERSON WHO WROTE IT is just... well... disappointing.

    Maybe you need a refresher about how Star Wars was created. The original stuff that George Lucas wrote was confusing, rambling and boring. It's a bunch of editors (including the guy's wife) and Brian De Palma who carved out of this confusing script the masterpiece that was the first movie.

    Have a look at this book:
    http://www.howstarwarsconquere...

    --
    lucm, indeed.
  19. Re:Star Wars should cease by Rinikusu · · Score: 1

    You go to hell and you die.

    --
    If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
  20. Re:Star Wars should cease by lucm · · Score: 1

    On one hand there's a bunch of people exploring the universe, using teleportation to travel short distances and 3d printers to create food. On the other there's a bunch of people fighting with light sabers and using hyperdrive to run away from other spaceships. Both have aliens, energy shields, politics, fleets and a small band of heroes who do all the work even if there's thousands of people in their team.

    Any subcategory you create to classify those two stories differently is phony.

    --
    lucm, indeed.
  21. Re:Star Wars should cease by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Star Trek is more real sci-fi.

    Reroute power to the splodey consoles! Can you detect anything with your Betazed woo? What? Orcs^H^H^H^HKlingons with swords off the port bow?

  22. Re:Star Wars should cease by David_Hart · · Score: 1

    On one hand there's a bunch of people exploring the universe, using teleportation to travel short distances and 3d printers to create food. On the other there's a bunch of people fighting with light sabers and using hyperdrive to run away from other spaceships. Both have aliens, energy shields, politics, fleets and a small band of heroes who do all the work even if there's thousands of people in their team.

    Any subcategory you create to classify those two stories differently is phony.

    Yeah, cause neither holds a candle to "The Expanse", a better space opera than Star Wars and a better SciFi show than Star Trek... so there....

    and... that's my cue to duck.... (evil grin)

  23. Re:Star Wars should cease by viperidaenz · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Yeah, but Under Siege has that chick from baywatch jump out of a cake topless.

  24. Re:they needed more time... by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    Harrison Ford is getting old and doesn't need the cash like Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill

  25. GREED = Dark Side by CanEHdian · · Score: 1

    It's obvious where that dark side feeling comes from; Di$ney (c)orporation. I should have expected to find them holding the fans' leash. I recognized their foul stench as soon as I read the headline.

    --
    When the copyright term is "forever minus a day", live every day like it's the last.
  26. Re:story development... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Having recently rewatched the prequel trilogy and seen the new movie, I've come to the conclusion that we're wrong about George Lucas. He creates a brilliant setting and is excellent at creating stories and characters. His problem is that he's terrible at dialog and terrible at directing.

    They should have let Lucas write the draft for Episode VII and then handed it off to someone else to polish up and then have JJ Abrams direct that.

    Yes, that's right, the new Star Wars movie was SO BAD it made me appreciate the Phantom Menace. The story in Phantom Menace was 10 times better than the horror that is the Force Awakens. The acting and visuals were better in the Force Awakens, but who cares? There's more to a movie than flashy visuals.

    Give me another Phantom Menace any day rather than something as terrible as the Force Awakens.

  27. Re:story development... by lucm · · Score: 1

    There's more to a movie than flashy visuals.

    Excuse-me, are you from the past?

    --
    lucm, indeed.
  28. Re:Star Wars should cease by lucm · · Score: 1

    Yeah, cause neither holds a candle to "The Expanse", a better space opera than Star Wars and a better SciFi show than Star Trek... so there....

    and... that's my cue to duck.... (evil grin)

    No spoilers please! I'm waiting until there's enough episodes to go on a binge.

    --
    lucm, indeed.
  29. Re:Star Wars should cease by lucm · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Yeah, but Under Siege has that chick from baywatch jump out of a cake topless.

    Gary Busey?

    --
    lucm, indeed.
  30. Re:Champing at the bit!?!?!? by Bob_Who · · Score: 1

    .....Chimping on the nut? Cramping on the rag? Clamping on the bait?

    Cringing at the thought.

  31. Re:Star Wars should cease by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    fluffy teddy bears

    Those damn Ewoks are as bad as Tribbles in a Klingon's bed.

  32. Re:Star Wars should cease by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

    my favorite show ever is Star Trek TSG. Picard will always be my captain.

  33. Re:Star Wars should cease by vux984 · · Score: 2

    Any subcategory you create to classify those two stories differently is phony.

    The subcategory that separate them is:

    one considers the raminfications of the technology on society as a key part of the story; as a key theme; that's hard sf.

    one doesn't. the science fiction is just window dressing.

    If you can replace planets with islands, star ships with boats, and light sabres with metal ones and tell the same story then its not hard sf.

    The star trek episode where they've abstracted war to the point that the sims run, and people walk into suicide booths is hard SF. You can't remove the technology from that story. The de-personalisation of the conflict is a crucial point, the notion of a such a clean war and the extrapolation from the premise to the idea that such a war would never end, because it wasn't disruptive enough to the societies engaged in it... its not incidental to the plot -- its a primary theme.

    Not all star trek is hard sf though; lots of it is no different than star wars. Not that star wars is bad. But hard sf and space fantasy are very different things.

  34. perhaps a good thing? by bloodhawk · · Score: 2

    maybe it will give them time to actually come up with a story this time rather than just rehashing the original movies.

    1. Re:perhaps a good thing? by vandamme · · Score: 1

      My grandson is 4, so he needs to see new movies with the old plots like his dad did.

  35. Contrast by phorm · · Score: 1

    Now I like both (some of) Star Trek and (some of) Star Wars. Some things to keep in mind are that :
    * Trek was *many* series with some movies. SW was movies with a cartoon series, both had books
    * Trek had some abysmal episodes, but there's a lot more to pick from when digging for gold
    * Meesa Jar-Jar Bin... SHUT UP WESLEY!
    * Both had some exceptional actors. I don't think many can say Patrick Stuart is pretty awesome, and Ford rocks

    Most comparisons are likely going to be between STTOS and SW. I think overall Trek had more (quantity wise) memorable characters, but again it was a SERIES so there was more time for development. In the end though, some scenarios come to mind:

    William Shatner gets VD and misses the audition, so another actor takes Kirk. Would it be better or worse?

    Harrison Ford breaks his leg while saving a kitten from a tree, missing his audition. Better or worse?

    In the above, I'd say Trek might do better or the same, but SW would be worse off. To me that means SW's main actor was better, but also that a lot of what made it good was due to Ford.

    Now last scenario to drive it home:
    Shatner gets kicked off set when he's caught banging the director' s assistant. Instead, they cast as Kirk... Harrison Ford.
    Which one is the winner now? â

    1. Re:Contrast by greenfruitsalad · · Score: 1

      regarding shatner vs ford; what are you talking about? shatner is a vastly superior actor. he can pull off at least 5 faces. ford can do a neutral face and a stupid grin. nothing more.

      but then again, i am one of those people who think SW episodes 1, 2, 3 are superior to 4, 5, 6 in almost every aspect. so maybe it is i who has a skewed view of the world.

    2. Re:Contrast by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      William Shatner isn't that great, but somebody like Avery Brooks, Jeffrey Combs or maybe Connor Trinneer could have made a great Han Solo.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    3. Re:Contrast by phorm · · Score: 1

      Does this count as one of those faces?

    4. Re:Contrast by toddestan · · Score: 1

      but then again, i am one of those people who think SW episodes 1, 2, 3 are superior to 4, 5, 6 in almost every aspect. so maybe it is i who has a skewed view of the world.

      Uhhhh.... it's opposite day, isn't it?

  36. Re:Star Wars should cease by Derec01 · · Score: 1

    Disagree entirely. They have similar *settings*. Their stories share the goal of entertaining, but beyond that have entirely different purposes. Shaun of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead are both movies about a zombie plague. One is a horror comedy, the other is horror drama. "Hard sci-fi" is an extra descriptor that indicates a goal of the movie is to explore impact of X technology. It's just not something that applies to Star Wars.

  37. Re:story development... by rockout · · Score: 1

    If I want a great story, I'll read a book. Sure, some movies have both - great acting/visuals AND a great story, but those are rare, and always have been. Given the choice between one or the other, I'll take the Force Awakens over the acting mess that was the prequels. I'm in that theater for 2 hours to be entertained. The god-awful acting and dialogue in those three prequels took me right out of the story anyway. I found myself not caring about any of it. At least this new one kept me interested. That's more than 90% of all new releases are able to accomplish. I'll take it.

    --
    I've learned that they're worthless, so I don't read AC comments anymore.
  38. Re:story development... by rockout · · Score: 1

    The past had plenty of movies that were terrible. We just forget about them because, well, because they're forgettable. It's not like every movie was The Godfather or Pulp Fiction or whatever movie you have in your top 5. 99% of them sucked, in every decade. Memory wipes out the bad ones and reminds you of the good ones.

    --
    I've learned that they're worthless, so I don't read AC comments anymore.
  39. They didn't advance the SW universe enough. by master_p · · Score: 1

    I was a fan of the original Star Wars, they are tremendously well done space opera movies, but their time has passed. Lightsabers, the Millenium Falcon, the stupid Storm Troopers, the death star/planet, the masked bad guy, etc all seen before. The latest movie, although suberbly executed, was not fresh at all. It was a rehash of all the things we have seen in the past.

    I hope they take those 7 months and update the Star Wars Universe, at last.

  40. Re:story development... by nohup · · Score: 1

    You appreciate Phantom Menace? You have GOT to check out this epic takedown of the Phantom Menace. http://redlettermedia.com/plin...

  41. Re: Star Wars should cease by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 1

    ed

    --
    ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
  42. Re:story development... by lucm · · Score: 1

    99% of them sucked, in every decade. Memory wipes out the bad ones and reminds you of the good ones.

    Here's my top 5 of bad movies that are unforgettable, by decade.

    2010: Twixt (disclaimer: that's the only one in the list I was unable to watch until the end)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    2000s: Freddy Got Fingered
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    1990s: Passenger 57 (best scene ever: "Who's in charge?")
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    1980s: Smokey and the Bandit part 3 (which has no Bandit in it)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    1970s: Good Guys Wear Black
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    --
    lucm, indeed.
  43. Re:Star Wars should cease by gl4ss · · Score: 1

    well..
    jj abrams star wars is certainly better than jj abrams star trek.
    both are plot challenged though.

    having luke only at the end for 4 secs was such a piece of crock though. like you need to haul the actor around doing pr work for that eh

    --
    world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  44. Re:story development... by Feral+Nerd · · Score: 1

    to dick about with a 3-decade-long complex story by IGNORING THE PERSON WHO WROTE IT is just... well... disappointing.

    Maybe you need a refresher about how Star Wars was created. The original stuff that George Lucas wrote was confusing, rambling and boring. It's a bunch of editors (including the guy's wife) and Brian De Palma who carved out of this confusing script the masterpiece that was the first movie.

    Have a look at this book: http://www.howstarwarsconquere...

    So if Lucas was allowed to write the script for Episode VI all on his own that could explain the 'Great Teddy Bear Luau of Endor'? Or did he just cave in to pressure from the toy companies for the film to promote the sales of furry toys as well as plastic action figures?

  45. Re:Star Wars should cease by alex67500 · · Score: 1

    Alright Mr Troll, here are 2 more questions for you:
    - Emacs or Vim?
    - Windows or Linux or MacOS ?

    (To those who modded you Informative, great work, the troll is not hungry anymore)

  46. You mean why Luke abandoned his friends? by DirkDaring · · Score: 2

    Going totally against his entire character of the prior films? The Luke I know wouldn't turn tail and run and hide, so there better be a damn good explanation.

    1. Re:You mean why Luke abandoned his friends? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      There's lots of things in that movie that demanded good explanations, and we didn't get them in that movie. They made it very clear that Rey has a very interesting back story, which we know almost nothing of. If the next couple of movies don't explain a lot of things I'm going to be annoyed.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  47. Episode 7 sucked by Forgefather · · Score: 1, Informative

    Hopefully it will give them time to make a good movie unlike that poorly directed poorly paced clusterfuck of a movie that spent all of the character development time ignoring the two new and interesting actors in favor of more overly long actions scenes and cameos with characters whose actors stopped giving a shit in 1980.

    --
    "There are lies, there are damn lies, and there are statistics"
  48. probably waiting for monsoon season to end by Thud457 · · Score: 1

    Somebody's pregnant.


    I predict it's Andy Serkis.

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  49. Re:Firefly by dywolf · · Score: 1

    browncoat scum!

    --
    The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
  50. Re:Star Wars should cease by IndustrialComplex · · Score: 1

    aka space cowboys

    See you space cowboy.

    (If being a simpleton gets me more space cowboy, I'm all for it)

    --
    Out of modpoints but really liked a post? 1BDkF6TtmmeZ3yqXbz9yhdYVqRYnwFoXDj
  51. Re:Star Wars should cease by IndustrialComplex · · Score: 1

    Space opera = future fantasy. Space magic.

    There is no reason someone can't enjoy futuristic fantasy stories.

    --
    Out of modpoints but really liked a post? 1BDkF6TtmmeZ3yqXbz9yhdYVqRYnwFoXDj
  52. Re: Star Wars should cease by present_arms · · Score: 1

    Edlin :D *runs*

    --
    http://chimpbox.us
  53. Re:Star Wars should cease by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

    Years later they're still flying around in a highly visible bright white ship pointlessly adorned with christmas lights as if they're trying to say to the closest romulan cruiser "HEY, WE'RE OVERE HERE!"

    Painting the Enterprise pitch black would make zero difference whatsoever. It would still be perfectly visible in infrared, as would be anything with a temperature above 2.7 Kelvin. Aside from magical plot contrivances like cloaking devices, there's no such thing as camouflage in space.

    Then they take and endanger a crew of hundreds of people all over when on several occasions they've proved you really only need about a half dozen people to make the ship go.

    This is valid criticism, especially since they created another plot contrivance (saucer separation) to address that very issue, then barely used it.

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  54. Re:Star Wars should cease by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

    If you can replace planets with islands, star ships with boats, and light sabres with metal ones and tell the same story then its not hard sf.

    And replace droids with slaves -- an issue which Star Trek (at least, pre-Abrams) would not just gloss over the way Star Wars does.

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

  55. Re:Star Wars should cease by painandgreed · · Score: 1

    Star Wars is a space opera. Star Trek is more real sci-fi.

    *Walks away whistling to myself after casting disturbing glances at the speaker*

  56. Re:"who doesn't want to make human torches"? by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

    I am surprised there isn't some good faith contractual violation here. When acquiring the rights to the movie, you might assume continued promotion via comicbook and so on.

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  57. Re:Star Wars should cease by c · · Score: 1

    The star trek episode where they've abstracted war to the point that the sims run, and people walk into suicide booths is hard SF. You can't remove the technology from that story.

    Russian Roulette is hardly hard SF, even if you scale it up to a nation. Dice rolls and cyanide pills would come close enough for storytelling purposes.

    --
    Log in or piss off.
  58. Re:Star Wars should cease by Coren22 · · Score: 1

    'Star Wars: Episode VIII' Delayed By Seven Months (engadget.com)

    See that engadget.com at the end of the title, Dice has started hiding the link right there.

    --
    APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  59. Re: Star Wars should cease by KlomDark · · Score: 1

    Notepad++

  60. Re: by shuz · · Score: 1

    Joe

    --
    There is or can be built a machine that can simulate any physical object. -Church-Turing principle
  61. Re: Star Wars should cease by WallyL · · Score: 1

    DIP switch

  62. Re:Star Wars should cease by Chelloveck · · Score: 1

    Star Trek is more real sci-fi.

    You owe me a new keyboard.

    --
    Chelloveck
    I give up on debugging. From now on, SIGSEGV is a feature.
  63. It's ok, we have Star Trek by JohnStock · · Score: 1

    Which is just another Star Wars episode anyway thanks to JJ.

  64. Re:Star Wars should cease by Trogre · · Score: 1

    People love false dichotomies.

    --
    "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
  65. Re:That's alright by desdinova+216 · · Score: 1

    bargain theaters still exist?

  66. Re:Star Wars should cease by lucm · · Score: 1

    Space opera = future fantasy. Space magic.

    How is teleportation more scientific than "The Force"? Because Jedi mind tricks are not done using hardware? That's like seeing surgery (a mechanical process) as the only legitimate branch of medicine.

    In recent Star Wars movies they've made an effort to explain what The Force is and why some species are not affected by it. It's not perfect but I'd say this is different from magic.

    --
    lucm, indeed.
  67. Re:Star Wars should cease by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    My personal favorite was Picard's practice of, when the ship's sensors weren't good enough, sending Geordi to Ten Forward to look out the window.

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  68. Re:Star Wars should cease by david_thornley · · Score: 1

    What do you see as left-wing politics in the new Star Wars? Is it left-wing to oppose a military takeover? Is it left-wing to be a competent female main character with fighting ability?

    --
    "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  69. Re:Star Wars should cease by mjwx · · Score: 1

    Star Wars is an awful franchise. Star Trek is far superior -- better characters, better plots, more imaginative, better writing, etc... Star Wars should cease.

    Star Wars is a space opera. Star Trek is more real sci-fi. Both have their purposes, and can co-exist. why do we have to choose?

    Star Trek is also space opera. They just had some better writers. Not that Star Wars was all that bad, but it was the fact they had some decent actors in there (Alec Guiness, Harrison Ford) and a very compelling story.

    Star Trek also had more episodes (about 800 ish from memory for all 5 series). so it's easy to get 10 episodes of pure gold from that than 7 movies. That being said, ST had no problems falling back on a bit of deus ex machina to solve problems. Things like "repolarising the deflector shields" (you think for all their vaunted brilliance, Starfleet engineers would put the batteries in the right way the first time) or "ejecting the warp core". This got worse during the Berman/Braga era.

    Star Trek, especially TNG and later series were more about exploring the human experience and aspects of humanity were often the focus of episodes (racism, violence, compassion) more often than not, reflected in alien species. Data's character was largely a means to examine human emotions. Star Wars was more about telling a grandiose story (much like B5 did).

    But I digress, I agree completely both can co-exist and a lot of people like both (myself included).

    --
    Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  70. Re:Star Wars should cease by rsborg · · Score: 1

    Is this the equivalent of waving your hands and telling us that we don't need to see your identification? That these in fact are not the nerds we're looking for?

    Move along.

    Touché. Engage, #1.

    --
    Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
  71. Re:Champing at the bit!?!?!? by Bob_Who · · Score: 1

    Champ is the correct word, people just don't know what it means anymore so they use chomp instead.

    I did not know that....

    Now I feel like a chump.

  72. Re:Star Wars should cease by RandomExile · · Score: 1

    Star Trek was more real sci-fi. Otherwise, concur.

  73. Re:Star Wars should cease by thoughtlover · · Score: 1

    my favorite show ever is Star Trek TSG. Picard will always be my captain.

    Star Trek: The Sexy Generation

    --
    No sig for you! Come back one year!
  74. Re:Star Wars should cease by toddestan · · Score: 1

    It was pretty obvious that the Enterprise-D was designed for diplomacy and exploration. Yes, it's armed, but it's not particularly well set up for combat, which is evident from the way the bridge is laid out, how the weapons systems are set up, and the overall design. Which is probably why it tended to get its ass kicked in a lot of combat situations.

  75. Re:Star Wars should cease by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    I was thinking Erika Eleniak, but what ever floats your boat I guess.

  76. You crossed it, I knocked it in by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    Some people do.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."