(And Jon Voight, too).
Posted on 11/22/2015 5:07:58 AM PST by Perdogg
Riding galaxy-sized expectations, the new "Star Wars" movie is already setting records for pre-opening ticket sales, with still a month to go. But does that mean the movie's destined to be the biggest of all time?
Though several signs point in that direction, the outcome isn't guaranteed.
The movie is on track to have the biggest December opening ever, topping "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," which took in $85 million in the U.S. and Canada on its opening weekend in December 2012.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
(And Jon Voight, too).
The thing is, if it sucks, it will probably STILL make a ton of money simply by having the "Star Wars" name in the title, and Star Wars fanboys will STILL claim its awesome and that they were blown away by it. I believe its opening weekend of The Force Awakens is ALREADY sold out. The Phantom Menace cost $115 million and grossed over $1 billion. As I recall, it wasn't until about a year later than Star Wars fans admitted in hindsight that it was a letdown, and that didn't stop them from beating down the door to see the follow up film (Episode II: Attack of the Clones), which was ALSO crap. Star Wars fans even rushed out to pay MORE money to get the release on Blu-Ray and watch it again in theaters when it was re-released in "3D" a decade later, as if that would somehow improve Lucas' moronic script and nauseating Jar Jar slapstick.
Simply put, the amount of $$$ that The Force Awakens makes, and the "buzz" from Star Wars fans will not tie into the quality of the actual film at all. If it's great, it will shatter box office records. If it's garbage, it will shatter box office records.
>> That was the biggest letdown of all. Anakin turns out to be some chubby-faced, auto-racing brat kid <<
Yep. He really didn't do much in the first prequel film aside from shouting "yippeeeeeee!" a lot and winning a pod race officiated by Jabba the Hutt. Lucas had to stretch out the "prequel" story to 3 films since the original 1977 movie was "Episode IV". As a result, "Episode I" was pretty much a waste of time and could have been told in 20 mins.
>> And then he goes to the dark side only cause “she was gonna die†and then he kills her, don’t get me started. They barely explored his clear lust for power which should have been the only reason. <<
A lot of stuff in the prequels just didn't gel with the originals. In the original trilogy, Leia remembers seeing her mother as a little girl, saying she looked "beautiful, but very sad". In the prequels, her mother dies giving birth to her. In the original trilogy, Obi Wan Kenobi tells Luke he hasn't gone by the name Obi-Wan "since before you were born". In the prequels, he's still going by "Obi Wan" while he's dropping off Luke with his Aunt & Uncle. Lucas likes to make stuff up as he goes along and pretend like it was "all part of the master plan" he had laid out. Of course that's true since the original 1977 film, when Obi Wan tells Luke "Darth Vader was your father's best friend, but betrayed and then murdered your father" and then in the third film its retroconned to "The dark side consumed your father and erased his original identity, so Darth Vader SYMBOLICALLY killed Anakin".
>> The Emperor was the best thing about the prequels. He should be in these sequels, but it ain’t looking like he is. <<
Agreed. Great evil cunning character that manipulated everything behind the scenes. Ironic that Lucas was bashing Bush, since the prequels were very much prophetic about the rise of the Obamamania being the downfall of America. Furthermore, it might be the only time in film history where an actor reprised a role 30 years later and played a YOUNGER version of the character, but it worked. My favorite scene was when Samuel L. Jackson reflects The Emperor's own lighting spell back on him and it fries his face, causing him to end up looking like we saw in the original trilogy.
Problem is, they killed him off pretty decisively in 1983 film. I suppose they could bring him back as a vengeful ghost or something. I heard Ewan MacGregor will be back, playing the ghost of the elderly Alec Guinness version of the character. I'm not confident that will work.
>> if this flick doesn’t totally suck, it’ll be a pleasant surprise. <<
Agreed. I suppose its possible, but one issue I have is seeing how a third trilogy would work. The first six films were pretty much the rise and fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker. That story has been told and a lot of the best characters are now elderly or dead. Episode VII seems superfluous, but Disney wants to squeeze more $$$ out of this franchise.
A big problem with movies today is that there is too little time for character development. How much can you really cover in an hour and a half or so ? You need a series to do it justice.
For that reason, I am ambivalent about seeing it. I have a hunch it will reek of PC. Maybe I've outgrown this stuff anyway; don't want to waste my money.
I prefer the smaller, artsier films, like Rochelle Rochelle.
“My favorite scene was when Samuel L. Jackson reflects The Emperor’s own lighting spell back on him and it fries his face, causing him to end up looking like we saw in the original trilogy.”
I’ve read a theory that The Emperor had a spell going on to disguise who and what he was and the lightning simply removed that facade.
I could buy that.
“A big problem with movies today is that there is too little time for character development. How much can you really cover in an hour and a half or so ? You need a series to do it justice.”
It’s a symptom of modern day “society”:
Low attention spans + a need for constant stimulation = little/no character development, but plenty of explosions.
I’ll go with the “lightning melted his face/dark side OD” over “his normal face was an illusion that he didn’t bother to replace”, which strikes me as fruity.
Just as “Padme died of a broken heart” (please) is fruity. She died cause she got friggin choked, those stupid medical droids should have lost their license to practice. ;p
I don’t think I like your tone.
One of Pacino’s best.
Ah, the early 80s...back when remakes (Scarface, The Thing, The Fly, Cat People, Little Shop of Horrors, To Be or Not to Be, etc.) were actually GOOD.
Of course, there were a few exceptions to the rule ::cough:: Bo Derek Tarzan ::cough::
When I treat my sweetie to the movies it is a sawbuck for both of us.
Yep. Some remakes were even better back then.
“Bo Derek”: Pushing 60 and still looking good.
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