Knights & Knaves Alehouse

Trailer 3

Like most, my emotions when watching the new Star Wars trailers have fallen somewhere between encouraged to peeing in my pants with excitement.

However, being the old, cynical lout that I am, I remembered the fan reactions to the Phantom Menace trailers, and thought, "It's a trap!"

So, in the interest of science, I went to the youtubes and looked up the Phantom Menace trailers, and tried to look upon them dispassionately. I have to say all the warning signs are there, that Menace was going to be a muddled mess. Cartoon-y CGI and jarringly inappropriate humor being the two biggest offenders. Oh, and pod racers.

The trailers for Force Awakens look like someone is trying to make a Star Wars movie, while the trailer for Menace looks like someone made a Star Wars themed amusement park.

It's Star Wars. It should be fun. Light sabers and space battles and robots and lots of special effects and stuff. Loved these movies when I was a kid.

- Wheggi

I thought it would be about time for another trailer. Thanks for sharing that.

I'm really disappointed by the addition of "diversity" to the storyline.
I don't understand how those themes are necessary in any way.
All that stuff is fine for the real world and tumblr but it has nothing to do with Star Wars.

DungeonDork wrote:I'm really disappointed by the addition of "diversity" to the storyline.
I don't understand how those themes are necessary in any way.
All that stuff is fine for the real world and tumblr but it has nothing to do with Star Wars.

I don't follow you. Could you expound of this, please?

PM'd. I don't want to derail the thread.

DungeonDork wrote:PM'd. I don't want to derail the thread.

Yeah. Probably just as well.

I don't recollect any lens-flares in the recently-released trailer, but JJ could be keeping those up his cocky little sleeve until the premiere.

Trailers are at least as deceptive as bookcovers. I'll wait for critical reviews and ignore the omigawd, spasmatic orgy of fanboiz.

ThirstyStirge wrote:I don't recollect any lens-flares in the recently-released trailer, but JJ could be keeping those up his cocky little sleeve until the premiere.

Trailers are at least as deceptive as bookcovers. I'll wait for critical reviews and ignore the omigawd, spasmatic orgy of fanboiz.

Dude, all three of these trailers are light years better than the prequel trilogy... or at least I and II. III was passable.

I have high hopes here. Abrams is in our age group... born 1966... and is a major SW junkie. With Star Trek, he admitted he never really watched it, and it shows. It was as if he took a grand tour of the more well received stuff and just regurgitated it.

But if he crushes my SW dreams with this... oh boy. I will retaliate by never watching again anything he makes, and that includes LOST. That'll teach'im...

He just comes off as a greasy, arrogant, typical H'wood twat. It's easy to loathe him. On the up-side, it could have been worse with Michael KA-POW BAM KABOOM Bay directing it.

I'm not hung up on the whole "diversity" agenda this movie seems to be pushing. *shrug* SW has always been one of the most racially diverse IPs in pan-media entertainment history. *daydreams about blue-skinned Twi'lek dancer chix*

If the new kids on the block can do a good job selling their respective roles, more power to them. I'm more worried about the Olds looking too haggard to be in front of the camera after all these years, esp. Ford.

ThirstyStirge wrote:He just comes off as a greasy, arrogant, typical H'wood twat. It's easy to loathe him. On the up-side, it could have been worse with Michael KA-POW BAM KABOOM Bay directing it.

Dude's actually pretty brilliant when he wants to be, IMHO.

I'm not hung up on the whole "diversity" agenda this movie seems to be pushing. *shrug* SW has always been one of the most racially diverse IPs in pan-media entertainment history. *daydreams about blue-skinned Twi'lek dancer chix*

SW diverse? I never saw it, other than I remember seeing Lando in ESB and some of us said "wow, they actually put a brother in the film." Half the frickin' cast is Jewish in the old flicks. They had to get James Earl Jones to voice Vader because David Prowse sounds like he should be taking your order at Wendy's.

If the new kids on the block can do a good job selling their respective roles, more power to them. I'm more worried about the Olds looking too haggard to be in front of the camera after all these years, esp. Ford.

Well, that's the danger with resurrecting a franchise that effectively ended 30 years ago... not counting the prequels (which I don't).

I love this upcoming movie for no other reason that it's stirring up prequel hate.

ThirstyStirge wrote:I don't recollect any lens-flares in the recently-released trailer, but JJ could be keeping those up his cocky little sleeve until the premiere.

Oh there's at least one lens flare. You see it in trailer #3 on the bridge of the star destroyer.

Been thinking about Phantom Menace lately. And the more I think about it, the more pissed off I get.

The Jedi are sent to negotiate an end to a trade dispute between the Federation and Naboo. What's the dispute? It has something to do with taxes. Is someone not paying their taxes? The Federation is blockading Naboo. Are they keeping goods from coming in or from leaving?

I mean, we learn that the Naboo crises was all set up by Palpatine to further his plans, but as the ostensible main villains of the movie, we have absolutely no idea what the motivations of the Federation are. Why are they doing what they're doing? What are the stakes?

Compare it to the first movie. What's the first thing we see? Big ass ship chasing down a much littler ship. They're after the stolen plans. Where are the plans? The entire movie flows from the first scene. Then we get a dramatic illustration of the stakes when they blow up Alderan. Ok, now we're invested. Get these plans to the rebels so we can blow that horrible thing up. You can do it, Luke!

Ok. Back to Palpatine and his scheme. His plan is to 1. Incite a no confidence vote in the current chancellor, 2. Engender sympathy for himself due to his home planet being attacked, 3. Get himself installed as the new Chancellor, and 4 begin a galaxy-wide civil war. All fine and good. Once the invasion of Naboo begins, his plan is set in motion.

So what the Hell is he having Darth Maul doing for him all movie? He has Maul directly working against his plan in trying to keep the Queen and party from getting to Corsucant from Tatooine. It's the Queen's plea to the Senate that gets the no confidence vote done in the Senate. Then, after he's been appointed Chancellor, Palpatine has Maul trying to help the invasion of Naboo succeed. What's the point? Palpatine is already Chancellor. The war has already begun. What is his motivation here?

More to the point, why does Palpatine use Maul at all. All Maul serves to do is to alert the Jedi that there's more going on here than a trade dispute. It makes no sense.

I mean, this is basic film-making stuff. What are the motivations of the main characters? They simply aren't clear. Everything they do, they do because they have to do it in order to set up the original three movies. We don't learn anything new, that we couldn't have at least surmised from the original movies.

rogatny wrote:Been thinking about Phantom Menace lately. And the more I think about it, the more pissed off I get.

You know the one thing that pissed me off the most about it?
The race announcer that talked like Howard Cosell.
That totally broke the fourth wall for me.