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Why is Star Wars so popular?

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Greatoneshere

Greatoneshere

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1 hour ago, CitizenVectron said:

Hey, two are great (ESB and ANH), two are quite good (ROTJ and TLJ), one is pretty good (RO)...but the rest do kind of suck.

 

This is more accurate. Only "two" of the movies are good lol. The OP is ridiculous. Two of the movies are downright classics which will forever be remembered that forever changed the history of cinema in the same way that Sgt. Pepper did for music, in many ways. Two more are quite good, as you said, and I also very much enjoy RO. The prequels, Solo, and TFA/TROS are bad, with TFA having some redeeming qualities.

 

1 hour ago, gamer.tv said:

The universe it inhabits is incredibly engaging and, although not all amazing, I've enjoyed every movie. 

 

And this.

 

It's really not hard to understand the allure of cool worlds and mythologies. Space opera is an attractive setting and genre.

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ort

ort

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When the original trilogy was coming out, it really was like nothing else. It was a level of quality that was clearly above all other sci-fi and fantasy stuff from that era.

 

It was fun and had a rich deep universe and every single kid I knew was obsessed with it.

 

There wasn't as much competition for our attention. There weren't 10 different good movie franchises, or amazing television series, or really high quality children entertainment on TV, or video on demand or video games that didn't look like 8 blocks on a screen... it was a different time and Star Wars was this massive cultural thing... and then that good will just spread out from that. A lot of it was timing.

 

It is weird, I was a HUGE Star Wars nut. For like, a long time. But most of my love and affection for the series has been destroyed by pretty much everything that's come out since the OT.

 

I still love the OT. I HATE the special editions and I really hate George Lucas stubborn refusal to release the original cuts. The prequels are three of the worst movies ever created. I actually enjoy watching them in the same way I enjoy watching something like the Room. They are so bad you can't help but be mesmerized by the overwhelming awfulness of them. They are just so bad. So very very bad.

 

The new trilogy was okay. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it... it was just kinda there. The first two are decent the last one is a total shit show. Solo is boring and bad, Rogue One was decent...

 

I dunno, Star Wars is just another thing now. I'll go see them when they come out, but thew warm tingles and nostalgia high are all long gone.

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SaysWho?

SaysWho?

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I started my gf (@Keyser_Soze) with Rogue One.

 

Yeesh, bad move. She hated it, but her complaints had to do with her not getting anything. She is COMPLETELY green to Star Wars, so the Empire existing, the Jedi, Vader's role in the movie, what Rogue One was trying to do, it all was just confusing. I was excited to show it to her and go into 4 so she would recognize Tarkin and Vader, but no, don't do it. Even if you're like me and dig Rogue One, that's something you watch afterward because it requires you to know shit.

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Keyser_Soze

Keyser_Soze

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6 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

I started my gf (@Keyser_Soze) with Rogue One.

 

Yeesh, bad move. She hated it, but her complaints had to do with her not getting anything. She is COMPLETELY green to Star Wars, so the Empire existing, the Jedi, Vader's role in the movie, what Rogue One was trying to do, it all was just confusing. I was excited to show it to her and go into 4 so she would recognize Tarkin and Vader, but no, don't do it. Even if you're like me and dig Rogue One, that's something you watch afterward because it requires you to know shit.

 

You should have started with Episode 1 and then she'd get an appreciation for the later movies the more you watch. :p

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Greatoneshere

Greatoneshere

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1 hour ago, ort said:

I dunno, Star Wars is just another thing now. I'll go see them when they come out, but thew warm tingles and nostalgia high are all long gone.

 

Your entire post is a sentiment I've been echoing since TFA (yes, TFA, not TROS) came out. I also hate the prequels (yes, even now, they suck, despite others' reappraisals of it on the internet) but that was Lucas just sucking, but it was still Lucas and canon. But once I came out of TFA in theaters, I was like: "this is just like any other franchise now, Abrams has killed Star Wars" and while kids might like the Pirates of the Caribbean adventure of it all, it's not the OT. The feel, the epic David Lean inspired vibe of it all, was gone. I enjoy some of the new movies a lot, but it's not the same. It's just another franchise to me now. TLJ and RO were the closest I felt the new movies got to the old. And certain parts of The Mandalorian.

 

1 hour ago, SaysWho? said:

I started my gf (@Keyser_Soze) with Rogue One.

 

Yeesh, bad move. She hated it, but her complaints had to do with her not getting anything. She is COMPLETELY green to Star Wars, so the Empire existing, the Jedi, Vader's role in the movie, what Rogue One was trying to do, it all was just confusing. I was excited to show it to her and go into 4 so she would recognize Tarkin and Vader, but no, don't do it. Even if you're like me and dig Rogue One, that's something you watch afterward because it requires you to know shit.

 

Wow, I could have told you that'd be an awful idea haha. As a person who watches way too many movies, all my ex-gf's (and now my current wife as well) have all had to suffer my ways of watching things, but what they slowly learn is it's always to their benefit to maximize their enjoyment. My wife totally gets my methods now. Always production order, always. Regardless of prequels or whatever, stories build off of what came before. Writers can't create from what didn't exist. So a prequel like the Star Wars prequels presumes knowledge of the force because the OT already exists - even with the OT technically being sequels to the prequels the prequels presume understanding of the OT because that's what people know in real life. Production/release order! Yes, the movies are old, just tell her she'll enjoy the new movies more if she "suffers" the old ones first. At first the ex-gf's and my wife didn't get why I was so pushy about it, but once I got them through a few franchises they started to get it. My wife, for example, hadn't seen the Mission: Impossible movies but was interested in Mission: Impossible - Fallout based on the trailer (she was right to be interested). And I said: "we can't go until you've seen all the other ones" and she was like: "ugh, why?!" But, right before Fallout's release, we did indeed sit down and go through them all properly, etc. And when we watched Fallout, she was like: "yeah, I wouldn't have understood anything, it was way better this way" and I did the same for the MCU, the X-Men films, Jason Bourne, Fast & Furious, Riddick, everything. Always production order, and always include everything, is better, if you can. :) :p 

 

A good example is, if your relationship lasts, you can eventually do it a different way in the future. For instance, when my wife and I first dated, both of us being LOTR fans, we went through the LOTR trilogy, and then the Hobbit trilogy (all extended editions). Five years later, we returned to the series since we're fans, but this time, since we'd already seen them plenty of times, we did the Hobbit trilogy first and then the LOTR trilogy, and that was very cool in its own way, now that we'd seen it the "right" way. So you can always do Rogue One into Episode 4 someday! And the next time, she'll know what's up and be fully invested. In fact, my wife and I (both of us being big Star Wars fans) did just that, and it was cool as a connective story! But you gotta lay the groundwork with the correct initial viewing order first. :p 

 

59 minutes ago, Pikachu said:

Release order is the way to go!

 

Yep!

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SaysWho?

SaysWho?

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44 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

Your entire post is a sentiment I've been echoing since TFA (yes, TFA, not TROS) came out. I also hate the prequels (yes, even now, they suck, despite others' reappraisals of it on the internet) but that was Lucas just sucking, but it was still Lucas and canon. But once I came out of TFA in theaters, I was like: "this is just like any other franchise now, Abrams has killed Star Wars" and while kids might like the Pirates of the Caribbean adventure of it all, it's not the OT. The feel, the epic David Lean inspired vibe of it all, was gone. I enjoy some of the new movies a lot, but it's not the same. It's just another franchise to me now. TLJ and RO were the closest I felt the new movies got to the old. And certain parts of The Mandalorian.

 

 

Wow, I could have told you that'd be an awful idea haha. As a person who watches way too many movies, all my ex-gf's (and now my current wife as well) have all had to suffer my ways of watching things, but what they slowly learn is it's always to their benefit to maximize their enjoyment. My wife totally gets my methods now. Always production order, always. Regardless of prequels or whatever, stories build off of what came before. Writers can't create from what didn't exist. So a prequel like the Star Wars prequels presumes knowledge of the force because the OT already exists - even with the OT technically being sequels to the prequels the prequels presume understanding of the OT because that's what people know in real life. Production/release order! Yes, the movies are old, just tell her she'll enjoy the new movies more if she "suffers" the old ones first. At first the ex-gf's and my wife didn't get why I was so pushy about it, but once I got them through a few franchises they started to get it. My wife, for example, hadn't seen the Mission: Impossible movies but was interested in Mission: Impossible - Fallout based on the trailer (she was right to be interested). And I said: "we can't go until you've seen all the other ones" and she was like: "ugh, why?!" But, right before Fallout's release, we did indeed sit down and go through them all properly, etc. And when we watched Fallout, she was like: "yeah, I wouldn't have understood anything, it was way better this way" and I did the same for the MCU, the X-Men films, Jason Bourne, Fast & Furious, Riddick, everything. Always production order, and always include everything, is better, if you can. :) :p 

 

A good example is, if your relationship lasts, you can eventually do it a different way in the future. For instance, when my wife and I first dated, both of us being LOTR fans, we went through the LOTR trilogy, and then the Hobbit trilogy (all extended editions). Five years later, we returned to the series since we're fans, but this time, since we'd already seen them plenty of times, we did the Hobbit trilogy first and then the LOTR trilogy, and that was very cool in its own way, now that we'd seen it the "right" way. So you can always do Rogue One into Episode 4 someday! And the next time, she'll know what's up and be fully invested. In fact, my wife and I (both of us being big Star Wars fans) did just that, and it was cool as a connective story! But you gotta lay the groundwork with the correct initial viewing order first. :p 

 

 

Yep!

 

She has agreed to watch through ESB. And I agreed that if she still wasn't feeling it that she didn't have to watch anything after that.

 

Best part: all she knows, when I asked her, is that Leia/Luke are related. She doesn't know THE BIG TWIST. I'm so excited about that. 

 

So to the original point, I didn't remember there being so many things you should have known prior to watching. But now I realize some of it just didn't seem like they needed context because I already know the entire story. Like when she heard imperial this, imperial that. When she was telling me she didn't like the movie, she asks me, "So... what are all these imperial things, exactly?" And I'm like, "The Empire!" And she's like, "Empire of what?" And on the surface, it's like, "The galaxy, duh," but the movie doesn't really delve into that because it expects you to know it. Could be a country, could be a planet, could be a galaxy, could be the whole damn universe. She understood some of the character motivations, specifically Tarkin and Krennic. But for her, Rogue One did a lot but it didn't mean anything to her.

 

I think I got excited because I read a post somewhere online where someone showed his gf/wife Rogue One and then ANH. And when she saw Tarkin, she said, "Oh no, it's him." So I was excited to try that. Now I'm kicking myself for basically starting her off in the middle of the Harry Potter series.

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Greatoneshere

Greatoneshere

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2 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

 

She has agreed to watch through ESB. And I agreed that if she still wasn't feeling it that she didn't have to watch anything after that.

 

Best part: all she knows, when I asked her, is that Leia/Luke are related. She doesn't know THE BIG TWIST. I'm so excited about that. 

 

So to the original point, I didn't remember there being so many things you should have known prior to watching. But now I realize some of it just didn't seem like they needed context because I already know the entire story. Like when she heard imperial this, imperial that. When she was telling me she didn't like the movie, she asks me, "So... what are all these imperial things, exactly?" And I'm like, "The Empire!" And she's like, "Empire of what?" And on the surface, it's like, "The galaxy, duh," but the movie doesn't really delve into that because it expects you to know it. Could be a country, could be a planet, could be a galaxy, could be the whole damn universe. She understood some of the character motivations, specifically Tarkin and Krennic. But for her, Rogue One did a lot but it didn't mean anything to her.

 

I think I got excited because I read a post somewhere online where someone showed his gf/wife Rogue One and then ANH. And when she saw Tarkin, she said, "Oh no, it's him." So I was excited to try that. Now I'm kicking myself for basically starting her off in the middle of the Harry Potter series.

 

Haha, this post is great. It's all good - I see the thinking, but yeah, franchises just build off of themselves too much. And my wife and I have a similar agreement when I'm testing the waters - if they don't dig the initial movie or movies, then we can give up. But fortunately, that's never happened - my wife even stuck through the Saw movies (all of em) when we did Halloween a few years ago. But it's very fair and needed (for them) to have such an agreement in place. Once they get invested in the mythology and the backstory and the connective tissue between films, they get hooked like a binge-worthy TV show and can't let go. It's why these franchises get so many movies in the first place, something about them gets people in most cases. Not that everyone is a fan of every franchise, but when viewed correctly it helps the franchises immeasurably.

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SaysWho?

SaysWho?

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2 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said:

 

Haha, this post is great. It's all good - I see the thinking, but yeah, franchises just build off of themselves too much. And my wife and I have a similar agreement when I'm testing the waters - if they don't dig the initial movie or movies, then we can give up. But fortunately, that's never happened - my wife even stuck through the Saw movies (all of em) when we did Halloween a few years ago. But it's very fair and needed (for them) to have such an agreement in place.

 

I hope she really digs it because I'd love to get her to 8 to see if she has the "WHY DID LUKE NOT JUMP ARUOND AND KILL EVERYBODDY?" reaction that some others did who were alive when the original released. :p  Plus it's probably the best directed next to ESB; they're both marvels.

 

I don't know if she's gonna LOVE ANH just because it does have more of a 70s pacing, I guess you could say? I feel most movies had a slightly slower pace, at least, and it shows its age more than the other originals. Then again, the climax is one hell of an edit; it's still exciting despite 70s tech because of the damn edits and music.

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Greatoneshere

Greatoneshere

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55 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

 

I hope she really digs it because I'd love to get her to 8 to see if she has the "WHY DID LUKE NOT JUMP ARUOND AND KILL EVERYBODDY?" reaction that some others did who were alive when the original released. :p  Plus it's probably the best directed next to ESB; they're both marvels.

 

I don't know if she's gonna LOVE ANH just because it does have more of a 70s pacing, I guess you could say? I feel most movies had a slightly slower pace, at least, and it shows its age more than the other originals. Then again, the climax is one hell of an edit; it's still exciting despite 70s tech because of the damn edits and music.

 

Agree about ESB and TLJ being the best directed - though ROTJ and RO are no slouches. ANH is slower and thus more 70's, but it's also by design - as I said, Lucas was going for the tone and atmosphere and vibe, in part, on David Lean epics like Lawrence of Arabia - hence, in part, the setting of Tatooine in the first place. It's an old film, no question, but it's also intentionally slower is all (which I liked). The vibe carries over to ESB, less so with ROTJ. You'll just notice when you watch the OT vs. any of the other movies how quiet they often are. Just quiet scenes of beeps and boops and nothing happening before a dialogue scene or something kicks in. It's all very slow and methodical, especially by comparison to, like TROS, which felt like Star Wars on cocaine.

 

22 minutes ago, sblfilms said:

My wife and I have no such agreement. Feel free to fall asleep if you don’t like it :p 

 

Haha, also completely valid - I think with me it's often me trying to share something with her than anything else (otherwise I'd just go watch it on my own). If she's falling asleep, that's probably the same as her saying: "I'm out" and if I'm enjoying the film or whatever still, I will indeed continue without her (obviously I'm not going to keep making her watch). :p 

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ort

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ROTJ is well directed. The problems are in the script.

 

TROS is like you took 3 different Star Wars movies and boiled them down into one super dense nugget of Star Wars. It's more like the crack cocaine.

 

Someone somewhere once said watching TROS is like telling your friend you love potato salad... so he ties you to a chair and mashes 800 lbs of potato salad into your face for 2 hours straight.

 

I really disliked pretty much everything about TROS. It wasn't quite prequel bad, but it was closer to that quality level than it wasn't. It took a giant poo all over the good will they built up over the first two movies.

 

I also thought the Mandalorian was just kinda okay, but I seem to be pretty alone in that opinion.

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CastlevaniaNut18

CastlevaniaNut18

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I guess it get why they were so popular when they first came out. It was something new and the technology was impressive. 
 

But personally, I find them boring as hell. I didn’t try to watch them until my 20s and it was pretty painful. Started with the prequels, but I couldn’t be bothered to watch Return of the Jedi. Traded the Blu-ray set for a CIB Conker’s Bad Fur Day and it was one of the most ridiculously profitable trades I’ve ever made. 
 

My biggest issue is the wooden acting and dialogue. It was unforgivably bad in the prequels, especially since they were so much newer, but the originals weren’t much better. Like I was watching a high school play, just going by the line delivery. 
 

My husband felt the same as me. He’s also never seen them before we tried watching them. We’re nerds who don’t give a fuck about SW. 

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