WHAT THE HECK IS STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS ACTUALLY ABOUT?
It's about three young people having to learn how to take stewardship of their own lives while confronting their worst personal fears about themselves.
Or if you want to be literal, it's about a group of ragtag heroes trying to discover the key to liberating the galaxy from a tyrannical evil that seeks to kill everyone standing in their way.
It is also about Poe Dameron, the sexiest fucking starfighter pilot you will ever meet.
WHAT THE HECK IS STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS ACTUALLY ABOUT?
It's about three young people having to learn how to take stewardship of their own lives while confronting their worst personal fears about themselves.
Or if you want to be literal, it's about a group of ragtag heroes trying to discover the key to liberating the galaxy from a tyrannical evil that seeks to kill everyone standing in their way.
It is also about Poe Dameron, the sexiest fucking starfighter pilot you will ever meet.
Yeah but
What's it about?
*eyeroll*
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
WHAT THE HECK IS STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS ACTUALLY ABOUT?
It's about three young people having to learn how to take stewardship of their own lives while confronting their worst personal fears about themselves.
Or if you want to be literal, it's about a group of ragtag heroes trying to discover the key to liberating the galaxy from a tyrannical evil that seeks to kill everyone standing in their way.
It is also about Poe Dameron, the sexiest fucking starfighter pilot you will ever meet.
Yeah but
What's it about?
*eyeroll*
Wars.
Amongst the stars.
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MachwingIt looks like a harmless old computer, doesn't it?Left in this cave to rot ... or to flower!Registered Userregular
WHAT THE HECK IS STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS ACTUALLY ABOUT?
It's about three young people having to learn how to take stewardship of their own lives while confronting their worst personal fears about themselves.
WHAT THE HECK IS STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS ACTUALLY ABOUT?
It's about three young people having to learn how to take stewardship of their own lives while confronting their worst personal fears about themselves.
What is Finn's worst personal fear?
That he isn't anything more than the drone that The First Order made him to be
Realizing that he isn't just another drone who is okay with killing innocents is what made him flee with Poe and when faced with the choice of either risking his life and fighting or running and hiding with smugglers his gut instinct is the latter because the last thing he wants is to risk going back
+12
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MachwingIt looks like a harmless old computer, doesn't it?Left in this cave to rot ... or to flower!Registered Userregular
That he isn't anything more than the drone that The First Order made him to be
Realizing that he isn't just another drone who is okay with killing innocents is what made him flee with Poe
so what you're saying is he overcomes his worst personal fear in the first ten minutes of the film
Except for the part where for some reason you cut out the section of my post where he had to face it yet again and chose to instead risk being killed or indoctrinated instead of taking the easy way out and fleeing?
I mostly agree with FCH in that Abrams is really good at filming scenes and but his movies seriously lack in the story and plot department and when it come to weave the individual collection of scenes into a coherent whole, like the whole is always less than the sum of the parts.
While very different in their directing I have similar problems with Tarantino movies only that i think that Tarantino is more extreme in that divide between movie and scene.
Finn lying and pretending he is a heroic Resistance fighter when actually he is a terrified fugitive who is trying to avoid being dragged back to the First Order because of what they might do to him and what they might prove about him at basically any cost is the core of his character until Rey is abducted by Kylo and he makes his choice.
WHAT THE HECK IS STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS ACTUALLY ABOUT?
It's about three young people having to learn how to take stewardship of their own lives while confronting their worst personal fears about themselves.
What is Finn's worst personal fear?
Dying because he decided he didn't want to be complicit in a system that views the lives of innocents as expendable.
Which, you gotta admit, is not an unreasonable fear for a young person to have.
I mostly agree with FCH in that Abrams is really good at filming scenes and but his movies seriously lack in the story and plot department and when it come to weave the individual collection of scenes into a coherent whole, like the whole is always less than the sum of the parts.
While very different in their directing I have similar problems with Tarantino movies only that i think that Tarantino is more extreme in that divide between movie and scene.
I feel like Tarintino is really strong in that facet actually. There is never a scene in Django for example where Candie, Django or Schultz is on the scene where their pathology isn't directly on display. Heck the scene in which that movie turns is built completely on the unspoken knowledge of exactly how Schultz and Candie must react to each other.
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MachwingIt looks like a harmless old computer, doesn't it?Left in this cave to rot ... or to flower!Registered Userregular
"fear of being the drone the first order made him to be" informs exactly two decision Finn makes: rescuing Poe, and returning to help Rey before she's kidnapped. One of these decisions is made narratively redundant by the other. It's not impossible for a character in film to make a decision, have doubts about that decision, and then reaffirm it--but that's not what happened here. Finn did not doubt his decision to help Poe at all throughout the film. What happened is Abrams wanted to hit the same emotional beat twice in one film because--as FCH says-- he's interested in "delighting the audience"
Rather than argue about this (it's 2 AM) I will say that I found TFA to be an Enjoyable Romp and pretty much nothing else
Finn didn't have doubts about leaving, but he absolutely has doubts about fighting them because then he might have to go back as a prisoner and will either be killed or be indoctrinated
Like after his secret is out, he tells Rey explictly that. He is terrified of the First Order and he can never ever go anywhere near them ever again which is why he can't join her. It is only after she gets captured and he realizes that she is really the second friend he has ever had and also that he is more heroic than he gave himself credit for that he makes his choice.
Really both Finn and Rey have very similar fears, that they aren't anything more than what they appear to be. Rey is a scavenger orphan so she waits for her family to find her and when given the opportunity to leave her shithole home and take to the stars, she takes it. She may never find her family, but she can at least be more than a glorified spaceship vulture digging for rations.
In contrast, Finn is afraid that he isn't anything more than a cog in the First Order machine and if they capture him he will be proven right either through indoctrination or by the simple act of him getting recaptured proving he can't really do anything outside of the First Order he has always known.
It is very much a movie about two young people trying to find out who they really are and challenging their self perceptions just as much as it is a movie about spaceships shooting big lasers.
The film goes to extreme lengths to show that after he leaves, Finn is afraid of the First Order. And he's got plenty of reason to be, considering how they brainwashed him, stripped his life away, then gave him a gun and told him "These unarmed civilians are of no use to the First Order and must be executed." And that was before they built a gun capable of blowing up planets.
And the he decides to run away from them. The people who not only molded his entire life to suit their needs, but who taught him that their crusade was right and just and that anybody who disagreed or refused to be complicit in it only deserved to die for their impudence.
And he runs away from them.
Finn leaves his entire life behind because it's not a life that he wants. And his reward for leaving is to be hunted by the people he called his family, by a military capable of killing planets, and by a man wielding a lightsaber who can pull Finn's thoughts out of his head as soon as he thinks them.
Finn has plenty to be scared of after he decides to leave the First Order. His entire arc revolves around him confronting that fear and moving past it because his fear led to Rey's capture, and succumbing to it means that Rey dies. Or worse.
You can enjoy the film however you want. That doesn't magically mean the subtext goes away, or that the film doesn't go to extreme lengths to show you who these characters are, what they fear most, and how they move past those fears to take custody of their own lives, for better or worse.
It is very much a movie about two young people trying to find out who they really are and challenging their self perceptions just as much as it is a movie about spaceships shooting big lasers.
Three young people.
Kylo might be a bratty little piss baby, but he has just as much of an arc as Finn and Rey.
I liked TFA okay but, for fear of stating again what was no doubt debated to death in the star wars thread, it felt like too much of a remix of the first two movies and that pulled me out regularly
It is very much a movie about two young people trying to find out who they really are and challenging their self perceptions just as much as it is a movie about spaceships shooting big lasers.
Three young people.
Kylo might be a bratty little piss baby, but he has just as much of an arc as Finn and Rey.
Also very true, I was just focusing on the two protagonists.
Poe is the confident cool older guy who already has his shit together and wants to help the new kids
While it's hugely flawed, TFA is arguably the most compelling Star Wars movie in terms of characterisation. Like standing on its own character beats it's quite a good film, but it's also set in a spectacular version of a pre-existing wonderful universe, with a sense of forward momentum and excitement, so that bumps it up into extraordinary territory for me
Also they did it. Like holy shit. They did it. They pulled it off.
It was an enjoyable movie, but I found it frustrating how little about the nature of the universe that the movie was willing to share with the audience. Elements that anyone living in that universe would be aware of but that the movie hid for what felt like the sake of arbitrary mystery.
It is very much a movie about two young people trying to find out who they really are and challenging their self perceptions just as much as it is a movie about spaceships shooting big lasers.
Three young people.
Kylo might be a bratty little piss baby, but he has just as much of an arc as Finn and Rey.
It is very much a movie about two young people trying to find out who they really are and challenging their self perceptions just as much as it is a movie about spaceships shooting big lasers.
Three young people.
Kylo might be a bratty little piss baby, but he has just as much of an arc as Finn and Rey.
Yeah, but his arc is utterly uninteresting.
He was one of the best parts of the movie for me.
Like, a total whiny shitbag, but still very interesting.
+18
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FencingsaxIt is difficult to get a man to understand, when his salary depends upon his not understandingGNU Terry PratchettRegistered Userregular
It is very much a movie about two young people trying to find out who they really are and challenging their self perceptions just as much as it is a movie about spaceships shooting big lasers.
Three young people.
Kylo might be a bratty little piss baby, but he has just as much of an arc as Finn and Rey.
Yeah, but his arc is utterly uninteresting.
He was one of the best parts of the movie for me.
Like, a total whiny shitbag, but still very interesting.
I'm willing to forgive most of the plot related weaknesses of TFA because it did such a fantastic job creating likable and interesting characters. There's a lot of possibilities for where the story goes from here and I'm excited to see what Rian Johnson gives us next.
The thing I think FCH kind of nailed for me is that the film didn't do a lot of work for its characters. I quite enjoyed TFA, but the areas he identified where the film is weakest and why are pretty spot on. Your mileage may vary on whether that had a huge impact on the film or not, but for a guy who takes movies apart for his job, that's gonna be a big deal, and it's definitely why TFA isn't "the Best Star Wars Movie Ever Made"tm. I won't say the film did NO work the way he does, because it's clear that people here have identified areas where the movie did earn some of its moments.
For me the Han-Kylo scene sort of works, but he's right that we get there through exposition and allusion rather than seeing the relationship for mug more than a minute before the big to-do that follows it. it could have been a lot stronger.
TFA is fun and works well ENOUGH. After the Prequels, I think people were definitely ready to ENJOY Star Wars and didn't mind so much if the movie didn't SURPASS the originals. But I sure would like another Empire.
George Lucas movie, about the Tuskagee airmen. Good subject matter, being sold as A Blow Against Racism.
Actually did okay the first week. People like feeling like they're fighting racism, people like dogfights, people like hot women fighting werewolves more, but it did okay. Then, it turned out it sucked on ice (As I said. Lucas.) and it bombed hard.
Also HBO did a miniseries about the airmen like six months before the film came out.
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StraightziHere we may reign secure, and in my choice,To reign is worth ambition though in HellRegistered Userregular
HEY GUYS
Stop with the open spoilers for a movie that has been out for less than a year
+1
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
I'm watching Barbarella.
So far it's complete garbage. The revolutionary guy with all the gadgets that don't work almost balances out the killer budgerigars.
Posts
It's about three young people having to learn how to take stewardship of their own lives while confronting their worst personal fears about themselves.
Or if you want to be literal, it's about a group of ragtag heroes trying to discover the key to liberating the galaxy from a tyrannical evil that seeks to kill everyone standing in their way.
It is also about Poe Dameron, the sexiest fucking starfighter pilot you will ever meet.
Star Trek 09 is a real good movie
Yeah but
What's it about?
*eyeroll*
Wars.
Amongst the stars.
What is Finn's worst personal fear?
Realizing that he isn't just another drone who is okay with killing innocents is what made him flee with Poe and when faced with the choice of either risking his life and fighting or running and hiding with smugglers his gut instinct is the latter because the last thing he wants is to risk going back
so what you're saying is he overcomes his worst personal fear in the first ten minutes of the film
While very different in their directing I have similar problems with Tarantino movies only that i think that Tarantino is more extreme in that divide between movie and scene.
Finn lying and pretending he is a heroic Resistance fighter when actually he is a terrified fugitive who is trying to avoid being dragged back to the First Order because of what they might do to him and what they might prove about him at basically any cost is the core of his character until Rey is abducted by Kylo and he makes his choice.
Dying because he decided he didn't want to be complicit in a system that views the lives of innocents as expendable.
Which, you gotta admit, is not an unreasonable fear for a young person to have.
I feel like Tarintino is really strong in that facet actually. There is never a scene in Django for example where Candie, Django or Schultz is on the scene where their pathology isn't directly on display. Heck the scene in which that movie turns is built completely on the unspoken knowledge of exactly how Schultz and Candie must react to each other.
Rather than argue about this (it's 2 AM) I will say that I found TFA to be an Enjoyable Romp and pretty much nothing else
Like after his secret is out, he tells Rey explictly that. He is terrified of the First Order and he can never ever go anywhere near them ever again which is why he can't join her. It is only after she gets captured and he realizes that she is really the second friend he has ever had and also that he is more heroic than he gave himself credit for that he makes his choice.
In contrast, Finn is afraid that he isn't anything more than a cog in the First Order machine and if they capture him he will be proven right either through indoctrination or by the simple act of him getting recaptured proving he can't really do anything outside of the First Order he has always known.
It is very much a movie about two young people trying to find out who they really are and challenging their self perceptions just as much as it is a movie about spaceships shooting big lasers.
And the he decides to run away from them. The people who not only molded his entire life to suit their needs, but who taught him that their crusade was right and just and that anybody who disagreed or refused to be complicit in it only deserved to die for their impudence.
And he runs away from them.
Finn leaves his entire life behind because it's not a life that he wants. And his reward for leaving is to be hunted by the people he called his family, by a military capable of killing planets, and by a man wielding a lightsaber who can pull Finn's thoughts out of his head as soon as he thinks them.
Finn has plenty to be scared of after he decides to leave the First Order. His entire arc revolves around him confronting that fear and moving past it because his fear led to Rey's capture, and succumbing to it means that Rey dies. Or worse.
You can enjoy the film however you want. That doesn't magically mean the subtext goes away, or that the film doesn't go to extreme lengths to show you who these characters are, what they fear most, and how they move past those fears to take custody of their own lives, for better or worse.
Three young people.
Kylo might be a bratty little piss baby, but he has just as much of an arc as Finn and Rey.
Poe is the confident cool older guy who already has his shit together and wants to help the new kids
Also they did it. Like holy shit. They did it. They pulled it off.
Yeah, but his arc is utterly uninteresting.
Like, a total whiny shitbag, but still very interesting.
To each their own, for me it was the opposite.
Shame about that second one...
Adam Driver did so damn well with that
At least two people!
Good lord.
I think this has been known for a while but its still pretty hilarious
I would assume most of the people going to see the movie for that reason also expect it might be entertaining.
I'd hope
TFA is fun and works well ENOUGH. After the Prequels, I think people were definitely ready to ENJOY Star Wars and didn't mind so much if the movie didn't SURPASS the originals. But I sure would like another Empire.
Also HBO did a miniseries about the airmen like six months before the film came out.
Stop with the open spoilers for a movie that has been out for less than a year
So far it's complete garbage. The revolutionary guy with all the gadgets that don't work almost balances out the killer budgerigars.