Star Wars Ep. VII Megathread: The Force Awakens (1 Viewer)

[Tino]

Just leave out crap that's on the level of Jar-Jar Binks and the Ewoks and I'll be happy. If they could figure out a way to back out of the whole midi-chlorian thing while they're at it, well, that would be great too.

Agreed

 

[MattBradley]

Just leave out crap that's on the level of Jar-Jar Binks and the Ewoks and I'll be happy. If they could figure out a way to back out of the whole midi-chlorian thing while they're at it, well, that would be great too.

I'll never understand why this is such an issue. The Force is still a mystical energy force that surrounds the galaxy and a living beings ability to interact with it is dependent on how many midi-chlorians one has. The more you have, the better you can use the Force. It seems some people think the Force is now a bunch of living parasites.

 

[SilverWook]

Because they didn't need to explain something we kids accepted at face value in 1977? Star Wars is a fantasy where spaceships roar in a vacuum, and giant slugs live in asteroid belts. Midichlorians border on Star Trek level technobabble. (And I like Trek.)

It kind of clashes with Han Solo's dissmissal of The Force as "a lot of superstitous tricks and nonsense" anyway.

 

[dpippel]

I'll never understand why this is such an issue. The Force is still a mystical energy force that surrounds the galaxy and a living beings ability to interact with it is dependent on how many midi-chlorians one has. The more you have, the better you can use the Force. It seems some people think the Force is now a bunch of living parasites.

And that's exactly the problem I have with the whole concept. The Force was reduced from being a mystical form of energy pervading all life in the galaxy to being a mystical form of energy linked to what's basically a disease. Can you have midi-chlorian injections to increase your abilities? Can you be given a drug that will destroy the midi-chlorians in your system and render you powerless? Just take a pill. Ugh. The point is that the Force wasn't something that needed to be "explained" by introducing some whacky form of microorganism that you carry in your bloodstream.

I think that this was the single biggest screw-up that Lucas made with the prequels. IMO the original concept was perfect, and it's ambiguity was part of what made it work so well.

 

[Chuck Anstey]

I don't get all the hoopla about midi-chlorians being a massive mistake but I do agree that it would have been better and more consistent if the hows and whys of the Force were beyond their scientific understanding. It can be observed but not explained even though it would have a scientific explanation if their science was more advanced. Much like dark matter and dark energy are to us now.

 

[DavidJ]

And that's exactly the problem I have with the whole concept. The Force was reduced from being a mystical form of energy pervading all life in the galaxy to being a mystical form of energy linked to what's basically a disease. Can you have midi-chlorian injections to increase your abilities? Can you be given a drug that will destroy the midi-chlorians in your system and render you powerless? Just take a pill. Ugh. The point is that the Force wasn't something that needed to be "explained" by introducing some whacky form of microorganism that you carry in your bloodstream.

I think that this was the single biggest screw-up that Lucas made with the prequels. IMO the original concept was perfect, and it's ambiguity was part of what made it work so well.

Agreed.

 

[Stephen Brooks]

When they first talked about the midichlorian concept, I assumed it would have something to do with the Clone Wars....for example, clones of Jedi don't have the Force because the midichlorians don't transfer. Or that Senator Palpatine was a clone of Sidious, explaining why even Yoda can't sense the Dark Side when he's standing right next to him. But none of those things happened and the closest they came to using midichlorians as an actual plot device was implying that Plagueis and Sidious manipulated them to create Anakin. That would make it pretty hard, even if you wanted to go back and re-edit the prequels, to remove the midichlorian concept entirely. I think we're stuck with it being cannon even if the new films choose not to directly address the topic.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

I think we'll be okay as long as they don't reveal that the Rebel Blockade Runner spaceship was actually Anakin's father. That cinematic universe has shrunk enough.

 

[MattBradley]

I think we'll be okay as long as they don't reveal that the Rebel Blockade Runner spaceship was actually Anakin's father. That cinematic universe has shrunk enough.

Funny thing, there is a book in which the bounty hunter droid in The Empire Strikes Back (IG-88) becomes the second Death Star. I think it is Tales Of The Bounty Hunters.

 

[SilverWook]

Stranger things have happened in the OT.

 

[TravisR]

^ I guess that's what happens when droids try to get served at the cantina.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

It seems a perfectly logical progression from space-cappuccino machine to planet-blasting battle station.

 

[Sam Favate]

New 'Star Wars' Should Feel 'Real,' J.J. Abrams Says; Director is mindful of how much the series means to people

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/new-star-wars-should-feel-real-j-j-abrams-says-20130920

Translation: Expect lots of lens flares for that mock-documentary feeling.

 

[SilverWook]

He toned the lens flares down for STID, and I can't see him going against the style of the OT that much. They need to get back to that dusty beat up shopworn universe we fell in love with. Even Tatooine was a bit glossy in the prequels.

 

[Stephen Brooks]

Tatooine has appeared in 5 of the 6 movies so far and was a major focal point in 4 of them. Of all the planets we've already seen, it's the one I'm by far the least interested in revisiting in the sequel trilogy. Sent from my SCH-S738C using HTF mobile app

 

[Sam Favate]

He toned the lens flares down for STID, and I can't see him going against the style of the OT that much. They need to get back to that dusty beat up shopworn universe we fell in love with. Even Tatooine was a bit glossy in the prequels.

That was toned down? I found it incredibly distracting, and maddening.

 

[Sam Favate]

Tatooine has appeared in 5 of the 6 movies so far and was a major focal point in 4 of them. Of all the planets we've already seen, it's the one I'm by far the least interested in revisiting in the sequel trilogy.

I'd tend to agree with that, although the desert imagery is closely associated with the series, so expect to see more of it. That said, the story would be best served by revisiting Tatooine maybe one more time, to bury Luke, perhaps at the end of the last film. Otherwise, you betray this idea of a backwards remote planet that isn't very important to anyone.

 

[TravisR]

I'm reading into it but I took Abrams' quote to mean that he planned on building "real" sets (like the OT) rather than doing a lot of green screen (the PT). To the best of my knowledge, there's a good number of physical sets in his Star Trek movies so I think it's somewhat safe to assume that he has the same plan for Star Wars.

 

[Tino]

I'm reading into it but I took Abrams' quote to mean that he planned on building "real" sets (like the OT) rather than doing a lot of green screen (the PT). To the best of my knowledge, there's a good number of physical sets in his Star Trek movies so I think it's somewhat safe to assume that he has the same plan for Star Wars.

Agreed. JJ is gonna deliver big time for Star Wars. He rescued Star Trek from a descent into mediocrity with the lat two terrific Trek films and I for one am confident he will do the same for Star Wars.

 

[Stephen Brooks]

I'd tend to agree with that, although the desert imagery is closely associated with the series, so expect to see more of it. That said, the story would be best served by revisiting Tatooine maybe one more time, to bury Luke, perhaps at the end of the last film. Otherwise, you betray this idea of a backwards remote planet that isn't very important to anyone.

Well, depending on how much Luke has learned from the Force Ghosts, there may not be anything to bury. Sent from my SCH-S738C using HTF mobile app