Are people's expectations/standards for this movie too high?

Weird, isn't it? A month ago i would have admitted that my expectations were probably unreasonably high...

But, recently i have been hanging out here with you guys and gals, and reading incessantly.
And it has had quite an affect on me. A bad one, i mean.

All i read about is how people are gonna be pissed if xyz doesn't happen. Or mad that williams didn't score one stupid cantina song. Or suspicious because harrison said "it's a big movie", automatically assuming he means big dumb movie. Or worried about daisy's acting. they see one teaser clip and disect daisy's ADR because she doesn't sound out of breath.

So, i'd say we are a jaded and cynical bunch. And probably more than half of us will be incapable of " giving ourselves over" to the story and movie, and enjoying the ride.

My $.02

 

I don't want it to feel like the original 1977 movie.
I want to feel like I felt when I saw the original movie!

 

The book is cool, but it's also old school sci-fi turned into a goofy CGI mess. Since I first heard about the production and direction, it reminded me of Wild Wild West.

 

I liked the movie. Even if you didn't like it you gotta admit that they worked HARD on it. J.J is the best choice for Star Wars. Look at these practical sets from Into Darkness!

 

As an EU fan I am inevitably going to compare what happened in the movie to what happened in the old EU, I grew with the thrawn trilogy, which as I recall the one in my school library had Episode VII,VIII, IX on the front covers, but at the very least it was insinuated that this is what happened and Lucas said there would never be movies after ROTJ. That was star wars to me for almost 2 decades. There were things I didn't like in the EU it was a collossal body of work after all. Anyways I am optimistic when it comes to the idea of Episode VII, I am wary because of JJ Abrhams (I enjoy some of his work but not the caliber of director for Star Wars) and I am wary of some of what has been leaked by MSW.

I think people are setting their expectations way too high. I'm hearing stuff like this will blow the OT out of the water, I already care more about the new cast then the OT cast, it will win oscars, Boyega is better then daniel day lewis. Its way too early to be making these proclamations. JJ can make good fun films and shows expertly, but I don't think he has made anything thats truly great this might be it though I'll allow that.

 

Droid carrying important message found on a desert planet? Check.
Droid ends up with young hero who doesn't know what happened to his/her parents? Check.
Escape from desert planet on Millennium Falcon? Check.
Bad guys with big, spherical super weapon? Check.
TIE fighters and X-wings? Check.


There's a lot of stuff that's different, but there's a fair amount that people may find too familiar.

 

But they have to make a good film. Or at least a decent film that is truly old school star wars

 

I think after 3 trailers & many 30 secs clips we are in for a treat.

 

Well that's good. Hopefully the general plotline isn't just ANH rehashed, but I have faith.

 

Way too high.

People saying they will see this multiple times is just crazy.

It may be the same case of forcing it to be good and better than the prequels, only to realize they put their standards way too high.

People should not even be mentioning this in the same sentence as Star Wars and Empire yet. It would take a HELL of a lot to beat those two classics. Just go in with a fresh mind, knowing it could suck.

And remember...this IS JJ Abrams directing and not Zemeckis or Spielberg.

 

How does one even measure the answer to that question?

I think, perhaps, you are just asking yourself the question and thus I can answer only for myself:

No.

I think it is safe to say my expectation was very high in 1998, but three films later and for a lot of us, anything that isn't just a cluttered, technical experiment with dialog about how "sand gets everywhere" passing as a love scene, we'll be pretty happy.

I kid of course, but the answer to your question is "no".

 

Very true. I have some friends ready to get the new characters tattooed on them as I speak, and some who still can't get over the destruction of the EU and complain about TFA whenever I mention it. It's an interesting mix.

 

Not too high - as long as we can jettison our preconceptions, assumptions and keep our minds open.

Think how many people have worked to make this experience "delightful" for us...

 

Well no matter what happens I'm definitely not walking out of the theatre. I paid good money for my ticket so I might get my money's worth. But besides that, my hype isn't based on what I expect to happen, it's more based on the fact we are seeing the classic characters back on the screen as well as some cool new characters that I can't wait to see what they do with.

So I guess my advice to people who are afraid their expectations are too high is that, no matter what, seeing Han, Chewie, Luke etc. on the screen again is going to be amazing.

 

Expectations are at unreasonable levels. I am guilty of it myself.

 

Maybe some people's are. I don't sit around with every minor detail under a microscope.That it must be this way or the highway.

 

Maybe for some. There are some people you just can't please. However I would suggest if they hit the right tone and deliver a solid movie they are in the eyes of many delivering the 4th best SW film (3rd for you Ewok haters).

 

YES, because everyone has created a version of star wars after ROTJ in their heads ever since they saw ROTJ. People are very much set in their ways and what they want to see

Is Snoke thrawn/plagueis
Is Del Toro Playing thrawn
are leia and han's kids from the EU in this
Is luke an all powerful god
is finn lando's kid
Where is plagueis
Where is Mara Jade
Is that Darth Banes mask
Is that plagueis staff
Where are the rebel's characters
Are the OT 3 all together


and on.....and on.......and on....and on it goes.

If people are going into this movie hoping to check off every single fantasy and fanboy hope they have had since seeing ROTJ, i expect to see some expectations come crashing down.

 

Actually, the more I think about I don't think people's expectations are too high overall. Sure there are always going to be a section of fans who are too hyped and a section of fans who are too cynical, but most of my friends and comments I read on the internet are 'cautiously optimistic' and I think that is a direct effect of getting burned by the Prequels. In a sense, the Prequels actually helped fans temper expectations (despite the great TFA trailers) because we've been through this before.

But I want to reiterate for anyone who has the expectations that this will be the greatest SW movie, just remember how many great movies have you seen in your life from this genre? When I look through my BluRay collection of blockbusters movies I consider classics: Star Wars, Jaws, Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the Future, Superman, The Terminator to name a few. There are not that many in my lifetime, so its damn hard to pull off a classic movie.

 

The expectations are pretty high. The hype is crazy. As a result, there will be a ton of nit-picking over this and that about this movie, even if ends up being epic.

I am going to distance myself from all of that and let the fanboy take over. This movie (and Rebels) have brought something that I grew up with into my young kids lives and for that reason it has a LOT of wiggle room with me in terms of the movie quality.