Tempering my excitement... it could suck, you know

I quite agree. The other possibility is that the film may also challenge our idea of what Star Wars should be. That could certainly divide the fans as well as create new ones who may not have liked the previous films but love this one.

 

I agree completely. To answer the title question, I don't think it's the largest threat, but it's at least ONE of the largest threats. I feel we've place TFA on an unreachable pedestal and no matter how great it is, it's never going to reach the goals we've set for it. That's not to say it won't be a great movie! I have no doubts it'll be a great movie, but I also fear for the hardcore fans, even if it's the best movie of the year, or of the past 5 years, it won't be enough.

As for people seeking comparisons between ANH and TFA, I think they're seeking them because that's how TFA's been promoted in a sense.

Hilariously accurate.

 

I agree that people have perceived TFA being promoted in that way but I don't think it has. Everything I have read, everything I have seen thus far doesn't spell carbon copy of ANH to me. It has to have certain similarities with the OT for it to work as a continuation of the skywalker saga. That doesn't mean to say that they want to reboot ANH with the addition of a few different characters.

I grant you they will play it a bit safe for the first film because they need everyone to be on board with this. If they go too crazy different it will alienate some fans of the franchise. If they do a carbon copy it will bore people to death and Disney's 4.5 billion dollar investment will go down the toilet. These people aren't stupid and I believe it when Harrison Ford was initially sceptical about signing up to another star wars movie until he read the script. I don't believe he would have been inspired to sign up if the new film was going to be derivative of what has gone before.

I put this thread on here in an attempt to give people reason to change there perceptions of what they have read or seen. To focus on what we know to be different about the story rather than "oh no it starts on a desert planet and at some point there is a super weapon, it's just a copy of ANH". No No No!!!

We have been told Kylo Ren is a character unlike anything that has been in Star Wars before. He is from the Knights of Ren. Are the Knights of Ren derivative in Star Wars?

We know Finn is a storm trooper and after witnessing Kylo Ren and his posse of storm and flame troopers go a bit far on an innocent Jakku village he decides to go AWOL. Any similarities with that and ANH?

Rey is a scavenger on Jakku and rumour has it she has some skills with her staff? How did she acquire these skills? Who does she resemble in ANH?

Who is this mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke? Will he just be a replacement for the emperor and have the same agenda? Well the simple answer is we don't know.

Captain Phasma. Well she certainly doesn't resemble any character I've seen in a star wars movie so far. How will she shape the story as it progresses?

Luke skywalker. Is he just the Obi Wan Kenobi character of the sequel trilogy? It would be an easy assumption to make. An old hermit, a Jedi Master, wise and powerful. Except that unlike Kenobi I'm not sure he wants to be found.

I could go on but just in the bits we know about how can people think that it's going to be derivative? It boggles the mind!

 

Yes fan expectations tend to become very harmful at the way they view the movies. After going through the prequel trilogy, I have met lots of fans along the road and though I completly respect the opinions of everybody, I do have to say that when it comes to SW, many of those opinions are unfair. Many SW fans tend to create a vision of what they want the next movie to be and when this isn't done completly to the exact minor detail of what they wanted, those fans quickly bash the movie and call it a piece of trash. When a man tells you about a dream he had, you can eather like it or not like it and that is completly fair but saying you hate it just because the dream didn't go acording to what you wanted is just plain sad and that's what happens to SW. Star Wars was the dream of a man named Lucas and we were all very fortunate to have been able to share this dream. He told us a tale he had in his heart and wether we liked it or not, it was his tale to tell and it's unfair if we choose to hate it if he doesn't tell it the very exact same way we want it to be told. This is very hurtful but saddly it has become a sickness that has infected many SW fans .How many fans of Boba Fett desperatly wanted to know more about him? AOTC gave us his origen, showed us his father in action and even let us see his ship in a battle that I thought was so frieking cool! Lucas made Jango do everything fans had wished they had seen Boba Fett do! And What happens? Here are the fans hating Fett's origen because it wasn't what they wanted.

Give us slow character development and let us know much more about Darth Vader! Well there you have it and now people hate it! Why did they focus so much on his love story? Why did we see so much of Anakin? Vaders mistery is ruined now that we know so much about him! Oh man! I remember back in the day when the prequels didn't exist yet that fans were craving for more SW yet they greatly bashed ROTJ. Lots of fans said they hated that movie because it was a latex puppet show. They called Jedi the worst movie of the saga and complained to no end that Jabb's palace could have been much better. Fast forward to when Phantom Menace came out and here are tons of fans bashing the movie calling it a CG freak fest. Oh those cumputer characters look so unreal! What happened to all the effort on making all the aliens in the traditional latex masks? That Sebulba character looks stupid cause he looks like a cammel! Watto's look really sucks and he looks unreal! Come on! For real? You hate Sebulba because he looks like a cammel but think Yak Face is the most awesome character in Jabba's palace? What gives? Puppets or CG what's it going to be?

Right now I have been to lots of blogs where fans are speculating about Kylo Ren and his relationship to eather Skywalker or Solo. They speculate on the whole story and when you see what they are saying it is EXACTLY Vaders tale all over again. I look at this and sigh knowing that what they say they want to see is exactly what they will bash for years to come if they are given it cause they will argue that there was no effort put into the story and that all they did was a copy paste of Vader's tale. Shouldn't fans just be happy cause at least we can look forward to a nice bright SW filled future? I know I am! I love Star Wars! Both OT and PT and I'm sure I will love the ST as well! That I'd love to see more of Amanaman, Tessek, Bossk and Zuckuss in the new movies? You bet! That I'd love Durge and the Yuuzhan Vong to be aded to the saga? Hell yeah!!! That I know that it will be a disgrace and a slap in the face if Snoke turns out to be Jar Jar Binks? You know it! But even if none of these things happen I will still be pummped and the one thing I'm more than happy to say is that if things keep going the way they are, we SW fans have ALOT to look forward to from a galaxy far far away!

 

I agree with everything you have said Amanaman. It looks like we are looking at the same page on this issue. Thank you for your comment, it makes me feel that I'm not alone in this. I think from everything we know thus far about the new movie it largely wants to be it's own movie and not a rehash of old ideas. Like you I'm very excited.

 

Thanks for the kind words my friend and I'm sure in just two months we are both going to have our minds blown away with the awesomeness of The Force Awakens!!!

 

Amen to that

 

I am a huge Startrek/Starwars fan, two of the best Franchises, however while i will give the movie a chance i have have several doubts in part to JJ Abrams being the first to create a new movie. I know many will potentially attack me for what i am about to say, but it needs to be said in part that JJ is not the best in regards to directors, he hasn't create anything organic and what he has done in his past is rewrite alot of what has come before and i would have had a greater appreciation if he didn't recreate something that had already been done, instead gave us a new story and from all that i have seen so far, is telling the story of what was in Starwars as he did in Startrek. In the end i want what is best and a longevity and new life in the franchise, i dont want to be given the same story from a different perspective or update.

 

He isn't solely responsible for the story as far as Im aware. Did you see the new trailer? He is the right man for the job! This is a continuation of the skywalker story so you are going to have some familiar things in it but really they haven't said much about the story at all so what are you saying?

--- Double Post Merged, Oct 21, 2015, Original Post Date: Oct 21, 2015 ---

I hear what you are saying in terms of things he has done before. His previous films while pastiche ect have great aspects to them also. They are not awful by any stretch. He shows he has good instincts at times and I believe his previous films have been a learning curve for him. I think he has been learning his craft along the way and now he is directing a STAR WARS movie he will bring his A game. He has huge pressure on him to deliver with this one coupled with the fact that he is a huge fan himself. Also it isn't just him but a whole collective of talented artists,writers and advisers. It is not a product from just one man you have to remember that.

--- Double Post Merged, Oct 21, 2015 ---

Pitch to me a whole new engaging story set in the star wars universe that is going to create global hysteria. At least attempt it....

 

I aware of that JJ isnt completely on his own as he was with Trek, however and like i said i will give it a chance but from all indications it all seems like the same story, just telling it from a different perspective and to say that JJ doesn't have the most in influence, i cant see that. I hope it does well, i want it to do well just as i wanted Star Trek to do well, that remains to be seen and i dont want to see JJ behind going forward. You used the words, JJ bringing his A game, are you implying he didnt do so with his former movies and Trek when it came another great franchise? I am assuming that is not the case, many times it can come across wrong in this format. Like i said, ill give it a chance and read what others think about it, pros and cons but i dont think that JJ is one of those directors that stand out as being unique and his past work is something to be desired.

I have no desire to pitch a new story or attempt it at that, if this is your way or trying to shame me, it wont work. I am giving constructive criticism, it would seem that my posts had a larger impact on you, it is only an opinion discussion nothing more.

 

First of all I'd like to apologise. I honestly wasn't trying to shame you. I don't know how you can shame someone that is anonymous? I only wanted you to think about other story possibilities. Really though if Disney has invested 4 billion dollars for this franchise It only makes perfect sense to continue with the story that the world fell in love with rather than create a whole new one and hope people get into it. This is a new trilogy and despite it addressing what happened to the old characters it's moving the story forward with new characters too.

 

Oh, No worries it is hard to gauge how people are in said format. I am wondering also what happens or where they will go after IX, we know it will be over or we are assuming it will be over for the original characters and move on with the new, that is my hope at least. I am naturally a skeptical person when it comes to things that i am a fan of in this medium. And while others enjoyed what JJ did with Trek, i am not one of them and so i dont want to see what he did to Trek to SW, granted the others that were apart of it, i should have faith that it will be execute correctly.

 

I hear you, we all want this to succeed because we care so much about Star wars. All I can say is I believe JJ cares so much about it too. After all he is a much bigger fan of Star Wars than he is of Star Trek. That's what I meant when he will bring his A game. Of course he has tried very hard to do his best with all his work including star trek. However there is no greater motivator for inspiration than having a love and awe for what you are involved in.

 

I actually think many fans will go in with some hesitancy because of the Prequels. If there were no PT, and this were the 1st SW movie in 32 years, I think everyone would have insane expectations.

But whether you loved or hated the PT, it gave us a context that a new SW movie will never be the same as the OT. I still have friends that have no expectations because of the PT, and could be pleasantly surprised on December 18th.

 

That would be me, but while it is on the prequels situation my concern is the lens flare master known as JJ and what he did to Startrek. My biggest concern from the one is that this is going to tell the same story, in way of soft rebooting of the franchise.

 

No doubt JJ's style is a concern. Luckily I haven't seen many of his movies, so I don't have a bias either way. The only thing I hope is that the movie isn't a quick cut/edit type of movie where you are watching a scene for 3 seconds, then it goes to the next edit, and then the next edit 3 seconds later, etc. It's very Michael Bay'ish and seems to be the style of many directors from this generation as that plays to the ADD generation who think older movies are too slow because they let the scenes play out.

 

I understand that position as well, i want to see something well laid out and executed and we don't see that very much today. While i have enjoyed the many of the Marvel films by the Disney, they have been ok but NOT great by any means. Idk, it could be me as i have gotten older many of these films while they are of what i want to see just are not that appealing.

 

There are three Marvel films that are simply amazing

Winter Soldier
Iron Man I
Thor

those three are just stellar and great IMHO!!

So what Disney did with Marvel and those films give me hope about what they will do with LUCASFILM and these films to follow.

 

I think that we are older and they are making films more for the newer generation. I think TV has suffered because if this as many TV pilots feel like they're on steroids as there is action in the first 5 minutes in fear of losing the viewer.

I liked shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad that didn't garner huge ratings but took their time developing the characters and story as the payoff is much better. But many people I know say they were too boring because of that.

 

Yes to you two! Apperently I am not the only one.

About JJ directing the movie. In my opinion JJ is the best man for this movie. Star Trek was actually good and made me enjoy it. Super 8 was also enjoyable. And apperently I am one of the few who do not mind the lense flares. He really cares about the movie and the fans (being a fan himself). I am more concerned with Treverrow directing Episode IX than JJ this movie.

All we can do is wait and watch the movie the 16th/17th/18th. And it can't be worse than AOTC (in my opinion the worst STar Wars movie). Even if it turns out to be an okay-movie it is Star Wars.