Too much Fan Service and not enough Artistry?

It's as risky as the development of The New-DCEU .

 

One would hope so, but then your point helps to illustrate what I said about, that the driving factor is making loads of money from a huge franchise, not the artistry. Let's not forget that one of the reasons Empire got made was that Lucas had made so much money off the first film that he could afford full creative control to do without inference from the moneymakers. It just seems sad that SW is not driven by the very kind of people he originally sought to avoid interference from.

 

HE made that decision... $4B is hard to pass up

 

I am well aware of that, and he has admitted many times over the years that he became what he originally wanted to avoid. But that doesn't change the fact that two of the three beloved movies of the OT were made when he had control, away from the money men. That counts for something in teh creative process.

 

Amazing how seeing six minutes of footage makes everyone know exactly what the other 130 will be like.

 

I don't know, man. The visual aesthetic obviously isn't a big departure from the original trilogy, and there are things that might seem unoriginal and driven by fan service at first glance, but I think there's more than meets the eye here.

 

Yeah, it is very questionable how all the designs look almost identical to OT era stuff. Like somehow the prequels that took place 20-30 years before ANH had completely different looking ships, costumes, settings, etc. yet this movie that has an even bigger time gap from the OT looks almost exactly the same.

 

Can I overreact yet?

 

Isn't the simple fact that the big 3 never share the screen together enough to prove that this movie isn't fan service?

 

It IS too much of a retread, but its not a disaster. It can still be a good movie.

The trilogy has one more chance to add depth and originality if TFA doesn't scratch the itch.. episode 8.

 

It still is if we look at the possibility that the reunion will not happen before the end of the movie. Fans look forward to it and I'm sure we are gonna get it.

If you liked the film before it will be the icing on the cake, if you didn't like the film before you get the one thing you expected the least. So everybody can be happy.

 

This actually makes me kind of a little happy inside as I always found the prequel designs boring and not Star Wars enough (in a way; as we got to Episode III things began to improve designwise). Boring because it was shiny and empty, not Star Wars enough because one of the many, many succes factors of the original trilogy was its "used look". Why would the Star Wars galaxy look all shiny and new when the Republic has stood for over a thousand years (or generations, depending on who you ask and whose point of view you cling to).

 

You've touched on the point of it. George's intention was to have the galaxy visually descend into chaos as Palpatine solidified his grip. It was a visual representation of the theme. You could argue that this sort of thing is exactly the OP's point. Will we be missing that form of storytelling that was so prevalent in Star Wars in the past?

WAY too early to tell, but I stand by my assertion that I like what I'm hearing so far about story from JJ and Kasdan. We'll soon see.

 

People, you wanted STAR WARS back...

Here it is.......

we could have had that whole George Lucas grandchildren teen film thingy with Jar Jar as the leader of the resistance instead of Leia so lets be happy!

LOL

 

A Cantina members sits in his hovel, staring at a half-drunk glass of blue milk. Their eyes are red, their hair disheveled. A trusty droid, RU-NU2, beeps a question.

"No, Newbie. I've had enough HoloNet for today."

The little droid whines a worried trill. It spins in place and begins piping the audio of a The Force Awakens through its onboard speakers. The RU's attempt at cheer is just tinny noise bouncing of the walls of the room and into the starry night.

"No! No, Newbie!" The rage grips their chest, and Cantina member's eyes swell with tears. "Stop it!"

In a rage, they toss the cup at the droid, spilling it and soaking through to their companion's circuitry. The machine sputters and whinnies, finally letting out a harsh cry as sparks begin to pop from its surface. A shadow darkens the doorway.

"Hey!" it shouts. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I love Star Wars," they sigh, "but I'm worried that this Star Wars movie is just like Star Wars."

—SCENE—