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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

PT Is The Force Awakens praised due to prequel reception?

Discussion in 'Prequel Trilogy' started by DBPirate, Jan 22, 2016.

  1. DBPirate

    DBPirate Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 20, 2015
    As in, do you think some people (NOT ALL, but SOME) are forcing themselves to like TFA because they hated the prequels and think George Lucas was everything wrong with the Star Wars saga? Discuss.
     
    Erkan12 likes this.
  2. zisme

    zisme Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 19, 2016
    it will certainly be interesting to see how its reception holds up as time passes

    i'll just say this: i distinctly remember leaving the theater disappointed after my first viewings of AOTC and ROTS (Yes, I liked TPM - still do). after TFA, i left the theater excited to see it again and thrilled that SW was back
     
    ObiWanKnowsMe likes this.
  3. TheDutchman

    TheDutchman Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 10, 2015
    I think "forcing themselves to like TFA" is not a good way of putting it. Honestly, I would guess that many people that like TFA genuinely LIKE IT. I do believe this however. that it is OVERRATED by many because they see it as more enjoyable then the prequels......i.e. more in line what Star Wars "should be" (whatever that means).

    Like you said zisme....it will be interesting to see if the overwhelming praise and positivity of the film holds up over time.
     
  4. HevyDevy

    HevyDevy Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 13, 2011
    At the OP, I think partially. It was inevitable, considering the level the prequels were misunderstood.

    I had a good experience watching TFA, the only film of the seven I've actually been disappointed with at the cinema was AOTC.
     
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  5. PaulWrightyThen

    PaulWrightyThen Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2016
    I genuinely like it. I was disappointed with its 'remakeiness' on my first viewing. Subsequent viewings have let me appreciate it more. I probably am someone who likes it more because it was a bit lighter on its feet than the prequels, and yes, I disagreed with a lot of Mr Lucas's decisions regarding the PT and some of the OT as well.

    I personally think George is a great innovator and great at getting problems solved. Film maker? I think a lot of people (including me) had him down as somewhat untouchable, but the older and wiser I got, I realised he made a hokey fun space adventure then handed it to more talented people to continue. I admire his guts to make the prequels how he wanted. And I'm happy folk like them. But for me, TFA was a welcome return to quips, humour and heavy looking lightsabers.

    All personal opinions.
     
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  6. PiettsHat

    PiettsHat Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 1, 2011
    I think almost everyone is being genuine in terms of their reaction. I don't see why they would lie. Maybe, after the initial excitement, they won't rate TFA quite so high but I don't think there'll be flipping of opinions.

    In terms of critical reception, to be honest, what happened with TFA is exactly what I expected. I predicted in the 95% region on RT and it's sitting at 93%. I knew the critics wouldn't care if it rehashed ANH. Why would they? They praised JJ Abrams for doing so with 2009's Star Trek and even the blatant and terrible rip-off of Wrath of Khan that is Star Trek Into Darkness got 87% on RT. Even though that film has some of the biggest plot holes and plot conveniences I've ever seen (Magic blood that can literally bring you back to life!).

    TFA is competent in most every aspect because JJ Abrams is a competent filmmaker, IMO.

    In my view:
    The music is good but not spectacular.
    The effects are good, if nothing revolutionary and largely unobtrusive.
    The story is standard, if extremely familiar and predictable.
    The characters are fun and readily likable, even if this doesn't always make sense and makes them unchallenging for the viewer.
    The conflict is simple, it's black and white with no complexity or even wider context.
    The cinematography is decent, if lacking in spectacular shots.
    There's lots of humor and references to the original trilogy, but little world-building.

    There's nothing truly offensive about TFA. But nothing about it stands out to me.

    What I think that means, in terms of the larger public reaction, is that it's a more broadly appealing film and it will have fewer haters.

    That a well-made action film did well at the box office is unsurprising. That it has the name Star Wars on it makes its bombastic success basically guaranteed.
     
  7. ImpreciseStormtrooper

    ImpreciseStormtrooper Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 8, 2016
    I'm sure many might believe the Op's suggestions.

    But I think labelling anyone's joy at the new movie as merely being evidence of dislike for the others is a disservice to both the Prequels and to TFA.
     
  8. ObiWanKnowsMe

    ObiWanKnowsMe Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 7, 2015
    No, I think people naturally love TFA because it is similar to the OT and brings people back to their childhoods plus you have the old characters returning in them which makes it special. I loved the PT and I've always preferred them slightly over the OT but I loved TFA so much. I've seen it 5 times and I plan on seeing it 6
     
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  9. Erkan12

    Erkan12 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 27, 2013
    Yes, absolutely.
     
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  10. Qui-Riv-Brid

    Qui-Riv-Brid Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 18, 2013
    If they think the latter then they are also likely among those fooling themselves into thinking that Lucas had really nothing much to do with Star Wars in the first place!!

    I think they genuinely like TFA because to their minds it's giving them "their" Star Wars back. The one Lucas "took" from them because he refused to simply make the same movies out of the PT that he had already made in the OT.

    Doing what is largely a remake/reset of ANH is something they seemed to desperately wanted.

    That the the "right" way to do Star Wars for them.
     
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  11. Darth__Lobot

    Darth__Lobot Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 29, 2015

    Can we stop this? Plenty of people who understood the prequels just fine still didn't like them.

    Sorry, it's just a pet peeve of mine (and it's not limited to PT discussions, I see it for TFA also) to see implications that people who didn't like something either didn't understand it, aren't smart, etc
     
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  12. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    I don't think anyone is "forcing themselves" to like TFA or any other movie.
     
  13. museinwoodenshoes

    museinwoodenshoes Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 25, 2015
    No, I think people simply enjoy the film. It was meant to be a perfect crowd pleaser and that's how it is received. It may factor into it is that this was the film a lot people have been waiting for since they simply did not like the PT and wanted to see the continuation of the story after VI. Which, of course, is all good and just since everyone is free to like or dislike things in their own right. I don't think this has anything to do with forcing yourself.
     
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  14. AprilMayJune

    AprilMayJune Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 2015
    I do think some (SOME) people may have initially overstated how much they liked it because of the hype/excitement of a new movie (I mean, everyone does that to an extent sometimes,) and SOME (SOME) people may have felt pressure to *really* lean into it because of the thrashing they'd given the last 3 movies. (Let's be honest -- a common thing thrown at people who hated the PT was stuff like "oh, you'd hate *anything* that wasn't the OT no matter what it looked like, you just don't want to see a new Star Wars movie" -- so I'm sure SOME people did feel pressure to "prove" that they didn't feel that way and that there could, indeed, be a new film they'd like. I don't know if that means they actually didn't like it or not, only that they might be laying it on a little thick.)

    That said, in general? As in, the average person, or the vast majority of people here? Nah. I think the people who liked it really, genuinely did.

    PiettsHat -- I agree. Rightly or wrongly, this film seemed custom-made to avoid offending as many people as possible, so with that in mind it's no surprise to me that so many people liked it.
     
  15. blaisedinsd

    blaisedinsd Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Dec 18, 2015
    Yes, plenty of people like it because they were disappointed or despised the prequels and JJ even joked about including Jar Jars bones as an easter egg to their delight.

    That doesn't mean they are faking it, just that they are relieved this is a better direction for the franchise.
     
  16. steelneena

    steelneena Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 2007
    I'd say that I'm sure there are people out there who have actually done what the OP suggests, but I wouldn't categorize it as a widespread phenomena. No one in my family liked TFA, and we're a mixed group. While I love both PT and OT, my brother is not a fan of the PT, and he didn't care for TFA. He, the one who grew up on the OT, was the first of us to express his utter disappointment. After seeing TFA for the second time in the Theatre, my father proclaimed he no longer liked Star Wars at all! Honestly, I think there are other factors with more bearing on why people enjoyed TFA.

    I don't see the movie standing the test of time. There's nothing about it that stands out as new or revitalizing. Even with this initial love from the audience and its genuinely fun, though under-served new characters, and despite it's rehashed unoriginal plotline, TFA feels completely different from anything 'Star Wars' that came prior. It is obviously not a Lucas production, and whether that pleases people or not, it cannot be denied that the movie has a very, very different feel.
     
  17. HevyDevy

    HevyDevy Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 13, 2011
    I didn't say everyone who disliked them misunderstood them.

    But there is a lot in the PT that you don't catch on one viewing, particularly if you have prematurely dismissed them after one critique. The OT is deep, but you can comprehend most of it without reading the novelisations or looking at the interconnection between the different saga films. The arguably worse execution of the prequels means people often dismiss them as shallow and don't bother looking any deeper. I just think it is a shame.
     
  18. Huttese 101

    Huttese 101 Sam Witwer Enthusiast star 7

    Registered:
    Jan 19, 2016
    I don't think the reception of the prequels could've forced anyone to like the film. If anything, I think it might have done the opposite, but that didn't happen. But TFA is very deliberately closer to the OT than the PT was, as others have pointed out. Well, at least in ways which were most likely to get picked up on by audiences and critics. In many ways, the PT is closer to the OT, but that doesn't matter. We might be approaching Star Wars nostalgia critical mass if we haven't gotten there already, so viewers saw the Big Three, Chewie, the Millennium Falcon, X-Wings, a big ole Death Star-oid superweapon etc., and of course they went absolutely bonkers. I'm just surprised how over-the-top the reception has been, and especially the box office, when I personally was not that overjoyed. Excited? Yes of course, but not as much as they were. Funny enough, TFA had by far the best reception of any Star Wars movie to date, and also a lot of the superlatives have been thrown around by probably very casual fans who seem to act as though they're some kind of Star Wars tastemakers, you know. I might like a few of the Rocky movies too, but I didn't lose my mind over Creed.
     
  19. Evening Star

    Evening Star Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 18, 2015
    Nah, I don't think so. If someone needs to force himself to like something, I'd say there's something quite wrong with him.

    However, there are people (on this board and elsewhere) who don't miss any chance to say how awful the prequels were and how TFA made everything right again. So they kind of look like they might not be completely honest about their enthusiasm for TFA. I avoid those guys. But in general people are really enjoying it.

    Also, I've seen some members say they only watched the PT once. Like, what? I don't even like TFA, but I've seen it three times and will watch it again some time in the future. SW is not something you can judge by only one viewing. They didn't even try and understand all the nuances of the prequels. And can you believe that some even bashed ANH and ROTJ? We're really a strange bunch.
     
  20. DBPirate

    DBPirate Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 20, 2015
    I see that my original post may have been a bit too harsh so let me phrase it this way: is TFA liked mainly or just because it's better than the prequels?
     
  21. CT1138

    CT1138 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2013
    It's liked because of merit. It has good writing, excellent characters, and fun dialogue. The effects are flawless, and the acting is realistic. It has nothing to do with being "better than the prequels", and everything to do with just plain being "better".
     
  22. JediChipKelly

    JediChipKelly Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 3, 2016
    I think the OT & ST story and characters just resonates better among the general public. Now that is not a diss on the PT, because its just a different story with different types of characters so naturally fans will gravitate more to one over the other.

    The PT is a more tragic story that doesn't have a happy ending so for some its not their cup of tea. The OT/ST is a more 'good guy' Trilogy so more fans like the more uplifting story.

    Again, there is nothing wrong with fans preferring one Trilogy over another as its just natural when they're told in a different way.

    Personally I like that the Saga has 2 Trilogies about the good guys and 1 Trilogy about the grey guys as it keeps it interesting.
     
  23. Mindless Monster

    Mindless Monster Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 4, 2014
    I think it's do to a number of factors but the main 3 are - it's an audience pleaser, it's inoffensive and progressive with its casting choices, and lastly people were so desperate for that "OT feel" they were even receptive to a soft reboot of the originals.
     
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  24. anakinfansince1983

    anakinfansince1983 Skywalker Saga/LFL/YJCC Manager star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2011
    Can I ask why being an "audience pleaser" would be a negative?
     
  25. Mindless Monster

    Mindless Monster Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 4, 2014

    I didn't say that was a negative. It's just not a very challenging film. It's fun and breezy, but that doesn't -- for me -- compensate for the lack of depth.