Lit A/V The Force Awakens and the EU [TAGGED spoilers.]

Then you thinks wrong because I didn't

 

Well, I did just look, and see my local cinema still has tons of seats for later this evening.. mmmh...

Not sure if I feel in the mood for tonight though, as I gotta be in work early tomorrow morning, but at least I know it won't be hard to get a ticket whichever night I choose.

 

Go and enjoy yourself and have a good time. All I will say though is don't watch A New Hope before you do. Seriously just don't, you'll enjoy it more if you don't.

 

I just got back from seeing it! I have one question

Spoiler

was that coruscant that got destroyed?

 

Darth Gladius

I thought the exact same thing when I saw it.....but I don't think so, it was probably just another metropolis planet. Give the canon time to catch up and I'm sure it'll be given a name

 

Spoiler

Jacen vs Ben thread when?

 

So, pretty much everything that I expected. That bad, and more.

Spoiler

Magic 'chosen one' force powers out of nowhere, one-dimensional 'dark elf' villain, spoof-level superweapon, vague and contradictory worldbuilding with other writers left to clean up after. The JJ Special.
To top it all off, they rehashed my least favorite EU character (JINO), as an even less-sympathetic tantrum-throwing Vader wannabe, but made him ****ing Ben. No.

I just feel bad for the many people who's talent and dedication to their work is evident. Such a waste to have LFL make an Abrams film.

 

So now that the film is out, can someone summarize how much of the rumors were accurate?

 

Spoiler

I think it's Hosnian Prime, a NR Core World. Just created for that purpose. Btw, haven't seen the film yet, so I'm just going on spoilers/rumors from tertiary sources.

 

Spoiler

Not the floating hand, sadly

 

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I've no idea what that's supposed to mean, but the first thing that popped on my mind when I read that was the hand thing from Adams Family

 

Well, that's the thing. People who have gone into it expecting to enjoy it...generally have. People who go in expecting it to be bad or at best average are the ones coming back with negative reports. I am beyond hyped and I'm seeing it in 3 hours so I'll let you all know how I feel after that (or when the boards are back up, whatever), but I expect to love it. Are there similarities with what I've heard to ANH, the PT, and even LOTF? Sure. But what I've heard also indicates a fun, exciting story that's much more well done than *shudder* JINO.

 

Spoiler

One of the oldest rumours said that the first shot of the movie was Luke's hand from ESB floating in space still holding his lightsaber, it's not.

 

Look on the bright side. It was 1,000,000% better than any of the last 15 years of EU. And the whole

Spoiler

Ben thing means there's no Ben Skywalker, no Jacen Solo... it's glorious!

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I loved the film. It did what Abrams said he set out to do. If you're expecting a film for you, you're going to be disappointed. If you're expecting A New New Hope for a new generation, you'll be aligned with the filmmaker's vision and enjoy the hell out of it.

It's not unlike the notes Rebels hits. It's doing something the EU never dared to do - which, when you hire hack writers, is hardly surprising - which is to invent new characters and give them familiar anchors but new personalities. Rey is amazing. She might be my favourite if not for BB8.

The Force Awakens was marvellous, for both what it was and how it destroyed the EU.

 

You're a fixed point in a changing age, Ender Sai.

Me? I expect to to enjoy/not enjoy the film based upon whether or not I enjoy/don't enjoy the film, and not worry about self-psychoanalysis to see if my reasons are 'valid'. If I'm paying money to be entertained, I want to be entertained. Because ultimately, that's the only thing that matters.

 

I'll see it in 13 and a half hours. I have to drive to a nearby city to watch it.

 

Having been burned by the shift to the prequels - those most terrible, terrible of films - in all things Star Wars I was out. I mean, the novels were just utterly awful. The only new TV show was Clone Wars. It was like George wanted what he wanted and uncritical drones lapped it up, others just disengaged.

When I heard about this, I wanted to understand what JJ was driving at. So I read interviews where he articulated his purpose and vision. When I got what he was aiming for, I went in expecting that - a new trilogy, that is standalone as well as connected. But not a continuation of my original trilogy.

Expecting that, it worked so well. If you expect a film that's made for you, the extant fan... eh, not so much. If you want to see them do ANH for a new generation, then my god... it will soar.

 

I know the EU had its problems, but I think it's unfair to label writers like Zahn, Stackpole, Luceno and more hacks. They made determined efforts to continue Star Wars during the periods without films, and many are gracious to the fans.

Also, where did this idea the EU didn't invent new characters come from? Mara Jade, Thrawn, Kyle Katarn, Revan are all strong, new characters that came from the EU.

Ironically, (spoiler for TFA villain)

Spoiler

If anyone can be called a non-new character, it's TFA's Kylo Ren who's basically EU Jacen Solo. And that's fine, Disney is within legal rights to borrow from their own property. But don't accuse the EU of being hacks or non-original and let Kylo Ren slide. Hopefully future material can differentiate Jacen and Kylo.

I do feel sorry for the authors who contributed to Legacy of the Force and Darth Caedus, who will see the film and see its makers get millions and the credit using a character they did first. But they knew going in that their Star Wars work is work-for-hire and ultimately is owned by Lucasfilm. It's no different from the many comic book movies made now using characters and plots where the writers and artists don't get much from the film (Stan Lee, Jack Kirby estate, Chris Claremont on X-Men, etc)

Sent from my SGH-M919N using Tapatalk

 

double post by bad phone connection

 

triple post by bad phone connection

 

Zahn wasn't, but he came first. But Luceno? Stellar career outside of Star Wars. Definitely. Yeah. Top shelf author.

Saying Kylo is Caedus is lol. It's EU fans grasping at straws. There's no comparison, and I like to think Larry Kasdan doesn't read awful, terrible fiction in the same way he doesn't torture puppies for fun. I would respect him less as a human being and writer if he'd read even the first Legacy of the Farce novel.

 

I expect to be moderately entertained. But another ANH? I think you're grasping at straws, there.

 

No, it's ANH for a new generation. Or if you like, a monomyth/Hidden Fortress for the 21st century audience?