ST Will the Enthusiasm for TFA stand the test of time?

First and foremost, I see Star Wars as one big saga. I'm a fan of both the OT and the PT.

That said, I remember there being a more positive reaction to the prequels when they first came out. It was not until much later, when the smoke cleared, that they began being targeted to the degree that they are maligned today.

So, will the same thing happen to TFA? If not, why?

I enjoyed TFA very much, and thought it was another good story in the saga. That said, it wasn't a perfect movie, and there were some things that I thought could have been better, as with all the films. None of those things keep me from enjoying any part of the saga.

Thoughts?

In Christ forever,
Mike
John 3:16

 

I think it depends on the person. For casual fans it'll be pretty good, but for less casual fans it'll be seen as flawed and hopefully it'll be overshadowed by 8 and 9.


People will regard it as better than the prequels but not as good as the OT.

 

The bolded is not true. It's been debunked countless times on this very message board. The prequels had a mixed reception at best from day one

 

Love that burns this hot only diminishes if there is a betrayal of trust.

 

Can we please stop with this elitist garbage? It's no different from OT fans telling PT fans they have bad taste or PT fans claiming PT haters aren't smart enough to appreciate the films.

 

Changed the semantics a bit. Everyone is a bit of a sweeping generalization.

Still worth discussing. Prequels seemed to be less well received over time, as opposed to when they were first introduced.

In Christ forever,
Mike
John 3:16

 

Prequels were not well received. It received razzies within the year of its release and the talk on the net was how the Matrix upstaged it. Yes, a lot of fans were in denial for a while and it was all about 'Episode 2' will retroactively make Episode 1 better once you see Anakin's arc

I went to see TPM 10x in theatres hoping it would get better, I still rank it above Episode 2, but the prequels are not my favorite Star Wars films.

 

I'm not being elitist, but I'm just saying that the casual moviegoer (ie, the one that doesn't obsess over star wars) will probably like it more, and seeing the reaction on social media and even my own friends is evidence towards that. I'm not using it to offend anyone.


Telling someone they're not a fan if they don't read the books is being an elitist. Noticing that there are casual fans and less casual fans is not. For example, I love the lord of the rings, but I'd consider myself a huge casual. I'm not offended by it, I just like what I like.

 

Very interesting thought. As I stated earlier, I look at all the films as one big saga. The thing that would really cause me to become upset is if they fiddle with Luke or Anakin's story/legacy. That is the core of 1-6 IMO.

In Christ forever,
Mike
John 3:16

 

No that's incorrect. The Phantom Menace, AOTC, ROTS were never greeted with the critical nor the commercial enthusiasm of TFA. Never. And for every fan that grew to dislike it, there were many, myself among them, who grew to appreciate them more.

So no, your underlying assertion is incorrect. The prequels never had a more positive reaction when they first came out. Look up the reviews at the time of release and the old threads here if you don't believe me.

 

Ok - apologies if I read more into your statement than what you intended

Cheers

 

I have no clue about the general public, but I'm confident that I'll always have a soft spot for TFA and I'll enjoy it the rest of my life.

 

ROTS was better-received in 2005 than it's rated today.

 

Oh there were definitely some mainstream journals/mags that rated TPM positively, but then re-assessed their scores within 6 months. Saying that, I expect views on TFA to diminish, but not to the extent that there is a negative media consensus as per TPM.

 

I won't get into an argument here about whether or not the PT was well received immediately after it came out, as this is not the forum for it.

That said, it seems that the farther removed from opening day, the more maligned the prequels got. That is the dynamic I'm hitting on here. Will TFA begin to seem more flawed over time? I hope not. Then again, I enjoy the PT.

In Christ forever,
Mike
John 3:16

 

Here's a true story, albeit anecdotal.

On my 2nd viewing of Attack of the Clones, I was still in the 'denial' stage and was thinking in terms of how the film could be accepted as 'The Empire Strikes back' of the PT and as I walked out of the theatre, two fanboy types were talking and I overheard one of them utter "that's it, I'm not giving George another chance" the utter disgust in his voice shocked me at the time, but it wasn't until much later when I realized he was right. AOTC was a pretty bad film generally and a weak Star Wars film too.

On my sixth viewing of TFA on New Year's day, I overheard two people talking behind me
Viewer 1: So what did you think?
Viewer 2: I really liked it, I can't wait to see the next one. They are making one right? You can totally tell they were planning more movies when ... garbled...

Viewer 2 clearly is a casual fan and wasn't really aware this is a new trilogy and not a one-off project, but the contrast , 13 years apart, is telling.


As with all films, the intensity will fade with TFA overtime and I do expect it to drop down a few points for some people, while it may rise with others over-time as they come to terms with the film, but I overall expect people will feel less enthusiastic about it. It's only natural as movies fade, but I do expect people will continue to rate it highly and perhaps even up its grade if the plot details introduced here are expanded in the right ways in Episode 8.

 

Well yeah from opening day sure. That's called bad word of mouth. That's what happened with the prequels, especially TPM.

 

No problem. I should've clarified it more in my post.

 

To answer the question about TFA I do think it somewhat depends on how Episode 8 is received. If Episode 8 is anywhere near as good then Episode 7 will be remembered as an awesome entry point into a new saga

 

i am hoping it will be seen as the comparatively weaker bridge to the mind blowing Episodes VIII and IX.

 

I remember when TPM came out the initial reaction was positive, it just wasn't "OMG!!! THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE EVER!!!" positive, it did take some time for people to turn on it. That does not mean that there wasn't a contingent of people who disliked it from the beginning only that it wasn't this overwhelming dominant view at its release.


Anyways, based on how people in my circles view it I do not expect it to stand up as long. I think it will settle to be similar to ROTS. Right now the average rating from people I know is a 7/10. I think a lot of people currently have blinders on based on the hype, it being the first Star Wars in a decade, and it was not George Lucas who made them. Once the newness wears off people aren't going to think as highly as currently.

 

I have to disagree that the prequels were ever held in such regard.

 

I believe TFA will never be considered as negative as the prequels are...

It may suffer from episodes 8 and 9 success (Will TFA be the initial step of a spetacular story? Will TFA be a good start of a bad adventure?).

Anyway it will always be (by itself) an epic movie, funny, heroic, with cool characters, an emotional death, and "one of the best Star Wars"... But not THE best....

 

I think that TFA will be like The Avengers and Avatar; films that were absolutely worshiped when they were first released but now it's cool to dismiss them as being overrated. Casual fans still love both films but there is a vocal minority that enjoy ripping them to shreds. We're already starting to see the same thing with TFA. The film will never take the same kind of heat that TPM did though. They aren't close to being comparable.

 

Its impossible to say now how it will be thought of in years to come. Initial reactions seem very good and are probably better than the PT. It's seems as though they are much maligned now outside fandom.

But I don't see why a positive viewpoint won't stay for TFA because it is more in line (style wise) with the OT.

On a personal level there are some films that you can flick on at virtually any point and think that you need to watch them, so you do. The OT falls into that category for me. My first impressions of TFA were positive and I still thought the same on my second cinema viewing. Will it become essential viewing in the future? Who knows.