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

Well, I went to my local cinema for the midnight screening and the excitement was palpable, everyone was buzzing, it was unbelievable, I hadn't seen anything like it in my whole film-going experience. The whole place erupted when that opening crawl came up, me and my friend leapt from our seats with an athleticism we don't actually have cheering at the screen like some deranged lunatics, the popcorn that was on my lap now all over the floor, I didn't care this was Star Wars man! I imagine it must have felt similar to when people went to see The Phantom Menace back in '99, only this time, Star Wars was truly back! Everyone was really into it and right then I thought, "this is it!", people laughing, people crying, people cheering at the end, applauding, one experience I'll never forget. An awakening there has been most certainly, it's whether they can back it up with the two remaining films in this new trilogy to make it that complete package.

 

Just some examples that stood out for me:

Oh you gotta be kiddin me!
I have had a really messed up day!
Do you talk first or do I talk first?

These are just examples. It was some of the specific words and the delivery that made me feel it didn't belong in what we saw before. Now mind you, thats ok. I am just bringing up a point that it really is different. I always felt that the OT and most of the PT felt like something strange and fairy tale like. This movie didn't feel like that in "some scenes".

 

Yay another bashing thread!

 

Interesting. I don't have a dog in this fight, but those examples strike me as the sort of thing that could have been said in the OT; out of place for Lord Of the Rings for sure, but not the Star Wars Galaxy.

 

Which is why when you compare OT vs PT vs TFA, at any point, you fail. That's one reason why the mods have the rules prohibiting it to begin with.

 

I can kind of buy the dialogue stuff across the trilogies anyway; in the PT we're dealing with politicians and dignitaries as well as an officious Jedi order

 

But again, this isn't a saga thread or PT forum.

That's the problem. We have a handful of threads now where all it is is now PT vs OT vs ST instead of TFA on its own merits.

 

No, the outpouring of love for the film is more the product of people being so disenchanted with the prequels that they so desperately craved something cozy and familiar and that's what Disney and JJ gave them. It's like when you're sick and you want chicken noodle soup, but as soon as you're back on the mend chicken noodle soup sounds absolutely disgusting. I was not jaded by the prequels. I grew up with the OT, but the prequels took my fandom to another level, and made their simplistic stories feel obsolete by comparison. I feel I can look at the film more objectively, and I'm pretty confident the film's reputation will diminish over time.

Eventually I think the average rankings will look like this:

ESB
ROTS
ANH
ROTJ
TFA
TPM
AOTC(sadly)

 

This question is very difficult to answer. I can only draw on my own experience. And that's a phenomenon whereby I enjoy the film more with every viewing. To appropriate JJ and Kasdan's description of it, it's "delightful." I'm delighted by nearly the entire thing. And, it has visual and thematic depth, as well as a strong connection to the current "remix culture" zeitgeist. In other words, it works on its own terms, and as a meta commentary. In this context, I think it may be considered a film classic in the future.

 

No. It never lasts and people will always crave something new and fresh but that's doesn't mean they won't remember it fondly and not appreciate it still. It depends entirely on the individual.

I used to watch the OT and PT religiously, I've watched the OT once this year in the run up to TFA, I love them dearly but I've hit a point where I don't need to watch them anymore, every aspect of them is engrained in my psyche. The PT I haven't watched in years and have really no desire to do so again. Like I say I'm craving new Star Wars stories and I want to see where this new series goes, how it will end and I'm now really interested in the spin offs as well, despite initially having misgivings. I still think a Fett movie is a mistake though. There are better and far more interesting characters and stories to be told, he's had enough fan service through the years.

 

What movie is ever judged "on its own merits"? I can see why you wish to contain the dialogue but, comparison is inevitable. Especially with such an un-original movie as TFA!

 

No. The enthusiasm is bound to die down. The movie has been out for a couple of weeks now. Pretty soon, it will be out of the theater. The enthusiasm will go away. That is the way of things.

 

Why would I wish to contain the dialogue? They have a policy against Saga discussion as it is the TFA forum, not a Saga or PT thread.

 

I'm not sure "classic" is really the word you want to use. Given the rest of your thesis, at best, it might be used as an exemplar of a certain type of movie that was popular at one point in time.

 

I think it's an enjoyable film with timeless themes and a wonderful visual flair, which is also very conscious of the current zeitgeist. The film's major theme of letting go of the past (while using the good bits of the past to create a "mixed" future) is consistent with what the film is as a "thing" in popular culture. In essence, it's not just a Star Wars film. It also says something about our current culture - both the mainstream kind (the remix culture) and the subculture of "fandom" (e.g. Kylo's "extreme fanboy" characterization).

And so because it speaks to the human condition in both a timeless and timely way (as did ANH in 1977), I think it's destined to be a classic.

 

ROTJ is retrospectively a weaker film though. It had the benefit of the buildup and end to the trilogy, so it's hard to judge.

Your ordering is mostly sound although I place ROTS below both TFA and ROTJ simply because George made some awful decisions that took me out of the final act
- The birthing robots
- Vader NOOOO
- Padme losing the will to live (wtf?) and contradicting Leia's memory of her mom from ROTJ

For me currently TFA is only slightly behind ROTJ for me at #4 , and I want to give it a few years to settle as to whether I like it more than ROTJ. I suspect it will depend on how this new trilogy plays out.

I've mentioned this before but a lot of the hate for TFA appears to be from EU diehards and people who really liked the prequels applying their own 'time will justify me emotions' logic to TFA. 10 -15 years ago, it was that time will justify the greatness of the prequels. Now it's that time will justify their dislike for TFA.

The former hasn't come true and I highly doubt the latter will either.

 

My order goes as follows:

AOTC
ROTS
TPM
ANH
ESB
ROTJ
TFA

That ranking was what I project will be the average for the majority of fans in the not-too-distant future...you know once things settle down.

 

That is the film's undoing.

 

Unlikely. TFA , even if you remove the Star Wars brand is a really good space adventure.

 

That might be your perspective. But in the world of film and literary criticism, a work of art that reflects/ comments on the zeitgeist of the time, while also speaking to timeless themes regarding the human condition, are candidates for "classic." Nearly all of the film and literary "canon" out there fits this mold.

So while TFA may divide parts of Star Wars fandom, I think it will be studied as a classic of popular film-making in the future. It will certainly end up on the curricula for a lot of film schools out there, IMO.

 

AOTC top ? Really ? Each to their own but that's not just a poor Star Wars film it's a poor film full stop.

 

edit: wrong comment

 

Hey wow, we're done here. One way or the other (locked threads, bans) more people here are going to start heeding warnings.