ST George Lucas' visual creativity was noticeably absent - and not in a good way

This is actually a pretty legitimate complaint, but I expect it to be corrected going forward with a more creative and adventurous director taking over.

 

For me, the story is what's most important. I found myself engaged greatly with the characters, the story, and enjoyed the movie very much. I don't need florescent mushrooms or skyscraper sized stalagmite formations to make the movie better for me. This is a style preference. I'd never say the OP was wrong for wanting different things than me. I do believe I just watched a Star Wars movie that looked like a Star Wars movie.

 

I don't know, about what you guys are talking about. This movie was pretty good and the average movie goer really likes it. There is also a strong female presence that the other star wars movies did not have. This movie is more to the times of today, and I love GL, but, the box office news that are going to be coming out within the next 15 days may not be good for any of the prequel movies whether adjusted or unadjusted at the box office both domestic and international. Lets not get too crazy with the rants because not everyone that is liking this movie were die hard old EU lovers, or bashers of the prequels. A lot of people have warmed up to this so called empty movie that some of you are saying it is. I don't care about theater counts, this movie has the potential of becoming the first star wars movie ever unadjusted to cross the billion dollar marker on the first run. This is a big feat for a sorry movie........that some of you are implying is.

 

The story is the most important part of the whole thing. I found the characters and story quite engaging in TFA. Things tend to be visually stunning when you use a computer to create so much of it, ala Episodes I, II, and II. But the stories sucked, and the prequels are almost universally loathed. For me, when technology caught up with George Lucas' minds eye, something special was lost.

 

This is a blatantly false statement, and one that I wish people would stop perpetuating.

 

The prequels weren't loathed, but this was far superior to all of them, and on par with the old movies. The critics pretty much all say that, as do I

While this wasn't technically Lucas Star Wars, it was still awesome and felt like the old movies regardless.

 

its a trade off. I would like to see an exotic planet mixed here and there. Not all of them. Also Naboo was hardly exotic. I digress. I do agree the PT offered more originality, not saying that is better though, I would say it would be better to have some of that in small doses...

Of course the other side of the tradeoff is we are spared GL originality on other things. No Jar Jar, No Jedi Rocks, no fart or poop jokes, etc.

 

Disconnect between the Prequel haters and the George fans.

People that didn't like the prequels want Star Wars to look like a TV drama while the Lucas fans want something fantasy.

 

But surely we don't want TFA to feel like the original trilogy. We want it to be unique, and have a personality all of its own.

The magnificent thing about the prequels (apart from their far superior visual component) is that they were DIFFERENT. It wasn't three movies about nobodys. It was about somebody's - people who were already well known. It was about the jedi order in full flight and the descent o the dark side of the major character. In the end the bad guys win. The story was not a re-hash of the originals. It was a far more complex, different story.

It's good that it was different. What we all want, surely is for the sequel trilogy to be just as different from the original trilogy as the prequel trilogy was. Instead, it appears to be the same. I know people "think" they want that, but I don't think they do.

Star Wars in 1977 was different to any other film that had been made. Before 1977 people weren't calling out for Star wars. They didn't know they wanted it. They wanted it but didn't know it.

Star Wars in 2015 is calling out for a new direction. A great new Star Wars movie which people won't realise they want until they see it. When you play to nostalgia, it is good temporarily, but it won't last.

The visual are not the most important thing in this movie, but they could have at least given something unique to a re-hashed re-remake of the original, which people "say" they want, but deep down, they don't.

I don't think people realise what they want in 2015 - yet. They will know when they see it.A bit like how they felt in 1977.

 

So this is a proof of concept.

I probably should have put the effort in to mask out some of the areas. I probably wouldn't need to if I had better quality footage.

 

Star Wars IS fantasy. It's not even science fiction. It's space fantasy.

 

i would have liked some more cg characters and environs but this was jj's movie and it was good, so i don't mind.

 

It might also explain the lack of other CGI elements like cool ground vehicles for the First Order. I couldn't have been the only one hoping for an updated AT-AT, AT-ST, Landspeeder, etc. could I? There were some background items, but CGI could have helped in some places. For example, when that creature mounted by the character that had captured BB-8 strolled off into the desert. That creature was painfully slow. I'd also like to know what swallowed the TIE Fighter.

 

I agree with this. I would have liked that as well, but the movie we did get was pretty great regardless.

 

I didn't like any of the prequel planets except Coruscant, which was already pre-vized by the OT Special Editions and created in the EU and Naboo was nice I guess (can't really go wrong with using Italian/Roman architecture).

Geonsis was the worst, it just turned the entire movie into a expensive "B-movie" look. I dunno to me it's hard to make "new" planets that don't look like cartoons. They always go overboard with things. I don't ever buy those places as being real. AOTC always to me comes off as the ugliest Star Wars movie, it just has such a cartoon aesthetic. It looks like a video game cut scene.

Tatooine (and Jakku) always feels like a real place ... because it is, it's not a bunch of CG wankery.

 

The only new location that was good in ATOC was Kamino... the exterior of the clone facility, in the rain with the ocean around it was superb!

 

That's the one thing that actually stood out for me in this movie compared to the prequels was that I actually cared about the characters whereas I didn't care at all about the prequel characters.

 

The cgi alien planets look awesome to me. Especially the ones made from sets like Mustafar. With the technology today you could make these planets look even better. No need to take a step backwards from the prequels.

 

I am glad Lucas was out of the picture on this one (Literally). Sorry, but for many fans, the prequels were a disappointing mess. Yes, TFA had its flaws but it was a fun space adventure that puts the franchise back on track with critics and audiences. It is a positive step forward. The main plus of the new direction and writing is the character development. I feel we know Rey. Finn. Kylo Ren. We see their conflicts. Their struggles. Hopes. Fears. We are shown these things overall. We are not just told about them.

And if Lucas still had the reins of SW, there would have been no new movie most likely. He said he was done. In this aspect, we are all lucky he sold it. It keeps the franchise going strong (from movies to TV to theme parks).

 

Dan2626, this is a legitimate complaint and I'm glad you are trying to tease it apart with a scientific method.

 

TFA looked oddly quite cheap to me. Like they couldn't afford better production design, so filmed on location to save budget.

 

Agreed. Give me the look and feel of TFA over the PT any day of the week.

 

The lack of CGI locations gives the film a more genuine feel. I think that will make it last the test of time unlike the prequels.

Also, it might be a minor thing but I think actors simply act better in real locations rather than in front of a green screen.

 

I loved the PT & the OT. Lucas vision made those films what they were.

TFA is a very shallow lite SW movie due to Lucas complete absence.

 

I'm not even sure it's that to be honest. They could have filmed somewhere in a desert that was noticeably different to what had gone before. Even Monument Valley would have probably looked aesthetically a bit different. I get the argument for 'real' locations... and to be honest, I think that 'real' locations have their advantage in this situation, but I thought that on screen both Jakku and Starkiller Base (I'm talking aesthetically) were quite dull an uninteresting.