EDIT: It turns out I am stupid and the whole post is visible all the time. So just make sure you scroll down very quickly to the next post.
Sooo here is everything that I didn't include in the No Spoiler Review, for obvious reasons.
Only read this if you have seen the movie or really don't care about spoilers.
Honestly
I will be discussing my fealings regarding all the important plot points, so stay away if you have yet to see The Force Awakens.
I will try to make my introduction as long as possible to make sure no spoiler will is visible on the front page, but no promises.
Of course this is a good time to talk about spoilers in general.
I think this whole spoiler hysteria went out of hand. I mean look at Final Fantasy VII. The original that came out in 1997. That was 18 years ago. It can now buy alcohol, drive a car and have sex.
It's plot is generally common knowledge. We all know that Aerith dies, Cloud has fake memories, or that Sephiroth was dead all along. I knew all of these and more when I had my first playthrough. And guess what. I loved every minute of it. Well written moments work just as well if you know they are comming. *cough* I am your father *cough*. Plus it is not the same to read: Snape kills Dumbledore in an internet forum as reading or watching that scene in the context of the whole story. If a huge blockbuster in 2015 can't affect its audience as well as a nearly two decades old console game it has failed miserably.
With that out of the way let's look at the movie!
You ready?
Your sure?
Okay. So TFA was awesome. There is no point denying that unless you are obejctively wrong.
Sure there are a few details we can nitpick about - and I totally will - but none these minor things are worse than the plotholes of the Original Trilogy, or Back to the Future II or The Matrix. Or Terminator 2 for that matter. And Jurassic Park.
So yeah, you get the idea. Yet we ignored all of those cause everything else worked. So we shall give The Force Awakens a free pass as well.
Most of the legitimate complaints against TFA can be traced back to two issues.
1. It was predictable. Very predictable. The guy who looks a lot like a young Harrison Ford, plays Han Solo's son. The tech savvy orphan living on a desert planet turns out to be Force sensitive. She's also a very good pilot.
Oh, quick question: If a good guy wants to redeem the villain while standing on a long bridge above a bottomless pit, what will happen?
If you answered: The good guy dies, you win.
And come on. Everyone figured out R2 has the missing map piece as soon as 3PO mentioned that it is impossible.
2. Very little new stuff was in it. Of course when I say new stuff I mean stuff that didn't pay homage to the OT. Granted I loved all those moments, but appart from the Knights of Ren and their 2-3 seconds of screen time, everything had at least a little bit of: "I have seen this before" flavor.
Of course it is understandable why the movie was playing it safe.
If we don't count the special editions, we have gone for 30 years without a star wars movie that wasn't utter garbage. We have also gone for 10 years without any kind of star wars movie. The last time Lucasfilm revived an old IP, it turned out to be a disaster. The last time JJ revived a sci fi frachise, he didn't quite grasp the essence of it, And quite a few people doubted that Disney is the right company to produce new star wars movies.
Considering all this it was probably a smart move by the people involved to create a movie that is essentially a soft reboot that mixes Episode IV and V and leave the experimentation to Episode VIII and IX. Now that the new team has our trust they can steer the story in all sorts of interesting directions.
Han's death and the Luke reveal also passed the FFVII test. It wasn't as shocking the first time because of its predictability, but at least the second viewing didn't take away the effect.
Another thing worth mentioning is the ammount of world building the movie and the visual dictionary does. We got a nice glimpse at what people eat on Jakku and at the entertainment in Maz's bar. We also got several new organizations, planets and events. Rakata Prime is back in canon and the VD also mentions the Scourge of Malachor. I have a feeling SWTOR will soon be completely decanonized by a Kotor remake. Whatever happens, the Lore Vampire is happy with the new details it can chew on.
Showing posts with label The Force Awakens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Force Awakens. Show all posts
Sunday, December 27, 2015
The Force Awakens - No Spoiler Review
Hello everyone! Sorry for not posting for so long, but I have been preoccupied with lots of stuff, including my thesis, a wierd illness I can't seem to shake off and of course Christmas.
That reminds me: Merry Christmas to you all! Yeah I know that technically Christmas is over, but we still have tonns of leftover food from the hollidays, so it isn't really over yet.
Speaking of food, I had my second serving of The Force Awakens today.
While all the spoilers are pretty much common knowledge now I'm still going to write a spoiler free review on the off chance that some of you dear readers still haven't seen the movie. Like my oldest cousin.
Short answer: I really enjoyed it. Most importantly: I enjoyed it the second time as well. More than a full week of hindsight didn't bring to light horrible plot holes and contradictions. At least not ones I noticed.
John Williams' score was a bit subdued this time, with no score piece standing out. However JW is a few decades older than even Nobuo Uematsu, so he kinda earned the right to not top himself every time. Plus, if the John Williams score is the least spectacular part of the movie, you know you are doing something right.
When discussing TFA we can't look over the acting. The movie has a huuge cast with returning classic actors, promising newcommers and illustrious cameos. And they all do their jobs really well. After the wax museum of the prequels were everyone beside Ian McDiarmid and the late Sir Christopher Lee acted like a tranquilized Pierce Brosnan it was really great to see genuine emotions on every face. Even Chewbacca was more expressive than usual. John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver in particular stood out.
TL;DR: For the second time JJ Abrams managed to revitalize a sci-fi franchise that has seen better days. Can we please give him the Mass Effect movie? Pretty please?
That reminds me: Merry Christmas to you all! Yeah I know that technically Christmas is over, but we still have tonns of leftover food from the hollidays, so it isn't really over yet.
Speaking of food, I had my second serving of The Force Awakens today.
While all the spoilers are pretty much common knowledge now I'm still going to write a spoiler free review on the off chance that some of you dear readers still haven't seen the movie. Like my oldest cousin.
Short answer: I really enjoyed it. Most importantly: I enjoyed it the second time as well. More than a full week of hindsight didn't bring to light horrible plot holes and contradictions. At least not ones I noticed.
John Williams' score was a bit subdued this time, with no score piece standing out. However JW is a few decades older than even Nobuo Uematsu, so he kinda earned the right to not top himself every time. Plus, if the John Williams score is the least spectacular part of the movie, you know you are doing something right.
When discussing TFA we can't look over the acting. The movie has a huuge cast with returning classic actors, promising newcommers and illustrious cameos. And they all do their jobs really well. After the wax museum of the prequels were everyone beside Ian McDiarmid and the late Sir Christopher Lee acted like a tranquilized Pierce Brosnan it was really great to see genuine emotions on every face. Even Chewbacca was more expressive than usual. John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver in particular stood out.
TL;DR: For the second time JJ Abrams managed to revitalize a sci-fi franchise that has seen better days. Can we please give him the Mass Effect movie? Pretty please?
Friday, November 6, 2015
Geek day
Hey folks. Remember what I said about not posting till Blizzcon?
I lied.
Well Blizzcon is a little over two hours away, but still. This day is going to be legendary in geek circles. All the stuff to talk about.
Yesterday it was announced that a Witcher movie is set for 2017. Wohooooo. Who can I play?
We also got the official synopsis for Fantastic Beasts and where to find them. It will indeed be set excluisively in new york. Mehhh
Today we are of course waiting for BlizzCon. The Warcraft movie trailer will debut and we will also get lots of new info on World of Warcraft: Legion.
But I feal I must stress that the juicy stuff will come from the deceptively short Diablo panel. There is no BlizzCon without a big reveal. Overwatch beta is underway, the movie is common knowledge, Star Craft II is near its end, Hearthstone got a new expansion recently, there is nothing major to do with Heroes of the Storm, and the next wow expansion was revealed at gamescom. Diablo is the only answer.
But before that we can still read the preliminary patch notes for As Goes Light so goes Darkness, the 3.1 patch of Final Fantasy XIV, and watch and rewatch the new japanese trailer for The Force Awakens.
The former reveals all the miriads of stuff we will get to play next tuesday. While we get fewer main scenario quests and trials compared to what has been the norm 3.1 still has more playable content than what other MMOs offer, and a generous ammount of quality of life changes are also included in the package. Once the final patch notes are here and I have put some playtime in it I will provide a more detailed description.
The latter gives us several never before seen scenes and lines of dialogue. Daisy Ridley shows us that John Boyega is not the only one who can do a superb 'oh crap' face. We also hear the latest version of BB-8's voice, along with the ever popular wilhelm scream when chewie blows some bad guys up.
Every fandom gets something
This is a good day to be a geek.
I lied.
Well Blizzcon is a little over two hours away, but still. This day is going to be legendary in geek circles. All the stuff to talk about.
Yesterday it was announced that a Witcher movie is set for 2017. Wohooooo. Who can I play?
We also got the official synopsis for Fantastic Beasts and where to find them. It will indeed be set excluisively in new york. Mehhh
Today we are of course waiting for BlizzCon. The Warcraft movie trailer will debut and we will also get lots of new info on World of Warcraft: Legion.
But I feal I must stress that the juicy stuff will come from the deceptively short Diablo panel. There is no BlizzCon without a big reveal. Overwatch beta is underway, the movie is common knowledge, Star Craft II is near its end, Hearthstone got a new expansion recently, there is nothing major to do with Heroes of the Storm, and the next wow expansion was revealed at gamescom. Diablo is the only answer.
But before that we can still read the preliminary patch notes for As Goes Light so goes Darkness, the 3.1 patch of Final Fantasy XIV, and watch and rewatch the new japanese trailer for The Force Awakens.
The former reveals all the miriads of stuff we will get to play next tuesday. While we get fewer main scenario quests and trials compared to what has been the norm 3.1 still has more playable content than what other MMOs offer, and a generous ammount of quality of life changes are also included in the package. Once the final patch notes are here and I have put some playtime in it I will provide a more detailed description.
The latter gives us several never before seen scenes and lines of dialogue. Daisy Ridley shows us that John Boyega is not the only one who can do a superb 'oh crap' face. We also hear the latest version of BB-8's voice, along with the ever popular wilhelm scream when chewie blows some bad guys up.
Every fandom gets something
This is a good day to be a geek.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Alien is the new black
Hello everyone!
This is going to be my last blog before BlizzCon. It is not exactly related, but it might tie in to it somewhat, as the topic is a trend that can be observed
I don't think I will get a nobel prize for pointing out that pop culture always had a favorite creature that gets most of the attention. This is pretty much common knowledge. This became apparent when vampires began monopolizing books, movies and video games. Inevitably the ammount of vampires, especially the sparkly ones, got too much and people began to get bored of them. Nowadays I am in the minority for still being interested in vampires.
When the general consensus became: bloodsuckers suck, the public turned towards another icon. Zombies. We had White Walkers and Walking Dead. Zombie's got their own land and even their own World War. They also found their own arch nemesises in the forms of plants. Unfortunately being an uninteligent slow moving corpse limits your possibilities, so zombies soon became old news. Of course they still get their regular game mode in call of duty releases, but call of duty is a swear word in civilized company.
So who next? For a time it looked like ghosts would take the stage. A new ghost busters movie is in development, Pirates of the Caribbean 5 will feature an evil ghost as a main antagonist, the latest Lego Ninjago season was against a ghost and Kung Fu Panda 3 was intended to have a ghost bad guy back when Mads Mikkelsen was still attached to the project.
But their place was taken by aliens. Our little green (and sometimes grey) friends began their gradual crawl towards the top with the release of Grand Theft Auto V and the beginning of the still unsolved Chiliad Mistery.
Well that's not much......
And next week we will see the release of Final Fantasy XIV patch 3.1 with a very UFO looking location: The Void Ark. Hey, does FFVII have aliens? Yep. For starters, Jenova is one. And technically so is Shinra.
And of course Fallout 4 which might have aliens in it (the last two games had). Team Fortress 2 also received some alien stuff with its latest update. Overwatch also has hints of beings that "came from beyond the moon". Speaking of Blizzard, the final installment of the StarCraft 2 trilogy will come on November 10. Also Blizzcon will give details about the warcraft movie (aliens use a dimensional portal to invade humans) and of course the latest WoW expansion, Legion which is about how orcs, draenei (both aliens) use artifacts left behind by the Titans (also aliens) to defeat the invading forces of the Burning Legion (all of them aliens). Makes you wonder wether we will get to explore a crashed alien ship in Diablo 3. Would be a nice adventure mode dungeon if we dont get an expansion after all.
But that's just vid....
Oh and there is a movie comming out called Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Might have heared of it. After that disney will make another five star wars movies. Totally unrelated to the recent SWTOR expansion though. Well maybe. Star Trek also gets another movie next year.
Yeah but...
Along with a new TV series. Oh and X-files also returns to TV as a mini series. Next year we will also get our hands on Deus Ex Mankind Divided, which might have grey aliens, and Mass Effect Andromeda, which definitely will. Don't know if it counts, but Dragon Ball Super, one of the surprise anime releases of 2015, will end its run on November 8. And next year will also give us the long awaited movie about Bruce Wayne fighting a destructive alien messiah wannabe.
I'd call this more than enough. All we need now is NASA giving us a news and we can accept our new alien overlords. After that? Well let's ask Kanye West:
Tell me what's next? Alien sex.
hmmmmmmm
This is going to be my last blog before BlizzCon. It is not exactly related, but it might tie in to it somewhat, as the topic is a trend that can be observed
I don't think I will get a nobel prize for pointing out that pop culture always had a favorite creature that gets most of the attention. This is pretty much common knowledge. This became apparent when vampires began monopolizing books, movies and video games. Inevitably the ammount of vampires, especially the sparkly ones, got too much and people began to get bored of them. Nowadays I am in the minority for still being interested in vampires.
When the general consensus became: bloodsuckers suck, the public turned towards another icon. Zombies. We had White Walkers and Walking Dead. Zombie's got their own land and even their own World War. They also found their own arch nemesises in the forms of plants. Unfortunately being an uninteligent slow moving corpse limits your possibilities, so zombies soon became old news. Of course they still get their regular game mode in call of duty releases, but call of duty is a swear word in civilized company.
So who next? For a time it looked like ghosts would take the stage. A new ghost busters movie is in development, Pirates of the Caribbean 5 will feature an evil ghost as a main antagonist, the latest Lego Ninjago season was against a ghost and Kung Fu Panda 3 was intended to have a ghost bad guy back when Mads Mikkelsen was still attached to the project.
But their place was taken by aliens. Our little green (and sometimes grey) friends began their gradual crawl towards the top with the release of Grand Theft Auto V and the beginning of the still unsolved Chiliad Mistery.
Well that's not much......
And next week we will see the release of Final Fantasy XIV patch 3.1 with a very UFO looking location: The Void Ark. Hey, does FFVII have aliens? Yep. For starters, Jenova is one. And technically so is Shinra.
And of course Fallout 4 which might have aliens in it (the last two games had). Team Fortress 2 also received some alien stuff with its latest update. Overwatch also has hints of beings that "came from beyond the moon". Speaking of Blizzard, the final installment of the StarCraft 2 trilogy will come on November 10. Also Blizzcon will give details about the warcraft movie (aliens use a dimensional portal to invade humans) and of course the latest WoW expansion, Legion which is about how orcs, draenei (both aliens) use artifacts left behind by the Titans (also aliens) to defeat the invading forces of the Burning Legion (all of them aliens). Makes you wonder wether we will get to explore a crashed alien ship in Diablo 3. Would be a nice adventure mode dungeon if we dont get an expansion after all.
But that's just vid....
Oh and there is a movie comming out called Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Might have heared of it. After that disney will make another five star wars movies. Totally unrelated to the recent SWTOR expansion though. Well maybe. Star Trek also gets another movie next year.
Yeah but...
Along with a new TV series. Oh and X-files also returns to TV as a mini series. Next year we will also get our hands on Deus Ex Mankind Divided, which might have grey aliens, and Mass Effect Andromeda, which definitely will. Don't know if it counts, but Dragon Ball Super, one of the surprise anime releases of 2015, will end its run on November 8. And next year will also give us the long awaited movie about Bruce Wayne fighting a destructive alien messiah wannabe.
I'd call this more than enough. All we need now is NASA giving us a news and we can accept our new alien overlords. After that? Well let's ask Kanye West:
Tell me what's next? Alien sex.
hmmmmmmm
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Star Wars - Just let it in
And it is finally here. The actual trailer for Star Wars The Force Awakens. And it is freakin awesome.
I will eat crow and my hat and a crow wearing my hat if it is not true, but I'm going to say it. This will be awesome.
The action looks great, the acting looks great (hey look, emotions. Haven't seen that in a star wars movie in 30 years) and I'm getting strong star wars vibes from it.
The only thing I can nitpick is that very little seems new. Most of the stuff so far seems to be lifted from the OT and polished. Of course after a whole trilogy of disappointments this might be a sensible approach, but I would prefer some innovation.
There are few bits here and there. Finn seems to have taken ideas from Kyle Katarn (big bonus point) Maz Kanata is apparently a female yoda (different species, but still a small grinning gremlin, strong in the Force) and a pirate queen at the same time aaand there are the Knights of Ren.
The Knights of Ren are a weird bunch. We don't even know if they are all Force sensitive or not, but Kylo seems to be the only one with a lightsaber. While Kylo is working for the First Order, there is no indiacation that the Knights as a whole are affiliated with them, Or any order of Force users like the Sith or the Witches of Dathomir. Not inquisitors either as all of those had lightsabers.
So in other words, they are all new.
I will eat crow and my hat and a crow wearing my hat if it is not true, but I'm going to say it. This will be awesome.
The action looks great, the acting looks great (hey look, emotions. Haven't seen that in a star wars movie in 30 years) and I'm getting strong star wars vibes from it.
The only thing I can nitpick is that very little seems new. Most of the stuff so far seems to be lifted from the OT and polished. Of course after a whole trilogy of disappointments this might be a sensible approach, but I would prefer some innovation.
There are few bits here and there. Finn seems to have taken ideas from Kyle Katarn (big bonus point) Maz Kanata is apparently a female yoda (different species, but still a small grinning gremlin, strong in the Force) and a pirate queen at the same time aaand there are the Knights of Ren.
The Knights of Ren are a weird bunch. We don't even know if they are all Force sensitive or not, but Kylo seems to be the only one with a lightsaber. While Kylo is working for the First Order, there is no indiacation that the Knights as a whole are affiliated with them, Or any order of Force users like the Sith or the Witches of Dathomir. Not inquisitors either as all of those had lightsabers.
So in other words, they are all new.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Star Wars The Poster Awakens
Hellllo people.
Sorry for not posting anything lately, but I have been busy. But now I return just a day before early access for Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire begins and the first actual trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Speaking of which, the official poster for TFA finall hit today. It is a good time to be a star wars fan.
A few random thoughts:
Sorry for not posting anything lately, but I have been busy. But now I return just a day before early access for Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire begins and the first actual trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Speaking of which, the official poster for TFA finall hit today. It is a good time to be a star wars fan.
 |
| It's so dense. Every single image has so many things going on. |
- Wohoooo Leia is here. Havent seen much of her beside her hand.
- Finn AKA Black Kyle Katarn looks badass with that saber.
- 3PO! Mr Plinkett called. He wants to not what is wrong with your faaaaaaace? Seriously his face looks freakish from this distance.
- Maz Kanata (if that is her) looks a lot like an Asura from Guild Wars 2. It's already exciting that a woman became a pirate leader (a very manly job) but if she's this small, imagine how badass she has to be to ear her respect. It's really hard to pick a favorite character for this movie.
- Rey looks super cool with that staff. We don't have enough melee weapons that aren't lightsabers.
- Starkiller base is very weird. On the poster it looks like another death star with a bigger gun (go figure) but we saw it in a trailer and it was an ice planet with an atmosphere and everything.
- The Joker is conspicuosly absent. Err I mean Darth Bane.
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