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This topic comprises 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
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Author
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Topic: Star Wars The Force Awakens
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Mike Schulz
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 122
From: Los Angeles, CA
Registered: May 2007
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posted 12-28-2015 04:34 PM
I've made this same criticism many times already on different Star Wars forums and I'm still not convinced that she could have won the fight against Kylo Ren at the end of the movie and probably could have even killed him if she wanted to (it did seem like she spared his life).
What do we know about Kylo Ren? He is a trained force-user and skilled with a lightsaber and very strong with other force abilities. He is the designated leader of "The Knights of Ren" who were responsible for destroying all of Luke's Jedi apprentices at his training academy. He is definitely not a scrub albeit not quite a Jedi Master or Sith Lord caliber yet either.
What do we know about Rey? She is skilled in melee combat as witnessed early on Jakku when she took down 2 male assailants trying to steal BB-8. She also is an experienced pilot (how she was able to fly the Millennium Falcon as good as Han and Chewie is a conversation for another day). She doesn't even know she is a force-user until she picks up Luke's lightsaber in Maz's palace. From her vision/flashback sequence, we can hear Obi-wan saying "Rey these are your first steps", and then of course Maz telling her that the lightsaber and the force was calling to her. Next thing we know, we see her easily resisting Kylo's mindgrab (or whatever-the-hell you want to call that) twice. She then uses the mind-trick on the stormtrooper (played by Daniel Craig) to free herself from capture. She is also able to stealth around Starkiller base like Obi-wan did in A New Hope. After the scene that we all expected but still felt like a punch in the gut happened, we are found outside in the snow with her, Finn, and Kylo Ren.
Now I will concede that Kylo Ren was visibly injured before this fight started as Chewie put a blaster shot into his thigh and he was visibly bleeding onto the snow a bit. However, he seemed to not be hindered much by it and very easily destroyed Finn with little effort (who, mind you not a force-user, but was very well trained in combat). All of a sudden we see Rey force-pull the lightsaber passed Kylo Ren and then proceed to own his ass in a duel. I still LOVED this scene and I loved the movie but come on, if Luke had to fight Vader at the end of A New Hope before he had any training, Vader would have easily destroyed him probably even before he got his saber ignited. I know Kylo Ren is no Vader (yet) but still, in my opinion, he should have realistically kicked Rey's butt in that fight.
I do look forward to Episode 8 and 9 though. I can't wait to see what goes down after Rey gets some proper Jedi training with Luke and then also what becomes of Kylo Ren after Snoke finishes his training. It's gonna be amazing!
---- on a unrelated note, who does everyone think Rey is? Luke's daughter? Kylo's sister that Leia protected from Snoke? Or my personal favorite theory, Rey Kenobi.
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Aron Toplitsky
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 113
From: Gardena, CA, USA
Registered: May 2012
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posted 12-31-2015 02:07 AM
****This may contain a spoiler or two....
A solid film and I agree with others on this thread, it’s better than any of the prequels. I am quite fascinated by the Kylo Ren story and hope to see more of it fleshed out in the next two films. I was quite impressed by all the younger actors, although I’m not sure how I feel about Domhnall Gleeson’s role. It felt a little over the top and borderline comical. I liked him a lot more in Ex Machina. That is a much different film of course. I liked the score but didn’t love it. Sorry to say, but I thought Phantom Menace had a better score. And now for both of my technical experiences….
First time was at UNIVERSAL CITYWALK Los Angeles in IMAX 3D with Laser Projection. I’ve seen laser projection before but not in 3D. Boy do I wish they would just do away with 3D and present these films in 2D laser. When the 2D trailers played, I was amazed at how the image was so pristine on a large real (not Liemax) IMAX screen. For projectors to display an image of that quality on such a large screen is quite an achievement! Then the 3D trailers played and it just didn’t quite deliver the sharpness and beautiful color as the 2D trailers. The 3D for the movie was good and probably one of the better 3D IMAX experiences, although not really needed. Now when the IMAX sequence came, that’s when the 3D really shined and looked damn amazing! I thought the sound mix was quite good but honestly I expected much better. There were moments when the bass was pretty powerful during hyper space travel and the firing of the Starkiller Base weapon, but overall I felt the film could have been more aggressive with the low frequency effects and surrounds.
My second time was at the TCL CHINESE THEATER SIX screen #1, 2D showing with Dolby Atmos. Clearly the IMAX experience was much more engaging and preferred both sonically and visually, but once again, I was disappointed with the sound mix. There have been other films I’ve seen on this screen such as Mad Max, which blow away The Force Awakens’ mix. I just expected much more from a Star Wars film in the sound department. Perhaps they didn’t want to scare the hell out of the kids?
Despite not being in love with 3D, I say the IMAX Laser experience is the way to go. I hope to catch Force Awakens on a 2D Dolby Cinema screen next week.
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 12-31-2015 11:36 PM
Cinema: Carmike Patriot Cinemas 13
Screen: 7, IMAX branded house
Format: Dual 2K 3D
Presentation Problems: Don't tilt your head in IMAX 3D. Two big speakers in the rear corners of the room does not equate to surround sound in a commercial movie theater.
Rating: 3 stars out of 4
I watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens during opening weekend with my father and girlfriend. Just didn't bother to post my idea of a review until now. On a basic level, especially for those not familiar with Star Wars, this is a pretty decent movie. It's not great. It's not something I'm going to find "groundbreaking" 30 years from now. But it's big and entertaining. The movie touches a lot of the bullet points I'm sure Disney Inc. required based on feedback from its many marketing focus groups.
I'm thankful that I didn't see anything in this movie which immediately pissed me off due instances of baffling bullshit-ed-ness, unlike previous J.J. Abrams efforts. Perhaps the bosses at Disney told him to stick with the "template" for many of the movie's features. For instance, Abrams stuck with the iconic opening and closing titles design rather than assaulting us with candy colored, disco-themed, Rainbow-brite™ planets, nebulas and constellations. Sorry, but his fucking Star Trek movies reeked of game show garish-ness. At least that didn't creep too much into this installment of the Star Wars saga.
That's not to say there aren't problems, but let's get to the good stuff first.
Hey! No miti-clorines pool chemicals! None of that embarrassing, nerdy, stupid bullshit. The Force is not about some pool cleaning chemicals mysteriously found in some kid's blood. Or, God forbid, a very lame-ass attempt at some Christ-like virgin birth ploy. Yeah, I'm calling you out, Phantom Menace. The Force was so much better when it wasn't being explained down into some trivial parasitic infection. It seemed bigger and more impressive in the first movies when it was this everywhere all the time thing that made everything living or not possible. From that standpoint anyone who knew their stuff could learn how to harness The Force to their will. That's great audience relating material. Hey kids! You too can be a Jedi Master! But then George Lucas had to get bit by that "THE ONE" trope via The Matrix and other stories similar to it (Dark City). No kids. You're not the one. You weren't born with enough pool chemicals in your blood to make rocks float in the air. You are not special. Your best chick in high school does not want to wear your sweater.
The Force Awakens is more centered on characters and their motivations rather than plot points no one understands or cares about. That's a big plus. The previous prequels were at times too mired in geeky minutia and not attentive enough to making the story relatable enough to the audience.
I liked the Rey, Finn and Poe characters enough. They seemed a little on the politically correct side. Weren't all the storm troopers supposed to be clones (of Boba Fett)? Why didn't Finn look & talk like that guy from New Zealand? This generation's "Luke Skywalker" has to be a girl. Because that will get more ladies paying for movie tickets if a girl is the hero. And Oscar Isaac? That olive-complected dude can play Mexicans, Arabs, etc. He doesn't look like the typical white guy, like Luke Skywalker.
Overall the story moved pretty well without getting too bogged down into "let's explain some technical stuff no one cares about for 20 minutes" shit. There's a few scenes where dialog functions at delivering exposition, but it's not as blatant as what one sees in a Michael Bay movie.
I did have this nagging feeling the movie felt more like the Greatest Hits of Star Wars rather than an entirely new movie. Some people don't think the movie is derivative, but I can counter that with lots of specific points where it literally riffs off Episode IV alone, never mind the other previous movies. I kind of groaned a little at improved Death Star thingie or "STARKILLER." Even though they made it a lot bigger and capable of blowing up several planets at the same time it's still the same old idea. The movie had a shocking death in it, just like with Obi Wan in the very first Star Wars movie.
Snoke? Uh, is he playing at Wizard of Oz much? Snoke is a goofy damned name for a big hologram guy that's probably a tiny, powerless little person not nearly as smart and cunning as Tyrion Lannister. I immediately thought of Snuke -as in the South Park Snuke. The Snuke was a nuclear weapon implanted in Hillary Clinton's vagina, or a nuke in her snizz, hence the "snuke" term. Yeah, Disney. You guys didn't catch that one.
Biggest drawback of the movie for me: Rey becoming a Jedi master in no time at all. Implausible as hell. She goes from not knowing anything about The Force™ to kicking a Darth wannabe's almost Sith Lord ass. Fuckin' Kylo Ren could stop a laser blast in mid air! I didn't even see Darth Vader do that trick. And this newbie chick is going to beat a bad guy that can do that? C'mon man.
At Sam, I thought Kylo Ren's voice was actually pretty cool and entertaining. I'm going to fart around with some voice tracks in Adobe Audition now. Play time!
Even though we watched the movie in IMAX!!!! 3D™ we didn't see any aspect ratio changes to tell the difference between scenes shot with IMAX film cameras versus 35mm, an Arri Alexa or my fucking smart phone I misplaced a few months ago. I guess I'll have to see if I can't drag my girlfriend down to Fort Worth and see it there in 15/70mm to see the difference -if we get around to it before they remove the print.
Sound quality in this movie was okay, at least from the screen. Good bass thump from the sound system. Terrible surround coverage though. I'd like to see this again in Dolby Atmos to see how 50 surround speakers works versus just 2 big ones in the corners.
Seriously, if IMAX can't afford to put laser projectors in all its theaters it absolutely must upgrade the SHIT QUALITY surround. Get that damned 12-track sound system into all IMAX-branded theaters across the board. It's absolutely idiotic to make that a laser exclusive.
quote: Joe Redifer
I saw this movie. I really liked it for the most part. I agree about the music not having as much presence as other movies. Hell, the prequels had a better score.
The light saber fight between Darth Maul, Obi Wan and Qui-Gon was one of the best parts of The Phantom Menace; the scoring music in that sequence (also used in the end titles) was memorable. Overall The Phantom Menace had a really good score. It's too bad some other parts of the movie sucked (the kid's horrible acting, Jar Jar).
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Bill Brandenstein
Master Film Handler
Posts: 413
From: Santa Clarita, CA
Registered: Jul 2013
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posted 01-01-2016 09:57 PM
CINEMA: AMC Universal City, Los Angeles
AUDITORIUM: 19, Imax
PRESENTATION: new laser projector in 3D (no 2D shows available), also with 6 new ceiling speakers added to the sound system
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: picture (software) and glasses quality were sub-par to the high quality of the projection
RATING: three stars (out of four), a great ride and great in Imax size
THE PLOT: The Dark Side didn't just roll over and play dead. Light-saber whacks ensue.
There are few things I can add to the discussion of the plot and quality of the movie, and much I can say about the state of presentation. It's a satisfying experience in its own right while setting up Episode 8 quite nicely, and is comfortably reminiscent of the originals with just enough originality. And way, way more chases and explosions. Or did it just seem that way due to the huge screen?
For this release AMC Universal installed laser projection and a half-dozen ceiling speakers, but the slightly strident main speakers, and silver screen (with topside brightness drop, mounting "dots" and a mark in the lower portion of the center) are unchanged.
The best way I can describe laser projection is the best visual dynamic range I've ever seen... outside of film. And outside of IB Tech on its best day, you've possibly not even seen this. It's so good I would've rather seen a 2D show, due to the obvious degradation that the glasses bring. The blacks are pitch black, and AMC Universal has the room pitch black, so the on-screen contrast ratio is better than almost anything I've ever seen. All but about 5 minutes of the movie is 1.85:1, centered (the neck would've appreciated it slightly lowered); the unmasked remainder of the screen was very difficult to perceive from the adjacent black walls. A definite win there. Brightness was truly wonderful but probably not more in foot-lamberts than the Vista Theater (Los Feliz) is punching through 35mm film. Color is superb. The pixel grid is much, much harder to perceive than in 2K, and if it weren't a 3D show it would've been next to impossible to pick out. Obvious only in exceptionally bright objects in the bottom quarter/center of the image.
That's the plus side. Here are the negatives.
- 15+ minutes of previews not specifically shot for Imax can be quite a pounding. They all want to smack you down with noise, too. Tasteless. The worst was the 3D trailer for Captain America Civil War, an absolute piece of unwatchable, overprocessed cinematic garbage. Watch it on your smart phone, that's where it will look tasteful.
- The glasses used are Dolby 3D. I like Imax, and I like Dolby 3D. I do not like them together, however! The field of view is inadequate for the screen (we were on row 6 of 13). Not only are the sides cut off a little, but the edges of the glasses are not linear either, resulting in additional image loss. Even worse is that the light from the screen reflecting off of our pearly-white faces then reflects off the silvery interior side of the lenses and lightly fogs the picture. True Imax 3D glasses, the classic polarized variety, are much larger and don't exhibit these problems. Other members of my party found this highly annoying, so it's not just me!
- 2K presentation. The greatest disappointment with this technological marvel is how bad 2K looks. We saw "Interstellar" at this location in 15/70. The difference is exasperating. Sure, with both that movie and this, what's most essential to the story is the size, not the clarity. The size works for "Force Awakens," it does help. However, "Interstellar" was an experience my family and I will never forget in part due to the clarity, cleanliness, and sheer beauty of the images. Everything was at least a little fuzzy (and grainy). There were only a couple of shots, ironically both of spaceship models in space, that had outstanding clarity. Not even the brief, disappointingly-brief sequence shot in 15/70 was clearer. Actually, out of the entire morning, the only thing we saw having crispness and cleanliness was the "Imax" "1,000 screens" + countdown trailer, which was obviously 4K. That's it. (What a shame that the majority of Imax customers patronizing those 1,000 screens haven't seen true 15/70-filmed Imax. Night and day.)
- Not only was "The Force Awakens" not crisp, it was also "dirty." Laser presentation creates a new quality problem: the contrast ratio is so vast that every image imperfection is exaggerated, especially noise and grain. For this show, there was never a time when I felt like the image looked "clean." Even the shadows of bright scenes had dancing noise. Deep, rich colors were worse... gorgeous colors that don't sit still. So not only are we dealing with a paltry 2K workflow, but the bit depth is completely inadequate as well. This utter lack of sharpness, and pervasive image noise, demotivates me to seek out future Imax presentations. I've seen the future, and the future is dirty and fuzzy. I can get "big and loud" other ways.
- Until the projector warmed up, about 30 minutes in, there was a magenta shadow under bright objects.
- This laser projection adds a sparkly texture to the pixel-level detail of the image.
So how do you rate a presentation like this? It's so good, but the source material so inadequate, I feel it's a quality bust.
By the way, are the laser chips DLP-powered? DLP was credited in the Imax welcome trailer.
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