off topic Star Wars - now with SPOILERS! (Read at your own risk)

[Samson's Flow]

So I'm thinking about going to see this.  Are tickets still ridiculously scarce or can I just show up at the theater and expect that I'll get in?

We bought tickets ahead of time for the Wednesday 12/23 showing at 7pm, and showed up way ahead of time thinking we would need to get seats. The theater ended up being roughly 2/3rds full, so at this point you can probably walk up and buy tickets no problem. This was at the Regal Elmwood in Buffalo.

[clintwestwood]

I also don't think it makes a ton of sense for how Rey was portrayed either.  Someone dropped her off on Jakku when she was ~6 years old or so and it looks like she's fending for herself completely when we meet her.  Luke Skywalker had a foster family and a Jedi Master a few miles away keeping an eye on him growing up.  If Rey is the new "New Hope", she'd be too important to just drop off alone like that, right?

My only thought process to justify that is that Luke was placed in that position to specifically become the "New Hope", whereas Rey would have been put there by Luke to be as far away from the conflict as possible. The Jedi knew that Luke was their last shot, whereas Luke wants the exact opposite for Rey. I think the awakening in the title is more so to show there was an unexpected awakening in the force, as opposed to a designed "New Hope".

[dEnnis the Menace]

We bought tickets ahead of time for the Wednesday 12/23 showing at 7pm, and showed up way ahead of time thinking we would need to get seats. The theater ended up being roughly 2/3rds full, so at this point you can probably walk up and buy tickets no problem. This was at the Regal Elmwood in Buffalo.

 

Theater in Ithaca was sold out all day the day Christmas and day after Christmas.  It was nuts.  

[shrader]

I don't think his look matters much right now. He was a giant holographic projection. He could still look like just about anything, especially if that projection is a wizard of is type trick.

[Taro T]

Theater in Ithaca was sold out all day the day Christmas and day after Christmas.  It was nuts.

 

Went to Galleria in the afternoon on Christmas Eve. There were ~12 people in the theater. :thumbsup:

[GoPre]

Director of one of the best episodes of any tv show to air on TV, Ozaymandias - Breaking Bad, is calling the shots for Episode VIII. Rian Johnson is directing/writing it. For those that may not remember, that is the episode Hank gets killed off. It was an incredible show. Increases my level of excitement for Episode VIII. 

[Hoss]

Director of one of the best episodes of any tv show to air on TV, Ozaymandias - Breaking Bad, is calling the shots for Episode VIII. Rian Johnson is directing/writing it. For those that may not remember, that is the episode Hank gets killed off. It was an incredible show. Increases my level of excitement for Episode VIII.

I didn't know he was the director for that episode. It brings me great joy to know this. My favorite episode is actually Crawl Space but that's more because of the acting than the writing/directing. Can't wait.

[Brawndo]

So I'm thinking about going to see this. Are tickets still ridiculously scarce or can I just show up at the theater and expect that I'll get in?

If you want to guarantee, AMC Maple Ridge allows you to purchase and select your seat prior to going. I was there today and only two the day's shows had sold out.

I didn't know he was the director for that episode. It brings me great joy to know this. My favorite episode is actually Crawl Space but that's more because of the acting than the writing/directing. Can't wait.

Greg Grunberg, who played Snap Wexley a X Wing Pilot, is a childhood friend of JJ Abrams. He mentioned he heard Abrams mention something he has never heard him say after reading the EP VIII Script, he wishes he hadn't passed and was directing the movie Edited December 30, 2015 by BRAWNDO

[GoPre]

If you want to guarantee, AMC Maple Ridge allows you to purchase and select your seat prior to going. I was there today and only two the day's shows had sold out.

Greg Grunberg, who played Snap Wexley a X Wing Pilot, is a childhood friend of JJ Abrams. He mentioned he heard Abrams mention something he has never heard him say after reading the EP VIII Script, he wishes he hadn't passed and was directing the movie

 

I....I....I think it moved.  :unsure:

[shrader]

Yeah, he didn't quite stack up for me either, especially once the mask came off, not a threatening look at all. The voice didn't work for me either, like a very cheap Vader ripoff.

[Weave]

Funny, I left the theater calling him Darth Emo.

 

He's mad because Daddy didn't give him enough love and Mommy took away his XBox or something.

 

I found him to be impossibly un-scary.  He's a petulant child literally masquerading as a Dark Side badass.  In many ways he's the perfect "Darth" for the coddled, entitled, participation trophy generation.

 

I think angry, petulant child is exactly what they were going for though.

 

Not threatening in a scary kind of way.  Creepy.  threatening in a weird, creepy kind of way.  And again, i think that is exactly what they were going for.  A creepy, petulant, angry, young man.

[sabills]

Funny, I left the theater calling him Darth Emo.

 

He's mad because Daddy didn't give him enough love and Mommy took away his XBox or something.

 

I found him to be impossibly un-scary.  He's a petulant child literally masquerading as a Dark Side badass.  In many ways he's the perfect "Darth" for the coddled, entitled, participation trophy generation.

First of, to the bold: ugh, get a new take.

 

To the rest, I think thats the point. He's NOT full Darth. He felt very much like pre-Darth Anakin, which I think is what they were going for. He is still held some by the light side. Its notable that he doesn't yet have Darth in his name. Giant weirdo guy even says he has to "complete his training" (who I have a feeling will end up being tiny, probably Yoda sized, mirroring that encounter for Luke). I just watched "Return of the Jedi" last night, and Yoda said that complete HIS training, Luke had to face his father, making Kylo Ren's facing of Han the perfect mirror of that situation. And the mask is supposed to be a rip-off of Vader, Ren is using it to emulate his grand-father, something he is, thus far, failing at. He's not scary, he's not intimidating, he's not the perfect full evil that Vader (mostly) was. He WANTS to be evil, and go full dark-side, but hasn't yet. We'll see if killing his father has that effect, or the opposite. I do agree that we need a real baddy. Niether Ren nor his mentor feel scary enough to me.

 

In general for the new movie, I thought it was good. It FELT like Star Wars, which I-III never really did. I think there was a little too much fan service, and a little to much obvious mirroring of the orig-trig. Over all though, it was good. I liked Finn, I liked Rey (glad they pulled the old bait-and-switch, making us think in the previews that FInn would be the Jedi, only for it to be Rey. Girl Jedi, yes.), hopefully Poe gets some more screen time in the next one. Han dying was fairly predictable, but well necessary and well done. We got to enjoy that character one last time. Captain Phasma was a non-character, maybe she'll get fleshed out more in later movies. And if the last movie has another EVEN BIGGER DEATH STAR I might walk out. Still, I liked it over all. And that last scene with Luke and Rey was just about perfect.

[Weave]

First of, to the bold: ugh, get a new take.

 

To the rest, I think thats the point. He's NOT full Darth. He felt very much like pre-Darth Anakin, which I think is what they were going for. He is still held some by the light side. Its notable that he doesn't yet have Darth in his name. Giant weirdo guy even says he has to "complete his training" (who I have a feeling will end up being tiny, probably Yoda sized, mirroring that encounter for Luke). I just watched "Return of the Jedi" last night, and Yoda said that complete HIS training, Luke had to face his father, making Kylo Ren's facing of Han the perfect mirror of that situation. And the mask is supposed to be a rip-off of Vader, Ren is using it to emulate his grand-father, something he is, thus far, failing at. He's not scary, he's not intimidating, he's not the perfect full evil that Vader (mostly) was. He WANTS to be evil, and go full dark-side, but hasn't yet. We'll see if killing his father has that effect, or the opposite. I do agree that we need a real baddy. Niether Ren nor his mentor feel scary enough to me.

 

In general for the new movie, I thought it was good. It FELT like Star Wars, which I-III never really did. I think there was a little too much fan service, and a little to much obvious mirroring of the orig-trig. Over all though, it was good. I liked Finn, I liked Rey (glad they pulled the old bait-and-switch, making us think in the previews that FInn would be the Jedi, only for it to be Rey. Girl Jedi, yes.), hopefully Poe gets some more screen time in the next one. Han dying was fairly predictable, but well necessary and well done. We got to enjoy that character one last time. Captain Phasma was a non-character, maybe she'll get fleshed out more in later movies. And if the last movie has another EVEN BIGGER DEATH STAR I might walk out. Still, I liked it over all. And that last scene with Luke and Rey was just about perfect.

 

Just one point.  He'll never get the label "Darth".  That was an artifact of the Sith, and the Sith do not exist anymore.  If he ends up going by a Darth name it will be because he gave it to himself.

[sabills]

Just one point.  He'll never get the label "Darth".  That was an artifact of the Sith, and the Sith do not exist anymore.  If he ends up going by a Darth name it will be because he gave it to himself.

Oh, so they're not Sith? I guess I just assumed. I did hear someone say something about the "Knights of Ren", so is that the new order of Dark Siders?

[Weave]

Oh, so they're not Sith? I guess I just assumed. I did hear someone say something about the "Knights of Ren", so is that the new order of Dark Siders?

 

Pretty much.  Somewhere in the 30yrs since the last episode ended, the Sith were no longer.  The Knights of Ren seem to be an organization of force users, but they are not Sith.

[Robviously]

Funny, I left the theater calling him Darth Emo.

 

He's mad because Daddy didn't give him enough love and Mommy took away his XBox or something.

 

I found him to be impossibly un-scary.  He's a petulant child literally masquerading as a Dark Side badass.  In many ways he's the perfect "Darth" for the coddled, entitled, participation trophy generation.

I actually thought one of the smartest things they did with him is NOT give him a whole bunch of "You never loved me!" dialogue with Han in that scene.  He doesn't seem to hate his parents in particular.  He didn't seem very happy about killing his father.

 

We still don't know WHY he ever went bad.  And the next two movies have two huge tasks to take care of to make this pay off:

1. Explain why he ever turned to the Dark Side, and make it make sense.

2. Make him a character that can be redeemed somehow.  Right now he's a new character who showed up and killed literally one of the most loved/popular movie characters of all-time.  This is going to be pretty difficult.

 

Hoss posted the theory that he's a double-agent above.  I think that's far-fetched but it'd be cool if this whole thing started by him recognizing the threat from Snoke and deciding he could destroy it himself by "pretending" to turn to the Dark Side and then coming back.  (He's the grandson of Anakin Skywalker, after all.) Of course, he's young and would have underestimated the Dark Side, finding himself turned for real.  It'd make him sympathetic because he was trying to save everyone but ended up a monster because of it.  And it's plausible because a young person would think they could do what their father or grandfather with ease (especially without understanding what really happened).

 

Obi-Wan's best line in ROTJ (about Anakin) is "I thought I could teach him as well as Yoda.  I was wrong."  That implied backstory -- that Obi-Wan screwed up with Anakin by over-estimating his own abilities as a teacher -- is more interesting and has more depth than anything in the prequels.  Lots of good stories have bad guys thinking they're doing the right thing or bad things happening because good guys think they're doing the right thing and make mistakes.

[GoPre]

Just one point.  He'll never get the label "Darth".  That was an artifact of the Sith, and the Sith do not exist anymore.  If he ends up going by a Darth name it will be because he gave it to himself.

 

I know it's been said before, but Snoke may be Darth Plagueis. So the Sith may still exist. 

[sabills]

I know it's been said before, but Snoke may be Darth Plagueis. So the Sith may still exist. 

 

It would certainly make some sort of sense. A very old being strong in the dark side didn't just appear out of nowhere.

[clintwestwood]

I personally liked Kylo's instability. Vader was a cool customer in the original trilogy, rarely letting his emotions get out of hand. Kylo is the opposite, and it's definitely by design. His character still has completed his training, referenced specifically by Snoke when he said he needs to come to him to finish said training. I have a feeling by the end of the trilogy he will be a force to reckon with. And I hope they're bold enough to make him a character far past redeeming. I don't need another 3rd act turn, I want pure evil all the way.

[Weave]

I know it's been said before, but Snoke may be Darth Plagueis. So the Sith may still exist. 

 

the Sith was an organization of sorts.  It doesn't exist.  Surely, Plagueis (if still alive) could resurrect the Sith Order though.  

[GoPre]

the Sith was an organization of sorts.  It doesn't exist.  Surely, Plagueis (if still alive) could resurrect the Sith Order though.  

 

Appreciate the clarification on that. Had always thought once a person turned to the dark side they were a part of the Sith. Never thought of the Sith as being a group one could choose to be a part of if they were on the dark side. :doh:  

[Weave]

Appreciate the clarification on that. Had always thought once a person turned to the dark side they were a part of the Sith. Never thought of the Sith as being a group one could choose to be a part of if they were on the dark side. :doh:  

 

I think it is more, you get chosen to be a sith.  They had a rule of two.  One master, one apprentice.  The order more or less died when Vader died in the process of eliminating Sideous/Palpatine.  

[GoPre]

I think it is more, you get chosen to be a sith.  They had a rule of two.  One master, one apprentice.  The order more or less died when Vader died in the process of eliminating Sideous/Palpatine.  

 

That is true. As Yoda said, "Always two there are. No more. No less."

[Robviously]

That is true. As Yoda said, "Always two there are. No more. No less."

Well, a lot of stuff from the prequels doesn't make sense.  Just from a storytelling standpoint, it's not super engaging that the prequels are about thousands of Jedi fighting two guys.  And losing.  How great are the Jedi if they outnumber the bad guys 1000 to 1 and struggle?  Wouldn't that be proof that the Dark Side actually *is* stronger?  The original movies were great because the good guys were always outnumbered and outgunned.  

 

Per Yoda (in ESB), the Dark Side is "the quick and easy path" (but NOT stronger).  So you'd think tons of people would be tempted and go over -- especially if you're not super strong with the Force (i.e. it's the best way to amplify your power fast).  And then the Jedi would have lots of dust-ups with mid-level Force-sensitives who tried to be more than that by going to the Dark Side.  What should have been different about the prequels is that this time maybe the most powerful Jedi turned bad and wiped out everyone else.

 

The "Always two there are" thing was also a missed opportunity.  They sorta referenced how the Jedi are arrogant and complacent in that library scene in Episode II but they never returned to that idea.  It would have been interesting if Palpatine defeated them by using their assumptions against them and had a lot of apprentices and help that they never saw coming.  

[Weave]

Well, a lot of stuff from the prequels doesn't make sense.  Just from a storytelling standpoint, it's not super engaging that the prequels are about thousands of Jedi fighting two guys.  And losing.  How great are the Jedi if they outnumber the bad guys 1000 to 1 and struggle?  Wouldn't that be proof that the Dark Side actually *is* stronger?  The original movies were great because the good guys were always outnumbered and outgunned.  

 

Per Yoda (in ESB), the Dark Side is "the quick and easy path" (but NOT stronger).  So you'd think tons of people would be tempted and go over -- especially if you're not super strong with the Force (i.e. it's the best way to amplify your power fast).  And then the Jedi would have lots of dust-ups with mid-level Force-sensitives who tried to be more than that by going to the Dark Side.  What should have been different about the prequels is that this time maybe the most powerful Jedi turned bad and wiped out everyone else.

 

The "Always two there are" thing was also a missed opportunity.  They sorta referenced how the Jedi are arrogant and complacent in that library scene in Episode II but they never returned to that idea.  It would have been interesting if Palpatine defeated them by using their assumptions against them and had a lot of apprentices and help that they never saw coming.  

 

The earlier Sith's enacted the Rule of Two because they believed that there was only so much "dark side" to go around, and that having more apprentices would result in dilution of powers.  The Sith could be stronger than any individual Jedi if they concentrated that power in a couple of individuals.

 

Plagueis did not believe that the Jedi (as a whole) could be beaten in a straight up contest, that is why he started the path that would lead to Palpatine being elected as Supreme Chancellor.  And Order 66 was created to eliminate the Jedi so they didn't have to try and beat them in a straight up battle of Sith vs. Jedi, with Jedi in superior numbers.

Edited December 30, 2015 by We've