JJ Abrams is World's Greatest Producer of Fan Fic
[no spoilers] I don't mean the title negatively -- I liked the reboots of both Star Trek and Star Wars that he wrote and directed. Given the long absence of each franchise, there is no problem in my mind restarting the series with an homage to the old series and characters. In particular, Abrams is great at peppering the movie with little shout-outs and inside jokes for the fan base. And both are reasonably good adventure movies with beautiful action scenes.
The problems comes with the second movie, and moving the series into new territory. The second Star Trek movie (Into the Darkness) couldn't seem to extricate itself from fan fic mode, retelling the Kahn story for the third time, with cute little reverses like Kirk dying and Spock screaming "Kahn.....", the opposite from The Wrath of Khan.
I understand the pressure. The fan base of both franchises was ready to strangle Abrams at the first hint of heresy to the original material. But for God sakes the Star Wars loyalists, of which I consider myself one, endured Jar Jar. The new Star Wars movie has some flaws, but it is a perfectly serviceable and enjoyable reboot. Now it's time to take some risks with it.
Postscript: Is there a handbook of Star Wars Imperial architecture? Is it driven entirely by creating movie aesthetics or have directors started to work a running gag here? In the new movie -- I promise this is not really a spoiler -- there is a scene with one of those classic Imperial rooms with the infinitely deep hole in it, featuring tiny narrow walkways without handrails (I consider this not a spoiler since at least one such room has probably been featured in every Star Wars movie). Anyway, one of the characters finds themselves clinging to the walls of said infinite drop some 12 or 15 fee below the nearest walkway. And what do you know, there is some sort of switch lever there. There are wall switches in my house that I think are located inconveniently, but wtf? Who designs these places?
By the way, the movie Galaxy Quest, which I still love, had a great parody of this sort of sci fi architecture. John Scalzi's Redshirts also touches on this territory as well.
Matthew Slyfield:
"Who designs these places?"
Evil Sith Lords.
December 22, 2015, 11:59 amSolomon Foster:
Good news on the will Star Wars Episode VIII be Star Wars Into Darkness front -- JJ is not writing or directing it. Though frankly The Force Awakens is strong enough I'd have gladly given him the chance.
December 22, 2015, 1:29 pmjdgalt:
Have you seen the SW builds on tested.com?
December 22, 2015, 1:43 pmNL7:
Under Rule 29.1977-3(a)(1)(B)(vii), Galactic OSHA requires that safety release levers be built within a thematically reasonable distance of any barely passable ledges, precipices, catwalks or trash chutes. The fine is up to 50 Galactic Standard Credits per day per ledge to which the failure relates. There's an exception to the fine if the lever can be activated remotely by an astromech droid at the appropriate narrative point. It's the Deus Ex Machina rule.
December 22, 2015, 3:41 pmDan Wendlick:
There is also a repeated lack of fall-protection gear in general. Not a single harness or lanyard in sight.
December 23, 2015, 10:44 amAnd to the more military minded, all of the Stormtroopers were allowed to carry loaded weapons in non-combat areas, and not a single one of the was wearing a reflective belt.
markm:
If they were wearing that white armor, reflective belts seem redundant for traffic safety - unless perhaps you'd like to see a bulls-eye pattern applied to the chest and back in alternating rings of black paint and reflective tape.
December 25, 2015, 1:09 pmTim Broberg:
"Whoever wrote this episode should *die*!"
December 26, 2015, 1:05 am