Re: What movies have you seen recently?
Star Wars Saga
I'll just do them all here. First of all, my order:
Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Second of all, "machete order" really feels like the way to go. Everything felt natural, and I liked the time in which things were revealed. I also think Episode I was quite needed to get me grounded with characters like Anakin, Jar Jar, etc. I don't really feel it was unneeded, and the pod races were sweet. Still fell on the back end of things when all was said and done, though.
Thirdly, I liked what J.J. Abrams did with this series. I don't know if "modernizing it" is the term that I'm looking for, but he definitely brought proper film-making out of it that I think Lucas, Kershner, and Marquand could not do. The storytelling was right, and it captured what it wanted to in the lens with less instances needing to be told strictly through dialogue. Abrams revived Star Trek the same way, and he was the right man for the job in The Force Awakens.
Though all told, I can now say that I could have gone without seeing these films in my lifetime. If it seems most just that you should see Episode VII only after at least seeing IV, V, and VI, it requires a lot for a newcomer to get caught up just to get to one that they might be more interested in. Meaning... I personally thought the series was a little too weird. There were some things I could go with that I thought I never could, but there was too much involved with weird aliens and such that it was just not my preferred flavor. I like how VII toned it down a lot, but man VI was a struggle to get through with Jabba and those furry guys. Either way, now that I'm literally invested, I will continue with the saga for episodes VIII and IX. As I said, I'm content with where it is at now, but it was a strange journey to get through that I wouldn't necessarily go in with blindly again, all depending on how skeptical I am.
I can only blame myself, though. I wasn't alive in the 70s when they first came out, where they obviously spawned something of a culture and a movement, for whatever reason it may have been (visual effects, outer space, light sabers, Vader, mythical gravitational force, etc.). Something made people excited about it, and Lucas had a big story to tell. People jumped on board and stuck to it. Then the prequels came out, and people wanted their kids involved with something, so they stuck onto it as well. I can't have my Star Wars cherry popped a week in and tell everyone about how it should be, so my opinion actually deserved to be less valid than others who "grew up with it," and I believe that.
In all, it wasn't bad, but I didn't find anything groundbreaking. Again though, I'm jumping into it in 2015 and 27 years young. At least I'm caught up, and will still venture off into what else has been churned out from this franchise. Parodies, video games, all that. But coming out of the theater, I'll say I had a more fond experience with Star Trek (2009) than The Force Awakens. However, looking ahead, I am more excited about seeing Episodes VIII and IX than seeing Star Trek: Beyond. Either way, Abrams did his part to make these things something that I know I would be proud to say that I saw and others should see.
If you're on the fence about jumping in though, I can't just pull you in on this one. The force is not strong enough with me to say any of these films are "must sees," and even if Episode VII was exactly that, I would ask they see IV - VI first at the very least. Episode III was almost as good though, and was worth seeing Episodes I & II to get there. So, in all... if you do watch, do machete order. Boom.
Star Wars Saga
I'll just do them all here. First of all, my order:
Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Second of all, "machete order" really feels like the way to go. Everything felt natural, and I liked the time in which things were revealed. I also think Episode I was quite needed to get me grounded with characters like Anakin, Jar Jar, etc. I don't really feel it was unneeded, and the pod races were sweet. Still fell on the back end of things when all was said and done, though.
Thirdly, I liked what J.J. Abrams did with this series. I don't know if "modernizing it" is the term that I'm looking for, but he definitely brought proper film-making out of it that I think Lucas, Kershner, and Marquand could not do. The storytelling was right, and it captured what it wanted to in the lens with less instances needing to be told strictly through dialogue. Abrams revived Star Trek the same way, and he was the right man for the job in The Force Awakens.
Though all told, I can now say that I could have gone without seeing these films in my lifetime. If it seems most just that you should see Episode VII only after at least seeing IV, V, and VI, it requires a lot for a newcomer to get caught up just to get to one that they might be more interested in. Meaning... I personally thought the series was a little too weird. There were some things I could go with that I thought I never could, but there was too much involved with weird aliens and such that it was just not my preferred flavor. I like how VII toned it down a lot, but man VI was a struggle to get through with Jabba and those furry guys. Either way, now that I'm literally invested, I will continue with the saga for episodes VIII and IX. As I said, I'm content with where it is at now, but it was a strange journey to get through that I wouldn't necessarily go in with blindly again, all depending on how skeptical I am.
I can only blame myself, though. I wasn't alive in the 70s when they first came out, where they obviously spawned something of a culture and a movement, for whatever reason it may have been (visual effects, outer space, light sabers, Vader, mythical gravitational force, etc.). Something made people excited about it, and Lucas had a big story to tell. People jumped on board and stuck to it. Then the prequels came out, and people wanted their kids involved with something, so they stuck onto it as well. I can't have my Star Wars cherry popped a week in and tell everyone about how it should be, so my opinion actually deserved to be less valid than others who "grew up with it," and I believe that.
In all, it wasn't bad, but I didn't find anything groundbreaking. Again though, I'm jumping into it in 2015 and 27 years young. At least I'm caught up, and will still venture off into what else has been churned out from this franchise. Parodies, video games, all that. But coming out of the theater, I'll say I had a more fond experience with Star Trek (2009) than The Force Awakens. However, looking ahead, I am more excited about seeing Episodes VIII and IX than seeing Star Trek: Beyond. Either way, Abrams did his part to make these things something that I know I would be proud to say that I saw and others should see.
If you're on the fence about jumping in though, I can't just pull you in on this one. The force is not strong enough with me to say any of these films are "must sees," and even if Episode VII was exactly that, I would ask they see IV - VI first at the very least. Episode III was almost as good though, and was worth seeing Episodes I & II to get there. So, in all... if you do watch, do machete order. Boom.
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