Star Wars VII trailer

[VegasGoat]

See, Darth Mauls dual saber is actually a very different weapon with a very different fighting style attached to it, think sword vs staff. And this is evident in Qui-Gon Jinn's extreme difficulty in defeating this style.

Darth Maul's dual-bladed lightsaber actually was cool, and made sense in that it seemed like a sensible weapon (as you say, something like a sword vs. staff battle). General Grievous on the other hand, with his 4 lightsabers, just seemed like a silly one-upping of that, and this crossguard lightsaber seems like another lame gimmick just trying to be cool. It's like the razor blade companies constantly adding more blades. In my opinion of course, which shouldn't matter much because I'm not really a huge Star Wars geek. So the trailer is just "meh" to me. I don't really like how lightsaber battles have become mostly about acrobatics and flashy moves. That scene (in Episode 3 I think) with Yoda flipping all over the place was just silly.

[jorgebonafe]

General Grievous on the other hand, with his 4 lightsabers, just seemed like a silly one-upping of that

IMO the General Grievous and his 4 light sabers make a lot of sense. If he's a cyborg and the technology exists, its only logical to make him as much of a killing machine as possible.

Granted, I know nothing of the lore of Star Wars outside of the movies, but that seems to make sense to me anyway, based on my limited knowledge...

[Equitis1024]

See, Darth Mauls dual saber is actually a very different weapon with a very different fighting style attached to it, think sword vs staff. And this is evident in Qui-Gon Jinn's extreme difficulty in defeating this style.

Darth Maul's dual-bladed lightsaber actually was cool, and made sense in that it seemed like a sensible weapon (as you say, something like a sword vs. staff battle).

I just want to chime in to say that a staff as a weapon is not held in the middle like Darth Maul's lightsaber. You would tend to hold it from the back end like any other pole weapon. Thus double-bladed lightsaber still doesn't seem at all sensible to me. Crossguards on the other hand are at least a reasonable thing for actual weapons, whether or not one makes much sense on a lightsaber.

I was ambivalent on the trailer, though like others here I was pleased with the X-Wing and Millennium Falcon bits. And that 'special edition' video was hilarious.

Edit: And yeah, I'm sure that books and stuff have justified all sorts of odd things in the movies. And for that matter the film's choreography can try to 'justify' these lightsaber design decisions as well. I'm sure they will make the crossguard appear useful just like they tried to make double-bladed lightsaber appear useful. It's just a question of how fake it feels.

[darahalian]

Stephen Colbert weighs in on the trailer:
http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/u ... ontroversy

Seems FC had the same basic idea as Colbert about the side blades continuing underneath.

[FlowerChild]

Edit: And yeah, I'm sure that books and stuff have justified all sorts of odd things in the movies. And for that matter the film's choreography can try to 'justify' these lightsaber design decisions as well. I'm sure they will make the crossguard appear useful just like they tried to make double-bladed lightsaber appear useful. It's just a question of how fake it feels.

Bang on. When I first saw Darth Maul and his double-blade, I wasn't questioning the back story that justified it. What I was questioning is whoever came up with it in the first place, and how it felt like they were trying way too hard to be cool and to "one up" the original trilogy.

Seems FC had the same basic idea as Colbert about the side blades continuing underneath.

Hehe...I've always liked Colbert :)

And I must say something about this thread: we're all major nerds. Carry on ;)

[jorgebonafe]

And I must say something about this thread: we're all major nerds. Carry on ;)

Now lets talk about who would win in a fight, Superman or Goku?

[Rob]

And I must say something about this thread: we're all major nerds. Carry on ;)

Now lets talk about who would win in a fight, Superman or Goku?

Goku VS Superman | DEATH BATTLE! | ScrewAttack!: http://youtu.be/oyl97TG8jbA

:P

[MoRmEnGiL]

Us? Nerds? No way! :P

Interesting:

The double-bladed lightsaber was originally conceived by one of the Tales of the Jedi artists, Christian Gossett, his idea being that lightsabers were the personal "honor weapons" of the Jedi, and as such would be more customized to suit personal preference rather than standardized for all. The lightsaber made its first appearance in Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 3: The Trial of Ulic Qel-Droma, though it wouldn't be made famous until the release of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Double-bladed_lightsaber

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Darth_Ma ... Lightsaber


Wookiepedia is one of my favourite wikis around ;]

[FlowerChild]

Now lets talk about who would win in a fight, Superman or Goku?

See, I can't do it. Many years ago I was browsing Usenet, and there were a series of such "Vs." threads going on.

One particularly popular one was "Roseanne Barr Vs. The Death Star".

I immediately burst out laughing when I saw it and could never take another such discussion seriously ever again. No "Vs." topic can ever hold a candle to that one ;)

[jorgebonafe]

Goku VS Superman | DEATH BATTLE! | ScrewAttack!: http://youtu.be/oyl97TG8jbA

:P

Wow, this video has so many dislikes! I wonder why that is...

[Gilberreke]

I'm just in the position that I think all the Star Wars films are bad, but I enjoy watching them nonetheless. So whatever crap they pull, I'll be there in the theater going "woosh zoom bam!"

My favorite part of any of the movies is the pod race, go figure...

[Wafflewaffle]

My favorite part of any of the movies is the pod race, go figure...

For the sake of our long and passionate relationship i will pretend you never said those word to me.

Now i understand the point of view that all star wars is bad cuz most of us were too young to have watched the originals before the new trilogy. I was fortunate enough that my older brother force fed me episodes IV V and VI once Phantom Manace was announced and i am forever grateful for that.

The new trailer looks competent?! I mean Disney have yet to shit the bed on their franshises and i doubt they will start now. I will be just happy if they dont pull a George Lucas and fuck everything up.

[Gilberreke]

Now i understand the point of view that all star wars is bad cuz most of us were too young to have watched the originals before the new trilogy.

Oh please, I had seen the first three over and over before the Phantom Menace was even being worked on :p. They kept being rerun on TV here through the years.

I just think that the guy playing Luke Skywalker couldn't act his way out of a bag. The only lead characters I've liked in any of the movies so far were young Anakin and Quigon Jinn, so the only movie I really like is Phantom Menace. Unfortunately, the story is rather weak, so the only parts I really like are the pod race, the underwater scenes and the scenes between Anakin and random characters.

[Wafflewaffle]

@Gil I think we should go see other people... Its not you its me! We can always be friends ok?

Nah you are more then entitled to your opinions man, im just kidding. Its just funny to talk to someone who has such a tempered opinion on the whole prequal/originals debate. You obviously like the originals but has no ill fellings towards the prequals. Normally its "The prequals ruined everything for me!!!" or "Whats Star wars?" reactions I get discussing this. Its easy to desconstruct all 6 movies and point out all the rights and wrongs on every frame. Its alot harder to take it as it is, a dumb movie about space wizards and lazer swords.

[Gilberreke]

a dumb movie about space wizards and lazer swords.

See, I'd watch that! And I did! Six times! :)

*zwoooshvrooomm bam*

[devak]

Normally its "The prequals ruined everything for me!!!" or "Whats Star wars?" reactions I get discussing this. Its easy to desconstruct all 6 movies and point out all the rights and wrongs on every frame. Its alot harder to take it as it is, a dumb movie about space wizards and lazer swords.

I liked the originals (watched them a few months ago in preparation for the new star wars :P) and didn't really like the prequels. Still, though i like the original, i kind of missed the part everyone thinks is so glorious and untouchable and legendary (Seriously, i think it's mostly nostalgia that makes people think it's super) It contained some good stuff, some bad stuff and some downright awkward stuff (just about anything with mr fat slug). I agree about the luke actor, the acting was kind of bad at times. "anakin" only continued that trend in the prequels.

I think the biggest problem with the prequels, after watching them in a row, is that they're too long. About 10% or less of The Phantom Menace is actually relevant to the direct sequel (Finding anakin, trade federation building power, sith). I was extremely confused when Attack of the Clones started 10 years later with a very creepy anakin (seriously, he was like 10 in Phantom and already had a crush on padme?). again we get a ton of largely irrelevant (in the greater picture) stuff.

The originals were less heavy on this kind of stuff. But i find that harder to judge since it's more a product of it's time than the prequels. That space worm though...and fat slug....

Now i really want the new Star Wars to really answer some questions about the force. Not midichlorian crap, rather why there's even a Dark or Light side. What is and isn't evil is largely a thing of time and culture. So if i used the force during the early 1900's to prevent a woman from voting, is that evil? to kick a black guy off a bus? if i went to russia now and force-slapped a gay, would i be evil? What exactly makes sith so evil when they use a very natural and non-evil argument for the use of the force (everyone has emotions. They're not innately evil, not even anger. Neither is ambition inherently evil. Nor is power).


Though i'm fully expecting a star wars movie in the Star Trek 2009 vein.

[FlowerChild]

I liked the originals (watched them a few months ago in preparation for the new star wars :P) and didn't really like the prequels. Still, though i like the original, i kind of missed the part everyone thinks is so glorious and untouchable and legendary (Seriously, i think it's mostly nostalgia that makes people think it's super) It contained some good stuff, some bad stuff and some downright awkward stuff (just about anything with mr fat slug).

Well, the thing to remember about the originals, is what you saw isn't likely the originals anymore :)

So yes, you probably got the very awkward Jaba the Hut scene in Episode IV, but in the originals, he doesn't appear until episode VI. At some point George Lucas butchered his own creation and CG-ed in a whole bunch of extraneous crap. Hence the whole "Han shot first" fiasco, as in the original episode IV, he blew Greedo away without any kind of lame shot flying off at awkward angles in his vague direction, and that scene became emblematic of what he had done to the films.

Last time I checked it was extremely difficult to find the actual originals and all that was available were his messed-up reworking of them. Hence why the George Lucas special edition version of the episode VII trailer that someone posted above is so funny, as they basically did an exaggerated version of what Lucas did to the original trilogy to the trailer.

But yes, if you saw them starting back in the 70's it definitely plays a huge role in how fondly you remember them as there was really nothing like it back then. It's kinda like the original Star Trek series. It looks like total ass today, and the plot lines seem terrible due to the social context being completely different (the one that cracks me up the most is probably the one where Spock gets sprayed by the flower that turns people into space-hippies in a very heavy-handed anti-drug message), but back in the day there was absolutely nothing like it, and it was awesome.

[Gilberreke]

Reminds me of someone complaining a while back that the Doctor Who intro is too cheesy with the whole "weeee-oooo" being "cliché" *facepalm*

[FlowerChild]

Reminds me of someone complaining a while back that the Doctor Who intro is too cheesy with the whole "weeee-oooo" being "cliché" *facepalm*

Hehe...yeah. I think Doctor Who actually does an amazing job of integrating the old and the new, and camp is certainly a huge part of its flavor overall.

[devak]

Well, the thing to remember about the originals, is what you saw isn't likely the originals anymore :)

Yea i heard about that, but i never was so deep into star wars that i kept track of all the stuff that went on. I can relate to the "han shot first thing" considering that han seemed like a genre-savvy man, and would most definitely know that he'd be in danger if Hutt sent his goons after him for payment. Hence he shot first. Especially since at that distance, reaction times would be zero and whoever shoots first wins. But apparently Lucas wanted to preserve the, what was it called, moral ambiguity of Solo or something?

But yes, if you saw them starting back in the 70's it definitely plays a huge role in how fondly you remember them as there was really nothing like it back then. It's kinda like the original Star Trek series. It looks like total ass today, and the plot lines seem terrible due to the social context being completely different (the one that cracks me up the most is probably the one where Spock gets sprayed by the flower that turns people into space-hippies in a very heavy-handed anti-drug message), but back in the day there was absolutely nothing like it, and it was awesome.

Well i'm not old enough to have seen it back then. Though it seems like a culture-changing movie like that doesn't seem to happen anymore.

I rewatched because i wasn't certain if i remembered the actual movies, or everything everyone spoofs, parodies and ridicules (and imitates). Hell, i'm not even certain if i actually watched the original trilogy at all before my rewatch.

[DaveYanakov]

I would probably actually cut someone if they tried to take my original VHS release box set from me

[FlowerChild]

But apparently Lucas wanted to preserve the, what was it called, moral ambiguity of Solo or something?

See, I think it's the exact opposite. I think the original version where he shoots first is much more morally ambiguous, and he was trying to clean Solo's character up to make him come across as more of a "good guy" that only fired in self defense.

My overall impression with both the re-release and episodes I-III was that Lucas softened with age, having kids, getting rich, and all that stuff. When he made the original trilogy he was probably still an angry young man, so even if much of it is fluffy, there's still an edge to episodes IV-VI that he lost along the way.

Heck, I think we even began to see the beginnings of that with the Ewoks. If you look at his career before Episode IV, at the dystopian nightmare that is THX 1138 (very cool film for those that might not have seen it), and then look at Jar Jar Binks, it really doesn't even seem like the same guy could be responsible, and I suspect you could plot out his turn towards the fluffy side quite nicely on a graph :)

[devak]

I suspect you could plot out his turn towards the fluffy side quite nicely on a graph :)

would it be in the form of a heart?



(i do agree with the rest. Now im curious how fluffy SW VII is. and that's my weird thought of the week).