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The recent commercialization of Star Wars in preparation for Episode 7 is going way overboard, but what do you expect from Disney? Part of the SW allure is that it's retro and a bit nerdy. When it's so mainstream and ubiquitous, then it just becomes McStarWars. Maybe I'm just being a grumpy old (middle-aged) man, but Star Wars is the property of MY GENERATION (Gen X). We didn't have the internet back then and we missed the party that was the 1960s, so can we at least hold onto Star Wars?
The companies and kids of today don't get to bastardize, piggyback, and profit from it. Did my generation remake crappier versions of Gone with the Wind and The Godfather? No, those were the classics of previous eras, and they remained preserved and unaltered like the great pieces of art/history/culture they are. To be clear, I'm not a hoarder - obviously I am very open to share the magic of Star Wars with today's audience, but we shouldn't remake what Star Wars is. The prequels were bad enough (IMO they never happened).
It's quite possible that Episode 7 (and the thousand other soul-less "Star Wars universe" spinoffs that the Disney film factory is planning) could be good movies. But it's not Star Wars. And seeing how JJ Abrams totally failed at his modern rendition of Wrath of Khan, I unfortunately am expecting Episode 7 to be a lot of pandering and recycling of old Star Wars content to evoke cheap, nostalgic, Pavlovian affinity. "Let's make it look like old Star Wars, but with modern style!" R2-D2 gives way to soccer ball BB-8. Vader's red lightsaber now has stupid side lasers at the hilt. There's an X-wing that's painted black. Is that the best you can do with a $100MM plus budget? I will give JJ credit that he's using real physical sets and effects at least, rather than lazy and sterile Lucasfilm CG.
Young George Lucas and team didn't try to remake War of the Worlds - they charted their own course at great risk and difficulty. But that's how you make history (i.e. no one will remember Iron Man 3). Why don't Disney/JJ try to make a new franchise that is even better than Star Wars? Do they have the talent and audacity to try, instead of rebooting and copying like corporate hacks? And yes, I realize that original Star Wars also borrowed from (or was inspired by) previous sci-fi adventure material, but the keywords are "borrow/inspire" and not "copy." Shakespeare borrowed from Greece and Rome - that is fair game for artists. Most people agree that Star Wars was also innovative and revolutionary on many levels. I guarantee that Episode 7 will not be. But that doesn't mean it's impossible to succeed with a different, fresh concept (e.g. anyone remember the original Matrix?). If you use the Force, you can do it. :)
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Yup, not a lot of originality and remaking original
classics today in TV and movies (star wars, 21 jump street, Miami vice,
a-team) etc, seems like Hollywood is running out of ideas. Or
capitalizing on the fact that the generations that are solid into their
careers are willing to pay money for things they are nostalgic about as
kids. Like how our toys as kids are collectable and classic Nintendo
games sell for a lot on ebay. That's probably because our generation
grew up (and some raised via TV babysitter ) with Hollywood
entertainment. As we look into our parents' and grandparents'
generation, there still is a market for nostalgic things they grew up
with, but the more you rewind time, the less Hollywood entertainment was
involved in their upbringing. They still buy classic toys but also are
willing to spend bucks on what makes them feel nostalgic : antiques,
classic cars, music memorabilia, WWII memorabilia, etc.
I was listening to a morning talk show and they were saying
how most blockbusters this past summer were not original. Either
re-makes, or continuation of a movie series, such as Hunger Games,
Avengers, Jurassic Park. Squeezing the extra buck out of a formula that
works vs coming out with something original.
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Yeah we might be becoming those "get off my lawn you damn kids!" type soon. :) I don't have as much time to watch films anymore, but I really don't have much interest either. The attractive, quality stories are just not there. And I am so tired of super hero movies that basically have the same characters and same story arcs every time. Disney better consider "customer fatigue" too when they pump out so much Marvel and SW stuff. It's not cool or memorable anymore when it's everywhere (like Michael Kors' recent drop in sales). I can't imagine how horrible Halloween will be when 80% of the boys are either Marvel or SW characters, and all the girls are Elsa. Thanks again, Disney.
And I think the cinema trend will only persist due to the huge commercial success of reboots/sequels like "Jurassic World" and "Avengers." Some series are pretty good start-to-finish, like Harry Potter. Some don't know when to quit when they're ahead and stretch it out way too long, like Hobbit (quality definitely suffers when quantity increases). But as Hollywood becomes more corporate than artistic, of course they will go after the lower-risk, high ROI projects like cheap "found footage" horror movies, pop-culture themed rom-coms, and tentpole franchises like Marvel and Mission Impossible. I suppose the customers are partly to blame again (esp. the dumbass foreign audiences who always eat up our schlock!), since we fork over the money for copycat/formula films, and not for the riskier, original works (there are some exceptions like "Mad Max: Fury Road" which was an excellent reboot, done in a fresh style with a new story that actually moved people).
Maybe Tarantino strikes the best balance; his films obviously pay homage to his youth interests and inspirations like Blaxploitation and Spaghetti Westerns, but all his movies are of exceptional quality, with a new angle, and no pandering/cheap nostalgia. He makes movies with the thinking fan in mind, and with film school discipline in mind - to a point where he may have created his own genre that others can't copy (because no businessman can beat a passionate, skilled artist). That is obviously not Disney's style though. They even copy their own scenes.
Re: Star Wars, I have no problem with sequels if they are superior (which Empire was, though after that Jedi became too kiddie). If the prequels were somehow better films, I don't think people would have complained that they undermined the originals. The plan all along was to have Eps 4-6 in a series, because that closed the loop on the story arc. And it was executed by generally the same team, so there was respect for the original vision. Clearly they weren't remakes or spinoffs. OTOH, Eps 1-3 did not need to get made. The whole point of a "back story" is that it doesn't need to be told in as much detail as the main story. No one cares what happened during the Old Republic and the Clone Wars. It's just a setup for the status quo where there is a mean Galactic Empire and a righteous rebellion trying to defeat them.
It's quite possible that Episode 7 (TFA) will be a good movie. It will certainly be better than the prequels (though that is not a bold statement!). I will try to view it as a standalone sci-fi film. Because of my personal bias, it can't compare to the originals. So I don't "hate" it yet, I just don't consider it real Star Wars (maybe this is not a logical sentiment, but hey, "fan" is short for fanatic :). Like how horrible "Prometheus" wasn't really an "Alien" film, but a pathetic origin story attempt to ride coattails.
It's hard to successfully continue a story (that had a very clean ending) 30+ years later with a different production team, context, audience tastes. The James Bond franchise kind of makes it work because the core formula is simple, they are popcorn movies and don't take themselves too seriously (until recently when the tone got darker), and the films rarely build on each other (again, until recently). Also, Eps 4-6 progressively introduced new elements (a love story, Yoda, better effects, etc.). I don't know what will truly be novel about TFA, since the "new" characters and imagery mostly look like ripoffs of the old ones. While I would prefer TFA not get made, there is some fair rationale and hope for it. However, the spinoff side movies that Disney has planned are too much IMO (they are going to recover their $4B investment no matter what). We are going to get saturated with Star Wars to the point that it's not special anymore. Think Marvel x10. The Starbucks effect. Even if 10% of their films are great, the other mediocre/poor ones (and excessive merchandising) will detract from the overall product. That's why I think Lucas' final "F U" to his critics was selling to Disney of all buyers. They are exploiters, not custodians.
Maybe I'm being melodramatic, but one of my favorite memories of childhood was playing Darth Vader with my dad. I would make the gesture to "Force choke" him, and he would fall to the ground pretending to be in pain. It cracked me up. I am grateful that Star Wars enabled countless moments like that between fans over the years. I really doubt the prequels and new films can do that. Even my dad, just a casual movie goer, immediately noticed that it was wrong for Yoda to be in over-the-top CG lightsaber fight scenes in the prequels. "Yoda is a sage, not an action hero. He is peaceful and uses his mind." It's sad that recent Lucasfilm couldn't understand the essence of the characters they created decades ago.
