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 Post subject: A "Star Wars Fan" or a fan of "Star Wars"?
PostPosted: Sun Mar 05, 2017 9:57 pm 
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Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
As I sit here finishing Darth Vader helmets my mind wanders around our favorite topic until it occurs to me that the fundamental question I am asking myself is "just how much I love Star Wars?". I think the answer is that I am more of a fan of the 1977 film "Star Wars", and to a very slightly lesser extent its sequel "The Empire Strikes Back", than a fan of the content of the Star Wars universe in general.

Like a lot of us I can live without the prequels and would be perfectly content if they didn't exist (which is kind of how I deal with them in my selective memory). I can safely do without much of "Return of the Jedi". As a kid I remember, much like Luke, being thrilled by the mystery of the Clone Wars. Now that I've seen them I wish I hadn't.

I liked "The Force Awakens" more than not but really wish they had chosen a story-telling path other than blowing up the big battle station. Again.

I really wanted to like "Rogue One", and there was much of it that I did enjoy, but on the whole it fell short for me as well.

Now with a Young Han Solo movie on the horizon that I could not care less about, and the threat of other shows and movies that promise to be as vapid in concept, I feel as though I am no longer "one of the gang" but that grumpy old guy over there who doesn't like anything, lol. I think I've been breathing too many fumes from spot putty and primer.

Dave


Last edited by dcarty on Mon Mar 06, 2017 4:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: A "Star Wars Fan" or a fan of Star Wars"?
PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 12:01 am 
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Copy that brother. I feel nearly the same way about movies broadly. Similarly I am satisfied in appreciating the cinematic art of what I consider my golden age, an era that will never be repeated.


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 Post subject: Re: A "Star Wars Fan" or a fan of Star Wars"?
PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 1:34 pm 
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I'm very much the same way - though Empire Strikes Back is my favorite, the original Star Wars comes in a very close second, ROTJ comes in a distant third. The Ewoks were bad enough, but the disappointing way Boba Fett died was the worst traveshamockery in cinema.

I loath the prequels (midichlorians just ruined it for me - more mystique about the force). I don't even use selective memory - I've basically wiped them from the archives. :lol

To be fair, Highlander and Highlander 2, the Quickening - is the same thing. The Planet Zeist almost ruined the first movie for me. ...it took me years to go back and watch the original Highlander after that freaking disaster or of a movie Highlander 2.


I enjoyed TFA, but it certainly wasn't up to snuff when it comes to ESB and maybe not even ROTJ. After TFA, I had my doubts any new SW movie will ever live up to the lofty standards or ESB or the original Star Wars.

I do have my hopes Rian Johnson will bring that "third party writer/director magic" that Irvin Kershner brought to Empire Strikes Back. Rian's writing and directing of Looper gives me much so hope. :)

I'm definitely a fan of Rogue One. Wasn't as good as the ESB or ANH - but I liked it better than ROTJ. So there's another bit of hope. ...And I love being back in the original Star Wars era story arc. Bring on a young Han Solo and Boba Fett, Kenobi, and more Vader. And as much as I loathed the prequels, story wise they were just awful, and acting wise, worse, I would love to see Ewan McGregor reprise the OWK role. He was the one redeeming element of the prequels.

Now for sure, age of viewing has a LOT to do with it. I was 8 when I first saw Star Wars, and 11 when I first saw Empire Strikes Back. I was tiny, wide-eyed, and the screen was huge and engulfing. It was so easy to get absorbed into that universe when the screen was so huge and I was so small. :lol

I was 30 when I saw Phantom Menace, and it was much easier to analyze and pick apart the glaring inconsistencies of the movie during the first viewing.

My kids love Phantom Menace. They hate Star Wars - just isn't as big, bright and colorful as Phantom Menace. I know a lot of kids who feel this way. A couple of my neighbors are also Original Trilogy nerds like me. Their kids prefer the Phantom Menace.

So yeah. I think age of first viewing has SO much to do with it. :thumbsup


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 Post subject: Re: A "Star Wars Fan" or a fan of "Star Wars"?
PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 4:52 pm 
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I think there's probably a great deal of truth to that and not just to Star Wars. Your first exposure to any piece of art influences your overall conception of that artist or their work whether it's movies, literature, music, etc. My kids aren't ardent Star Wars fans and while they aren't necessarily wild about the prequels they certainly don't dislike them as much as I do. My son really likes "Attack of the Clones" which is probably the one prequel that I hate the least, lol. Actually, I think because they aren't hard core Star Wars fans they probably have a more balanced, or perhaps unbiased, notion of what they like or don't like.


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 Post subject: Re: A "Star Wars Fan" or a fan of "Star Wars"?
PostPosted: Mon Mar 06, 2017 7:10 pm 
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I forgot to include this - or maybe I just didn't know how to work it in....

It's hard 'for me' not to compare the new Star Wars movies (from the Prequels to Rogue One) to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that started with Iron Man and currently runs through Dr. Strange. ...and both entities being owned by Disney makes it even more comparable. :)

What I find interesting is, I'm enjoying the Marvel story arc so much more right now. And when you compare space adventures, I keep thinking "Guardians of the Galaxy" is so much better than anything Star Wars has released after ESB. And tying the whole universe together has been pretty dang fantastic even though there area a couple of dud movies (Thor, Thor the Dark World, Iron Man 2...). But Ant Man, Guardians, Dr. Strange, Civil War, Winter Soldier - all were so much fun.

But strangely enough - I have zero desire to collect props from the Marvel movies. Not even the Iron Man, Ant Man, Star Lord helmets, nor the CA Shield.

But OT Darth Vader helmets, the OT Stormtroopers, and ESB Boba Fett Helmets - including the PP2 and Eyes Fett helmets (which weren't even in the movies). I have an incredible desire to collect those. :toothy :toothy :toothy


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 Post subject: Re: A "Star Wars Fan" or a fan of "Star Wars"?
PostPosted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 3:20 pm 
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Original Trilogy for me always. I can easily live without any of the Prequels (there is not much I care about them), Clone Wars series, and even the new SW movies like TFA (it was ok) or Rogue One (better than TFA). Some time ago I was glad they were coming with new SW movies in the idea maybe more interesting collectibles will be released - but what a let down seeing EFX sleep and thus no more some of the licensed props I was waiting for - though we all know there were some chosen ones who got those unaltered helmets... All this because I think I alread have almost all the important items I'm collecting and thus I can easily live with the collection I have and of course, like I already said, live with Original Trilogy only. No other SW or non-SW movie will ever have the impact Original Trilogy had on me back when I was a kid in a communist country, Original Trilogy being like a light of freedom for me and others like me.

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 Post subject: Re: A "Star Wars Fan" or a fan of "Star Wars"?
PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 12:57 am 
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I too loath the prequels. Each year I watch them again hoping my opinion of them will be elevated. But the bad writing, bad acting, and bad direction remain. The prequel's storyline itself is not bad and since their release is in fact prescient in predicting the direction the U.S. has been heading lately. Veering into the political I know, but I can imagine a certain leader today responding to the question "Is that legal" with "I will make it legal!"

And as for the masks and collectibles we like the most, I'd agree it is because they are the shapes and forms that recall the movies and characters we enjoyed so much imprinted into our minds since childhood.


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