SOLO: just saw it!

ICBM

Kermode's review was interesting. He seemed to be saying that it was good, but that it was hard to tell for sure due to Star Wars fatigue...

thomasross20

Thought it was great! 

english_bob

ICBM said:

Kermode's review was interesting. He seemed to be saying that it was good, but that it was hard to tell for sure due to Star Wars fatigue...

He's never been a fan of Star Wars of course- likes Rogue One and the new trilogy films so far, but not the original trilogy or the prequels. 

I think his concerns about the overall direction of the franchise are valid though- Marvel are the only people so far to have done the "Cinematic Universe" thing with any degree of success, at least in part because they have a whole lot of comic "history" to draw on (DC have the same of course, but appear to have squarely screwed the pooch). 

It's not really a fair comparison, but it's notable that Lucasfilm have deliberately discarded all the pre-existent Star Wars "Expanded Universe" stuff- unfair in that Marvel were in control of the stories told with their characters and George Lucas wasn't (and didn't want to be), and also in that the Star Wars roster of characters has never been anywhere near as wide. Still, it means there's no "Avengers Assemble" tent-pole feature for all the Star Wars stuff to lead towards...

ChuckManual

ICBM said:

Kermode's review was interesting. He seemed to be saying that it was good, but that it was hard to tell for sure due to Star Wars fatigue...

This expression caught my attention when he said it on Friday.

I saw A New Hope when it was first released. I was 11. If you'd have told me back then that I could see new Star Wars film every year, I'd have thought that I'd died and gone to heaven...

Musicman20

ChuckManual said:

ICBM said:

Kermode's review was interesting. He seemed to be saying that it was good, but that it was hard to tell for sure due to Star Wars fatigue...

This expression caught my attention when he said it on Friday.

I saw A New Hope when it was first released. I was 11. If you'd have told me back then that I could see new Star Wars film every year, I'd have thought that I'd died and gone to heaven...

True.

There is a LOT going on with SW. Latest trilogy, current Solo movie, news on the Fett movie, I'm guessing Solo might get a further outing, Obi Wan movie rumours, then the announcement of a further trilogy, two expensive theme park lands in Disneyland/World, Rebels animated series, other future animated series, Battlefront 2 videogame, further videogames, Apps, merch, the list goes on.

The excitement of the current films has dropped a little as we know more are coming, but honestly, I'm loving it.

ICBM

ChuckManual said:

I saw A New Hope when it was first released. I was 11. If you'd have told me back then that I could see new Star Wars film every year, I'd have thought that I'd died and gone to heaven...

I was 10, and I would have agreed with you back then .

I think one a year is a little too much now though.

english_bob

ICBM said:

ChuckManual said:

I saw A New Hope when it was first released. I was 11. If you'd have told me back then that I could see new Star Wars film every year, I'd have thought that I'd died and gone to heaven...

I was 10, and I would have agreed with you back then .

I think one a year is a little too much now though.

As far as I know, nothing scheduled now until Episode IX in December 2019.

DanR

ICBM said:

ChuckManual said:

I saw A New Hope when it was first released. I was 11. If you'd have told me back then that I could see new Star Wars film every year, I'd have thought that I'd died and gone to heaven...

I was 10, and I would have agreed with you back then .

I think one a year is a little too much now though.

We get three Marvel films every year.

So I'm happy with a Star Wars film every year but it would be better to have them every December.

Also I'm sure we have have five Marvel character films this year.

Brize

I saw Solo at the weekend. Utter rubbish.

english_bob

DanR said:

We get three Marvel films every year.

So I'm happy with a Star Wars film every year but it would be better to have them every December.

Also I'm sure we have have five Marvel character films this year.

The big difference IMO is that Marvel have a much larger roster of established characters to play with- all the ones with at least one decent movie under their belts, and all those that have traction with the comic book fanbase, although the films have played fast and loose with the comic book inspiration (without massive online comic fan protest) They've also got massive potential for crossovers and team-ups and all that jazz. Star Wars was based around a small ensemble, and most characters are wedded to a fixed chronology in a way that, say, Batman (yes, I know he's not a Marvel character), isn't. 

Because Marvel have all those characters, they can create movies that draw on various different genres- Guardians of the Galaxy is Star Wars-esque Space Opera, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a political thriller. etc.

On the other hand, for Star Wars to generate that sort of scope it needs to trade on its universe. They've deliberately thrown out all the "Expanded Universe" stuff, and the characters that came with it, which leaves about a dozen characters we know from the main "Episode" series to make spinoff movies about before someone at Lucasfilm needs to set up something exciting enough about the universe they live in to sustain interest. I guess that's where Rian Johnson's new trilogy comes in.

digitalscream

english_bob said:

DanR said:

We get three Marvel films every year.

So I'm happy with a Star Wars film every year but it would be better to have them every December.

Also I'm sure we have have five Marvel character films this year.

The big difference IMO is that Marvel have a much larger roster of established characters to play with- all the ones with at least one decent movie under their belts, and all those that have traction with the comic book fanbase, although the films have played fast and loose with the comic book inspiration (without massive online comic fan protest) They've also got massive potential for crossovers and team-ups and all that jazz. Star Wars was based around a small ensemble, and most characters are wedded to a fixed chronology in a way that, say, Batman (yes, I know he's not a Marvel character), isn't. 

Because Marvel have all those characters, they can create movies that draw on various different genres- Guardians of the Galaxy is Star Wars-esque Space Opera, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a political thriller. etc.

On the other hand, for Star Wars to generate that sort of scope it needs to trade on its universe. They've deliberately thrown out all the "Expanded Universe" stuff, and the characters that came with it, which leaves about a dozen characters we know from the main "Episode" series to make spinoff movies about before someone at Lucasfilm needs to set up something exciting enough about the universe they live in to sustain interest. I guess that's where Rian Johnson's new trilogy comes in.

More to the point, Marvel did that mostly with just their B-roll characters. Apart from Hulk and Spiderman (which they've only just got back), all the other characters were basically bit-parts in the comics. That gave them an awful lot of scope to muck about.

english_bob

digitalscream said:

More to the point, Marvel did that mostly with just their B-roll characters. Apart from Hulk and Spiderman (which they've only just got back), all the other characters were basically bit-parts in the comics. That gave them an awful lot of scope to muck about.

But still, the sheer volume of characters Marvel have gives them a lot more options, and it isn't too hard to give them a little quirk to stand in for a personality- "I don't like bullies", "I'm super rich but sort of sad", "I'm basically a God, but that makes me kind of an arrogant prick".

It wouldn't take very long for even the "B-roll" Star Wars characters to run out. Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Lando Calrissian, Boba Fett... After that you're in to characters so sketchily drawn it's not worth the bother.

Admiral Ackbar: A Star Wars Story, anyone?

WezV

They didn’t entirely throw out the expanded universe, just reset it and renamed the old stuff as ‘Legends’.

Basically, they can draw from it when they need, to but are not tied to it.   Worked well for Rebels.  

Musicman20

english_bob said:

digitalscream said:

More to the point, Marvel did that mostly with just their B-roll characters. Apart from Hulk and Spiderman (which they've only just got back), all the other characters were basically bit-parts in the comics. That gave them an awful lot of scope to muck about.

But still, the sheer volume of characters Marvel have gives them a lot more options, and it isn't too hard to give them a little quirk to stand in for a personality- "I don't like bullies", "I'm super rich but sort of sad", "I'm basically a God, but that makes me kind of an arrogant prick".

Proper laughed at this hahahahhahaha!

Handsome_Chris

I really enjoyed Solo.  Like Rogue One, it totally kicked  TFA and TLJ in the winkie.  I hope that Ron Howard gets to do a sequel. This may be a bit of a tall order as I believe that Solo hasn't had the box office it deserves.

bloodandtears

I went in thinking it was miscast (Anthony Ingruber) and expected it to be rubbish..

Thoroughly enjoyed it, space western aimed at kids and big kids alike.

ChuckManual

Myself, the current Mrs Manual and our two little pamphlets (so, the whole portfolio) are off to see it in a couple of hours ...and, despite the naysayers and mixed reviews, I've still got the naive (but thoroughly normal) pre-Star Wars movie excito-buzz! 

A bit like before a ball has been kicked in any World Cup that England are involved in... 

Musicman20

2nd viewing - IMAX/3D - Much better screen, the 3D was excellent. Great film. Preferred it the second time!

Damn good addition to SW.

matdotcodot

Strangefan said:

God I wish they would just stop, they should have just left it at the original 3, the "prequels" were dire, the force awakens and the last jedi average at best,and rogue one was OK tho, obviously just my opinion but 100% accurate  

Fat chance, Disney are going to ride this thing till the wheels fall off, probably with Pluto's ridiculous orange head sticking out of the window.

Bridgehouse

Personally Disney can do what they like - if people keep going then there’s clearly a market.

However, if they do a Fett movie and screw it up then I will curse them for all eternity to be stuck in a pit of tauntaun shit.