Sunday, November 8, 2015

My Faith Keeps Growing That Episode VII Will Be Awesome

Before reading the rest of this post, go watch the trailers at the following pages if you've not seen them yet:

This International Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer Has Tons Of New Footage


We now have just over a month to go before The Force Awakens hits the theaters. The excitement keeps building, but there is a lingering feeling that we've seen all this before and were let down in the end. I remember the build up for Episode 1 and how in the end we were left with a film that did not come close to being what all the hype promised.

So why do I think it will be different this time?

Looking at the trailers there is a lot of obvious differences.

To start off with the bad guys this time look like they will ave to be taken seriously. The new Stormtroopers look to be badass add aggressive. We are not getting stuck another batch of worthless solider like the battle droids, who were at no point anything close to a threat. I cannot figure out ow anyone would be afraid of battle droids. They were silly and there was never once any feeling and an actual threat towards the heroes from them. Which left the prequels absent of our heroes being in any real danger. Look at the troopers in the international trailer and you will see a group of deadly soldiers that come off threatening. Huge difference in the drama of the story right there.

Going off of the bad guys, the prequels relayed heavily on the big villains, the Darths to make up for the lack of a real treat. And while Maul and Count Dooku were impressive, they were under used. We hardly see them doing anything real until the end of the film, From what I have seen in the trailers, Kylo Ren, the guy with the red lightsaber this time around, is going to be an active character. He will be doing more than just showing up for the big battle scenes to get defeated. And that is going back to the classic trilogy. Darth Vader did not wait around, he was always active, always out there being a real character, and real threat to our heroes.

There is no doubt all there will be no boring political scenes this time around. Why Lucas ever thought that sowing s the Galactic Senate in session was a good idea is beyond me. Have all that happen off screen.

Of course the Falcon is back. That alone gives me high hope for the film. The Falcon is too awesome for words and to be able to see it back in action... That is what the fans want.

I already get the impression we will be getting some good strong characters with our main characters here. That is really needed. Anakin and Padme just were not strong enough characters.

Han, Leia, Chewie and Luke are all returning, although we've not seen much of Luke and so there is a lot of mystery and rumors surrounding the character. These are characters we cared about and want to know what their fates are. we can handle them not being the major characters, but it will be meaningful to learn what they have gone through over the last few decades.

I could go on and on here. These trailers have made me feel real good about the possibilities. I do not expect the greatness that was the classic trilogy,  but I have faith we will be treated to an enjoyable film that will do the needed job in continuing the Star Wars storyline.

I also have faith that it cannot be as bad as any of the prequel movies. And that is a fairly safe bet to make.


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Star Wars Collectibles I Most Likely Won't Collect

With just a over a month before the new Star Wars movie hits the theaters, with what may be a record crushing opening weekend with a predicted 600 million world wide (http://www.imdb.com/news/ni59122843) we are seeing a big push for merchandising at all levels. As a collector I am enjoying seeing all that is coming out and as budget allows I am picking up new pieces for my collection.

So one area of merchandising I don't see myself going after however is the Star Wars themed CoverGirl collection.
http://www.covergirl.com/cosmetics/starwars-collection

While I find it to be an interesting marketing concept, I just don't see myself picking any of it up.

I'm not a fan of throwing a logo on just any old thing to make it collectible, and this seems just barely a step above that. I am sure it will sell well though, I'm just not going to go after any of them.