What do you all anticipate?
Did they learn their lesson from episode I?
It’s going to be completely ordinary.
So an improvement on Phanton Menace, then.
An improvement on the 2nd trilogy, yes. 
I think it may be too similar, structurally, to the first Star Wars, and may have too many callbacks and feel well-trodden. But it will be fun as all get-out.
I reckon the trailers are only from the first half hour of the film, and there’s so much we have had no exposure to yet, so there are still a lot of surprises.
I expect at some point a force of some kind may awaken.
I’m hoping it’s more like the original films (fun) rather than the prequel trilogy (tedious). But the endless commercials, both for the movie itself and from sponsors (Verizon, car companies, fast food, etc) are too much.
I’ll watch it if Alec Guiness gets resurrected in it. Obi Wan Kenobi-the name just rolls off the tongue.
I’m not a super fan, but I am a fan and I have Thursday night tickets. As it stands, it’s my second most anticipated movie behind BvS. That said, while they’ve definitely don’t a great job of triggering nostalgia with the marketing, that’s exactly what has me concerned. As a comparison, for all that the most recent BvS trailer got criticized for, largely in giving away too much, and to a lesser extent, mixed thoughts on some of the characterizations, I think Star Wars has given away too little. Yes, they can get away with this because of the name, but it has me concerned that everything I’ve seen makes it look like it’s a rehash of the original Star Wars based on what aspects of the story have leaked out.
Though I don’t consider it spoilers since it’s just my speculation from me piecing together little bits from various bits of media and random fan theories, but I’ll spoiler it anyway since apparently some people are deliberately avoiding ALL of it.
Let’s see, we have a lone young nobody (Luke/Rey) who apparently grew up on a desert planet who is going to get called on a great journey by a McGuffin (Death Star Plans/Anakin’s Lightsaber?) and a knowledgeable old guide (Obi Wan/Han Solo), and runs into someone as a companion with a questionable past (Han Solo/Finn). Along the way they run into a mysterious masked villain (Vader/Kylo Ren) who is related to the young hero (Father/likely brother or cousin) who is under the control of the leader of an evil government (Galatic Empire/First Order) whose leader (Emperor Palpatine/Supreme Leader Snoke) is secretly a Sith Lord (Darth Sidious/likely Darth Plagueis). Also there’s other eerily similar characters like the military leader (Grand Moff Tarkin/General Hux) and the few words “bad ass” fan favorite (Boba Fett/Captain Fasma). And somewhere along the lines there’s this new awesome great powerful space station that has to get destroyed (Death Star/Star Killer Base).
That all said, just being a rehash doesn’t mean it will be bad. After all, Star Wars itself is a deliberate modern retelling of the classic hero’s journey, and it’s one of the greatest stories in cinema history. My concern is just that they’re so eager to latch onto the nostalgia AND world build that the opportunity to tell a better story is going to be lost.
So, my prediction, once all the “OMG THAT’S THE GREATEST MOVIE I’VE EVER SEEN!!!” fanfare has died down that it will be solidly between the two trilogies in terms of quality, and it will be good buy not great. I certainly expect it will set the bar even higher for special effects, the way both trilogies did before, so the spectacle will be there, as it always has been, and with all the collaboration and talent involved, with a reasonably talented director (Abrams is definitely not my favorite, but also light-years better than Lucas) at the helm, it will be good. Not to mention, Disney spent WAY too much time and money to let this fail, and they’ve been showing a lot of skill in managing franchises recently (ie, the MCU), which has had it’s ups and downs but still has everyone eagerly awaiting each new film. So, I’m expecting something like 7.5-8 out of 10. As reference, my rough scores in decending order: ESB 9.5, ANH 9, RotJ 8.5, RotS 6, TPM 4, AotC 3.5.
If it rates a solid B it will take in the $$ and perpetuate/ reinvigorate the Franchise.
I suspect it will do this.
I’m not a big fan of JJ’s frenetic style. I acknowledge I am likely the exception, but I expect a bunch of dizzying cuts and explosions that interfere with this old fogey’s ability to follow the story.
Having said that, I find myself of mixed emotions. I really like the 1st 3. But whenever I have a strong reaction to one installment of media, I find myself guarding against necessarily comparing all future issues against the original. If it follows too closely, I may not give the subsequent installments sufficient credit. Intellectually I recognize that it is likely best to have drastic changes which interfere with such direct comparisons, and allow you to enjoy/assess each offering on its own merits.
My theory is that Disney wants, of course, to establish a new franchise, as they’ve done with the Marvel movies. So I’m assuming they’ve done everything possible to ensure that this appeals to the wider audience and avoids the boredom of the prequel trilogy.
I am hoping that the movie is good. I have been looking forward to it for a while now. I will also be happy, possibly happier, when all the commercials for all the god damned Star Wars tie ins end.
It will competently noisy with lots of shoutouts to the first three movies.
For the win. Sums up what I was trying to say perfectly.* Well done.
*ETA - Nit: well, except for missing the word “be.” It will be competently noisy indeed.
Will Carrie Fisher wear that gold bikini again? that would be worth going to see.
Nit: well, except for missing the word “young.” A young Carrie Fisher wearing the gold bikini.
As Mel brooks put it…“the search for more money”!
I’m with you there. I liked the trailers, of course, but watching the dogfight between the Millennium Falcon and the TIE fighters the first thing I thought was “Why would the TIEs follow into the downed Star Destroyer? They should fly over it and then strafe down at the target when it emerges.”
The movie WILL get an emotional reaction from the audience. The beats will all be there and the soundtrack will get people into it from the go. The Star Wars fanfare and the other music is all very good and people will respond to it.
I’m pretty sure everyone learned their lesson from the prequel so they’ll cut back on the farts, yippees, and poorly directed “walk and talk” scenes but I also think they’re going to just run down the checklist of Star Wars references.
I agree with Blaster Master’s assessment and I think that if the movie is decent enough, coupled with very good special effects, then it will be a success. I’d be OK if it beats Avatar as the highest grossing movie.
I’m pretty sure that’ll be about the time that commercials and tie-ins for Rogue One start up.
It’s Disney; from now on there’ll always be something promoted for Star Wars.