doctornick
Well-Known Member
Hmmmm... I've noticed a lot of talk about this on this thread. Including in the blogger reaction video posted recently. And about GE since it opened. And I'm not saying it's not true but... I don't think it's true for me at least.
I guess I always loved the plot and the ambiance of Star Wars more than being attached to specific characters. The good versus evil, how the Force is mysterious and fascinating, the lived in future. How they are basically westerns/samurai films but in space. I mean, if someone would ask what I'd want to do if I lived in Star Wars it wouldn't be to meet Luke or Han but to pilot an X-wing (or the Falcon!) or learn the Force. Sure, I think using the characters can help build that connection and by all means I can see the argument that Disney is failing at it, but I've never really thought that the "problem" with GE (or seemingly with Halcyon) is not being able to meet Yoda but moreso that there wasn't enough clear connection to the established universe (among other things; GE has a bunch of arguable problems).
As an aside, I think this what makes Harry Potter lands so great - it's not that you are meeting Harry and Hermione and being a part of their story (in fact, I think Gringotts suffers by trying to do that) but that you are the one visiting and experiencing the Wizarding World yourself.
One of the reasons I think Star Tours 2.0 is better than the original (beyond the obvious like the randomization and improved film quality) is that instead of focusing on a specific event - which I always felt was off being in the middle of the climax of Ep IV - is that you get to explore the various corners of the Star Wars universe but on your own. It was a good way to explore the universe we know without directly being involved in the storylines already developed.
I look at The Mandalorian. It's easily the most universally praised piece of Star Wars entertainment since, well, probably Episode V to be honest. And season 1 which was fantastic had... no previously established characters. But there's a ton of references that connect it to beloved material. It didn't feature Boba Fett or Yoda but you watch the first episode and see a guy in the armor and a being of that species and you have that connection. The Force exists but isn't as huge of a part of the story but it's there and it's cool how it thought of in a very different way from a different prospective. You kinda have the Empire but it's not Vader or Palpatine or Tarkin but The Client and Moff Gideon - evocative but not the same. They brought back a Devarorian as low budget a look as that was in EpIV! And an Ugnaught. And yes Tatooine including going to the cantina.
My point is that The Mandalorian Season 1 featured nobody we knew and we loved it. Because it felt like Star Ways. Because it was clear it was in that universe. Personally, while I loved Season 2, I felt that the multiple guest appearances by previously established characters actually weighed it down. It actually brought back a problem that SW has IMHO - too many connections among the storylines. There's like tons of planets and different aliens and somehow everyone seems to know everyone else from the stories we get. It makes it feel too small for what should be sprawling.
I know this is long winded but I guess my point is maybe that not everyone wants to the same thing of Star Wars? I think that the Starcruiser in principle sounds great. I think the issues so far is that the press material doesn't feel like Star Wars and needs to be more evocative of the IP. And what we've seen in terms of the activities just don't look that good. I think you could take the itinerary of what they announced and it could be really cool. It's the execution that seems way off, like they are doing the are minimum instead of making it as fantastic as it could be. Missing the Disney "plussing" of old. And I'm just shocked if this ends up being the case as I felt this experience with this price tag and this exclusivity would finally be the thing that saw Disney pull out all of the stops and make it the thing that is so fantastic that everyone would talk about it and people would be crushed they can't afford it.
Hey, maybe they are just holding back all the awesome stuff.
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