Variety reports that, according to a recent poll, 63% of Star Wars fans are convinced that The Force Awakens will be the best installment yet in the space adventure series. FusionOps, a business information and analytics provider, commissioned the survey, which Harris Interactive conducted on September 14-16 among 2,031 U.S. adults ages 18 and older.
According to the survey, fans are most excited about more advanced CG effects, with 36% citing digital splendor as the reason The Force Awakens will be the best Star Wars movie. This is odd considering that the previous three Star Wars films relied heavily on CG advancements and ended up being considered by many as the worst movies in the series. Also, the party line on the new films has been an emphasis on returning to practical effects whenever possible, leading us to believe that Harris Interactive lied to news sources and exclusively interviewed 12-year-old boys.
Meanwhile, 25% of respondents cited “a more interesting story” as the reason The Force Awakens will be the best Star Wars film (which is again perplexing, considering that general audiences don’t really know anything about the plot yet), and another 25% said that the movie will be “more true to the Star Wars series.” We’re not really sure what that means, but we agree completely.
Overall, only 15% cited director J. J. Abrams as the reason this movie will trounce all the other chapters, likely believing that no amount of lens flare can foster the same excitement as the nuances of trade negotiations shot in medium close-up. Finally, just 14% of fans cited a better cast as the reason The Force Awakens will be best in show. It’s unclear if this is because fans are confused about how much the movie will rely on the old cast, thus making the mantle of “better cast” dubious at best, or if they simply don’t know who the hell John Boyega is and wish he’d feature less in the trailers so they can see more of that little ball droid.
The saddest part of this survey examined what respondents would be willing to do in order to snag some of those new Star Wars toys. While 19% would only go as far as dressing up as a Star Wars character to get their hands on some merchandise, 12% say they would willingly lie to another customer, and another 12% say they would cut in line. The dredges of humanity say they would actually “trip an elderly person” (7%) or “fake a panic attack” (5%) to get toys.
Somewhere, Star Trek fans are thinking about being disgusted, but really are just overjoyed that it’s someone else’s turn to not be excited about J. J. Abrams.
[via The Digital Dot]