@Trev786: It's the time when Devs are so tired that they subsist entirely on a sugar-based diet of Nestle candy bars and maritime themed breakfast cereals.
@Zombrex: The job of a sequel is to take the familiar elements of the original and then expand on them, offering something new. Most Bond movies didn't just shamelessly copy their predecessors, except for "Never Say Never Again" which was an actual remake of the "Thunderball" script and which didn't fare as well as the competing original Bond film "Octopussy", despite having Connery on board.
To extend the comparison, if "The Force Awakens" were a Bond movie, it would be "Die Another Day". A pastiche of homages to previous films cobbled together in such a way that the plot makes little to no coherent sense and the movie only succeeds by the nostalgia it triggers with its rampant recycling. I don't think many people today would rank "Die Another Day" among the best Bond movies.
Abrams: Yeah, guys. Just ignore that all the characters are directly recycled from previous Star Wars movies on nearly a one for one basis. Just ignore that the settings and milieu are recycled directly from previous Star Wars movies. Just ignore that every single scene and plot point is recycled from previous movies. Just ignore the shots that are literal copies of shots from previous Star Wars movies. Characters and plots and settings and shots are not what's important in a movie. What's important is...well...ummm...really crummy light sabre battles? Flashy CGI that you can see in any big budget action movie? All the money that Disney's paying me? Yeah, that last one, I think.
@hughthehand88: That's part of the brilliance of the film.
Using hyper-masculine imagery of hot-rod and monster-truck worshipping warriors with flame-throwing guitars to pull in the testosterone crowd only to depict those same characters as the bad guys in a feminist story where women throw off their roles as objects and possessions, seek out an edenic paradise where all the survivors happen to be women, and then return to depose the patriarchal despot, making the world a better place for everyone in the process. Max then leaves rather than staying to rule as king, because that's not his place, and the movie was never really his story at all. It was Furiosa's, and he just serves as the relatable eyes of the audience, helping and then moving on.
@hughthehand88: You're right. No feminist undertones in Mad Max. They used overtly feminist overtones instead! Which is actually a big part of the appeal since you don't see that much in Hollywood.
The first one didn't do so hot, but Del Toro is still a very talented filmmaker, and its a shame that his projects keep getting shelved. Maybe he just needs to do another Hellboy to get back in the swing of things. I'm down for it. Fantastic voyage? Could be fun. "Body Ven-chah!"
@Bread_or_Decide: Yeah, we have no idea because the movie has zero exposition. It just pulls whatever arbitrary plot device it needs out of its butt at a convenient time, one deus ex machina after another. Just about the laziest writing ever, but very common in Abrams films.
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