Since this week's post was excessively short, I will make amends by releasing a second post for the week. This is mostly due to the opportunity presented to me this week. If you did not read the title, this post is an review-esque opinion piece on the latest Star Wars movie out this week in Malaysia:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the newest installment in the Star Wars movie series and happens to be a direct sequel to episode 6, Return of the Jedi. In other words, this is episode 7. I watched it and for the most part, I can say that it is better than the prequel trilogy. I will attempt to avoid spoilers but no guarantees that it will work as some things from the movie needs to be divulged to get the context.
The movie's events take place 30 years after Return of the Jedi with the Empire surviving in the form of the First Order. The absence of the Jedi in that time has been felt as the Resistance continues their long war against a seemingly invulnerable opponet. However, hope springs anew and the Force begins to stir once more. Enter Rey, Finn and BB-8 as they embark on an adventure that will bring them into this conflict.
[A reminder: What I write here are things that I believe made me like the film. It does not cover the entirety of the experience but it is attempting to do so.]
What makes it?
The special effects were rather nice for the most part though nothing too spectacular that made me leap out of my seat. While there were computer-generated characters, effects and items throughout the film, there were enough practical effects to satisfy me. BB-8 is probably one of the better effects of the film as the droid was an actual remote controlled prop that could move and interact with the characters like R2 and C-3PO in the previous films. It was fun to watch X-Wings and TIE fighters duke it out in the scenes they appear in and for the most part, they were not too bad. They worked and for most products requiring effects, having effects that are not noticeably bad or obvious is not completely bad. The only real CG effect that I feel was badly done involved an alien creature at one point but I will not inform the reader of the context. The reader will have to find out for themselves.
The characters in the film also play their parts without reaching the levels of the prequel trilogy. The newcomers were fine for the most part with thankfully no sign of excessive comic relief or cringe-worthy dialogue during my viewing of the film. They were entertaining at least which was leagues better than what prequel Anakin and Jar Jar ever did. The actors from the previous films also manage to return to their roles and for the most part, the characters they play are portrayed in a sensible way. What I mean by that is their characters acted and thought in ways that they would have after 30 years of being in an unending conflict. It made sense rather than having a jarring change of characters which can happen at times. For the most part, the writing for the characters was fine though some parts involving the characters did irk me at times while watching since some of the clichés linked to such moments do pop up and knowledge of the non-canon Expanded Universe (or Star Wars Legends) did make the twists with some of the characters seem rather obvious .
The callbacks to previous Star Wars films was also a nice touch. Throughout the film, there are frequent callbacks to prior films that are either rather significant or are mere easter eggs. While I was watching the film, I chuckled whenever I noticed something from the previous films appearing before my eyes. While it did feel like some of the callbacks were being forced into my face when I was watching it, it was not cringe-worthy for the most part.
The sound effects are most definitely a highlight. Blaster fire, TIE fighter engines and lightsaber sounds were excellent and sounded like they should with enough modern touch ups added to make them current rather than dated. The Star Wars opening theme was present for the text scroll and watching the movie on the release date meant that there were people cheering when the music began to play which was pleasantly surprising. The soundtrack did not drown out the events unfolding on screen so that is a plus though it meant that it did not include any particular tracks that I particularly liked.
The most important element for any movie is entertainment value. If a film is not entertaining, it has to be either intellectually stimulating with hints of entertainment, a horror film that creates actual dread, or a thriller film with amazing execution. If it does not fit into the listed criteria, it is probably a bad film. Thankfully, The Force Awakens is entertaining. From start to finish, it was an entertaining flick with enough of the Star Wars action, Star Wars comedy and the grim elements of Star Wars that avoids most of the pitfalls of the prequel trilogy. The action was rather thrilling as the new Stormtroopers finally found a different school of marksmanship for a change which made them more credible as threats while enough humour and grim reality are mixed together in a balanced way. I was glued to my seat and kept my eyes on the screen without glancing at my watch or phone once. If a film is able to do that, it must be doing something right in my books.
What breaks it?
The film's biggest problem lies here: There was not much creativity in the writing was present for the films.
[Minor spoilers from here on out]
The film, for the most part, felt a lot like Episode 4: A New Hope, with the events and plot threads here feeling like chunks of Episode 4 so marathon-watchers will recognize plot elements from the older film. In addition, the character of Kylo Ren, without wishing to spoil, wound up reminding me too much of a major character from the Expanded Universe. This has led me to speculate that the writers will use aspects of the Expanded Universe in the films. This sadly means that some of the shocking twists that the writers may expect as twists will not have as much impact as the famous twist of Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back.
[Minor spoilers over]
Thankfully, there is enough present to ensure that the film does not end up as a copy-paste of Episode 4 though it did bring down the film in my opinion.
Kylo Ren was introduced as a dangerous and powerful Force-User. For the most part, he is intimidating and has chilling moments reminiscent of Darth Vader especially at the start of the film which initially gave me a positive opinion of him. However, that chilling aspect of him was diminished for me after a certain point of the film. By the climax, he became a let-down of an antagonist for me and as the film ended, I declared him to be a Sith that Darth Revan and Darth Bane would have swiftly denounced. Kylo was a mixed bag and could be harmful for the film since he did not seem like a proper threat so they should build him up as a greater threat for the next film.
An excessive number of insignificant side characters do pop up in the film and swiftly leave as soon as they appear. While this is a minor problem, it was something that reminded me of filler as the appearance of these characters only seem to exist to add excitement or fill in spaces. Some of the scenes with these characters even seemed excessively brief with two side characters (who I paid close attention to) in particular acting as one-scene wonders at best. This irked me at times and now that I am looking back, I feel that the film could be improve either reducing the number of these side characters or show case how these characters contribute to the whole plot aside from being obstacles
Summary:
The reason for this piece's short length is out of a desire to avoid stating spoilers and since I write out these pieces, I can only do a spoiler-filled opinion after a long period of time has passed.
I can however say this: If you are looking to for entertainment or happen to be a Star Wars fan, I can recommend watching The Force Awakens, at least for entertainment. While it was not as ground-breaking as the original trilogy, it was entertaining to watch and was not a cringe-worthy film like the prequel films. There was enough added to the film that makes it watchable and while I do not consider it to be an amazing film, it was worth the price of admission. I had fun watching it and will hope that the film's sequel will be our generation's Empire Strikes Back.
What makes it?
Special effects
Characters
Callbacks
Sound effects
Entertainment value
What breaks it?
A lack of creativity in the writing aspect
Kylo Ren
Excessive number of insignificant side characters
The movie's events take place 30 years after Return of the Jedi with the Empire surviving in the form of the First Order. The absence of the Jedi in that time has been felt as the Resistance continues their long war against a seemingly invulnerable opponet. However, hope springs anew and the Force begins to stir once more. Enter Rey, Finn and BB-8 as they embark on an adventure that will bring them into this conflict.
[A reminder: What I write here are things that I believe made me like the film. It does not cover the entirety of the experience but it is attempting to do so.]
What makes it?
The special effects were rather nice for the most part though nothing too spectacular that made me leap out of my seat. While there were computer-generated characters, effects and items throughout the film, there were enough practical effects to satisfy me. BB-8 is probably one of the better effects of the film as the droid was an actual remote controlled prop that could move and interact with the characters like R2 and C-3PO in the previous films. It was fun to watch X-Wings and TIE fighters duke it out in the scenes they appear in and for the most part, they were not too bad. They worked and for most products requiring effects, having effects that are not noticeably bad or obvious is not completely bad. The only real CG effect that I feel was badly done involved an alien creature at one point but I will not inform the reader of the context. The reader will have to find out for themselves.
The characters in the film also play their parts without reaching the levels of the prequel trilogy. The newcomers were fine for the most part with thankfully no sign of excessive comic relief or cringe-worthy dialogue during my viewing of the film. They were entertaining at least which was leagues better than what prequel Anakin and Jar Jar ever did. The actors from the previous films also manage to return to their roles and for the most part, the characters they play are portrayed in a sensible way. What I mean by that is their characters acted and thought in ways that they would have after 30 years of being in an unending conflict. It made sense rather than having a jarring change of characters which can happen at times. For the most part, the writing for the characters was fine though some parts involving the characters did irk me at times while watching since some of the clichés linked to such moments do pop up and knowledge of the non-canon Expanded Universe (or Star Wars Legends) did make the twists with some of the characters seem rather obvious .
The callbacks to previous Star Wars films was also a nice touch. Throughout the film, there are frequent callbacks to prior films that are either rather significant or are mere easter eggs. While I was watching the film, I chuckled whenever I noticed something from the previous films appearing before my eyes. While it did feel like some of the callbacks were being forced into my face when I was watching it, it was not cringe-worthy for the most part.
The sound effects are most definitely a highlight. Blaster fire, TIE fighter engines and lightsaber sounds were excellent and sounded like they should with enough modern touch ups added to make them current rather than dated. The Star Wars opening theme was present for the text scroll and watching the movie on the release date meant that there were people cheering when the music began to play which was pleasantly surprising. The soundtrack did not drown out the events unfolding on screen so that is a plus though it meant that it did not include any particular tracks that I particularly liked.
The most important element for any movie is entertainment value. If a film is not entertaining, it has to be either intellectually stimulating with hints of entertainment, a horror film that creates actual dread, or a thriller film with amazing execution. If it does not fit into the listed criteria, it is probably a bad film. Thankfully, The Force Awakens is entertaining. From start to finish, it was an entertaining flick with enough of the Star Wars action, Star Wars comedy and the grim elements of Star Wars that avoids most of the pitfalls of the prequel trilogy. The action was rather thrilling as the new Stormtroopers finally found a different school of marksmanship for a change which made them more credible as threats while enough humour and grim reality are mixed together in a balanced way. I was glued to my seat and kept my eyes on the screen without glancing at my watch or phone once. If a film is able to do that, it must be doing something right in my books.
What breaks it?
The film's biggest problem lies here: There was not much creativity in the writing was present for the films.
[Minor spoilers from here on out]
The film, for the most part, felt a lot like Episode 4: A New Hope, with the events and plot threads here feeling like chunks of Episode 4 so marathon-watchers will recognize plot elements from the older film. In addition, the character of Kylo Ren, without wishing to spoil, wound up reminding me too much of a major character from the Expanded Universe. This has led me to speculate that the writers will use aspects of the Expanded Universe in the films. This sadly means that some of the shocking twists that the writers may expect as twists will not have as much impact as the famous twist of Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back.
[Minor spoilers over]
Thankfully, there is enough present to ensure that the film does not end up as a copy-paste of Episode 4 though it did bring down the film in my opinion.
Kylo Ren was introduced as a dangerous and powerful Force-User. For the most part, he is intimidating and has chilling moments reminiscent of Darth Vader especially at the start of the film which initially gave me a positive opinion of him. However, that chilling aspect of him was diminished for me after a certain point of the film. By the climax, he became a let-down of an antagonist for me and as the film ended, I declared him to be a Sith that Darth Revan and Darth Bane would have swiftly denounced. Kylo was a mixed bag and could be harmful for the film since he did not seem like a proper threat so they should build him up as a greater threat for the next film.
An excessive number of insignificant side characters do pop up in the film and swiftly leave as soon as they appear. While this is a minor problem, it was something that reminded me of filler as the appearance of these characters only seem to exist to add excitement or fill in spaces. Some of the scenes with these characters even seemed excessively brief with two side characters (who I paid close attention to) in particular acting as one-scene wonders at best. This irked me at times and now that I am looking back, I feel that the film could be improve either reducing the number of these side characters or show case how these characters contribute to the whole plot aside from being obstacles
Summary:
The reason for this piece's short length is out of a desire to avoid stating spoilers and since I write out these pieces, I can only do a spoiler-filled opinion after a long period of time has passed.
I can however say this: If you are looking to for entertainment or happen to be a Star Wars fan, I can recommend watching The Force Awakens, at least for entertainment. While it was not as ground-breaking as the original trilogy, it was entertaining to watch and was not a cringe-worthy film like the prequel films. There was enough added to the film that makes it watchable and while I do not consider it to be an amazing film, it was worth the price of admission. I had fun watching it and will hope that the film's sequel will be our generation's Empire Strikes Back.
What makes it?
Special effects
Characters
Callbacks
Sound effects
Entertainment value
What breaks it?
A lack of creativity in the writing aspect
Kylo Ren
Excessive number of insignificant side characters
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