I gave this film a 2nd viewing at the cinema yesterday, roughly 4 weeks after my opening day 3D Imax experience. I was much more relaxed and allowed the film to be a more absorbing watch. I though it held up pretty well. It flew by in a time sense. The plotting and pacing didn't seem as clunky or haphazard as the first showing (I did really enjoy it on the first go through). I still didn't like the bits I didn't first time (the whole HanChewie intro/Rathars sequence, the ease of the disabling the station, the at times too close to New Hope-ness), but overall, I would say it's my 3rd favourite SW film after SW & TESB (maybe it's on par with ROTJ). I consider the score to be one of, if not THE best of the year and think it should win the Oscar. The themes, motifs and ideas on offer are astounding and knit the film together, when it threatens to unravel. The new characters are fun and interesting and I look forward to their ongoing adventures. I do hope the FX guys can get some more movement in Carrie Fisher's mouth in the next eps though and that Luke gets a bath and a haircut, he might not get hassled so much
Saw it last Saturday and loved it. Understand: I'm not a die-hard of this like I am other things, Doctor Who being the main one. So for me it was another entertaining evening at the cinema, which to me ALL the Star wars films are. I'm a fan to the extent of always seeing them in the cinema, and owning them on disc and their soundtracks which are of course Williams-awesome.
Nothing will ever duplicate the experience of 1977 when we first saw that never ending spaceship fly over head, followed by the best firework show ever at the cinema.
But I did see it in 4D. Yep. I was physically shaken, had water sprayed at me, smelt burning when there were explosions with smoke actually coming out of the screen. Did it make the film itself any better? No. Of course not. But for a one-off experience it was a lot of fun. Anyone who's been on the Star Tours ride will have an idea what to expect.
Anyway the dramatic highpoints worked for me EVEN though I had the big one spoilt for me by accident. It was emotional at these points without a doubt, finishing with a punch-in-the-air moment even though I saw it a mile off.
So. Here's looking forward to episode 8!
Btw, and sorry if this has been asked. But, way back when George Lucas said it was a nine-part saga. How much of the new trilogy is actually his? I imagine details are other peoples, but is it still his basic outline? Are the new characters his?
Btw, and sorry if this has been asked. But, way back when George Lucas said it was a nine-part saga. How much of the new trilogy is actually his? I imagine details are other peoples, but is it still his basic outline? Are the new characters his?
None of it is Lucas's, as far as I know.
(BTW, I agree with you about nothing ever equaling the 1977 original.)
Btw, and sorry if this has been asked. But, way back when George Lucas said it was a nine-part saga. How much of the new trilogy is actually his? I imagine details are other peoples, but is it still his basic outline? Are the new characters his?
Lucas has said a lot of different things in the last 40 years, many of them contradictory. The original trilogy was written one at a time, improvising as it went on (regardless of what he claimed about having "one big script", this was false), but before/during the making of ESB he started talking in interviews about, at times 9, at times about 12 films. These were, however, only written down (during the scripting of ESB) as very, very rough plans, a few lines of ideas about what would happen. The most detailed notes he had concerned what would eventually be the events of Episode III, but even those were changed when it came time to do it.
However, the plan for that 9-12 film saga was scrapped before it even began. ESB was a disaster from a production and snowballing budget point of view, so ROTJ was designed by Lucas to end the saga, taking some of those ideas of what would happen in the climax of episode 9 (or 12), such as the Emperor finally being defeated, and calling it a day. After ROTJ, Lucas would only say that there will never be an Episode VII (since from his perspective, he already finished the story and jumped to the end). The only usable notes he had left were for the prequel trilogy, and those he continued to talk about making some day.
In preparation of selling Star Wars to Disney, Lucas did write NEW plans for another trilogy, in order to make the deal more appealing (he imagined), but Disney ended up throwing them out since, according to some reports, the story felt too much like Episode I, starring young children in the main roles. So, in other words, back when Lucas talked about a nine-part-saga, that story was a completely different story than what he sold to Disney later (and partially already featured in ROTJ), and the new story he sold to Disney was thrown out anyway.
Every single person who complains about Rey's sudden force abilities probably cheered when they first saw Luke Skywalker, the farm boy who had never heard of the force until Ben tol him about it (and pretty much the same amount of info that Maz gave Rey) bring down the bad guys in spectacular style, after deciding to turn off his guidance computer and feel his way with the force to make an accurate torpedo shot. The extent of his training amounted to wearing a bucket on his head and fighting off a floating laser onion for 5 minutes.
But you can argue that had Luke defeated (even a wounded) Darth Vader at the end of ANH it would have felt similarly off and dramatically unwise, wouldn't it?
For an score reportedly without flashy standout moments in the movie, it sure is playing non-stop for a month for me. I can't get enough of the two main concert pieces, and the score has a lot of shinny moments - admittedly brief, as per the movie´s pacing - like "I can fly anything", "Torn apart" and "the Jedi steps": it's those numerous bits spread across the CD that makes me inevitably come back to it.
As for the album, it is an absolutely great presentation of the score, perfectly balanced, with good (sometimes micro) trimming when needed, as proved by the rather unecessary FYC CD for me. The End credits are also one of the very best of the series, with no less than five main themes and motives presented, with interesting versions and counterpoints between them (Rey/Luke, Finn/Poe), and that sweet ending.
The worst thing about the album order is putting "Rey's Theme" in between the two action cues that go together in the movie. Other people have mentioned this, but I still don't get it.
I actually thought splitting the track was a good idea, especially with the magnificent "Rey´s theme" in between. At 7 minutes of jagged rhythms, supported only by Finn´s and rebel's motives, the whole Falcon sequence would have been less than the sum of its parts and tough to get through (as shown by less than stellar edited version of the FYC, imho). I mean, it´s not the "desert chase" to begin with (or even wrongly cut "the jungle chase").
Every single person who complains about Rey's sudden force abilities probably cheered when they first saw Luke Skywalker, the farm boy who had never heard of the force until Ben tol him about it (and pretty much the same amount of info that Maz gave Rey) bring down the bad guys in spectacular style, after deciding to turn off his guidance computer and feel his way with the force to make an accurate torpedo shot. The extent of his training amounted to wearing a bucket on his head and fighting off a floating laser onion for 5 minutes.
But you can argue that had Luke defeated (even a wounded) Darth Vader at the end of ANH it would have felt similarly off and dramatically unwise, wouldn't it?
Yeah, I totally get what you're saying but I suppose I just look at it a different way. Rather than being WHAT?!? she did that?!?! I'm more WOAH! She did that!! Rey has a mysterious back story that we're not filled in on yet, and there's something going on there that will shed some light on everything eventually. Plus... the force has... awakened... so I dunno. Was it weak of Vader to just go off spinning in space? Maybe.
Also Kylo is no Vader. He's a spoilt brat who hasn't finished his training. He can stop laser blasts..... pretty cool, and do forcey torture things, so yeah he's certainly a force (hah!) to be reckoned with. Enough to make it surprising that Rey managed to do what she did, but I just look at that as exciting. It seems a lot of people criticise the Force Awakens for going over already well trodden ground. This is something different. But people don't like it!
Back on the score front.... I'll admit this has been a bit of a grower on me. I've got this unconditional love thing going on with Williams, as I'm sure many of us do. But when this thing is good, it's incredible. For me right now, it's some of the tracks from the FYC site. "The Bombing Run" and "The Resistance" give me chills. Especially the incredible statement of what I think we're assuming is Poe's theme in that last track I mention. Serious swashbuckling adventure awesome!
Don't forget Kylo Ren was also injured and bleeding from being shot by Chewie, then fighting Finn (who had some Empire fight training) before he finally started his battle with a Force Awakened Rey.
I loved the film, especially on second viewing. All of my nerdy objections are covered either in dialogue or visually in the movie. Let's face it, everyone came to this movie with massive expectations. You can certainly look at it as a remake of the first film (with elements from the others)--Abrams addressed that as very much intentional, a way of reintroducing viewers to the saga (and I'm willing to bet it was also done because Chinese audiences ARE unfamiliar with Star Wars, and that gamble paid off as the movie did very well in China). And if it is indeed a bit of a remake, so what? Star Wars is 38 years old--if it was any other successful movie it would have been remade twice by now (and Lucas started the ball rolling with the plot of Return of the Jedi). It's interesting how some people dismiss Williams' score--I can't remember the last time I got carried away by a theme the way Rey's theme got to me in that introduction to her character in the desert. I loved Daisy Ridley but I think Williams' theme contributed to my involvement with the character as much as her performance. I had themes from the film, from Rey's to Poe's to Kylo Ren's--stuck in my head after my first viewing of the movie and the score has been spinning nonstop since. It's much more of a whole listening experience for me than the prequel scores, where I always just cherry picked cues I wanted to listen to (although Sith I do still love as a whole). As for the whole Rey defeats Kylo moment, you have to ignore every visual and storytelling cue built into that sequence (and the movie) to find it "too easy." Yes, Kylo is shot, yes, he has to fight someone else before Rey, and yes, Rey is not an inexperienced fighter--and it's also clear she has force abilities (it's also more than implied that she learns "the ways of the Force" FROM Kylo Ren as he attempts to probe her mind, which would give her an instinctive advantage against him). There's another thing that I'm not sure has been mentioned here--Kylo's act of killing his father is done because he thinks it's a necessary step along his path to becoming something like a Sith lord. But this is NOT the standard act of ascension of an apprentice slaying his master; Solo is not a Force user and he exists outside that hierarchy. So when I saw that I immediately thought that the act of killing Solo WEAKENS rather than strengthens Kylo. He is crippled by that every much as he is by being shot. When they put up the screenplay for Oscar consideration I looked at that scene and that is explicitly pointed out in the scene description, that the act of killing his father appears to weaken, rather than strengthen Kylo. Now maybe this all needed to be spoon-fed to the viewer more but I love the fact that these characters are complex enough that you can actually theorize about their motivations and pasts. I'm very much looking forward to the next movie and especially to Williams' score(s). My God, the man is 83 years old, and he can still produce a work like this. I can't remember the last time I was actually looking forward to how an upcoming sequel sees its musical themes developed and enhanced. I'm just hoping Williams stays in good health to finish those scores--what a wonderful capper on such an incredible career.
I can't remember the last time I was actually looking forward to how an upcoming sequel sees its musical themes developed and enhanced..
Golden Compass....oh...shit.
Wait! John Carter!
God damn it.
(At least when I saw Jupiter Ascending I knew it had zero chance of a follow up so I didn't get my hopes up for further development.)
Best thing about this is we're virtually guaranteed another! Personally since he's 83 and in apparently good health I think Williams will be able to finish this trilogy. The next one is coming in just two years and the last one probably just another two years after that. By that point Williams will be the age that Morricone is now (87).
I loved your whole post, Jeff! I feel much the same about the prequel scores. They have more noticeable highlights but for me Force Awakens is a much stronger score overall than any of them. Easily.
There is a lot I like about Williams' score and the parts I'm not as enamoured with honestly seem like he wanted to play with a variation of one of his seminal themes but thought "oh, if I use this theme so much I won't get an Oscar nom". It really did, in places, feel like he was self consciously trying to avoid using his existing themes for this score.
As the score unfolds, I find it gets stronger, especially with the presentations of Rey's theme in different ways.
The chief measure of the success of the new film for me was the number of lifelong fans I met in the weeks following the release who were enthusiastically speculating about where the story could go next. That hasn't happened since the 1980s. I loved the film and the new characters.
And as an aside, I have taken a much greater interest in the world of this Star Wars trilogy than the previous one. I'm poring over the Force Awakens Visual Dictionary and reading the novel version and just geeking out more in general because this cast and these characters are ones I'm really enjoying geeking out over. I'm still trying to pick my jaw up off the floor just marveling at the vision of the star destroyer buried in the sand on Jaaku and Rey living in a FREAKING IMPERIAL WALKER. Man, I think AT-AT apartments could be the next big thing in the U.S..
I think it's a testament to Abrams and Kasdan that they've "awakened" all this dialogue and speculation about the character's backgrounds and motives. It's been years since I've gone and watched a film more than once in the theater and I would go again today if I could. There will be so much hype and excitement for Episode 8 and I really hope Williams will be in good health to continue what he started in TFA. This score has been spinning since I got it and with the addition of the FYC cues, it's amazing.
