Welcome back to the Randomizer, and a Happy New Year to you
all!
For those who have followed from the beginning of the
Randomizer three years ago, I had done a Top Ten Films of the Year because I
love talking about films (of course), and talking about why those films are
either good, or like last year why they are bad. This year, I’m going to do
something a little different. At the end of the article, I’m leaving a little
bonus to show quickly my top ten films and mostly talk about my number one of
the year.
My main article today, is of course:
Now I will say quickly that this ISN’T my number one film,
but after two viewings it is one of the best films I have seen, if not one of
the best in the entire franchise. After the announcement that the long talked
about Sequel Trilogy would begin in 2012, STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS was
released at Christmas last year, and was given the seal of approval by pretty
much everyone. Great reviews, acclaimed acting, and spectacular sequences have
put it back on the world map, a return of an old friend.
If you have been living in a cave, ignoring it because of
the hype (looking at you Mibs), or have any reason why you haven’t seen it yet,
here’s a quick premise. Luke Skywalker has disappeared into parts unknown, and
a villager on the planet Jakku has his location on a flash disk map, and gives
it to pilot Poe Dameron to give to General Leia Organa. However, the revenant
of the Empire known as the First Order, led in person by Kylo Ren have their
own intentions of finding the former Jedi Master. We are soon joined by a Stormtrooper
turning good guy FN-2587, or Finn as he is named by Poe, and the mysterious
Rey, a scavenger who picks up parts for food and living a relatively peaceful
and naïve existence for the moment.
I will say it is a great film to watch. The action scenes
are indeed spectacular to watch almost everywhere, the dogfight battles particularly
were a pleasure to watch. What comedic elements there are are indeed funny,
having me burst out laughing a lot from different visual cues thanks to BB-8 a
lot. The characters are great to watch, Harrison Ford giving a great turn as a
returning Han Solo, Finn was an awesome character to watch because he is a
complicated character, yet simple to understand, and Rey is growing on me as a
sweet character to watch, a bad-ass in her own right, but somewhat misguiding
herself to all sorts of complexities.
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| Rey, you should have noticed Donald Trump became President the moment we stepped in America |
But there is one thing that honest to Jennifer Lawrence...you
have your god, I have mine. Anyway, one thing that bugged me the first time on
watching, not so much on second, and it hasn’t been lost on many other people
from watching this movie, and I do apologise for spoilers a little bit, is how
much THE FORCE AWAKENS felt overbearing in similarities to the Original
Trilogy.
The desert planet of Jakku, a minor character that is
Supreme Ruler of the First Order, BB-8 taking a secret map, a cantina scene, and
need I mention the Starkiller Base? The list goes on and on. Fans and more have
begun an argument on the internet (always the internet) about whether those
plot elements needed to be brought back for THE FORCE AWAKENS. That’s the big question:
Did THE FORCE AWAKENS need to recycle plot elements, possibly creating a film
that may not stand on its own feet?
This is something that I’m going to look at because I’m at a
crossways myself about this, and perhaps some of you will be too. I feel like I
do have a main opinion on this, but to explore other aspects to feed yours and
my mind, will help give better understanding for both cases. Warning: There are
spoilers, or if you believe in the spoiler-paradox read on at your own risk. I
hope you enjoy and decide for yourself in good time!
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| You will read on through spoilers... |
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ARGUMENT FOR:
There are many differing reasons around why the recycling
was needed.
One was the Prequel Trilogy. I have heard that because of its
position as wretched, THE FORCE AWAKENS had to become good in the eyes of Star
Wars fan, and maybe casual filmgoers as well, hence reusing plot points from
the Original Trilogy, something that felt familiar and loved. The Prequel
Trilogy, under George Lucas, tried to create a compelling backstory and bring
in a new audience, but failed to do anything of the sort, through haphazard choices
and general indifference from its core audience.
Another reason was that it was actually intentional from the
get-go. JJ Abrams, director of THE FORCE AWAKENS, stated with The Hollywood
Reporter that:
“What was important for me was
introducing brand new characters using relationships that were embracing the
history that we know to tell a story that is new – to go backwards to go
forwards.”
It was that belief of going back to the past was essentially
the way to move forward, that made the film what it was, a nostalgic thrill
ride with a path to finding out where the series would go.
The third and final point that I think needs to be mentioned
is that the film reusing elements from its own series ISN’T exactly a new
thing. Lucas when creating STAR WARS was himself inspired by different films
and stories when he was growing up, the likes of FLASH GORDON and the films of
the masterful Akira Kurosawa, particularly THE HIDDEN FORTRESS featuring two peasants
that Lucas himself admits were the inspiration for C-3PO and R2-D2. Indeed,
Lucas was also inspired by the work The
Man with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, a book collective of the archetypal
hero and subsequent journeys in differing mythologies. So it’s ancient elements
influencing nostalgic elements influencing modern day elements. With me still?
Good. I’ll admit, for my Robyn Hood book I’m using elements from different
parts of the mythos, except with a few changes in the mix that only a few
people know. It all seems a nice little circle, doesn’t it?
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ARGUMENT AGAINST:
The bigger argument against recycling the plot elements was
that it’s been done so many times in films before, and it stagnates the film
from being of its own, being tied down to different elements. That was
something I did feel from seeing it the first time around, that Jakku was just
Tatooine without the major settlements, Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order
is Palpatine, and again, need I mention the Starkiller base? At the time, I
thought it so unoriginal it was slightly off-putting, and that it didn’t seem
so much more creative, less so then the prequels since even those tried
something different, albeit failing.
Another argument I’ve read about recently is how the film is
a reboot, just like film studios have done many times over a generation. What
adds to this is the point that JJ Abrams had directed a reboot of the STAR TREK
franchise, and of course did STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS, that could well be
similar and compared to THE FORCE AWAKENS, since the former had elements from
the 1982 film STAR TREK: WRATH OF KHAN, making it a reboot per se in those
terms. Clever ploy or just laziness?
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MY STANCE:
I don’t know whether it was the best thing to re-use the
elements over from the original trilogy.
I’m not going to say I don’t understand people’s point that
it had to be done because of the prequels. Let’s be honest, the prequels,
though a good idea, weren’t pulled off well, bar a few good moments. I could go
all day citing why but you’ll be bored stiff and annoyed as sitting through a Dapper
Laughs gig. I will say that I did enjoy it more a second time around watching,
the recycled bits didn’t bother me so much then. In many people’s eyes, maybe
that was what THE FORCE AWAKENS needed to bring it an audience so lost in
something that was misguidedly mishandled.
For me personally, I’m not sure. For a film that has to
stand on its own two feet, it must find a way to appeal to audience to do
different things. THE FORCE AWAKENS, though still beautiful in its own way,
feels just like a rehashing, and not feeling familiar yet different. George
Lucas understood that to a point in his prequels. They weren’t supposed to be
re-telling the story, they were telling what came before, but simply misguided
in the wrong way. If a film wants to tell the same story over again, that’s
fine but it has be something to help give it stability without using overly
similar plot elements and staying with them, in addition to taking the odd
risky venture.
STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE was a risky venture on itself. It was
something that had never been attempted before in film, it was different to the
mainstream at the time, and through certain compromises it worked. A lot of
risky ventures can be pulled off well, depending how well developed and
intriguing they are. THE FORCE AWAKENS is the safest venture one could do, and
though I do understand why, it was a mistake to do.
For the future two films to come out, let’s hope we don’t go
down such similar routes. I want to be interested in the mysterious way everything
is going, to feel intrigued by what is happening, not be wholly distracted by
the simple point of reusing elements. It’s better now for the Sequel Trilogy to
go down that way then living in the realms of nostalgia.
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| Use your red-tinted glasses. Let the hate flow through you. |
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So that’s really it. Such a short article for this week, of
course with the bonus article to come at the end. I will still say THE FORCE
AWAKENS is a really good film to watch again, I wouldn’t stop you, but to bear
in mind how different it could all be, and still be as good if developed well,
if not better.
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| YOU WILL LOVE NOSTALGIA, YOU WILL |
That’s it for this month. I hope you enjoyed it, and I will
see you all in February.
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BONUS: TOP TEN FILMS I SAW LAST YEAR
This wasn’t much of an easy list to do, seeing 33 films
altogether last year. Not so much at the top but around the bottom, because
they were definitely a few films I had to cut out for not being as good as
others. Still I think it’s quite an achievement to watch 33 films in a whole
year. So far this year, I’ve only manged just the one, and that was THE HUNGER
GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2. So unfortunately that will not be on the list, but
more importantly, time to watch more films I think. But now, let’s get through
the Top Ten films from last year.
10. FURY
This was a good film to watch, acted wonderfully and action
was good, but felt kind of standard.
9. BIRDMAN
This was a really well shot film, but it didn’t touch with
me as much as it could have done. Recommend it still.
8. THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
Really funny film in places, quite soulful too. Eddie
Redmayne was great. Again didn’t resonate with me so much.
7. ONLY YESTERDAY
Great animation, great story, interesting look into two
different time periods. More dramatic, simply sublime. Heard there's an English version now, but not sure when released. Daisy Ridley is in it too!
6. THE WICKER MAN
Quite a strange film to watch, quite creepy, exactly what
you need from a horror film nowadays.
5. DESTINY (DER MUDE TOD “WEARY DEATH”)
A great piece of silent film ever by Fritz Lang. Shows how
far one can go for love, and lose. Give it a chance.
4. THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI
Beautiful visuals, interesting plot. Definitely recommend
this film.
3. STAR WARS: EPISODE VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS
Need I say more?
2. FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD
Amazingly shot, well acted, music is good, it’s a very
beautiful film. One to watch definitely.
I think you can all probably guess what my number one is.
PIXELS!
Yes, Adam Sandler came number one. Believe me, I was
surprised as much as you are. But this is such a good film, very funny, very
dramatic and of course I’m completely f***ing with you all.
It’s MAD MAX: F***ING FURY ROAD
The f***ing totally there, it’s just all blurred out.
Seriously though, this film…you might not ever get a great
visual relatable spectacular film like this ever. I will admit I have ever seen
any of the Mad Max films, but I knew enough to understand what was going on,
and it’s not so necessary to watch the other films, this is just a stand-alone
beast. Perhaps to go further, this film is a sort of template to how THE FORCE
AWAKENS SHOULD come close to.
The visuals in this are just pure greatness, using a mixture
of practical effects and CGI to absolute perfection and amazement. Especially
the night time scenes, those are one of my particular favourites. It’s well
shot too, showing what you need to be shown, and ignoring anything else that’s superfluous,
sort of like the plot. All simple and easy to understand. The characters are
simply great, Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron) being quite the bad-ass in
the film, Max (played by Tom Hardy) being a bad-ass too, all acted really well
and believable.
In fact, why are you continuing to read this? Go watch it! Perhaps
at the end you’ll be saying, ‘What a day. WHAT A LOVELY DAY!’
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