Good morning, world. Another movie that no one hoped for had a midnight premiere. Those who stood in line at midnight already know. For the more normal, I have a review of the latest Star Wars movie, Star Wars.
So what the world expected has come true. J.J. Abrams very perfectly proved that he is a director in the right place. One doesn't even hope that after Star Trek, he could ever again grasp what the six-part franchise is all about. He made a reboot in Star Trek because the entire ten-part series needed it.
The six-part series that Lucas based on his imagination doesn't need a reboot. Each installment is celebrated to the top by fans, and the sequel under a new director doesn't need a revival, but a quality sequel.
The seventh Star Wars installment (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) needs no explanation. We are back in a galaxy far, far away, where death awaits us at every turn, a curious alien at every corner, and of course the light and dark side of the mysterious force that surrounds the characters in the galaxy far, far away. Only a select few (by the time of the seventh film, really only a select few) can control the force.
The story isn't just about the galaxy far, far away, it's about the characters. Thirty years after the victory over the dark side, Leia, Han Solo and, of course, Luke Skywalker are back again. Their cast members are still alive (they've mostly had their lives ruined by fame), so we expect to see 64-year-old Mark Hamill, 59-year-old Carrie Fisher and, of course, the most famous actor, Harrison Ford, returning to Star Wars at the age of 74.
But this isn't a film about retirees past their zenith. The new trilogy begins with a completely unknown cast led by Daisy Ridley and John Boyega. The cast is ably rounded out by bigger stars like Domhnall Gleeson (from Harry Potter), Max von Sydow (you know where you've seen him), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones). Not forgetting the star who now stars in everything with a CGI character. He started with Gollum, went on to King Kong, went on to a chimp in Planet of the Apes. He even took on a bad guy in Avengers. That's the one actor we only see a few spittle-flecked lines from in most of the movies, Andy Serkis. And that's not even counting the actors who are in the movie just for the fun of it and that have starred in other Star Wars movies. Kenny Baker, Warwick Davis, Anthony Daniels and Peter Mayhew = the old gang. Lupita Nyong’o, Simon Pegg and even Michael Giacchino himself has thrown himself into acting.
When you combine stars of the silver screen who are mostly retired from acting (actors never retire) with actors who still have their acting opportunities ahead of them. They're well connected by the director and creator of Lost, so what should we expect then? Hopefully, he doesn't screw it up?
Well done, J.J. Abrams is the right director to take Star Trek to the next level after space travel and make a big sequel to stories from a galaxy far, far away.
He also decided to abandon new techniques and let the old ones shine through, back when movies were still made on his knee and CGI and all the computer graphics were just left to fill in the details and things that couldn't be done mechanically with masks and models. Let's not forget that the director is one of the few who still shoots films analogue and not with digital cameras. It's not out of place that Jurassic World was also shot in analogue. In fact, capturing the image on film stock will give the film a little more soul that will be lost in the digital age.
I can still remember my first viewing of my first Star Wars episode (A New Hope in the 80s. Years) and nothing is lost in comparison to the film 39 years later, no feeling, no favourite lines and of course the end result of my conclusion with the film.
Star Wars is a phenomenon and continues on its successful path, with a new director but an old bunch of filmmakers and actors. Not to forget the unique score by John Williams, who, even though he could have retired, has managed to compose music again that captivates and sensitively accompanies the entire film from the opening credits to the final scene.
It's like I'm back in my childhood years, when I still believed in goodness, love and the light and dark side of the force. I got my Christmas present, and a new film is back in theaters, breaking records (in pre-sales) and I hope it will continue to do so.
Original release of this article December 17, 2015 – Kritiky.cz
