So, with Star Wars being every freakin’ where I pulled out the DVD’s to re-watch the “original” three movies before hitting the theaters for The Force Awakens. Many words have been printed on how Lucas damaged the movies with his changes and a large majority of those words have center on the Han shot first debacle. This is not one of those rants. While I agree that the shooting of Greedo was not a good change, at least Lucas had a thought out reason for said change. I disagree with his conclusion but I can understand where he is coming from. The one change that I hate the most, the change that makes me cringe every time and makes me want to pummel Lucas happens in Empire Strikes Back. Let me set the scene – Darth Vader has just finished an epic fight with Luke Skywalker that ranges across several decks, flings out into a huge abyss, ending with hacking off Luke’s hand and reveling the truth that Obi Wan hid. Rather than join up with his father to rule that galaxy as father and son, Luke chooses to take a flying leap. And then Lucas bungles it with this change – (go to the 12:00 min mark for the bungle in question.) I don’t have the words to truly express how much I hate this different line. In this instance Lucas already had perfection and he throws it away. The new sequence fails on sooooo many levels. Whoever reads the line reads it flat and boring. It takes too long to deliver. It breaks up the pace of the moment. It is out of character. Most importantly, the original is just awesome. Let’s listen to it again - The delivery of that line is a master course in subtext. In just three words James Earl Jones conveys frustration, anger, sadness, and you better not fuck with me right now because I won’t bother to force choke you, I’ll just force blow you into bits. Three simple words dripping with emotion, verses nine words that do nothing but add needles verbiage. A great example of less is more.
Drives me nuts every single time.
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OK, I just watched the new trailer for The Force Awakens and yes, it looks awesome.
But… There is this little voice in the back of my head. A little voice of doubt. No, the voice doesn’t sound like Jar Jar, it does look a bit like a lens flair however. More on that later. Have you ever seen a trailer and said to yourself “that movie looks great I gotta see it” and then you find out that the two minutes of the trailer were the only two minutes of watchable footage in the entire film? I worry that this may be the case. Let’s take a look at the work JJ “lens flair” Abrams did with Star Trek. The first wasn’t bad. I had a few issues with it but overall it wasn’t horrible. That clustered rehash that was Something About Kahn on the other hand, oy. I’m not sure if it was bad film making or the dude just got lazy. A little bit of this blood magically cures the incurable disease? Madam Pomfrey on Harry Potter has more credibility than that. And let us not forget the the Enterprise rising up through a cloud. He used the exact same shot in the previous movie! It’s a cool effect and all but come on, at least wait a movie before recycling stuff. If I see an X-wing rising up vertically through the mist I’m walking out. (Who am I kidding; I’ll stay, but under protest.) Actually, it’s more likely that it will be the Millennium Falcon rising up through a cloud. Lastly - the lens flairs. Fuck me, the lens flairs. What is with Abrams and lens flairs? The guy uses lens flairs with the same subtly that Michael Bay uses explosions. Again, they are kinda neat and I’ve used them myself but at what point does it go from artistic choice to “enough already, learn how to use a camera”? I’d say pick a number and try to limit yourself but I counted four in a two minute trailer; how many is he going to cram into the entire movie? Perhaps the other Hollywood directors can have an intervention or something. So yes, I am planning on seeing The Force Awakens and I hope it will be as good as the teasers have indicated. If it is life will be good. P.S. To all those nit-wits boycotting because it keeps the white man down or some other such bullshit - fuck off. |
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