The Force of Music

 

JS Adams on The Force Awakens and why timing in music is very important !

I would say to the world, go see this movie. If you like Star Wars you have a duty to go see it in a movie theatre and make up your own mind. For me it’s a tradition. I’ve seen every single one of ‘em in the movie theatre. Maybe nowadays it’s more than just a tradition, now it’s become almost a pilgrimage.

Obviously The Force Awakens can’t top the original but its certainly got some great moments in it. Unfortunately that’s what Star Wars has now become: A bunch of spectacular moments. Like a bunch of fire works. Some good and some just awful.

But I would challenge anyone to a game of  Holo-chess, who didn’t believe Irvin Kirshner was by far the best director of the series and The Empire Strikes Back,

one of the most perfect movies of all time.

But The Force Awakens however, is its dark mirror.

Where Vader’s scarred face is only glimpsed at in Empire, we get to see Kylo Rens full on pretty boy mug at twenty feet across the cinema screen. 

Where Han Solo was frozen in carbonite,

we now have him skewered with his sons light sabre. 

Where it takes Luke Skywalker a whole movie just to master a few of Yoda’s floating rock tricks, we now have Rey mastering the force immediately and ordering Storm Troopers to uncuff her and leave her a blaster and then taking on Kylo ?!? 

Ok I get it- she’s force sensitive. Whatever.

Before even seeing this movie I kinda new what might happen, just hunches I guess. 

For example, I had a hunch there might be a bigger better Death Star involved but that didn’t really matter to me. 

That’s just what the bad guys in Star Wars movies do: they make superior firepower and still get their asses kicked.

The best thing going for this movie in my humble opinion: is its film set authenticity.

These are the real stars.

Big chunky buttons. 70’s style space corridors and great matte shots. 

The wide angle matte shots of a Star Destroyer etc in the sand were great !

The interiors of the New Order are top notch, great set pieces with lovely glossy black panels and those  iconic sosage shape light panels everywhere...

And it was fun to see the Millennium Falcon interior again, not seen properly since Empire. 

But although that’s good enough for me I can see why a whole movie hinges on actors and their ability to fool you into what you are seeing is real.

Yeah I agree Hans death was pointless in every sense of the word, yes they shouldn’t  have bumped him off .

And yeah, Carrie Fisher looked drunk anyway.

And Rey was a bit wooden (right up to that final shot, just standing there on the mountain top - wtf?)

And Fins character could have had more back-story.

And why does Kylo take his helmet off half way thru the movie ? Where’s the cinematic point in that?

But lets get technical. Lets talk about the music. 

And the music of Star Wars has always been awsume BUT in this movie (and in a particular scene) I personally felt its timing missed out on a critical moment and lost its impact on crucial beats, so maybe that’s a point worth highlighting here...  

I truly believe you can salvage any crap movie if you have a good editor but it’s the music that really holds it all together.
For example this piece of music :The Force
This piece of music was very ill used in the light sabre fight between Rey and Kylo. 

Mainly at the beginning of the fight.
Finn is out for the count, his sabre is left fallen in the snow. 
Like King Arthur, Kylo holds out his hand and summons the laser sword but instead, it flies into the hands of none other than Rey.

This is supposed to be a crucial scene in the movie but its done sloppily.

'The Force' music starts, and there’s an extreme close up of her holding Luke Skywalkers light sabre aloft and looking all Jedi BUT before the Force music even gets to its peak, she breaks the tension, lights her sword too early and is off fighting Kylo.

In this, we lose a valuable cinematic moment: 

The moment of equilibrium between good and evil. 

This should have been a true Spaghetti Western moment.

Like Neo facing off with Mr Smith in climax of The Matrix, there should be that cinematic moment where the odds are then equalled...

This should be the moment when the good guy (or gal) draws the line and the music makes that obvious.

So Rey holds the light sabre aloft, but the force music is only half way through its initial phrasing and before it even reaches its peak notes, she’s already off fighting Kylo and the moment is ruined. Its a little thing I know but it makes for a better narrative.

Now they did this once before in Attack of the clones, when Yoda hobbles into shot and suddenly kicks Count Dooku’s ass...

and even tho most people hated the movie , Lucas did the equilibrium thing correctly and the audience really enjoyed the moment.  I was there. They actually cheered.

But that’s movies for you. I guess it’s why they make fans into filmmakers. It’s a bit like why some people prefer to cook for themselves because they know what they like but it isn’t necessarily what everyone else likes.  Hence JJ Abrams The Force Awakens.