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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I agree! the end scene on the cliff was so lacking in power both visualy and in sound. - And 'Luke's' expresion (in his only acting moment of the film) just left me cold - I felt it let the film down.
ReplyDeleteA better attempt - but not as good (ever) as the originals.
May the force be with you always
Moby x
Yeah
ReplyDeleteThat scene on the cliff should have worked but it just didn't seem to come together. There was no atmosphere to the shots. No real mystery. I don't know if they just filmed it raw (with no added FX) on the island of Great Skellig but it sure looks that way. I kinda half expected a Seagull to come splat some on Lukes hood.
Perhaps filming it at sun set would have had more effect, like the end of The Search for Spock. The way the weather behaves in a movie is as important as the music.
Star Wars movies always have great sunsets: whether it's Bespin or Tatooine and they always had great atmosphere.
For example, In the 1954 film “20,000 Leagues under the sea”, there is the giant squid attack scene. All the crew are on the deck of the Nautilus fending off giant tentacles. They shot that scene several times in the studio using different weather pattern moods: one was shot at sunset but it didn’t work, the squid looked fake and the whole scene was lame. But then they shot it again and added heavy storm effects, adding wind and rain etc and that’s the one that ended up in the film, mainly because it actually made this fake looking squid much more terrifying.
Imagine the closing shots of The Force Awakens done differently; imagine it was shot at sunset. The cliff top shrouded in mist, the setting sun (or suns) peaking above the horizon, the whole island lit in hues of purple and orange and browns. Now you have a totally different dynamic to that scene.