STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - Blu-Ray Thoughts

[Eric W.]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/star-wars-t ... 1450252801

Generally favorable reviews surfacing like this.

Past this there is a lot of the expected "Wow, new Star Wars!" honeymoon glow reactions out there that aren't going to be much to work with.

I continue to share the same skepticism as you all do for points that don't need to be belabored. I'm not surprised by the score reactions.

[AndyDursin]

The reviews are all mostly good. Few of them are great. I will also throw out the few I read that claim its the best Star Wars ever lol. All of them acknowledge it is a remake/"remix" of plot and characters we've already seen before...but that as we thought will be good enough for the fans.

Anyway I'm going!

[Paul MacLean]

I haven't heard much about the new movie, but what I've seen of the reactions is a bit strange. I would have thought the death of Han Solo would have hit people a little harder.

Gee...thanks for the spoiler.

[DavidBanner]

Didn't realize that was a spoiler here.
I read it in this thread over a year ago, so I thought it was common knowledge here.
OTOH if nobody who has seen the movie is mentioning anything like that happening, it's possible that the information is wrong.

[AndyDursin]

It was never "inside information" or a spoiler I read -- it's just my speculation, but it seems obvious from these factors:

1. He's not signed for any other movie
2. He begged Lucas to kill Han off in RETURN OF THE JEDI
3. The STAR WARS movies have a tradition of killing off a leading man in the first part of their respective trilogies (Alec Guinness, Liam Neeson and.....)

I might be right or wrong, but it's just speculation. However, I'm guessing I'm not wrong though -- anyone want to take a bet before tomorrow night?

[Edmund Kattak]

Listening to the score right now. Not impressed with performance of Main Title. Listening on....

[Edmund Kattak]

Six tracks in and I'm beginning to have a better appreciation for the CRYSTAL SKULL score than this one. Very underwhelming for me so far.

[Edmund Kattak]

Some nice moments. Williams seems to find a different angle, but it's hard to tell. Doesn't feel so much like a Star Wars score with the absence of the combination of good solid themes and serialized writing - which is now passé I guess.

Must hear it in the film then play it again afterward. I miss the LSO, but I guess he doesn't write for that kind of sound any more.

[AndyDursin]

I listened to it all the way through once, and will wait like you Ed to see the movie to see if it connects any better with a viewing of the film. However...there's no doubt that by Williams standards, it's a disappointment, because the great, distinguishing element about his music is that so much of it never required a viewing of the movie it accompanied to appreciate.

There are no major, memorable themes. That's the big letdown. A lot of "rhythmic" mickey-mousing action music, as is the norm these days, that reminds me of Williams works from the last 10 years -- and while it's certainly listenable, it's not as memorable or compelling as his music from either the original OR the prequel trilogy. There are no standout tracks, there's no DUEL OF THE FATES here, and even the "connective tissue" underscore -- which this mostly seems to be -- doesn't have the tone or color that made his PHANTOM MENACE score so outstanding.

It's the sort of thing that, had there been a really outstanding, talented young composer out there, I might have preferred to see someone else score the film. It's entirely possible John Williams has said everything he's needed to say with STAR WARS. That and the fact his music has lacked that strong thematic component now for a long while...I am not a fan of TINTIN at all and this score has that kind of bland, unthematic tone to it. Like most of KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. I listened to the score once or twice, put it away, and have never had a desire to go back to it.

On the flip side -- we're comparing this with some of the greatest scores ever written, period. On that end, no, this doesn't measure up or deserve to be placed in their company...but it's still better than Hans Zimmer and friends, needless to say.

Overall though...I am saddened. It just doesn't have the inspiration or the energy I was hoping to hear.

[Eric W.]

Sad but doesn't surprise me.

[AndyDursin]

Well outside of the constant criticism that the movie has no ending (like most Marvel movies) the reviews are good.

I'll be going tomorrow and uploading a review Sat AM when I can. Let's talk it over once everyone has seen it!

[BobaMike]

Just got back from the new Star Wars. First impressions : I really enjoyed it. More than the prequels. A few quibbles, but the new cast was great, and the film was fun!

[DavidBanner]

To be fair to the Abrams attempt, and I do need to try to do that, Empire Strikes Back also has no real ending. It's a complete cliffhanger, with most of the most outrageous story points deliberately left over the edge. I love the movie, but I know people complained mightily about that back in 1980...

[AndyDursin]

I realize that. However this is also the first part of a trilogy and the prior two trilogies also launched with first parts that essentially had a beginning middle and an end....sure Darth Vader flew away but if there had never been another Star Wars movie there would be been no complaints about how it ended. Phantom Menace also reached a conclusion mostly as well. Apparently that is not the case though I have yet to see it so if I'm wrong I'm wrong. Lol I just find it curious that they couldn't even make one movie without leaving most threads dangling for the next one. Bucks the trend of the prior first parts.

[DavidBanner]

Sadly, that lack of ending won't be the only thing that will buck the trend of the Lucas trilogies. We're frankly no longer in George Lucas' galaxy of this story, as he himself has made clear. I'm honestly not sure whether Abrams attempt even lives in that same galaxy or if it will better be considered as a completely alternate place, like what happened when Abrams hit Star Trek.

I will say that the various reactions I've seen so far indicate that the movie is safe and doesn't seem to do anything to really challenge the fans. Bill Hunt's reaction was to like about 90% and to have questions about 10%. Not sure if the Han Solo thing was part of the 10%. Feels like Abrams was playing this as safe as he could. It is possible that Harrison Ford simply appears in this movie and that the Solo character isn't needed for the subsequent chapters (due to following Abrams' new characters rather than the old guard). Really doesn't feel like they did anything odd with Luke either, or you'd hear squawking.

Personally, my off-the-wall hope was for the big villain to be revealed to be...Jar Jar Binks!