Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope (1977)

Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope (1977)

Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher.

Directed By: George Lucas

Plot: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a civil war has erupted between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance.  With the help of the new battleship, the Death Star, the Empire's victory is all but assured, but the Rebels have a plan that could possibly turn the tide of the war, which involves sending a astromech droid named R2-D2 to the desert planet Tatooine, along with his companion, C-3PO.  When the two droids cross paths with a young man named Luke Skywalker and a mysterious old hermit named Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi, they discover that Princess Leia (a Rebel leader) has been captured by the Empire, and is being held inside the Death Star.  With the help of a pair of smugglers named Han Solo and Chewbacca, they will attempt to rescue the princess and bring her and R2-D2 to the Rebel Alliance.  Can they accomplish both these goals while not getting killed in the process?

Characters: The characters in this film barely need an introduction, since they've become so iconic.  Nearly everyone gives a great performance, making their characters likable, interesting, and entertaining.  Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker does an amazing job showing the growth of his character.  Despite being naive and a bit immature at first, watching him mature and find a purpose in life is very satisfying to watch.  Harrison Ford gives an often hilarious performance as Han Solo.  While he may seem like a scoundrel at first glance, his comedic moments and charisma make his character one of the best in the whole movie.  James Earl Jones' voice as Darth Vader has become legendary, and for good reason.  He does a fantastic job of portraying the power, ferocity, and sophistication of the character, creating the building blocks for arguably the most famous villain of all time.  Probably the weakest major performance comes from Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia.  Most of the time, she's good enough, showing a snarky side and a courageous spirit, but the scenes between her and Vader are really weirdly acted.  She switches a faux-British accent on and off during these scenes, and it feels really awkward and makes little sense, especially when there's no explanation for it.  But for the most part, this film nails the acting department.  

Writing: This script is one of the defining examples of the hero's journey in film.  Luke (the hero) finds Princess Leia's message(the call to adventure), meets Obi-Wan Kenobi (meeting the mentor), and so on.  It's actually quite interesting how perfectly this story fits into the mold.  While it may seem lazy to create a story so close to a certain formula, in my opinion, it makes this story a classic.  All the scenes are memorable, whether it's the opening scroll, the Death Star blowing up Alderaan, or Luke, Han, and Leia trying to escape the trash compactor.  There are also many homages to old movies serials, like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers.  This is most apparent during the opening text, as well as the moments when the heroes are in some sort of peril.  You can almost imagine an announcer telling the audience to come back next week to see how they get out of their predicament. The plot moves at a relatively fast pace, getting through all the major plot points without staying in one place for too long, while also slowing down at the appropriate moments.  The dialogue can feel a bit too cheesy at times, especially in the very beginning, and this can turn some viewers off to the film.  However, as the film progresses, the dialogue feels less and less clunky, and eventually blends into the world that is created. 

Production: The design of this film is one of the reasons it still hold up today.  The sheer amount of creativity that went into the look of this film is very noteworthy.  The costumes for the aliens look amazing, especially Chewbacca, who still looks like a real creature.  The human costumes are also good, looking simple, yet unique to the world.  The spaceships are exquisitely detailed, and are almost works of art by this point.  When the Star Destroyer appears in the first scene, looming over the relatively puny rebel ship, chills run through me nearly every time.  The original special effects hold up pretty well today, including the space battles and the lightsabers.  However, there are some obvious effects, such as when the automatic doors are opening and closing, which is obviously a mediocre stop motion effect.  As some of you may know, George Lucas added a lot of CGI to the original trilogy, and this film arguably has it the worst (Han shot first, by the way), and this has made fans very angry.  In my opinion, the changes are a mixed bag.  They range from improving weaker moments (like when it's obvious that Obi-Wan is holding a fencing sword instead of a lightsaber) to ruining moments that needed no changes (such as the scenes in Mos Eisley, where a lot of poor CGI is added for no good reason).  John William's score is arguably his best in his large resume.  My favorite pieces would have to be the opening theme with its loud and triumphant tone, and Binary Sunset, which adds gravitas to the story.  The only real "flaw" with the score is that it doesn't include The Imperial March, which wouldn't be introduced until The Empire Strikes Back.  Watching scenes with the empire seems strange without it.

Trivia:

• The skeleton that C-3PO passes on Tatooine was left on location in Tunisia after filming.  When the crew for Attack of the Clones returned for filming in 2001, they found it was still there.  
• When Lucas screened an early cut of the film to his director friends, the only person who believed that it would be a hit was Steven Spielberg.
• The planet Tatooine is never mentioned by name in this film.
• Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin) found the boots for his costume to be very uncomfortable.  So he only wore them when they were shooting full body shots, and wore fuzzy slippers the rest of the time.

Final Verdict: In case you didn't guess before, I love this movie.  As I said in my last editorial, this film was part of my childhood, and holds a very dear place in my heart.  Even without added nostalgia, this film still holds up, even after nearly 40 years of age.  The special effects are great, the score is fantastic, and the story and its characters have become iconic.  If you are one of the very few that hasn't seen this film, or if you haven't seen it in a while, stop what you are doing and go watch it.  I highly recommend it.

   

Next time, I'll take a look at the first volume of a bride's revenge against her ex-lover.

Stay Tuned

Daredevil (2003)

Daredevil (2003)

Starring: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, and Colin Farrell

Directed by: Mark Steven Johnson

Plot: Matthew Murdock is a down on his luck lawyer in Hell's Kitchen (a neighborhood of New York City) who was blinded at a young age by a toxic chemical.  Luckily, the chemical enhanced his other senses, as well as giving him a new "radar sense" that allows him to "see" the world around him.  This allows him to become Daredevil, a vigilante who protects the innocent against criminals.  Unfortunately, this lifestyle doesn't lead to many long lasting relationships, until one day, he meets a beautiful woman named Elektra Natchios.  They immediately hit it off, and start dating, as things start finally looking up for Matt.  However, crime boss Wilson Fisk (a.k.a. the Kingpin) has ordered a hit on Elektra's father for trying to bail on their dealings, and hires the marksman known as Bullseye to pull off the assassination.  And when the Kingpin assassinates someone, he goes after their whole family.  Will Matt be able to protect his new love and take down the biggest crime lord in Hell's Kitchen?  

Characters: For the most part, this film is pretty well acted, with every cast member giving a decent performance.  Ben Affleck makes an okay Matt Murdock.  He pulls off the stunts well, and his chemistry with Jennifer Garner feels genuine.  He also does a great job with the physicality of being a blind person, using small details such as feeling the walls to figure out where he's going, or staring off into space when he's having a conversation with someone.  Jennifer Garner is also pretty good as Elektra.  She manages to balance the emotional and physical aspects of her character pretty well.  Despite this, I don't think she was the best choice to play Elektra, since the character is supposed to be Greek, and Garner is obviously not.  However, the best performances come from Michael Clarke Duncan and Colin Farrell as Kingpin and Bullseye (respectively).  They both look like they're having the time of their lives, hamming it up whenever they get the opportunity.  Duncan was a great choice as the Kingpin, giving off a great sense of power and confidence that the character needs.  Farrell, on the other hand, is just insane, and uses every opportunity to act crazy, which is very entertaining. 

Writing:  Despite having a fairly simple plot, this film feels very overstuffed.  Elements like Ben Urich reporting on Daredevil's activities and the Kingpin's assassination attempts feel shoehorned into the story in order to make room for the romance.  This also goes the other way, with the action scenes making the romance feel rushed.  I'm fine with having a movie be romantic as well as full of action, but the writers should have chosen to chose between making the film a love story or an action movie if they wanted to make the film under 100 minutes, instead of trying to do both and making both sides weaker for it.  Affleck, despite putting in a passable performance, is very poorly written.  His dialogue is okay at best and cheesy at worst.  Also, his character arc is very ill defined.  The the movie tells the audience that he's learned how to be a better hero, but his actions never show a change. Garner, like Affleck, is also very poorly written.  She falls in love with a man she just met, her reasons for learning martial arts are ill-defined, and she feels like she was shoved into the movie because of her character's popularity in the comics, making her feel like a cardboard cutout of a much more fascinating character.     

Production: The film has a very stylized look to it, with great lighting and coloring.  Many of the scenes, especially the ones with young Matt Murdock, look like they've been ripped right out a comic book, which looks very cool.  The sets are also well made and convincing, with Wilson Fisk's office being a particular highlight.  Unfortunately, those are about the most positive things I can say about the production.  The choice of nu metal for the soundtrack was unique, but it doesn't really fit the character of Daredevil in my opinion.  The action scenes aren't that great either, using a clunky mix of wire fu and CGI that doesn't hold up very well.  There are many scenes where characters will jump impossibly far distances without breaking a sweat, and are replaced with rubber-like CGI stand-ins while doing so, which can really take the audience out of the movie.  This is most apparent in the final fight between Bullseye and Daredevil, where all of these elements come together in a very silly-looking climax. 

Trivia:

• The eye contacts Ben Affleck had to wear in order to appear blind were so thick that they actually block out most of his vision, effectively making him blinded for real.
• This was the film that Affleck would meet his future wife, Jennifer Garner.  They would meet again when he filmed a cut scene on the spin-off, Elektra, where the actors started their relationship.
• Affleck was originally supposed to play Bullseye, while Colin Farrell was supposed to play Daredevil, but were recast after auditioning.
• There are many cameos of and references to comic writers and artists who worked on the Daredevil comic.  Many of the boxers Matt's dad fights are named after famous comic writers (including Brian Bendis and and John Romita), Frank Miller (the man credited with revamping the character) is killed by Bullseye for his motorcycle, and Kevin Smith (another writer on the comic) plays a lab assistant named Kirby (after Jack Kirby, one of the comic's first artists).

Final Verdict: I wouldn't consider myself a huge fan of Daredevil, but I know enough to recognize that the filmmakers could have done a lot better.  Although it does have some entertaining performances (especially from the villains) and an interesting visual aesthetic, the poor CGI, awkward action scenes, and overstuffed plot drag the film down.  I know that there's a supposedly better director's cut out there, but this is a critique of the finished product, not the director's original vision.  As it stands, I definitely do not recommend seeing this film.  Instead, if you want to see a faithful adaption of the character, I would suggest watching the recent Netflix original series, Daredevil.  It has better acting, better fights, and the thirteen episode format allows plot threads to play out more smoothly.

Next time, in preparation for the much anticipated seventh installment, I'll start my journey that takes place a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Stay Tuned     

Harvey Reacts: Star Wars

Harvey Reacts to:

The Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer

Ever since I was a little kid, I have been a fan of Star Wars, specifically the first one, A New Hope.  It had everything, from aliens to spaceships to lightsabers, everything a little boy could want.  Eventually, I saw The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, as well as The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones (I actually have yet to see Revenge of the Sith all the way through).  While I would eventually dislike the prequels, I will always be a fan of the original trilogy.  So when it was announced that Episode 7 was in the works, I was very excited.  When the first teaser dropped, my excitement level reached a new high.  In case you haven't seen it, here it is:

Awesome, right?  While it doesn't show much in terms of story or meaningful dialogue, it still brings me joy to see the Millennium Falcon flying to the Star Wars theme, and the teasing of new characters intrigued me.  After a while, my excitement began to calm down.  But a few weeks ago, the second trailer was released on the internet.  Here it is:

 

As soon as I saw the first shot of the star destroyer in the desert with the force theme playing, I nearly cried.  This whole trailer is absolutely amazing.  The special effects are awe inspiring, blending the CGI and practical effects seamlessly.  I especially enjoyed the Stormtrooper being flung away by an explosion.  You can almost hear the Wilhelm Scream.  The new footage is great, dropping interesting hints about what happened after Return of the Jedi.  I'm very fascinated by the new characters, especially John Boyega as Finn.  If the film goes in the direction that I believe it will, we might see the Star Wars universe from the eyes of a Stormtrooper, which is potentially fascinating.  Of course, I can't leave out Luke Skywalker's voice-over, as well as Han Solo and Chewbacca on the Millennium Falcon.  That was just the icing on an already delicious cake.  It will be interesting to see how they fit into this story, and I hope they don't take the spotlight away from the new characters in the series.  I cannot get more hyped for this movie.  You can consider my ticket for opening weekend bought.  December can't come fast enough.

What do you guys think?  Are you excited for Star Wars: The Force Awakens?  Next time, I'll try to find the time to review Daredevil.

Stay Tuned