Watch your step! I sense there may be major spoilers may below!
Spoilery thread alt-title: TFA is a rehash of ANH. Does J.J. Abrams have any originality left? Discuss.
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I finally watched “A New Hope” again last night. I still can't believe how good that movie was.
However, I was surprised to discover two things about TFA: The suggestion TFA is a rehash of ANH is wildly exaggerated, and TFA is... well, the better one. I say that as a praise to both films, as for TFA to be better it had to stand on the shoulders of ANH, and, indeed, rehash a lot of it.
But not as much as it is claimed. I think I only thought of it as a copy because I didn't remember ANH well enough, or perhaps because I remembered it too well. While the journey is repeated in a way that's a little bit too similar, that still makes up for about half of the new film. I had forgotten how steady-paced the original was, carefully guiding you through the story. In comparison, “The Force Awakens” feels like a rollercoaster, and with several intermixed storylines that go way beyond what “A New Hope” did, in terms of themes explored, storylines opened and storylines closed. In the end, TFA is pretty much it's own film.
What was rehashed:
4. Starkiller base: I think there's some agreement that Starkiller Base is the biggest offender. I came close to considering not watching the film because of it. Yet... For its increase in size and strength, it had gone done in prominence. The Resistance were busy with it in the background, Han forgot it and confronted his son, Finn was more concerned with Rey and getting back at Phasma. Rey didn't seem to be aware of the destruction, Kylo Ren didn't care, Snoke was unmoved. From the central plot point it had been almost reduced to a location, and a plot device to prevent Rey from turning to the dark side.
When your death star has a snowy forest to have light sabres fights in, and giant squares to hold fascist rallies, it becomes something else. Neither it was a weapon of intimidation, Hux didn't wait to intimidate anyone, he directly destroyed his adversaries. We rather saw the face of the First Order brazenly and mercilessly killing billions, and the weapon was only the tool.
5. Rey/Luke's journey: Inevitably, this one had to be done over, as it was the only reasonable way to pass the torch. But I'll be damned if these weren't a completely different journeys they went on. Luke's your jolly farmer guy, planning to move on to the academy, friends with folks at the Rebellion. He's the chosen guy who gets a mentor to teach him the ways of the force and slowly takes him into the fight.
Rey's having an extremely hard life, fighting real hardship, having fantasies in the ruins of war, only dimly aware of the galaxy around her. With no mentor, she suddenly finds herself in the middle of it, forced into fights before any preparation or training, forced to learn the force on her own. Got to get there so quick she even had her swerve towards the dark side already. She only meets her Obi-Wan at the very last moment of the film, after dismissing her Yoda. She's more an Anakin than a Luke, thought pleasantly less whiny.
6. Droids carrying plans, er, maps: OK. Got me. But that was a plot device to introduce your new favourite droid. Totally worth it, because BB-8 was much cooler. R2-D2 is an older model, so only has quarter the joke-per-second rate BB-8 has [slow sulky bleeps in the background]. (What did you think 8 stood for?)
6½. Han running into his debtors: That was three minutes of the original film, and that's if you're generous enough to include his meeting with that wonderful human being, Jabba (that scene wasn't there when I first watched that film). Here it was the second punchline to a joke and the excuse for a good fight with big scary monsters with tentacles. ANH didn't have a fight with big scary monsters with tentacles (for budget reasons, all but the tentacles and one eye were underwater).
What does a rathtar say when you tell them you've got something for them?
“I'm all teeth”
What was new and fresh:
7. Han/Leia, Han's journey and Han Solo's closure, and passing the torch: A surprisingly large portion of the film was about Han Solo. I don't think there was so much Han Solo in ANH, who was a man who hardly knew himself at the time. Not only did we complete his journey in a remarkable fashion, I think his final scene is my current favourite scene in a film ever. When the music stopped, and Rey/Finn gazed speechlessly, I thought I could feel the cold winter wind of Starkiller Base come into the theatre and give me the actual chills.
We spent a considerable amount of time exploring who older Han Solo had become, where Han and Leia had gone, and learn the sad story of their son. That comes closer to Luke/Vader in ESB than anything in ANH. And it was the second most important story after Rey.
8. Finn's journey: We followed the story of a former stormtrooper. From a cardboard weak-minded adversary, they got a human face. We learned about their misfortune, of the way they are recruited, conditioned and abused. And from there Finn goes on a journey that's rather unique for me in Star Wars. Knowing only the First Order, he's oblivious to most, and is finding his pace (surprisingly quickly).
We've gone deep exploring the the two sides of the story, something that the originals weren't bold enough to do until the second or even third film.
9. Extreme role juggling: Not sure where I wanna put this, but can we talk about a rehash when Rey is taking on the roles of C-3PO, Han Solo, Leia, Anakin and Luke?
If TFA is redoing ANH, I think it did an amazing job of capturing what it did well, doing it better, then doing what it never did until it made an experience that was quite unique and one that will probably make me go see it several more times.
I put on a big furry hat and declare: The Force Awakens is not a rehash of A New Hope. Those who disagree shall be locked in a room with Tarkin without a nasal numbing agent.
Spoilery thread alt-title: TFA is a rehash of ANH. Does J.J. Abrams have any originality left? Discuss.
----
I finally watched “A New Hope” again last night. I still can't believe how good that movie was.
However, I was surprised to discover two things about TFA: The suggestion TFA is a rehash of ANH is wildly exaggerated, and TFA is... well, the better one. I say that as a praise to both films, as for TFA to be better it had to stand on the shoulders of ANH, and, indeed, rehash a lot of it.
But not as much as it is claimed. I think I only thought of it as a copy because I didn't remember ANH well enough, or perhaps because I remembered it too well. While the journey is repeated in a way that's a little bit too similar, that still makes up for about half of the new film. I had forgotten how steady-paced the original was, carefully guiding you through the story. In comparison, “The Force Awakens” feels like a rollercoaster, and with several intermixed storylines that go way beyond what “A New Hope” did, in terms of themes explored, storylines opened and storylines closed. In the end, TFA is pretty much it's own film.
What was rehashed:
4. Starkiller base: I think there's some agreement that Starkiller Base is the biggest offender. I came close to considering not watching the film because of it. Yet... For its increase in size and strength, it had gone done in prominence. The Resistance were busy with it in the background, Han forgot it and confronted his son, Finn was more concerned with Rey and getting back at Phasma. Rey didn't seem to be aware of the destruction, Kylo Ren didn't care, Snoke was unmoved. From the central plot point it had been almost reduced to a location, and a plot device to prevent Rey from turning to the dark side.
When your death star has a snowy forest to have light sabres fights in, and giant squares to hold fascist rallies, it becomes something else. Neither it was a weapon of intimidation, Hux didn't wait to intimidate anyone, he directly destroyed his adversaries. We rather saw the face of the First Order brazenly and mercilessly killing billions, and the weapon was only the tool.
5. Rey/Luke's journey: Inevitably, this one had to be done over, as it was the only reasonable way to pass the torch. But I'll be damned if these weren't a completely different journeys they went on. Luke's your jolly farmer guy, planning to move on to the academy, friends with folks at the Rebellion. He's the chosen guy who gets a mentor to teach him the ways of the force and slowly takes him into the fight.
Rey's having an extremely hard life, fighting real hardship, having fantasies in the ruins of war, only dimly aware of the galaxy around her. With no mentor, she suddenly finds herself in the middle of it, forced into fights before any preparation or training, forced to learn the force on her own. Got to get there so quick she even had her swerve towards the dark side already. She only meets her Obi-Wan at the very last moment of the film, after dismissing her Yoda. She's more an Anakin than a Luke, thought pleasantly less whiny.
6. Droids carrying plans, er, maps: OK. Got me. But that was a plot device to introduce your new favourite droid. Totally worth it, because BB-8 was much cooler. R2-D2 is an older model, so only has quarter the joke-per-second rate BB-8 has [slow sulky bleeps in the background]. (What did you think 8 stood for?)
6½. Han running into his debtors: That was three minutes of the original film, and that's if you're generous enough to include his meeting with that wonderful human being, Jabba (that scene wasn't there when I first watched that film). Here it was the second punchline to a joke and the excuse for a good fight with big scary monsters with tentacles. ANH didn't have a fight with big scary monsters with tentacles (for budget reasons, all but the tentacles and one eye were underwater).
What does a rathtar say when you tell them you've got something for them?
“I'm all teeth”
What was new and fresh:
7. Han/Leia, Han's journey and Han Solo's closure, and passing the torch: A surprisingly large portion of the film was about Han Solo. I don't think there was so much Han Solo in ANH, who was a man who hardly knew himself at the time. Not only did we complete his journey in a remarkable fashion, I think his final scene is my current favourite scene in a film ever. When the music stopped, and Rey/Finn gazed speechlessly, I thought I could feel the cold winter wind of Starkiller Base come into the theatre and give me the actual chills.
We spent a considerable amount of time exploring who older Han Solo had become, where Han and Leia had gone, and learn the sad story of their son. That comes closer to Luke/Vader in ESB than anything in ANH. And it was the second most important story after Rey.
8. Finn's journey: We followed the story of a former stormtrooper. From a cardboard weak-minded adversary, they got a human face. We learned about their misfortune, of the way they are recruited, conditioned and abused. And from there Finn goes on a journey that's rather unique for me in Star Wars. Knowing only the First Order, he's oblivious to most, and is finding his pace (surprisingly quickly).
We've gone deep exploring the the two sides of the story, something that the originals weren't bold enough to do until the second or even third film.
9. Extreme role juggling: Not sure where I wanna put this, but can we talk about a rehash when Rey is taking on the roles of C-3PO, Han Solo, Leia, Anakin and Luke?
If TFA is redoing ANH, I think it did an amazing job of capturing what it did well, doing it better, then doing what it never did until it made an experience that was quite unique and one that will probably make me go see it several more times.
I put on a big furry hat and declare: The Force Awakens is not a rehash of A New Hope. Those who disagree shall be locked in a room with Tarkin without a nasal numbing agent.
