As we know from all kinds of art, themes and images resonate through time like reflections, and this is especially true when it comes to Star Wars. The idealism, the psychology, the conflicts internal and external; these are things that George Lucas played with like they were prisms and mirrors, giving a greater sense of depth and iconography to what on the surface was a simple fantasy story. JJ Abrams' The Force Awakens (Released April 11th on digital, April 18th on Blu-ray) follows this as did the three prequel chapters, albeit with an actual sense of emotional connection this time.
Episodes I and VII have a similar concept - both go back to a desert planet similar to Luke Skywalker; in The Phantom Menace it was still Tatooine, in Awakens, its analogue world Jakku. Both seek to emulate the pattern of the original film, although considering the "it's just a remake" cries from critics of the new film, Lucas' first prequel is just as guilty if more, right down to the victory parade that makes up the finale. But again, it's the re-occurance of images and themes, which in this case can easily be twisted to fit the narrative of whomever wants to either praise or criticise the given work.
But fuck that. Even with its flaws, Awakens is an experience great enough to make you forget that it was preceded by a middle trilogy. The basic parts are well-constructed; Lawrence Kasdan and Abrams' script is strong enough to provide a backbone for the huge task the film has to not only remind you of Star Wars but to reinvent it, and trusts the viewer enough to fill in the gaps without explicitly stating things, something which in this era of blockbusters is not at all a sure thing. The combination of practical effects and ILM's usual knockout CGI is a lovely thing and Dan Mindel's (film, not digital) cinematography has a somewhat rough texture to it that puts it firmly in a different generation than the glossiness of the prequels and the even rawer original trilogy.
But what will draw you in are the characters. Daisy Ridley's Rey is an instant classic, interestingly the opposite of Luke circa 1977 as all she wants to do is get back home, until the pull of adventure and making a real difference is too much. John Boyega's Finn also wants to get away from it all, especially as he has a First Order-full of stormtroopers on his tail, but again knows what he should be doing rather than what he's been told to do. And then there's Oscar Isaac's Poe, the Han Solo-esque rogue with a sense of adventure and cockiness as well as loyalty, an archetype very much missing from recent adventures.
And of course Han Solo is there himself, as well as Princess (General) Leia and Chewbacca, and we're all glad to see them, with a somewhat reluctant Solo in the mentor role. But again the new generation is what makes this movie, and we not only have BB-8 - an immediate fan favourite from his debut in that trailer so many moons ago and a wonderful combination of character and effects technology - and Adam Driver's Kylo Ren. What's interesting is how young Driver's villain is, and through his story, we learn not only what positions him as a somewhat tragic figure but also how it informs his terrifyingly unpredictable nature, driven by Driver's performance. It took three movies to see Darth Vader's real face but we see his acolyte's true visage early on, and Driver's fiery eyes and mix of arrogance and self-doubt gives a real dimension to the character.
There are some parts that seem perfunctory; the Rathtar scene is not terribly interesting and some of the pilot dialogue just seems to be there again as a callback to IV (same as the even worse pilot chat scenes in I), along with a couple of comedy moments that fall flat (Chewbacca's nurse is pretty irritating), but it's so much fun that you don't really care. So many images stand out as searing into the mind; the opening twist on the standard spaceship post-crawl shot as the gigantic monstrous new Star Destroyer blocks out the light of Jakku; the distant shot of Kylo Ren's shuttle landing amongst the flames where you see the true scale; Rey sliding down an embankment, clearly having fun, behind capital ship wreckage; the lightsaber flashback; the battle in the snow forest; and that final image of Luke Skywalker, clearly haunted and conflicted by seeing his weapon brought back to him.
Accompanying the film is a feature-length documentary, The Secrets of The Force Awakens, that charts the production from genesis to release. It's an essential companion to the film, not only with fantastic looks at the development of the film and the creation of the sets and effects and such, but also conversations with the cast and crew in different stages of production (at one point Ridley and Boyega are in a room together almost interviewing each other), and not only do you understand the incredible craft that produced this film but the love and dedication behind it. Gwendoline Christie tells us how she always loved Star Wars because she felt she fit in the world, Lupita Nyong'o hums the Imperial March as she films her motion-capture scenes, and we have all sorts of family members of those who worked on the original trilogy, along with ILM vet Dennis Muren who had a big hand in every episode so far.
Along with this are several deleted scenes, including one ('Maz's Tunnel') that is exclusive to the digital version. They're all pretty cool, but none of them add anything to the film and were rightly cut. We also have featurettes on the effects, the lightsaber battle in the snow (which incredibly was a set), the creature effects, and John Williams' wonderful score. So fairly substantial, although it does feel like a bigger set is probably in the offing, perhaps for when VIII comes out - hopefully in the vein of the huge Lord of the Rings sets.
But the biggest special feature is the film. As a fan since birth, it's been a painful journey full of mid-highs and depressing lows to have more filmic Star Wars that matches the original trilogy, and I guess it's maybe ironic that it finally happened without Lucas, but we all know of the collaborative nature on 77-83 that wasn't really the case on 99-05. Anyway, enough said - I'm off to watch it again.
- Charlie
When Mary Shelley published Frankenstein in 1818, she set a template for stories about man playing at being God that has lasted for nearly two centuries. Her doctor was concerned with the reanimation of man, an experiment which resulted in the earliest science fiction novel, asking big questions about man's place in the world, the nature of humanity and the way in which society's nurture can alter it. The inspiration for Ex Machina is clear as first-time director, long-time screenwriter Alex Garland remoulds Shelley's tale for the 21st century, melding her Romantic sensibilities and philosophical searching with a technological sheen that re-examines the age-old question of what makes us human.
The film finds a computer programmer, Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) winning the opportunity to spend a week in the company of his reclusive billionaire boss, Nathan (Oscar Isaac). As is so often the case, all is not what it seems and Caleb discovers he is to be the human component in a Turing test, the ultimate test to see if artificial intelligence can pass for being human and all that entails. The artificial intelligence in question is a humanoid construction called Ava (Alicia Vikander). As Caleb progresses through the test, he finds himself questioning everything he has been told so far and forming a curious relationship with the inquisitive Ava.
Meticulous in its construction, not a single word of Garland's screenplay is wasted, building the tension between the three leads beautifully as the story unfolds. It deftly combines exposition with the action itself and considering the subject matter, it neither belittles nor leaves its audience behind. Garland has an impressive track record with genre screenwriting anyway, but he more than proves himself as a director too, intricately building the claustrophobic world of Nathan's retreat. That world-building ensures that the film not only excels narratively, but thematically too.
The location and design of Nathan's house is a perfect microcosm of the way in which Ex Machina sets binary opposites together seemingly in harmony. Conversations about evolution and the natural world take place within a location that itself sees the meeting of the chaos of nature and the order of the modern world. Nathan's house is all clean lines and carefully arranged rooms with the natural world jutting in through a stylishly designed rock formation as part of a wall or a tree growing through into a small courtyard. Floor to ceiling windows allow its occupants to see out to the mountains, the forest and all of the impressive scenery beyond. The message of this house is clear; this is a place where nature is controlled and kept at bay, a fitting house for a man attempting to play God.
Ava, the figure at the heart of the film, is another example of this meeting of opposites. Impressively designed and realised via Vikander's performance, Ava is a combination of human features and metal bodywork, glimpsed through transparent panels on her arms, torso and legs. It is an uncanny version of humanity and Vikander captures both facets of the character masterfully, given her an almost mechanical physicality with a none-more human personality. The casting of Vikander also builds in a layer of objectification regarding both Caleb and Nathan's interaction with her; it's something Garland casts a critical eye over. It builds into a voyeurism at the heart of the film, one which not only casts Ava within the male gaze of Nathan and Caleb, but also the entirety of humanity. Nathan's search engine, Bluebook, can code and quantify human needs, constructed solely from the profile their use of the internet constructs.
Both starring in a certain blockbuster sequel later this year, 2015 looks set to be a big year for Isaac and Gleeson. In this smaller, confined world, Gleeson brings a wide-eyed naivety and a warm performance to the film. As the human component in the Turing test, his innate goodness filters through and he makes for a sympathetic narrative focus. It also helps that he has an exceptional chemistry with both Vikander and Isaac. Isaac may have broken through with the morose Llewyn Davis, but he proves his versatility here, giving a performance that is operating on several levels all at once. Mercurial, sinister and broodingly physical, he brings a masculine posturing to the film that produces an excellent counterpoint to Vikander's soft femininity.
Ex Machina is fascinating, multi-layered piece of work and Alex Garland's directorial debut is extremely impressive, combining thematic explorations with a chilling, twisting narrative. It's an intelligent new spin on a Frankenstein-like tale and will stand as an example of the kind of clever science fiction that enthrals and bewilders in equal measure.
- Becky
Follow @AssortedBuffery on Twitter
Or like our Facebook page
Everyone has a story when it comes to Star Wars, and I'm certainly no different. But unlike most folks', which begins with it being the first film they saw in the cinema and that kind of thing, mine at least starts a little differently. It began with snowspeeders.
I don't really know for sure if The Empire Strikes Back was the first film I ever saw, or if it was the original Star Wars, but one of my earliest memories is of a grainy stretched image of the aforementioned snowspeeders rocketing over the snow plains of Hoth. It was grainy and stretched because it was a pirated VHS - this was 1982 - with poor quality and stretched due to the aspect ratio not being adjusted as with pan and scan. This was not the ideal way to view the film, but nevertheless, from that moment onwards I was a rabid fan of that galaxy far, far away. And yes, the first film I saw in a cinema was a Star Wars movie (Return of the Jedi to be precise). Now one of the direct offshoots of the pirate experience was my love affair with Marvel's run of Star Wars comics, specifically their reprints in the UK.
Star Wars was a huge deal for Marvel, but at the time it almost wasn't a deal at all. With the original film seen as a low-budget B-movie that was a potential disaster, Lucasfilm's marketing team went out to try and make deals with all sorts of merchandise companies to create tie-ins to raise awareness of the forthcoming film. They were turned down by a lot of people (toy company Mego for one), as well as Stan Lee at Marvel, and it wasn't until editor Roy Thomas went to Lee and showed him what Star Wars potentially had both in terms of story, but also monetary value.
Funnily enough, it actually was seen by many as saving Marvel from going under. Marvel's run was a huge undertaking, with a revolving creative team of people like Carmine Infantino, Al Williamson, Mary Jo Duffy, Howard Chaykin, and Archie Goodwin, and introduced a vast number of colourful characters to the universe, as well as adapting the three movies of the original trilogy. The Marvel series in the UK was published weekly rather than the usual monthly comics cycle, and as such we got a quarter of a story per week, which wasn't brilliant but at least it felt like better value because it was 20p per day as well as being magazine-sized. Also notable were the titles: while the US comic run was simply known as "Star Wars", the title of the UK mag changed dependent on which film was out at the time, there for we had Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return Of The Jedi weekly, with the latter being the one my mother used to buy for me from Tesco.
So this is both a voyage of nostalgia and discovery, as I go back through Marvel's run seeing what holds up, what doesn't, and whether any of it is as good as it used to be. If you have an mp3 of the Fox Fanfare, you should play that now.
Issue #1 - #6 - STAR WARS
#1: Star Wars; #2: Six Against The Galaxy; #3: Death Star; #4: In Battle With Darth Vader; #5: Lo, The Moons of Yavin; #6: The Final Chapter?
The first six issues of Star Wars were devoted to the adaptation of the original film, by Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin and Steve Leialoha. Like many comic adaptations, it was quite different in places to the film due to the huge lead-in periods for these kind of things. You actually wonder which cut was viewed - some scenes are in a different order, notably the "Help I think I'm melting!" line from C-3PO, which was originally to happen aboard the blockade runner but was switched to the TIE fighter attack near the end - here, it's back at the beginning.
It's also full of scenes cut from the film, notably new material concerning Luke Skywalker. While much of this has now been seen on the blu-ray (with the more hardcore geeks seeing it on the Behind The Magic CD-ROM) including the infamous Biggs scene, this was a major thing, especially after everyone who read the comic saw the film. We also get a glimpse at Jabba the Hutt, although instead of the Scottish actor in a furry costume, we instead get a different alien in his place, and a bipedal one at that.
The comic has a weird feel, not in an especially bad way, but it doesn't really feel a hundred percent like Star Wars. It captures the space opera part of it, and there's a certain throwback to the pulp stories and old westerns, especially with the dialogue. It's interesting reading the comic and seeing new lines filled in the space before and after existing lines (although there's nothing to say they weren't in the script), especially when they're illustrative - the scene where Princess Leia is captured, you have the stormtrooper saying "Set for stun!" as in the film, but Leia replies with "I've set mine to KILL!" - and it has a neat effect of adding a new dimension to the film, especially if, like me, you've seen it trillions of times.
One thing the comic doesn't fare so well in is capturing the innocent fairytale spirit of the film. It was something that seemingly felt so effortless, and I have a feeling it's very much to do with John Williams' musical score. Star Wars has been described many times, not least by George Lucas, as a silent film, and it's right on the nose. But with that, Williams' music fills in the narrative and emotional blanks not covered by the visuals, so when you have those memorable sequences, like when Princess Leia gives the tapes to Artoo (which has a strange narrated part intimating that C-3PO thinks Leia is “probably beautiful by human standards”, or even the most iconic part, Luke looking at the twin suns, the music supports the film so the comic either adds in dialogue or narration, or in the case of the latter, excises it completely.
The artwork is a strange beast. Credited to Chaykin and Leiahola, sometimes as illustrators, sometimes with Chaykin as illustrator and Leiahola as “embellisher”, it often seems like they were given sections, as the style changes like the wind. I prefer Chaykin's, as it has a bit of a rougher style, but Leiahola's is perhaps more traditional. It's all relatively faithful, give or take a few things. Chewie always looks more like an ape, especially as they use two-tone to distinguish his facial features, and there's a weird TIE fighter pilot who, with his/her elongated helmet and ear muffs, looks right out of a Polish film poster. The Millennium Falcon suffers a bit as well, with most of its surface detail wiped out, kind of missing the point about the style of the ship.
I do enjoy Thomas' dialogue and narration - it's very brash and fits in with the film's fast-talking dialogue style. The narration is fun and has to support the story a lot, so there's little bits like “like angry mosquitos, the rebel fighters streak upward from their hidden hangars” and “the rebel leader spoke earlier of its one weakness which may be exploited if the space gods are kind”. My favourite is the final panel, where as the gang get their medals (we're actually told Chewie will get one but Leia isn't tall enough to put it on) and it ends with “What the future holds for these six daring souls, only time and the space-winds know. But, for today... for now... they are content.” Poetry.
There are a few other inaccuracies – Luke's call-sign is 'Blue Five', which was actually the same as in the novel by Alan Dean Foster. I have a feeling that somewhere along the line they changed it to red due to the high use of bluescreen, so it's understandable. Also, all the lightsabers are pink, which is a bit of an odd choice. I'm guessing they saw footage before it was rotoscoped, so again, I can understand it. However, there are two inappropriate kiss klaxons throughout the story, although again, back then Leia wasn't any relation to Luke so it's not a massive deal. However, it does try and play it a bit more romantic, where both kisses in the film (at the chasm and on Yavin) were pecks on the cheek, this is as hot and heavy as it gets. Pretty sure they were smoking afterwards.
It's not a bad start, really. I've seen better and worse movie adaptations, but it captures the swashbuckling nature of the film fairly well, and it's a fun read. It's strange to see characters and events that you've spent your life revisiting reinterpreted, and if I have a big criticism, it's that the characters maybe weren't distilled down enough, especially with Luke. This doesn't really feel like his story, more that he's just one of the gang, which is perhaps a bit of a cardinal sin. But like the original film, it's a jumping off point with a galaxy full of potential for all kinds of stories. Who knows what we'll see?
Next: New Planets, New Perils!
- Charlie
