OFFICIAL NEWS * THE OFFICIAL * JJ ABRAMS THREAD

Earlier in this thread I remember someone linked a video that critiqued Abrams Directing style in a negative light... but after I watched the video & have payed attention to "problems" in his directing technique, I found it not to be problematic at all (in particular his drastic close ups... all sorts of directors do extreme close ups. I kinda like that... one example is Spielberg's Minority Report when he filmed the Precog & Cruise embracing while facing opposite directions).

I also watched Mission Impossible 3... FAR superior to the previous films by a large margin. I fell asleep when watching MI 2.

 

I have one major criticism of J.J... during the editing of The Force Awakens it seems that he developed Ridley Scott's weakness: "If it isn't really important, cut it!" and when you start lopping at minor scenes all over the place.. the movie then loses the depth that the set designers, creature designers and so on wanted to bring with the practical elements. We simply don't have enough time to absorb what is going on, and I just wanted the movie to SLOW DOWN before it hit the half-way mark. The First Order seemingly moves around at lightspeed 100% of the time, Luke's lightsaber was too easy for Rey to find.. We didn't have enough scenes inside the Starkiller base, it actually felt SMALLER than the Death Star when we were onboard.. because there weren't many sets or there seemingly wasn't much variation to the different parts of the base. It feels to me that almost all my problems with the movie would be fixed with an extended cut. Ridley Scott MURDERED Prometheus with his lumberjack approach to editing. So yeah.... hopefully we get an extended cut and hopefully Rian Johnson brings the stillness back.

 

Abrams is always in a g-damn rush he just can't help himself it's over-caffeinated. Script was very likely way too long.

Yeah the shots-per-minute average is higher than the OT which makes it often not feel like a Star Wars movie and it's more difficult to absorb the environments they spent all this money and time on crafting. It also affects the scoring by John Williams of the movie.

 

It's all about pacing. I don't think it damage SW TFA. We still can feel scope, appreciate artwork, ect)
Prometheus has some alt scenes which may work better.

 

and this is why Williams held back. Williams is very reactive to the quality of the film-making he's working with.. and often he'll only pull out the heavy themes when he himself becomes bored during certain scenes. He uses music to distract from the movie during slower, less eventful moments.. and The Force Awakens is so energetic all the time that the music had to take a backseat - otherwise it would have been too overwhelming.

However, I always felt that if any movie should have had a minimum of Williams music, it should have been TFA. They made a good decision there.

 

Yes! Correct!

 

They never should have let him write.

 

He shouldn't have wrote or directed this film. He cut the film because he wanted it to be action packed. Star wars is NOT about the action its about the characters.

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I think the characters are quite compelling

 

Finn was the only good character IMO i hated Kylo Ren , Rey bores the blast out of me and Poe's barley in the film so i don't have an opinion on him.

 

While I disagree with your opinions on Rey and Kylo I respect your opinion. Poe is one that, although not in much of the movie, I liked. I hope, and suspect, that we will see more of him in VIII. I liked the Finn as well.

 

I think J.J. is a very good director, but his track record has shown that whenether he writes something... it has issues. I believe this movie would have felt as cohesive and solid as Return of the Jedi if Michael Ardnt was given the time he needed.

I was excited.. it was like "Michael Ardnt is writing! J.J. is directing!" and I thought wow this is perfect. J.J. can focus on the filming, getting good performances out of the actors (he showed he could do this with Super 8) and Michael Ardnt can craft something which fits into the Star Wars world, akin to what he did with Toy Story 3.

But no... JJ's ego had to flare up and jump in for a writing credit when Ardnt said he needed more time. "Nope! Quick we need to get to the next moment! WE NEED TO GET TO THE NEXT SCENE! NO TIME FOR BREATHING!"

RIAN JOHNSON will be the new Lucas before anybody else. I HOPE Rian Johnson and Michael Ardnt will end up being the masterminds behind the saga for years to come. TFA was a rushed production, it is the Alien 3 of the Star Wars saga in my opinion.

 

Look at all of JJ's tv and film work. All have good beginnings but they all have unsatisfactory and disappointing endings, usually caused by overcomplicated "mystery" elements. TFA is no exception either.

 

That's not what happened.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 31, 2015, Original Post Date: Dec 31, 2015 ---

It's a trilogy, there is still a lot of mystery to be addressed in the next few films & I thought the ending was satisfactory. I got the chills when I saw Luke... I hated the rumor of only seeing Luke for the last 5 seconds of the film but in the grand scheme of things he made the right call.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 31, 2015 ---

Let me put it this way... the ending was far more compelling than the awards ceremonies/ celebrations we got in 3 of the other films.

 

Finn was the worst of the characters.

Kylo was easily the most interesting of the new characters.

--- Double Post Merged, Dec 31, 2015, Original Post Date: Dec 31, 2015 ---

Rian Johnson is who will truly resurrect this franchise.

 

I don't want to seem pessimistic....but why does everyone have so much faith in Rian Johnson? I feel as though he has the means to do well...

but people are already practically saying he is better than JJ...when the only notable film he has done, imo, is Looper...which, while I enjoyed it, was mediocre at best, and a few Breaking Bad episodes...

What makes him Star Wars material? I apparently need someone to break this down for me.

Like I said...I feel like has great potential to do well...but some of the random support seems like a lazy way to discredit JJ.
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As far as pacing is concerned...all 3 OT had different pacing...and while I love ANH, it is rated last of the 3 because the pacing was often slow and boring, imo.
Many films in the past have also proven that you can build a character while keeping a good pace...and this movie does that well.
This movie is not a war movie, by any means....so it isn't too flooded with action, imo. The deus ex machina in the film, events leading to events, and quick and sweet action sequences hearken back to the OT. There are many scenes I had the same feeling as some of the OT. Example:


Han an Chewie are home! - We are carrying dangerous creatures - Dudes want their money! - Wrong FUSE!!!
Fly away - find a cave - mynoks on the cockpit - this isn't a cave!


I personally feel that the most interesting movies to me focus on 3 things simultaneously: (Which I find this movie(s) does, and will keep doing, well)
1. Good Pacing (something is always happening. Scenes end and begin at the beginning and end of important events)
2. Character Development (You should always see a character grow, diminish, show their strengths, weaknesses, and interact differently among various characters)
3. Action (Action is when scenes are actively doing something to drive the plot and/or build characters. This isn't always a lightsaber or blaster fight. This is arguments, conflict, adventure, struggle. This can be done while developing a character. A character doesn't have to be running to have action. It goes hand-in-hand with pacing and development. Big Lebowski sitting in Lebowski's office asking for a rug back is action. The rebels sitting around a holocron planning their method of attack is action. They are actively doing something to drive the plot and/or build characters)

I identify with a movie not meeting every taste a person may have...it's why some love and some hate movies. Star Wars has always been accepted by a larger amount than normal. See something you don't like? Well someone else might love it and hate something you loved about it. That is the beauty of it. Focus less on ways to bully the writers and directors of movies, and focus more on what you do like in a film. Ignore anything you find to be crap...I feel like this is important with more than just movies. Seems as though, the older I get, the more people just hate things. Everything is stupid. Everyone is stupid. Everything is bad because it didn't tickle their nipples right...

I loved TFA. I loved the OT. Shoot me....I even loved parts of the PT. Sam L. Jackson and Liam Neeson rocked my socks. Ewan McGregor did great as well. Yes...there is a lot I hate...and I pretty much fast-forward through 60% of E.1, 92% through E.2, and 36% through E.III...but I like to focus on the things I do like...and not the parts I dislike.



TLR : JJ did well. Even if you don't like all of it...if you say you didn't like a majority of it...I call you a liar. Stop nitpicking and have fun...or you'll end up like him:

 

After seeing "The Force Awakens", I now realize that J.J. Abrams is NOT an innovative filmmaker. Not by a long shot. His greatest talent seemed to be creating original television shows before abandoning them and directing movies that seemed to border on plagiarism. I hate to be that negative about him. But the writing seemed to be on the wall. Worse, I just watched "Looper" last night, which was written and directed by Rian Johnson. It was better than any movie Abrams ever directed. I only hope that Johnson will bring his talent for innovation to the STAR WARS franchise . . . something that Abrams failed to do.


Finn was the worst of the characters.

I thought Finn was the best character in the movie. His presence was the only sign that Abrams is actually capable of originality.

 

*cough* PREQUELS *cough*