Revisiting A Classic: The Star Wars Saga (Part Three, Episodes VII – IX)

Star Wars is the one go-to franchise for myself when I want to shut off the outside world and feel good. I’ve written about the original holy trinity (Episodes 4, 5 and 6) and the prequel trilogy (Episodes 1, 2 and 3)

But I haven’t as yet chatted about the third trilogy of films (Episodes 7, 8 and 9). So, here’s some quick, concise thoughts on this final act trilogy from a life-long fan!

Episode 7 - The Force Awakens

 OK… wait! Let’s set the scene a little first!

In 2012, the news broke around the world - George Lucas had sold his LucasFilm Ltd. for an undisclosed figure (estimated at $4 billion!)- so he retired! What this meant was Disney bought Star Wars and all other intellectual properties of LucasFilm (including Indiana Jones). 

Kathleen Kennedy - an established producer and well-known to fans of Lucas and Spielberg; the woman has literally produced dozens of modern day classics (such as ET, the Back To The Future trilogy, The Goonies, and the Jurassic Park films)- was appointed the Managing Director of the new Lucasfilm arm of Disney. That same time as the announcement of this sale, Disney announced that a new trilogy of Star Wars was going to be made! That was the news I had been wanting to hear for decades! Episodes 7,8 and 9! The fabled chapters of Star Wars- the continuing adventures of Luke, Leia and Han! Brilliant!

News came thick and fast that the original cast were returning. A photo was released of the cast at the first full read through. We waited….

2015. Episode 7 is released.

OK - first off the bat. Is The Force Awakens a bench mark, an all original adventure and continuation? Well, yes and no. But mostly no.

Now, I like JJ Abrams as a filmmaker- he’s made some cracking TV and films. I love Super 8 which is a love letter to Amblin and the 80s; also, the man and his team did the impossible in 2009 when they reinvented and recast the original bridge of the Enterprise. Star Trek was a respectful update of a franchise that pays respect to what came before. My point is, this filmmaker knows the genre and is a massive Star Wars fan. But, most importantly, he’s a damn good filmmaker.

So the plus points of Episode 7: the new characters are great – well, mostly two of them are great; Finn and Rey are both rounded, interesting characters. The set pieces and action are outstanding and, particularly important, there is the return of a large percentage of practical effects. The set design and cinematography all feel like the original holy trinity!  This episode also is very much great because of the return of writer Lawrence Kasdan (who wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark)!

Minus points? Well, Poe Dameron is a cardboard cutout of a ‘hero’ in this episode and pretty much pointless! Then there is the fact that the entire film mirrors Episode 4: A New Hope - lazy! I say lazy but mirroring story/plot points is a theme in Star Wars

In all, Episode 7 sets up some refreshing ideas, characters and a return to a galaxy far, far away. But I have to say the treatment of the original characters was not handled that well at all and I would have preferred to see the original characters be much more involved (Han Solo aside that is; he was back and played a massive part in the plot. Was I upset at his death? Yes, but at the same time, I understood it made sense for the story!)

Episode 8 - The Last Jedi

2017. So JJ Abrams did not return to the director’s chair, nor did Lawrence Kasdan to write this episode. I was a little worried- but surely there is an outline for Episodes 8 and 9 by Abrams and Kasdan? Must be… it’ll be fine… They announced the writer/director: Rian Johnson (whose main credit up to that point was the sci-fi film Looper, which, I’m sorry to say, my opinion of that film is- politely put- pants!) So again, I was worried!

The film releases to critics hailing it the second coming, saying it’s the best Star Wars since The Empire Strikes Back! Well, all I can say is- what are they watching? It cannot be this awful, embarrassing pile of crap!

Johnson threw out any outline from the people who started this trilogy. He then goes ahead and makes a film that is a mess. It has all the action you expect, but it has way too much humour (and I mean slapstick levels of embarrassing moments and stupid jokes at inappropriate moments of drama)! The way the character of Luke is handled is just… well yeah, unforgivable! The subplot that finds Finn hurtling around the galaxy with a new character- Rose- is just pointless and utterly tragic on how tedious it is. 

The main plot is also tedious- Leia (played by the late Carrie Fisher) is wasted and again ‘legacy’ characters are either underserved or written terribly. The reveals of Rey’s parents in under whelming, Snoke being killed off makes no sense! The whole film is style over substance, and I could slag it off for hours.

Positives - The end scenes with Force projection Luke is great. Yep, that’s it!

Negatives – The other 90% of the film! It takes a massive dump on the fandom, what’s canon and basically isn’t a Star Wars film- it’s a cheap knock off (and again, Poe Dameron is basically useless and spends the entire film whingeing)!

So… all hope was lost - this was the start of a turbulent time as a Star Wars fan! 

Rogue One had been released December 2016, it was a massive success and now that’s the best Star Wars film since Empire! But there were rumours of reshoots and a change of director during reshoots and post-production on that film - hindsight, and the fact that the original director (Gareth Edwards) hasn’t worked since 2016 can tell you a lot. But that was a success.

The Last Jedi is loved by critics- but importantly fans are divided, with a lot of diehard fans hating it!

They announce that Colin Trevorrow (who made the fourth Jurassic Park film) was working on the script and would be directing Episode 9. OK, I thought, at least the hack from Episode 8 won’t be involved! But again, I was a little worried as Jurassic World stank and was very much a carbon copy of Jurassic Park!

They also had troubles on the next Star Wars story - the original directors were Chris Miller and Phil Lord, who had made The Lego Movie! I mean… what? Who are you hiring to make these films?! Well, they were fired at about 50% the way through filming. Kathleen Kennedy hires Ron Howard (finally a director with a clue and talent) to complete and reshoot the film! Then they released Solo in May 2018 and that doesn’t do well in the box office. 

I liked Solo. It was a by-the-book prequel and the actors who played the younger version of loved characters were great. And the cameo villain at the end? Bravo! Kudos! It all felt like Star Wars - but I think too much of a good thing was what this franchise was and is suffering from! I mean from 1977 to 2015, we had 6 films (six films in 28 years). From 2015-2020, five films in five years. That’s oversaturating your fanbase! Plus, releasing Solo in May 2018 was a stupid idea - there had been less than five months since The Last Jedi stank the cinemas out!

But… there was a new hope! Colin Trevorrow is out (which makes three directors replaced in the last 3 films) and JJ returns! Oh, hope of hope… oh wait, Kasdan isn’t coming back. They’ve got the guy who wrote Batman V Superman… Oh... Wait, he did write Argo as well! OK, all’s not lost then!

Episode 9 - The Rise Of Skywalker 

2019. This is the final film in what Disney has dubbed The Skywalker Saga. I rewatched it today on its BluRay release and it is the third time I’ve seen it.

It’s absolutely fantastic. It is fan service- but it’s the final episode. The film manages to bring to an end not only the complete nine films and also deliver a cracking third act of a trilogy. The film comes in at a staggering two-and-a-half hours, but the speed of the plot is fantastic; action, adventure - everything you want from Star Wars.

Better still is the return of Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine - this is genius writing, that retcons all of the damage of The Last Jedi and links back to the prequel trilogy (with the story of Darth Plagueis who found a way to cheat death)! Also returning- finally- is the great Billy Dee Williams as Lando - again though, he’s underused!

The films characters are well paid off. Rey’s journey and twists are perfect, Finn shines as a hero and Poe Dameron finally becomes a useful interesting character. I especially loved the bigger inclusion of C3PO in the main core team of heroes. Kylo Ren is a very modern complex villain and is a tour de force of how to make a multilayered character. What was so well done is how the filmmakers managed to have Princess Leia in the film using audio and unused footage from other films! Carrie Fisher is missed but the film is as if she were there to film the scenes! Truly well crafted!

This is how you make a Star Wars film - tragedy, adventure and a very strong villain. Plus, the humour is balanced correctly! I could gush on how great a film this is - but I’ll stop.

Rhys

Review: Murder On The Orient Express (UK Cert 12A)

One of Agatha Christie's best known and best-loved novels, Murder On The Orient Express was first published in 1934. Forty years later, an all-star cast brought the story to life. Now, 43 years later, another all-star cast assemble to tell a new version of the story, with Kenneth Branagh pulling double-duty as director and as the famous Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot. 

After solving a case in Jerusalem, Poirot is asked to return to London and asks his friend, Monsieur Bouc, to find him a berth on the Orient Express. There's one place available which Poirot takes. Whilst on the journey, he is approached by Samuel Ratchett, an American businessman, who asks Poirot for protection as he has been receiving death threats. Poirot turns the offer down. That night, the train gets stuck during an avalanche whilst travelling through Yugoslavia. The following morning, Ratchett is found dead. Stabbed to death multiple times. With many suspects and only a short amount of time before the avalanche is cleared and the Yugoslav authorities get involved, Poirot must follow the clues and find out who wanted Ratchett dead- and who struck the fatal blows. 

This is going to sound like a very backhanded compliment but I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable I found this new version of Murder On The Orient Express. I had my doubts that this would be just a pale imitation of Lumet's star-studded 1974 film (and comparisons are inevitable). This film beats its own path- sometimes successfully, sometimes not. 

Branagh's Poirot is a very different one than any seen before; he doesn't try and ape Ustinov or Finney or Suchet. Poirot's famed fastidiousness is played up here (expecting exactly the same sized eggs at breakfast or asking people to straighten their ties) but he provides a thoughtful and occasionally funny performance. Sadly though, the massive walrus moustache is a misstep. It's a little distracting. 

The rest of the cast are also very strong. Michelle Pfeiffer is excellent as the flighty and flirty Mrs Hubbard, whilst Derek Jacobi provides a strong supporting turn as Ratchett's butler Mr Masterman. Daisy Ridley is great as former governess Mary Debenham and there's an interesting casting choice with Leslie Odom Jr. as Dr (not Colonel) Arbuthnot. Despite a slightly strange English accent, he's pretty good- and it also shows some of the period's attitude to race (which adds an extra dimension). Penelope Cruz is good as missionary Pilar Estravados (changed from Greta Ohlsson), whilst Josh Gad adds a fine turn as Ratchett's secretary McQueen. Johnny Depp is oleaginous and unpleasant as Ratchett- so does his job well of getting the audience to hate him before he's offed. Willem Dafoe is also good as Gerhard Hardman, a stuffy Austrian professor. 

Several of the characters are not sketched out as well, which is a shame- Judi Dench hasn't got much to do as the aged Princess Dragomiroff (but what she does, she does well; hell, she's Judi Dench- she could make a takeaway menu sound like Keats). Similarly, the brilliant Olivia Colman doesn't get a lot as the Princess' dour ladies-maid. The Count and Countess Andrenyi (played by ballet dancer Sergei Polunin and Lucy Boynton respectively) barely feature, although both are strong when they do appear. There's also been some jiggery-pokery with some other minor characters, like the car salesman (who now goes by the name of Marquez). 

This is a handsome-looking film. The production design, the costumes, and the cinematography are all to be commended. There are some lovely long sweeping takes of the train as it travels through the countryside and there's some interesting shots which follow characters walking through the coach. There's an over-reliance on a few types of shot (they seem keen on showing people reflected through glass) and some intriguing decisions made on some shots (for instance, you don't immediately see Ratchett's body when it's discovered). 

There's quite a few bits that have been added which don't really serve much of a purpose except to break up what must have been considered the monotony of people talking in a room. So there's a section where one suspect flees the train to burn some incriminating evidence, another confronts Poirot with a gun; none of it needed and- if anything- for me, it detracted from the film. You've got scintillating actors, a strong story, a pretty good script- you don't need to add these bits in! Not everyone who goes to the cinema has the attention span of a fruit-fly. 

The solution to Murder On The Orient Express is one of the best-known in all of crime fiction (pretty much second to 'the butler did it') which can rob the denouement of some of its power. That said, even if you know the solution going in, the performances as Poirot lays out the facts are very strong even though (another baffling decision) it takes place in a railway tunnel.

There was a lot I liked about the film, and a few things I didn't. There was a lot of unnecessary tinkering which was a bit irksome, but the opulent design of the film and several of the performances win over. All said though, it's a pretty decent stab at a thrilling story. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Tez