It was recently announced by Disney that, following the
removal of Colin Trevorrow (for having a Death Star-sized ego and being
simultaneously clueless, according to rumours), JJ Abrams will be taking over
the director’s reigns for Star Wars: Episode 9. Something that’s already got
the internet abuzz, with hashtags and even petitions for removal—but against
the Galactic Empire-sized juggernaut that is Disney, that’s all but a blip. So,
as another random schmuck trying to second-guess bunillion-dollar media
corporations, what do I think of this?
Like many, I watched the Star Wars films at a young age (it would’ve
been the 1997 Special Editions for me—yeah, I grew up with Han Shooting First,
bite me), and they had a profound impact on me, just beyond getting me into
scifi. I still have memories of attempting to play X-wing on my old iMac, that,
thanks to me using a mouse, mostly left me dizzy, and, of course, getting
caught up in the hype for Phantom Menace along with everyone in ’99. I could
write a whole other post about my relationship with the franchise, but let’s
just take it up to the first instalment released under Disney’s stewardship,
2015’s The Force Awakens.
And…I enjoyed it fine. As it’s own film, mind you—the
characters are fun and have decent chemistry, the effects and visuals were
spectacular, and it has that kinetic sense of exuberance Abrams can pull off.
The jokes landed, the actors were vested, the pace was fast…though the plot
itself was more frustrating. Yeah, it’s pretty much young heroes from desert
planets and round planet destroying giant left nut superweapons all over
again—and while there are a few distinct elements, they were sort of pushed
aside.
In fact, some of it outright gives the original trilogy a
kick in the teeth—Luke’s dreams of restoring the Jedi are dashed just so we can
have another single chosen one, the rebellion’s victory proves moot, and Leia
and Han’s relationship proves for nought. From the DVD commentary, Abrams
doesn’t seem to see the film as a continuation of the same story, so much as a
reboot that just so happens to vaguely take place in the same universe—like the
Super Mega Death Star being present because, according to him, ‘that’s the sort
of thing you expect in a story like this’.
Some say this was all for Disney to prove it could bring
back the classic feel of the series because of Lucas’s prequels leaving a sour
taste in some people’s mouths. Understandable to an extent—but at the same
time, Episode 7’s struggle to move beyond said classics makes me appreciate the
prequels a little more. Oh sure, they’re still rife with stilted dialogue and
acting, but at least Lucas went with a different approach of a galactic
political thriller—even if it was realized, erm, unevenly.
But does that mean I hate the film? No, and I don’t mind rewatching
it here and there—like I said, for a popcorn flick in space, it’s still a decent
ride. Abrams knows how to craft a blockbuster better than the likes of Bay or
Snyder, frankly, and that’s also why I’m ambivalent about him coming back. It’s
not like he can just redo A New Hope yet again, and I’m not sure he’d have the
same nostalgia for Return of the Jedi, which is generally considered the weakest
of the originals. A lot of it depends on how The Last Jedi turns out—and that’s
one I’m looking forward to, having enjoyed director Rian Johnson’s last major
outing with Looper.
There’s also the matter of script—Abrams is co-writing
Episode 9 with Chris Terrio, who also worked on Batman v Superman. I can
already hear you groaning, but on the other hand, a lot of that film’s fault was
probably down to Zack Snyder, since Terrio also worked on the much better
received Argo. If Terrio turns in a solid, satisfying script to complement Abram’s
frentic direction…perhaps we’ll get something good to round out this trilogy
after all.
Ultimately, with Force Awakens delivering two billon dollars
for The Mouse, from a business standpoint Abrams was a natural choice, having
already proven himself and possessing a long Hollywood resume. I hope he
chooses a story to stand on it’s own than merely to recreate what we
experienced in 1977—Rogue One, by Gareth Edwards, proved you can revisit the
classic style of Star wars while telling a new kind of story we haven’t seen in
the film series, and it’s a flick I found more fulfilling than Force Awakens when
all is said and done. As an aside, I’m not honestly looking forward to the Han
Solo movie, seeing it as unnecessary in the first place, and the reports of
clusterfucks on sets aren’t helping.
So, I’ll sit on the fence for now—if a tight storyline is
all ready, I can see what JJ puts out. But if reports come out of Starkiller
II, which is two planets joined together between a giant Star Destroyer, which
of course is totally original because it’s bigger, I might have to look forward
to the inevitable spinoff about Jar Jar’s FOX News career instead.
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