Want to revive a failing franchise? Want to breathe life into a brand that is on its last legs?
Abrams is your man.
In a stunning rumor yesterday, Abrams was supposedly announced as the director of the new Star Wars movie.
The rest of this post assumes that this is, in fact, true. It must be noted that this has not been confirmed by Disney, LucasArts or anyone officially involved in the movie.
Despite people's complaints about the miniscule things in his movies, I haven't seen a director give us so much excitement with a story and real, genuine characters.
For instance, take Super 8.
Honestly, I hadn't seen a movie THAT exciting since I saw Hook as a child. I'm very tough on movies, and I was very tough on Super 8. However the fluidity of dialogue and character development was such that I left the movie with a smile on my face, which is very rare.
What Abrams did for Star Trek was nothing short of a miracle. The series had been a joke in mainstream for decades, but Abrams somehow turned that joke into a genuine eye-popping adventure, catapulting stars like Chris Pine into A-list celebrities. Using the latest in amazing CGI technology, he throws us into the action of the plot. Many times, he doesn't even need to use special effects.
He is keen on building teams of make up artists, computer animators, producers, writers and actors to create a seamless story that literally has the ability to transcend time. (Super 8 was set in the 1970s, Star Trek in the 23rd Century.)
What we will see from an Abrams Star Wars
1. Character development
If we see Hamill, Fisher and Ford again, I have no doubt that their acting abilities will be pushed to the limit, and we'll see dramatic performances that will rival the original trilogy.
2. New characters played by decent actorsNo more trying to like bad actors, no more tolerance for Jar Jar. Abrams has never created a comedic character like Jar Jar. He was involved in Keenser's creation (the rock-wood alien from the 2009 Star Trek Movie), but Keenser was FUNNY and not a racist stereotype.
With any new characters, we'll see intense, amazing performances by actors with the gusto and gravitas to hold their own.
3. No racist stereotypes.It's often been commented that many of the second trilogy's aliens could be perceived as stereotypes. Abrams proved he can create strong characters that do not conform to any racist archetypes. (Uhura, Sulu, etc.) This is why he won the hearts of Trekkies with the reboot movie. He kept Rodenberry's original concept of evolution past racial profiles into humanity for humanity's sake.
4. The special effects will be better than the second trilogy.Abrams seems to know the balance between proper CGI usage and the actors. Star Trek, Super 8, Cloverfield and more prove this. We'll see more of our beloved ships, but they'll look so real that we'll have to pinch ourselves.
5. If we see force ghost Anakin, we'll probably see old man Anakin again.
That is worth a point all by itself.
6. We'll have that 'Star Wars' feeling back.Abrams has unabashedly said he has a deep respect for the Star Wars mythos, and I think he'll be much more careful with the Wars franchise in terms of its continuity.
7. Abrams will do what he wants and probably ignore the Expanded Universe.You might find this unsettling, but honestly it would be the best thing for the franchise.
8. Lens flares
Sorry, but we will see shakey cams and lens flares. While we don't be able to see any of the lightsaber battles because of this, we will get the feeling of panic that two crazy people are fighting with light swords
AND COMING RIGHT AT US!All this said, I can't wait. I trust Abrams to give us a good product, and I truly believe he will.
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