Sometimes,
it can be really bloody hard not to get yourself too hyped up after seeing a
spine tingling trailer for an upcoming film. You only have to look as far as
the measly one and half minute Star Wars teaser trailer to see how much people
hype and over-estimate their favourite films. We allow our inner optimistic
some much needed and long overdue exercise time, as we let our imaginations run
wild with the best things we can imagine being in a modern Star Wars movie.
And that’s
great, sometimes the chase is more satisfying than the capture as we enjoy the
speculation and rumours more than the finished product but when we finally come
to judging the film, we can leave ourselves feeling deflated and let down that
The Millennium Falcon didn’t do quite as many barrel rolls as one might come to
expect. Which is why, to gain an accurate perspective on a film’s quality, it
is paramount that you re-watch multiple times.
You could go
to the cinema on Force Awaken’s opening day, your wildest Star Wars
expectations smuggled in your jacket with your illegal sweets, and leave
bitterly disappointed. The film could be good, hell it could even be great, but
we all have our own unqiue perspectives on what Star Wars should be and The
Force Awakens couldn’t possibly fulfill EVERYONE’S expectations.
This is
where the second viewing comes in. You now know what to expect when you pay
your extortionate ticket prices and sit down in that soda stained cinema seat.
Sure, you know the plot and there are no more surprises in terms of reveals or
mysterious characters but you go into this re-watch with your expectations
curbed, ready to just enjoy a (hopefully) great Star Wars movie. That character
that you didn’t quite like in your first watch because he isn’t who you thought
he would be; now you find him endearing and magnetic. Sometimes, enjoying a
good film is about perspective.
The multiple
watch system works both ways, and you can find yourself going into a movie
wanting it to be great so bad that you instinctively ignore and push past the
obvious shite that you are watching. For example, and I’m a little ashamed to
admit this, on my first watch of Amazing Spider-Man 2, I came out of the cinema
buzzing from having seen a fun Spider-Man movie – I knew there were faults but
I was ready to defend the film against anyone questioning its overall quality. Then
I watched it for a second time.
And I barely
got through the film again. It was 60 minutes when I first started checking my
watch, which I continued to do for the next hour and forty minutes until the
credits finally rolled. ‘How could I have been so blind!?’ I thought to myself,
‘this film is an absolute fucking mess’. My bias for Spider-Man got in the way
of me judging the quality of a film – I wanted it to be good so bad, and I felt
everything was in place for Amazing Spider-Man 2 to build successful on the
solid foundations lay down by its predecessor. I got caught up in my own lofty
expectations, as well as the speeding hype train that subsequently derailed
spectacularly in a turn of events that led to Spider-Man joining the Marvel
Cinematic Universe (yay!).
It’s almost
impossible not to get caught up in the marketing campaigns that blockbuster
films like Star Wars and Avengers have these days, with their trailers and
advertising material specifically tailored to get you pumped for their film.
You can’t escape it so take the appropriate steps to make sure you judge the
film in the way it deserves to be judged. Watch the film a second time with
your lofty expectations left in your other coat. It might reveal something
surprising…
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