REWATCH REWATCH REWATCH

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…

Alex A 

Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens Trailer Impressions

On Friday 28^th November, we were treated to our very first look at JJ Abrams’ vision for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens in its 88 seconds of glory. And with over 40 million views in 3 days, you can bet that any doubts over whether there is a willing, big enough audience for the new trilogy have been pulverized and launched into space along with any Jar Jar Binks memorabilia. It generally seems to have become a hit with fans but what did we think of the teaser?

The first thing that struck me about the footage was how much I liked the new aesthetic Abrams had created. The shot of those 3 X-Wings flying across the lake with the beautiful snowy mountains serving as a backdrop was spectacular. In fairness, three spaceships flying over a planet in unison doesn’t exactly break any new grounds but, for the Star Wars universe, I felt like I hadn’t seen certain elements of this shot before, such as finding the right mix between CGI and physical effects - a general middle ground between the trilogy that we love and the three films that we loathe.

We were also introduced to a few new faces, even if we still haven’t got a clue about their characters, motivations, favourite colour etc. John Boyega kicked off the trailer with a very sweaty and stressed face, sporting a Stormtroopers uniform in a desert that we have to assume is Tatooine. We also caught our first glimpse of Daisy Ridley as she rode a very bulky looking speed bike through said desert – and that is pretty much it for confirmed new cast appearances in the teaser, I’m still weighing up in my mind whether the X-Wing pilot is Oscar Isaac so I will leave that to better people (well, less busy people).

Of course, how could I talk about the Star Wars teaser without referring to the mysterious voice over that sounds an awful lot like a certain Mister Cumberbatch. It is easily the most interesting element of the trailer and although he doesn’t sound like the nicest chap, I can not wait to find out who the villains are in Force Awakens. It just reinforced how little we know about the film and that is a great thing – I want to walk into the cinema and be genuinely surprised by what I’m seeing. I want the Khan revelation from Star Trek Into Darkness but, you know, actually surprising.

I was fairly non-chalant about most of the teaser trailer, even a bit pissed off with that lightsaber design (STOP FUCKING WITH THE LIGHTSABER!), until we came to the money shot – the Millenium Falcon! I got shivers down my spine as John Williams soundtrack blared and we saw the Falcon flying over Tatooine, doing some crazy acrobatics accompanied by two TIE Fighters for good measure. God, we missed you Millenium Falcon just wait until I tell you what they did to Darth Vader!

There wasn’t a lot to see for a first look at Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens but it did its job and left us wanting more. What did you think of the teaser? Sound your opinion off in the comments.