Wednesday 11 October 2017

#278 A new hope or a lot of simple tricks and nonsense?

The trouble with writing a post about the new Star Wars trailer is I don't know much about it. I can't say who Snoke is or if Luke is the last Jedi. I can't talk about all the differences of the new AT-AT walkers. So why write about it?

The philosophy intrigues. Something big is in store for the Jedi order. Once held aloft as a sensible Buddhist-like cause by its many real-world followers, is it shortly to be tossed into the waste paper basket along with capitalism, white males, jobs for life, fossil fuels and paper money?

The CGI looks good. I've been saying that about every single film that uses it since my childhood. I'm not even sure if CGI is the correct term anymore. The film has spaceships and lasers. As long as you can't see the strings, I'll be happy.

What's great about Episode VIII is there's a lot teeing it up. Mysterious comments in the prequel and trailer. Characters with irresistibly speculable backgrounds. It's a surprise waiting to happen.

One hope among many is that the new film isn't too much like Episode V. Is that realistic? We already know it contains Jedi training or similar. Every Star Wars film has some kind of battle at the end. A more grounded wish might be that at least there isn't another sodding Death Star.

Since Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012, the creation of the latest trilogy is by far the most significant development for the forty year old franchise. To some, it will remain significant almost regardless of how bad the films are but to many, the latest installments need to be watchable in their own right. This December, millions of fans will be queuing to be entertained. Let's hope they come out saying their cinema tickets were "worth the price we paid" and not  "This deal's getting worse all the time".

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