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**DaneMcCloud** · 09-13-2017, 10:04 AM

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkai.../#2cf8684a4df2

Here Are 5 Things J.J. Abrams Must Not Do In 'Star Wars: Episode IX'

The big news today is that Star Wars: Episode IX will be written and directed by J.J. Abrams. Abrams replaces Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) and once again takes up the reins of the classic space opera franchise. This has been met with one of two reactions: On the one hand, industry observers like my colleague Scott Mendelson rightfully point out that this is the safest bet Disney could have made.

Logically speaking, this is a reasonable choice. As much as I would have preferred that Kathleen Kennedy and friends hire a woman and/or minority filmmaker to take over, at this point getting someone that all parties knew could work together to make that Memorial Day, 2019 release date was of paramount importance. Sure, they could have moved Star Wars 9 to December 2019, but that would have conflicted with Frozen 2's Thanksgiving release. And why risk your biggest female cash cow for your biggest male cash cow, especially now that both have female protagonists? On the other hand, the internet has exploded with jokes and legitimate concerns over Abrams returning to helm the film. While The Force Awakens was widely regarded as a good movie, it faced some very legitimate criticism over being too much of a rehash of A New Hope. And Abrams has faced even stiffer criticism over his handling of the new Star Trek films.

I'm sympathetic to both sides in this case. Abrams is a capable filmmaker who consistently puts out fun, entertaining movies. I was a big fan of The Force Awakens in spite of its shortcomings. On the other hand, I'd have loved to see a new director take the lead on this one. And by new, I mean someone who really does have fresh ideas. Both Rian Johnson (The Last Jedi) and Gareth Edwards (Rogue One) fit this bill nicely, and I can just spitball other directors I'd love to see tackle a Star Wars film, from Alex Garland (Ex Machina) to Ryan Coogler (Creed) to Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman) or Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break.) One of my favorite recent films was Baby Driver which Edgar Wright directed. He's already worked with Disney on Ant-Man, one of my favorite Marvel films. So there's lots of other choices that would have been more exciting than yet another Abrams-helmed Star Wars film.

But now that it's a done deal, we'll have to live with it. So let's take a look at a few of the things Abrams really needs to avoid in the latest trilogy's hopefully amazing finale.

1. No more Death Stars. Seriously. Please.

"Star Wars" may be a misnomer at this point. I'm tempted to call the series "Death Stars." Two of the first three movies featured Death Stars, and The Force Awakens introduced us to yet another incredibly vulnerable weapon of mass destruction with Starkiller Base. It was even more destructive than the Empire's death orbs, but just as easily taken down in the end. This is not only bad storytelling, it's poor strategic planning on the part of the series' villains, equivalent to putting all of one's death eggs in the same death basket.

It's also emblematic of the most poignant criticism of The Force Awakens: That it was too much like A New Hope. And while I'm okay with it being similar to A New Hope in structure as well as thematically, there's no doubt it came a little too close in many ways. I actually think that Episode IX should mirror Return of the Jedi to some degree. The prequels (however poorly made) attempted to mirror a similar arc as the original trilogy, and these new films probably ought to as well. What that means for Rey and Kylo Ren in particular is hard to say, but I'm fascinated by the possibilities. But dear lord, please don't give us another Death Star. I don't think I can take it. There are so many other ways to convey the power of the Dark Side and the villainy of the enemies than to have a giant space station of doom that ultimately ends up getting blown up by a rag-tag band of rebels. This part of the story has been told. Let it go.

2. Don't make our heroes too over-powered. Rey was over-powered in The Force Awakens.

I don't agree that Rey was a so-called "Mary Sue" in The Force Awakens, but there's no denying that the movie glossed over some potentially important plot beats and made her and the good guys way too over-powered for the first film. The problem with this is it kills tension, and good films are often good precisely because of the tension they evoke. When Rey can suddenly go toe-to-toe with Kylo Ren, after only just learning she had the Force, it kills tension. And while there may be a very good explanation for this, we certainly didn't get it in the film itself leaving us to just speculate. When you have over-powered protagonists, you risk taking all the wind out of a story's sails. One of the great joys of the first two Star Wars films was just how much Luke screwed up. Yes, he did come through in the end in A New Hope, taking out that damned Death Star (thanks to the crew of Rogue One and a little help from the Force) but before that he was often as not a liability. And even the powerful Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi fell to Vader's lightsaber (albeit intentionally.)

In Empire Strikes Back Luke was a more seasoned fighter and pilot, but he still had trouble being as patient as Yoda required in his training, and ultimately left that training early to go save his friends, nearly costing him his own life (he got away with just losing a hand.) Vader beat Luke handily in that fight, making their final confrontation in Return of the Jedi all the more important. But even in Return of the Jedi, Luke was no match for the Emperor. It was only Vader's change of heart that saved the day, not Luke's prowess as a Jedi. This is why it's so important to give characters flaws, shortcomings and overwhelming odds, and to make something like a change of heart---the final blossoming of love for a son---more powerful than a Sith Lord.

3. Star Wars isn't just an action movie.

This leads us to our next point. Abrams films some amazing action sequences. There's simply no denying the brilliance of The Force Awakens' action. But Star Wars needs to be more than just a great action movie (and the same can be said, perhaps even more strongly, with regards to Star Trek.) This is another point of worry for many now that Abrams is back in the director's chair for Episode IX. Abrams makes enjoyable action movies with fun characters but there's often little beneath the surface and there really, really needs to be. What made the original Star Wars trilogy so brilliant and such a timeless classic wasn't the special effects (though at the time they were considered amazing) and wasn't the big action scenes, though there were many great scenes, from space dogfights to the entire sequence on Endor to the brilliant lightsaber duels.

All of these, however, would have been empty without incredible characters who we came to know and love. This is a much harder thing to achieve in a film than crafting a fun action scene. I think Abrams absolutely has it in him, but in order for it to really work we need to give our characters interesting conflicts, shortcomings and passions. Han Solo was an irascible yet lovable rogue whose idea of flirting was about on par with a junior high student's. His banter with Leia was almost always confrontational, and it was from this almost childish flirtation that a deeper love grew. Meanwhile, the story of Luke discovering that the Big Bad was his father and ultimately making it his goal not to kill Vader, but to save him...well, this is what made Star Wars so wonderful. And the prequel trilogy tried, and failed, to do something similar with the fall of Anakin.

This is where both The Last Jedi and Episode IX need to shine. They must go beyond the action movie genre and be about something deeper and more profound.

4. Be careful with the CGI.

A Force Awakens had pretty good CGI. In some scenes you'd never know that those Storm Troopers were just CGI models and not real people in costume. In others, however, the CGI was all too apparent. Maz Kanata is a good example of this but I'm more worried about Supreme Leader Snoke for the next two films. He just looks...too cartoony for me. Actually, Rogue One was the biggest offender when it comes to CGI shenanigans. If Grand Moff Tarkin had looked that good in a video game, I would have sung the SFX team's praises. But he still looked like a CGI person surrounded by real people in the movie.

I love that Abrams opted for more practical effects in The Force Awakens, and that the use of CGI was by and large pretty sober (especially compared to Lucas in his prequel films.) But even slight oversteps can become glaring sore spots in an otherwise enjoyable picture like Rogue One. So be careful with the CGI in Episode IX and trust that impulse that says: "CGI is a great way to embellish but no replacement for good costumes and makeup." In fact, this is one area where I really trust Abrams to do the right thing. He explained his CGI philosophy for The Force Awakens at the time and I think he largely kept his promise of using it sparingly, and as often to remove things as to add them.

Hopefully that stays true for Episode IX.

5. Less camera shake and lens flare.

Okay, I'm kind of kidding here. Abrams's directing style is often joked about with people commenting on his love of lens flare, shaky cam (used a great deal in The Force Awakens' spaceship chase scenes) and various other techniques. I actually don't mind this up to a point. But I would like to see Abrams rein all of this in somewhat for the final film. It's fine to have your distinctive signature on all your films, but I don't think Episode IX should feel too much like Episode VII. Tonally, visually, emotionally, this has to be a different kind of movie, just like A New Hope and Return of the Jedi felt very different. Maybe, more than anything, the problem with having the same director onboard for two of the three movies is just that, at least stylistically, we run the risk of just more of the same. A new director brings new expertise, new habits (both good and bad) and new ideas to the table. Perhaps what I'd like to see most from Abrams is for him to try something new here as well. I imagine that's much easier said than done, of course, but there you have it.

That's all folks.

09-13-2017, 10:04 AM	#1126
DaneMcCloud Supporter DaneMcCloud's Avatar Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Hollywood, CA	https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkai.../#2cf8684a4df2 Here Are 5 Things J.J. Abrams Must Not Do In 'Star Wars: Episode IX' The big news today is that Star Wars: Episode IX will be written and directed by J.J. Abrams. Abrams replaces Colin Trevorrow (Jurassic World) and once again takes up the reins of the classic space opera franchise. This has been met with one of two reactions: On the one hand, industry observers like my colleague Scott Mendelson rightfully point out that this is the safest bet Disney could have made. Logically speaking, this is a reasonable choice. As much as I would have preferred that Kathleen Kennedy and friends hire a woman and/or minority filmmaker to take over, at this point getting someone that all parties knew could work together to make that Memorial Day, 2019 release date was of paramount importance. Sure, they could have moved Star Wars 9 to December 2019, but that would have conflicted with Frozen 2's Thanksgiving release. And why risk your biggest female cash cow for your biggest male cash cow, especially now that both have female protagonists? On the other hand, the internet has exploded with jokes and legitimate concerns over Abrams returning to helm the film. While The Force Awakens was widely regarded as a good movie, it faced some very legitimate criticism over being too much of a rehash of A New Hope. And Abrams has faced even stiffer criticism over his handling of the new Star Trek films. I'm sympathetic to both sides in this case. Abrams is a capable filmmaker who consistently puts out fun, entertaining movies. I was a big fan of The Force Awakens in spite of its shortcomings. On the other hand, I'd have loved to see a new director take the lead on this one. And by new, I mean someone who really does have fresh ideas. Both Rian Johnson (The Last Jedi) and Gareth Edwards (Rogue One) fit this bill nicely, and I can just spitball other directors I'd love to see tackle a Star Wars film, from Alex Garland (Ex Machina) to Ryan Coogler (Creed) to Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman) or Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break.) One of my favorite recent films was Baby Driver which Edgar Wright directed. He's already worked with Disney on Ant-Man, one of my favorite Marvel films. So there's lots of other choices that would have been more exciting than yet another Abrams-helmed Star Wars film. But now that it's a done deal, we'll have to live with it. So let's take a look at a few of the things Abrams really needs to avoid in the latest trilogy's hopefully amazing finale. 1. No more Death Stars. Seriously. Please. "Star Wars" may be a misnomer at this point. I'm tempted to call the series "Death Stars." Two of the first three movies featured Death Stars, and The Force Awakens introduced us to yet another incredibly vulnerable weapon of mass destruction with Starkiller Base. It was even more destructive than the Empire's death orbs, but just as easily taken down in the end. This is not only bad storytelling, it's poor strategic planning on the part of the series' villains, equivalent to putting all of one's death eggs in the same death basket. It's also emblematic of the most poignant criticism of The Force Awakens: That it was too much like A New Hope. And while I'm okay with it being similar to A New Hope in structure as well as thematically, there's no doubt it came a little too close in many ways. I actually think that Episode IX should mirror Return of the Jedi to some degree. The prequels (however poorly made) attempted to mirror a similar arc as the original trilogy, and these new films probably ought to as well. What that means for Rey and Kylo Ren in particular is hard to say, but I'm fascinated by the possibilities. But dear lord, please don't give us another Death Star. I don't think I can take it. There are so many other ways to convey the power of the Dark Side and the villainy of the enemies than to have a giant space station of doom that ultimately ends up getting blown up by a rag-tag band of rebels. This part of the story has been told. Let it go. 2. Don't make our heroes too over-powered. Rey was over-powered in The Force Awakens. I don't agree that Rey was a so-called "Mary Sue" in The Force Awakens, but there's no denying that the movie glossed over some potentially important plot beats and made her and the good guys way too over-powered for the first film. The problem with this is it kills tension, and good films are often good precisely because of the tension they evoke. When Rey can suddenly go toe-to-toe with Kylo Ren, after only just learning she had the Force, it kills tension. And while there may be a very good explanation for this, we certainly didn't get it in the film itself leaving us to just speculate. When you have over-powered protagonists, you risk taking all the wind out of a story's sails. One of the great joys of the first two Star Wars films was just how much Luke screwed up. Yes, he did come through in the end in A New Hope, taking out that damned Death Star (thanks to the crew of Rogue One and a little help from the Force) but before that he was often as not a liability. And even the powerful Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi fell to Vader's lightsaber (albeit intentionally.) In Empire Strikes Back Luke was a more seasoned fighter and pilot, but he still had trouble being as patient as Yoda required in his training, and ultimately left that training early to go save his friends, nearly costing him his own life (he got away with just losing a hand.) Vader beat Luke handily in that fight, making their final confrontation in Return of the Jedi all the more important. But even in Return of the Jedi, Luke was no match for the Emperor. It was only Vader's change of heart that saved the day, not Luke's prowess as a Jedi. This is why it's so important to give characters flaws, shortcomings and overwhelming odds, and to make something like a change of heart---the final blossoming of love for a son---more powerful than a Sith Lord. 3. Star Wars isn't just an action movie. This leads us to our next point. Abrams films some amazing action sequences. There's simply no denying the brilliance of The Force Awakens' action. But Star Wars needs to be more than just a great action movie (and the same can be said, perhaps even more strongly, with regards to Star Trek.) This is another point of worry for many now that Abrams is back in the director's chair for Episode IX. Abrams makes enjoyable action movies with fun characters but there's often little beneath the surface and there really, really needs to be. What made the original Star Wars trilogy so brilliant and such a timeless classic wasn't the special effects (though at the time they were considered amazing) and wasn't the big action scenes, though there were many great scenes, from space dogfights to the entire sequence on Endor to the brilliant lightsaber duels. All of these, however, would have been empty without incredible characters who we came to know and love. This is a much harder thing to achieve in a film than crafting a fun action scene. I think Abrams absolutely has it in him, but in order for it to really work we need to give our characters interesting conflicts, shortcomings and passions. Han Solo was an irascible yet lovable rogue whose idea of flirting was about on par with a junior high student's. His banter with Leia was almost always confrontational, and it was from this almost childish flirtation that a deeper love grew. Meanwhile, the story of Luke discovering that the Big Bad was his father and ultimately making it his goal not to kill Vader, but to save him...well, this is what made Star Wars so wonderful. And the prequel trilogy tried, and failed, to do something similar with the fall of Anakin. This is where both The Last Jedi and Episode IX need to shine. They must go beyond the action movie genre and be about something deeper and more profound. 4. Be careful with the CGI. A Force Awakens had pretty good CGI. In some scenes you'd never know that those Storm Troopers were just CGI models and not real people in costume. In others, however, the CGI was all too apparent. Maz Kanata is a good example of this but I'm more worried about Supreme Leader Snoke for the next two films. He just looks...too cartoony for me. Actually, Rogue One was the biggest offender when it comes to CGI shenanigans. If Grand Moff Tarkin had looked that good in a video game, I would have sung the SFX team's praises. But he still looked like a CGI person surrounded by real people in the movie. I love that Abrams opted for more practical effects in The Force Awakens, and that the use of CGI was by and large pretty sober (especially compared to Lucas in his prequel films.) But even slight oversteps can become glaring sore spots in an otherwise enjoyable picture like Rogue One. So be careful with the CGI in Episode IX and trust that impulse that says: "CGI is a great way to embellish but no replacement for good costumes and makeup." In fact, this is one area where I really trust Abrams to do the right thing. He explained his CGI philosophy for The Force Awakens at the time and I think he largely kept his promise of using it sparingly, and as often to remove things as to add them. Hopefully that stays true for Episode IX. 5. Less camera shake and lens flare. Okay, I'm kind of kidding here. Abrams's directing style is often joked about with people commenting on his love of lens flare, shaky cam (used a great deal in The Force Awakens' spaceship chase scenes) and various other techniques. I actually don't mind this up to a point. But I would like to see Abrams rein all of this in somewhat for the final film. It's fine to have your distinctive signature on all your films, but I don't think Episode IX should feel too much like Episode VII. Tonally, visually, emotionally, this has to be a different kind of movie, just like A New Hope and Return of the Jedi felt very different. Maybe, more than anything, the problem with having the same director onboard for two of the three movies is just that, at least stylistically, we run the risk of just more of the same. A new director brings new expertise, new habits (both good and bad) and new ideas to the table. Perhaps what I'd like to see most from Abrams is for him to try something new here as well. I imagine that's much easier said than done, of course, but there you have it. That's all folks.
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