J. J. Abrams | FRAGMENTEN UIT HET SCHEMERLAND

Like always when a Star Wars movie is released, the fans and general public are bitching and complaining. One of the major complaints about the recently released Episode XI: The Rise of Skywalker, was that it brought back the presumed dead emperor Palpatine. They think this is a chickenshit move to please fans who were unhappy about the direction the previous installment – The Last Jedi – was taking the franchise. I’m about to tell them why they are wrong.

First of all, if you accept the decision to make episode VII, VIII and IX in the first place, you’ll have to accept the rise of a powerful new enemy. It is called Star Wars after all; there has to be conflict between the forces of good and evil. This enemy must also be very powerful. At least as powerful as the defeated empire. Or there won’t be much tension. This new force of evil became The First Order.

Secondly, who is gonna command this mighty new enemy? It seemed that Supreme Leader Snoke was the brains behind it, but that would have been strange and unsatisfying. Don’t forget, it took Palpatine a whole trilogy (episode I, II, and III) to build up the Galactic Empire through an elaborate Master Plan. Are we supposed to believe that out of nowhere, a dark lord would arrive and overpower the newly established republic? No way. Only the master of the dark arts of the Sith could manage such a feat.

And thus, Palpatine somehow survived his fall in Return of the Jedi, and in the shadows of Exegol worked on his revenge. I like the idea that he created Snoke to do his bidding. And now, finally after 42 years of Star Wars films, he is finally defeated and the force is balanced once again. Yes I know, Anakin Skywalker had already brought balance. But again, if you accept the decision to make new movies in the Skywalker timeline, you’ll have to accept that there are still major tremors in the force that have to be evened out.

Yes, The Rise of Skywalker, is a safe movie. Rather than taking chances it sticks to the familiar elements Lucas created long ago. But it is visually stunning, features great acting, and brings an emotional punch or two. J. J. Abrams did an excellent job and now, Star Wars is really really finished. We might have to wait a very long time before the next really epic fantasy series comes along…

(2008, USA)

Director: Matt Reeves
Written by: Drew Goddard
Cast: Blake Lively, Mike Vogel, Lizzy Caplan, Michael Stahl-David

Running Time: 85 mins.

The team behind TV-series Lost, Alias and Felicity brings us a cinema experience that features much of the mystery and excitement that made those series such huge TV hits.

Cloverfield has been shrouded in mystery for obvious reasons. In the short trailer we could only see some realistic-looking disaster footage. What the disaster was, remained unknown until the movie premiered last month. Word of mouth did the rest. A giant monster attacking Manhattan? The best disaster movie since…well ever? Cinema-goers rushed to see it in swarms. After all, it sucks to be clueless when everybody’s discussing this phenomenon, doesn’t it?

Smart promotion, that’s for sure. But is this really a good movie? Well let’s just say the hype is well justified. In it’s short running time it manages to provide more thrills than a whole season of Lost. There is a brief introduction where we meet a group of friends. They’re having a goodbye party for one of them and videotape the events taking place. About ten minutes later the disaster starts. Buildings start collapsing and people are running scared. The group go outside to check it out and get thrown into a whirlwind of catastrophes.

Off course, one of the group members keeps on filming all the time. Even when he and his friends are attacked in a dark subway tunnel by some small insect-looking creatures. That the supposedly amateurish footage looks so sharp and covers exactly the right material is just something we’ll have to accept. After all, we are part of the disaster and don’t have time to think. The actors are, just as in Lost, model-like pretty and sophisticated. Producer J.J. Abrams should go find himself a new casting agency. The performances are good, but at least some more ‘real’ people would help the viewer to care more about their fate than with this fashionable bunch.

The Blair Witch Project hyped a style of film-making that has since been put to good and less good use. Cloverfield is an example of how it should be done. The images and soundtrack put the viewer right into the action. With its steady-cam shots and well-hidden special effects it brilliantly succeeds in making the audience part of the disaster. We are not merely observing Tom Cruise battling aliens in War of the Worlds. We have to stay focused on the screen all the time or we’ll get crushed or eaten alive.

The metaphor for 9-11 is striking. We have heard these screams of panic, and seen images of this ash-grey destruction many times before in news coverage. Typically for the team behind this movie, there is no explanation for the events taking place. It doesn’t matter. The ending is well-timed, and makes us pray for another rollercoaster ride that is just as thrilling and involving as Cloverfield is. It won’t be easy to accomplish.

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