Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) Review

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the most anticipated movie of 2015. It is the beginning of the franchise's third trilogy, and tells a new story in the universe of Star Wars. It maintains the old and gritty style of the original trilogy; there's very little CGI and much of the scenery and fighting looks old fashioned and authentic. This appeals to old fans of Star Wars and makes it aesthetically unique in a time when CGI saturated films are a dime a dozen.

I was concerned about the old cast returning. Last summer's Jurassic World created a new story for a new generation, as the story is what people come to see. I feared that The Force Awakens would fail to create that story by simply paying homage to the original cast. It was actually all balanced really well. The new cast (Finn, Rey and BB8) stole the show and told a wonderful new story, while the old cast were blended in and given due homage while still being kept relevant to the story, apart from Leia maybe.

The acting was superb, particularly from John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver. They're a young and relatively unknown cast, and I can't help but feel that these actors will reprise their roles for another trilogy in thirty years, because this film cements Star Wars as the number one franchise in the film industry. The story is great as well; it doesn't feel thrown together for the sake of the film, like I thought it would. It's engaging and balances action and emotion almost perfectly.

BB8 symbolises this film really well; it's old fashioned but it's also new and original. He is a great mascot, and he'll spearhead the merchandising to further increase the profits that The Force Awakens makes. The original trilogy finished up just over thirty years ago, and that means that people who grew up on Star Wars can now bring their kids to see the new ones. There's something really satisfying about that, and it's something that will likely continue for generations.

I'm not a huge fan of Star Wars, but I watched it and enjoyed it from start to finish because it's so accessible to fans and non-fans. They have blown their market wide open and in the process, made an excellent film. Believe everything you hear.

6/7

The Good Dinosaur (2015) Review

The Good Dinosaur is Pixar's latest film, which tells the story of Arlo the dinosaur finding his way back home with the help of his dog-like human friend, Spot. The incredibly realistic scenery steals the show throughout the film, and the caricature dinosaurs and human almost become uninteresting in front of the background, as seen in the photo above. Pixar have spearheaded the animation industry since the release of Toy Story in 1995, and they continue to showcase the evolution of animation. The main problem in terms of animation is the blandness of the dinosaurs. 

This story of the protagonist trying to find their way home has been done to death by Pixar. It's the plot of all three Toy Story films, Finding Nemo and most recently, Inside Out, which was released just five months ago. The audience knows they're going to get there, so any threat to the character not getting home just feels formulated. Emotional moments in this movie feel formulated as well, probably due to the characters not really warranting empathy. 

The poor timing of the release has plagued The Good Dinosaur and prevented it from following the natural development of a Pixar film's release. It's partly their own fault, as it's their second original release this year. They didn't release any film last year, and this film was scheduled to be released last year. While I understand that rushing a release does more harm than good, they should have postponed it until next year, as they are releasing a Finding Nemo sequel next year, but no original films. We've already seen a dinosaur film this year in Jurassic World, and The Good Dinosaur has been release three weeks before the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens. All of these aspects combined has made for a very underwhelming release of this film, and that is reflected in the box office earnings. It will likely lose money, and that's a first for Pixar.

Pixar create great protagonists, and they make great antagonists to counteract them. At first glance, The Good Dinosaur doesn't have an antagonist but after thought, it has one of the best antagonists of any Pixar film; nature itself. Nature takes Arlo away from home, and does things that if done by a character, would be unforgivable. Nature is relentless, and yet the audience (and Arlo) can't help but admire its beauty. Nature is treated like a character, and this was executed really well. 

There are some redeeming qualities, and Pixar will probably never make a bad film, but this was nowhere near their high standard. A higher quality of characters and a better timed release would have made this film successful, and hopefully the company will learn some important lessons from this rather than begin to fear the risk of original films. 

3/7

Inside Out (2015) Review

Pixar's new film Inside Out is their first release in two years and their first original release since Brave in 2012. Brave was a little bit out there for Pixar as they had never done a fairy tale before, and it didn't quite appeal to me like other Pixar films do. So for me, Inside Out is their first original film since Up in 2009. I loved growing up through the Pixar era as they brought such new and imaginative stories to the world of animation. In a time where remakes and sequels seem to be the biggest draw, Pixar were always against the wave in creating new stories while still being hugely successful. It's disappointing to see them develop multiple sequels now. A Good Dinosaur is another original Pixar film that will be released later this year (more about that later) but their schedule after that has sequels to Finding Nemo, Toy Story, The Incredibles and Cars. I feel like the company is selling its soul in order to make money.

But anyway, Inside Out itself is a great film. It involves all the qualities that every Pixar film has. The emotional highs and lows fluctuate perfectly and there are plenty of funny moments that you keep you laughing the whole time. There's no villain, and there's no need for one. The point of the film is to send a message; emotions work in different ways but all of them create a perfect balance. The story line might seem quite complex for youngsters, but Pixar know that that is only half of their audience. It's enjoyable for people of all ages, while never simplifying itself for the sake of being a children's movie. For those who can keep up, it teaches a really important lesson in how the brain works and even offers an explanation for bad and good moods. It has multiple classic Pixar easter eggs that are always fun to look out for, although they were much more subtle than previous films. 

Colour plays a big role throughout the film, as each colour represents an emotion. The inside of Riley's head is colourful while the real world is quite grey. The difference between the scenes inside Riley's head and the real world are great because it allows the two worlds to be interoperable without much confusion about which is which. The entire film might seem too complex for a childrens' story, and this particular task might have been an obstacle, but Pixar always know how to knock the ball right out of the park. 

My issue with Inside Out is the timing of release. Of course summer makes sense but they haven't released a film since June 2013. They used to release a film every summer, and 2014 marked the first time in eight years that they hadn't released a film in a calender, but they're releasing A Good Dinosaur in four months. That makes no sense. Why not release Inside Out in 2014? If it was a timing issue, why not push the whole schedule back and release A Good Dinosaur next summer? Two Pixar films in the space of four months might just be too much of a good thing, and while I'm happy to see another original film coming out, I think the timing is wrong.

However, this is a review of the film and not of the company, and the film ticks a lot of boxes. It's classic Pixar, it has plenty of replay value. These characters will be iconic in a few years just like Woody, Buzz, Mike and Sully. They create incredible characters who stay in the hearts of audiences young and old, and Joy and Sadness are no exception. This is a must see for all Pixar fans and general animation fans. Pixar have been spearheading the animation world since their inception and they are showing no signs of stopping.

6/7

Tomorrowland: A World Beyond (2015) Review

Before I begin to talk about Tomorrowland, it is probably important to note that I am a huge fan of Disney theme parks. I love all of the old documentaries about Walt Disney's vision of Tomorrow, his plans for Epcot (a utopian city in Walt Disney World that people could actually live in, but never got built) and the general retro-futuristic idea of the future that existed in the 1960s. Tomorrowland is an area in Disneyland theme parks that is modelled to that 1960's concept, and this film is based on this same idea.

I think it's important to realise that these retro-futuristic ideas that existed during the space age are not naive or even tongue-in-cheek, but they actually reflect the values of the people who lived in that era. Space missions were being launched and people honestly believed that jet-packs and robots were not too far away. Tomorrowland is a special place because it is built with those honest values and is not a replica. This film showcases these values too, but it does replicate them, naturally. It makes a solid comparison between the optimistic view of the future then and the pessimistic view now, and how that view can have a negative affect on society. David Nix (Hugh Laurie) turns the camera back to us in a memorable scene and asks us what we're doing to make the world a better place.

The film makes more social commentary in this regard as we see this future utopia in ruins, maybe suggesting that what could have been has been ruined by society's negative mindset. Director Brad Bird creates wonderful visual imagery to portray the utopian Tomorrowland that could exist. The main problem for this film is the confusing story line. It is hard to follow, not because it is cleverly complex, but because it just doesn't really make much sense. A lot of questions go unanswered and the ending feels a little bit lacklustre. The whole idea has a lot of potential but it doesn't hit hard enough when it needed to.

In terms of performances, all three of the main characters (George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Raffey Cassidy) perform their roles nicely and are well cast. Clooney's character is engaging and probably relatable for people that grew up in the 60's era. What this film lacks is a real antagonist. Instead, we have half of one who doesn't seem too evil and doesn't even really know what he's doing wrong. A real sense of evil would have added so much more depth to the story line and lifted some of the confusion.

Without spoiling the film, badges are given to those who have the ability to make the world a better place. The audience is confronted with another reflection of themselves. Do I get a badge? Do I deserve a badge? The film succeeds in terms of trying to restore and reproduce those old values and inspire the audience to have a positive outlook, but fails in terms of telling a story. It was an enjoyable film nonetheless and the visuals were wonderful throughout, but I'm not quite sure who the target audience is. It is supposed to be a family film but it is too complex for children and there are too many childish jokes for adults.

4/7