Struck by 'Star Wars'

Star Wars’, the iconic movie series which began in 1977, is now a worldwide phenomenon with its own television series, cartoon, comics, novels, graphic novels, video games, toys and more. The brainchild of George Lucas, which already has two trilogies (‘The Original Trilogy’ and the ‘Prequel Trilogy’), is all set for a comeback.

The next film, titled ‘Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens’, will be directed by JJ Abrams, known for movies like ‘Armageddon’ and ‘Star Trek’. While fans had to wait seven years for this, and the first teaser has already been the branded the ‘most watched movie trailer in the world’, people have their opinions about the upcoming film.
 
“When I was in school in the 70s, ‘The Original Trilogy’ (Episodes IV,V,VI) were a rage at the cinemas. After school, a friend and I would cycle down all the way to Rex Theatre to watch a movie. Class used to end by 6 pm and the evening shows were at around 6.30 pm.

At the end of every month, the theatre would be empty and no matter how many times I watched the films, it was always an incredible experience. Considering the time when it was made, the ‘Star Wars’ universe was the epitome of science fiction. But back then, we had Harrison Ford as ‘Han Solo’ and Mark Hamill as ‘Luke Skywalker’. I’m curious to see how the new movie would do with an all new cast,” says Mohan, a movie aficionado.

The younger generation has different views about the movie. “I feel that this upcoming trilogy won’t fit well with the previous six movies because JJ Abrams has already made two ‘Star Trek’ films, which hardcore fans believe rivals the ‘Star Wars’ series, and that Abrams might fuse the ideologies and styles of both franchises and create a movie without the ‘Original Star Wars’ feel.

I would actually prefer any other major name to direct the series over Abrams because of the potential fusion of movie styles,” says Ashwin Kannery, an avid ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Star Trek’ fan.

Abhishek Krishnamoorthy, an avid gamer and sci-fi fan, says, “I checked out the trailer recently, and it doesn’t explain much — it’s just like any other vignette promo. The trailer tried to give the good old ‘Star Wars’ feel with a few brief glimpses, but the highlight is the revealing of an anti-protagonist with a nonsensical iteration of the lightsaber.”

Murtuza Kapadia, a techie, says, “The less than one minute trailer left much to the imagination. It wasn’t as exciting or action-packed as previous ‘Star Wars’ movie trailers. The new lightsaber seems like a questionable design, but also opens new avenues toward use — like the possibility of manipulating the lightsaber energy into different shapes and forms? I’m looking forward to seeing how well they can utilise the lightsaber idea. But for now, I’m enjoying the parodies that the internet has come up with.”

Supraja Prasad, a budding creative artist, is currently more fascinated by the ‘Jurassic World’ trailer and intrigued by the sudden revival of old franchises. “‘Star Wars’ comes under the category of movies that we will never get tired of. That being said, it is just like any other series — it mustn’t  overstay its welcome. Take ‘Sherlock’ for example. 

At the time Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was still writing stories about Sherlock Holmes, he had initially killed Sherlock in his story, but due to the public hounding him over the charismatic character’s death, he was forced to resurrect Holmes and continue the story. If the content is good, then so will be the end result,” she says. 

While revivals of ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ and the ‘Superman’ series have been victims of poor reboots, the fate of the ‘Star Wars’ storyline lies upon the shoulders and ideas of JJ Abrams. Fans can only wait to watch the results.