'Force Awakens' and 'Fury Road' - Five Years Later

I’ve had a lot of great experiences seeing movies in theaters, but my trip to see Star Wars: Episode 7: The Force Awakens on December 17, 2015, that film's opening night, will always rank as one of the best.

I went with a group of eight friends, all of whom had bought tickets months before (on the first day tickets became available for the eagerly-anticipated Episode 7). We got in line outside the theater hours before they started seating, and we weren’t the only ones. The mall lobby was swamped by thousands of people waiting for more than a dozen different showtimes. With all those people packed together, it was hot and a little nerve-wracking, but it was also deliciously, irresistibly exciting. There was a buzz in the air. My friends and I wore brand new Force Awakens shirts we had bought strictly for that occasion, plenty of people around us were in costume, and a few individuals in full Stormtrooper get-up wandered about serving as picture fodder for waiting fans, who beckoned them by the dozens.

I’ll never forget the excited cheer that went up when theater employees opened the doors to start seating my showtime, the 7:00. People not even in line for that showing shouted and clapped, just because it meant they were that much closer to seeing the Movie of the Moment. People in other lines were beaming and high-fiving me as my line proceeded toward the doors, and then into the theater. We all just couldn’t wait. And then, once the moment arrived, and the previews ended, it was spine-tingling delight. People clapped and cheered when the green Lucasfilm logo crept onto the screen, and a roar went up when the large yellow STAR WARS title appeared, accompanied by the familiar theater-shaking BUM, BUH-BUH-BUM of John Williams’ iconic score. It was dreamland.

This high-level, maximum-excitement experience was in marked contrast to my trip to see Mad Max: Fury Road seven months earlier, on May 16, 2015. Fury Road wasn’t shown in the mall’s largest theater, but one with about a quarter of the capacity. This was no packed opening night premiere, either; I saw a half-full Saturday matinee with two of my friends. We were excited, because the movie had received excellent reviews on Rottentomatoes, but the most memorable thing about the build-up to the movie starting was that my friend Christina and I kept whispering back and forth during the previews, prompting the guy sitting in front of us to turn around and say “Are you guys gonna talk the whole time?” And the movie itself? Well, it didn’t generate any impromptu ovations the way a Star Wars movie does, but it was, undeniably, a spectacle.

I saw both of those movies back in 2015, when I wrote more regularly on this blog. At that time, I gave Mad Max a grade of B+, admitting that it was a thrilling action-packed spectacle, but added that it was seriously weird, what with its disfigured villains, manic, body-painted soldiers, strange-accented mutters, and acid-trip flashbacks (not to mention its heavy reliance on the use of breast milk).

When I saw The Force Awakens, I didn’t write my review until I had seen it a second time (on the Saturday after that Thursday night premiere). I hadn’t been as blown away by the movie as some of my friends, but I still gave it an A-, deeming it worthy of praise for its high energy, strong characters, classic Han/Chewie banter, and some tremendous action sequences (that epic topsy-turvy shot of the Millennium Falcon in flight, the lightsaber fight in the snow between Fin, Rey, and Kylo Ren). I would ultimately see the movie in theaters again, this time with family, and I remember being slightly put-out when my Dad, a Star Wars fan going back to 1977, didn’t offer much praise when it was over.

I had no idea how much things would change with time.

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I didn’t see Mad Max: Fury Road again until it came out on Blu-Ray. I wasn’t convinced it was a great movie until I had seen it about four times. By then, I was more accustomed to the movie’s inherent weirdness (“WITNESS MEEEEEEE!”), and had started to appreciate the true artistry fitted in amidst the high-octane action. With those repeat viewings, it became my then-#3 ranked movie of 2015. Meanwhile, my enthusiasm for The Force Awakens quickly cooled, and I ranked it #7 that year.

As you no doubt know if you’re reading this, The Force Awakens, and Star Wars as a whole, has become a non-stop topic of discussion (aka relentless Twitter feuds). It didn’t take long for the discussions to materialize, either. Amidst the initial excitement over the release of the first big-screen Star Wars adventure since 2005’s Revenge of the Sith, some quibbled that The Force Awakens, while paying appropriate respect to some of the saga’s classic tropes and characters, relied too heavily on nostalgia for its appeal, to the point that it was actually a thinly-veiled remake of the original 1977 Star Wars. It wasn’t hard to see the logic in that argument, either. Consider:

Poor desert orphan dressed in white gets caught up in a galactic civil war when they stumble across a droid containing information needed by a band of rebels who are resisting a domineering, high-tech, fascist institution. Said orphan is soon revealed to be strong with the Force, which puts them at odds with a black-costumed, mask-wearing villain, one who utilizes the Dark Side of the Force to serve a craggy-faced Overlord; said masked villain also struggles with the burden of serving evil due to certain familial connections. The evil institution blows up whole planets with a giant, spherical laser weapon while our heroes bounce around the galaxy on the Millennium Falcon, but eventually they reach the rebels’ base and plan an attack in which they must fly X-Wings through a trench and blow up a certain component of the imperial weapon in order to make the whole structure combust.

Yep. While Force Awakens’ writer/director J.J. Abrams was obviously a fan of Star Wars, his nods and send-ups to the classic films were such obvious parallels that some thought it slightly ridiculous, let alone unoriginal. Frankly, this was hard to deny. I maintain that Force Awakens is a well-made film, but, overall, it does adhere very closely to the New Hope template. That being said, the movie had some compelling characters and, right after it came out, many pointed out that Disney could still deviate from the template in following films and give us something different.

Welp, Force Awakens’ follow-up, The Last Jedi, did give us something different (which may be putting it mildly), and, when Abrams returned for The Rise of Skywalker, he attempted to right the ship largely by resolving the central hero-villain conflict in a manner strikingly similar to the climax of The Return of the Jedi. The division over whether any of the new trilogy films was “good” has resulted in Star Wars becoming a complicated and sometimes toxic topic of conversation.

Mad Max: Fury Road, on the other hand, has enjoyed a pretty straightforward reputation. While it was no Star Wars-level smash, it was still a surprise hit with a $153 million domestic gross. More impressively, it became the rare action film to make a serious splash at year-end award ceremonies, receiving 10 Academy Award nominations, including nods for Best Picture of the Year and Best Director (George Miller). It did not win either of those major prizes, but captured 6 Oscars for its impeccable aesthetic and technical work. It is still regarded by most cinema enthusiasts as something of a modern classic, one of the standout films of the 2010s (if not the 21^st century as a whole). Rumors persist that the film will have at least one sequel.

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Why am I talking about these movies that have nothing in common except the fact that they came out the same year? Well, last night, I was in the mood to watch a Star Wars movie, and my roommate had been wanting to re-watch Mad Max. So we made a double feature of it, first watching The Force Awakens and then Fury Road. And it was interesting to see how I perceived each movie now, over five years after the release of the latter and about 4.5 years since the former kicked off a new era in the Galaxy, Far, Far Away.

Watching The Force Awakens in 2020 is a bittersweet experience. It’s true that it is very derivative of A New Hope, but, in the moment, while watching the film, I think that the characters are acted and written well-enough that you don’t really notice the “unoriginality”. It’s a fast-paced film with fun character interaction, a number of laughs, and some eye-catching visuals (the sweeping first reveal of Poe Dameron’s X-Wing, the aforementioned up-is-down shot of the Millennium Falcon soaring over the Jakku desert, clashing red and blue lightsabers gleaming in the eyes of Rey and Kylo Ren during their third-act duel). In the end, the movie is entertaining (albeit with a draggy middle section) and reasonably compelling.

That said, it’s hard to watch the movie now without having a pang at the realization that little of what is onscreen ultimately paid off. As has become well-known, J.J. Abrams was initially, vocally, on board for just one Star Wars film, and Disney pushed it out apparently without having pre-established arcs (or any plan at all) for the following films. Thus, Rian Johnson went his own way with 2017's The Last Jedi, infuriating a number of fans, resulting in Abrams being recalled to try to patch things up with Rise of Skywalker. The end result is that the film that started it all feels like a half-baked shell of a movie, full of questions and talking points that either weren’t answered or were answered--but in eyebrow-raising ways. This included:

-Supreme Leader Snoke, who it turned out was created in a bottle in a lab, made to act as a surrogate for a mysteriously (i.e. poorly explained) resurrected Emperor Palpatine

-Alien Maz Kannata remains a mystery, as does the means by which she obtained Luke Skywalker’s original lightsaber

-Some early sparks between Rey and Fin, who do a lot of bickering, hand-holding, and hugging, went nowhere, as they barely spent any screen time together again (the oft-shipped Finn/Poe coupling similarly never materialized)

-Luke Skywalker, so memorably handed his lightsaber in a vivid moment at Force Awakens’ end, ultimately chucked it away, only to later backpedal on this cynical stance in order to encourage Rey to step up to the plate

-Rey’s parentage was revealed to be nothing, only to later be re-revealed as very important!

-Intriguing villains General Hux and Captain Phasma became barely-there afterthoughts

-The Luke/Kylo Ren fallout was never resolved

And on and on we could go.

Ultimately, judging The Force Awakens on its own merits, today, I would give it a grade of 7 out of 10 (or, if I were using my old letter-grade scale, a B). Like I said, it’s an entertaining (if fairly unoriginal) film that boasts some likable characters, impressive visuals, and fun action.

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Mad Max: Fury Road lies on the other end of the spectrum. Compared to Force Awakens, it’s simple narratively (a chase ensues, and then goes back the other way!), but it is such a uniquely-crafted piece of cinema that, not only is it a very good movie, but I find new things to appreciate about it every time I watch it. These “things” range from how certain colors pop even in the movie's brown, orange, and blue-tinted scenes, how much of the film happens (or could have happened) without dialogue, and what the wives’ whispered slang-y commentary means, to just how electrifying the score is. It’s a marvel of a movie—so basic yet meaningful in its story, and so intensely, breathlessly depicted. A barely-recognizable Charlize Theron is a force of nature as the gritty Furiosa, sacrificing reputation, life and limb to try and save the warlord’s captive wives. Vehicles are torn to pieces and explode, bodies are crushed, and two painted “war boys” get to enjoy mesmerizing, vivid onscreen deaths (“WITNESS MEEEEEE”).

It’s a unique and magnificent movie, enough that, when, in January, I made a ranked list of my top movies of the 2010s, Fury Road was my #3, behind only Skyfall and The Martian. Today, I would give Fury Road a grade of A+, or 9.5 out of 10 (maybe more of a 9.8). It’s striking, it's engaging, and it’s a spasmodic surge of energy into what has become a pretty conventional and unexciting cinema landscape.

So, which movie would I most willingly watch again some time soon? I like Star Wars, and it’s a little easier to just put on, but, nah, “I wanna die historic on the Fury Road.”

"American Pharoah Makes His Run For Glory"

Yesterday, since there are no sports on, I decided I am going to start pepping myself up by reminiscing on some of my favorite sports-watching memories. So here is DAY TWO

"American Pharoah Makes His Run For Glory..."

Almost five full years ago, I was home, spending a sleepy Saturday in the apartment I lived in by myself. Most of my friends were either working or attending the wedding of a coworker who later become my supervisor (hi Joy!). Slightly bored, I decided to do something different for lunch, so I went to T.G.I. Friday's. Like I usually do when I go by myself, I sat at the bar. I don't drink, but when you sit at the bar, you get your food faster, you can usually enjoy some conversation with the bar tender or fellow bar patrons, and you can watch the TVs, which typically cover sports. That day, while there was some coverage of baseball, basketball, and NASCAR, I noticed that the majority of live coverage was in anticipation of that afternoon's Belmont Stakes, one of the Big Three American horse races.

I know next to nothing about horses, and horse-racing. I had horseback riding lessons once a week for about six months when I was eleven, I saw "Seabiscuit", I wrote an article on my alma mater's equestrian team once for a journalism class, and I have a vague memory of watching the Kentucky Derby once with my dad, and that's it.

But the hype that day was not just that there was a horse race, but that there was a chance one of the horses could win the racing Triple Crown, having already captured the Preakness and the Derby that year. No horse had won the Triple Crown since the great Secretariat in 1973. The horse in question was American Pharoah, and yes, the name did have that unique spelling of the word "pharoah".

Obviously, I'm not big into horse racing, but I like sports, especially if there's a chance to see some fun/cool history, and I knew the race wouldn't last long. Better yet, it was on NBC, one of the two channels my TV antenna picked up with regularity in my apartment. So I left T.G.I.F, went home, and turned on coverage. I didn't REALLY care, but I thought, why not, I'll root for American Pharoah.

The race started! And American Pharoah was not in the lead. Immediately, the commentators began to mutter amongst themselves, because this was the big storyline they had been prepped to cover. But that Pharoah gained quickly, squeaking past others to take a short lead over the early leader, a horse called Frosted. But his lead grew. And grew. And grew.

Apart from the final result, the race is best known for Larry Collmus's enthusiastic, thrilling live commentary of the race's closing moments:
"And they're into the stretch, and American Pharoah makes his run for glory as they come into the final furlong! Frosted is second, with 1/8th of a mile to go! American Pharoah's got a two-length lead! Frosted is ALL OUT at the 16th pole, and HERE IT IS!!! The 37-year wait is over! American Pharoah is FINALLY THE ONE! AMERICAN PHAROAH HAS WON THE TRIPLE CROOOOOWN!!!!"

Almost five years later, listening to that commentary STILL gives me chills, and often brings tears to my eyes. The Belmont bleachers were full of people jumping up and down, screaming and hugging, because they'd seen something historic. Pharoah's elderly trainer Bob Baffert and his family dissolved into tears in their section of the stands. Jockey Victor Espinoza punched the air in delight as Pharoah surged across the finish line in full stride and looked ready for another go. Meanwhile, I was in my apartment jumping around, full of adrenaline, HYPED, because I had not only seen great sport, but I had seen history.

This still stands out as one of the most unique sports-watching experiences of my life. Not something I normally watch, I didn't even know it was happening until a few hours before, but it was instantly historic, with an instant-classic call, and the mental image of that strong, beautiful horse charging across the finish line amidst adoring applause is one that never fails to warm my heart.

"The Greatest Comeback In Postseason Baseball History"

The recent Unpopular Opinion Game on Facebook reminded me that a lot of people don't care for watching sports. While I have a difficult time understanding and relating to that, we all like what we like. That said, I mean it when I say nearly three weeks without any major sports (with no reprieve in sight!) has been difficult. For a lot of us, if we can't go out, can't hang out with people, can't go anywhere, we're used to at least having a "big game" to watch, especially this time of year.

So, I'm going to start, once per day, posting something about my all-time favorite sports-watching experiences, and I would invite my sports-fan friends to do the same. Instead of being sad/bored without sports on now, let's reminisce and celebrate what sports have brought to our lives.

For me, there is and probably always will be one sporting event that stands above all others. That is the 2004 American League Championship Series, in which the Boston Red Sox became the first team in MLB history to win a best-of-seven postseason series after trailing 3 games to 0.

I didn't watch a lot of baseball in the early 2000s. I had stopped collected cards and my Orioles were terrible, so why bother? Moreover, those were the years in which I got big into movies, so my mind was occupied with other things.

PLUS, where baseball was concerned, the New York Yankees were annoyingly good. They had the most money, had won 4 of the previous 7 World Series, and were packed to the brim with highly-paid stars you claimed to hate but really just wanted on your team (Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, A-Rod, Hideki Matsui, Gary Sheffield, Jorge Posada, etc...). So it was little surprise when I heard on ESPN one morning that they were well on their way to another World Series, up 3-0 on the good-but-not-AS-good Boston Red Sox. BUT THEN....

Okay, to be honest, I didn't actually watch any of the series until it was 3-1, after the Red Sox got one back on a 12th-inning walkoff home run by David Ortiz in Game 4. That was the game with Dave Roberts' famous 9th-inning steal against Mariano Rivera, which led to the Sox tying the game when they were two outs from being eliminated and sending the Yanks to the Series.

But, MAN, I tell you what. I watched EVERY PITCH of the final three games, including the 14-inning, almost 6-hour Game 5 in Boston, a nerve-shredding thriller that ended when David Ortiz did it again, fouling off six pitches in a row before hitting a bloop single to center field that scored Johnny Damon for another walk-off win.

Game 6 was another classic. That was the game with Curt Schilling's bloody sock (he pitched six full innings on a severed ankle tendon) and the two calls that the umpires initially got wrong, but, after convening, changed their minds and got right. First, that Boston second baseman Mark Bellhorn had hit a shot into left field that actually went into the stands for a home run...it didn't bounce off the wall for a double like they originally thought. Secondly, A FRAUD Alex Rodriguez ABSOLUTELY slapped the ball out of the glove of Boston pitcher Bronson Arroyo on his way to first, leading to the Yankees tying the game late. This was correctly ruled interference, A-Rod was out, and the Yankees had a run taken off the board. Ultimately, the Sox won a nailbiter when the Yankees left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.

Game 7 turned out to be a bit of anticlimax (though any non-Yankee fans were NOT complaining). Ortiz hit a two-run homer in the first inning. A couple batters later, Johnny Damon hit a grand slam to make it 6-0, and the Red Sox ultimately won the game 10-3. Sounds like a blowout, and it was...but I still remember the 7th inning, when the Red Sox brought in Pedro Martinez in relief, and the Yankees staged a mini-rally, grabbing three quick runs to give the Yankees and their fans hope. The "WHO'S YOUR DAD-DY!!??!" chants from the New York crowd were audible from the TV. (I remember I got really annoyed and anxious during this part of the game. I made some sharp comment to my Mom, at which time she left to watch the game elsewhere with my dad. My older sister blamed for me being mean and chasing her off, though my Mom has since claimed this was not why she left the room, haha.) But, ultimately, it was only a mini-rally, and the Red Sox won.

It was historic in so many ways. The Red Sox became the first baseball team ever to erase an 0-3 deficit and win a best-of-seven series. The Yankees became the ultimate chokers, the first team to ever LOSE a series after taking that kind of advantage. The Red Sox won the pennant, then went on to sweep the Cardinals in the World Series to end the "Curse of the Bambino", ending an 86-year championship drought that supposedly started because they traded a promising young player named George Herman Ruth to the Yankees after failing to recognize his potential.

Oh, and THIS then-high school junior won $3 bucks in a bet with his New York-native teacher, who had been sure the Yankees would win. :D

I don't watch as much baseball as I used to. But the 2004 ALCS ALWAYS stands out as one of the most epic and memorable sports-watching experiences I've ever had.