ST Poll: Do you want the ST more like the OT, the PT or a mix of both?

I prefer the gritty, frontier look over the clean and vibrant...it makes Star Wars feel more like the old fashioned medieval and western adventure stories.

 

I agree... however, this film is going to be far from slow in terms of pacing and event... it will be break neck pace with uber fights etc. That's why they have hired Abrams. JJ really isn't a fixed camera and dialogue/characterisation man... he likes pace, bright lights, noise and explosions... and to be fair, he delivers that with a certain finesse in relation to other Hollywood action directors. If it's anything else then I think this film would be in trouble (in terms of PR) as I've not heard anyone within production selling Ep VII on the premise that's it's going to be thoughtful and reflective.

 

Good pacing isn't just about going at breakneck speed, it's about knowing when to up the energy and momentum and when to give the audience time to breathe. And good pacing doesn't have to exclude thoughtful or reflective scenes. JJ hasn't definitely shown he can inject energy and dynamism, and I though Super 8 handled the more character driven moments well, though I thought the pacing in STID was off. As if they weren't confident the story-telling would hold up unless they flew through everything at top speed.

 

I personally wasn't discussing what constitutes "good pacing" in mainstream cinema... I was replying to the post where they said they didn't want a "fast pace", and that I believe JJ will bring a "fast pace" approach (based on his previous films). For all the issues I have with his Star Trek films, I don't think pacing is a problem because you don't exactly sit there bored looking at your watch. They are zippy things...

 

I was more adding to the point, rather than rebutting it, and I agree. I hope the pacing is more balanced than STID for sure. The ending especially dragged on and on for me. By the end it had turned in to a lot of crash bang white noise.

 

Oops - I edited my previous post before you saw it... As updated - I don't personally have an issue with the pacing in JJ's ST films... and I don't have an issue with the pace being picked up the ST. I'm assuming there will be much less requirement for exposition etc in Ep VII - and it will pretty much be wall to wall action (which I won't have a problem with as long as the 'action' is done well and there's some substance in the underlying narrative).

 

I think the pacing in the first ST was pretty good, and I think his strengths were well showcased there. STID was very flawed from a script/ story pov for me, more so than ST '09. I'm still yet to see a film from JJ I really love outright, but I'm hoping Arndt's script will compensate and that GL's original vision will be a strong starting point. For me TCW is great proof that whatever issues I have with GL as a writer and director, he is still great at coming up with ideas and stories that others can run with.

 

That's the issue I have with JJ... I think he's a talented fella, he's clearly popular/successful... but for someone who has made several films now, I just don't see that 'artistic' filmmaker going off his current repertoire. . He's much more a producer (IMHO). If you compare him with other seminal directors (past and present) his CV is very bland (although clearly his films make lots of money). Perhaps that's why his 'in' was through a huge television show?

 

Well, I'm not sure SW needs an auteur necessarily. Nothing Kersh had done (or did) suggested he'd be the perfect guy for ESB (IMO). For me, and I think if you read Dave Filoni's comments about working with GL on TCW it kind of backs this up, SW is bordering on its own genre. I think what the ST needs is someone who will get good performances out of a well cast ensemble, achieve a balance between practical and CG, and someone who can inject energy when needed and hit the emotional beats when those are needed. I would tentatively say I think all those areas are well within JJ's skill set. I think he's as good as the script is So if Arndt and the team have come up with a good to great script based on GL's original ideas, I think we're laughing. I'd go as far to say this episode only needs to have a solid script and it will be mostly well received (although I'm hoping for more).

 

Well exactly... and that's what I'm hoping for too.

 

I think one of the greatest flaws in the two new Treks is that the pacing was too fast. You barely had time to think about what was happening on screen.

 

I think they wanted to breeze past the fact that neither plot holds up to much scrutiny.

 

Probably. I still think a somewhat slower pace would have been better.

 

Oh I agree.

 

I want the ST to have its own style and be STAR WARS at the same time. I don't want a rehash of the OT or the PT. I'm not into lack of originality in order to cling to my childhood.

 

I will say this: If Abrams is wise, he will leave everything consistent, like how ships enter hyperspace, ambient noises, etc. For Star Trek he changed the way the Enterprise goes into warp and also the way the transporters looked and that's fine for Star Trek, but if he changes things like that for Star Wars then we will experience nerd rage the likes of which we have never seen before.

 

Yes, his Enterprise looks nothing like TOS'. Who knows, maybe Abrams decides to update Faclon too.
Boy, that would've been such an anticlimax.

 

I think Trek was a reboot, which is slightly different. I have a feeling they won't mess with the iconography (although we may well see certain evolutions).

 

Yes, but what style can the ST be without being somewhat like the PT or OT? If he goes with a majority of real locations and old school effects it will look more like the OT, if he goes with CGI locations and CGI effects, it will look more like the PT.

I not being a smart-ass, but what other style can he really do that will be look and feel different then the PT and OT?

 

I want it all to be anime.

 

It needs to be his own thing. It's all dictated by story.

The PT was set in the heart of the Republic. Everything was much larger, much grander. The whole thing had an operatic feel to it. The OT was set on the fringes of the galaxy, with a handful of rebels. It was more grounded in terms of how the world was presented. This was a galaxy oppressed. In some ways, the PT and the OT are like the Old Testament and New Testament.

The ST needs to be something new if only because the galaxy is in a different place. That being said, there are certain things that have to be maintained. It should still feel like an old movie serial. It should have the traditional wipes and irises for transitions. The dialogue should be fast paced, it should be shot traditionally; that means no lens flares or shaky cam. Lucas' infamous "faster, more intense" mantra holds as true today as it did back in '76 when the first film was being shot.

 

The Good about PT I want see more of

Creative worlds, more time living in these worlds (Clubs and restaurants), Darth Maul like combat

 

As an old fart that joined this site over my love of the OT, and longtime PT basher, I'm gonna have to got OT on this one.