God knows how much Steven Spielberg loves sci-fi stories. In addition to the sci-fi movies he personally directed, he is also the driving force behind some sci-fi movies. As a producer, he brought a strong Sci-Fi style to "Super 8", and he was also the producer of "Falling Stars". The story of "Falling Stars" is quite old-fashioned, aliens invade and occupy the earth, and human beings resist aliens. There are no major battle scenes in the play. The plot mainly revolves around a family. Spielberg claimed that this is a 21st century story with feelings of the 70s.
The same goes for the traditional routines, I quite like "Super 8", but I don't like the sullen "Falling Stars". This bowl of warm water, used 10 episodes in the first season, has not reached the boiling point. The protagonist Tom Mason is a professor of history. After the aliens occupy the earth, they picked up the guy and became the main battle force. The plots of the previous episodes have been centered on rescuing his son, and it has been time and again. There is no refreshing fight, and the portrayal of family affection is not successful enough. From the perspective of sensationalism or melodrama, the emotional drama of "Falling Stars" is too mediocre. The main focus is on family drama, which promotes the development of the plot by the emotional changes between people. Emotions change slowly, which slows down other plots.
Science fiction subject matter often encounters plot flaws, and the director needs to establish a self-sufficient logic in a work in order to completely get rid of the "brilliance". Given that "Falling Stars" is only the first season, I can't think of it as having many flaws. The break in the plot and the sudden appearance of foreign objects brought some confusion. Before the confusion is eliminated, they have a great suspense function. When it comes to the finale, the confusion still exists, and it becomes a flaw that corrupts the entire work. The first season of the play left a lot of "confusion", which is regarded as "suspense" for the time being. The director focused on portraying emotional dramas, and seemed in no hurry to eliminate the confusion of the audience. They are too leisurely, and even make people feel unintentional to solve those puzzles. In the sloppy process of expecting the confusion to be resolved, there are only insufficient emotional dramas, and it is difficult to maintain the enthusiasm to continue watching.
Many sci-fi stories, from the perspective of the relationship between humans and aliens, regardless of harmony such as "ET" or conflicts such as "Zone Nine", can be regarded as aliens as imaginary enemies, examining the situation of human beings and the internal relations between human beings. relation. "Falling Stars" is a very typical example. There are many conflicts between humans in the play. After the aliens ransacked the earth, mankind encountered a crisis of faith. Selfishness, impulsivity, confusion, fear and other sentient beings surfaced. This is the biggest bright spot I can find in the first season. The guerrilla warfare between the miscellaneous army composed of civilians and troops and aliens is not as attractive as the contradictions between people in the play.
When humans and aliens tried to communicate, they saw the familiar SF plot. In the background of the story of the 21st century, all modern high-tech equipment disappeared on the earth after being robbed by aliens. In order to highlight the weakness of human beings? For the so-called feelings of the seventies? Perhaps, mainly to save costs. The production cost of the big guns and cannons cannot be afforded. In the past two years of American dramas, sci-fi series are often cut off halfway. According to the level of the first season of "Falling Stars", the prospects are not optimistic. If it does not accelerate to become exciting, it may accelerate to the end.
■ "Beijing Youth Daily"
View more about Falling Skies reviews
