"Rogue One" I have been looking forward to from the very beginning, mainly because of the director GE. As a director who filmed "Monster" at his own expense of 50w, he also arranged all the special effects on his own computer. This kind of otaku director style is very similar to my own experience. Then add his personal style in "Monsters", that is, the kind of storytelling of personal emotions embedded in a large science fiction background, and using a relatively literary method to shoot science fiction movies. This kind of anti-type The way of shooting is also very close to my heart.
GE became an instant hit after "Monsters". Although as a low-cost science fiction movie, "Monsters" did not win many film industry awards or attracted much attention from critics, but Hollywood has this courage and industrial confidence. , Dared to hand over a "Godzilla" with an investment of 160 million US dollars to such a director. Just ask whether the Chinese film circle is afraid? I am always saying that without a good screenwriter and a good director, no one can make horror science fiction films. . . Are you really looking for it?
"Godzilla 2014" is the one I mentioned before that has obvious flaws, but also has a sharp style. So later, it was natural for Catherine (Lucas' current CEO) to come to GE to film Rogue One. The story of "Godzilla 2014" has a big problem. The main reason is that the protagonist’s entire emotional clues and motivations are confused and passive. Although Godzilla is the absolute protagonist, no matter what movie the audience watches, the human story is always the same. First place. So the low evaluation of the film also illustrates this point. But the layman looks at the excitement, the insider looks at the doorway. The place where "Godzilla 2014" shines is GE's directing and scheduling. Moreover, with this bad story, 200 million box offices have been recovered in North America. Smart producers can see the director's potential at a glance. Well, if it is accompanied by a good screenwriting team, it is absolutely reliable ("Grand Theft Auto" The remake of "Number One" is an example, I will talk about it later).
Where is GE's directing and scheduling outstanding? It is to create an atmosphere of tension and rich levels of scenes, of course, as well as a grasp of the psychology of commercial film viewing. His narration of disaster scenes and horror scenes escaped the straightforward and conventional expressions, and used a lot of side descriptions and small foreshadowings to gradually accumulate emotions (such passages in "Godzilla 2014" abound, MUTO awakens , Nuclear bombing, Hawaii, Valley Train, etc.), this is almost a re-enactment of the thriller scene scheduling in the golden age of the movie. The framing and mirroring are not clichés, but try to be in a long shot. Through the lens pan and the movement of the subject to accumulate tension, while emphasizing the coordination of sound effects and music (for example, the lens and the shaking plane crash one by one, and then Godzilla kicks into the picture, and then all the calls stop suddenly), This is scheduling. There is also the multi-level processing of disaster scenes, creating an atmosphere through the change of viewpoints, such as MUTO grabbing nuclear bombs, passing the ground crowd, building crowd, and the US military on board, constantly changing the perspective, plus the simultaneous engraving of the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. The event (Godzilla passing the bridge) was rendered, gradually pushing the atmosphere of the scene to a climax. This is our old saying: "The mountains and the rain want the wind to fill the building", which can be used to summarize GE's directorial style and use tension to create a movie-watching pleasure.
At the same time, unlike the common problem of Hollywood film directors after 2000, he ignored the climax of the third act when making commercial films. A good commercial film advances layer by layer, and then ends in the climax of the third act. Cameron's work is the most typical example. Let the audience's accumulated emotions and expectations get the greatest release. However, in Hollywood action movies or disaster movies after 2000, the most exciting scenes are concentrated in the middle, whether it is disaster classics such as "The Day After Acquired", "2012" or "Pacific Rim" movies. The climax disappeared in the middle, and then the end fell like a deflated balloon. GE is not like this. After slowly accumulating tension and holding the pipa half-hidden, the third act of "Godzilla 2014" firmly provides a classic behemoth warfare. At the same time, it relies on flicking and exhaling. Here comes the change of moves. Although it is still difficult for some viewers to accept the slow pace of accumulating narrative tension, there are still unfinished intentions for the war of giants. But at least the grasp of direction and rhythm is in place. This is what the filmmakers want. That's why GE directed "Rogue One", and only then has the splendor of "Rogue One". The third act.
Going back to "Rogue One", this film provides a completely different texture and atmosphere from the original movie. The original Star Wars movie has always been called a space drama, and our audience is like sitting in a theater watching a drama, to enjoy this space family ethics drama. Although there is war, destruction, and resistance, we don't think that those elements are arresting people. Instead, it is the phrase "I am your father", the various abuses of this family. That's why Star Wars has been dubbed the "Space Family Soap Opera". Because all the previous Star Wars movies are not grounded, they have a feeling of classic ancient Greek tragedy. They are pure dramas and stories. Our audience is just watching a play. Drama is drama, a refinement. However, movies in the new era increasingly pursue experience and immersion. TFA uses new mirroring techniques and special effects to enhance the sense of presence of the original Star Wars movies, but it was not until "Rogue One" that the Star Wars movies really began to allow the audience to reduce the audience's perspective from a global drama audience to the world's Participants, witnesses of the resistance. We no longer look at the power of the Death Star to destroy the heavens and the earth like the previous 7 true stories, but stand on the surface of the planet and feel the flying dust of the Death Star only destroying a city. What's more respectable is that the characters in this film are unexpectedly not facialized or black and white. It is not just a simple view of good and evil, the insurgents must be politically correct and perfect. Real people are wrapped in various levels, just like coins have pros and cons, showing complex and opposite characteristics. In the past, at most movies, heroes were added with some trivial minor ailments to show the so-called reality. Just as Chinese audiences used to say that American movies always cursed the government, in fact, the shortcomings of these positive characters in previous film and television performances are almost all It is the shortcoming of the so-called "goodness" that can be understood and forgiven. With the development of the times, film and television works began to dig deeper and deeper into positive characters, and playwrights have gradually realized that instead of giving positive characters a symbolic and insignificant shortcoming, it is better to give him a dark side, or do Wrong choice. No one is born to be perfect. Great people are born in the dark confrontation with themselves. The heavier the chains, the more valuable his positiveness, and the harder his persistence and success will be.
The insurgents in "Rogue One" are finally no longer a group of idealistic passionate figures. They will also smash each other, fear the tail, and even stab their comrades in the back. But when that moment came, they still stood up, sacrificed, sacrificed again, for one purpose and one hope. This is a down-to-earth story. A good story confronts human nature, does not avoid it, and faces up to our defects, but at the same time it demonstrates the glory of human nature. This film fully expands the ties between several families in the main story, showing all kinds of characters. In this way, Star Wars is truly expanded into a universe epic. Let us begin to feel the grandeur of this world, not just the love and killing of several families in the background of the universe.
Of course, this kind of plot change, I think, is also related to the expansion of the entire Star Wars universe. After all, Han Solo's single-player movie has also started shooting. "Rogue One" went through a major make-up a few months before it was released, and most of the images in the first two trailers hardly appeared in the feature film. From the previous clue analysis, I think it is also related to the overall tone of the Star Wars universe. Judging from the first two trailers, the first two scenes of "Rogue One" are completely different from now. The original version of Qin's behavior is more clear. The rebels came to her to find her father, not now. In the movie, it is to find out what information Suo, who raised her up, obtained. Including the shot that Cassie shot behind was also a re-shoot, and Suo's paranoia was also a re-shoot. It can be imagined that the supplementary filming has added the black material of the insurrection army. On the one hand, it enhances the tortuousness of the first two scenes of the film and the thickness of the characters, and on the other hand, it is also to lay the groundwork for the black material of the rebel army. The black material of the rebel army can make these characters more grounded, and at the same time, I am afraid that it will also provide more possibilities for other side-by-side movies in the future (of course, it is also a continuation of the previous animation version and other peripheral works). Then, the strength of Director Krennick facing Vinda in the trailer is also weakened, and he also joined the power struggle between the empire generals. These are all for the future expansion of the Star Wars movie universe. Thread head.
The scenes of "Rogue One" can be said to be very unique, being involved in street fighting on Jada planet, father and daughter reunion on rainy night, and concealed betrayal of comrades in comrades, to the third act of beach battles and low-Earth orbit air combat, all full of GE's feature. Cassie said on Jada planet that we are leaving soon, something is about to happen, that is, the wind of "mountain rain is coming and the wind is full of the building", the rainstorm in the night is a symbol of externalization of the character's heart and behavior, and the third act of beach, base, The rich action scene levels in the three spaces of air combat all show the full crushing of TFA in Rogue One. Especially in the third act of Huacai, contradictions continue to appear in the act, and then contradictions are resolved, and then contradictions appear and resolve again. Wave after wave, combined with action scenes, is extremely refreshing. In particular, the general ordered the cruiser to hit the Imperial Star Destroyer, causing the two Imperial Star Destroyer to collide, and then crashed and destroyed the shield. This kind of scene was not reduced to pure display special effects, but effectively solved the contradiction and was very clever. At the same time, the crash of the Star Destroyer pays tribute to the true story (both the true story and the prequel have this big scene of fighting blood, TFA garbage). This is why the third act of the film is also well received abroad. Whether in terms of satisfying the audience's climax watching expectations, or in terms of the richness and intelligence of pure action scenes, the third act of "Rogue One" can score high. This is also inseparable from the control of GE director. Of course, this film is a big investment Star Wars movie after all, which limits the director's ability to schedule and present scenes in rhythm, but it is not easy to be able to play to this level. It is a blessing for Star Wars fans and movie fans.
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