Although I want to say that this drama is quite satisfactory, it is more like the opposite of the norm when we go deeper. Compared with the tepid Titan next door, there are more bright spots on the star girl side, but the problems and shortcomings are also very prominent. In addition to the problems in the script, it can be seen that the director's overall control ability is lacking. He has neither created a sufficiently distinct visual style, nor has he been able to make use of his strengths and avoid weaknesses to eliminate conflicts at the performance level (not to mention doomsday). Patrols, swamp monsters also have a lot of points for this). In addition to some action scenes, you can see the intentional design - some people think that the slightly surreal action design is too fluffy and fake, but this kind of "cartoon-style fighting" can also be very emotional, the key is to know a balance (speaking less is true The action in the animation is quite realistic?), but I don't know how much of it is due to the professional martial arts, so the director can say that it is quite satisfactory...
The problem of the plot can basically be summed up with the word "hurried", regardless of the rigidity in the background setting and the overall structure, the unfolding of some running-book plots (like the glorious knight line that I don't know what it is doing), or the plot of the ending abuse. Killing makes people feel that the production team just wants to throw out the settings and quickly go through the story flow (the reason is analyzed later), instead of focusing on how to tell an origin story well... Although the story is fast-paced, it tells the story. The technique of the story has not kept up, and some details are too hasty, old-fashioned or even deliberate, giving people the feeling that they have not been well thought out and not enough...
The most typical is the problem with the setting of the heroine. Like this innocent and harmless American sweetheart image, the lack of early foreshadowing makes people unable to understand why it is so reckless (maybe it has something to do with the Thunberg trend?), it feels like getting a star stick to recognize the star After Xia became a father, the brain circuit began to be confused. In fact, there is no need to be so sloppy. If you give more portrayals of the heroine's sturdy life in the past, such as "the robbers subdued her on the road after the gymnastics championship competition", or she was laughed at as a child for not having a father and was bullied by the class. The male classmates of the people all gathered together a round of this violent rebellious and almost self-destructive impulsive character to break the appearance of American sweethearts, which will make it easier for people to understand the inner personality of the heroine. (Combined with the performance of the whole play, this is more in line with her nature, and it echoes the paternal love of Pat's tame and family at the end, and it will also make the character arc more vivid.) Maybe the second season will trace some similar backgrounds, but at the beginning It is a narrative mistake to leave such an abrupt impression on people. After all, if the image of the girl next door does not have a deep character and a foreshadowing of innate skills, it must be said that she is a martial arts prodigy or avenging her father. The daughter of a knight is simply difficult to convince the public, lacking that kind of chivalrous temperament, it is more like falling into a Mary Sue-style fantasy... Until this dream is broken, and she finds that she is just an ordinary girl abandoned by a scumbag father. Accepting a new family and fighting to protect the family, such a storyline... Although it's not so annoying, it's not very attractive as a superhero origin! Even a bit bloody! It's too far... If the heroine is not like this, it may be more convincing to replace it with the image and temperament of Super Killer or Michelle Yeoh. (In addition, when it comes to personality and temperament, the tigress is really good. Although there are not many opportunities to appear on the stage, the subtle performance of the level of "physiological excitement" emerges when she knows she is going to "hunt". Ryo, I think this woman really hides her animal nature...)
The same problem also appeared in the third episode, because the membership of ISA also lacked foreshadowing. I believe that many people like me are at odds with the icicle and silence the magician's family. This operation is also ignorant...
In terms of background setting , I can understand that the creators want to use a more realistic sci-fi sense as the main theme of the first season, in order to bridge the free and colorful comic fantasy sense of the second season, so the appearances are all sci-fi characters ( Although the performance of the icicle is very unscientific, the death is even more unscientific... As for Grandi, although he was born in the mystery department, it can be easily rewritten into science fiction origin), while the Thunder Elf and Green Lantern, Shadow, Doctor Fate and Eclipse All the more magical things are left for later. Although there may be funding constraints (but the second season of this reaction is not enough, right?), but I feel that it is more conservative thinking of live-action dramas. easy for the audience to accept. Green Arrow is also in this way, starting from the street vigilantes, to the appearance of The Flash, he is still relatively resistant to superpowers, but when will time travel, witchcraft magic, parallel worlds and even cosmic crises can also participate in a kick... This is almost " "The King of Super Heroes", the original worldview of comics is mostly like this. The problem is that single-player heroes such as Lightning Green Arrow have a clear theme, whether it is urban crime or sci-fi power, or related materials of comics. There is also a lot of accumulation, and JSA itself represents the endless mystery and infinite possibilities of this world. The members include all kinds of strange powers and gods. If it starts from the real science fiction, it will not be able to play its advantages and characteristics, but it will be caught by its own hands and feet. Urgent - Super-British dramas have been rampant in recent years, and everyone has tolerance for similar settings. Take the essence of the plot, and you can easily set the credibility. As long as the story is interesting and the reputation is not bad, comic fans will not have any opinions.
The current settings are not pleasing at both ends. They are neither realistic enough nor comical enough. There is no sense of legend and fashion. If there is no mystery, most of the feelings are lost. The "black technology toys" of the 1990s, the fighting is a fluttering comic-style action... Even the last satellite brainwashing plan is very earthy (there is a good comment: Isn't it popular to use "Tik Tok" for brainwashing now?) Here we have it again The "retro wave" of the Doomsday Patrol is really retro and trendy (the main creator has a clear positioning and ideas and a clear personal style, although the unwritten book teaching group immediately persuaded a wave of conservative thinking audiences, but More open fans and fans of cult films are hilarious). However, it is still much more expressive than the circus animals, haunted magic and half-hearted aliens of the Titan next door, not to mention that there is still room for expansion in the second season, I hope the expressiveness can be improved...
The bigger problem is the positioning of the series, which is not like a typical superhero series (from Smallman to The Flash, where the mainline is interspersed with one villain/event per episode, which CW has done very well. Mature), but it is not very youthful drama (the campus life is just a taste, and the excavation of the personal life of the supporting characters is also anticlimactic, should it be reserved for the second season), the result is the implicit theme of "family" that is highlighted. The various family relationships of the youngsters are shown, but only the three families of Courtney, Henry and Cindy are deeply shaped (which is also the highlight of the play). However, this theme is not particularly tied to the whole main line of confrontation between good and evil, and it has not been sublimated at the climax of the story (the icicle family could have echoed it, but others set up a collapse and lost their minds to rob a wife until they were killed by the plot. I didn’t mention the family, the young and the old again, I’m confused again)… Then I mentioned this main line whose function is greater than the story , and made it clear that it was just to gather the protagonist team and let the villain exit the scene, and then arrange an evil plan casually, with a little intention. It’s not subtle (so it’s so straightforward, infighting kills 2 plots and kills 3, more than half of the ISA generation is out, and in order to give the second generation to the second generation to clear the scene, but this is too wasteful? I feel that the screenwriter is lazy and let the characters I can't rest my eyes.) Especially the villains' motives for "Saving America" make people unable to complain. It can be said to be the biggest failure of the show. I'm completely sorry for the injustice at the beginning of ISA. Makes people wonder: what is the show trying to convey? You have to say that it is the good and evil theme of "sacrifice others for the sake of great ideas" . In the early stage, there was no basis for guiding this moral position, and it was seriously out of touch with the family theme in the previous section. I went through it with a simple answer of "it's wrong for you to kill", but the problem is that the protagonist's camp also has a "kill for justice" leader... Now I don't even know what the main creator wants to express. It's a child's play... If you can't write this kind of advanced subject well, you might as well leave it alone. It's better than pretending to be deep in this half-baked way, leaving readers with questions.
As a result, the lack of clarity in the overall positioning limits the way the story unfolds and the focus of the script: it is said that the youth drama is not youthful enough, it is not cool enough as a superhero drama, and it is said that the universal value family drama has not been implemented to the end, as an origin story... ...The function is achieved, but the only thing that does not show the charm of Chaoying itself. Although the heroine has grown slightly, the premise of her search for herself is very strange, which has discounted the light that finally obtained the star's recognition, and the inheritance of JSA's hero's soul has not been reflected. It should be to use the villain's idea to set off the justice of the hero, but this aspect is particularly bad. I don't know what the villains are thinking, and the protagonists don't know what they are doing... The heroine was originally ready to run away. However, she was forced to fight again, and later learned about the villain's idea, and she didn't know how to deal with it. Compared with justice, the heroine felt more like fighting for her family, the wild cat was fighting for Henry's death, and Rick was fighting for his parents' revenge. , Beth is making cameo appearances for friendship, these are not enough to reflect their consciousness as heroes... Although the requirements for fifteen or sixteen teenagers should not be too high, there will be more room for growth in the future, but looking at this season alone, as a character in the origin story Growing and shaping is hard to satisfy.
In this way, the real failure may be that the audience's age group positioning is too low, which directly reflects that the three boss villains in the final battle are all wiped out, and the protagonist Fang has almost no injuries except for Beth's glasses... The magician's family really wants to cry : "You TM will only be ruthless to your own people!" Having said that, the hero and the villain fought to death in their own nest before they did anything, and the three bosses were finally killed by the kid without any resistance and dignity, and the kid was unexpectedly killed easily, like this The outrageous spectacle should have been very terrifying. If you want to come to this show, the style should be more joyful, but the director can't get it... Yes, it must be so!
However, this drama does not have the sand sculpture attributes of the Doomsday Patrol. If you want to say that it is not as youthful as Smallville, it is better to tell the superhero story in a proper way... I hope that the main creators can focus on the theme of "being a hero means" next season. What's this, complements the missing origin factors in the first season, and allows the audience to see what it means to be a stargirl and what it means to be a JSA. Let the spiritual level of several protagonists be able to obtain the growth worthy of this legacy, and then integrate the family line and the youth line with the main line, so that it can be regarded as a work that meets the expectations of fans.
Although I accidentally complained so much (it’s really unpleasant), in fact, I was quite happy watching it. Feeling even more disappointed in disappointment. Even so, I'm still very optimistic about the second season. This is not only the preference of DC fans and "brother-in-law" true fans, but also because the improvement potential of this show is still huge.
Geoff Johns Legendary screenwriter of American comics, original new generation of jsa, creator of star girl, developer of live-action drama... commonly known as "brother-in-law".
Here's a look back at the highlights of the season:
The most exciting part of the first season is the shaping of the evil second generation Cindy/Shiv. From the stereotype of the female Taibao-style cheerleader who bullied the newcomer at the beginning, to the youth film-style unfolding of being moved by the heroine and turning into friends, but suddenly revealing each other's identities and becoming fateful enemies, this setting is very interesting and super British . Coupled with a few strokes, it depicts the complexity of her inner rebellion and confusion: she hates ordinary people, but longs for attention; she is extremely conceited, but has the impulse to self-destruct; she longs for her father's approval to join ISA In the end, she killed her father herself; she also wanted to gain real friendship, but after the shatters, she launched a crazy revenge... All of this makes her the heroine's best enemy. As a result, compared to the origin of the star girl or the new generation of JSA, the origin of shiv performed better... Once again, it confirmed the ability of the brother-in-law to shape the villain.
The second is the family theme I mentioned before. The heroine’s family is naturally the most intriguing. The good man Pat can’t pick out any faults except for the cowardice at the beginning, and he is even more radiant under the background of PUA’s father (there is a small detail in episode 11, test Turney came back to the house with a sad face. Pat was acutely aware that her necklace was missing and immediately understood what was going on, but the director was so subtle that I didn't notice it at first. The restlessness of being excluded is also contagious. (But in the end, the whole family united against the icicle villain, the bridge is a bit broken)
There is also a brain wave father and son line that is not bad, but because the main line is not supported, the shaping of the main villains of ISA is relatively weak, even if there are some good details or plot settings, it will not change the overall situation... In contrast, a few evil spirits Although the second generation is only a foreshadowing, it is even more exciting.
Combining these advantages and disadvantages, you will find that the well-written places are basically character-centered, especially the in-depth characterization of the characters and inner emotions (which is also the advantage of brother-in-law), and these are indeed rooted in the grounded atmosphere. In this sense of life, this realistic background also has its meaning, but I still feel that it is very restrictive for future development... This route is more suitable for patiently polished dramas, rather than fast-paced "cool dramas". The main line of the season is more like the latter...
Correspondingly, the problem is around the main line. The villain's evil plan is too heavily applied and cannot be more closely and organically integrated with the underlying structure of characterization. There is a rigid connection between the sense of life and "super life". Therefore, it breaks away from the naturalness of character interpretation and makes it serve the function of plot advancement. This kind of toolman approach has a sense of separation from the previous character-oriented style, and even makes people doubt whether it was written by one person. .
Of course, the weak main line may also be a hasty "result" rather than a "cause". If the script has more time for polishing or performance space, I believe it can be done better. For example, Star Girl said to Icicle at the end, "You can never save America, you have too much hatred in your heart." As the ending of the main line, it should have been a powerful finishing touch, revealing the true desire of Icicle. It is not redemption but destruction, but the actual performance is not good or even violated, because the heroine has not accumulated enough factual basis to support her line, and there is no intuitive situation of inner choice to let the audience see the icicles. By nature, the lines lose their power. (In contrast, Brainwave's wife and child murder is more convincing, but he exits the stage without explaining the negative motivation for him to do this)
Nonetheless, the screenwriter/brother-in-law has found an entry point to strengthen the mainline conflict. As long as you spend more time and thought, it can be achieved, and those blunt and deliberate plot settings and character performance can also be better handled. Since I can see that it is impossible for these professional screenwriters to understand, then the question arises:
Why is the main line so hasty and perfunctory?
1 Limited by the ability of the main creative team
After all, this is the first film and television project led by my brother-in-law's production company, MAD GHOST. It is normal that the production process of American dramas is not adapted or controlled, and the experience level of the production team is limited. Perhaps it should not be too demanding.
First of all, my brother-in-law is accustomed to a comic-centered creative thinking. The freedom of imagination and the emphasis on expression are completely different from live-action film and television. It is natural that the previous advantages are limited by experience and funds and cannot be used. Unlike Doom Patrol, who was originally the core screenwriter of the "Force of Evil" crew, he can naturally focus on the episodes to develop strengths and avoid weaknesses, grasp the characteristics of live-action film and television, and give full play to the advantages of comic settings... Brother-in-law must do this. I'm afraid there is still a lot to accumulate...
In terms of collaboration, although my brother-in-law has written many single-episode scripts, the whole season script is not done by one person, so there must be a choice: whether to write what you want and leave it to others to fill in, or leave it with confidence Others play their own only from the overall grasp? Maybe my brother-in-law has written the framework and a few protagonist lines/character biographies and left it to the executive screenwriter to fill in, but they can't get that much, or they can only execute it to this extent... There may be various problems in the overall coordination of the actual execution. .
2 Creative differences within the team
This is also easy to understand. Although my brother-in-law has been involved in comics and dramas for many years, he is always a newcomer in the field of production. He has no authority and may not even be able to decide by himself. This kind of split in style positioning... But when it comes to the overall control of the script, it is impossible for my brother-in-law to have no decision-making power, so I still prefer the split between creativity and execution, or point to another possibility-
3 Actively choose and measure the results
This means that the production team knew that the script had shortcomings and could do better, but stopped there and started shooting directly...
Of course, it may also be limited by external conditions such as schedules and funds, such as catching up with the start of DC Universe streaming media, but when the star girl started broadcasting, the Titans and Doom Patrol in the starting lineup were both out for the second season. , so... if there is no such problem, it may be that the brother-in-law is in a hurry:
Yu Si, Kevin Feige, who is a student of the same school, is making rapid progress in the MCU, and it is impossible for his brother-in-law not to be eager to catch up with him; Yu Gong also sincerely hopes to contribute to the dc comic reform, and for this reason, he must strive for more in the DCEU. actual voice. Although my brother-in-law had previously served as the chairman of DC Entertainment, but unfortunately only had a reputation and no actual achievements, and lacked sufficient qualifications in the field of film and television production to convince the public. Now Lei Fisher's "brother-in-law door" can not guarantee that it is not a contradiction buried by this, so he needs it urgently. A master work to prove itself.
But since the star girl is such an important work, you should understand the truth of haste, right? Why not wait for the script to be more complete before launching it?
I can only think that my brother-in-law thinks this is good after making a choice, and does not take the main line part so seriously...
In my mind, the pre-planning of the show should be like this:
Brother-in-law: "Okay! Let's create a new-age super-British drama centered on the family and feel like a youth drama. I have also thought about the stage, and set it in Blue Valley!"
The editors: "But boss, how do we get young people from both good and evil sides to gather in such a small place?"
Brother-in-law: "This is simple, first let the villain kill all the heroes of the older generation, and then dormant here to make a conspiracy, and then the star girl inherits JSA's legacy and gathers a resistance force... As for this conspiracy, you all have a look. No good ideas!"
And then the outline of the first season came out...
Although the brother-in-law intends to deeply shape the main characters, the mission of the first season is simple and clear: in order to let the new generation quickly ascend, the heroes of the older generation will all withdraw from the scene, and the villain's plan will lead all forces into place, then they will be eliminated, and the second generation will be buried. The grievances and grievances between the two, leaving the main stage to young people... Since the layout is like this, instead of investing too much in these functional roles that are sure to exit, why not finish the cutscenes and get to the main topic? And the foreshadowing and easter eggs left in the story also make people feel that the first season is just like a prelude to the prologue, and many things are to pave the way for the subsequent "real drama" (including the shaping of the second generation of good and evil characters, which is still unfinished) Feeling, it is clear that this main line cannot be accommodated in size, so I have to introduce a little bit to lay a foreshadowing, and save the main part for the next season, so that the origin story can be more compact...) That's why the rhythm is so fast, and the lunch box is not soft. , I have no intention of spending too much time on the first generation, and I quickly finished the main line and ended it hastily.
As evidence, it can be seen that the performance of the surviving villains is more natural, and the characters of the evil second generation are also more expected; and the production special of the star girl also mentioned that the brother-in-law will always be with the starring Amway. What's more important are the various developments between the second generation... (Even the brother-in-law may be tired of writing the characters of the older generation, so he just wants to explore more possibilities for young people?)
Although such a trade-off measurement is understandable (in order to break the cocoon into a butterfly, you must first be a cocoon? After all, the stage was set up in 13 episodes, the origin was finished, and so much foreshadowing content was also stuffed, maybe it should not be demanding), but the season In the final episode, the performance of several villains is sloppy, and it is hard to believe that it is the handwriting of my brother-in-law... Even if the standard is lowered for the main story to speed up the progress, the accompanying traces of accommodating the functional settings still make people feel that the completion is not enough.
Perhaps this situation is the combined result of the above factors, and what we see is the answer sheet of the current comprehensive level given by the brother-in-law under various conditions.
Maybe my brother-in-law knows very well that he is lacking in the field of film and television production. Since there is so much to learn, it is better to put into practice and learn by doing instead of looking ahead at the preparation stage... Treat yourself as a pure rookie, and do what you can control and undertake. Gain experience in projects (I think of Hal Jordan's style of doing things). Then the production cycle cannot be delayed. Even if the processing plan is not ideal, continue to advance as long as the standard is met, leave the regrets to the next season to make up for it, and make persistent efforts in the coming year. This is the way to adapt to the more rhythm of the American drama season as soon as possible, right? Instead of pursuing a high standard at the beginning and making it unsustainable in the future, it is better not to set expectations and try to improve steadily. After all, there is no need to prove my brother-in-law's story ability. What is lacking is the accumulation of experience in different media. The star girl corresponds to the starting point of my brother-in-law's comic career, and it is appropriate as a new beginning.
In my opinion, this is a dangerous move. After all, if you can't renew the subscription, you can't talk about everything, but in the end, the subscription was successfully renewed, and the broadcast response was okay, which shows that my brother-in-law also has his own judgment on this (such as the benchmarking of the Titans). The same kind of dramas of the class can be measured), the strategy is basically successful...
But going one step further, you are also betting on your own reputation: this result is considered acceptable for an American drama, but it is a flop at the level of a brother-in-law. Even so, I have to bet, indicating that my brother-in-law is either unconcerned about the praise or criticism of the moment (a pragmatic person who has no pretentious mentality and a stable attitude), or is full of confidence in the follow-up content (in order to quickly bring out the "main course of the drama between the two generations". "I can't wait, even if I sacrifice the completion of the first season to set up a stage).
In this way, my brother-in-law is not the kind of screenwriter who has meticulously crafted the opening chapter. He prefers to constantly shape and enrich the characters in the long-term foreshadowing, and excavate more drama, which is better than the contrast between heroes and villains and crisis. Group image formation in the event. It is this digging and stacking ability that makes him the best sequel screenwriter, and also makes me look forward to the follow-up of the story.
Summarize
To put it bluntly, I think that most of the flaws in this season are limited to the lack of experience and qualifications and are actively or forced to make trade-offs or even strategies, and cannot be regarded as a portrayal of brother-in-law's true level and full strength. The threshold of experience and qualifications can be crossed through accumulation of practice and achievements. My brother-in-law should also lose the immaturity of the novice after following up the production process of this whole season. He has a good understanding of the actual situation of each link and the final product There must be a deeper understanding of the pros and cons of the gains and losses, and then you can better exploit your strengths and avoid weaknesses.
What's more, the stage built by making many compromises and sacrifices in the first season is ready, metabolizing historical problems, and laying a new pattern... In addition to the buried eggs and foreshadowing, my brother-in-law also revealed a lot of follow-up in the interview. Plan: A more open villain lineup, an in-depth exploration of the continuous background, and the suspense that the first generation of Green Lantern will participate in the story in some way... It's all full of expectations. (But this expectation is based on the qualifications and reputation of the brother-in-law. For those who do not have this consensus or who no longer agree with this season, it must not be fulfilled at all, right?)
With so much room for improvement in the second season, even if it can't bring out the normal level of brother-in-law, there should be obvious evolution, right? (Is it possible to reach jojo-level evolution?) What I am most concerned about now is the mainline structure of the second season. It stands to reason that it has gotten rid of the shackles of those "functional background settings", and there is a relationship between the characters laid out in the first season. At the bottom, it should be more organic and natural, highlighting the advantages of the character center. I hope my brother-in-law can give you a surprise, don't slap you in the face... Then there is the issue of the director's level and style. Even if my brother-in-law's script can reproduce the peak level, I am afraid that it will not be able to top-notch without a matching visual presentation. I don't expect the director's level at all... But as long as these two items can be mentioned above the level, it will definitely be stable after that.
Even if these problems cannot be solved immediately, as long as we continue to create and steadily improve, we will eventually see the full strength of my brother-in-law reappearing after he has mastered film and television production with ease, right? I look forward to that day.
This is an optimistic estimate, but there are also pessimistic factors: even if the brother-in-law does not care about the immediate gains and losses in the long run, the external environment cannot be so cooperative. Whether the United States, Warner, or even the brother-in-law themselves are in troubled times, it seems that all kinds of accidents may happen... Can the platform and the capital maintain the same belief? If this season's performance cuts the budget for the second quarter, the pressure will only be greater after that. If the performance of the second season does not improve significantly, will there be a third season for you to hone in? As a result, is this strategy solid or risky? Confidence or humility? Now that all the chips are bet on the second season, it is even more exciting for brother-in-law fans, how can they be dissatisfied with expectations?
As for the outcome of this gamble? It will be announced next year, buy it and leave it!
This is the end of all the analysis, let's see whether the second season will be fulfilled or slapped in the face.
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