BSA 104 (Scriptwriting) Week 1 : Movie Review Structure
Review Structure Breakdown
In class this week we quickly went over how to watch a movie critically in order to be able to write a review on it. We were given a series of steps in writing our reviews:
1. Provide a 2-3 sentence overview of the plot. (No spoilers!)
2. What was your overall emotional response to the film? Why?
3. What did you think of the lead character and why? Was there a particular incident in the film or thing that they did that made you feel this way?
4. Who was your favourite character (if not the lead) and why? Was there a particular incident in the film or thing that they did that made you feel this way?
5. Were there any moments that engaged you the most, and why?
6. Were there any moments in which you started to lose interest or disengaged from the film? Why do you think this was the case?
7. What were the overall strengths and weaknesses of the film?
To give us an idea of how this would apply to a movie we discussed Star Wars with these steps in mind.
1. Provide a 2-3 sentence overview of the plot. (No spoilers!)
Under the orders of the cruel Darth Vader, The Imperial Forces ready The Death Star for attack against the floundering Rebel Alliance, farmboy Luke gets caught up in this debacle when he comes across a small droid with an important message. Together they set off on an adventure that spans across the Universe.
Someone else in my class came up with a synopsis somewhere along these lines. I remember the important parts being related to the death star, the use of 'farmboy' to describe Luke and the call to adventure. Luke is very important in this synopsis because this is when the audience gets invested. Names like The Death Star, Darth Vader, Rebel Alliance and others elements of the plot not mentioned are all very impersonal and they don't have any significance to the audience. It's only once a relatable character and universal concepts like adventure get introduced that the audiences attention is captured.
This is also why the first Star Wars prequel left people so cold, on one hand there isn't a clear protagonist to grasp on to like there is in the original Star Wars (this is one of the elements explored in a very entertaining review by the Youtube channel redlettermedia; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI) as well as the difference in the overall plot. In the opening crawl of A Phantom Menace the audience is bombarded with information about the Trade Federation and Political Debates, not nearly as interesting as Civil War or the destructive force of The Death Star.
In this comparison we can see why Phantom Menace was so poorly received, even from the very first frames. In the original Lucas chose universally understood concepts (like Civil War, Empire and Princess) that wouldn't alienate the audience, an important decision since science fiction was not a very well respected or profitable film genre. He even avoids using complicated science fiction terms, instead opting for words that immediately resonate with the audience. Spaceship or Starship instantly create an image in the audiences minds. "Outlying Star Systems" require the audience to process the information first.
The stakes are also much higher and more personal than in The Phantom Menace, the audience is asked to attach themselves to Princess Leia in the original, she just wants to save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy, a noble cause. By the time we get to the Jedi in Phantom Menace's description we haven't even processed any of the political and science fiction jargon and their mission seems very unimportant. It also doesn't that our main characters are faceless, not even being given names.
Phantom Menace makes the mistake of being impersonal, this distances the audience.
2. What was your overall emotional response to the film? Why?
This was a hard one to answer for just about everyone in class because of our relationship with the original Star Wars movies, we grew up with them and for most of us we can't even remember our first viewing. By the time I saw Star Wars I had seen The Lord of the Rings and it seemed very tame and unimpressive at the time.
Some other people mentioned excitement, this is the answer I think Lucas wanted people wanted to feel back in '77. The reason of course being the sense of adventure and scale.
3. What did you think of the lead character and why? Was there a particular incident in the film or thing that they did that made you feel this way?
We didn't discuss this part, but I think the pros and cons are pretty obvious.
In class this week we quickly went over how to watch a movie critically in order to be able to write a review on it. We were given a series of steps in writing our reviews:
1. Provide a 2-3 sentence overview of the plot. (No spoilers!)
2. What was your overall emotional response to the film? Why?
3. What did you think of the lead character and why? Was there a particular incident in the film or thing that they did that made you feel this way?
4. Who was your favourite character (if not the lead) and why? Was there a particular incident in the film or thing that they did that made you feel this way?
5. Were there any moments that engaged you the most, and why?
6. Were there any moments in which you started to lose interest or disengaged from the film? Why do you think this was the case?
7. What were the overall strengths and weaknesses of the film?
To give us an idea of how this would apply to a movie we discussed Star Wars with these steps in mind.
1. Provide a 2-3 sentence overview of the plot. (No spoilers!)
Under the orders of the cruel Darth Vader, The Imperial Forces ready The Death Star for attack against the floundering Rebel Alliance, farmboy Luke gets caught up in this debacle when he comes across a small droid with an important message. Together they set off on an adventure that spans across the Universe.
Someone else in my class came up with a synopsis somewhere along these lines. I remember the important parts being related to the death star, the use of 'farmboy' to describe Luke and the call to adventure. Luke is very important in this synopsis because this is when the audience gets invested. Names like The Death Star, Darth Vader, Rebel Alliance and others elements of the plot not mentioned are all very impersonal and they don't have any significance to the audience. It's only once a relatable character and universal concepts like adventure get introduced that the audiences attention is captured.
This is also why the first Star Wars prequel left people so cold, on one hand there isn't a clear protagonist to grasp on to like there is in the original Star Wars (this is one of the elements explored in a very entertaining review by the Youtube channel redlettermedia; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI) as well as the difference in the overall plot. In the opening crawl of A Phantom Menace the audience is bombarded with information about the Trade Federation and Political Debates, not nearly as interesting as Civil War or the destructive force of The Death Star.
In this comparison we can see why Phantom Menace was so poorly received, even from the very first frames. In the original Lucas chose universally understood concepts (like Civil War, Empire and Princess) that wouldn't alienate the audience, an important decision since science fiction was not a very well respected or profitable film genre. He even avoids using complicated science fiction terms, instead opting for words that immediately resonate with the audience. Spaceship or Starship instantly create an image in the audiences minds. "Outlying Star Systems" require the audience to process the information first.
The stakes are also much higher and more personal than in The Phantom Menace, the audience is asked to attach themselves to Princess Leia in the original, she just wants to save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy, a noble cause. By the time we get to the Jedi in Phantom Menace's description we haven't even processed any of the political and science fiction jargon and their mission seems very unimportant. It also doesn't that our main characters are faceless, not even being given names.
Phantom Menace makes the mistake of being impersonal, this distances the audience.
2. What was your overall emotional response to the film? Why?
This was a hard one to answer for just about everyone in class because of our relationship with the original Star Wars movies, we grew up with them and for most of us we can't even remember our first viewing. By the time I saw Star Wars I had seen The Lord of the Rings and it seemed very tame and unimpressive at the time.
Some other people mentioned excitement, this is the answer I think Lucas wanted people wanted to feel back in '77. The reason of course being the sense of adventure and scale.
3. What did you think of the lead character and why? Was there a particular incident in the film or thing that they did that made you feel this way?
This was an interesting round of answers because most people felt that Luke was actually a bit annoying, with his constant complaining at the start of the film. From what I can remember from my two or three viewings of the film I don't think I ever picked up on this. We have to keep in mind when this movie was released and who it was made for, Luke is a representation of the average teenager and when it came out I think the target audience really related to him. For many at the time the incident that made audiences like Luke was probably that he complained. He was an average teenage boy that wanted more in the world, who couldn't understand that? Some of the answers in the class placed the incident some forty minutes into the movie, this just doesn't seem realistic for a character that everybody seems to like.
4. Who was your favourite character (if not the lead) and why? Was there a particular incident in the film or thing that they did that made you feel this way?
This answer was split between Obi-Wan and Han Solo. Obi-Wan gaining his fans because of the way he acted as the old mentor and him saving Luke, Han because of his bad boy persona and introduction. Both make sense, although I'd think back in the day Han would definitely be the more popular.
5. Were there any moments that engaged you the most, and why?
I actually don't remember the answers for this one, although if I had to guess I'd say it would be the more exciting sequences, like the Death Star segment of the film. The characters are in a dangerous situation and scenes like the Trash Compactor or Storm Trooper disguise build tension. Ending in (spoiler warning) Obi-Wan's death, this has to be the best part of the film.
6. Were there any moments in which you started to lose interest or disengaged from the film? Why do you think this was the case?
Obviously there wasn't any answers for this one, but of course as a child the least interesting parts for me were the space battles, which just didn't match up to modern effects at the time. If I had to guess what people would have said back when the film first came out, I would say the scene where Obi-Wan teaches Luke on the ship. This part of the film could put people off because it is mainly world building and lore. Not that it's a bad scene.
7. What were the overall strengths and weaknesses of the film?
Some excellent observations here -- thank you very much!
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