The ships of Star Wars NOT in space

In the mere weeks now since Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens came out, many of the bloggers here and especially, Mike & Joao on the Podcast have all spoken its praises. We have all fixated on the storyline, the questions that have been brought up and some of our favorite moments of the film. I for one, like many, have my favorite scenes during the movie, but there was one aspect of The Force Awakens that really stood out for me and that was the spacecraft. There were many exquisite shots, scenes and sequences that involved spacecraft doing some amazing stuff and not always necessarily IN space. I’m here to elaborate and expand on some of these wondrous moments.

From just after the opening crawl, we expect and are given, the familiar approach of a Star Destroyer. Immediately you realize that we’re seeing it from the underside and completely in shadow. To me, this was both a nod to the previous films, but subtle enough to let you know this was going to be something different. Then you see four landing craft come out from that darkness. These gunboats then descend to Jakku, skimming the surface until opening their forward facing gangplanks to allow the Stormtroopers to disembark and begin attacking the village. I for one, found this shot reminiscent of Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan” when the Allied Forces stormed the beaches at Normandy. Perhaps a little nod from JJ to Steven? Later, after Poe is rescued by Finn, their ensuing escape within the hangar bay is equally enjoyable, not the least bit unentertaining, watching the firing within the confines of the flight deck and taking out the control room. Their escape under and through the bow is reminiscent of the Falcon evading capture in Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and of course, the rapport between Finn & Poe in that small cockpit is already classic.

But the standout scenes I enjoyed the most were the ones featuring everyone’s favorite Corellian freighter, the Millennium Falcon. For me, the reveal of the Falcon being the ‘garbage ship’ that Rey and Finn end up escaping on, was one of the biggest ‘clench-your-fists’ and cheer moments of the film. My heart definitely jumped when they went running towards it and Rey stated “this ship hasn’t flown in years”. But more exciting for me was when you saw those engines glow blue and Rey attempt to get her off the ground. The quick hop and bounce onto the landing gear, followed by that long shot of the cockpit dragging across the dirt, and then smashing thru that gateway, before finally lifting off over Unkar’s upset face, was smile inducing. We’ve all seen the Falcon flown gracefully by Han Solo in the original trilogy and almost as well by Lando, but watching a rookie pilot feel her way through piloting it was great. Obviously a novice pilot, she quickly and deftly piloted it thru the rotting heaps of crashed Imperial vessels in some of the tightest, most amazing shots we’ve ever seen of the Falcon and all just barely a few hundred feet above the ground! Not in the far flung, dark and quiet reaches of space, but in the broad daylight of a planet’s surface. Amazing stuff. There was one shot in particular where the Falcon comes up and over a ridge and you’re looking headlong towards the front end and then swoops down low over the dune. The whole ‘escape from Jakku’ aboard the Falcon was riotous and memorable. Yet, there was more to come. Though just as brief, the shot of the Falcon entering over Maz Kanata’s was breathtaking and then of course, much later in the film as it begins it’s finally approach over the ocean before landing on the island is also another gorgeous surface encounter. But for my money, the sudden exit out of hyperspace and pulling up, smashing into and thru the trees of Starkiller Base before coming down with a thunderous thump and whoomp onto the snow and then skidding towards a precarious cliff, was just as exhilarating as Rey’s baby steps behind the controls. I punched my buddy’s shoulder at the awesomeness of the Falcon slowing to a stop as boulders fell into the depths. Seeing the Falcon do things (and mostly on a planet instead of outside its atmosphere) was just wild.

The aerial dogfight that took place between the resistance X-Wings lead by Poe Dameron against the TIE Fighters above Maz Kanata’s compound / castle were equally enthralling. Just like the shot of the TIEs approaching against the backdrop of the sun was so eerily reminiscent of Col Kilgore’s choppers approaching the village in “Apocalypse Now”. Watching them approach over the water and then a subsequent shot of them flying in formation overhead. reminded me of old WWII footage of American bombers flying. The interaction of the battle above in relation to the one on the ground was so realistic. TIEs were crashing into the battlements, with troopers going flying as waves splashed and debris or shrapnel hit, was unlike anything we were accustomed to in the previous films. It brought a certain degree of realism to the whole unfolding situation.

The only mystery I’m still trying to find closure on was, did the First Order only have one Star Destroyer? Well, that and where is Snoke? Are there more First Order troops there? Is that where the rest of their fleet is? Is he building a clone army wherever he is? Is it May 2017 yet?

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