Imperial stormtroopers paraded through the Walt Disney Grand Theatre at the Shanghai Disney Resort on Wednesday night, where the Chinese premiere of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" was screened.
Amid cheering fans, the Sinostage dance crew presented a performance inspired by Star Wars and three guests were invited to stage to share their stories. The main cast and crew were visibly absent, most likely due to scheduling conflicts. Many of them needed to attend the world premiere of the film in Los Angeles. The main cast sent a greeting video instead.
Nevertheless, audiences still cheered when the greeting video was played and guests took the stage. Then it was time for the extravaganza of the night: the first advance screening of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker." Fans seemed excited to watch a new installment, but were sad to bid farewell to the beloved triple trilogy, the 42-year-old 9-episode "Skywalker saga" built on the stories of Luke Skywalker's extended family and friends.
"I was overwhelmed by the nostalgic tributes to the former two trilogies of Star Wars," a longtime Star Wars fan Dio told China.org.cn after the screening. Dio is also the commanding officer of the Rebel Legion Chinese Base and the executive officer of the 501st Legion Chinese Garrison— two Star Wars cosplay fan clubs which regularly organize fan events and charity events.
"Basically, from the very beginning of the film, my body and soul went directly back to my childhood. I cried, I laughed, not just because of the storyline of the film, but rather, because it was something like a retrospective projection of my memories and experiences of the past decades. Then, as the film came to a close, it felt Iike my youth also came to an end," Dio said.
The latest installment of the Star Wars saga is overloaded with information, nostalgic elements as well as twists and turns. When the true identity of Rey was revealed, or when Sheev Palpatine, the dark lord of the Sith and former emperor of the galaxy, reappeared, there were gasps and screams from the audience in the theater. There were also warm responses from the audience when the old friends— Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Lando Calrissian— all played by the original cast reappeared. The lightsaber duels and spaceship battle scenes were also epic and terrific, involving stunning visuals and sustained flashing light sequences which led Disney to issue an unprecedented warning that they could affect those with photosensitive epilepsy.
The actors also clearly gave their best. "Adam Driver, who played Kylo Ren, was so obsessed with the fight scenes and practiced lightsaber moves for four hours every day without rest," fight coordinator Yang Liang shared. "Daisy Ridley has better flexibility and coordination because she was a dancer. But ever since 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens,' the lightsaber effects were not just produced by CGI computers. The directors wanted the real lightsaber, so a prop was made out of LED lights with multi-layered organic glass. Though they were heavy for actors and posed a challenge for Daisy, she never gave up."
However, nearly half of the critics didn't like the finale film. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 57% based on 266 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads: "'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' suffers from a frustrating lack of imagination, but concludes this beloved saga with fan-focused devotion." On China's movie review aggregator Douban.com, the film had a score of 6.8/10 based on the reviews and ratings from nearly 13,000 users.
Ironically, many fans complained that the critically acclaimed, boldly innovative and even subversive "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" (2017) by Rian Johnson broke the formula. They said that in some ways it did not even look like a Star Wars movie, especially when it turned the franchise's main hero, Luke Skywalker, into a bitter old man. Disney listened to the feedback, ousted Colin Trevorrow who had creative differences with producer Kathleen Kennedy and hired J.J. Abrams back to direct the last installment.
Abrams said to The New York Times recently that "The Last Jedi" is "full of surprises, subversion and all sorts of bold choices." But he also noted, "On the other hand, it's a bit of a meta-approach to the story. I don't think that people go to 'Star Wars' to be told, 'This doesn't matter.'"Director Johnson defended his approach during a recent interview on the "Swing & Mrs." podcast on Radio.com: "I think approaching any creative process with [making fandoms happy] would be a mistake that would lead to probably the exact opposite result."
"'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' spent so much time correcting the course of 'The Last Jedi,'" Lin Jiandong, a Chinese film industry veteran, told China.org.cn after watching the film. "This saga should have had a much grander ending, but it is regrettable that it concluded abruptly when everything seemed to be on a positive upswing."
Whether or not the new film will truly please fans, it remains clear that the franchise is still struggling to attract broader Chinese audiences. When George Lucas' original "Star Wars" debuted in 1977, China had just ended its Cultural Revolution and hadn't yet opened up to the world. Decades later, 20th Century Fox eventually got the prequels, Episodes 1-3, to screen in China around the new millennium. "The Phantom Menace" (1999) earned US$5 million, "Attack of the Clones" (2002) took in US$7.2 million and "Revenge of the Sith" (2005) grossed US$11.7 million in the Chinese market.
After the Walt Disney Company acquired Lucas film for US$4.05 billion in 2012, they expanded the Star Wars universe and achieved new milestones in film history. "The Force Awakens" became one of the highest grossing films of all time and its performance in the Chinese market hit a new peak. The movie grossed 810 million yuan (US$124 million) in 2016, due to the audience's curiosity and massive marketing campaigns and stunts, such as the lighting up of the Star Wars logo on the Great Wall of China.
But the follow-ups of each of the new titles have witnessed diminishing box office returns in China. To create more affinity with its Chinese fans, the critically claimed "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" added two heavyweight Chinese actors, Jiang Wen and Donnie Yen to the cast, but the film only grossed 477 million yuan in 2017. "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" hit a low in early 2018, with a total gross revenue of just 267 million yuan. "Solo: A Star Wars Story" grossed just 106 million yuan.
Disney has since been trying to increase awareness and enthusiasm for the Star Wars franchise in China. For example, it teamed up with Tencent-owned China Literature in October to produce the first original Chinese Star Wars story for the latter's online reading platform. The two companies also distributed 40 Star Wars novels translated into Chinese for the first time. There have also been Star Wars exhibitions in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Nanjing. Even PepsiCo, Inc. rolled out a series of special Star Wars collection Pepsi cans in China.
The synchronous or even early release of "The Rise of Skywalker" on Dec. 20 in China alongside North America and other markets, marked a change from the holiday Star Wars installments in past years. Previous movies opened in China only in January, after the initial rollout in other international markets. But Wednesday's previews of the film nationwide from 7:00 p.m. received a lukewarm response and only grossed 12.66 million yuan on the night of the premiere. The latest Star Wars movie will also compete with Chinese kung fu blockbuster "Ip Man 4,"the acclaimed comedy "Almost A Comedy" as well as renowned director Feng Xiaogang's new romance film "Only Cloud Knows," which opened on Friday.
Disney can rest assured that "The Rise of Skywalker" will be a smash hit in the North America. And after this saga, Disney will explore yet another trilogy in the future without the Skywalkers and its Disney+ live-action series "The Mandalorian" has already received positive feedback around the world, including from the Chinese audience.
"I love the Star Wars films because I feel it is a very complicated cinematic work. It is a commercial blockbuster, but it is also a hero saga, and in some ways is more a family drama. Sometimes I feel it has many philosophical elements as well. In many ways, it is a Rubik's cube for me and has many facets. Growing up with it, I have gradually grown to understand it and love it more," writer Jiang Fangzhou said.
Source: china.org by zhang rui
