3. This Is The Best Looking Star Wars Yet
Throughout this series of articles, Ive tried to consistently draw attention to just how replete with great shots the Star Wars films are, and, in The Force Awakens, this notion reaches its zenith, the film not just filled with gorgeous, redolent tableaux, but just aesthetically stunning in general. As shot by Abrams and his regular director of photography, Daniel Mindel (Mission: Impossible III; Star Trek; Star Trek into Darkness), The Force Awakens is a permanently brilliant opus of visual storytelling, rich in the arid deserts and star-filled vistas required of any Star Wars picture, but also filled with its own visual landmarks and and cinematic iconography. At times, Episode VII even touches the greatness of some of cinemas best looking movies, as in the shot of a fleet of TIE-fighters floating in a blood-orange sky, backlit by a blackening sun to evoke Apocalypse Now. Elsewhere, theres a band of Rebellion X-Wings bouncing in formation above the water, or a haunting shot of Ren watching a magnificent red beam (the product of the First Orders ultimate weapon) shoot across the sky to suggest The Force Awakens as far and away the most visually impressive film in the saga.