After ten years, three trailers, and countless hyped rumors,
the first in a new series of Star Wars movies is finally here, already smashing
box office records with every passing day. Fan reactions have been widely
positive, with many detractors trying desperately to find anything to deter
these rabid individuals. Yet, does this film deserve all the attention it’s
receiving? Many films in the past, including the franchises own Phantom
Menace, have been portrayed as great films simply because of the name attached
to the product, when in reality they are lackluster at best. I’m happy to say
that these praises, while a little overblown, are not unwarranted.
Taking
place many years after Return of the Jedi, the heroes of the original
films have all gone their separate ways as a new force known as the First Order
has risen to finish what the Empire started, leaving the Rebels to reform and
continue to fight this force. While on the planet Jakku, a droid is given a
secret message to hide until the Rebellion can come back for it. The droid
finds Rey, a young scavenger full of wanderlust for the X-Wing pilots and Jedi
of the past, and Finn, a Stormtrooper turned rogue who’s looking for a purpose
in life now that he’s left the only thing he’s ever known. The two must now get
the droid back to the rebellion and stop the Order from unleashing their newest
weapon upon the galaxy.
What is
apparent from the first frame of the film is that Abrams, and to an extent
Disney, understand what made Star Wars great and what people disliked about the
prequels. The focus of the film is on characters, expanding the universe, and
clever fan service, which The Force Awakens excels at on all of those fronts.
The new characters in the film are all interesting, well-acted, well written,
and generally likable. It’s easy to care for these people, and they all have
something to offer. I realized how much I liked these guys when Fin and Raye
are escaping the Order in the Millennium Falcon and Fin shoots down a Tie
fighter. In response, he joyfully jumps in the air, pumps his fist, and gives
an endearing yell that made me react in a similar fashion. The script is also
very funny, more so then I was originally expecting. While not every joke is
winner, there are more laughs then whimpers in The Force Awakens.
The new
locations and aliens are also cool, if a bit familiar. Jakku is Tattoine, the
snow planet is Hoth, etc. Yet, there are enough different things done with
these planets to make them somewhat unique. Jakku has more dunes and
mountainous terrain, while the villages and inhabitants are different from the
ones in A New Hope, the ice planet is full of trees and is more akin to
a tundra rather than an arctic desert. These also play into the well done fan
service, which was done at the right moments in just the right ways. Many of
the old characters, like Han Solo and Leia return, but they are important to
the story and their roles do not feel forced. Their respective actors are also
fantastic, with Harrison Ford joining Stallone from Creed on the list of
returning actors who should get Oscar nominations for their performances.
Yet,
the fan service is not perfect. It does seem somewhat alienating at times to
those who are coming into the film franchise for the first time. While not
every reference is this way, I do feel that some scenes will be lost on new
viewers. I’m also unsure of how to feel about how heavily The Force Awakens’
plot steals from A New Hope. This has been a major criticism from most
people, and I would agree entirely if I did not think the series is going to do
something different with the next few films. My ideal set-up for the new
trilogy is that eight and nine will be their own films, ones that build upon
this one and tell their own story with the original films remaining legends
that are used to inspire a new generation. I feel like The Force Awaken
is the trilogy’s way of easing viewers into this new series by giving them
something familiar first to show that not only can they make a great film, but
that it’s not going to be like the prequels or spin-offs the fans have disliked
in the past. Only time can tell if the plot similarity will be a necessary
exception or a lazy fault.
On a
more positive note, the action scenes are truly exciting and do a good job of sparingly
using CGI. They are filmed extremely well and are great at building tension. I
especially like the few lightsaber battles in the film, making these fights
more special and unique. A nice touch is how each person’s style of lightsaber fighting
is different and reflects their character or their current state of mind.
The
Force Awakens is not only the best Star Wars movie in over twenty years, it’s
also a fantastic holiday blockbuster. Well filmed, acted, written, and made,
this movie is one that deserves all of the praise it’s getting and left me reassured
that this new trilogy will be something great.
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