Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review

Originally Reviewed December 20th, 2015

Okay, let’s get this out of the way before you read the wrap up and freak out, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is NOT, let me repeat myself, NOT the second coming. Don’t get me wrong, it is glorious and far from the shit show that was the prequel trilogy. Then again, almost everything Star Wars related is better than those films. The Force Awakens was, then, destined to be either the downfall or the redemption of the franchise that has dominated pop culture since the late 70s, and let’s be frank, it was going to take a lot of effort for the film to become either. So where exactly does it stand? In my opinion, it’s somewhere in between.

Episode VII starts off bold and yet also familiar. First it lulls you in with the familiar: the Lucas Films Ltd. insignia, the blue text stating “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” , then the opening scrawl set to the still stunning John Williams’ score. I literally cheered with giddy anticipation. As the scrawl text, possibly the best of the entire series, moved up the screen my anticipation grew. The scrawl sets the entire story up nicely, giving us a nice concise and to the point prehistory so that it can hit the ground running. Luke is gone. Princess Leia, now General Leia, is in charge of The Resistance, a group that is tasked with pushing back attacks on the galaxy by the ashes of the former Empire now known as The First Order. The Resistance’s best fighter pilot, Poe Dameron, is meeting with an old friend of The Resistance in hopes of finding a lead on Luke’s whereabouts.

From here, the film jumps to a quick start and then flies to its conclusion at break neck pace. I think this may literally be the fastest 2 hour and 16 minute film I’ve ever seen. It’s here that my criticisms start. The movie doesn’t give itself enough time or room to breath. It starts fast with one hell of an opening sequence and before you know it the movie is over. This isn’t always a bad thing. I mean no one wants to sit through a three hour Star Wars film, but here, the film demands to spend more time with our characters and get to know them and develop with them.

It’s not to say that the film doesn’t. The Force Awakens takes special care to make sure that our new characters and our beloved characters from the original trilogy are treated with care. Daisy Ridley’s Rey, who is arguably the best character of Episode VII, is awesome and a massive bright spot in the film. The character is well written and Daisy Ridley performs the role spectacularly. Finn and Poe Dameron, performed by John Boyega and Oscar Isaac respectively, both deliver a smart dose of humor to the proceedings and make the entire experience a lot more enjoyable (let’s not forget that Star Wars is a light-hearted pulp adventure).

There are new villains as well. Domnhall Gleeson plays the, pure evil, General Hux and Gwendoline Christie plays the leader of The New Order’s storm troopers. Both seem to revel their roles, especially Gleeson who just oozes menace. The problem with these characters is that they feel very underutilized, especially Phasma, who has a total of maybe five lines but just screams to have more screen time. Andy Serkis’ Supreme Leader Snoke is seen twice and both times dominates the screen. Seriously, Serkis is incredibly underrated.

That said, it is Kylo Ren, acted masterfully by Adam Driver, that steals the entire show. Driver manages to bring a character that could have been one dimensional and flat, to life in a way that makes him the absolute best character in the entire film.  In multiple scenes we see just how well the character is rounded. In parts he is petulant child and in others he is breathing incarnation of evil.  Kylo Ren has the very real potential to become the next Darth Vader and not just in terms of Star Wars but villains in general.

The characters that we are familiar with have far less screen time and honestly the movie is better for it. Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford all reprise their roles and all do great jobs of getting back in the minds of their characters and portraying that on screen. Harrison Ford in particular stands out, not only as the most featured member of the original trilogy, but at exceeding in making his character feel new and yet still familiar. His take as the older, more grizzled, Han Solo is just plain fun. The reason their limited screen time works is because we are supposed to care about our new characters that will most certainly lead this story across the next two films and possibly even further into the future and share in their journey.

And that word actually brings me to my next criticism. The movie is fun. The journey that these characters go on is quite enjoyable and well told. The problem, however, is that the movie is still very much concerned with trying to catch us up on the past while also setting up the future. The movie does have its homages to the original trilogy and it most definitely has a similar structure to A New Hope. And the worst part of this comparison is when you think of each of the original films. Every one of them is unique and has it’s own stand alone story to tell, while also managing to bring chunks of plot to the overarching story. And here the new and original aspects of the film are what work best, however, The Force Awakens almost feels like nothing other than a link between the original trilogy’s story and a new story. In that regard it loses some of the immediacy of the “here and now” that is the beginning of the new story.

I think that in that respect Director J.J. Abrams was caught between a rock and a hard place here and definitely made some of the best possible choices to make the movie work. I can’t begin to fathom the hard choices he had to make in order to make the movie as enjoyable as it was. However, the problems should not be overlooked because of the rose tinted glasses of nostalgia that permeates the entire experience.

So I’m sure that most of this sounds negative and it is. But that isn’t to say that the movie isn’t good. In fact, it is good. Great even. The action sequences are some of the best in the series and the movie is better because of it. The story, although thin, is well told and brings a sense of urgency to the proceedings that make us care exponentially about these characters and this universe once again, especially after we were wronged by the prequel trilogy. The sheer fact that The Force Awakens didn’t crack under the immense pressure that we, as fans, put on the film is incredible. And the fact that it holds up as a Star Wars film is icing on top of the cake. Is the movie awesome? Yes. Is the movie flawed? Definitely, but those flaws do not outweigh what makes the movie so damn enjoyable. And it’s through that lens that I am eagerly awaiting the next two installments for this trilogy. So to that end, well done. As a stand-alone film Episode VII works, if barely. As a Star Wars film it is awesome and as the beginning of a new trilogy it sets up everything that will follow it really well. It’s very hard to juggle multiple things at once and yet somehow, against all odds, Star Wars: The Force Awakens managed to do so, rather successfully might I add. The force has awoken and it is indeed strong with this one.

Rating: 8.4/10