Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Reviews from the Dark Side presents
 Star Wars:  The Force Awakens
  Released 12/18/15

It's here.  The cinematic leviathan.  The big kahuna.  The hammer of Thor.  OK, it's obvious I'm running out of descriptions.  But, you all understand me.  The long awaited continuation of arguably the biggest movie saga of all time has arrived.  Of course, I can only be talking about Star Wars:  The Force Awakens.  Yes, the film whose trailer alone supposedly "broke" the internet.  But, as crazy as the anticipation for this film was, it didn't come without some trepidation in some circles.

We might as well address the elephant in the room first.  That would be the prequel trilogy, Episodes I-III.  To say there were mixed feelings about George Lucas's effects-laden tale depicting the origin of Darth Vader would be the grossest of understatements.  We all know the issues the masses had with those movies, so I'm not going to rehash them here.  George Lucas.  The man who could not make a misstep from 1977-83, was making nothing but missteps in many eyes from 1999-05.  Rabid fans of his first trilogy were disappointed by and vocal about the prequels.  Could he win those fans back with a new movie or new set of movies?  We'll never know, because he sold his baby to the House of Mouse to the tune of...well, a lot.  So, problem solved, right?  When Disney announced they would take on the monumental task of continuing the Star Wars saga, fans had to feel a little better, right?  Disney didn't spend billions to make junk.  So, of course, they would find an all-world director to helm this little endeavor.  It's only reasonable.

That brings me to the second issue, J.J. Abrams.  I personally don't have a problem with Abrams, but, many do.  Just ask the "Trekkies."  There's a contingent of those fans that believe he ruined their beloved franchise.  Speaking solely for myself, I like his take on Star Trek quite a bit.  But, I've never been accused of being a die hard fan of the franchise, so I can't deny the Trekkies their anger.  Putting myself in their shoes, I know I would be extremely upset if I thought Abrams disrespected the material I grew up loving.  We kind of saw that type of thing with Josh Trank's Fantastic Four this summer. 

As of my writing of this review, I've seen The Force Awakens twice now.  I deliberately held back my review of this film for a reason.  Like any Star Wars mega-fan, I was jumping out of my skin waiting for this movie.  I was even antsy in the theater.  Then, when John Williams' famous score hit my ears, I was five years old again seeing A New Hope for the very first time.  This was a problem.  You see, I had this very same reaction in 1999 when I saw The Phantom Menace the first time.  No one could tell me it wasn't good.  Lucas could have done a naked hula dance on screen and I would have eaten it up because it was called "Star Wars."  That's how deep my love of the franchise ran.  But, as time went by, I saw it several more times and I took a better look at it with a more discerning eye.   I realized something about Phantom Menace.  Most of that really sucked!  What was I thinking?  I know what I was thinking now.  It had been 16 years since the last Star Wars movie.  I was giddy that Star Wars was back.  Like I said, at first sight, I would have been over the moon about anything I saw onscreen.  That's why I took a step back this time.  I thought about it.  I let it "marinate" so to speak. 

So, the verdict?  After rerunning things in my head more than a few times, I can say with relative confidence that Star Wars is in capable hands.  Disney chose the right director for its first stab at the iconic series.  Abrams had what has to be the most exhilarating, and, at the same time the most frightening director's job in Hollywood.  He seems to have a love for the material which is a huge plus.   It's an homage to A New Hope in many ways, but, it also acts as an excellent launching pad for the new trilogy.

The Force Awakens has the feel and spirit of original trilogy much more than the prequels.  It's filled with high adventure mixed with a healthy dose of mythology and a tad of silliness.  And I don't mean silliness of the JJB kind if you know what I mean.  Gone are the CGI-laden sets and the feeling of "sterileness".  To be fair to the prequels, that's likely what Lucas was going for, a more polished and less war torn look given the era in this universe's history.  Of course, there's still plenty of CGI in the new movie, but it's a less polished piece of work than what we last saw from this series.  The Force Awakens has a rougher, more organic feel to it.  The lightsaber duels especially  have a crudeness and brutality to them that haven't been seen before.  The Force Awakens  just felt a little more like the Star Wars I grew up with.

Abrams has also raised the stakes in The Force Awakens as far as storyline.  Hopefully, without giving too much away if you haven't seen it, I'll say tragedy is a part of war.  While Episodes IV-VI had  loads of conflicts, in the grand scheme of things, there wasn't a great amount of tragedy that befell our heroes.  There's a scene in TFA that's going to get very real for SW fanatics.  It's sad, but, it's also a sad necessity given where I think the story is headed.

Speaking of where the story is headed, the "new guard" is introduced in TFA.  We still have our old standbys of Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), as well as, Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker).  But they're taking a bit of a back seat in this one (in one character's case, waaaay in the back).  But, the torch is being passed to the likes of Finn (John Boyega), a defected Stormtrooper, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), a hotshot fighter pilot, Rey (Daisy Ridley), a mysterious scavenger, and new resident baddie, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), the guy you've seen in all the previews and trailers with the gnarly crossguard lightsaber. All are introduced to varying degrees of success.  That's not to say any of the new characters are bad.  Some just pack a greater punch (Rey, Kylo Ren) than others at this point. 

As far as storyline is concerned, these are the things you need to know.  It takes place 30 years after Return of the Jedi.  Luke Skywalker has vanished under mysterious circumstances.  Both the First Order (descended from the remnants of the old Empire) and the Resistance (the former Rebellion backed by the fledgling New Republic) are looking for him for very different reasons.  Thanks to Poe Dameron, the missing piece of the last Jedi's location is stored within a small BB-8 series droid.  The main conflict of the film is getting the little droid into the hands of the Resistance before he can be seized by the First Order.  Saying  too much more would give away more of the plot than I'm comfortable with.  This is a movie you should experience and not read about.

If you have read other sources, it may have been mentioned that there are several plot holes in TFA.  That's true.  There are.  But, I believe they're  there purposely.  Some items, Rey's origins being chief among them, are deliberately vague.  And, to anyone who has an issue with that I say this is only the first part of a trilogy.  I have every confidence that Disney and company will make all things clear and flesh everything out in 2017 and 2019.  And, speaking of Rey.  The path that Abrams is leading you down where this character is concerned is very obvious.  Or, is he pulling a big swerve on all of us?  There are several hints dropped throughout.  That and the causes of Luke's disappearance from the known galaxy should keep us all tingling with anticipation for the next two years.  In the interim, there is sure to be new theories daily by fandom on each of the lingering storylines.  Be prepared.

The Force Awakens is not perfect.  There are some rehashed occurrences that remind you of movies past.  Seriously, we have another Death Star-type superweapon.  You would think the First Order would learn from the mistakes of the Empire when it comes to defending it. Admittedly, that entire plot is a little tired.  The third time isn't necessarily the charm here. But, overall, TFA is a declaration the franchise has righted itself and is now back on the rails.  Think of it as the appetizer to the steak dinner that follows.  It's still savory in its own right, but, you know something better is coming.  Rejoice Star Wars fans.  The dragon is alive and well.  It's going to breathe some unbelievable fire!

The Dark Lord of the Sith says:

****1/2 stars

Ratings Legend
Zero *= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Worth a look.  Better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. I'm doing my happy dance!
5 *= Pure eye candy. I have seen the top of the mountain, and it is good