DIRECTOR: J.J. Abrams WRITERS: J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt, George Lucas (based on characters created by) STARRING: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhem USA 2015
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Star Wars: The Force Awakens was, quite possibly, the most awaited movie of all time. We’ve seen the hype reach insane levels all through the last months before its premiere, and that makes anyone easily understand why J.J. Abrams, one of the most promising stars in our current wave of blockbuster directors, initially refused it and became terrified with the thought of its release. After all, millions of fans trusted Abrams to heal all psychological trauma induced by the prequels and to expertly deliver the first sequel to one of the most iconic trilogies of all time. No big deal, you might say. The hype further exploded into higher levels when fans knew that after the prequels George Lucas wasn’t going to be involved and that the writing team of Abrams and Michael Arndt would be joined by Lawrence Kasdan, none other than the writer of Return of the Jedi and fan-favorite The Empire Strikes Back.
Abrams, Arndt and Kasdan have set the events of the new trilogy thirty years after Return of the Jedi. Gone is the Empire, now being replaced by a fascist movement formed by a group of fanatical Imperial dissidents, The First Order, led by the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis). On the other hand, the Republic was reinstated and the old Rebel Alliance gave way to the Resistance, who valiantly fights to oppose the threat of the new evil entity. Both try to reach the same objective, with one faction looking to undermine the other one’s efforts.
The Force Awakens also brings a set of new characters to the fold, most of them not even born when the events of Return of the Jedi took place. Rey (Daisy Ridley) is a tough-spirited scavenger fighting for survival on the planet Jakku, Finn (John Boyega) is a former stormtrooper searching for a new calling in life and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) appears as the Resistance’s most skilled pilot, bristling with bravado and tasked with a crucial mission for the story’s unfolding. On the evil side, we’re introduced to a new Darth-Vader-idolizing villain, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), whose volatile character might remind some of Anakin Skywalker, the cold Captain Phasma, played by Game of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie, and the maniacal General Hux (Domnhall Gleeson), who shares a few traits with Grand Moff Tarkin, but appears to be much more blindly devoted to The First Order, bordering a fanatical Nazi when pronouncing his anti-Republic hate-filled speeches.
In regards to the old guard that many fans dreamed of seeing again, Harrison Ford once more slipped with great class into the role of Han Solo, just like getting into an old comfortable jacket. Ford also presents a new side to a life-worn and battle-weary Solo, proving a depth that we never seen before in his character. His constant bickering with Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew, Joonas Suotamo) is, of course, just the same as we’ve ever known. Carrie Fisher’s Leia now assumes more of a Mon Mothma role as an experienced General of the Resistance, but as for the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker, you’ll just have to see it to find out. However, it’s sufficient to say that the decisions made for the role of Mark Hamill’s character on Episode 7 were the best in order for the audience to properly connect with the new set of actors.
Of course, everyone’s favorite droid duo of C3PO and R2-D2 also showed up, with the annoying protocol droid (Anthony Daniels) maintaining his trademark inconvenient habit of interrupting everyone on key moments, but the true star of The Force Awakens is the new charming, delightful and incredibly resourceful BB-8 droid, which might be the most loyal companion dog you’ve ever seen, of course…in the shape of a ball.
There are loads of throwbacks to the past and Easter Eggs in little details like the appearance of Luke’s original training ball, imperial mouse droids and even stormtroopers discussing the latest airship model just to quote a few, while the prequels are also respectfully referenced with callbacks to the Clone army, the Sith and even a new Republic planet which seems totally identical to George Lucas’ vision of Coruscant. The mighty Millennium Falcon appears again either by the virtue of impressive real-life sized models or during new breathtaking CGI sequences, but while all of this might seem like a little bit too much of “fan service”, and it’s the first time we’ve ever seen such a thing to this extent in a Star Wars movie, there also seems to be a thought-out balance of nostalgia with refreshing new twists. From Kylo Ren’s unique displays of power and the novelty of his dark side seduction process, through seeing a stormtrooper switch sides and having force visions being used to introduce flashbacks, Abrams, Kasdan and Arndt introduced a fair share of novelty to the story, some of which never thought out before, that manages to cleverly blend in with all we’ve came to know and recognize in the universe created by George Lucas. The lightsaber fights are also more direct, with Abrams choosing to ditch the highly choreographed and fencing styles of the past six movies in favor of a more straight, “in for the kill” type of aggressive dueling. You won’t see any flourishes or clean fights and it feels refreshing to see all characters tapping into their inner rage when locking into duels, with each element trying to vigorously overpower its opponent.
Most of the new characters eventually grow on the viewer, with all interactions between the veteran Ford, Ridley, Boyega and Lupita Nyong’o being specially noteworthy, but in regards to some of these characters and even to some of the events presented to us in the movie, there could have been a bit more context and backstory to them, as the audience might eventually feel like there are too many questions left unanswered. Of course, the following films will most likely connect these dots and Abrams also knows better than to weave this web without any reason to it, but still, this won’t stop a few eyebrows from raising and endlessly thinking of how these dots might be connected in order for them not to become glaring plot-holes.
For all purposes, The Force Awakens is the rightful sequel to Episode VI, but in true fairness, even with all of its great novelties, it also came out as a calculated reboot of “A New Hope”, with a little bit of “Empire” and “Return” thrown into the mix. While this isn’t totally negative or bad in any significant way, it makes one wonder: why have they followed this formula when they had so many great new characters that could have been taken into all sorts of different directions? Abrams’ choice for the director’s seat made total sense, and not only for his brilliant directing skills and his “Spielbergian” touch, but obviously also for what he miraculously did to relaunch a similar franchise like Star Trek and make it interesting again. Curiously, that reboot felt more like its own, despite only reviving old characters. Also, George Lucas might not have been involved, but the spirit of his creation was always present, with all characters, locations and sets feeling familiar, albeit in different settings. Ultimately one can’t help to think that in comparison to his most recent Star Wars films, Lucas took more risks with them and tried to steer the saga into different directions, while Abrams took more of a “safe” approach.
Still, on the other hand, and maybe in response to all the complaints regarding the complexity of the prequels, The Force Awakens also recaptured that simplicity which made the original films so great. It’s clear that Abrams focused on reestablishing the franchise’s credibility and re-introducing the template of “A New Hope” to a whole new generation in order to project the Star Wars saga into the future. Even if the film follows too closely the plot of the ’77 classic, Abrams succeeded in paying a heartfelt tribute to its legacy while simultaneously keeping enough new threads open to keep the story moving forward. However, Episodes 8 and 9 must steer away from this nostalgia path and use The Force Awakens as a springboard to take Star Wars into new directions in order for the new trilogy to be able to stand on its own. These next two films will essentially dictate really how good The Force Awakens might actually be by looking at the future big picture.
Now, nevermind the great characters, frequent nostalgia trips and non-stop action…The Force Awakens‘ greatest achievement is connecting with almost every emotion you can think of. Some will laugh, some will jump out of their seats, some will feel angry and others will try their damnedest hard not to cry, but if you’re a Star Wars fan, you surely won’t be indifferent to it. On the top of my mind, only The Empire Strikes Back managed to do this. Star Wars is back in all of its glory, and it’s here to stay. The ball’s on your court now Rian.