*I don’t reveal any plot points in this review so there shouldn’t be spoilers as far as I can see but I would still recommend watching it first. Just incase*
This could quite possibly be the most difficult film for me to review. Mostly due to never even attempting to put into written words how much I adore the original trilogy. That would be like trying to review growing up, how those films stayed with me and as I changed the way I saw them changed.
Now in 2015 they are in the upmost of my nostalgia and that’s a major weight to bear when walking into see a new Star Wars. We weren’t just hoping for a good Star Wars again we were hoping for a good continuation for the characters we’ve known for so many years.
Thankfully we got something great.
“…if it hadn’t have been for 1999 and The Phantom Menace.”
It’s an odd sensation to worry so much about a film. You have no invested creative control, you don’t know any one part of the production personally yet you’re nervous and worried and a majority of that worry wouldn’t have been there if it hadn’t have been for 1999 and The Phantom Menace.
We were all there, completely and utterly excited about what was to come without a shred of fear. Why would we? We’ve had 3 perfect films that stood the test of time and many repeated viewings. It had a brand new story to tell, it was going to answer the questions we’ve had for decades. Then we walked out a few hours later and I uttered “That wasn’t Star Wars”.
The problem was it invoked no feelings, it was flat, unexciting, noisy instead of elegant. We limped through Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith and we just wanted it to be over. And when it was I would try to forget that was the canon story before the stories I loved. That self therapy… almost worked.
Upon hearing Episode 7 was coming off the back of the great Disney purchase of Lucasfilm saga no amount of “JJ Abrams is directing” “Empire Strikes Back writer returns” “Lucas has no part in Episode 7 developement” news could really quell my own fears. Whereas I could departmentalise the prequels away, the problem with Episode 7 was it would be the characters I knew for all those years coming back in a new story. If that failed then the fate of those characters would be forever in my mind. That would be their story canon from now on.
“…suddenly you feel home again”
The Force Awakens does it’s very best to calm that fear and yet excite right from the opening crawl. The very first two words are “Luke Skywalker” and suddenly you feel home again. With an interesting lead into the story from the crawl we get a great opening scene and instantly I’m loving Oscar Isaac’s character Poe. With each beat of the scene I was letting myself get comfortable and realising this was Star Wars and it was back. In fact the first sequence with Poe and the landing Stormtroopers had everything we needed and wanted. Stormtroopers were dangerous again, the dark side was frightening, our hero was plucky and funny in the face of danger, droids were cute and human again. It’s probably one of the most confident openings to a film I’ve seen in a while now. And that was all clearly on purpose as director Abrams knew we the audience needed to be grabbed right away just like in A New Hope. For newcomers and veterans alike the lines of good versus evil had to be drawn right away.
But aside from the spectacle of the films’ opening we were also totally engaged due to actual proper acting from our characters, especially from John Boyega who we instantly recognise by his body language as a Stormtrooper. So while the intro was certainly the Star Wars we know we were already getting extra layers thanks Boyega’s the regretful Stormtrooper and we could read all this from him despite the helmet.
In very typical Abrams fashion the film doesn’t really slow down much after the intro and it is all the better for it. Where I felt this never always worked for his Star Trek it’s here where Star Wars shines more because of it. Star Wars has always been more fantasy than fiction, it never required long drawn out scenes of explanation. The prequels tried this and we ended up with scenes of people in chairs talking politics. But the film is not without its mythos exploration. While some questions after Return of the Jedi were answered we ended up with more to ask by the end but I kind of loved it more for that. It was the same after A New Hope, we had a lot of “so what will they do now?” questions and as a result we got in my opinion one of the greatest sequels and films ever made, The Empire Strikes Back.
The Force Awakens is certainly a set up to a grander story yet to be revealed much like its previous trilogy but it never feels too pushed to be that way. Something the Marvel films of late could learn from. Nor does it find itself trying to answer all the questions of what happened during the 30 years since because sometimes it’s better not to know so much and just let our imagination do some filling in.
“I’ve found new heroes to cheer on”
Most fans including myself looked forward to catching up with old friends Luke, Han and Leia but unexpectedly I’ve found new heroes to cheer on now in Finn, Poe and Rey. They were never written to replace our old friends, they feel more like an expansion on the legacy and that is very hard to write well. Harrison Ford’s incredible return to his character never overshadows the new heroes nor does it feel like a cameo. Rather he is the guide through the film, revealing the crazy universe to the newcomers.
It must be an insanely daunting experience to be the new guys in a Star Wars film and be told you’re the new heroes but my goodness do Boyega, Isaac and Ridley grab onto their chance here and just go for it. Each of them we find instantly likeable and instantly care about what happens to them. Same goes for Driver’s Kylo Ren who thankfully doesn’t go for a clone of a Vader villain but rather something raw, unhinged and destructive. And then there’s BB-8, the new droid of the saga and again I find myself forgetting it’s a prop. Star Wars used to always triumph with making droids seem human, funny and relatable, something that was lost in the prequels. It brought a massive smile seeing this guy win me over in mere seconds.
“Star Wars is exciting but also dangerous again”
During the 2 odd hours we have some of the most fun space adventure in years and while I smiled and laughed during those scenes it was when a particular scene of peril started that I actually felt my heart pounding and knew the film had me. Star Wars is exciting but also dangerous again. I was reminded of seeing Luke’s first duel with Vader in Empire for the first time and knew the film deserved its place in Star Wars.
The theme of awakening is very prevalent throughout the film from both sides of the Force to even something as simple as our old friend R2-D2 waking up (a scene that made me smile so much I could have cried). This theme of awakening is focused on so heavily I can’t help but think it’s also used as a nod to us fans who’ve waited so long for Star Wars to return. To properly return. It’s exactly how I found myself when the credits rolled, awoken and dying to see more.
