This Star Wars The Force Awakens review has been a long time in the making. For Star Wars fans around the world The Force Awakens gives them a chance to return to a universe that they know all about. In fact many of today’s premier film makers quote the Star Wars franchise as the number on influence on their careers. None more so that the man stepping into George Lucas’s shoes, J.J Abrams. The one question dogging all Star Wars fans since the deal between Disney and LucasFilm, as well as the news that J.J Abrams was going to direct the first of a new trilogy, was always going to be: IS THE MOVIE ANY GOOD????
The answer is a resounding yes, the movie is a joyous return to everything that we loved about the original trilogy but hated about the prequels. Gone is the sterile environments and wooden acting of episodes 1-3, this is a movie that wears its love of A New Hope, Empire and Jedi firmly on its sleeve.
Set 30 years after the supposed fall of the dastardly Empire, The Force Awakens is heavy in Star Wars mythology and once again the Skywalkers are at the fore of everything. There is a great quote from Lord Of The Rings that sums up what has happened since we last met our heroes “some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth”. From the opening crawl we learn that Luke Skywalker is missing and the resistance (replacing the rebel alliance) and the first order (replacing the empire) are both desperate to find him for varying reasons.
Our new introduction to the world comes in the form of Poe Dameron, Finn and Rey. With Rey being our most vital new character as she is the one who comes across Poe Dameron’s droid that contains vital information thus setting her on a direct path to face the first order. Along the way we meet old friends like Han Solo, Chewie, R2D2, C3PO, Admiral Ackbar and General Leia Organa. The first order has also got some tricks up their evil sleeves in the form of Kylo Ren, General Hux and Captain Phasma all of who report to the unseen Supreme Leader Snoke. For all bar certain key characters the escapades of the Jedi and Sith have become bed time stories to many while some have simply forgot the role they played in the rise and fall of the Empire.
Without getting too spoilery, and believe me there are some major spoilers to be had, that is most of the plot that you need to know going into the movie. The movie feels like it is moving at breakneck speed between planets and adventures which at time is to the detriment of seeing the new universe expand before us. But Abrams is creating a new trilogy which means that many of the characters we are introduced to will surely be back in future movies. A fact underlined when you remember that the original Star Wars series single-handedly invented the idea of expanded universe where side characters go on their own adventures.
So what’s so great about the movie. For a start it feels like Star Wars something that like the force might be difficult to describe and explain. Whereas the original trilogy felt real and lived in, the newer movie felt like it was coming straight from a sound stage in England. The Force Awakens is different, i might be wrong in stating that this movie had the most location shots of all six in the series so far but it certainly feels like they did. The movie is imbued with a sense of wonder and that comes from how tangible everything seems.
Abrams went back to the same trick he used for his Star Trek reboot by utilising some of the old cast and it works here again. In fact although everyone is searching for Luke Skywalker it is actually his old pal Han Solo whose presence packs the biggest punch. He has always been the voice of reason for Star Wars fans and when he comes onto the screen declaring “Chewie, we’re home” we know that is the case for us watching too.
The new cast feel right at home among the returning heroes. Daisy Ridley, John Boyega,Oscar Isaac,Adam Driver and Domhnall Gleeson all bring something new to the movie that we did get from everyone involved in the prequels. It seems that the worldwide talent search certainly paid off. Rey (Ridely) and Dameron (Isaac) are the closest we have traditional Star Wars archetypes from previous movies. Finn (Boyega) and Kylo Ren (Driver) bring something we’ve never seen in the cinematic universe before. Finn is funny, unprepared for the adventure and unwavering in his desire to do the right thing after he experiences a crisis of conscience that sways him from his chosen path. Ren on the other hand is an engaging antagonist who is seething over with so much rage and anger that it literally spills over at various points in the movie. It is obvious that his allegiance to the dark side of the force is strong but as the promotional material, specifically his poorly constructed lightsaber, shows he is not a Sith lord in the vein of Darth Vader or Darth Maul that we are used to. This unrefined character trait is common in a number of other characters from both side of force which makes the wait for episode 8 all the more exciting as we count down the days until we see some fully fledged Jedi on Sith battles.
Without taking too much away from the superb end result it would be remiss of this humble nerf herder to say that everything with the movie is great. There are a couple of small gripes that do come to the surface such as the forced implied coolness of Poe Dameron, the mismanagement of Captain Phasma and the sense of deja vu as certain plot points seem to be lifted directly from A New Hope. There is also the under use of the cast of The Raid who show up mid way through the movie but there is always the next two movies in the new trilogy to utilise their unique skill set further.
Apart from those small points this is an excellent reintroduction to the galaxy far, far away that is sure to entertain new and old fans alike.
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