Friday, December 18, 2015

MOVIE REVIEW—STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS


First off, you can rest easy: J.J. Abrams has not screwed up two major science-fiction movie franchises. Abrams received plenty of well-deserved criticism for 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, and at the time, I noted—as did many other people—that he was probably far better suited for Star Wars. Still, there were detractors who dreaded the notion of Abrams taking on one of the most beloved film series of all time, and were prepared for the worst. Well, it turns out that we who thought Abrams was a good pick for the job were absolutely correct.

Abrams slips into the Star Wars universe with remarkable ease, presenting a continuation of the saga that feels like a natural outgrowth of what has come before. That shouldn’t come as a complete surprise, considering that he collaborated on the script with Lawrence Kasdan, co-writer of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. (Kasdan, of course, also wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Big Chill, and Body Heat, among other things—no lightweight there.)

Knowing that many people reading this do not want to know anything about the movie going in, I’ll just describe it this way:
It takes place about 30 years after Return of the Jedi. An organization called the First Order has risen from the ashes of the Empire, seeking to overthrow the New Republic and take over the galaxy. They face opposition from the Resistance, a group of warriors supported by the Republic. Both sides are trying to determine the whereabouts of a now-almost-mythical figure who played a key role in the rebellion against the Empire. One side wants this person dead, the other hopes to lure the living legend back into action.

As the conflict rages, new characters are drawn in, most notably Rey (Daisy Ridley), a lonely girl living as a scavenger on the desert planet Jakku, and Finn (John Boyega), a young stormtrooper for the First Order who starts to question whether he’s fighting for the right side. There is also Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), a skilled Resistance pilot on a top-secret mission to acquire information of the utmost importance, accompanied by his one-0f-a-kind, amusingly clever droid BB-8, who resembles a beach ball with R2-D2’s domed head stuck on top. Naturally their paths will cross.

On the other side of the fence, the Nazi-like General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) is allied with Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), a mysterious masked figure dressed entirely in black who is apparently trying to model himself after the long-departed Darth Vader. They both answer to the imposing Supreme Leader Snoke (a CGI character voiced by Andy Serkis), who seems to take some of his cues from Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine of the previous two trilogies.

The film would have been engaging enough with just these new faces. But the icing on the cake is the return of beloved characters from the first three movies, most notably Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher). (What about Luke Skywalker? After all, Mark Hamill’s name is on the poster! Well, it’s not for me to say.) It is truly a kick to see the new characters interacting with the “classic” ones, and longtime fans should be quite pleased with the attention that is lavished on one particular member of the old guard.

The first act is terrific, skillfully setting up the new characters and the new status quo with minimal exposition. I particularly liked the fact that Abrams and Kasdan did away with the stiff, stilted, lifeless dialogue and the overly mannered performances that had become a hallmark of the series while under the guidance of George Lucas, starting with Jedi and really coming to the fore with the three prequels. Rey, Finn, and especially Poe are written as real people, who speak to and relate to one another as actual human beings. 

I do feel that the film drags a bit in the middle, meandering and drifting in between key plot points. However, some new and interesting characters are introduced during this section. In particular, there’s Maz Kanata, an amusing CGI creation voiced by Lupita Nyong’o, who I hope we’ll see again in the future. 

And yet, there’s an undeniable lack of real originality on display here, with numerous callbacks to moments and even plot threads from the original three movies. I won’t get into them here, you’ll see for yourself. Also, while I have not read every Star Wars novel published over the last 25 years, I’ve read enough to recognize concepts, plot points, character arcs, and even character types in The Force Awakens that have already been explored extensively in print. To be fair, with dozens upon dozens of Star Wars novels published since 1991, supposedly depicting what happened in the years following Return of the Jedi, it was inevitable for this movie to tread upon the same ground, at least partially. Still, I couldn’t help but feel as I was watching the film that I had seen some of this stuff played out already. But it’s also true that the vast majority of people going to see this movie have not read many—or any—of those now-decanonized novels, so it will all seem brand new and original to them.    

What the film lacks in true originality it makes up for in the performances. Abrams cast this movie brilliantly. This is a star-making turn for Daisy Ridley in particular. She gives one of the very best acting performances I’ve ever seen in a Star Wars movie, if not the best. She gets to do here what Natalie Portman was never allowed to do in the prequels—namely, portray a multi-dimensional, interesting, truly human character that audiences can really embrace. Ridley is energetic, captivating, and riveting—you can’t take your eyes off of her.


John Boyega is simply terrific. You sympathize with his character right away, and it doesn’t hurt that he gets some of the funniest moments. Boyega has a real flair for comedy, and his expressive face very effectively conveys the fear, anger, concern, and compassion that his character feels throughout the film.


As Poe Dameron, Oscar Isaac is filled with charm and charisma. It’s not a huge part, but it is an important one, and Isaac makes an indelible mark. 


BB-8 is a delight. Before seeing the film, I was worried that this droid character was going to be another lame attempt to appeal to the kiddies, like the Ewoks and Jar Jar Binks. Not so. BB-8 is very much to The Force Awakens what R2-D2 was to the original Star Wars. (R2 shows up in the new film too, of course.)      


As for Harrison Ford, who once seemed like he would never agree to appear in another Star Wars movie—all I’ll say is, he looks great and his performance here is notably better than it was in Return of the Jedi. Ford truly seems pleased to be back as Han Solo. The fact that the role is actually well-written this time helps a lot, it would seem. Make no mistake, this is not an extended cameo appearance. Ford is one of the main stars of the film, and his contributions are invaluable.


Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren does not have the stature or the imposing menace that Darth Vader had from the moment we first saw him in the original Star Wars. That may well be by design. I have a feeling that the goal is to build up his character over the next two movies, so that we can watch the progression and the challenges that he goes through as he develops into a major, truly fearsome menace.


The only character that I felt didn’t come off as well as I would have liked is See Threepio. Anthony Daniels, who has played the character in all seven films, has now given the droid a significantly higher-pitched, almost childlike voice that I found both inconsistent with past performances and a bit distracting.

Without a doubt, The Force Awakens is the offspring of the original trilogy—and only the original trilogy. I can’t think of one moment where the prequels are acknowledged in any way. And even then, the new film seems to embrace Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back far more than it does Return of the Jedi, at least in terms of tone, mood, and execution. Yes, there is humor and lightheartedness. There is a wide variety of alien beings on display. But there are no cutesy or ridiculous-looking creatures shoved in gratuitously just to sell toys to little kids. There are no sight gags with characters stepping into a pile of poop. There are no farts or burps. It doesn’t go for cheap laughs, or pander to the lowest common denominator (or the youngest members of the audience).

It is not a perfect film. I feel there are some plot problems. One of them is the fact that certain characters are shown to be highly skilled with a lightsaber, despite the fact that they have apparently never held one before. (True, Luke was a complete novice in Star Wars, yet was able to go toe-to-toe with Vader in Empire. But Luke had a huge block of time between those two films to teach himself saber-fighting, plus he received training from Yoda. There’s no such training or time for learning in the new film. So there!)

Out of the seven films, I would place The Force Awakens at #4, behind Empire, Star Wars, and, yes, Revenge of the Sith. Sorry, I liked that one a lot, and for me, it still holds up after repeated viewings. 

More than anything else, The Force Awakens is a strong foundation for future films. It does a good job setting up the rest of the new trilogy, and, much like The Empire Strikes Back, it ends with a number of balls still in the air, to keep audiences tantalized—and talking—for the next couple of years.


© All text copyright Glenn Greenberg, 2015.

12 comments:

  1. I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I didnt have high expectations to begin with, but it blew away even my most optimistic hopes. JJ really, really loves Star Wars and it comes through in every frame.

    I love the new characters, and the chemistry between Boyega and Ridley is palpable. A far cry from the Padme/Anakin pod people in the prequels.

    Ford was at his best. I was really impressed with Driver's tortured soul approach to the dark side. very unique and unexpected. These characters all feel like real people that you can empathize with.
    Easily my favorite Star Wars since Empire.
    I know you have a soft spot for ROTS, but this movie beats it on acting alone.
    Great review!

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    1. Thanks for the comments, Nick! Glad you got to see it before all the spoilers leaked out. Wish we could have seen it together. Maybe next time! :-)

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  2. Im going to want to see it again, so let me know when!

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  3. wondering what your thoughts are on Snoke and who you think he will turn out to be...

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    1. Not sure that Snoke has to be anyone in particular. I just figured he was a new character with a lot of history, same as Maz Kanata and Max von Sydow's character. But I do think there's a lot more to Snoke than meets the eye, and that he may not be as powerful as he seems. I wouldn't want him to be a complete fraud, as per The Wizard of Oz, but I have to wonder, if this guy is so important and major and powerful, where was he during the time when Palpatine was ruling the galaxy?

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  4. Pretty much my reactions, Glenn, though I think I found the shameless derivativeness of so many motifs more distracting than you did. The beauty of EMPIRE was that it expanded and extended STAR WARS, rather than retreading the same stuff.

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    1. I hear ya. Wondering where things will go in then next one. If they show the First Order coming up with yet another Death Star-type super weapon, I'm going to be pretty peeved. Enough with those already!

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    2. Really! I had to laugh when I saw that they were facing yet *another* Death Star! Have the Imperial architects learned nothing in thirty years? LOL!

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  5. Great review, and thanks for no spoilers since I still haven't seen it! Did you see it in 2D or IMAX 3D? I think I want to see it in 3D, just because it SHOULD be better! Looking forward to hanging out next week, Bro!

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    1. Hi Dan! The press screening was in 2D. I've heard J.J. Abrams say he's not a big fan of 3D, but he also said there's one particular shot in the film that absolutely is enhanced beautifully by the 3D process. We'll let Pop decide!

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  6. There were a number of subtle but significant callbacks to Episodes I, II, and III. While some are images and power dynamics that we also saw in IV, V, VI (such as pitting proteges against one another), others were unique: the massacres, the reference to clones, the "wise" one, Ren's hairstyle. There was even a reference to a location (and the legend around it) that came from Clone Wars. Lucasfilm is using all the parts of this animal.

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  7. I loved Poe Dameron, a fabulous new version of Han Solo without the rogue (well, not the same KIND of rogue, anyway). He's not a major character, but I want to see him again. But of course, new characters are easy; the real test is how Abrams handled the familiar ones, and in that respect he succeeds brilliantly. Also, he draws from actors like Ford a performance that we will not forget; as you pointed out, Lucas cannot do that. (Ford once famously quipped to Lucas that "you cannot SAY these lines, you can only type them"). Abrams is a more empathetic director, and I am grateful he gave back to us the Han and Leia I have missed for many years.

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