Luckily on December 17th the world more or less managed to breathe a sigh of relief as the film managed to generally live up to and exceed audience expectations, being a genuinely fun throwback to the original trilogy whilst also managing to cover enough new ground that the simple and traditional hero's journey still seemed fresh and interesting. It also succeeded marvellously in bringing in traditional Star Wars icons, imagery, locations and characters and having them blend naturally into the story without feeling forced (ignore the pun) in, like having a ridiculous plot element showing a certain Sith Lord building the prissy comic relief robot as a child (who'd ever put that into a film though right... right...). Below I will be delving into spoiler territory so be warned, as I review the highs and minimal lows of The Force Awakens.
Set around thirty years after the original trilogy, a new threat has arisen in the ever belligerent Galaxy in the form of The First Order, a vicious military unit bent on taking over political power in the Galaxy from the Resistance, the re-branded Rebel Alliance. Luke Skywalker, the last jedi and protagonist of the original trilogy, has gone into hiding after his apprentice Kylo Ren was seduced by the dark side and his attempts to rebuild the jedi order were thwarted. As The First Order rise in power, General Leia sends the Resistances best pilot, the cocky Poe Dameron, in search of a map that will help them find Luke and bring him home. This is all revealed in the films opening crawl, one of the iconic Star Wars staples complete with dramatic fan fare and text scrolling away into the horizon. Traditionally cheesy, this opening crawl was very strong and set the scene and tone well, not needing a long scene of exposition to begin the story and delving straight into the key problem; the vanishing of our hero and the rise of a new threat.
We are thrust straight into the action as Poe (played marvellously by Oscar Isaac) and his loveable droid sidekick BB-8 are meeting with an old Resistance ally on the desert planet of Jakku. However, they are soon stopped by an attack on the village by The First Order, where Poe is captured and BB-8 escapes into the desert with the map. During this battle the focus shifts smoothly in a Birdman style tracking shot between Poe and his droid making their attempt at a daring escape to an ordinary Storm Trooper within the army invading Jakku, horrified at the violence of his fellow army and later revealed to be one of the films protagonists; FN-2187, nicknamed Finn (played by relative newcomer John Boyega). With him we see the horrifying side of war from the perspective of both sides, and he is also characterised with an unusual angle unseen in other Star Wars films. The Star Wars universe is typically populated by powerful warriors, amazing pilots and diplomatic royalty, so it is refreshing to follow the struggles of such an ordinary and flawed character, and follow his struggle in doing what's right, his feeling of inferiority and his own moral dilemma in this fantastical galaxy. This makes up a lot of the drama in the film.
This opening sequence also does a terrific job at establishing a strong tone to the film. In amongst the genuine threat that we see on screen there are also elements of humour, traditional imagery like the binocular screen and storm troopers, and the antagonistic force being clearly established. One of the many things wrong with The Phantom Menace is that the weird Racist-fish monsters from the Trade Federation and their droid army that make up the movies half-hearted villains don't seem to have a clear goal, which makes the hero's struggle all the more difficult to relate to. Here the threat is simple and violent, and appears more gritty and realistic than the glossed over and eerily false world of the prequels. For the first time possibly since the ice battle of Hoth, the Star Wars series is finally showing the horrors of war, whilst also making the action exciting and engaging for viewers.
We are then introduced to Rey (Daisy Ridley), who is the more central protagonist of the film. She is a scavenger on Jakku, abandoned there by her parents during childhood and who spends her days earning meagre amounts of food from selling various scrap parts from old Empire ships. By chance she comes across and befriends the BB-8 droid. Meanwhile, Finn has a change of heart and plots a daring escape from The First Order with Poe. However, the two crash on Jakku and are separated. This leads to Rey and Finn meeting and having to escape the planet on board an old run down ship in a junk yard; the Millennium Falcon. The chemistry between all three leads is very strong, and their meeting makes sense within the films context. Like the episodic structure of the first film as the droids meet Luke, Luke meets Obi Wan, the group meet Han Solo and then rescue Leia, the characters are introduced to each other in The Force Awakens in a similar way. In other films this may not work as well, but within a Star Wars film this fits the style perfectly. The introduction and use of the Falcon makes sense within the context of the story and doesn't feel forced in, and its introduction mixed with the rising Star Wars theme is enough to bring a smile to even the hardest hearted viewer.
It would perhaps at this point be worth mentioning one of the more negative aspects of The Force Awakens; the CG characters. In most of the marketing for the film, the use of practical effects and real world locations were shown off and celebrated, both to appease fans who complained over the sterile, computer generated look of the prequels and to link it more to the classic nostalgia of the originals. The practical creature designs are bizarre, interesting and wonderful, particularly the odd assortment of aliens on Jakku, such as the basket carrying alien shown in early set footage.
So after this meeting Maz's castle/cantina bar is destroyed and we see in an impressive sequence more of the traditional battle between the Resistance in their X-Wings and the First Order in Tie Fighters, with a small fight happening on the ground. This sequence has one of the more interesting uses of a lightsaber, as the non-force sensitive character Finn uses it simply as a weapon in his fight against storm troopers. Ridding the lightsaber fights of the typical choreography and separating it from the force makes the fight appear more real and increases the level of tension and drama in the scene. Rey is then taken by the First Order and their plan of using a new super-weapon; the Starkiller Base, is revealed. This raises the bar from the previous two Death Stars, with a weapon the size of a planet that can destroy five planets at once by absorbing the power of a star. Whilst treading old ground with this space station, it is used only as a back drop for the more personal drama in the film so in that way I can accept it. There is also an emotional reunion between Leia and Han, with Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford still exuding the same chemistry on screen as they did over thirty years ago.
This leads into the strongest sequence of the entire film in my opinion; the confrontation between the two protagonists and our antagonist in a snowy woodland as the base begins collapsing around them. As Rey is injured the non jedi Finn coaxes the bloodied and psychotic Kylo into a lightsaber duel. He briefly holds his own before being brutally injured in a scene that finally provides a fitting explanation for the exhaust hilt on Kylo's saber. As Kylo Ren attempts to draw the Skywalker lightsaber using the force, what he views as his birth right, it is instead drawn towards Rey who continues the duel. Tapping into the force Rey manages to overpower the injured Kylo as the planet separates and they are both taken away. This sequence is perhaps one of my favourite lightsaber duels ever. Gone is the irritating flawless choreography of the prequels, as we instead get a raw and visceral use of lightsabers, without the need for over powered characters and flat, dull climaxes. What was missing from many of the duels in the prequel trilogy was an emotional undercurrent to the battle, and whilst the fights may have been impressive, the overload of visuals and choreography was often cartoonish and silly, even in highly emotional duels like the final one between Anakin and Obi Wan. What makes these duels isn't necessarily the impressive swordsmanship, but is instead the inner turmoil of the characters, which The Force Awakens delivers on in amazing spectacle. Here the duel isn't overly long and remains in one setting, with the weakened and untrained participants levelling the battle field and providing some wonderful, gut wrenching tension.
The new supporting characters and sidekicks are also nice additions and are memorable. Poe Dameron fills the suave bad-ass role previously held by Han Solo, with sharp quips and just generally being a fun and incredibly likeable character. BB-8 is an ingenious addition to the series, and does an amazing job expressing happiness and sadness in unique movements and fun quirks, like R2 but not just a cheap imitation. The returning cast are all wonderful, and the iconic characters seemed to have developed and aged enough whilst still retaining what made them popular in the first place, and all development is still in fitting with the characters personalities.
For the antagonistic side I personally think that some of the elements could have been stronger. Whilst I understand General Hux's loud, posh attitude is a throwback to General Moff Tarkin, I thought his character was a little over played and pretty unnecessary to the story. Snoke is an unusual character in both proportion and motive, and at this point it still feels like he is not filling the same shoes as the deliciously evil Emperor, but I'm sure he will be developed more further into the trilogy. Captain Phasma is by far the weakest character, mainly as from the marketing and merchandising for the film she appeared to be a major player in the films plot, and was built up as a potential new Boba Fett. However, she suffers from a complete lack of screen time. When Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones) was cast I was looking forward for her involvement in pivotal fight scenes, particularly after her battle with The Hound in the season 4 finale of the show. However she seems to have been wasted in the film, and is disposed of (quite literally) before the final act. I sincerely hope she comes back in the sequel, and hopefully with a lot more to do.
The films visuals are absolutely stunning, using key locations from the earlier instalments but providing a unique spin on them to make them appear brand new, and having many new and interesting locations such as Skellig that was mentioned earlier. Every single frame seems authentic and unique, and forever gone is the sterile and clean look of the prequels. This world seems old, imperfect and lived in, which is just what Star Wars should look like. The film seems to be inspired in parts by old myth and the tale of King Arthur, with castles, black knights, old robes, ancient wizards and the sword in the stone aspect with the final battle with the lightsaber going to the more worthy, and this theme is nicely carried over during the entire film. The blend of traditional science fiction futuristic elements and the traditional medieval story of a hero's journey blend seamlessly, just like how they did in the original trilogy. The use of the John Williams's score is perfect as usual and ties the film together in a neat package.
Whilst certain story elements mimic beats from The New Hope, the film still manages to find its own feet and remain engaging and interesting throughout. I have never been to the cinema and managed to stay on the edge of my seat for the entire feature like I did with this film. Overall picking apart elements of a Star Wars film is like picking apart individual lyrics from a song, with one bum line not being able to ruin the music. More than a film, The Force Awakens is an experience unlike many I have had in a cinema, with the impressive use of IMAX and 3D never getting in the way of strong storytelling, character development and genuine soul, and this film has an awful lot of it. The love that went into this is exhilarating, refreshing and addictive, and its just so nice to finally be excited about Star Wars again.
Summary: Acting both as an exhilarating spectacle of cinema and a simple character study, Abrams has managed to create possibly the second best Star Wars film and an amazing film in its own right. Roll on Episode VIII!
9/10
