However, just because this is the best Star Wars movie in years, does not mean that it's not going to have problems. I want everyone to know that. In this review, I want to approach this by not going all fanboy-ish just because it's Star Wars. No installment is perfect. I never let expectations get in the way of enjoying what we have, which is why I never have specific expectations at all. Without dragging this on for too long. let's begin. To anyone who hasn't seen the film yet, don't worry because this is completely spoiler-free.
I watched The Force Awakens twice before posting this so that I can gain a clearer understanding. The first time watching it, the film went by pretty fast, but after the second viewing, the pacing was a lot smoother, and I still felt positive towards the movie. There is a lot to praise here and the characters would be a great place to start.
Finn is a Stormtrooper who is not satisfied with how things are turning out working for the sinister New Order that he deserts them. He shows a lot of fear throughout that makes the audience understand his motivation. It's not every day when we see a Stormtrooper being humanized.
Rey is a lonely scavenger who does whatever she can to survive and probably wants more in her life. I really loved Daisy Ridley as Rey. She delivers an emotional performance, bringing some toughness as well as vulnerability to her character that made me grow attached to her and has now become one of my favorites in the series.
The new Droid character, BB-8, is also great. He is hilarious to watch and is just so darn expressive. I even liked his design, being just a ball with a face that moves around, yet the simplicity really works. The cool thing is that he was a practical effect the whole time, which I'll get to in a little bit, being a puppet and a remote-controlled unit that just makes him so real.
I also liked Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron. He's not in the movie that long compared to Finn and Rey, but he delivers such a funny and likable performance just like his role in this year's Ex Machina. He's like a younger Han Solo because of his wisecracking and keeping his cool especially around villains. He also shares great chemistry with Finn, almost like a close friendship.
In case you're wondering, Han Solo is my favorite character in the series, and I love that he is still the same old wise-cracking smuggler we grew to love. He and Chewie could have just been shoehorned in just for fan service, but thankfully, they are still characters and join in on the journey. The film also features a lot of other familiar faces, but not much to talk about. I'll just say that seeing them again will also leave fans with smiles on their faces.
I also liked Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux. I've seen him in a lot of nice guy roles in films like About Time and Ex Machina, so it's quite refreshing to see him playing against the type of roles that he is known for. I also liked how he worked around Kylo Ren, like Ren is not truly in charge, almost like how Tarkin in A New Hope is slightly above Darth Vader. He just seems so sinister and ruthless that I could really buy his performance. Now that is versatile acting!
The Force Awakens succeeds in what the prequel trilogy failed to do: it gives us great characters with enjoyable interactions between them, coupled with believable acting that makes them feel real. There are no awkward lines or monotone deliveries anywhere. The film even ups the humor a lot. There are so many hilarious moments, and do it without clashing with the slightly serious tone. There is a word people use to describe this type of movie: fun. There is a lot of fun to be had with The Force Awakens.
I love the way the film is shot. There are nice uses of wide shots to show off the epic scope that is present in every Star Wars movie. An example would be where there is one shot of a wrecked Star Destroyer, which is enough to captivate the audience. One shot that stands out to me, which appeared in the first teaser trailer, was when the Millennium Falcon was flying on the desert planet of Jakku and the camera itself was doing a barrel roll. Or is it an aileron roll? Those are often confused with each other.
The action goes back to the roots of the original trilogy. The aerial battles overall are pretty well-done and there are pretty entertaining shoot-outs. The lightsaber battles are not as flashy as one might think, but at least they're not obviously choreographed and feel more believable this time around. They swing their lightsabers the same way people equipped with typical swords do.
One thing that Abrams tried to do and succeeded is to bring back practical effects that the original trilogy had. The prequel trilogy was plagued with so much computer-generated imagery that it felt more like a long cutscene from a video game. The Force Awakens is the opposite. Everything seen looks real and convincing that I feel like wanting to touch them every time they are on screen.
I've already mentioned that BB-8 himself is a practical effect, but there is more where that came from. All the ships, droids, and aliens were captured on camera since they were several things like puppets, costumes, miniatures, and sets, and weren't just things that the human actors were imagining when talking to thin air.2015 is the year of many things, one of them being the return of practical effects thanks to this movie and Mad Max: Fury Road. Sure, there's some digital effects in there, too, but who can really tell? Well, there are a couple of motion capture characters in this movie and stand out like a sore thumb. However, I didn't really mind them that much, because the rest of The Force Awakens looks great.
One thing that has been pretty consistent with the main Star Wars movies is the score by John Williams. Whether you like the prequel trilogy or not, even they had great music. One track that stands out to me is "Rey's Theme." There is this sense of whimsy and wonder, but also some subtle somberness matching her background. While there are new original tracks and motifs in the score, John Williams did not forget to add some familiar tunes that make sense within the series. I don't think it's the most memorable score in all of Star Wars, but it does its job well.
I did mention that The Force Awakens does have flaws, so I'm just going to say that my biggest issue is that the film plays it safe. There are a lot of parts throughout that go into familiar territory, so if you watched the original trilogy several times growing up, you're going to notice them right away. Some scenarios even feel familiar to the point of being predictable and I felt like nothing new was added or even subverted for that matter; it can be a straight-up homage to the original trilogy.
If I have to play devil's advocate, though, the plot of A New Hope is nothing original either. It was heavily inspired by Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress and maybe a little bit of Flash Gordon on the side. However, the movie overall worked because it gave us a unique world and several characters to be invested with, and I can say the same here.
Perhaps this is just so audiences, both old and new, can get that Star Wars feeling again before Episodes VIII and IX take on new directions to differentiate themselves. I suppose that's fine. Even James Rolfe mentioned in his review of the original six movies that there is always a cycle and that history repeats itself, which applies here in The Force Awakens.
Apart from it's lack of originality, in addition to the somewhat underwhelming climax (which I won't go into detail here), I don't have much to complain about. It really is...
WORTH CHECKING OUT
It hit it all the right notes for me. Watching it from beginning to end, I felt like a little boy again. I squeed at certain moments that made me glad that I'm a Star Wars fan and I felt a mix of different emotions as well. The new characters are great that I wish to see more of them in future installments. The old characters are a delight to watch, especially Han and Chewie, and the fan service does not overstay its welcome, for the most part. The funnier parts all work and get a lot of laughs. The visual effects are great, bringing back practical effects with very little usage of CGI, and the action scenes are pretty solid.
In both times that I went to see it, everybody clapped after the final shot and the credits rolled, so it definitely satisfied viewers. In my second time, we all clapped during certain moments, so I know the film did a lot of things right.
I look forward to the next installments in the new Star Wars trilogy. Hopefully, it doesn't rely too much on fan service next time and give us something new while still keeping the spirit that made the original trilogy so great. I guess I can say what everyone else has been saying: Star Wars is back, baby!
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