Sixteen years ago Star Wars returned, but it wasn’t the return we were all hoping for. It was the return George Lucas wanted, which turned out to be not so good. Fans had constructed decades worth of universe and build up in their heads and it felt like Lucas hadn’t been part of it at all. Yes, the films ended on a relative high note with Revenge of the Sith, but we were all let down.
And then, a new hope (had to). Lucasfilm was sold to Disney, who had already shown they could honor fans and do amazing things with their Marvel films. Now we’d get the Star Wars we’d been clamoring for. Something that truly brought back the magic and made us feel like kids again. Well, it’s finally here, and if any new movie is going to make you feel like you’re watching one of the original trilogy it’s this one.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Director: J.J. Abrams
Rated: PG-13
Release Date: December 16, 2015
After the conclusion of Return of the Jedi Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has disappeared and no one knows where to find him (Sidenote: In the meta world of J.J. Abrams this plays right into Hamill’s absence from all advertising). In his absence the dark side has begun to establish itself once again in the form of The First Order, which is basically the Empire reconstituted. They are led by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), a Sith lord in training and pupil of the Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis).
Meanwhile the Resistance, commanded by General Leia (Carrie Fisher), is fighting back with the support of the Republic behind it. More importantly, though, on a small desert planet a map to Luke Skywalker ends up inside a droid called BB-8, who is subsequently found by a scavenger named Rey (Daisey Ridely). She is joined by a fleeing storm trooper named Finn (John Boyega) and a few other familiar faces as they try to get the map to the Resistance.
An adorable droid with a secret message found on a desert planet. A group of rag-tag rebels fighting against a militaristic empire. A dark lord in a black helmet. A young hero drawn into the fight through chance. Sound familiar? It should. You can simply pop in A New Hope and you’ll have most of the plot for this one.
Much like J.J. Abrams did with Star Trek: Into Darkness he has taken a beloved movie and remade it for the fans. Almost everything is a throwback to the original movies, and only the original movies. It’s very obvious that Abrams does not want anyone even remotely thinking about Episodes I-III. As such this is a giant film of fan service from throw away lines to cameos to plot to visuals. If it’s a memorable moment from Episodes IV-VI it’s probably somewhere in this movie. Whether you consider that a good thing or not is up to you, for this fan it was awesome, despite some concern that we’re just seeing a bit of misguided fan placation like Into Darkness.
Last week Lucas let slip his opinion of the film and he said that the fans would love it. It’s easy to see why that’s his opinion. The movie doesn’t really break new ground, which is probably its most disappointing aspect. It definitely has plenty of twists and surprises for fans, but this isn’t really a universe expanding premise. It feels more like a reset. The Force Awakens is the palette cleanser that’s wrapping up everything with its nods to the old guard and its introduction to the new. Hopefully, it’s the new that’s going to stick around.
The best part of the film are our two new heroes and villain, Rey, Finn and Kylo Ren, respectively. While old faces showing up is fun and all, it’s these three newcomers who breath life into the movie. It’s these characters that change the movie from a bunch of fan service into something genuine and good — something that feels like Star Wars. They are us on screen: awed by the legends they’re walking with, cowed by the power they have, and establishing a new struggle between dark and light. If these are the characters we’ll be joining on this new journey then we’re in good hands.
With Abrams sticking around we’ll be in good directing hands as well. To start, someone talked with him about lens flares and despite all the opportunities that lightsabers offer for such an effect he is impressively restrained with their use. This applies to his entire style for the film, which feels closer to the gritty-ness of the original trilogy than the high gloss of the second set.
You’ll also be happy to hear that Lucas’ stilted dialog and wooden characters are gone. The screenplay is charming and witty and without any Jar Jar Binks type antics. While the plot relies on what can only be described as a Death-Star-sized McGuffin in a space opera such as this that’s exactly how it should be. Abrams also isn’t going to pull any punches. He’s got this franchise in his hands and it’s very clear from this movie that he’s going to do whatever he wants with it. Thankfully what he wants to do is make you love it again.
That is probably most evident in the fact that actual star wars occur in this Star Wars. The action is superb and creates that sense of wonder you felt watching the original trilogy’s outerspace dog fights. It makes you think back to the awe you felt watching the final attack on the Death Star in A New Hope. Part of that might be the fact that much of the direction steals directly from that film, but if you’re going to “pay homage” might as well go all out. It’s also ironic that it’s the old school special effects (actual droids, no CGI when not needed) that make the film look even better. This franchise got its legs thanks to its advanced real-world special effects, and it’s finding them again by going back to them.
All this said, The Force Awakens is definitely only the beginning of something, and it can feel like that. There is a lot of necessary exposition that takes place to catch folks up. Abrams does his best to make you miss it, but it starts to stand out by the end. The film is also carrying the duty of establishing a new universe after Disney wiped the entire expanded universe from canon. They’re doing a lot in this one film and it can make the movie feel a little heavy handed. Then again subtlety was never the franchise’s strong point.
This is the beginning of something, however. It’s a farewell to the old guard and a welcome to the new. As such it’s hard to begrudge the film its plethora of callbacks, repeated plot line and heavy exposition. These things are necessary to pull off what is needed in order to make new Star Wars movies that can stand on their own and don’t alienate the fans, who already got burned once. This is a movie that honors what came, but leads into what is to come. Hopefully, when Episode VIII rolls around it can truly be its own thing.
