Click here for my ranking and reviews of all six of the previous films.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the highly anticipated launch of the saga's long awaited sequel trilogy, recently smashed through numerous records as it made its impressive theatrical debut. Although the prequel trilogy disappointed a large chunk of the
Star Wars fanbase,
Star Wars: The Force Awakens promised to be a return to form for the franchise, while also pointing it in a fresh new direction for the foreseeable future. And, in more ways than one, I can confidently say that it succeeds in doing just that. However, I can also say that
The Force Awakens is not a perfect film. But, then again, few films are.
The Force Awakens opens 31 years after the events of
Return of the Jedi and the Rebel victory over Endor. To say the least, a lot has happened in between the two films and I'd be lying if I told you that it didn't take me out of the film a little bit during my first viewing. It does bother me that we didn't see the rise of the New Republic and the First Order, or the fall of the new Jedi. Every
Star Wars film is known for throwing viewers into the middle of a story but there was something about it this time around that felt like there was a trilogy between
Return of the Jedi and
The Force Awakens that I missed. It was off putting, though not exactly ruinous. Hopefully the remainder of the
Aftermath trilogy of novels will help fill that gap.
The Force Awakens introduces a colourful assortment of characters into the mix and to rewarding results. Daisy Ridley's Rey is an interesting character that works as the primary protagonist. Although there are many parallels, Rey is far from being a carbon copy of Luke and Anakin Skywalker, and is unique enough to lead the trilogy. Poe Dameron is clearly just a stereotype of being "the best pilot in the Resistance." However, actor Oscar Isaacs injects just enough personality into the character to make it work. Finn's story is interesting because we've never seen a Stormtrooper's point of view in a film before, let alone see one turn against the others to join the protagonists. My biggest problem with the character is how skilled he is with a lightsaber, despite not having any training, and a possible lack of force sensitivity. The film also manages to bring back the protagonists of the original trilogy in an exciting way without coming across as pretentious, and to far better results than 2008's
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Sadly, we won't be seeing much of Luke Skywalker until
Episode VIII. What a tease...
Speaking of teases, anyone who has been keeping track of the canon
Star Wars stories is rewarded, as characters such as Temmin Wexley and Sarco Plank (from the
Journey to the Force Awakens novels) appear, as well as the location of the Battle of Jakku (from
Star Wars: Lost Stars and
Battlefront). I didn't catch any references to
Star Wars: Uprising or the Iron Blockcade, but it's possible that I may have missed something.
To match the protagonists, there must come a wide array of antagonists, which the film delivers. The main antagonist is Kylo Ren, the grandson of Darth Vader who has followed in his ancestor's footsteps. What's refreshing about Ren is that, while we have seen Jedi fight to stay away from the Dark Side, Ren is a darkforce user who is trying to stay away from the Light. This is something we have never seen before. I like how the film leads us to believe that he is about to kill his incompetent subordinates in the same manner as Vader, only to show us otherwise. Ren came across as powerful when he needed to be, while at the same time vulnerable. There was a natural development and progression to the character.
Other antagonists include the forgettable, yet serviceable General Hux and the Stormtrooper leader Captain Phasma. There was definitely a presence to Captain Phasma. She not only looked intimidating, but Gwendoline Christie's voice fit the character just as perfectly as Temuera Morrison's voice fit the Clone Troopers in the prequels. Unfortunately, she was completely waisted in the film. In an interview, Christie revealed that this was because they tried to make her into a Boba Fett character - someone who has little screen time but has a large impact. But what makes Boba Fett so effective isn't how much screen time he had, but how he used the screen time he had. Phasma only gives Finn an order in one scene, then is taken hostage in the next. Hopefully
Episode VIII gives her a larger or better role, because this film waisted a perfectly good character. Finally, we have Supreme Leader Snoke, presumably the main antagonist of the trilogy as a whole. There isn't much to say about his character at the moment. He is different from Emperor Darth Sidious, but is not unlike another familiar Sith lord. I don't believe that this is unintentional.
The plot is very straightforward. The New Republic is threatened when the Force Order rises out of the ashes of the Empire, which leads our main protagonists to join the
Rebellion Resistance as they take out a superweapon more powerful than either Death Star, known as the Star Killer. The Star Killer is used to destroy the entire star system that holds the capital of the New Republic. My biggest problem with the film is how little they tell us of what is actually happening. I understand why the film would be afraid of dwelling on politics after the backlash that the prequels received, but telling us absolutely nothing that we need to know about the politics is even worse. The prequels may have spent more time than they needed to on the politics, but at least we had an understanding of what was happening.
The Force Awakens spends no time showing us the difference between the Republic and the Resistance, how much of the galaxy the First Order controls, or anything for that matter, yet we are supposed to be shocked when the Republic's capital star system is destroyed. There is no weight to what is happening at all.
Another problem I have with the film is the Star Killer itself. I have no problem with the parallels to the original trilogy's Death Star, as this space station is different enough so that it doesn't matter. However, I do have a problem with the fact that, despite being built up as being several times larger and more powerful than the Death Stars, it is somehow the easiest to destroy. I must admit though, the Star Killer does provide some great visuals. The blast of the laser canon, the gathering of the troops, the snowy forests, ETC. The scene where Han Solo comes face to face with Kylo Ren in particular is artistically beautiful, and the events that take place leave a mark.
Though, amidst the destruction and war, there is plenty of humour in this action packed installment. Although it, in many ways, doesn't feel like a George Lucas film, it certainly feels like a Disney film. As a matter of fact, most of the humour and light heartedness is not unlike what you would see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This humour is highlighted by the personalities of the characters and droids, which goes without saying that there are plenty of brand new droids and alien species to go around.
Over all, I'd say that
The Force Awakens isn't as good as the original trilogy but it is easily better than the first two prequels. I slightly prefer
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, but only because I like that film (though many do not).
Side Notes:
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I didn't believe it before seeing the film, but now I'm certain of it: Supreme Leader Snoke is Darth Plagueis (expect an editorial analysis on this soon).
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Please, no more superweapons in the sequels. Two Death Stars and a Star Killer are more than enough.
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There is no doubt in my mind that Daisy Ridley is a Skywalker.
Verdict: 7/10
Although far from perfect, The Force Awakens is a solid start to a new era of Star Wars films.