I’ve always described my childhood by the 3 S’s. Sports (mostly basketball because of Jordan and Shaq), superheroes (mostly DC, didn’t get into Marvel until Ang Lee’s Hulk), and Star Wars. I loved the originals Star Wars growing up. Personally for me, I didn’t like A New Hope as much as most people. I mean it’s good and I like it but I feel Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are better movies. I did grow up with the prequels and I did like them as a kid. Now that I’m older, I don’t. I mean you don’t know better when you’re a kid. Heck I liked Batman Forever and Batman & Robin as a kid. The only things I care about the prequels now are the Clone Wars animated series and Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi who still deserves a spin-off film. Now George Lucas is no longer in charge and Disney is. With director JJ Abrams at the helm, writer Lawrence Kasdan returning to Star Wars, and the original cast returning; can Disney recapture the magic of Star Wars that the prequels lost? The answer is yes. They did.
The Characters of THE FORCE AWAKENS
If there’s one thing to praise about the film, it’s the characters and how they are written. Especially the new characters. Most of the new characters are great! I won’t lie when I say that Rey is my favorite character of the film and is probably my third favorite behind Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Her character reminds me a bit of Elizabeth Keen from The Blacklist. It’s clear she has some secret past that she doesn’t remember just like Elizabeth Keen. Still Rey is rather different than Luke. Rey is on her own, providing for herself with nobody looking after her. Luke had his Aunt and Uncle plus Ben watching over. I really liked how she didn’t really want to leave Jakku but deep down did want to. Like she always grabbed onto this false sense of hope that her family is coming and fearing that perhaps they came while she’s been gone. I love that she’s going to be the Jedi which I knew right from Trailer 3. Daisy Ridley was great as Rey. I won’t lie when I say, her performance as Rey in this film is probably a better performance than Mark Hamill was as Luke in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Doesn’t mean Mark was bad but we saw so many different emotions from Rey more than Luke. It’s because we have a director who understand actors and characters.
She states how she’s waiting for her family who left her there. I have a theory. First off, she is Luke’s daughter. Here’s why. Remember the scene where Kylo Ren is giving his lightsaber to Han Solo but won’t let go and kills Han? That scene was shot with Han and Kylo in each other’s shot. Either we saw a third person perceptive behind the back of Han looking at Kylo’s face or the reverse of Kylo’s back and Han’s face. The final scene, we see Rey giving Luke is lightsaber. They aren’t in the final shot till the end. Still we see Rey and then Luke. Also Rey’s giving up the lightsaber. Kylo wouldn’t give up his lightsaber. Also I believe that the Knights of Rey left her on Jakku. They told her that her family will come back for her in this false sense of hope. Giving all the mind stuff we saw from Kylo, I believe that he learned that from the Knights of Ren. Perhaps with the force, you could block of memories people have. Perhaps Kylo blocked of Rey’s mind and maybe his parents because Han and Leia would have known Luke had a kid. Only Luke remembers his daughter. Also Knights of Ren killed Rey’s mother in the temple. So yea I’m 100% positive she is Luke’s daughter. Again this is just theory.
As for other characters, I loved all the new ones. I liked how we got to know these new characters and their personalities and see them interact before seeing the classic characters. We already care about these new characters. It’s something the prequels failed at. “Look here’s Obi-Wan and 3PO and R2 and Chewbacca and Anakin and the Emperor and Boba Fett”. Finn and Poe’s bromance will be epic in this trilogy. I liked how Finn was someone who worked with the enemy who joined the good side. We really never saw that before in Star Wars where someone from the bad side joins the good. Finn was great. I really enjoyed his character and hope he returns. John Boyega was great. As for Poe. Some people criticize Poe not having character development and to that I say, so? Leia didn’t have any character development in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and we loved Leia in that. Poe’s a great character. Oscar Isaac played the role perfectly. BB-8 man. That droid reminds me of my puppy. He’s full of life, energetic. I love how he could do that Spider-Man web stuff with the cables he has. Great new droid. Also the lighter thumbs up was so damn funny.
As for the villain, where to begin with Kylo Ren. Or do you prefer Ben Solo? He was great. Adam Driver really did such a great job as Kylo. Kylo was the right villain to do. I really like how we had a villain who was the spawn of all three of the heroes from the original. He is Han and Leia’s son & was trained by Luke. It’s like all three of them stopped Vader but then they now have this issue which really they created. His anger issues were great. Really Kylo is like Anakin done better. He’s conflicted between the light and dark and when he kills Han, I believe that’s when he accepts the dark side. I feel like Captain Plasma is a disappointment. I just remember hearing she’s the first female Star Wars villain and yet we never she her do anything. I mean yea Boba Fett didn’t do anything in Empire Strikes Back but he wasn’t captured by the heroes and forced to do the heroes bidding against his will like Plasma is. Hopefully her character returns and is fleshed out in Episode VII. Andy Serkis’s Snoke was fine. He was typically bad guy. “Do these evil things for me because I’m evil”. Not much from him so he’ll likely be a character more fleshed out in Episode VII. I don’t want to sound like a Star Wars fanboy here because I didn’t care for the Expanded Universe but I feel that General Thrawn should have been used over General Hux. General Hux is just meh. He doesn’t do much. Really only Kylo Ren is the only villain who does stuff. I feel like the villains will be much more fleshed out in Episode VII. I mean Darth Vader was fleshed out Empire Strikes Back. Some of the best film villains of all time come from movie sequels. Joker in The Dark Knight, Khan in Wrath of Khan, Zod in Superman II, Doc Ock in Spider-Man 2, and many others.
Now the old characters, they were good. Harrison Ford was great as Han Solo. I really liked how Han was sort of the mentorish figure but still at times could crack a joke. His chemistry with the new characters was great. Carrie Fisher was good as Leia. Mark Hamill was good as Luke for the few seconds we saw him. I like how Luke went in hiding because it fits in a way. He feels ashamed. I mean think about it. He was given the son of his two best friends from the originals to train into a Jedi. He fails, their son kills all members of his order and turns to the dark side, his friends break up. How could Luke look at Han and Leia in the face and not feel like he has failed them? It’s why he went into hiding. I won’t lie out of all the characters, I think C-3PO had the best introduction. How we see 3PO was perfect and just classic. I really liked how R2 was gone. Well not gone but just sad. I like how R2 became depressed and sad at Luke leaving. Given how really R2 spent the most time with Luke out of everybody in the originals, his reaction is fitting. Last but not least Chewbacca. I won’t lie but I feel as though that this film may have been the best film to feature Chewbacca. Every scene he was in he was awesome.
The Story of THE FORCE AWAKENS
The biggest thing I could praise about the script is the direction. Return of the Jedi has the happy ending where oh the Death Star is destroyed, Vader and the Emperor are dead, everything is fine. The Force Awakens says “uh no”. Leia and Han had a kid who turned into the dark side in Kylo Ren. Luke created a new Jedi Order but Kylo Ren and the Knights of Ren killed all the members of Luke’s Jedi Order. We have the First Order. Overall I feel like the story in the first 2 acts was great. I loved how they were at Maz’s place and we had spies both for the Resistance and First Order. The third act did feel like more Return of the Jedi than A New Hope. We have Han, Finn, & Chewie going into a place to place bombs that will disable the shields. That’s what Han and Chewie did on Endor. We also have the space fight and lightsaber battle. The story wasn’t overly complex or nothing that would fly over people’s heads. It was simple and that’s good. Nobody understood what was going on in The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones. I don’t mind that Han Solo died and think it was done perfect. Han’s death didn’t get me, it was Chewbacca’s reaction that got me.
There was two problems. One I talk about next but the second is this. You’re telling me that Han Solo and Chewbacca lost the Millennium Falcon and it just so happens to be on Jakku? I feel like that was a bit too convenient. Not a huge issue like my other but an issue.
Not really a story issue but a nitpick. I was really disappointed in the ships for the Resistance and First Order. I mean I grew up loving the dogfights and playing Star Wars: Rogue Squadron so I loved the ships. I just feel like having just Tie Fighters and X-Wing was meh. I mean even A New Hope had Y-Wings. Plus Return of the Jedi had B-Wings and A-Wings and the Imperial had Tie Interceptors and Tie Bombers. Not a huge major issue but still. As for the other problem...
The One BIG Problem Of THE FORCE AWAKENS
No film is perfect but there is one big issue I had. Starkiller Base blowing up. I won’t lie, I facepalmed. I was just hoping they wouldn’t blow this base up. I mean before anyone defends the prequels, we saw in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace with the Trade Federation ship at the end. Not like “oh the prequels are original and didn’t copy”. Still we’ve seen two Death Stars in the original blow up and I was just disappointed. I didn’t like it. I was hoping that perhaps it was damaged badly where they would have to repair the weapon greatly but not the planet blown up. It was just lame honestly. Stop making these huge space weapons that will just blow up in Star Wars by a one man ship.
Is THE FORCE AWAKENS A Remake Of A NEW HOPE?
Some people have criticized the film for being a remake of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, are they right? No. Just because there are similar plot points, and believe me there are, that doesn’t mean it’s a poor remake or should hurt the film. I mean first off, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is very similar to A New Hope. If you know anything about movies, most movies are similar. All 3 of the Back to the Future films are similar. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is similar to Raiders of the Lost Ark. All the Rocky films feature Rocky training for a big fight he fights in the third act. The Dark Knight Rises is similar to Batman Begins.
Hell most superhero films are similar. Batman ended with Joker spreading Laughing Gas around Gotham and Batman stopping him, Batman Forever ended with Riddler mind controlling(?) the citizens of Gotham and Batman stopping him, Batman & Robin ended with Mr. Freeze freezing Gotham and Batman stopping him, Batman Begins ended with Ra’s spreading Fear Gas around Gotham and Batman stopping him, and The Dark Knight Rises ended with Bane having a bomb and Batman stopping him. It’s why Batman Returns and The Dark Knight are my favorite Batman films. We had Penguin wanting to kill all the heirs of Gotham’s rich and Joker just spreading chaos beautifully. Hell Captain America: Civil War will be the same as Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The Winter Soldier has Cap and his friends on the run from SHIELD chasing after them. Civil War has Cap and his friends on the run from Tony and his friends chasing after them. All the Webb Spider-Man films end with the city at risk by Lizard and Electro. All the Raimi Spider-Man films feature villains connected to Peter and Peter struggling with his powers. Just about all the Superman have him facing off against Lex and/or Zod. Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron’s third act is the Avengers fighting against a disposable army in a city with a villain who Thor has trouble fighting against but yet isn’t that strong of a villain since he gets taken out pretty easily.
Point is, judge a movie for the movie. Most movies are the same and you shouldn’t hold that against the film. What’s important is how the story is told, not if the story is similar to one that we’ve seen before.
At the end of the day, this was a really good movie. Not the best Star Wars film. That still belongs to Empire Strikes Back. For me it’s either tied for the second best with Return of the Jedi or it’s the third. It’s a great start to the new trilogy. Seeing it in IMAX was beautiful. I feel like JJ Abrams did a great job and really respected what came before. This film is so well acted and well shot. All of the effects are great, the dogfights are awesome, and the lightsaber fights are brutal. This film is a really good start. I’m going to give Star Wars: The Force Awakens 9 BB-8’s out of 10.