04 May Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

STAR WARS EPISODE VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS

dir. JJ Abrams, starring John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Harrison Ford, Adam Driver, and Carrie Fisher

Late last year, I watched The Matrix Resurrections. It was so bad it retroactively made me re-evaluate every bit of Matrix media, and I concluded that except for the original movie, it was all garbage. What does that have to do with The Force Awakens? After The Rise of Skywalker (which I could only stand to watch twice: once in theaters and once on 4K Blu-ray), I went back and re-evaluated the entire sequel trilogy, and The Force Awakens makes out only barely better than the Matrix sequels.
Watching it 7 years later, there are two lenses I viewed the movie through, and could not come down on either side. The first is within historical context, where the film was a soft reboot of the Star Wars franchise, and a carefully crafted whole-film homage to A New Hope. In this sense, it remains a great success. It contains fun throwbacks, beloved classic characters, and some new, interesting characters; setting up entire new story arcs (we thought) that had immense potential.
On the other hand, within the context of the “direction” of the The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker, The Force Awakens is way too overindulgent in its fan service and firmly rooted in JJ Abrams’ complete lack of originality. These sound like similar problems, but there’s a difference. The fan service is self-explanatory and usually rooted in either visual cues or dialogue ripped directly from previous films. There’s too much, but as a reboot, it’s forgivable. However, the underlying story and complete lack of development of old or new characters is all Abrams, and at this point, it’s terribly annoying. It doesn’t really matter, but both problems have aged poorly. Fan service is like pop culture references in Shrek movies: while initially fun and maybe even heartwarming, over time, they represent a lack of creativity and stand out as filler that could have been something more interesting.
Episode VII is still fun, but considering where its sequels went, mostly frustrating because everything interesting about it was completely and utterly squandered or abandoned afterwards.

[UPDATED REVIEW – 6 April 2019]

OK, Jim. Calm down. “The Force Awakens currently stands as my favorite Star Wars film” was definitely the fevered reaction of a viewer that needed more time to think about it.

In the intervening 4 years since TFA was released, I can still say that it is a great movie, I really enjoy it, and it taps into the cultural and cinematic zeitgeist that made the original trilogy definitively iconic. Which is paradoxically why I like it a bit less.

With Episode 8 now behind me, and with additional time to reflect, I consider the new trilogy a narrative and tonal mess. The movie is a remake of A New Hope and bears the #1 trait of Abrams entire film oeuvre: he relies entirely on nostalgia and brings almost no originality to the table outside technical expertise, which is considerable enough that the lack of originality only becomes fully apparent after a few viewings.

JJ Abrams is to failing franchise directing what Dwayne Johnson is to failing franchise acting: both of them can revive near-dead franchises and make them fun again. Not necessarily great, but definitely fun. Abrams has now done the same thing with Mission Impossible 3, Star Trek (2009) & Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and Star Wars. He takes a franchise that is on life-support, examines what made it great in its former iterations, and duplicates that exactly, but with better special effects and his patented Mystery Box narrative crutch. But never a bit of originality that even remotely approximates the excellence of the legacy he steals from…

My biggest caveat about acknowledging Episode VII’s place in Star Wars was contingent on what happened with Episode 8, and in retrospect, it sets up some really great stuff that was completely, utterly squandered, to the detriment of both movies. In my opinion, narrative choices made in 8 diminished 7, leaving me feeling like I was being misled and misdirected; not to something better, but to exploit my love of the franchise. That’s problematic for Disney/Lucasfilm and has been evident with the disaster that was Solo: A Star Wars Story.
The Force Awakens is still great viewing in isolation, and if you can forget what was done after, stands as a tremendous piece Star Wars cinema. It just doesn’t bring enough to the larger franchise. Maybe Episode 9 will retcon it back up the list…

[ORIGINAL REVIEW – 30 December 2015]

Short version:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the best Star Wars movie I’ve ever seen in the theater*. Go see it.

More Detailed Version:

There are two distinctly different aspects to Star Wars: the strictly cinematic viewpoint versus the ‘Star Wars is an Institution and The Greatest American Mythology in Pop Culture’ viewpoint. Of course, these two things are inextricably connected, just as both sides of a coin are connected.

From a strictly cinematic viewpoint, The Force Awakens currently stands as my favorite Star Wars film, with Empire Strikes Back a close second and the rest falling behind. It has fantastic pacing, incredible special effects, great characters (old and new), and seamlessly combines a strong sense of nostalgia and respect for its origins with a strong, modern self-awareness of how to make an entertaining and exciting motion picture event film.

As a piece of the Star Wars mythology that has grown over the years and almost exactly matches my own lifespan, the movie is a surprisingly flawed film that heavily relies on its predecessors and a long theatrical absence to achieve a level of interest and spectacle that has eluded the franchise for over 30 years.

Now let me give a little background. I love Star Wars, and it’s almost guaranteed that I will watch almost all of the films at least once per year in a personal marathon. I have never seen the original trilogy in the theater (Curses!), but I saw the prequels multiple times each in the theater. When each of the prequels was released, I was so overwhelmed with excitement I convinced myself each one was “The Best” immediately after first viewing. In fact, because of the prequels, I’ve developed a strict guideline for myself that any big, “event”-scale movie I see in theaters, I need to either take some time before writing my thoughts or else see it a second time before I can even hope to objectively analyze it; maybe both. As time has worn on, my opinion of the prequels has greatly diminished, and I consider them substandard entries into a franchise with limitless potential that has been poorly tapped for half of its cinematic ventures.

And so it was that I tried to temper my expectation of The Force Awakens prior to its release. Particularly in the final weeks before release, I told myself that I had been burned badly the three previous entries and going in with high expectations would only compound any potential disappointment. Simply put, my strongest expectation was “It can’t be as bad as the prequels.”

Well, I can gratefully say, after seeing the movie five times and waiting a couple weeks before writing my thoughts, that it exceeded my expectations, is far superior to the prequels, and stands with the original trilogy as a worthy entry Star Wars canon.

Here’s a rundown of what I really liked:

Kylo Ren: the best villain since Darth Vader. Darth Maul was the epitome of squandered potential and marks the gravest mistake of Lucas’ prequels (worse than the inclusion of Jar-Jar, in my opinion). Dooku was way too old to be intimidating or else way too CGI to be believable; and the Emperor was…entirely predictable, since his character had no arc whatsoever in the prequels. In Kylo Ren, we have a villain that is not only physically intimidating and incredibly strong with the Dark Side of the Force, but also a fully-realized character. By making him Han and Leia’s son, we instantly understand more about him than is simply on-screen, which is the kind of character-based benefit Marvel has capitalized on in the Avenger movies: previous films have provided enough context that you don’t need a great deal of time to present a well-developed character. And yet, Abrams still presents a villain that is powerful, detestable, and dangerous before we even learn who he really is. And his character’s arc is fantastic throughout the film. Remember that in Episode 4, Darth Vader was not the top dog in the film–he was regularly chided and ordered around by “muggle” leadership in the Empire. Ren is in a similar position in this film, his Sith training having not been completed. But even in this condition, he is terrifying to behold. My only complaint about Ren was when about his hair–how did that mane fit into that helmet?!?!

Rey is the best character in the Star Wars universe since Han Solo, and a welcome addition to the unfortunately limited group of strong female lead characters in film, which includes Furiosa from this year’s Mad Max: Fury Road. The marketing for Force Awakens wisely avoided giving away that Rey is, in fact, the main character of this film. Although only one of three new main characters (along with Poe Dameron and Finn), Rey stands out as having the strongest character arc throughout the film and for having defeated the main bad guy. There is nothing to not like about Rey, and she embodies everything you want in a hero. Plucked from essentially nowhere (much like the main cast of the original trilogy), Daisy Ridley instantly steps up and provides a strong, nuanced performance in a role that could easily have been as botched as Anakin’s in the prequels. Instead, we are gifted a character I can’t wait to see again.

Finn was awesome. Although I would argue that his character goes through his entire arc early in the film, instead of fading away, he transitions into a strong lead character who also provides most of the laughs in the film. John Boyega is also a revelation in his role as a stormtrooper with a conscious, and a determination to follow it. At the beginning of The Force Awakens, Finn is in arguably the most dire circumstances of the three new main characters, but his strength of will and sense of humor are so easy to identify with that you want to cheer for Finn throughout the film, especially as he risks the safety of the entire galaxy to rescue Rey in the third act. Again, I’m totally invested in Finn and want to see what happens next.

Poe Dameron’s introduction set the tone for the entire movie–a remarkably important challenge. The prequels suffered from inconsistency in tone, particularly in Episode 3, which bounced between inane idiocy and dark violence. Episode 7 starts with a stormtrooper raid on a village that results in genocide, but the inherit darkness of this scenario is perfectly balanced with the immediate optimism, hope, and enthusiasm portrayed by Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron. The flip side of this remarkably strong character introduction is that Poe doesn’t really have a character arc in this film. He certainly has some rough ground to tread in the first third of the film, but then he simply disappears until a narratively questionable (read: lazy) re-entry in the third act. I think this was probably a wise decision. With Rey and Finn, the film already had two very strong characters, each with a hero’s journey to complete. Poe provides a solid anchor as a character who is already exactly what he wants and needs to be.

Han Solo and Chewbacca are Star Wars. Although not introduced until the second act of this particular movie, Han and Chewie provide the strongest and best connective tissue to not only the Star Wars universe as a whole, but also back in time, through the prequels, to the original trilogy. It was critical that Abrams re-establish the Star Wars franchise and making Han and Chewie supporting/main characters in this new movie was an easy win for bringing in old and new fans of Star Wars. Harrison Ford puts in the best cinematic work he’s done in years by slipping back into the Han Solo role. While Han’s character arc was covered in the original trilogy, we still learn enough about events in the intervening three decades to know that Han still has demons to address, and his ultimate demise is both heroic and a fine capstone on a character that started out a scoundrel, became a galactic hero, before facing his greatest challenge as a father, and ultimately giving his life trying to redeem his son from the Dark Side.
As for Chewbacca, he’s the essence of what every dog owner sees in their pet: they are more than an obedient animal; they are The Whole World to their owner. Chewie is the companion we imagine our dogs to be and seeing him go full Jack Bauer on the stormtroopers when Han is killed was both heartbreaking, and vindicating, since that what loyal companions do: avenge the shit out of you.
I literally teared up when Han and Chewie appeared onscreen, and every second they were onscreen was a joy.

The Millenium Falcon has always been the best hunk of junk in the galaxy, and I truly hope that when mankind achieves interstellar travel, we are smart enough to design a ship that looks like the Falcon, practicality be damned. Its reappearance was both cleverly realized, and glorious to behold. Allowing Rey to pilot the Falcon first in the film probably went a long way towards my complete and undying love for her character. Again, when it appeared onscreen, I teared up a little bit. And the Falcon got so much more screen-time than any previous film, which was just awesome.

The pacing of the film was more consistent and fast-paced than any of the previous films. The Original Trilogy is a remarkable set of films, but they are also paced liked many films from that era, in which there are long spells of sitting and talking without much action. The Force Awakens benefited tremendously from Abrams’ sense of cinematic movement. He knew enough to slow things down for some scenes, but most of the movie was kept at a pretty consistent, frenetic pace. This was more noticeable (and welcome) in repeat viewings.

The action scenes and their staging was, for the most part, excellently staged, with far more realism and gravitas than the prequels, which relied on 100% CGI for everything. I’m sure that Abrams utilized more CGI than I realize, but I also can tell that The Force Awakens felt more like the OT than the prequels, and that made a huge impact. With the exception of the lightsaber fight choreography, I thought that the action was nearly flawless.

I loved the reunion between the entire cast from this year’s excellent Ex Machina film: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, and a bunch of robots. (ZING!!) Seriously, though, Gleeson has emerged as a breakout star this year, and even though he looked a bit young as General Hux, he absolutely nailed his role and I loved it. It’s a credit to both Gleeson and Isaac that their roles in this science fiction movie are utterly different from their respective roles in Ex Machina–both men are excellent actors and bring a great deal to the table for Star Wars’ future.

Now, let me state emphatically that I really, REALLY enjoyed this movie, and easily rank it as one of the best of the year. Abrams and Disney had a HUGE challenge ahead of them, especially in the face of so many other film franchises coming into fruition in the last decade, as well as many failing to successfully reboot. Since the last prequel, and especially since the last of the OT, we have seen some horrible attempts to keep some franchises relevant (I’m looking at YOU, Spider-man..) as well as some potentially great franchises implode with the first sequel (The Matrix, Taken). Because of this considerably more complicated field of competition, I cut Disney and Abrams some serious slack in Episode 7, and I know that I went in with more realistic and measured expectations than I did 16 years ago with Episode 1.

THAT SAID…I have a few valid complaints about the movie that I’ll run through here:

I’ll start with the most minor: the marketing campaign for the movie was brilliant, but even so, everyone thought that Luke Skywalker would play a major part. The no-BS reality is that Luke only appears in a 90-second scene at the very end of the film; with no dialog. Simply put: I wanted more Luke Skywalker.
I credit Disney’s brilliant marketing with this bait-and-switch. The teasers and trailers never showed Luke and never directly promised that he was in the film. Most people, myself included, thought this might be to hide a spoiler-ish secret, such as Luke having gone to the Dark Side and become the villain; after all, that is a Skywalker tradition. But really, they didn’t show anything because if they had, it would have essentially been his whole role here. Again, brilliant and surprisingly brutally honest marketing from Disney–you don’t show a character that doesn’t really appear in the film.
In truth, although he doesn’t appear until the closing seconds, Luke’s presence and influence are felt and utilized throughout the entire film. You could say that Luke Skywalker IS the MacGuffin for the whole film–the story revolves around both the good guys and bad guys trying to find Luke’s hiding place. His name is the first two words of the opening crawl (after the title) and the last face you see in the film.
Abrams wisely explained that every draft of the movie with Luke taking an active part in the narrative made the introduction and integration of new characters almost impossible. And I can totally see this: if Luke is around, I probably don’t care what Rey or Finn is saying or doing.
But all the same…I wanted to see Luke Skywalker getting his Jedi-Master skills on!!

Second, bigger complaint: I’m tired of Star Wars movies revolving around a Death Star. In Episode 4, it was awesome. I think everyone was a little surprised that Episode 6 had the exact same plot point as Episode 4: destroy the Death Star. The Force Awakens’ climax revolved around…taking out a Death Star. Sure, they call it ‘Starkiller Base’ and it’s much bigger and more powerful than either previous Death Stars, but…it’s another Death Star.
Abrams made a smart move by having a strategy meeting among the Resistance in which Han Solo flippantly maps out the strategy for taking out Starkiller Base–even he acknowledges that it’s just like the Death Star. I think that without these crucial, if flippant, comments, many viewers would have immediately criticized the movie for this exact tired plot point. Luckily, Han Solo said everything we no longer needed to after the movie was over.
As I said, I cut Abrams and Disney a lot of slack with this, and will discuss an aspect of it later, but I was a little bit disappointed that the climax of the movie revolved around Death Star 3.0. The biggest problem I see with this will be one year from now, when Star Wars: Rogue One is released, which will be the fourth Star Wars movie entirely centered around a Death Star. It’s unfortunate that for the first time in history, we have back-to-back Star Wars films released in theaters, and both are centered on a challenge we have seen twice before.

Lastly, I think there is a very valid argument that Episode 7 is a remake/reboot of Episode 4. While not necessarily a bad thing, as I read through the opening crawl of Force Awakens, I admit I had a pit in my stomach as I read a plot lead-in that mirrored A New Hope. It honestly felt like a cut-and-paste job. I panicked a bit and had a thought that I suspect was mirrored more than some people may admit: if they spent years and years preparing to make this movie and exercised some of the most cloak-and-dagger secrecy ever for a film, than what the hell were they thinking making a movie that is exactly the same as the original. Shouldn’t they have come up with SOMETHING more original, especially given the voluminous amounts of post-Return of the Jedi extended canon available to them?!?!
The fact is that structurally, narratively, and thematically, The Force Awakens mirrors A New Hope way, WAY more than I expected. In fact, knowing this, you can almost project out the entire plot of the film. In my mind, this was both a huge risk, and a safe option for Disney. The huge risk is that making it too much like the original Star Wars movie disappoints long-time fans, who were desperate for something new. The safety part of it is rooted in the fact that this movie is, technically, a reboot of the franchise in a similar fashion to 2006’s Casino Royale for James Bond. And there was a 30-year gap since the last GOOD Star Wars movie, so an argument for a remake/reboot is easy to make, since it can seemingly guarantee that whatever people liked about the first movie will bring them back for the new movie.
A few things that were blatantly obvious “homages” or rip-offs were Starkiller Base (the Death Star); the General Hux/Kylo Ren relationship (Tarkin/Darth Vader); the symmetry between each act of the film to primary environments from the Original Trilogy (Jakku=Tatooine; that green planet=Endor; Starkiller Base exterior=Hoth)–why not explore some completely new environments/planets, instead of retreading places we have already been?!?!; Rey’s entire existence/story arc being a less-whiny but exactly parallel version of Luke Skywalker in ANH; as well as the Cantina scene, prisoners on the Death Star, etc., etc. At some point, you have to ask where the line became so blurred between homage and lazy theft, and whether Abrams exploited everyone’s good will to supplement his own films overall lack of originality.
In the end, I give Abrams and Disney a pass for this, because in almost every way, even as a remake/reboot, Episode VII is superior to ANH. But it also means that the pressure doubles-down on Rian Johnson and cast/crew for Episode VIII, which comes out in 18 months. I can forgive too much familiarity in Episode VII, but The Last Jedi damn well better tread some new ground and not rely on my love of the Star Wars films and mythology.
One of my first thoughts walking out of The Force Awakens was that JJ Abrams had just pulled a fast one on everybody, and yet we should have known ahead of time. If the new Star Wars movie were an SAT question, it would be:
“The Force Awakens is to [A New Hope] what Star Trek Into Darkness was to Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn”
I actually really liked Star Trek Into Darkness, but its weakest parts were those that relied on strong callbacks to Wrath of Kahn, as opposed to the originality they brought to the table. I feel that the best parts of The Force Awakens were the new elements, while the constant callbacks to A New Hope were the weakest.

Those are really my only three complaints about the film, and in the end, I still loved the hell out of it. The Force Awakens is everything I want in a Star Wars movie, except maybe some new planets and a new final boss challenge.

Star Wars represents an original American mythology that has integrated itself into American (and probably global) culture. Whether you look at Star Wars as only seven films or whether you have enjoyed the decades of films, tv shows, video games, and infinite merchandising, there is no doubt that The Force Awakens is the strongest benchmark of the franchise in decades, and clearly paves the way for an exciting re-awakening and expansion of the galaxy far, far away. When all is said and done, TFA is pure science fantasy fun, and THAT is what I love about going to the movies.

*I’ve never seen the Original Trilogy in the theater. I was too young when they were originally released, and I was serving my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when they were re-released as special editions (which means I wasn’t allowed to go to movies in the theater). I did see the prequels in the theater, but none of them are good. So… The Force Awakens is the first good Star Wars I’ve seen in the theater!

Review by Jim Washburn