Ok, look, the honest truth is I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan. I was born two years after A New Hope and I was too young to remember seeing Return Of The Jedi in the cinema. So I didn’t really get the chance to fully digest the original trilogy properly until my early teens. In hindsight, I think they only ever made two good Star Wars films, Jedi was the start of everything getting silly and slap-sticky, whilst the prequels only appear to get better because they are only slight improvements on the cinematic definition for disappointment that is The Phantom Menace.
Of course, when reviewing the Star Wars Saga there are two approaches: 1) Overlook the things you would normally criticise other films for because it’s Star Wars, or 2) Over-criticise elements of the film you would normally overlook in other movies because it’s Star Wars. So for full-disclosure, I’m not going in to reviewing The Force Awakens with rose-tinted nostalgia glasses that many fans do. So let’s get to it: how does J.J. Abrams journey into a galaxy far far away hold up to the original trilogy and the prequels?
Everything that is old is new again. Abrams has found a way to keep the core elements of Star Wars, that were missing from the prequels, there for everyone to enjoy, but has added new characters that fit perfectly in this world. As a matter of fact, it’s the new characters of the franchise that are probably the most exciting, sure it’s great to see Han and Chewy and Liea and eventually Luke, but it’s the new cast member that really keep your attention once you get past the nostalgia-factor. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega bounce effortlessly off one another, whilst some other characters screen time may be short lived, such as Oscar Isaac and Andy Serkis, they are clearly being set up for bigger roles in future films. But it is Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren who really does steal the show in my opinion, he has all the markings of a villain like Darth Vader, but there’s an emotional range to his character that we haven’t seen in other Star Wars movies, as a matter of fact, that’s one of this film’s strongest points: all characters, old and new have an emotional core that isn’t cringe-worthy like in the prequels or for the most part missing from the original trilogy.
One really surprising thing about the film is how funny it is. You are going to laugh, like a lot in this film, there are so many funny moments that are natural and don’t feel forced that all the humour really hits their marks effortlessly. There is probably only one unintentionally funny scene in the film when one of the villains makes a speech which is so over the top that you can see the tears forming in his eyes as he overacts his way to laughing-gold.
We have all the traditional Star Wars wipes, musical cues and opening crawl to help keep things familiar but one of the great things that Abrams has done is the camera work: we get nice long takes where the camera moves in and out of these practical environments as they follow characters and there’s also an incredible amount of depth in every shot that doesn’t look like two dudes walking around in front of a green screen. The mixture of practical effects and CGI blends in a way where one never over powers the other and it reminds you where Lucas’ prequels went wrong.
As great as the film is there are some elements that don’t always work. We have plot holes all over the shop, whilst there are story threads that are introduced and then kind of forgotten about. Characters, both new and old, constantly seem to be talking in expositional foreshadowing to the point that you can pretty much predict where a characters storyline is going within their first two scenes. Some interesting cast member are introduced and then underused, if not used at all, seriously if you were holding your breath to see the cast of The Raid in action, I’d maybe lower your expectations with respects to that.
Honestly, I think it is really really good. It’s not perfect, but it is really good. Fans of the original trilogy will feel more than satisfied with the way J.J. Abrams has littered the film with references and Easter eggs to Episodes 4 - 6, however if you’re a fan and you’re looking for something more, you are going to have to be reliant on the new characters of the series because ultimately, The Force Awakens trends too much familiar ground from A New Hope to feel completely fresh. If I had one criticism, it would be that Abrams was too much of a slave to the original series.
Star Wars The Force Awakens gets Four out of Five Stars (or Four out of Five middle-age men sobbing uncontrollably in the aisle)
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