Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) Disney/Sci-Fi-Action-Adventure RT: 135 minutes Rated PG-13 (sci-fi action violence) Director: J.J. Abrams Screenplay: Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt Music: John Williams Cinematography: Dan Mindel Release date: December 18, 2015 (US) Cast: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, Max von Sydow, Gwendoline Christie, Tim Rose, Mike Quinn, Greg Grunberg.
Rating: ****
NOTE TO READERS: I hereby resolve NOT to divulge any spoilers in this review. I will only reveal as much of the plot as I deem necessary meaning it will be an overview rather than a description. However, if you’re still hesitant to read further, let me just tell you that it’s AWESOME! At this point, you can either stop reading or continue. The choice is yours.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the Star Wars movie fans have been waiting for since the end credits to Return of the Jedi first scrolled on screens around the world more than 30 years ago. I left the theater feeling the way I wanted to feel after watching The Phantom Menace on opening night in May ’99. I was absolutely elated. The series, now under the direction of J.J. Abrams, is back on track. It’s generally agreed that series creator George Lucas botched the prequels; it was almost as if he made the movies as an obligation rather than a labor of love. It shows in his cold approach to the stories. Abrams, on the other hand, has a genuine love for Star Wars. It shows in how he keeps The Force Awakens connected to the original trilogy while creating an all-new set of characters (good and evil) and conflicts. It helps that he knows his Star Wars history; The Force Awakens contains themes, references and images that will be instantly familiar to the legions of loyal fans that will surely crowd multiplexes for the next few weeks. In short, Abrams knocks it out of the park.
Now for the difficult part, plot synopsis. Like I promised, I’ll only tell you what you need to know, NO unnecessary spoilers here. Luke Skywalker has vanished. These are the first four words of the opening titles crawl. It’s been thirty years since the Rebels defeated the Empire on Endor, but the far, far away galaxy is still besieged by war. The Resistance is trying to take down the First Order represented by new villain Kylo Ren (Driver, This Is Where I Leave You), apprentice to Supreme Leader Snoke (Serkis, the LOTR trilogy). As the movie opens, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Isaac, Inside Llewyn Davis) gets captured by Stormtroopers, but not before hiding valuable information in his droid BB-8 that will aid in the search for Luke. BB-8 gets away and comes to be in the possession of Rey (Ridley), a scavenger on the desert planet Jakku. Also on the side of good is Finn (Boyega, Attack the Block), a former Stormtrooper that defected and helped Poe escape. The First Order wants BB-8 and will stop at nothing to get him, including launching an airstrike on Jakku, causing our two heroes to flee in a certain ship.
It’s no secret that many of the original characters return in The Force Awakens. Aiding Rey and Finn in their search for Luke are Han Solo (Ford), Chewbacca (Mayhew) and General Leia (Fisher), no longer a princess, now a Resistance leader. It also bears mentioning that the First Order has built a new weapon, Starkiller Base, much more powerful than either Death Star. It’s a whole planet that’s been converted into a superweapon. Okay, that’s all I’m going to tell you. There are many cool twists in The Force Awakens; I’ll only say that Abrams pays close attention to Skywalker family mythology. That’s NOT a spoiler as it was alluded to in the trailers.
WOW! That was my first reaction as the closing credits began to roll at last night’s sold-out show. The audience burst into applause on several occasions, usually coinciding with the original characters’ first appearances. It was great catching up with them after all these years. They’ve grown older, some have grown wiser, but they’ve lost none of the pluck and spunk. Han is still a wise-ass. C-3PO (Daniels) is still a fussbudget. Leia still bickers with Han. And so forth. However, Abrams and his co-writer (Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt) have created new characters just as interesting and psychologically complex. I won’t go into specifics, but they all have their own secrets and personal demons, especially Rey and Kylo.
The performances in The Force Awakens are very good. Relative newcomers Ridley and Boyega do very well as the newest heroes in the Star Wars universe. As successor to Darth Vader, Driver’s iron-masked, black-clad villain is still despicable, but with a level of complexity that paints his character in shades of gray rather than pure black. As for the Star Wars vets, do you really need to ask? The special effects, set design and costumes are all Oscar-worthy. This movie looks GREAT! I realize that much of it is CGI, but unlike several recent effects-driven movies, it doesn’t look like a video game. I was every bit as impressed as when I saw the original Star Wars movies as a kid.
The Force Awakens underscores everything that was wrong with The Phantom Menace. Abrams, who also successfully relaunched the Star Trek franchise, obviously went back and studied the original films closely. He gets it; he understands what the fans want and it’s not thinly-veiled racial stereotypes (yes, I mean you, Jar-Jar!) or crap about Trade Federations, taxes and Senate hearings. At times, I thought I watching the intergalactic version of C-SPAN. Being a fan myself, I speak for all of us when I say what we want are a solid storyline, cool new characters, great special effects and catching up with the characters we grew up with. The Force Awakens has all of that and Abrams executes it flawlessly. I seriously can’t wait for the next chapter. We get a few reveals in this movie, but there’s more yet to come. I even plan on seeing this one a few more times. Welcome back, Star Wars! We missed you!
