UPDATE: My thoughts on the film have slightly changed after repeated viewing so this review has been updated to fit my new opinions.
Well, it's that time of year, folks. Probably one of the most highly anticipated movie reviews of 2015. Ever since Lucasfilm was purchased by Disney, fans were anticipating the return of, arguably, the most beloved franchise of all-time: "Star Wars". With the last "Star Wars" film being 10 years old, we needed something fresh and new to reinvigorate the franchise, so in order to do so, Disney and Lucasfilm hired J. J. Abrams (the man behind the new "Star Trek" reboots and "Super 8") in 2013 to continue the saga with the 7th episode in the series, "The Force Awakens". Since the film began its production, countless rumors have been circulating on the Internet, hypothesizing what the film would be about and fans just waiting years and years to see if their predictions were true. Now, before this film was released, it already broke several records and crashed several movie ticket selling websites across the globe. No matter what the reception of this film is, it will be a monster hit. But after the dreaded prequel trilogy, critics and audiences wanted the "Star Wars" franchise to regain its glory on the silver screen with a relatively new, young cast, a decently popular director and some of the original staff members. Did this move by Disney and Lucasfilm pay off?
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is directed by J. J. Abrams and stars an ensemble cast including Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Max von Sydow. The film takes place 30 years after the events of "Return of the Jedi", where a former Stormtrooper named Finn (John Boyega) and a scavenger named Rey (Daisy Ridley) have to battle a new villain, Kylo Ren, who vows to finish Darth Vader's unfinished work. Well, ladies and gentlemen, "Star Wars" is back in action, but not in full capacity. Was the film enjoyable and fun? Yes. Absolutely. Is it any good? That is debatable. It does feel like a "Star Wars" film but does fall short on many of the promises we were hoping for. Atheistically it recaptures the magic of practical effects (aside from two motion-capture characters I can't talk about because it's a spoiler) and the tone and spirit of the film does bring back some of the magical experience that "Star Wars" is known for.
Let's first talk about Rey, played beautifully by Daisy Ridley, who is clearly the main character of the film. Not only is Ridley's performance instantly likable, she delivers a good blend of strength and innocence. Something similar to that of Luke Skywalker in the original film. In my humble opinion, following her journey throughout the story was one of the more compelling parts of the entire film. Every time she was on screen, the film suddenly became alive and made everything feel like "Star Wars" again. Her interactions between the characters, especially BB-8, are cleverly written, perfectly executed and contains a lot of chemistry, unlike the characters in the prequel trilogy. Rey has the charm, the looks, the kickassery and the elegance to pull off a "Star Wars" leading lady and I hope to see her in Episode VIII and IX coming up. There is still so much I would like to discuss about her character but that would go into heavy spoiler territory so just wait and see for yourself when you go see the film in theaters.
The characterization of Finn, played by John Boyega, in the film was something I wasn't expecting but it wasn't an unwelcome surprise either. Boyega had to pull off most of the film's comedy and, for the most part, he does a fairly decent job at keeping the lighter moments of the film humorous and funny. But not only does Boyega handle the comedy, he also brings a lot of emotional baggage in the film. He, along with the audience, are in for a new adventure and we, at times, see this entirely new world through his eyes. However, at times his comedic sensibilities were a bit overplayed by the film's script and direction, but it doesn't drag the film down or make it seem like a comedy. Boyega as Finn was fully committed to his role with a lot of energy, enthusiasm and fun.
Now, one of my biggest problems with "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" would have to stem from Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver. Although he starts off as a menacing villain with a short temper, he gradually turns into something I did not want to see in a "Star Wars" villain. Although Ren's character is fully fleshed out and has a backstory we can all understand, there are some specific things he says and does in the second half of the film that cheapens the gravity of his strength and power. This franchise, in particular, is known for having amazing villains throughout most of the movies and to see Ren join the likes of Darth Vader, The Emperor and Darth Maul is rather disappointing. It really is unfortunate I can't go in depths about my problems with his character without going into spoiler territory so to sum it all up: his design is amazing and threatening, but his character (again, in the second half of the film) is not strong enough to pose a sense of danger to any of the characters we see in the film.
But... he was amazing in the opening sequence. Without spoiling anything, I thought he was going to be an amazing villain judging by the intro... But sadly that promise wasn't kept.
Out of all the new cast members, I was most excited about seeing Oscar Isaac, one of my favorite actors working today, in a "Star Wars" film. From "Drive" to "Inside Llewyn Davis" to "Ex Machina", Isaac is a very prestigious upcoming talent, so to see Isaac not have a substantial role in the film was rather disappointing, but he brought a lot of on-screen presence that felt like something out of the original trilogy. As Poe Dameron, the most skilled pilot in the Resistance, Isaac was able to bring something that was akin to
Not only does "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" bring new cast members, but it also brings back our favorites from the original trilogy. Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew and Anthony Daniels are back as their respective characters and I honestly was impressed with all of them. Ford, unlike most of his recent roles, actually brought a sense of emotion and levity to the film that I was hoping for. He slipped into the character like he never left it to begin with, along with his partner and co-pilot, Chewbacca. But somewhere in the back of my head, I knew that Ford would be able to pull it, so the biggest surprise for me with Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa. I really had no idea what to expect from her so seeing to step back into Leia's shoes did surprise me for a moment, although it is, only at times, obvious the Fisher hasn't been acting for a while. However, their performances do suffer slightly from the strange shift in character dynamic that the filmmakers have set up for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". Yes, Han and Leia do have genuine moments in the film, but they also seem a little out of place due to their new relationship. But overall, seeing Ford, Fisher, Mayhew returning as Chewbacca and Anthony Daniels as C3-PO did actually put a smile on my face and their performances did make this disjointed "Star Wars" film a little more familiar.
Without ruining anything from the film: Yes, Luke Skywalker is in the film. Some people were worried he wasn't but I can confirm that he is in the film for sure.
And also Anthony Daniel's C3-PO voice this time around seemed a little different, which sort of came out of left field. It was odd and I can't quite pinpoint what was in fact wrong about it, but it definitely did not sound like his usual voice from the past 6 films.
Ever since we saw this little cute droid from the first teaser trailer, people fell in love with him. As our replacement for R2-D2 in the sequel trilogy, BB-8 is a sassy, emotional and humorous little droid that was utilized in all the right moments in the film and also was [thank god] never annoying. The filmmakers knew when to use him and when not to use him; unlike George Lucas' attempt at making Jar Jar Binks an important character in the prequels. Without giving away too much, what J. J. Abrams does with this character is what George Lucas did with R2-D2 in "A New Hope". The roles are extremely similar and their purpose for being in the film is to, of course, progress the plot forward, which is not a bad thing. I'm just very happy that they didn't overplay him in the story simply for the kids, so I wouldn't have to get sick of seeing this metallic ball roll around for the duration of the film.
Could we talk about Captain Phasma for a moment please? This isn't really a spoiler but she doesn't do anything in the film. Literally nothing. She stands around and looks amazing, but doesn't deliver on her potential. I wanted to see Gwendoline Christie own that role as one of the first big female baddies in the "Star Wars" [film] universe but, again, the film just glances over at amazing potential and just passes by it.
The screenplay for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was written by writer Lawrence Kasdan ("The Empire Strikes Back"), J. J. Abrams and Oscar winner Michael Arndt ("Little Miss Sunshine"), which sounds like a dream come true and thankfully their collective talents brought us back to the magic and wonder of the "Star Wars" universe that we all fell in love with. It's honestly quite amazing to see these 3 gentlemen get together to make this film for us "Star Wars" fans. However, the script contains everything bad and everything good about J. J. Abrams' style of filmmaking as it does lack some of the depth, strength, motivation and hard-hitting questions that the "Star Wars" films are so famous for. It is an action-packed thrill ride that is enjoyable to watch, but I'm still unsure if I can use the word "quality" to describe the film. "The Force Awakens", while having its moment, does not stand on its own as a solo film (pun intended) and suffers from "A New Hope" envy at times. Some of the references to the previous film do feel a little forceful at times, but I know they are done with love and passion so I can't fault J. J. for wanting to pay tribute to his childhood fandom.
J. J., in the past few years, has shown us that he can direct an amazing looking action sequences and that tradition continues here. For the most part, everything in "Star Wars: The Force Awaken" is shot beautifully with intensive care and staging with cinematographer Dan Mindel ("Star Trek" (2009), "Star Trek Into Darkness" and "The Amazing Spider-Man 22") returning to working with Abrams again for the 3rd time. And combining Mindel's camerawork with state-of-the-art special effects (practical and computer generated), the filmmakers gave "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" a sleek, beautiful look that is worthy of the "Star Wars" name. The use of amazing practical effects and real sets was the right decision for this amazing team of filmmakers, which gave "The Force Awakens" a distinctive aesthetic. However, two new characters, played by Andy Serkis and Lupita Nyong'o, were created entirely through motion-capture technology and are very distracting. While Abrams was so adamant about using practical effects in his films, why these two characters couldn't be created through puppetry and/or make-up is still a mystery to me. For a moment, it did feel like I was watching the prequel trilogy, which is honestly the worst insult I can give to this film. Although the scenes involving those two characters are short, they are very distracting and rather noticeable.
For most of us, the most recognizable and iconic things in all the "Star Wars" films is, by far, the music. John Williams' score is, arguably, the most famous film theme song of all-time. Everyone knows the "Star Wars" fanfare and hearing it again as the text crawl comes on screen almost did make me cry in the theater. However, it is unfortunate that the new soundtrack to "The Force Awakens" is honestly quite forgettable, which is hard for me to say. Although the score featured in the film sounds beautifully, it doesn't resonate with me as it did with the original trilogy and, to some extent, even the prequel trilogy. Each "Star Wars" film has a least a few tracks that I find to be emotionally powerful pieces of music but I unfortunately can't pinpoint a single jaw dropping track from this film. However, Williams is getting rather old (83 years old) and since he composed most of my favorite film scores, I will give him a pass for creating a slightly normal or mediocre one.
After having said all of my problems and gripes about the film, most of you may think I actually don't like this film. No, I don't. It's definitely not "Attack on the Clones" or "The Phantom Menace". While the film does have its problems, "The Force Awakens" is a definite return to form for the franchise and opens doors for more interesting stories, compelling villains, and new planets to be explored. Abrams' love for the original films, practical effects and shooting on film instead of digital really does show here in this film and seeing it all come together in a beautifully crafted film is a marvel to behold. Although I have numerous complaints about this film, I do recommend seeing it. "The Force Awakens", while not resonating or powerful enough to be the masterpiece we wanted, is an outrageous fun and entertaining film that we deserved after struggling with the prequel trilogy. I would give the film a 7.5 out of 10 (tied with "Revenge of the Sith" in my opinion).
Go see it in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and 2D!
Buy tickets now: http://www.fandango.com/starwars:theforceawakens_169229/movietimes
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