NOTE: This is a review drafted on 12/20/2015 on a different blog that is no longer in use. I decided to transfer content from that website to this to maintain consistency.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review
Starring: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Gwendoline Christie, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels
Blurb/Synopsis: Thirty years after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, the galaxy faces a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the First Order. When a defector named Finn (John Boyega( crash-lands on a desert planet, he meets Rey (Daisy Ridley), a tough scavenger whose dried contains a top-secret map. Together, the young duo joins forces with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to make sure the Resistance receives the intelligence concerning the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the last of the Jedi Knights.
Expectations/Background: As a person who was not alive at the time of the original trilogy, I was not there to experience the magic of those movies in the theaters; however, having said that, I did rematch those movies over and over and over again. The prequels came, and to my disappointment, lacked the magic that the original trilogy had captured so beautifully. So when it was announced that Lucas had sold Star Wars and Lucasfilm to Disney for over 4 billion dollars, my first reaction was shock and immediate skepticism. Fresh off of the prequels, all that I, and anyone I talked to had in mind was "So, Disney is going to ruin Star Wars. Only question is, how?" Although Disney is a great company, making quality films, something about Disney and Star Wars did not mesh together well, like putting pizza and ice cream in a blender. So fans waited for any bit of news to confirm or deny the fact that Star Wars Episode VII would suck. Then we got it; JJ Abrams was going to direct. Immediate reaction from me, "So now Disney's going to take the director of Star Trek and bring him into a Star Wars movie run by Disney. Great." This again didn't make sense to me because while I did like Abram's directing and visual styles, mixing yet another pop genre director who directed essentially the other side of the coin to Star Wars didn't make sense. So we waited. Then the title was revealed: "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Interesting enough...better than Attack of the Clones at least. So we waited some more. And slowly, as the original cast was confirmed, and newbies John Bodega, Daisy Ridley, and Oscar Isaac were cast as Finn, Rey, and Poe respectively. Doesn't have the same ring as Luke, Han, and Leia, but at that point we were 2 years away from the release of the film. Then, the first teaser dropped. And it was...well a bomb of nostalgia, seeing the Millennium Falcon dive in and out of Tie Fighters. And slowly, with more promotional material, we began to see how very well this film was being marketed. So, standing in a 3 hour line on opening night, I could only hope this film would be good.
The Movie: Star Wars: The Force Awakens is everything that I wanted it to be. First, I'm going to start with the positives of the movie. Every single performance was exceptional, but more on that in the cast and characters. The story kept pushing forward, the story was exceptional, and the chemistry and dialogue was outstanding. Were there negatives? There were, yes, but there aren't so many that the movie experience was not amazing. Sitting in the theater, when the famous Star Wars theme and the logo jumped onto the screen, everyone in the theater knew that we were safe. And we were. There really isn't much to talk about because if I do, I would spoil the movie probably. But, here is what you need to know. The villain, Kylo Ren is menacing, but very human, as with every single other character. They are all relatable, and they are all given relatable and understandable backstories. There are a couple plot points where you wonder, "Wait, how did _____ happen?" And I stopped in the middle of the movie when the first of those incidents happened to wonder what happened. But, I quickly realized, that if I stopped to wonder how something happened, the plot would leave me behind. And there are quite a few moments when you wonder how something happens, but if you ignore those and enjoy the movie, knowing that this movie is spectacular, you'll be in for a fun ride. The action scenes with the space fights are amazing. The old and new characters all have great chemistry together, and the new characters especially are amazing. Some other people have ranked the characters in the order of their favorite performance, and I think it would be a good idea to do that too, to get a general idea, but we shall get to that in the character list. John Boyega's Finn and Daisy Ridley's characters are dripping with charisma, as is Oscar Isaac's Poe. And the old cast...oh my goodness the old cast. Harrison Ford's Han Solo and Peter Mayhew's Chewbacca are exactly as advertised. Han Solo is Han Solo, except you can feel that he has experienced certain events for thirty years since. And Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia is also exactly as advertised, with a tinge of sadness. However, one of the negatives are the CGI characters. JJ Abrams said that he and the crew wanted to go away from CGI, and it shows. But, the two CGI characters, Maz Kanada and Supreme Leader Snoke look very cartoonish. They look completely out of place, but both of them are not integral parts of the movie. JJ Abrams' direction is awesome, and it feels exactly like a Star Wars movie.
The Cast/Characters: Wow. Every single performance was amazing. Ranking each of the main characters, this is what it would be.
1. Finn
2. Han Solo
3. Rey
4. BB-8
5. Poe
6. Kylo Ren
7. Chewbacca
8. General Leia
9. Captain Phasma
10. General Hux
11. Max Kanada
12. Supreme Leader Snoke
Now, I'm purposely leaving out Luke Skywalker for a certain reason, which we shall get into in the spoiler review, coming out soon. Every single character oozes charisma. Finn and Rey are just spectacular new additions to the Star Wars franchise, as well as Poe, who is not in the movie as much as I'd like him to be, but when he is, he is the coolest character on the set. Kylo Ren and the rest of the villains we will get to in the villains department, but Maz Kanada was an interesting creature. I found the way that they took her was very odd, and she didn't quite fit in to the overall narrative, but she was not in the movie for very long. And BB-8, as well as being so cute, was hilarious and an integral part of the plot. Han Solo, Chewie, and Leia were, as mentioned above, great. They were just like they were before, except they had aged 30 years.
The Villain(s): The villains in this movie are Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma, and General Hux, as well as Supreme Leader Snoke. Now Kylo Ren is everything that I had hoped he would be. He has a very human side to him, and could even be compared to Darth Vader in certain ways. He has a very human side to him, which makes him a relatable villain, and he does things that you understand why he's doing them. Now, if you're going to this movie just to see Captain Phasma or General Hux, you're going to be highly disappointed because they do about nothing in the movie, and are wasted greatly, which really didn't take away from the film since Kylo Ren was such a competing villain. Supreme Leader Snoke, as mentioned before, looked out of place, but was menacing, although slightly disappointing.
1. Finn
2. Han Solo
3. Rey
4. BB-8
5. Poe
6. Kylo Ren
7. Chewbacca
8. General Leia
9. Captain Phasma
10. General Hux
11. Max Kanada
12. Supreme Leader Snoke
Now, I'm purposely leaving out Luke Skywalker for a certain reason, which we shall get into in the spoiler review, coming out soon. Every single character oozes charisma. Finn and Rey are just spectacular new additions to the Star Wars franchise, as well as Poe, who is not in the movie as much as I'd like him to be, but when he is, he is the coolest character on the set. Kylo Ren and the rest of the villains we will get to in the villains department, but Maz Kanada was an interesting creature. I found the way that they took her was very odd, and she didn't quite fit in to the overall narrative, but she was not in the movie for very long. And BB-8, as well as being so cute, was hilarious and an integral part of the plot. Han Solo, Chewie, and Leia were, as mentioned above, great. They were just like they were before, except they had aged 30 years.
The Villain(s): The villains in this movie are Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma, and General Hux, as well as Supreme Leader Snoke. Now Kylo Ren is everything that I had hoped he would be. He has a very human side to him, and could even be compared to Darth Vader in certain ways. He has a very human side to him, which makes him a relatable villain, and he does things that you understand why he's doing them. Now, if you're going to this movie just to see Captain Phasma or General Hux, you're going to be highly disappointed because they do about nothing in the movie, and are wasted greatly, which really didn't take away from the film since Kylo Ren was such a competing villain. Supreme Leader Snoke, as mentioned before, looked out of place, but was menacing, although slightly disappointing.
The Verdict: Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the perfect return to the galaxy far, far away, setting up for a new audience and a new generation. The action, characters, and plot pushed this movie forward, and although the nostalgia was there, it didn't hamper the film down. An excellently directed film by JJ Abrams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was extremely enjoyable on first viewing and warrants at least another. Letter Grade: A Number Score: 9.4 **please note: the letter grade and the number score may not match 100 percent, although they mostly will**
No comments:
Post a Comment