Technical Brilliance
As far as fundamental filmmaking is concerned, The Force Awakens surpasses any of the previous Star Wars films.
It's by far the best written Star Wars film, not that the bar was set particularly high. Still, it's a surprisingly witty film. Aside from the odd line of obligatory exposition, dialogue is very snappy, fast paced and unexpectedly funny. I've probably laughed more in this film than I have in many so-called comedies. While it's not exactly Aaron Sorkin level, J.J. Abrams’ fantastic directing and the actors brilliant delivery, as well as the tight, fast paced editing do help to elevate it.
Speaking of the editing, The Force Awakens is also much better paced than any of the other Star Wars films. It's constantly moving forward, from one plot point or action sequence to another, never allowing you to get bored. You could argue that it moves a little too fast, but for the most part it leaves enough breathing space for emotional development, even if it does glance over some plot points to make sure everything keeps going. It never compromises on character, however, there's a moment, after an excellent action sequence, in which the two leads excitedly talk about the ‘amazing’ things they just did and it really emphasises the importance of the characters in the midst of all the action and spectacle.
The spectacle, however, isn’t bad, in fact it's the complete opposite. It's exceptional. Honestly I don't know where to start. There's the consistent use of practical effects, sets and costumes, instead of tons of CGI, giving the film a wonderfully authentic, retro ‘70s Star Wars feeling (unlike certain other Star Wars films). Yet there's also fantastic visual effects as well, that are blended seamlessly with the practical ones, bearing a closer resemblance with the original models than the computer generated creations of the prequels. Then there's the amazing action sequences, breathtaking in spectacle, but also still grounded thanks to constant attention on the characters and their emotions. There's also J.J. Abrams’ trademark physicality to all of it, from the dogfights to the lightsabre duels, meaning everything feels so genuine and raw and there's an irresistibly tactile thud and clunk to every movement. There's the outstanding cinematography as well, beautifully capturing every part of the Star Wars galaxy, shot entirely on film, further enforcing the retro aesthetic. The camera work is perfect, providing gorgeous wide shots of huge landscapes, as well as wonderfully dynamic movements whenever the pace quickens and the tension rises. This is, without a doubt, the best looking Star Wars film to date.
Everything, in fact, when it comes to the technical side of things, is the best it's ever been, thanks mainly to J.J. Abrams bringing his fantastic filmmaking talent to the Star Wars universe.
The Next Generation
Before we talk about the new characters, we need to talk about the returning characters. In short, they're handled perfectly. All the new characters feel right, just as they did in the originals, thanks to the fact that all the original actors have reprised their roles, and because everybody involved has put so much obsessive effort into getting these characters right. As well as keeping them authentic, they've also managed to take each character off in a direction that makes sense and feels like a realistic and intriguing progression of the character. You could argue that it ruins the happy, fairytale like ending of Return of the Jedi, but I don't think it does. The end still stands, because it's the end of a different tale and the Force Awakens is a new one.
Speaking of new, I love the new characters. All of them. Daisy Ridley's Rey is the perfect protagonist, strong and likeable, someone you'd want to aspire to be, but also still young, naïve, with a lot of things to learn. Her character may seem less compelling to older fans, but to the new generation of Star Wars fans, she's just as relatable as Luke was for those who saw the original Star Wars as a kid back in 1977.
John Boyega’s Finn is probably the most unique character out of all of them. The idea of putting a face to the normally faceless Stormtroopers is genius and it turns your point of view on the whole Star Wars conflict entirely on its head. Plus, his chemistry with Rey is perfect.
And so is his chemistry with Poe Dameron. Poe Dameron was the real surprise for me. I didn't really expect his character to be as compelling and funny as he actually is. At this moment in time, he may just be there for the gags and one-liners, but these are still early days.
Kylo Ren is easily the most fleshed out character of all of them and is one of the best villains in a long time. He's maybe not quite as mysterious and menacing as Darth Vader, but he's way more conflicted and human than Vader. He's a character that lives in Vader's shadow, desperately trying to aspire to be him and is constantly battling between the light and the dark. There's a level of depth here that I haven't seen a lot of recently.
There's other great characters as well, Maz Kanata is portrayed absolutely wonderfully by Lupita Nyong’o, in one of the best motion capture performances since Gollum. Gwendoline Christie is perfectly suited for the role of Captain Phasma (although it would've been nice to have had more screen time with her) and BB-8 is a brilliant new droid, he's like a more mischievous R2-D2 and the puppet work for him is Yoda level stuff. There's also Supreme Leader Snoke, a character that's kept appropriately in the shadows, we really don't know much about him, outside of how he looks and that he's probably not very nice.
The best thing about all these characters is that they take previous Star Wars ideas that we've seen before and takes those ideas in another direction, creating a cast that captures the spirit of the originals, without just plain being the originals.
Criticising a Criticism
I’ve seen this criticism everywhere. Not the nonsense about this film just being “feminist propaganda”, that criticism’s so stupid I can’t bring myself to go beyond mentioning it. The one I’ve seen everywhere is that The Force Awakens is just a carbon copy of the originals, that it’s just a soulless, corporate cash in, that Disney have ruined Star Wars and that the prequels weren’t really that bad.
I don’t see it as that at all. Maybe that’s because all I wanted from this film was something to wash away the taste of the prequels, something that had the spirit and the aesthetic and the tropes of the originals, something to bring back the same emotions I feel when I watch the originals. I wanted something that felt like it was made by a group of obsessive fans picking out the best bits of the original Star Wars films and putting their own spin on it and that’s what I got.
The plot isn’t exactly the same as A New Hope’s. Sure, if you extremely oversimplify it, then it is, but what’s important is that the details are different. It’s not just copied and pasted, it’s a retro Star Wars canvas with entirely new paint on it, inspired by, but not stolen from, everything I loved, not just from A New Hope, but from the entire original trilogy. It has the wonder and awe of A New Hope, the dark, eerie moments of Empire Strikes Back and the intense, action packed finale of Return of the Jedi, but it’s all been painted by someone else. Someone who's arguably more skilled with a brush, paying homage to the original artist and using his work as a launch pad to start something new.
There's certainly nothing soulless about it either. This is a film made by true fans. The moments when you first see the Millennium Falcoln, or when Han and Chewie appear on screen, will hit Star Wars fans perfectly, because these are moments created by fans as well. The prequels were very much for the benefit of George Lucas, there was very little thought put into how the fans would feel about all of it. The Force Awakens is nothing like that. It is for fans, by fans. The filmmakers know how to make fans jump out of their seat and cheer, because, being fans themselves, they know what gets them excited. There is a soul here and it's a gleeful and fan driven celebration of Star Wars.
To me, The Force Awakens is the film that exists to get us back into Star Wars. It isn’t here to innovate, that comes later. It’s here to start the innovation, by first proving that they can get Star Wars right and subsequently getting us excited for what’s to come.
Verdict
The Force Awakens is the perfect nostalgia trip. It manages to simultaneously feel old and new, perfectly recreating all the same feelings from the original films, whilst never feeling stale. J.J. Abrams’ amazing filmmaking talent contributes to make this the most well made Star Wars film ever and, whilst its focus may be more on reminiscing old times than creating new ones, it's a wonderful (and necessary) trip down memory lane, setting up the true innovation that's still to come.
8.7/10
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