As the Franchise Grows, the Stories Weaken ...

Rating: 1/10 (22 December 2015)

The progression was natural, really. The thrust of the first Star Wars trilogy (now known as episodes IV-VI) was mythological. The thrust of the second trilogy, the prequels, was political. It only makes sense that the driving force behind the third trilogy is commercial. We're moving further and further away from the resonant, the sacred, the meaningful.
Look, I get it -- these are Hollywood films. And they are always made for the love of money, always bankrolled because executives believe they will turn a profit. But, for many of us raised in the late 70's and early 80's, Star Wars pulled us in with the power of universal themes. They were human stories set in allegorical landscapes with archetypal figures and creatures. They delighted us, and inspired many of us to tell stories and to make films.
It's hard to imagine The Force Awakens having that impact on today's young people. This is a film almost entirely without gravity, where human history isn't cleverly alluded to but crudely pantomimed. It's a film where deep themes are reduced to interpersonal crises. It's a film that, despite it's massive universe canvas to paint upon, comes out feeling as small as a shoebox and as insular as family reunion. It's art direction, with it's odd mix of retro repaints and boxy new designs, merely borders on plagiarism during its best sequences. It reads like a piece of fan fiction, or rather, like fan fiction edited by Disney's corporate committee.
Perhaps nothing good could have come out of this. To be fair, there are some good things happening in The Force Awakens, things that could have been expanded upon. Ridley, Boyega, Isaac and even Driver to a lesser extent are clearly talented actors, and do what they can with the weak sauce they're given. At times, here and there, the film feels lovingly crafted. But in the end, it all comes to nothing, or at least nothing we haven't seen before. The total of the film is far less than the sum of its parts.