Let's Get Something Out of the Way

Rating: 6/10 (4 January 2016)

Was the J.J. Abrams' led adaptation of the 7th Star Wars film any good? Yes, it was a lot of fun, especially addition of the newer talent of John Boyega, who I believe had a better on screen performance than fellow newcomer Daisy Ridley based on his charisma alone. Daisy Ridley's Rey ultimately isn't the damsel that Leia was (face facts, she did have to be rescued from the Death Star by Han and Luke, even though she did go on to become a capable soldier) and is also the main protagonist among the newer cast but there's a layer of some personality missing from her plucky cute tomboy heroine. Harrison Ford is also back as Han Solo, looking less "scruffy" but more old and grouchy. Han carries more of this film on his aged shoulders than most viewers seeking new content would probably care for but he's still a funny guy and his old man strength seems to hold up. Domhnall Gleeson as Gen. Hux of the First Order isn't the quiet and menacing figure that Peter Cushing's Grand Moff Tarkin was but instead seems to grimace and yells bland rhetoric at his legions of stormtroopers to instill confidence. Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, who isn't a Sith but a Dark Jedi (which seems like a matter of semantics) is scary at first in full costume but seems more like an angstful teen at times, though not at the level of epic emo bad overacting by Hayden Christensen. There's just too much from the original trilogy recycled for this movie. Daisy Ridley is a orphaned wanderer on a desert planet, the Republic's military is an undermanned scrappy group of freedom fighters rather than a well organized military, the First Order are the Galactic Empire 2.0 with even the Nazi Salute this time with a genocidal weapon at their use and the Millennium Falcon is still a pile of junk. For the hardcore Star Wars fans and even the casual viewers who've watched the other trilogies, it will be a warm and welcoming return to a beloved fictional universe. Maybe with another film and the Rogue One spin-off there will be a little more room for some creative growth.