Star Wars sold out its character depth and storytelling

Rating: 5/10 (17 December 2015)

I hope this review will inspire future film producers, directors and story tellers, your creations should most importantly entertain us and move us. Either to experience the dark side of life or good side of life. OK now to the film. I know how good a film is when the characters emotionally touch me and i connect with them. Then i live the emotional and physical ride they go through in a film. I need to believe them and the situation they are in. Once this connection is made a film character becomes immortal, a scene becomes timeless and you will watch that film again and again for many years to relive that character, the scene and their story. For me i watched the original Star Wars at the cinema all those years ago and was inspired and moved inside. I believed in Luke Skywalker, the Jedi Knights and the mystical spiritual concept known as the force. George Lucas's storytelling was second to none and the character building was brilliant. Luke's early youth background, how he has a dream to go places, yet was held back by the adopted father. This then moved to him rediscovering his roots, his father, the force and the Jedi concepts. He had to grow up mentally, physically and confront his demons. This is just one example of the character building that went on throughout star wars episodes 4,5,6. But what people forget is that along side this was the development of the music scores that created the atmosphere. The tension, surprise, the joy and sorrow the characters went through, that the director's and production team brought to the scene. What i'm trying to say was there was weight in the dialogue, the way the characters carried the scene. You could almost feel the environment the characters were in and worry with them and for them. For me Obi Wan's presence as a Jedi was WOW. Once you understood the concept of the force, you know this person was on a higher plane then everyone else. They demanded respect and your attention on screen. Likewise Darth Vader put fear into me. I believed in his strength. Not just physical, dark and tall and the power of the force he commanded. I recently watched all three of the original star wars films to prepare myself for this new film. And even now after watching them i was emotionally overcome by the Jedi knight. Their mystical presence, their presence on screen. I wanted to know more about them and their origins, their training methods. not just physical but mental and their connection with the force. I gave Darth Vader so much respect. I remember when in the episode 4 on the death star. A commander or officer talks down and insults this old mystical art. Dark Vader reprimanded him and expressed his high respect for the Jedi ways. This concept touched so many people around the world who believed in this ancient and mystical way of life a religion known as the Jedi was formed. Amazing. Amazing. Another heavy weight to the originals was the special effects, their design and placement. The technology was worn, dirty, believable. There was a believable scientific logic to the way the ships worked, the technology was deployed and the way the characters interacted with them. for example Hans Solo and Chewbacca knew the falcon. But when Luke tried to touch the controls he was put in his place. The characters had their boundaries and each one respected the other for their knowledge and skill. You could not be the jack of all trades. In real life this is how it is. Takes months years or training to learn something. speaking as an engineer myself. Time lines had to and must be respected. Otherwise the story falls apart. For me this brings me back to the last 3 star wars films and the force awakens. And the disappointment i have personally in George Lucas and the teams involved with the last four star wars films. If George Lucas had the story to the 9 films already detailed down to crossing the t's and dotting the i's. All he had to do was replicate the feelings and emotions we the audience went through with episodes 4,5,6. But my feelings are when i recently watched old films of the making of the original star wars 4,5,6. The ideas were in his head and very few people understood him and believed in him. But he had enough control to produce the classics 4,5,6. Therefore i can only conclude that George Lucas is a genius in story telling,character building and setting scenes with weight, presence and depth. But he lost this control in episodes 1,2,3 and now the force awakens. So to end this review i would like to say if you wanted action, special effects and small talk. You got it and will enjoy this film. But if like myself you were after deep storytelling, depth in character and their development on screen then you will be disappointed. For me i don't understand. They have three films 7,8,9 in which to development the plots, story, character depth and connection with the audience. Yet i felt they rushed it through production, commercialized the star wars universe and made it for money. I left the cinema heart broken, sad and confused. I did not even feel the presence of the force and its power in any character, except right at the end when Luke Skywalker made an appearance. But by this time it was too late. Sadly this is the path Hollywood and Disney are taking. So i for one will not be watching any more star wars films on the big screen. Remember folks they will keep producing this kind of stuff if we keep going to watch it. What does this then say about the intelligence level of the cinema goer. Finally to the critics. please be honest about a film.