A New Hope – now with even bigger Death Stars

Rating: 7/10 (17 December 2015)

The Force Awakens is supposed to be the triumphant return of Star Wars. After the commercially successful, but by many fans disliked prequel trilogy, Episode VII sets out to get Star Wars back on track, to rekindle the magic of the old movies, to inspire a new generation of Star Wars fans and to satisfy all the fans of the original trilogy.
Any movie with such high hopes attached and this much hype created is in danger of becoming somewhat of a disappointment.
I think TFA will most likely succeed in inspiring a new generation of Star Wars fans. But anyone who has even remote memories of the original three movies will probably have one big déjà vu after another while watching the movie. And this leaves a bitter aftertaste.
The movie does many things right. Gone are the days of stilted and wooden Star Wars dialogue, it is much improved here. Gone are the wooden performances from the prequels. Gone are overly CGI set pieces. This movie feels real, tangible, which is great after what the prequels offered in this regard. There is no boring moment in the movie, the pace is quick, but there are also moments where the movie is allowed to breathe a bit.
The new hero characters are great and very likable. Finn is a somewhat goofy, but very sympathetic and relatable character, he's the everyday guy who merely wants to get away from all the trouble. Rey is the reluctant young woman with a big mystery in her past and the new main hero. A role which Daisy Ridley performs admirably. Poe Dameron doesn't get that many scenes, but he shows a great presence, he could become one of the big heroes in future movies. The new droid, BB-8 feels like a football-shaped R2-D2, gadgets and all, which is OK, BB-8 is cute and funny.
The Force Awakens also fails in a few ways. The villains in this movie are somewhat lacking, in my opinion. The much hyped Captain Phasma is a very, very minor character. She gets no chance to shine. General Hux is very one-dimensional. Where Peter Cushing as Tarkin had a very menacing presence, Domnhall Gleeson's General Hux appears overeager and not very intimidating at all.
Kylo Ren is an angsty teenager with severe anger management and daddy issues. And one of the big mysteries surrounding him is revealed much too soon. Some of his character traits make him even annoying at times. Supreme Leader Snoke remains a shadowy hologram, nothing is known about him, which is fine, it took the original trilogy until the third movie to introduce the main villain properly.
Anyone who longed for a reunion of the old characters will be disappointed. Han Solo and Chewbacca are the only ones with a substantial role. Both deliver. The other important characters from the original trilogy have cameos only. Leia has an extended cameo, C-3PO likewise, R2-D2 is literally asleep for 99% of the movie. Luke, the one character many people will probably want to see most, is only seen in the cliffhanger ending, for a few seconds. No dialogue at all. But it is a very intense scene and it works, too bad only, that the credits begin to roll at this moment.
The story One could call The Force Awakens an homage to the original trilogy. The story actually feels like the screenplay of Episode IV, annotated with a few notes here and there. A few names have changed, but the structure, all the ideas and the basic premise is 100% the same. Really, anyone who wants to see The Force Awakens at home right now just has to watch the Episode IV BluRay/DVD and splice in a few scenes from the other two movies. This complete lack of any originality is the biggest weakness of The Force Awakens.
Despite the all too familiar story, The Force Awakens is still an entertaining movie. The new characters are mostly great, great performances by the actors too, at least when we talk about the heroes. The villains are somewhat lacking, Kylo Ren is a very confusing character and not that great, but with potential. The funny moments in the movie work. It was nice to see the old cast in a new Star Wars movie, but unfortunately, there is no proper reunion and two of the main human characters have cameos only, with Luke, the most important character of the original trilogy, only getting a few seconds at the end. Anyone who wished for a bigger involvement of the original cast will surely be disappointed. And then there is the fate of Han Solo which some will surely anger a lot.
The story doesn't always make sense, there are plot holes and there are a few deus ex machina moments in the movie. Maybe these things will get an explanation in the next movies.
In the end I believe that Episode VII is the one movie the Star Wars franchise had to get out of its system. The movie clearly wants to recapture the old magic. It does that by rehashing, retelling really, the first movie. But now that this is out of the way, Episode VIII and IX can enter new territory. So in a way The Force Awakens is a new hope, a new hope for a bright Star Wars future, now that the past has been left behind. All the new pieces are finally on the board. Now play and actually do something new with it!
The Force Awakens gets 7/10 points from me. Someone who is not as nostalgic or would like to see a new Star Wars movie with an actual new story will likely be somewhat disappointed in the end. Anyone new to Star Wars can enjoy it immensely.