The Force Has Awakened

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2015)

The wait is finally over. After years of wondering if Lucas would make more of these or if he would sell the franchise elsewhere (Disney), Episode 7 is finally here. I was never into Star Wars as much as the majority of the population. I loved the movies, but I wasn't staying awake at night thinking about where the Jedi are now, that is, until about a year ago when the first trailer came out. After seeing the Force Awakens twice on opening night, I'm now one of those hardcore fans. With that said, I don't see how anyone wouldn't love The Force Awakens. It's full of nostalgia for the longtime fans, plenty of humor, great effects, and some of the most emotionally driven action sequences I have seen this year. It's directed by J.J. Abrams who is responsible for reinvigorating life into the Star Trek films a few years back and expanding it to reach a broader audience. Star Wars didn't need a bigger audience, because it's easily the biggest pop culture phenomena of all time, but Abrams does a fantastic job nonetheless. Even more so knowing just how difficult a job it is to make a film that not only starts a new trilogy but honors what came before it. Abrams handles that seamlessly.
Even though it's 30 years after Return of the Jedi, it's a sequel, so there's a ton of ground to cover over the course of one film. There's still a ton we don't know about those 30 years and a few times where the term "old friend" comes up and some people may feel cheated on the history. Perhaps a worthy complaint, but the real brilliance of The Force Awakens is with all that is new about the film. The comparisons being drawn to A New Hope, are warranted. Some characters and even plot lines, especially the final battle sequence, but as I said, there's so much new life that was given to the series with The Force Awakens that rehashed ideas are forgiven.
Speaking of the new, the entire cast is great, but the newcomers are most definitely the highlight. Starting with Daisy Ridley playing Rey, who's literally in her first film, is incredible. Abrams said her acting was wooden initially, but no sign of that at all. A scavenger before she's somewhat forced (no pun intended) into the chaos, Rey is smart, strong, and best of all independent. Leia was such a great character in the original films partially because she wasn't the damsel in distress, and Rey is the same. She doesn't need saving from the men of the film, in fact, more often than not she's doing the saving. Rey and BB-8, who nearly steals the entire film, meet Finn, played by John Boyega, early on before being joined by other familiar faces. Rey and Finn's chemistry is well realized and luckily nothing in their relationship is forced, everything seems natural.
With all the good, you have to have bad, this time the big bad is Kylo Ren. Obviously going into anything involving his character and most other characters would be a spoiler, but I will say that I really enjoyed him as a villain. Don't make the mistake of thinking he's just the next Darth Vader, he's not. Much different in many ways, but I really liked how human the character turned out to be. Human meaning there's depth that I didn't think would exist and that was really refreshing. With that said, I have to say the other villains were pretty much wasted in my opinion, at least for this film. I didn't like Domhnall Gleeson's General Hux, the look of Supreme Leader Snoke seemed a little bit too fake (I know it was motion capture), and Gwendoline Christie barely got to do anything as Captain Phasma, literally nothing. I guess that's one downfall to having a massive cast.
I'll also skip talking much at all about the original cast members who return, besides what you see in the trailer. Harrison Ford as Han Solo was a joy to see back in a film. You can tell he's actually trying, Ford isn't mailing anything in here, he cares. Abrams does a wonderful job of re-capturing the feel of the original crew with callbacks and nods to the old trilogy. But Lawrence Kasdan's script also does that thankfully by simply giving us the dynamics we all loved between characters in the originals. But how could I forget the most nostalgic part about the film is hearing the iconic John Williams score once again. The score doesn't add a ton of new flavor to the series, but it sure feels like Star Wars.
I'm sure I'm leaving out a ton, but ultimately, this film should be seen with the least amount of prior knowledge possible. I've seen the film twice now, and both times the crowd cheered and clapped just by seeing the Millennium Falcon for the first time, or the first time you see Han Solo. It's a movie going experience that will probably never be matched. There's something about watching a film with people who have been waiting for 30 years that makes it extra special. The action is great, the entire cast does a phenomenal job, and the film does plenty to set up future installments with so many questions left unanswered. But I think what I enjoyed most of all was that every scene had weight. Every laugh was warranted, every tear was heartfelt, and every scene was full of some sort of emotion gravitas. Abrams really did well with hitting the big moments with The Force Awakens, and I think that was really important. Star Wars is back.
+Ridley as Rey was incredible
+Nods to originals, but paves a new path as well
+BB-8
+Lightsaber battles have emotional weight
+Questions left unanswered
-Some characters were definitely pushed aside..dare I say wasted?
9.5/10