It's Our Fault, We Asked For This!

Rating: 7/10 (16 December 2015)

After 10 years - or 32, depending on your regard for the legitimacy of the prequel trilogy - Star Wars is back, and, in the spirit of times, as Giuseppe DI Lampedusa would have put it, it was necessary for everything to change in order for it to remain the same: new studio, new team, new characters... new expanded universe even (more on that later). It's funny then, and sadly not at all surprising, that so many things remain the same as in 1977.
The Empire has survived, in the form the The First Order, and the rebellion is now the Resistance, led by General Leia Organa. A soul-searching stormtrooper (Boyega) saves ace resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Isaac) and important info stored in a droid and stages an escape to a desolate desert planet... Well, if echoes of Episode IV are already a bit startling, it gets worse. It quickly becomes clear why so many directors turned down this dream assignment, as Episode VII isn't as much a chance to play in George Lucas' sandbox as a remake of his original opus. Blame Disney. Blame J. J. Abrahms, he's certainly done this before... the fault, it turns out, is yours.
After the dismal prequels, chock-block of new ideas, some good, some bad, most of them executed horribly, we've howled for movies that resembled the originals more that Disney would have been suicidal to approve anything more original than this, and history will judge Episode VII on how much it emboldens the studio to be more daring, or whether it just confirms the need to just "give fans what they want", more of the same. Time will tell, but, to quote our heroes, I have a bad feeling about this.
What is annoying this time, after the utter cluelessness of Episodes I-III, is the very real talent on display here. The old characters could have stood silently in the background, paychecks safely cashed, but they make a mark, particularly Harrison Ford as Solo, more touching and involved here than he has been for at least a decade. The new characters are just as involving and appealing, particularly John Boyega's Finn and Adam Driver's Kylo Ren. Andy Serkis also makes an impression. Otherwise, the humor is back and it's a thrill to see J.J. Abrams work a scene after the inane telenovela-like blocking of the prequels.
And still, this could have been much more, and our only consolation will have to be that it could have also been worse. The greatest question is, what comes next?
Tonally, we are squarely back in original trilogy mode, the only limit will be the appeal of the characters (mostly successful here) and the caliber of the stories (not so much). It is a bit worrying that Disney has jettisoned all the expanded universe, both because it might set an ugly precedent, and because it does show a fear of risk and cynical approach to a very valuable brand.
And yet... we might be wrong: what little transparency has been displayed so far might be completely honest. It was George Lucas himself who, in an interview, said Disney had rejected all his outlines saying that they wanted to make "one for the fans". Well, this describes Episode VII perfectly. If we could have some fresh ideas with our next helping, we'd truly be thrilled.