A Fresh Look At A Old Franchise

Rating: 8/10 (8 March 2016)

Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens. I expected this movie to be phenomenal for so many reasons. The first reason is that J.J. Abrams directed the film and wrote the screenplay. Secondly, he introduced a new, complex, and beautiful story line. Third, many new characters were introduced in Episode VII. And finally, fourth, the special effects promised to be groundbreaking. J.J Abrams has directed many inspiring and creative movies and TV series like Star Trek Next Generation, Lost (television series), and Fringe (television series). His perspective is fresh and unique while still honoring the heart of the Star Wars franchise. When I actually saw the movie,I had some criticisms, but overall, I really enjoyed it.
The movie seemed to mirror Episode IV: A New Hope, which wasn't necessary. For example, the similarities between Luke from the old series to Rey are very obvious. They both are living unsatisfying lives on an almost deserted desert planet, wishing for a better purpose in their lives. They are also very good mechanics, Luke knowing how to fix droids in a flash and Rey knowing the anatomy of the Millennium Falcon like the back of her hand. Another way they are similar is the fact that they both share two super cute, lovable droids, R2-D2 and BB- 8, who end up stealing almost every scene of the movie. Both R2-D2 and BB-8 are sent on top-secret missions for the good guys, who end up bonding to these main characters. The fact that Rey and Luke share so many qualities and talents made this part of the storyline feel unoriginal and predictable. Although I appreciated Abrams' respect of the earlier films and characters, I would have preferred the story lines in this new film to be more daring and creative.
As in Episode IV, the new movie features huge orb-shaped bases getting obliterated. The way the resistance takes out the Starkiller base is almost identical to the rebels taking out the Death Star. Get past the shields, shoot missiles and blasts at the main core, and watch the base go up in flames! And finally, they both share some mysterious overlord that is old and frail, but still very powerful. In A New Hope, Emperor Palpatine, who is physically weak but still incredibly powerful, succeeds in controlling all of his subjects like a tyrant in order to retain order of his empire. Like Palpatine, Snoke, the dark villainous lord in The Force Awakens controls the First Order by using deceit and cunning methods to keep his followers in line.
When it came to the use of CGI, I expected the visual effects to look and feel more computerized. However, there actually wasn't much used in The Force Awakens. Of course, they had to use it here and there to create the illusions of things like flight and intergalactic explosive warfare, but I expected it to look much more digitized, but it turned out to be a beautiful and very realistic movie. Abrams' decision to use real people in costume versus robotic CGI characters, made the film much more visually appealing. The realism of the vehicles was brought you right into the motion of the movie. Although the subject matter of The Force Awakens is literally out of this world, visually, the film does not look overly digitized or artificial. Episode VII was enjoyable but definitely over-hyped. Some viewers raved as though it was the best movie ever made. It's a good movie, and a worthy part of the franchise (unlike the prequels), but it definitely has its flaws, like every movie. Nevertheless, I would absolutely see this movie again and would recommend it to others as well.