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Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Review: Star Wars fans, we're home!


Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Review: Star Wars fans, we're home!
9 out of 10

Like many Star Wars fans, I adored the 2009 love letter tribute film that was Fanboys (the farce will be with us.... always), which focused on the mad hysteria and build up to The Phantom Menace. Despite all the great fan service and cameos throughout, my favourite moment will always be the very end. When in the packed movie theatre on opening night, with everyone cosplaying and in full-blown euphoria of getting another slice of Star Wars, when Eric turns to his friends and asks, “But what if the movie sucks?”. Because in that moment and that night, it just didn’t matter.

The release of a new Star Wars film after decades of waiting was a unifying and joyous event, and no Jar Jar or midichlorians could change that.... but only for a night. When the morning came and the moment faded, we were left with a soiled and tainted franchise that would improve with 2 subsequent films but never come close to our expectations. For a night, the right name can wash over any sins but a lifetime, the truth will always win out.

It’s been a long and bewildering journey since Disney’s franchise acquisition in October 2012 and memories of 1999 that came flooding back. One of anger, hate, even fear but eventually it became one of hope when the likes of Michael Arndt and JJ Abrams came on board. Then, the trailers hit us like proton torpedoes of belief. Belief for so many of us in the newer generation that finally, after so many years, we would actually get a great Star Wars film in our lifetimes.... and we have, my God we have. The Force has not awakened, it has roared with new life.

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A long time ago in a galaxy far far away....

30 years after the destruction of the 2nd second Death Star, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the last Jedi in the galaxy, has gone missing with both The Resistance and The First Order (the new Empire) looking for him. The key to finding Luke becomes a droid named BB-8, which draws together the desert scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley – Lifesaver, Scrawl), Stormtrooper deserter Finn (John Boyega – Attack the Block, 24: Live Another Day) and ace Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac – Robin Hood, Ex Machina).

Much like the 1977 original, the plot of The Force Awakens is surprisingly minimal with the emphasis being on the characters rather than the complexity of events. That works emphatically here because for all the visual flash, everything great about this film is character driven and crucially from the new faces just as much as the old guard. While the likes of Han and Chewie stroll on screen like they’ve never broken character and delight with their every moment, this quickly becomes just as true for the likes of Finn, Rey and Po.

The newbies in particular have some incredible chemistry to them. Mere moments after meeting each other and making a frantic escape, Finn and Poe feel like they’ve been BFFs for years. Similarly, with Finn and Rey’s first meeting, after the briefest of mutual establishment, the pair immediately energizes each other to new levels of synergy, with great laughs combined as Finn brags about being a hero as he goes and Rey’s insistence that she can run just fine without Finn holding her hand.

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A worthy mention must also go to BB-8, who is quite literally a little ball of delights, whose mere motions give a fantastic sense of personality. This newer crop brings a wonder and even triumphant sense of youthful energy to film that the saga has never experienced before. That even extends to principle antagonist Kylo Ren (Adam Driver – Girls, While We’re Young), who rather than being a stern figure of cold resolve, exudes an almost adolescent-like sense of uncontrolled anger and rage.

In one brilliant scene, where a typical grunt brings him the really news, you’d expect a Vader-esque force choke in response; instead we see him drawing his lightsaber and smashing 7 hells out a computer console in frustration. It really pulls in the sense of the title in that the Force is awakening with this new generation of characters, but it’s still young, wild, and unruly. Ren himself is at best, a raw nerve of conflicted emotions he’s trying to subdue that actually make him the most interesting villain the franchise has ever produced. He wants to be the next Vader but is he destined or delusional?

The surprising big letdown in the film is the new planet-sized Death Star super weapon known as Star Killer Base. The simple fact is, it feels very needless and almost tacked on to the story. It becomes a plot device that forces the story to move at a quicker objective-based pace than slower character drive that makes the film’s first third almost perfect. It’s like the final act villain in a superhero origins story that shows up late to provide a culminating battle without enough time to carry significance. It carries neither the scale nor impact it intents. When it’s tested for planetary destruction, we don’t even know the names of its targets! Let alone carry any emotional investment in the outcome. It becomes a point of frustration because it wouldn’t have taken much (i.e. name drop a target as Coruscant, Jakku etc. for some form of relation) to remedy. However, such a big presence provides grounds for some big X-Wing Vs TIE Fighter action and here, the film does not disappoint.

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Without giving into the lengthy and overly drawn out side, The Force Awakens delivers several insanely fun and thrilling sequences of ship-to-ship combat, whether it’s the Resistance and First Order forces meeting in battle or simply the iconic Millennium Falcon (which gets the best intro in the whole film), trying to lose a few troublesome tails. The sequences are just restrained enough to avoid being ridiculous and escalated for the sake of one-upping other franchises without compromising on the satisfaction (even delivering a few very fond throwbacks to the classic films. In fact, the general is that Star Wars is not trying to steal anyone’s chair at the modern cinematic table, only resume its vacant throne.

In terms of cast, let’s start with the originals. Harrison Ford is every bit the lovable scoundrel you remember of Han Solo yet Ford embraces the time gap superbly to give a weathered feel of being changed by things that have happened to him. Despite being under the rug/walking carpet, Peter Meyhew really serves to remind us how important Chewie is to franchise in a way Revenge of Sith failed horribly. Carrie Fisher’s Leia feels by far the most changed character but Fisher does well to show us that the princess is still there behind the general.

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Mark Hamill’s performance will certainly surprise many. Into the new, Driver stands top of the class for doing what some deemed impossible: giving us a villain character that may ultimately (after several films) be better than Vader. He is the greatest point of potential in the new trilogy. John Boyega is close behind him for embodying the core Star Wars value of fun and adventure as he seamlessly incorporates terrific humour into Finn’s character.

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Daisy Ridley does magnificently with what she’s given but suffers with having her back story kept a secret, which makes she feel less developed than the boys. She’s endlessly likeable but we’d like to know more about her. This is even truer of Issac’s Poe Dameron who’s the film’s equivalent of Fonzie, the cool supporting character that just rocks up when required. He’s brilliant in doing so but his entire character really just being an awesome pilot.

Elsewhere, the motion capture/CG faces of Lupita Nyong'o’s Maz Kanata and Andy Serkis’s Supreme Leader Snoke feel more like embedding roles for future films. Domhnall Gleeson makes an excellent sinister turn as General Hux and Gwendoline Christie gives some good subtle menace to Captain Phasma.

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It may have some holes to pick at or flaws to criticize but the bottom line is: The Force Awakens is fun, enjoyable and at times, a neigh on magical cinematic experience that will touch so many fans in ways they didn’t think possible since 1983. It is a film that cares as much about Star Wars as you do. It will certainly leave you with many unanswered questions but places the franchise in a wonderful point of revival and continuation for a new generation.

Against all odds of failure, The Force Awakens has run the trench, hit the womp rat bullseye, levitated the ship out of the swamp, and all tossed the memories of prequels into the pit of Sarlacc where they belong. Whisper it to yourself with a tear in your eye.... Star Wars is back.

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