Finally, after a long time of waiting,
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is finally upon us!
Ever since
Disney acquired Lucasfilms and an Episode 7 was announced, I had been greatly looking forward
to this movie. In fact, understandably,
this is the movie that I’ve been hyped the most of watching this 2015. It is, like, the “Holy Grail” of movies. And I’m quite sure I’m not the only one who feels
this way.
As I expected, this movie indeed gets my nod for best movie of the year. It’s the greatest movie theater experience
I’ve had since
2012’s Avengers. It’s truly pretty epic!
But to be honest, I’m “high” on
this movie right now. There’s always the
chance that any objectivity for evaluation is being intensely compromised by my
passionate geek fondness for Star Wars, that if I let my emotions settle down, I
might find this movie not as great as I thought it is after watching it for the
first time. Many years ago, I was quite
fond of Episode I and Episode II for a while, and thought of them as great
movies, as if I was being obliged by my fandom for Star Wars to like them and consider them “great movies.” But after some time, I finally fully realized
that they weren’t as good as I had believed they were (btw, I actually consider
Episode III a flawed but good movie). So
there’s probably a need for me to rewatch this movie a couple of times before I
can be completely definite in what I think of it. Nevertheless, that said, I’m utterly certain
that I won’t be retracting my initial evaluation of recognizing it as “great
movie.” Even if I eventually find it
lesser than my initial thought of it, it’s unlikely that the decline would be
radically significant.
Thus, no matter what, I can
confidently pick Star Wars: The Force
Awakens as the best movie of 2015. There’s no other movie this 2015 that I had more enjoyment with, and with the year almost ever, it’s extremely
unlikely for me to encounter another movie that I might deem superior.
This movie deserves to be watched
without knowing anything about it (but, of course, it’s preferable to have some
familiarity with at least the original trilogy) so I won’t give too much detail
about the plot in this review (however, I have some assorted spoiler-y
thoughts in the miscellaneous musings below).
Here are some mild details which I think is safe to provide without
really spoiling anything:
- The movie is set 30 years after
Episode 6.
- The Rebel Alliance has become the
Resistance, while the remnants of the Empire have become the First Order. The two are at war.
- The old characters are around,
but the new trio of heroes are Ray, Finn, and Poe Dameron.
- Kylo Ren is the main
villain.
- BB-8 is adorable.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is immensely thrilling, fun, and spectacular. As a film production, it’s very praiseworthy
– kudos to J.J. Abrams for masterfully helming this movie. There are a lot of beautiful shots; the
cinematography is immaculate. The visual
effects are amazing, and so are the sound effects. The score is stirring as expected. The action scenes are exciting, while the
dramatic scenes are powerful. The pacing
does not drag, but flows in a smooth and riveting manner. The characters are terrific, and the
performances by their respective actors are terrific as well. Also, it has a healthy amount of humor,
objectively making it the funniest Star
Wars movie ever.
But though Star Wars: The Force Awakens is an overall awesome film, it isn’t
perfect either. There are some noticeable
flaws, and I wasn’t as awestruck and mindblown as I wanted to be. Furthermore, I feel that there are too many
parallels with the original Star Wars
movie (i.e. A New Hope). But the negative points that I find in this
film are very minimal. They didn’t
derail the movie for me. This movie is
so awesome that they didn’t matter.
All in all, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a glorious success in reviving the
franchise for more big screen triumphs.
It’s an emotionally gratifying movie experience. And with this strong start, the likelihood of
another beloved epic Star Wars
trilogy happening is very, very promising.
Episode 8 can’t come soon enough!
Miscellaneous musings (with SPOILERS!!!):
- I WANT A BB-8 FOR CHRISTMAS!
- Why are there only X-Wing Starfighters? Where are the Y-, A-, and B-Wings?
- One of the great things about this
movie was its trailers. They were very
well-made. It avoided the problem with movie trailers nowadays: the tendency to give a comprehensive narrative summary – basically
spoiling the entire movie’s plot. Many
times, movies have been made predictable due to its trailers. Thankfully, the trailers for The Force Awakens didn’t do that. They didn’t show too much. They offered just enough to get us pumped,
but the movie was still wrapped in mystery – there were plenty of room left for
surprises. Indeed, less is more.
- The best aspect of the “less is
more” marketing is the absence of Luke Skywalker in the posters, promotional
art, and trailers. It adds much intrigue
to the movie. Now, Luke Skywalker is indeed
in The Force Awakens. But the way the character
is used is probably my biggest disappointment in the movie. He only appeared in the last minute! This means it’s only right that
he wasn’t in any of the marketing materials since he basically didn’t have any significant
presence in the movie. I was hoping that the reason he wasn’t
included in the trailers and promo art is because he’s going to have a
very shocking function in the movie. But it
turns out that the reason of his omission was a pragmatic one (since he didn’t
participate in the movie’s main narrative anyway) instead of a set up for a
delightful surprise. We have to wait for
Episode 8 before we can really see Luke in action once again.
- Maybe the purpose of Luke’s absence
is to put the focus on Han Solo. He has
a big part in this movie – a sort of “guide” for the new characters. And Harrison Ford was terrific.
- You can see the death of Han Solo
coming a mile away.
- I’m sad that Luke and Han never
got to reunite with each other.
- The actors that played Rama and Mad Dog in The Raid have small roles here. Disappointingly, they aren’t involved in some kickass hand-to-hand combat sequence.
- I find some fascination for Domhnall
Gleeson’s General Hux. I like the “fascist” tone of the character. I hope he’ll
turn out being a thoroughly fascinating villain in the future.
- Captain Phasma is an overhyped
character. She really didn’t have
anything to do in The Force Awakens. Maybe she’ll have a bigger role in Episode 8?
- Kylo Ren is fantastic. He isn’t a poor man’s Darth Vader at
all. He has layers that are distinctive. He has an intimidating presence, but he is also
vulnerable. He’s not only a great
villain, but a multi-faceted character as well.
- I found Kylo Ren’s radio-ey voice
a bit distracting at first. But it grew
on me. I eventually found it appealing.
- It was heavily hinted that Kylo
Ren is going to have a heel-face turn in the future. I feel that such happening’s eventual. But I don’t mind if ever I’m wrong. If something unexpected happens to this
character, then that’s great. But if he
indeed returns to the side of good, I hope the execution of such development
will be done creatively and rivetingly. I love well-told heel-face or face-heel
turns.
- Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron is the “cool
guy” character. He’s supposed to be the
best pilot of the Resistance. And, thus,
he has this confidence in him, but not in an a-holey kind of manner. He’s oozing with likability. He deserves to have a bigger role in Episode
8; I know there’s more that can be done with this character.
- As a defecting Stormtrooper, John
Boyega’s Finn is a unique character. His
origin and struggle give him a distinctive depth. He’s the type of character that you’ll go all
out rooting for. In addition, Boyega’s great
comedic timing makes Finn a charmingly funny character.
- I love Daisy Ridley’s Rey. She’s on her way of becoming one of my most favorite fictional female characters. I
love that a female character is serving as the “Luke Skywalker” of this new
trilogy. And I will even argue that her character
arc in Force Awakens is better than
Luke’s in A New Hope. Can’t wait to see her have her Return of the Jedi moment – where she’ll
finally be a complete Jedi Master.
- Another nice touch in the
trailers and movie posters was the fact that Finn was portrayed holding a lightsaber while Rey wasn’t. The effect is
that the attention of the question “Who could be the new Jedi in The Force Awakens?” is put on Finn. Now, it doesn’t truly neutralize the “guessability”
of Rey’s real identity, but it’s still a clever “red herring” that should have given the eventual revelation a sense of surprise. Unfortunately, though there’s no image of Rey
with a lightsaber in the posters and trailers, there was however a promo art released
(leaked?) of one.
It was obscure, but it was out there.
When The Force Awakens was still
months away, that promo art was what gave me the idea that Rey is the “Luke
Skywalker” of this new trilogy. A minor
bummer since it would have been tremendously better if they never released
(leaked?) such promo art.
- Daisy Ridley and
John Boyega have landed their dream
roles and savored every second of it. This is very apparent in their respective performances. The Force Awakens gave them the opportunity to show what they
are capable of, and they delivered. The
future is bright for these young actors.
- Grand Admiral Thrawn – who first
appeared in Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy of novels – is arguably the best character from the Star Wars Expanded
Universe (which had been officially declared as non-canon after Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilms). I’m still
hoping that he’ll make a big screen appearance in Episode 8 (or 9).
