For the time I’ve been in a bit of limbo, all I have done is look at nerd culture and observed the heavy dose of what was to come this coming year. In terms of cinema, it has been a monumental year for many films that have released and, while I need to still review other films I promised I would, there can be none more enticing than waiting on the biggest film of the year of 2015: STAR WARS.
Nice fan art eh? I thought so.
We have many things to go on seeing as this is the first in a new trilogy (one I would love to be an extra in if some mystical Force let’s me. <-See what I did there…?) and as many things go, there’s a lot to talk about and get your head wrapped around. Centrally, for the sake of where we are headed and of what is to come later. Such as a revelation I kind of predicted with thanks to Internet geeks who stay at home plotting movie theories that could exist. THANKS GUYS!
Story Introduction
The film opens up with a mysterious message being given to a pilot by the name of Poe Dameron (played by Oscar Isaac) as the empire descends upon an outskirt junkyard planet known as Jakku. As they are attacked, Poe sends away his “buddy”, BB-8 (voice modulated by Ben Schwartz and Bill Hader [HUGE SURPRISE I didn’t see coming]) as he is taken prisoner by Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver). As BB-8 is wandering the desert, he is almost caught but is saved the film’s female protagonist, Rey, who is a scavenger who is waiting on her family (more on that later…).
Once tortured by Ren, Poe is rescued soon after by a Stormtrooper who goes by the name FN-2187 aka Finn (later dubbed by Poe) and as they try to escape, their TIE fighter is damaged as they crash land onto Jakku. Finn, in response to the situation and sees he’s the only survivor, searches for a way to get off the planet and soon comes across Rey and BB-8. The two end up in grave danger once spotted by Stormtroopers and flee to find a ship to pilot away from the First Order.
Sorry, I just realized I never told you their name. Like I said, we’ll break down the nitty gritty later.
As they got away, the three are captured by an unsuspecting ship to where we see the return of two of the original trilogy characters Han and Chewbacca (played by Harrison Ford and Peter Mayhew respectively). As Han returned to smuggling after the war for unbeknownst reasons (family issues…ahem), they get caught in the crossfire of dealing with the Rathtars and some of Han’s “partners” who have come to take him out. Once free of the situation, Han assists the three in taking them to the Resistance to get the message safe and sound to Prin-General Leia Organa.
Apologies again, I keep forgetting “nitty gritty”. Dammit! Anyway…
Once the group lands on the planet, they meet Maz Kanata (played by Lupita Nyong’o) and she explains the situation to the new guys and tells them the Force needs to be placed back into balance. Finn and Rey, both afraid of their destinies, find alternate ways of trying to run away (a big focus of theme I’ll put into perspective in a moment). Before they had a chance to accept their taken path, The First Order immediately disposes of the Republic (a nod to the prequels in some shape) by using Starkiller Base’s destructive power to wipe out the system. Following this, the First Order come’s to Maz Kanata’s and seeks out the BB-8 droid that contains the map to Luke Skywalker who has since disappeared for the last 30 years prior to the events of the new trilogy.
How I neglected THIS importance is beyond me
Thanks, Sir Alec Guinness. Touched the soul there….waaaah.
Back to the story.
A fight ensues in the area as Kylo Ren lands and searches, only to find Rey on her own and discover she has seen the location of the map to Luke. This prompts a kidnapping and immediate escape as the Resistance began to overpower the small faction of Ren’s group. With a reunion of some characters (Leia Organa, played by Carrie Fisher, C-3PO, played by Anthony Daniels, and R2-D2, played by Kenny Baker), the Resistance, with Finn’s help and desire to rescue Rey, proceed to infiltrate Starkiller Base. This allows Rey some time prior to learning about the Force and using her powers to escape Kylo Ren’s torture. As Ren fears she may be MORE powerful than himself, he reports this to Supreme Leader Snoke (played by Andy Serkis) seeking to manipulate the girl to the Dark Side.
During the implications of everything, General Hux (played by Domnhall Gleeson) makes the stand to destroy the remainders of the Resistance and charges the base to destroy their system they have been hiding at. Once Captain Phasma (played by Gwendoline Christie) lowers the shields, Finn, Han, and Chewie use this time to save Rey and find the location to destroy the base from the inside. This leads to Han’s confrontation with his son, Ben Solo or known as Kylo Ren. As the father and son reunion looks almost plausible and able for their apologies, Ren stabs Han and thanks his father for “helping him”. Rey and Finn, in flustering anger, respond to this as they flee the scene by shooting down Stormtroopers as Chewie wounds Ren and blows up the base.
While running through the snow-ridden forest, they are confronted by Ren. Ren uses the Force against Rey, fueling Finn with anger, to fight back and protect her. Although the fight was a tough one, Finn was, unfortunately, defeated and is knocked unconscious by the lightsaber’s slash up his spine. Once Ren thinks he is free and tries to claim back Luke’s lightsaber, Rey’s Force powers come to light and the two duel it out in the crumbling base. As the Resistance fights hard with their squadron, Poe makes the decision to fly into the base and destroy the location within. Rey and Ren’s fight reaches the conclusion with Rey defeating the “monster” and escaping back to the unconscious Finn. With just enough time, Chewie flys in to rescue the two and they return to the base to care for Finn.
Finally, R2-D2 awakes from his powered down slumber and aids the Resistance by providing the full map, excluding the missing piece, to finding Luke. Rey and Chewie take the Millennium Falcon to a planet in the outer rim and discover the remains of the First Jedi Temple where Luke has been in solitude. As Rey climbs the steps, she discovers the Jedi and proceeds to hand him back his lightsaber in gesture. Luke’s expression leads to his questioning whether or not to return as the film ends.
Phew. Best summary I’ve ever written…somewhat.
Why am I watching this film?
As a timeless classic, Star Wars is a film franchise that has LITERALLY found its way throughout generations of fans, aspiring filmmakers, movie-goers, and potential future stars. The credibility within Star Wars is monumental and cannot be denied, whether good or bad.
Personally, I have 3 main reasons why I chose to watch this film:
- JJ Abrams
- New Trilogy with New Cast
- Cinematic Evolution
I’ll start with JJ. As a personal fan of his films Super 8, Forever Young, Armageddon, Star Trek, Cloverfield, and Mission Impossible III, the actor-writer-producer-director has made some leaps and bounds of his own as a fan-boy. I think in some ways that The Force Awakens was more of JJ’s film than just an homage to the original cast.
Second, a brand new trio with somewhere to go! I am a fan of new beginnings, probably because I want one…desperately…
In terms of the films, the actors, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac, had a few well spirited moments in the film that gave their impression.
Finn is scared, witty, and tends to be energetic in moments of crisis. He, more or less, mirrors how Luke began in A New Hope. In an instant, Finn’s character is driven by emotion and is straight to the point, although he has a few flaws as his character should such as courage and responsibility. Still, he stands out as someone who isn’t judged by his SKIN like most people complained about for the last year, but is in his own right starting to come into his own, similar to Luke. I make the comparisons to Luke since he had a plentiful amount to learn before becoming who he is now.
Rey is the uncanny young woman who strives to be independent and shows off her prowess through mutual goodness and the ability to befriend someone in need. She could, in fact, be a better half to mirroring that of Leia and Han when we first meet them. It’s been exciting to view someone who is brand new to the universe and is ALSO a Force-Sensitive user. It’s great to see the story being told through her eyes and goes to show that we are about to begin an incredible journey with this new young lady. Plus, I’m sure the sex appeal is added for the fan boys…ahem.
And finally, Poe Dameron. His character is just, friendly, and willing to lay down his life for the greater good. Complete opposite of how we first me Han but I think he’ll have more to say in the upcoming Episode VIII since he was limited to starting off Finn and Rey’s adventure more so. His beginnings can be explained in the Shattered Empire comics for those who wish to read them and learn how he is connected to Leia, Han, and Luke. If he gets some cool, extended story, I would like to see his development and what he’ll offer to Finn, seeing as they are SUCH good buddies. Ah? AH? AHHHHH you get it.
In terms of cinematic evolution, as the span of many films have come to acknowledge, that JJ’s vision was with the times, however much of a classicist he is terms of filmmaking. From the span of the camera work to its special effects, JJ highlighted on the witty dialogue well with Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote the script with JJ. While the CGI work is noticeable in certain scenes, it was good to see that he invoked as MANY practical effects throughout the film’s entirety and wished for the fans of Star Wars themselves as well to understand how big a project it was not only for him but for the fans themselves. There’s a beautiful dolly shot during the battle at Maz Kanata’s that is certifiably amazing to see Finn run through the rubble even with the TIE fighters and X-Wings having a shootout right above him. Another shot I took into consideration was the chase scene with Finn and Rey. A magical rapid motion from their meeting to escaping on the Falcon was in itself wonderful to encapsulate what “DANGER” really means.
WTAF Moments
Of all the moments in the film, the biggest one was CLEARLY what happened to Han and yet, I definitely saw it coming…
I can’t explain why, but I just did…odd right? Whatever.
Another scene I think was as much a WTAF was more a HELL YEAH moment was Rey using the Force on the Stormtrooper to unbind her restraints and escape the cell Ren kept her in.
Rey: You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open.
Stormtrooper: What did you say?
Rey: You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open.
Stormtrooper: I will tighten these restraints, scavenger scum!
Rey: You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open.
Stormtrooper: I will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open.
[he does so]
Rey: You will drop your gun.
Stormtrooper: And I’ll drop my gun.
Note: The Stormtrooper was played by Daniel Craig (currently James Bond aka Agent 007)
Does the music keep up with the film?
I’m not even going to answer this because it was Sir John Williams. I have been listening to the soundtrack while typing this and he’s still got it. Pulling on emotion and giving that rapid orchestral flare when necessary. This dude is forever OG status in terms of composer. Flawless.
Watch the Oscars suck it this coming year. Bastards.
Final Words
When it boils down to it, the film itself is definitely one of my favorite ones out of the whole series (the other being Empire Strikes Back). In terms of rating The Force Awakens, I’ll give it a 4.85 out of 5 star rating. The only few issues I can stomach on the film was a few scenes I can tell JJ cut out (would have made the film longer but eh…) and the overall abundance to focus on only the protagonist more than the antagonist such as Kylo Ren, General Hux, Captain Phasma, Snoke, who all seem interesting and definitely deserve a grand return with more use to them.
(I secretly want Finn and Phasma to go toe-to-toe with one another).
But ahem. A few dialogue lines that stuck out:
Finn: We’ll figure it out, we’ll use the Force!
Han Solo: That’s not how the Force works!
Finn: Ok, stay calm… stay calm…
Poe Dameron: I am calm.
Finn: I was talking to myself.
Finn: Hey, Solo. I’m not sure what we’re walking into here…
Han Solo: Did you just call me “Solo”?
Finn: I’m sorry, Han. Mr. Solo. You should know I’m a big deal in the Resistance, which puts a real target on my back. Are there any conspirators here? Like First Order sympathizers?
Han Solo: Listen, “big deal”. You got another problem. Women always figure out the truth. Always.
[Poe is captured and brought to Kylo Ren who kneels down and stares]
Poe Dameron: …Do I talk first or you talk first? I talk first?
Han Solo: [stepping into the Millennium Falcon] Chewie, we’re home.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer:
allnightcinema 