Eye Candy #121

Movie Review: Star Wars: The Foce Awakens

PLOT:

30 years after the defeat of Darth Vader and the Empire, Rey, a scavenger from the planet Jakku, finds a BB-8 droid that knows the whereabouts of the long lost Luke Skywalker. Rey, as well as a rogue stormtrooper and two smugglers, are thrown into the middle of a battle between the Resistance and the daunting legions of the First Order. 

REVIEW:

What did I like?

New hope. For the most part, I am going to try and review this without the knowledge (and i use that term loosely) of the 2 films that followed this one. Having said that, let’s go back to 2015. No pandemic, everything wasn’t politicized, twitter wasn’t a cesspool proving how horrible the internet is, etc. Headed into the holiday season that year, one thing was really on everyone’s mind. What would the new Star Wars film look/feel like. It had been so long since the last one. There was so much hope and excitement going into this and, as I sat here watching it again, I felt that hope again. Oh, if only….

Finn. The initial marketing for this film seemed to focus on Finn, a stormtrooper who didn’t believe in killing and wanted to do what was right. Later in the film, and explored more so in the other entries of this trilogy, it is explained that he was orphaned and conditioned, like the other stormtroopers of this generation. I wonder why they stopped with the clones, though. Guess that is something covered in a book somewhere. Anyway, Finn is special not just because he’s a defected stormtrooper, but because he’s just a regular guy. No force powers, no special lineage, he’s definitely not the chosen one. He’s just Finn, a guy who wants to do what’s right. Couldn’t we use more characters like this in all media (and real life) today?

Reunited. One of the big things that circulated this film’s release was that Luke, Leia, and Han would be returning. How big those roles were was not discussed, but it was confirmed that they would be appearing, tying this trilogy to the original (holy) trilogy. While the passage of time is more than apparent on all of them (Father Time catches up to all of us), it was still great to see them back in the roles that made them stars or, in Harrison Ford’s case, springboarded him into superstardom. Even better is the fact that they weren’t just glorified cameos, they are actually part of the story (Luke is a cameo in this one, but the next film he more than makes up for it)

What didn’t I like?

What could have been. As I stated earlier, my aim is to focus on this film and not the sequel trilogy. That being said, there are so many things that are set up here and were never paid off. For instance, Finn wielding a lightsaber. The last I read/heard about this is that you have to commune with the force or be force sensitive. This film seems to set up that Finn, especially being an orphan, could possess some sort of connection to the Force, but that is never touched back on and he spends the rest of the movies simping, to use the current vernacular, for Rey. Captain Phasma…a female stormtrooper? with silver armor and cape? Surely she’s got to be bad ass, right? Truth be told, she has a couple of moments, but in the grand scheme of things, she’s just a glorified henchman. I’ve heard that she has some moments in the books, though. So there is that, I guess. So much potential, just in these two examples and there are many others that perhaps could warrant a post on their own, but because the director of the next film was such a non-fan and….wait, let me finish this review before I get on my soapbox.

Finn and Rey. It seems that there was a plan in place for Finn and Rey to get together in the long run. Spoiler alert…that didn’t happen. Why? I cannot tell you, other than the inconsistency of these 3 films. There is speculation that the powers that be were listening to those on the internet who wanted to “ship” Finn and Poe, but never pulled the trigger. A friend of mine has the theory that it was never going to happen between Finn and Rey because of the color of their skin. I don’t buy into that, then again, Finn was a major piece of the promotional material here in the US, but almost nonexistent when it went over to China. At any rate, the sparks are starting to fly as this film goes on, but we never see that again. Another what could have been, I guess.

Deja vu. When I watched for the very first time in the theater (remember those days?), I commented to my friend afterwards that this was basically a remake of the original Star Wars. I still hold to that. Many of the same beats are there. Chosen on on a desert planet, film starts with the antagonists, hotshot pilot enters fairly early on, bad guys torture individual, bad guys blow up planet(s), lightsaber battle at film’s climax, etc., etc.,etc. Does this make it a bad film? No, but one of things this franchise in known for…or used to be known for…is innovation. That is doing something different each time out. Say what you will about the prequel trilogy, they all standout in some way. Be it the pod races, Darth Maul, taking a chance with a character like Jar Jar, etc. Rehashing one of greatest films in all of sci-fi may not have been the best choice, and yet, it isn’t the worst thing to happen during the Disney era of Star Wars

Final verdict:

What did I think of The Force Awakens? Believe it or not, I actually like it. Yes, I have my criticisms, but most of those come from watching this after the trilogy has been completed *COUGH* ruined *COUGH* With that said, it is obvious that this film was setting up events down the road, but the outline was thrown out by the director of the next film who singlehandedly ruined the franchise. If I decide to review that one, be warned, it will most likely be more of a rant than anything. Back to this film, the story, while derivative of the og film works. The easter eggs that can be found throughout the film are a treat for the real fans of the franchise who can appreciate them. The acting isn’t the greatest but, let’s be real, everyone in these things either overacts or is very wooden. In the end, I would highly recommend this film, preferably as a stand alone flick.

4 out of 5 stars