Fear leads to the Dark Side, do not be afraid. If you’re holding off on seeing Star Wars because you’re worried about getting Phantom Menace’d again, put your mind at ease my child. The Force Awakens has breathed life back into the Star Wars movies and you need to go see it, like four days ago. Episode 7, directed by J.J Abrams, takes what works from the sequels (prequels) with the same feeling and ambiance as the original trilogy. The combination of those two elements makes for a powerful sequel to Return of the Jedi and creating great ideas for future movies. This film should be praised for: its characters, nostalgia, new ideas, cinematography, action and ability to bridge the gap between various generations.
First of all, the movie looks great and it’s refreshing. In the age of computer generated images, it’s easy to forget some of the older movie techniques used way back in the day, when technology wasn’t so advanced. Despite this, the movie is filmed using a lot of real costumes, real on set props like the original trilogy, while also having CGI and other various contemporary filming techniques. It makes for a great blend that everyone can appreciate. Abrams truly did a great job directing this movie.
First of all, the movie looks great and it’s refreshing. In the age of computer generated images, it’s easy to forget some of the older movie techniques used way back in the day, when technology wasn’t so advanced. Despite this, the movie is filmed using a lot of real costumes, real on set props like the original trilogy, while also having CGI and other various contemporary filming techniques. It makes for a great blend that everyone can appreciate. Abrams truly did a great job directing this movie.
Going off of the cinematography, the action sequences were amazing. Typically I’m just waiting for a lightsaber duel but the space warfare was great and compelling. The lightsaber battles were also good because they were different. Not the slow, unpolished duels of the original trilogy or the beautiful choreographed dances of the sequels (prequels). These lightsaber battles were an inelegant, immature and intense battle of survival vs death. Ren vs Finn and Ren vs Rey was unlike any battle we’ve seen before.
Moving forward, bringing back the older characters and doing the call backs to older films was very smart. I would argue there was a bit too much but that’s a minor nitpick I’ll touch on later. Rey is like Luke, a Force sensitive user on a desert planet. Kylo Ren is reminiscent of Anakin, a Force sensitive user that is emotional. Finn looks like he’ll end up being this trilogy’s Han Solo. Of course that isn’t to say that that’s all these characters are, because they are so much more. A lot of scenes and concepts are interesting rehashes on what has already been or a nod to the George Lucas made films. The scene with Luke’s lightsaber face down in the snow being Force Pulled to Rey reminds us of when Luke did that to defend himself in the Empire Strikes Back. Han Solo admitting the truth behind the Force and the Jedi is a great scene because he denounced it completely in A New Hope.
In addition to that, Kylo Ren having the same struggle as Anakin but in the opposite manner. Remember when Solo asked if there was a trash chute that they could send Captain Phasma down? Yeah you remember that scene and you know the reference. BB-8 being a great R2D2 type of astromech, seeing Vader’s mask, Kylo Ren making the same type of appearance as Vader did in Episode 4 and early in the movie. My personal favorite reference was seeing how terrified people were to report failure to Kylo Ren … because very much like Vader, that may end up being the last thing you ever report. Nothing more needs to be said, this movie CARES about the original trilogy and fans of it thus, did these things to cater to that fact.
Moving forward, bringing back the older characters and doing the call backs to older films was very smart. I would argue there was a bit too much but that’s a minor nitpick I’ll touch on later. Rey is like Luke, a Force sensitive user on a desert planet. Kylo Ren is reminiscent of Anakin, a Force sensitive user that is emotional. Finn looks like he’ll end up being this trilogy’s Han Solo. Of course that isn’t to say that that’s all these characters are, because they are so much more. A lot of scenes and concepts are interesting rehashes on what has already been or a nod to the George Lucas made films. The scene with Luke’s lightsaber face down in the snow being Force Pulled to Rey reminds us of when Luke did that to defend himself in the Empire Strikes Back. Han Solo admitting the truth behind the Force and the Jedi is a great scene because he denounced it completely in A New Hope.
In addition to that, Kylo Ren having the same struggle as Anakin but in the opposite manner. Remember when Solo asked if there was a trash chute that they could send Captain Phasma down? Yeah you remember that scene and you know the reference. BB-8 being a great R2D2 type of astromech, seeing Vader’s mask, Kylo Ren making the same type of appearance as Vader did in Episode 4 and early in the movie. My personal favorite reference was seeing how terrified people were to report failure to Kylo Ren … because very much like Vader, that may end up being the last thing you ever report. Nothing more needs to be said, this movie CARES about the original trilogy and fans of it thus, did these things to cater to that fact.
With all that being said, in a lot of ways I felt there may have been too many call backs, too much nostalgia. At times it feels like Abrams was afraid to take any major risks with the franchise. The plot is the same as A New Hope. Person sends off droid that has thing that both opposing forces need for the reason. Also, Snoke being the big, bad hologram guy who probably won’t do anything until the final movie (like Sidious). Another Death Star … really? I’m sorry, “Starkiller Base”. While I did enjoy the meta joke from Han when he said “so it’s just big”, that doesn’t excuse them for doing that again. In addition to that, it got destroyed once more in a similar fashion to how it was destroyed in Episode 4. So while paying homage is a good thing, there can be too much. Admittedly, this approach was smart because it wraps up a lot of character arcs from Episode 4, 5 and 6 and allows the story to NOW go in a new direction. Now is the time to take the series in a direction it’s never gone before.
Talk about characters, the time is. Memorable and compelling cast, they were. Listen, not only were the characters brilliant, the cast was phenomenal. Props to John Boyega (Finn), Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Oscar Issac (Poe Damaron) and hell, whoever made and/or controls BB-8! All these new characters have something great to offer the franchise and made the viewers really care about these characters. John Boyega seems like a kid in a candy store. You can tell he’s really excited to be in a Star Wars movie, his energy is contagious and he brings much needed humor to the The Force Awakens. Oscar may not have been in the movie for long but while he was on screen, it MATTTERED. BB-8 was a fantastic droid that was expressive through its actions and Adam Driver does a great job showing viewers a flawed, conflicted but dangerous antagonist. Daisy brought that feeling of earnest heroism and kind-heartedness to the screen while having fantastic chemistry with Boyega.
Finn will be criticized for being cowardly and maybe very emotional but he was in fact a fantastic character. He was kidnapped as a child, brainwashed and conditioned into being a disposable solider for the First Order. Yet, on his FIRST mission, he refuses to kill and knows what is happening is wrong. Therefore he frees the captured pilot and defects from the First Order. Obviously he doesn’t have proper socialization so to speak and he knows firsthand how dangerous the First Order truly is. All of his actions make sense, he’s a realistic character. Towards the end of the film, his heroism begins to shine as he stops running away and leaps into danger. Finn was brave enough to take on Kylo Ren even though he is no Jedi and never will be. Given some time, this character will breakout and become one of the most essential people needed to stop the First Order.
Talk about characters, the time is. Memorable and compelling cast, they were. Listen, not only were the characters brilliant, the cast was phenomenal. Props to John Boyega (Finn), Daisy Ridley (Rey), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Oscar Issac (Poe Damaron) and hell, whoever made and/or controls BB-8! All these new characters have something great to offer the franchise and made the viewers really care about these characters. John Boyega seems like a kid in a candy store. You can tell he’s really excited to be in a Star Wars movie, his energy is contagious and he brings much needed humor to the The Force Awakens. Oscar may not have been in the movie for long but while he was on screen, it MATTTERED. BB-8 was a fantastic droid that was expressive through its actions and Adam Driver does a great job showing viewers a flawed, conflicted but dangerous antagonist. Daisy brought that feeling of earnest heroism and kind-heartedness to the screen while having fantastic chemistry with Boyega.
Finn will be criticized for being cowardly and maybe very emotional but he was in fact a fantastic character. He was kidnapped as a child, brainwashed and conditioned into being a disposable solider for the First Order. Yet, on his FIRST mission, he refuses to kill and knows what is happening is wrong. Therefore he frees the captured pilot and defects from the First Order. Obviously he doesn’t have proper socialization so to speak and he knows firsthand how dangerous the First Order truly is. All of his actions make sense, he’s a realistic character. Towards the end of the film, his heroism begins to shine as he stops running away and leaps into danger. Finn was brave enough to take on Kylo Ren even though he is no Jedi and never will be. Given some time, this character will breakout and become one of the most essential people needed to stop the First Order.
Poe Damaran was also really cool. He instantly makes the audience laugh when he’s captured by Ren, asking which one of them should speak first. He even makes a meta joke saying that it’s hard to understand what Ren is saying with that mask on. Even though Finn is a Stormtrooper, Poe and Finn connect quickly in a buddy cop fashion, also because they saved each other. They have a compelling bromance that makes viewers want to see more of that dynamic duo and what they can become. Also, Poe is “one hell of a fighter pilot”, best in the Resistance in fact.
It was great seeing Han Solo and Chewbacca again. They’re relationship is the same and it was nice to re-experience. BB-8 was actually a really good asteroid droid reminiscent of R2-D2. Just as great, just as important, just as useful and equally lovable. Not too impressed with Snoke because he just feels like Palpatine 2.0, seeing Leah again was cool and of course Jedi Master Luke Skywalker at the end had the theater going nuts.
Can’t say too much about Rey at this moment in time because she’s still got a lot of developing to do. Don’t get me wrong, she was a great character who destroyed typical gender role tropes by being more than capable of saving herself. At the beginning when Finn was going to rescue her, she saves herself, she saves Finn from an alien, she saves the Falcon and she saves herself from Ren, even escaping imprisonment. She even goes on to defeat Kylo Ren at the end of the movie. I’m excited to see how powerful Rey truly is and learn more about her. The most interesting thing about her character arc is that the movie is alluding to her being Luke’s daughter, which would make sense. Anakin’s Lightsaber was passed down to his son Luke which called to his “daughter Rey”. It would also explain why she’s got so much potential.
It was great seeing Han Solo and Chewbacca again. They’re relationship is the same and it was nice to re-experience. BB-8 was actually a really good asteroid droid reminiscent of R2-D2. Just as great, just as important, just as useful and equally lovable. Not too impressed with Snoke because he just feels like Palpatine 2.0, seeing Leah again was cool and of course Jedi Master Luke Skywalker at the end had the theater going nuts.
Can’t say too much about Rey at this moment in time because she’s still got a lot of developing to do. Don’t get me wrong, she was a great character who destroyed typical gender role tropes by being more than capable of saving herself. At the beginning when Finn was going to rescue her, she saves herself, she saves Finn from an alien, she saves the Falcon and she saves herself from Ren, even escaping imprisonment. She even goes on to defeat Kylo Ren at the end of the movie. I’m excited to see how powerful Rey truly is and learn more about her. The most interesting thing about her character arc is that the movie is alluding to her being Luke’s daughter, which would make sense. Anakin’s Lightsaber was passed down to his son Luke which called to his “daughter Rey”. It would also explain why she’s got so much potential.
Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo (Organa?) is an interesting character in his own right. Sure most people are going to just see him as some over emotional, Force sensitive Vader wannabe, but there’s a lot more to his character. Ben in the now, non-canon expanded universe, is Luke’s son’s name. Abrams took some content from the EU and twisted it in a new way. Taking Ben from Luke’s son but making him like Jacen Solo, (Han’s son in the comics) who becomes Darth Cadeus. I think that was interesting and in a sense gives a shout out to the comics even though it’s going to go in a different direction.
Ben used to be a disciple of Luke before being seduced by the Dark Side, by Snoke. It is implied his kills all the Younglings and Apprentices Luke was training. Kylo is clearly very powerful because he has Skywalker blood in him. He is Anakin’s grandson, Leia’s daughter and the nephew of Luke. Snoke wishes to use his potential for his own biddings. We see that Ben is having the same struggle as Anakin, but in the opposite manner. Ben wants to complete what Vader set out to do, he wants to be evil but the Light Side of the Force keeps calling to him. That’s a very interesting concept. I like that he’s flawed, conflicted, emotional, powerful but not fully trained and not one dimensional.
Ben used to be a disciple of Luke before being seduced by the Dark Side, by Snoke. It is implied his kills all the Younglings and Apprentices Luke was training. Kylo is clearly very powerful because he has Skywalker blood in him. He is Anakin’s grandson, Leia’s daughter and the nephew of Luke. Snoke wishes to use his potential for his own biddings. We see that Ben is having the same struggle as Anakin, but in the opposite manner. Ben wants to complete what Vader set out to do, he wants to be evil but the Light Side of the Force keeps calling to him. That’s a very interesting concept. I like that he’s flawed, conflicted, emotional, powerful but not fully trained and not one dimensional.
Ren’s confliction hinders his powers and he needed to firmly root himself in the darkness. I feel like this was Snoke’s intention. To have Kylo Ren kill his father, complete his transfer to the Dark Side and then complete his training. It’s possible that this is not Ren’s first time meeting Rey because he seems overly emotional when it comes to her. I’ll save the theories for another article though. Kylo said that he was torn apart; does that mean his time with Snoke has been nothing but pain? Kylo shares lots of similarities with his grandfather and I can’t wait to see how powerful he becomes. The scenes where he's beating on his wound is so raw because it could be a means to not feel pain or him using pain and suffering to strengthen his connection to the Dark Side.
In conclusion, this was the type of Star Wars movie we deserved years ago. It will please fans from all generations with the cinematography, compelling characters, nostalgia, action and humor, though there is maybe too much nostalgia and the movie isn’t newbie friendly. If you have never seen a Star Wars film before, this movie won’t be as exciting. It’s still a great standalone movie and understandable without prior knowledge, but you wouldn’t be able to appreciate it fully. All in all, it was magnificent and I can’t wait for the rest of the films.
8.8/10
In conclusion, this was the type of Star Wars movie we deserved years ago. It will please fans from all generations with the cinematography, compelling characters, nostalgia, action and humor, though there is maybe too much nostalgia and the movie isn’t newbie friendly. If you have never seen a Star Wars film before, this movie won’t be as exciting. It’s still a great standalone movie and understandable without prior knowledge, but you wouldn’t be able to appreciate it fully. All in all, it was magnificent and I can’t wait for the rest of the films.
8.8/10
P.S: Kylo's Crossguard Lightsaber is legit because he used the beams on the side to hurt Finn.