Official Synopsis
Three decades after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, a new threat arises. The First Order attempts to rule the galaxy and only a ragtag group of heroes can stop them, along with the help of the Resistance. (via IMDB.com)
Be honest. We (myself included) all followed blindly with an optimistic smile when episodes I-III were released back in the day and somehow convinced ourselves that things would get better each time out. Hell, I even bought the $20 a year web camera view of the production, as it was going on — that’s how engrossed I was with the prequels. All fans were hoping to re-capture the beauty that made Star Wars great in 1977, 1980 and 1983. We wanted interesting characters, interlocking storylines and a fearsome, yet tragic origin of Darth Vader. Sometimes what we want the most isn’t what we get.
The films were a considerable disappointment to the franchise, as each one demonstrated the severe lack, yet vital importance for good storytelling, character design, dialogue, the right actors playing the right characters (Ewan McGregor excluded) and the flexible vision of their director. Wooden dialogue mixed with bad acting (Ewan McGregor excluded), due to wooden dialogue and inflexible direction, equaled out to poorly made films.
In short, the prequels laid the groundwork for fan bitterness and low excitement and expectations for future episodes.
Fast forward a decade later and we have ourselves a new Star Wars film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Directed by J.J. Abrams, that one guy who dabbled a bit in the Star Trek universe (and brought it back from the dead) and also the one guy who made us feel like we were watching an 80s film with Super 8 (not the greatest movie, but great style). Bringing in a fresh story, fresh faces and an old cast that made us remember why we loved Star Wars to begin with, Abrams’ intentions were as well planned as the ending to Empire Strikes Back.
So, how did the young blood do? Did he revive the franchise and give us hope? Or did he Jar Jar it up?
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Well, let’s discuss.
The first act of The Force Awakens introduces to all the major characters involved for the rest of the story. The film starts with introducing the main plot point, which is the search for Luke Skywalker, who has gone missing. Through the efforts of the Resistance, the new Rebels, they have found a piece of the puzzle that might lead them to Skywalker’s whereabouts, who might be able to give them an advantage over some very evil people. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaacs) leads the charge, but sadly gets overrun in the village by the First Order (the new Empire) led by budding sith Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Before capture, Poe sends the piece of the Skywalker puzzle off with companion robot BB-8 (Brian Herring/Dave Chapman/Bill Hader/Ben Schwartz – no, seriously), who scurries off into the desert of Jakku.
While Poe is taken away, we’re introduced to another new face in Rey (Daisy Ridley), a orphan that has been left behind to survive on the harsh world of Jakku. Rey randomly meets up with BB-8, finds that he is lost and looking for Poe and attempts to get BB-8 back to where he came from before it’s too late. Parallel to Rey, a rogue storm trooper named Finn (John Boyega) helps Poe escape, mainly because Finn doesn’t want to be a First Order trooper (due to its violent fist of destruction), and soon finds himself back on Jakku and bumping into Rey. The first act ends with Rey and Finn fighting their way off of Jakku and into space on the Millennium Falcon (and captured shortly after by a space barge).
The first act draws a considerable amount of parallels with episode IV. I’m sure this was on purpose, as J.J. Abrams wanted to firmly remind every Star Wars fan what made Star Wars such an adventure. A lot of people really harp on this point about the film, and some of it’s understandable. Abrams and writer Lawrence Kasdan played it safe by emulating a proven structure for a Star Wars movie. At the same time, though, most of the fans, including myself, needed a new reminder on what made Star Wars so special. As a fan I wanted to be swept away into a non-complicated adventure that was good versus evil, nothing really more than that for a story. Abrams and company delivered that emulated beauty in the first act and it worked out well. It set up a simple pathway for acts two and three.
Speaking of act two, Rey and Finn are captured by a barge, which is owned/operated by Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca(Peter Mayhew/Joonas Suotamo). Solo and Chewy find themselves escaping their own barge, after some debt collectors show up unexpectedly, and the four characters find themselves on an adventure to survive the attacks from the First Order while trying to unravel the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker. Along the way, it’s revealed that Han is actually the father of Kylo and that their relationship wasn’t on the best of terms (duh). As the act starts concluding, the First Order shows up more and more and in the process snags Rey.
The second act didn’t get much better than the first, and it should have, as that is the dramatic build before the fast drop in the rollercoaster ride of story structure. Again, Abrams and Kasdan played it safe by introducing few new characters and concentrating on the handful it had introduced. We get more from Kylo Ren and begin to see the shape he takes and the rhyme behind his reasons. We’re brought old familiar faces with Han, Chewy and Leia (and C3PO), while the quest to get to Luke first becomes the driving force (no pun intended…okay a little) behind the second act’s motivation. Oh, forgot to mention, the First Order’s Star Killer base (think of a giant deathstar) shows up and destroys some planets that we didn’t know existed. That is probably the weakest part of the second act, as we don’t feel the urgency of the situation, even when the massive monster of a planet fires a large star-powered laser into the cosmos literally destroying planets in its path. While the power of the base is incredible, the people that it’s destroying are strangers to us (I know, it’s a terrible thing to say, but it’s true). Had there been some interaction with the people, maybe with Leia or Han, then the impact of their death would have been a bit more significant. All we know is that they’re part of the New Republic and the First Order wants them dead. Again, nothing we haven’t seen before, nothing complicated, rather everything safe.
Does the lack of build and the introduction of the Star Killer base hurt the film a bit? I don’t think so, as characters are now the driving point of the movie, but it certainly doesn’t make the experience terribly memorable. There isn’t a lot at stake at this point in the film and the villain is no closer to getting to Luke than the heroes, which is maybe why the second act feels a bit flat. Had the villain started towards Luke’s whereabouts and a chase ensued, then there would be more at stake, but it never gets to that point in the second act, which is sad. Not tragic, just briefly sad.
The last act provides a bit more rev to the story engine, though. We have the Resistance racing to bring down the Star Killer Base before it destroys anything else. We have a daring, yet sometimes funny, rescue mission for Rey. To conclude we have a tragic moment (not getting into it) and we have a brutal light saber fight to cap the film off, and also to remind us how badass the new characters truly are in this film. The third act is filled to the brim with action, while also bringing out the great side of Harrison Ford that we haven’t seen in a while. He is Han Solo again in this act, nothing wooden. His performance in the film stands out, as he really sells the Han Solo routine that we’ve sorely missed over the last few decades (Empire Strikes Back type of performance). In addition to his efforts, Driver, Ridley and Boyega were absolutely fantastic in this act, as they were through the film. They brought it in the end and sold it beautifully. They honestly made me giddy to see the next film, which is something I haven’t wanted to do since Empire Strikes Back ended in the theater way back in 1980 and made me sad as a child because I wasn’t sure if Han was alive or not (dark stuff for a five year old).
Overall, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a fantastic ‘kick in the butt’ for a franchise that desperately needed it. It will certainly make you forget about the prequels, yearn for Star Wars of the past, while at the same time make you happy knowing there is more to come. Abrams and Kasdan might have played it safe, but our fragile fan souls needed a guarantee that Star Wars was still alive and kicking with Disney and company. Bravo for the first new edition of the film.
If the movie wasn’t enough for you, then the special features will certainly make you happy. Here is what you can expect from this release:
– Secrets of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey
– The Story Awakens: The Table Read
– Building BB-8
– Crafting Creatures
– Blueprint of a Battle: The Snow Fight
– John Williams: The Seventh Symphony
– ILM: The Visual Magic of the Force
– Deleted Scenes
All of the features are worth your time and effort (with the exception of the snow speeder deleted scene — ugh). The Secrets of the Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey is a well thought out documentary/chronology of how Star Wars: The Force Awakens was created. From the acquisition of LucasFilm by Disney until the last day of shooting by Abrams, you get a nice viewpoint of how things were done to bring this movie to the screen. It is the leader of the special features on this list and worth every second of your attention.
The rest are good. BB-8 is interesting, as is the table read (though short) and the feature with John Williams is pretty interesting. Respectfully, I’m happy he was brought in and is still alive/well enough to do the Star Wars films. It wouldn’t be a Star Wars film without that man and his music.
Anyway, The Visual Magic of the Force is well done, it’s always neat to see ILM in motion, as is the Snow Fight, though not my favorite of the bunch. The deleted scenes are hit and miss, though the Snow Speeder scene is a big MISS. That scene would have brought down the third act by itself. It was so sloooowwwww.
Anyway, the bulk of features on this release are damn good. You’ll certainly get a lot of extra bang for your buck with them.
Onto the summary!
