Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - Film Review

Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Harrison Ford & Mark Hamill

Screenplay: Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams & Michael Arndt

Directed By: J.J. Abrams
Certificate: 12

Since A New Hope in 1977, Star Wars has been one of the most popular and successful film franchises of all time. The original trilogy of films is critically acclaimed by almost everyone, thought to be the films that shaped the modern blockbuster experience and with The Empire Strikes Back being officially recognized as a film of important historical value. However, the series took a huge dip in quality when a prequel trilogy was released between 1999 and 2005, and the three prequels, particularly The Phantom Menace, are generally panned by both critics and fans of the franchise. However, in 2012, LucasFilm was sold to Disney and it didn't take long for Disney to announce a new sequel trilogy, beginning in 2015 with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But can the seventh entry into this series restore it to its former glory?

 

Thirty years after the events of Return Of The Jedi, on the planet Jakku, resistance pilot Poe Dameron obtains a map revealing the location of Luke Skywalker – who went into voluntary exile a number of years ago. Seeking to destroy the last surviving Jedi, led by Kylo Ren, the First Order attack the planet in search of the map. Poe is captured but manages to hide the map in a BB-8 unit. BB-8 escapes the First Order as they leave the planet with Poe. The following morning, BB-8 encounters Rey, a scavenger and the two form a friendship. Meanwhile, on Starkiller Base, as Kylo tortures Poe, reformed stormtrooper Finn opposes the First Order and helps Poe to escape back to Jakku. Rey, Finn and BB8 then travel across the galaxy to meet up with the resistance and return the map to General Leia, with help from Han Solo and Chewbacca.

 

While The Force Awakens does provide the audience with a lot of fanservice, largely through returning characters and settings, it also introduces a number of new characters to the series – namely Rey, Finn and Kylo. None of these new characters feel flat in any way, and each one comes to life on screen in their own unique way. For many audiences, this is the first time that they will see Daisy Ridley on screen, and she gives a terrific performance as Rey, who in turn is already one of the best characters of the franchises, up there with Han Solo and Leia. John Boyega also makes a fantastic introduction to the series as Finn, a character who we can certainly sympathize with. Finn also undergoes one of the best transitions in the film, going from a troubled stormtrooper in the First Order, to a true hero of the resistance by the end of the film.

 

However, easily the best new character to the Star Wars series is Kylo Ren. The film had to tackle the huge problem of finding a more effective and memorable villain than anyone seen in the prequels (with the exception of Darth Maul). With Kylo Ren, we are given the series' best villain since Darth Vader. While Vader will always be the most iconic, Kylo Ren is certainly his equal. The First Order are essentially the new name given to the Galactic Empire, but Kylo Ren is certainly more than just a copied and pasted Darth Vader. He is given some of the best moments of the entire film, and Adam Driver does a spectacular job in the role. Whether it be stopping a blaster shot in mid-air, torturing Rey and Poe with the force, demolishing computer panels in a blind rage, or even providing some of the biggest shocks of the film, it all culminates into a tense and powerful showdown between himself, Rey and Finn. Kylo Ren will be appearing again in future films, and I can't wait as he makes such a good villain. However, while Rey, Finn and Kylo are all terrific new characters, it is admittedly a shame that there backgrounds aren't explored in greater depth. Kylo's turn to the dark side is allude to briefly by Han and Leia, and Finn's is barely mentioned. Rey had easily the best potential for an effective backstory here, and while it is explained what happened to Rey's family when she experiences some disturbing visions, it needed to be built on so much more.

 

While the new characters are certainly excellent additions to the series, The Force Awakens doesn't scrimp on fanservice. Familiar faces are back, with the most notable being Han Solo. Harrison Ford is once again superb in the role, and he isn't just here for the fans, he instead has a large role to play in the events of the film, as does Chewbacca. Sadly, the same can't really be said for returning characters such as Leia, C-3PO or R2-D2. Each one only gets about five minutes of screen time, and their presence could arguably have been replaced with new characters. That being said, their appearance definitely appeals to audience nostalgia and they help the film to feel like a celebration of the original trilogy. Working together with the new characters, all the familiar faces help to make the film feel incredibly fun and enjoyable, thanks to a combination of strong performances and a polished script.

 

Being a Star Wars film, great action-pieces and fight scenes are to be expected, and The Force Awakens certainly delivers in this regard. The aerial fight scenes are some of the best of the series, and have some of the strongest choreography on show. Lightsaber duels also share this strong choreography, especially Kylo's fight against Rey and Finn at the end of the film. The production values here are also sky-high, with the use of practical effects, CGI, motion capture and sound editing being absolutely stellar and making full use of the $250m budget. The Force Awakens truly deserves all the awards nominations it has received for its production. All this couples well with some stylish and fluent direction from J.J. Abrams. Avoiding his trademark use of lens flare, the camera is rarely static and constantly allows us to witness the superbly crafted worlds around us.

 

So, other than the lack of backstory, are there any other problems with The Force Awakens? Well as good and as fun as this new entry to the series is, you still struggle to escape the feeling that this revival of the Star Wars franchise doesn't quite know what it wants to be. Does it want to be a tribute to the original trilogy, send the series off into an entirely new direction, or simply be a remake of the originals? Throughout the film, I found myself thinking that it was the latter, as the plot of the film is noticeably identical to A New Hope. There isn't anything wrong with taking elements of the plot from the first film, but when the two plots are almost identical, you start to question if The Force Awakens is a reboot of the series, or a remake.

 

To summarize, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a beautiful and stylishly-created cinema blockbuster that successfully breathes new life back into a much-loved franchise. This first entry into a new trilogy introduces us to strong new characters that can rival some of the originals, whilst also keeping the audience on the edge of their seats with climatic space battles and tense lightsaber duels. There are times where it seems that the film doesn't seem to know if it's a reboot or a remake, but it isn't enough to severely detract from the quality of this reinvigorating film.

 

 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens


9/10