Star Wars: The Force Awakens – A B2G Review

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened to much hype. The excitement is tangible, surrounding you, and is in everywhere you go (courtesy of Disney). The new episode in the series has been hyped up by fans as the series’ best hope of bringing the magic back.

Come to think of it, they succeeded.

The Star Wars universe has a deep meta-story, but the main installments themselves are pretty easy to follow. Director JJ Abrams has chosen the safe route and molded this movie in the fashion of A New Hope, the movie that started it all. It works out beautifully for the most part, and it is good enough to overshadow any shortcomings or head-scratching moments. Despite being the seventh installment in a very convoluted storyline, The Force Awakens works as a stand-alone movie. One that is very comfortable to the new blood it aims to introduce.

Since I’ve made up my mind not to summarize the story so as not to spoil it for this review, I’ll just say a few comments. First, the story, as I have mentioned is very easy to follow, and while the original movies were referenced, they serve only as a backdrop. The plot circles around the search for Luke Skywalker, the hero of the Original Trilogy, and along the way you see some familiar faces in Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Princess (now General) Leia. But the spotlight is always firmly pointed on new characters Finn (played by John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley), Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Finn is a very funy and likeable character as well as my new non-Jedi favorite, Rey is the series’ new hope, and Poe is a character in the Han Solo mold, but isn’t a Solo clone. I’m still pretty ambivalent about Kylo Ren, although played wonderfully by Adam Driver, partly because he reminds me of Anakin Skywalker when he was a teenager. But the character has potential, and Adam manages to execute a great performance especially in moments that would have been cringe-worthy in the hands of another actor.

Despite being reminding me of Joseph Goebbels (the Nazi propaganda chief), General Hux (Domnhall Gleeson) is a pretty interesting character that has the potential to have a major back story like Tarkin. The tension between him and Kylo Ren is palpable, and you can sense that neither trusts the other. Hux has that cool coat though.

I must say that I missed the old crew, and a particular scene between Han Solo and Leia is touching enough to produce manly-tears. It is funny, given how much focus the film gives to the new cast, that whenever one of the originals makes an entrance, they always steal the show, even if the spotlight is still kept firmly on the new cast. I don’t know if that makes sense, but you have to see it for yourself.

John Williams’ score will always be great. However, this particular entry didn’t give me as much goosebumps as it should. The music is nice, but it is always best whenever anything from the originals is played. Luke’s theme (which is now regarded as the Skywalker theme) plays prominently in this film, especially when a certain character is onscreen (I won’t spoil it for you).

The visuals are a treat. This is one of the most visually stunning Star Wars films ever, and even the special effects do not detract from the viewing experience (which the prequels, though I like them, sometimes did). If you are nit-picky, the Skywalker lightsaber in the film looks to have been taken from the A New Hope prop (the ones used in Episodes III and V was slightly different, albeit supposed to be the same thing), although the blade looks very much like it was in Empire Strikes Back and Revenge of the Sith. The dogfights look very gritty and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The battle over Starkiller Base is a throwback to the Death Star trench run in A New Hope (since it’s pretty much a rehash of it anyway), and it does a good job of keeping the adrenaline pumping as X-Wing fighters try to survive against wave after wave of Tie Fighters.

This is a Star Wars film, made by a Star Wars fan for Star Wars fans. So much that the only “weak” point I find in the film is the fact that some of the references and humor might be lost on audiences that are new to Star Wars or are not as invested in the movies unlike us fans. Sure, it’s still a good stand-alone effort, and you’re not going to miss anything big, but I can’t imagine how some scenes and humor would make sense to them. But I guess the bottom-line is that they enjoyed the film, enjoyed the story and have fun, the meta be damned.

I believe the biggest success of The Force Awakens is that it revitalized the series, paves the way for successive installments (Episode VIII is already in production, slated for a 2017 release). It managed to seamlessly pass the baton to the new generation, without having to do away with the old. I’m sure people will talk of Finn, Rey, Poe, and Kylo in the same way we do with Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie today. The magic has been reawakened, you know it to be true.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is in cinemas nationwide. Catch it before the obligatory MMFF take-down.