Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Dir: J.J. Abrams

2015

***

Although there have been three Star Wars films since 1983's The Return of the Jedi, this is the one that the fans had been waiting for. I didn't like the prequels much. The Phantom Menace was too cartoon like, Attack of the Clones wasted too many opportunities and Revenge of the Sith was a little too much too late. I appreciate them now far more than I did before viewing The Force Awakens. J.J. Abrams' idea of giving the people what they want is of course giving them something they've already had, like it not, it works and makes lots of money. Personally, I don't like it and I wish he'd step away from the franchises. He added very little to the Mission Impossible films, Lost was a TV show with a great beginning but a complete lack of direction, Super 8 (his best film thus far) was a sickly sweet love letter to Steven Spielberg and he made it abundantly clear that he wasn't a fan nor was he really interested in the Star Trek universe. Star Trek was the work of a director so lazy that he was happy to throw nearly fifty years worth of history out the window because he had no time for continuity. The sequel, Star Trek into Darkness was such a misstep that the fans voted it thirteenth out of the twelve Trek movies made at that point. Abrams stands on the shoulders of giants and mistakenly thinks he is one of them. The Force Awakens needed to have the right balance of new and old, I believe this was achieved but the new was far, far better than the old. A new Star Wars without the classic line up would have been a hard sell, they had to return and so they did. Good. However, what they have become and what happened since the last time we saw them left me disappointed. They should have added magic to the film, instead they held it back somewhat. I've often daydreamed about what it would be like to see my Grandparents again. Wouldn't it be wonderful, to talk to them and see them one last time? Sitting down to watch a new Star Wars film felt a bit like that, however, the fact of the matter was that instead of a pleasant conversation and a catch up it was actually more like sitting in a room with a couple of corpses who really didn't want to be there. I've met Carrie Fisher in real life, she gave me a big hug. I adore her. She is wasted in this film. I'm certainly not saying that the original actors are too old, far from it. I do feel they were treated that way though, each deserved a better entrance than the one they got and each character had their own personal anti-climactic introduction. The missed opportunities are countless, for once I think they should have milked the brief appearances of original cast for all they could. The first time we see C3PO he introduces himself and states that he is probably unrecognizable due to having a new red arm. His red arm is never explained, maybe it will be in the future but I saw this as being one of two things. Firstly, the Toy manufactures have a new Toy. Collectors now have to get an all Gold doll and the one with the red arm. Toy manufactures shouldn't have a say in a film's plot. Secondly, I saw it as a swipe at the nerds and the fanboys. We love a bit of speculation and some inane discussions can go too far, this we acknowledge, it's all part of the fun. However, here it feels like we've been thrown a tidbit or a red herring. We're being mocked. If we're not being mocked then it's just stupid writing, either way, it's not good.

Okay, it's not all bad. Far from it in fact. I absolutely loved the first half of the film. Some of the cinematography is stunning. The long shot desert scene with the long since crashed Star Destroyer in the background is beautiful. I loved the fact that Rey (played by the impressive Daisy Ridley) lives in the foot of an old AT-AT. These little echos of the old films were brilliant and should have remained along these subtle lines. John Boyega's performance was fantastic, it should certainly silence all those who have been derogatory about him before now. Both Boyega and Ridley capture the essence of Star Wars. Oscar Isaac's role is short but sweet and I very much look forward to seeing more from his character. Along with the adorable BB8 (easily the best thing about the new film), you have the perfect team of successors. Over on the dark side, Adam Driver delivers a complex and intriguing villain and Domhnall Gleeson gives the usual throw away role of General a bit more of a bite. Both are excellent. The Jury is well and truly out with regards to Andy Serkis' Supreme Leader Snoke but first impressions aren't great and I'm pretty sure Serkis has already played this character, albeit a little bit smaller. Never the less, the first half is great, really great, it really does feel like Star Wars. It's only when the old cast come in does it not. It's like when you're cooking or doing a bit of DIY at home and your Dad comes in and takes over to 'show you how it's done properly'. He takes far longer than you to do it and the end result actually isn't as good as your initial efforts. You just have to stand there awkwardly and watch him do it anyway.

In conclusion, it starts off great and then turns into a half-hearted remake of A New Hope. Having similarities is fine but this is too close to the original. Say what you will about the prequels (and even Star Wars Holiday Special) but at least they were original. Maybe it's a big ploy in order to make the next episode greater and to pull off a 'Sequel better than the first' trick like they did with Empire Strikes Back but that's probably giving JJ a little too much credit. It really puzzles me how he let the film go from 'stunning' to 'cheap looking made for TV' in just a matter of minutes. He really needs to sort out the humour levels too as very few of the jokes worked. In fact it might just be easier to hand the whole thing over to someone else, quick, before we get Star Wars into Darkness. I will of course revisit and I dare say rewrite this review in Dec 2019 when the trilogy is complete. I've heard a few people comment that they left the cinema with big grins on their faces. I'm afraid I just felt bummed out. There was a great Star Wars film out this year though, it's wasn't this one but a documentary called Elstree 1976 that really captured the essence and magic of the originals. The Force Awakens has a bit of essence and magic but not enough to make a cake out of. Break it down and it's just another JJ remake.