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| Courtesy of Lucasfilm |
Everybody
can relax. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the highly anticipated return of our
favorite characters who lived a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, doesn’t disappoint. It probably won’t live up
to the impossible expectations that die-hard fans have in their heads. But it
lands where most rational moviegoers were expecting: not as good as the first
three, but light-years ahead of the prequel trilogy.
You
know what else deflates a ton of hype? Spending four hours trying to watch a
135-minute movie while the projector keeps crashing – which is exactly what
happened when Atlanta-area critics attended a screening on Tuesday morning. Is
that the movie’s fault? Absolutely not. It wasn’t even the theater’s fault.
(Thanks, Georgia Power, for picking the worst possible time to change a
transformer.)
But
watching the story unfold in fits and starts absolutely affected my viewing
experience. I compare it to watching an episode of your favorite show on
Netflix, waiting a while, then coming back a little later and watching another
one. You should probably keep that in mind as you read the rest of my review.
The
Force Awakens picks up 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, though I’d never dream of spoiling where the central characters are now. Half
the fun of experiencing the story is guessing when a familiar face will pop up.
So I’ll keep the plot description primarily to what’s revealed in the opening
crawl, which is still accompanied by John Williams’ goosebump-inducing theme.
Even
though Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Han Solo
(Harrison Ford) and the rest of the Rebel Alliance defeated the evil Empire,
the bad guys didn’t admit defeat. Instead, a new organization called the First
Order popped up in the Empire’s place. Now Skywalker’s in hiding and everyone –
good guys and bad – are trying to track him down.
That’s
how the new generation of characters gets thrown into the mix. There’s scrappy,
headstrong Rey (relative newcomer Daisy Ridley); an AWOL stormtrooper named
Finn (John Boyega); a hotshot pilot named Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac); the evil,
Darth Vader-worshipping Kylo Ren (Adam Driver); and, last but not least,
there’s BB-8, the most adorable droid this side of R2-D2.
Over
the course of the film, these characters interact with some old favorites,
share plenty of adventures and set the stage for plenty of future sequels. Get
ready to see a new “Star Wars” movie every year for the rest of your life. (I’m
only half-joking.)
Director
J.J. Abrams, who co-wrote the screenplay with Lawrence Kasdan and Michael
Arndt, manages to keeps the tone light – aside from a few instances when the
story goes to some dark, somber places. His visual palette and the way he
crafts characters are much more in line with the original trilogy than the sterile,
awkward prequels. In fact, there are plenty of moments when Abrams is almost
too reverent to the originals, leading to a lot of too-clever winks, familiar
lines, and character parallels. The fan service is strong in this one.
Still,
it’s nice to see the franchise return to its serialized space adventure roots
instead of never-ending discussions of trade embargoes and senate debates. From
the opening moments, there’s no doubt that Abrams is interested in getting the
audience excited and making them invest in these new faces.
It
helps that he cast some absolutely phenomenal actors. Ridley, Boyega and Isaac
are a joy to watch; they’re charismatic, earnest and funny, making me instantly
accept them as integral parts of this familiar world. I don’t even think I
could pick a favorite if you forced me to – they’re all terrific in their own
ways.
However,
when I witnessed Rey’s big fight scene near the end of the film (an instant
classic), all I could think is that I couldn’t wait for my five-year-old
daughter to see it. Lately, there haven’t been a ton of big screen heroines
that young girls can look up to. Abrams and Ridley definitely fix that.
Driver
is also quite good in a role that could’ve been Vader 2.0; instead, he focuses
on the villain’s complex motivations (again, far more interesting than any
baddie the prequels had to offer) and even allows a sarcastic sense of humor to
emerge. That element seems jarringly out of place at first, but makes more
sense as the story unfolds.
I
know what you’re probably thinking: “yeah, but what about the characters I’ve
loved since I was a kid?” Don’t worry, they make great impressions too. I can’t
really talk about Hamill without getting into spoiler territory, but Fisher is
strong in her handful of scenes. There are even a couple of cameo appearances
from R2-D2 and C-3PO.
But
I’m guessing what most people will walk out of the theater talking about is how
utterly fantastic Ford is, stepping back into the role of Han Solo like no time
has passed. It’s the most energetic he’s been onscreen in years. I’m not gonna
lie – when he and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) made their big entrance, it was
tough not to get emotional.
The
actors’ dialogue might be clunky and overly expositional at times, but that’s
nothing new. Have you seen the original trilogy lately? Plus, they sell the
cheesiness and make it work for their characters. That’s the big difference
between these performers and a human mannequin like Hayden Christensen.
Let’s
be honest. I just realized I’m closing in on 1,000 words and this might be the
most critic-proof movie in the history of cinema. You already know if you’re seeing
it. If you have zero interest in the Star Wars series, this one probably won’t
do much to change your mind.
Still, The Force Awakens is going to dominate pop culture for the foreseeable future
and might even challenge Avatar as the highest grossing movie of all time (not
adjusting for inflation, of course). If you want to get in on the ground floor
of those conversations, you might want to buy a ticket – if you can manage to find
one.
Star
Wars: The Force Awakens is rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence.
Grade:
B+
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