Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review

Starring: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew

This is the moment many fans have been waiting for. I've been excited about this movie since the first teaser trailer. While excitement surrounds Star War: The Force Awakens, there is a little nervousness too. Will it follow in the footsteps of The Phantom Menace, with an extremely negative response from fans, and the "dreaded prequels"? Can it really live up to all the hype? I've seen The Force Awakens, and I can finally confirm that yes, it does live up to it. It's everything I wanted out of a Star Wars movie and then some. And I'm glad I got to share it in a theater packed full of exciting people. Seriously, the line for this movie started a full hour and a half early, and went outside of the building. It's smashed every record and made $238 million dollars just this weekend. And I can guarantee I'm going to see it at least one more time before it leaves theaters. The beauty of The Force Awakens is its ability to combine nostalgia with the new, something the prequels failed to do. They were focused on rushed CGI effects and action scenes. Here, it's more of a slow burn. But for the Star Wars fan (which is likely a good chunk of the general public) it caters to our needs perfectly. Don't worry, I'm not going to spoil anything. I have a lot to say, but I'm going to hide all spoilers. Don't click unless you've seen the movie or you don't care. And PLEASE don't be the one to spoil it for anyone else.

I'm going to go character by character, and not include the ones with spoilers surrounding them. First, Daisy Ridley as Rey. I'm really excited to see what she's going to become, and how they will use her.

I really liked the ending of the film, with her finding Luke. I think it's a little corny, but definitely feels epic in a movie theater. I'm excited to see what the next movie has in store for Rey. The twist that she had the Force, and not Finn like the ads suggested, was well executed.

Rey might be the best character of the movie, because Ridley is able to perfectly keep certain things held back for future movies. I think it's great that there is a female lead in a movie like this, which is a nice homage to the originals, where as you might remember, Princess Leia did just as much as the boys did. Let's go to Leia, now General Organa of the Resistance. I liked Carrie Fisher's performance, and I think she grounded the movie in her scenes. You could tell there were some nuances every once in awhile, but they really didn't use them. I'm curious enough to want more of what happened with she and Han after Return of the Jedi. Now to Han and Chewie. They are the heart and soul of this movie. Seeing Harrison Ford return to this role and slip into it so easily is amazing. He is Han Solo, and still has the dry humor. And of course, Chewbacca is just as lovable as always. Han Solo was probably my favorite part of this movie, and I agree with everything that happened with his character. I think Ford's character is really going to set this new saga up to be great. If you've seen the movie you know why Kylo Ren comes next. I'm not a fan. I was expecting a great villain, one like Darth Vader, and I got Kylo Ren. He should've never taken his helmet off.

I have to address what happens with Kylo Ren and Han Solo. I was shocked that Kylo Ren was Han and Leia's son, that genuinely surprised me. And while it stunned me, I think Han Solo's death is needed for the films to go forward. This will be what drives Rey to defeat Kylo Ren. I really believe she would have killed him in the lightsaber battle if she didn't remember the Force. She wants vengeance, and she will train to get it. It breaks my heart, but it needed to happen.

I do think that they have set the stage for Kylo Ren to be truly evil in the future, but for now, just whiny and arrogant. The other villains were almost nonexistent, with a serious "Space Nazi" General Hux, and an extremely underused Captain Phasma. The Nazi thing almost goes a little too far. I personally think it is unneeded and takes away from the film. I did enjoy what they did with the new Stormtroopers, and Finn's journey from being a Stormtrooper to part of the Resistance. Finn didn't really make me too excited, but they've set him up for the future. Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron was fantastic in the opening scene, but then he never really shows up again. If they're setting him up as the new Han Solo, they better actually utilize his talents. Also, Lupita Nyong'o's motion capture work as pirate Maz Kanata is really something. She had so much expression. But while the Cantina-esque scene was one of my favorites, I think her character is underused and seems out of place. Almost as if they deleted her scenes. Abrams says she will be used heavily in the future, and I hope he does, because it feels tacked on. Finally, I have to talk about BB-8. I loved that little guy. He has so much heart. I love R2-D2, but BB-8 might swiftly take over as the new lovable robot. I can't wait to see what happens with the two of them sharing the same screen.

The movie is actually very reminiscent of the first Star Wars. When you think about it, the same plotline is used, with the stakes a little higher. That could be a criticism, but I think it all plays with the nostalgia angle. You could feel the energy. People loved every second of this movie. I did too, but I notice the critical things that need to be worked on for future installments. I think the music of John Williams was excellent. It had enough odes to the original music combined with new pieces to really play off of the old characters and the new interacting. The visuals are stunning, and they've ditched all the stupid CGI from the prequels. Everything here is practical, or it looks practical. George Lucas just needed to take a little break. If you're a Star Wars fan, The Force Awakens will hopefully be everything you've dreamed it will be. If you're not, I'd see it anyways. I know some people who had never seen a single film, and they loved it. Going forward, I'd say whoever is in charge needs to work on the villains. The first Star Wars had a very funny plotline, and the Force Awakens is humorous as well, but the original still had the terrifying Darth Vader. And we got stuck with Kylo Ren, a screaming Nazi, a nonexistent chrome Stormtrooper, and Andy Serkis as a massive hologram. I think there is a serious villain problem that needs to be worked on. Everything else is amazing. I completely agree with the 95% on RottenTomatoes. It's not perfect, but it really is the movie experience of the year. If you haven't seen it already, go see it. If you have, see it again!

Rating:

Kylo Ren's backstory is great. I think they will do excellent things with it in the future. But in this movie, it just didn't work. I was shocked when they revealed who his parents were, and I think it was the genuine twist of the movie. I do not think that Driver portrayed him with enough malice to be a supervillain. In that sense, I don't think what he did to Han is as huge a scene as it should be. He's not malevolent. He's a whiny angsty young adult.E