Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) Action & Adventure
Abrams has done to Star Wars exactly what he did to Star Trek and to many people that will be good news.
The original Star Trek TV series and films connected with a lot of people on a very deep level. Abrams' reboot turned it into something that was very likable and fun. Just not very deep. It had a likable cast and was an enjoyable experience for many, but was ultimately pretty forgettable. Much the same review could be given to the Force Awakens.
The movie is perfectly average. Nothing that will make you hate it. But nothing that will connect and resonant with audiences like the original trilogy.
Some positives -
- Harrison lifts the movie from the moment he appears.
- The two leads, while not instantly likable, are not unlikable either. And despite most of the attempts at comedy falling flat, they grow on you as the film progresses.
Some negatives -
- The lead villain was set up very poorly. Once he starts showing flaws he becomes a lot more interesting. It's just a pity they tried to set him up as a 'bad-ass' from the start. If he had been shown to be conflicted from the start then I wouldn't have spent the first half thinking how he wasn't quite pulling his bad-ass routine off. Of course the answer comes mid-way - he's not supposed to.
- The story beats and comedy felt poorly timed. Such as when Rey uses a Jedi mind trick on a stormtrooper - The sequence ends with a joke when she tells him to drop his weapon. The joke is that she's just learned to use the force, and just starting to grasp its power, decides last second to get him to give her his weapon too. So as he's leaving she adds the request, "Also, drop your weapon". The punchline is that he drops his weapon. And that's all that's needed. But Abrams has him repeat her request, "I'll also drop my weapon." and shows him drop it. It's hitting the nail on the head and is the sort of comedy found in many Disney channel comedies. Any good director or editor would have cut it. Showing Rey with a blaster in the next scene would have let the audience get the joke without being told the joke.
That's not the only time this comic mistiming happens either. Rey asks Finn, "What do these monsters look like?" They turn a corner and see one eating someone. And run. That's the joke. But Finn is given the line, "They look like that", just in case anyone didn't get it.
It's unnecessary and symptomatic of the problems I have with Abrams style of film-making. He leaves no audience member behind. And it's at the expense of any clear and original vision. There were really no surprises in this film. Nothing to expanded your mind or excited your imagination. Just a lot of fan service with perfectly serviceable action sequences.
Despite how disappointed I was when I saw George Lucas' prequel trilogy, he at least made his films with an open heart. And they contained moments that I thought I would like to watch again. The Force Awakens has none of that for me. And while I don't regret seeing it, I don't feel I ever need to see it again. However the Star Wars universe has a huge appeal to millions of people and everybody likes different aspects of the films and mythology that surrounds them so your level of enjoyment may vary.
An early joke I did like, was Rylo's "The droid stole a freighter?" However, the joke did not fit here. At this point we were still supposed to think he was a 'bad-ass' so the joke felt weird coming from him. It could have still worked if another character had said it, or if they set Rylo's character up as who he actually ended up being (i.e. conflicted, with some weaknesses and not yet at full power). But it was another mistimed story beat.
Another example - Han Solo's speech about how the events of the original trilogies 'was real, all of it' would have been so much more powerful if it had been delivered to two very skeptical characters. But they had already recognized who he was at that point.
One other thing that bugged me - The First Order is looking for Luke. That's all they're doing at that point. They discover a droid with a map to him. It's an obvious plot device. Fine. The original trilogy had those too. "I'll send a squad" they say. A squad? Which turns out to be a few troopers and a couple of Ties. And then are surprised when their squad doesn't do the job while hundreds of troopers with Tie Fighters sit in a space ship orbiting above the planet. So much of it feels a little forced for the sake of the story. People are sent to do tasks just so they're out of the room so another scene can take place. It comes across as a little lazy and I feel is a symptom of how much they have tried to rush these to production. (As much as I'm looking forward to seeing Rian Johnson's take on Episode VIII, I'm really worried that it's due soon.)
Sure George Lucas pulled the same tricks we see in this film but the way he presented it made it feel original. And got an audience invested. Abrams is largely trading off the goodwill many of the audience has toward Star Wars going in. If this was a stand-alone film with nothing Star Wars related, it would be incredibly average to a lot of people.
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