Star Wars: Episode 7 - The Force Awakens

Director: J.J. Abrams

Writer: J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt

Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Issac, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhall Gleeson

Reason for watching: Showing Jane all the Star Wars Movies

Number of times I’ve watched it: 3, somehow i know

*****

NOW THIS…is almost a carbon copy of A New Hope….BUT THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO START A STAR WARS SEQUEL TRILOGY!

Similar to The Phantom Menace, there is a lot of pressure when trying to start the sequel series. Heroes need to be re-introduced. A threat must be established. And we need a protagonist to latch onto. Only this time, we have no endgame. Our heroes were on top of the world the last time we saw them. The Emperor was dead. Luke was a Jedi well on his way to being a master. So where can Star Wars go from here? They went back. Because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

We need a hero who has questions about her past and yearns to be something greater. CHECK. We need someone we love from the last trilogy who can fill in and conveniently get offed because they don’t wanna be on this project anymore. CHECK. We need a cool pilot type who talks trash and escapes death constantly. CHECK, and please tell Oscar Isaac he can have my money whenever he wants. We need a bad guy in a mask with a mysterious past who turns about to be a bit of a sissy and who throws fits when his employees tick him off. CHECK. HAN SOLO IS BACK AND IS A CURMUDGEON WHO WENT BACK TO BEING A SMUGGLER! CHECK AND MATE! (If you read my earlier post about Return of the Jedi, this is Harrison Ford at his best in the series. He’s tired of running, he’s still funny, and he has a little bit of hope and resilience in his performance to pass on to the next generation.)

Alright, alright. Enough with the jokes. I actually do like this movie. Sure it’s a little annoying once you realize that this movie just copy and wasted its story elements and its characters from A New Hope, but Star Wars needed familiarity. After the prequels took a sharp right turn away from the interesting parts of this galaxy far, far away (the intimidating villains, the relatable hero, family drama, space scoundrels), people wanted to be reminded why they liked Star Wars in the first place. And Disney had 4 billion reasons to do so if they wanted that investment back. So of course they brought everyone’s favorite things back, particularly Han Solo who they put front and center. And it worked to the tune of probably the most unbreakable box office record ever, and well over $2 billion in revenue worldwide. While the copy cat elements have their pluses and minuses, they aren’t why this movie works for me.

What works for me is the potential this movie gave the sequel trilogy. Think about it. We had a villain who was more relatable than Darth Vader ever was. There was a hero who had a dark side that she was not afraid of. A stormtrooper who got out and just wanted to run. And a war that the resistance seemed completely outgunned in. THERE WERE SO MANY DIRECTIONS TO GO IN! And where they went with it in the next two movies, because of a director who was a little too intent on defying expectations and a studio that got a little too scared of some fan bois, was ultimately unsatisfying.

Some actual analysis real quick before I slap a rating on this bad boy. The acting performance are good from everyone, particularly Ford and newcomer Adam Driver. The fights scenes may not seem as fun as the prequel because no one is flipping around anymore (thank goodness), but they are more grounded and realistic. Both Rey and Kylo make for compelling protagonists depending on how you look at the story. Han’s death feels earned and truly is shocking. I don’t love some of the dialogue between the characters and the quippy-ness feels way too much like an Avengers movie to me. Presenting Snoke as a literal big bad guy bores me. It’s hard to talk about this movie without getting into its sequels. Honestly, this trilogy needs to be ranked as a whole. It’s one long story.

8/10

Until I see another one.

PS - my freshman year RA’s gamer tag was “Han_Dies,” for a long time and other online players hated him for it. He changed it right after he saw the movie if I remember right so he pissed off a ton of people. It was pretty funny.