By Andrew Bard
A cinematic titan has been awakened after 32 years of slumber and it was well worth the wait!
Before you continue reading, be forewarned that this review contains spoilers and pivotal plot points. If you don’t want to know please DO NOT continue. You have been warned.
To say that I was eagerly awaiting this film would be an understatement. I will admit that I am a huge fan of Star Wars, but considering the galactic bombs that were the prequels. I was careful not to get my hopes up. So I waited in line, got my Star Wars The Force Awakens bucket of popcorn, and marched down the isle until I was sitting nearly under the screen. When the first trailer came on I knew that there was no turning back and when the Lucasfilms LTD appeared on the screen I held my breath. In the words of Shang Tsung “It has begun!”
The film opens in a way that we have all come to expect. “A long time ago in a galaxy, far away…” Boom the classic score by John Williams hits you in the face like a tsunami and the screen is filled with STAR WARS. We’re given the same scrolling exposition, this time it is 30 years later, Luke Skywalker has vanished and the new evil threat to the galaxy is The First Order, a darker totalitarian government with a new breed of Stormtrooper lead by the ruthless Captain Phasma played by Gwendoline Christie.
But let’s take it back, I’m getting ahead of myself.
The opening continues with the classic Star Wars theme of being in Space and seeing a massive battlecruiser. TIE fighters are headed towards the planet of Jakku where our journey begins. We are introduced to Lor San Tekka played by the incredibly talented actor Max Von Sydow and Poe Dameron played by Oscar Isaac. Lor gives Poe the missing piece of the map that contains the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker. He intends to bring it back to the Resistance, when TIE fighters descend on the settlers and a fire fight ensues. Poe rushes to his X Wing with his droid, the lovable BB 8. Before he can take off, his ship is damaged by Stormtrooper fire and he’s forced to give the futuristic SD card to BB 8 and tells him to escape. Poe then begins firing back at the Stormtroopers when a new badass black command shuttle lands revealing Kylo Ren, the new Sith lord played by Adam Driver, who I have to say I was the most nervous about within the cast. Not to be mean, but I did not like his face. I felt he looked like a younger Richard Edson, which to me was odd because he looked more goofy than scary and powerful. It needs to be said that it has nothing to do with his acting and he did a wonderful job in the role which made me very happy and helped me move past his face and only see Kylo Ren. Captain Phasma Follows him and the two oversee the destruction of the small settlement. Poe takes aim and fires at Kylo and in a flash Kylo turns around and stops the round in mid air giving the audience a visually beautiful image. Poe is captured by Stormtroopers. During the firefight a Stormtrooper is shot, as another one rushes over to him, the dying trooper touches his helmet leaving a bloody streak across it. He becomes unsettled and when Captain Phasma gives the order to execute everyone he does not fire. They get on the ship and the same storm trooper takes off his helmet revealing actor John Boyega. Captain Phasma address him as FN-2187 and asked him who gave the order to remove his helmet then tells him he needs to turn in his blaster for inspection.
For true Star Wars fans, Johns character’s name or rather number should make them giggle with boyish/girlish glee due to the number 2187 being the cell in which Princess Leia was being held in episode IV.
All of the above happened right out of the gate. It was an epic way to start the movie and reminded me of the first time I saw Episode IV, having an assault of storm troopers, the Sith leader, a captured resistance member and a droid escaping with a pivotal piece of the plot. The thing is, it doesn’t feel like a rehash, it feels right. Taking the viewer directly back into the Star Wars world we all know and love, the whole scene completely encompassed the audience and transported us all, leaving our popcorn behind. Nothing else existed. It was a power moment all around. I think it should be said and I am not ashamed to say that at this point I already cried a little with joy. Now on to the review.
We then meet Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, scavenging for pieces from an old battle cruiser in the middle of the Jakku desert. Once finished, she brings her findings to a small trading post where she gives Unkar Plutt played by Simon Pegg (which still makes me laugh) in exchange for food rations. The next scene we see her making food in a makeshift kitchen then see her sitting outside leaning against her home eating. A wide shot reveals its an old AT-AT giving a small backstory that a battle happened in Jakku years before and the derelict shells of the Empire’s war machines now litter the planet.
Inside an interrogation room on a battle cruiser Poe is being questioned by Kylo. Poe gives a snarky response and holds strong while Kylo is using the force to dig inside his mind. It’s a great scene because it gives us a look at what kind of character Poe is, which by no means is a replacement for Han Solo, but has a similar feel. He’s strong willed, a great pilot (or so we only hear about at this point) and is one of the good guys. When Kylo leaves him strapped to an upright table of sorts, a moment passes and a Stormtrooper enters, stating that Poe is to be taken and he is there to escort the prisoner. As they head down the hall, it is revealed that the Stormtrooper is FN-2187, and he tells Poe they can steal a TIE fighter and escape. The two do just that after a very cool scene inside the hanger where Poe pilots and FN-2187 takes the gunner seat, blowing up docked TIE fighters, shooting small squads of storm troopers, sending them flying, and blows up the command deck. Once free they introduce themselves. Poe then names FN-2187 Finn since he explains he was never given a name, just a number. Poe tells Fin he has to go back to Jukka to get his droid, and describes it as a one of a kind. Finn protests knowing the First Order will surely send more Stormtroopers to hunt them down but finally gives in. They are shot by a cannon from the battle cruiser and the TIE fighter crashes. Finn lands a good distance away from the wreck, he runs over to discover that Poe’s body is missing and the only thing left is his jacket, he takes it and leaves as the TIE fighter gets sucked into the sand. Let me just make the side note that John did a terrific job in showing and making us feel the grief of Finn upon losing the first friend he’s ever had.
Rey goes back to the market the next day and finds BB 8 in the process of being stolen by a scavenger. She saves it and goes back to Unkar Plutt where he tells her that he’s going to give her less food rations for the same haul as before but offers to buy the droid. She refuses and he tells his men to go after her and steal the droid. During scuffle between them. Finn notices the droid as the one Poe had described and he immediately runs to help Rey, however, she is finished with her attackers before he gets to her. BB 8 recognizes the Jacket as his master’s (Poe) and a quick chase ensues. Rey knocks him down and questions him. He explains what happened with Poe but hides the fact that he was a former Stormtrooper when mistaken by Rey as a member of the Resistance. He says The First Order is coming and they have to run just as TIE fighters appear and begin blasting up the trading post. They run to a ship to escape after Rey says she’s a pilot.
Here’s a point where even though I loved the film I found it a little convenient that the two people Finn meets after leaving The First Order are both pilots who are able to help him escape. He looks out of frame and asks why they’re not taking another ship and she replies its junk. The one they are running for is shot and it explodes forcing them to run to the “junk” ship which turns out to be the Millennium Falcon (MF). I have to admit I felt the lump in my throat again and judging from the snickers and bliss I heard throughout the theater, so did everyone else. A brilliant dog fight/chase scene takes off where Rey is flying the MF and Finn is in the gunners chair shooting at the TIE fighters which was a beautiful tip of the hat to Episode IV, the first time Luke sits in the gunner seat. Rey proves herself more than capable as she enters the exhaust from a long crashed battle cruiser and flies through it, leading to the TIE fighter exploding. Once they break orbit we are allowed to breathe just long enough for Finn and Rey to get to know one another and Finn convinces BB 8 to divulge the location of the Resistance base to continue his charade as a Resistance member. They are caught in a tractor beam and are hauled into a large black ship, Finn begins to panic as he suspects The First Order. They hide and wait . The door opens. Han Solo and Chewbacca enter and Han speaks the words that had been burned into our brains ever since the trailer was released in April:
“Chewie, we’re home.”.
Han and Chewie quickly find Rey, Finn and BB 8 and we’re led to a bit of exposition where the characters get to know one another. Two gangs appear on the cargo ship and threaten Han. Since the escapades of Return of the Jedi, he has gone back to smuggling and swindling and it has caught up to him. He’s about to meet his maker when Rey opens the locks to the holding cells of two vicious beasts he’s transporting, which causes chaos and they are all able to escape in the MF. Chewie is shot in the arm causing Rey to be Hans Co-pilot, leaving Finn to give Chewie first aid.
At this point Rey’s knowledge about ships and mechanics all together made me remember Kaylee from Firefly and Serenity. A beautiful young woman, intelligent and know’s her way around a ship. The key difference however is Rey is a more serious character whereas Kaylee is basically the cheerleader for the crew of the Serenity, not to insult Kaylee, she’s the heart of the crew.
I was shocked at how fast paced and smooth the story progressed, nothing seemed rushed, nothing dragged, it was perfect. We were just under the halfway point here and it felt like I had just taken my seat. Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt did a phenomenal job writing this masterpiece. They almost made me forget episodes I-III and by comparison makes the prequels more like shitty made for tv movies created by someone that had no knowledge about Star Wars or why people loved it in the first place, which is a bit fucked up since it was made by George Lucas, the creator of this god damned epic. This film felt like Star Wars has taken its rightful place back on the silver screen.
So, Han takes Finn and Rey to Endor to meet Maz Kanata, the owner of a castle like stronghold which is basically just a fancy variation of the cantina on Mos Eisley but is still nonetheless a host to smugglers, riff raff and unsavory folk.
Maz, a tiny alien who in her glory days was a pirate, greets Han and meets his companions. She senses who Finn is and tells him that he is scared and running, then offers a pair of smugglers across the room that could help him since at this point he is once again saying that everyone needs to run and hide from The First Order.
Rey hears the sound of a girl crying and follows it to the basement. The cries are louder when she sees a door. She opens it into a room where she sees a chest. Inside she finds a lightsaber. She then is flung into a flurry of visions where she sees Luke kneeling by R2D2, a battle, Kylo Ren with Stormtroopers and then her as a child crying and screaming for her family to come back as she sees a ship leaving. At this point I got chills because her family were never mentioned and only came up when she said she was waiting for them to return. Maz finds her and says that the lightsaber belonged to Luke Skywalker and said it was calling Rey. Rey at this point panics and leaves, she finds Finn who is planning to leave with the smugglers. Rey then leaves and runs to the forest. The First Order appears because of course in these scuzzy dive bars there is always one asshole and she reports that the droid is there. A battle ensues, Maz gives Finn the lightsaber and he squares off with a Stormtrooper who is wielding a badass electric batten. Finn takes out the lightsaber and the two duel in what is a pretty kickass fight scene.
Han and Chewie are firing at the Stormtroopers and Han asks if he can use Chewie’s bowcaster. He kills a few Stormtroopers smirks commenting on how he likes it. The Stormtroopers overpower our heros and it looks like they could all be captured. The Resistance fighters enter in their X-Wings creating a pretty amazing ariel battle where we see the return of Poe. Rey is still in the woods when she hears a lightsaber. She begins to panic and run until she is confronted by Kylo. He knocks her unconscious and takes her to his command shuttle. A Resistance ship lands and Han looks weary. With eager anticipation we see C3PO donning a red left arm and General Leia Organa exit. Her and Han lock eyes and we once again become part of the Leia and Han story that began in Episode IV. Chewie runs over and hugs her completing this powerful moment. The Resistance meets, and Finn comes clean. A new “Deathstar” has been created which destroyed 5 planets at once. They did a side by side in the film and this new “Starkiller” base is immense being roughly 5 times larger than the original. From what I watched and read it’s an ice planet converted into a stronghold of The First Order. It harnesses the suns power and packs enough power capable of destroying entire star systems at once. They are devising a plan on how to destroy it and it’s a definite but incredibly well done throwback to the war room scenes in episode IV and VI.
Here’s a major plot point spoiler so be ready for it.
We find out from both sides that Kylo Ren is Han and Leia’s son, Luke had begun to train a new generation of Jedi and made him on as his apprentice, but he is betrayed when Kylo chooses the Dark Side and we can only assumed kills the others. This is the reason why Luke flees and why Han had to leave and went back to smuggling.
Now over to the Darkside we see Kylo speaking with the big evil Supreme Leader Snoke voiced by the incredible Andy Serkis. We only see him as a massive hologram that speaks in a large chamber to Kylo or General Hux, played by Domhnall Gleeson, who did a fantastic job playing the dark power hungry leader of an evil army. Whether it was intentional or not, he reminded me of Adolf Hitler during a scene where we gave a speech to an entire army of Stormtroopers. So back to Kylo, he has shown through a couple of scenes that he struggles with keeping faith in the darkside and battles with his light side. Snoke tells him he must kill his father and asks if he has a problem with it. We also see him talking alone asking for the strength from the darkside and his grandfather and when he gets up we see Vadar’s mangled helmet.
Kylo goes to interrogate Rey who is strapped into a similar set up as Poe. She tells him that he is a monster behind a mask and he, without hesitation, removes it showing his true face. This to me was a pivotal moment. He is not scarred so the helmet he dons is more of a homage to his grandfather Darth Vadar then it is for anything else. To me it showed that he doesn’t have complete control over his powers and his emotions, from struggling with the dark and light, having violent outbursts which we see him do a couple of times, and removing his helmet, all shows he is not as disciplined as he should be. To me Kylo Ren is the most multidimensional villain we’ve seen in Star Wars.
This to me was how Anakin should have be played but as we all know Christian Haydensen fucking sucks, like really bad and George Lucas wrote such horrific dialog that it actually gave people cancer, seriously look it up. The prequels gave us a winey obnoxious little twat of a kid running around being led by two things, his dick or Palpatine making the genesis of Darth Vader a very big, but not the only utter failure, regarding the prequels.
So here we are, Kylo is interrogating Rey, he insults her lack of a father figure and begins to use his power to get inside her head, mocks her loneliness and life while still attempting to probe.…. but whats this? We as an audience are seeing something that some have speculated but had no solid basis until now. He can’t get into her head and she’s fighting it. After a powerful mental struggle between them, she looks him in the eyes and says “You’re afraid…. you’ll never be as strong as Darth Vader.” He jumps back, clearly shaken and leaves. It was amazing and showed in that moment that she drew power from the force. She is left alone with a guard and she shakily says “Remove the restraints and leave the room with the door open.” I laughed because it was an out of the blue moment. The guard asks her what she said and she repeats it. He walks over to her and says he’ll tighten her restraints, showing the audience that her attempt at the spontaneous Jedi mind trick didn’t work. Then she centers herself and we can see her connecting to the force. She then, with a very calm demeanor, says it again. There is a pause then the guard repeats in agreement and undoes her bindings. As he walks out she shouts “and you will leave your weapon on the floor.” which he agree’s happily and drops it by the door. It was an awesome moment and kind of took me by surprise. The trailers made such an effort to show Finn was the new Jedi and it was an amazing bait and switch for the audience to see that he is more of the reluctant hero and Rey is the Jedi. A Jedi who had a vision of Luke when she touched his lightsaber that was Anakins before him. A lightsaber by the way that fell when Lukes hand was cut off in Episode V making me wonder just how Maz obtained it. During this time Han and Leia embrace and she tells him to bring their son home. It’s an emotional scene between two broken parents. Finn, Han and Chewie go to the Starkiller to rescue Rey and try to bring Kylo Ren who’s real name is Ben, which may annoy some Star Wars fans who know the universe so well beyond the films. Ben was the name of Lukes son but they changed it here replacing Han and Leia’s children with Ben who is still named after Ben Kenobi. So they go in for a rescue mission while an airstrike is planned with Poe leading the pilots on an assault to destroy the super weapon before the sun goes down and gives it enough power to destroy the Resistance completely.
Fast forward, we’re in the base, Finn takes Captain Phasma and forces her to shut the shields off. Now I was expecting to see a really intense fight and have her take her helmet off which didn’t actually happen. She threatened him but complied which I can’t actually say I was disappointed with, especially after she disables them and Han asks with a smirk if there’s a trash shoot with a trash compactor which Finn response with a yes. It was a fun moment. Finn reunites with Rey, who was on route of her escape, and they’re all on their way out as the airstrikes are happening topside with some pretty awesome dog fights.
Han finds Kylo and the two meet face to face. It’s an incredibly intense and difficult moment to watch. Han asks Kylo to come home. Kylo breaks down and expresses the struggle he is having, drops his helmet and asks for his father’s help. He extends his hand holding his lightsaber, Han looks down then grabs it telling him yes, he will. He is going to rescue Ben from this evil place, and it’s not too late, but then an utter dreaded shock washed over me like an ice bath. Did Han get shot by a Stormtrooper? NO! Thank god. Did Ben? NO… Then what the hell happened? We hear the lightsaber turn on and Hans face changes as we see it sticking out of his back. Kylo leans in and thanks his father for helping him fully convert to the darkside. Han reaches up and caresses his sons face lovingly before falling from the bridge they were standing on removing Han Solo from the Star Wars universe and brings us all into tears. It cuts back to Leia as she nearly collapses feeling his death. We really don’t get a chance to mourn the death of probably one of the most iconic cinematic heros of all time because Chewie loses his shit and rightfully so and charges on a killing spree, shooting all the Stormtroopers around him. Rey, Finn and Chewie escape as the base begins to fall apart and explode. They are outside, Finn and Rey run into the woods where they are met by Kylo. He using the force to throw Rey against a tree leaving Finn alone with the lightsaber to duel. Kylo instantly recognizes it and demands that it is his. The two exchange blows, Finn even manages to hurt Kylo before being disarmed, having the lightsaber fly out of his hands. Kylo then slices up his back disabling him. Kylo looks over and extends his hand using the force to retrieve his grandfathers lightsaber. It flies past him and into Reys hands. Such a kick ass moment! They duel, and it is a really fantastic fight. He gets the upper hand and offers to teach her how to properly use the force. Upon hearing the words “The Force,” she repeats it and she centers herself, more intensely this time and in an instant turns the tables and becomes more powerful than Kylo.
During this time R2D2, who has been powered down since Luke left turns back on, seemingly by Rey fully accepting the power the force. The battleground between Rey and Kylo opens up after she lands a critical blow to him, separating them. She runs back to Finn where Chewie picks him up and they escape and go back to Endor without Han.
Once they are on Endor, Leia and Rey look at each other, Leia makes it know that Han isn’t coming back and it’s a crushing scene. After every battle Han always came back to celebrate and this time not only did he not return but he was slain by his own son. The Resistance is together and R2 is functioning. He displays a partial star map and BB 8 reveals the piece he had completing the map and showing Luke’s location. Rey boards the Millennium Falcon as its new pilot, with Chewie as her co-pilot and they fly to the planet. When they arrive its mostly water with small islands. They land and she makes her way alone up the side of a mountain on a stone path. Once she arrives at the top we see a the back of a figure in a long hooded robe. They turn and for the first time we see Luke Skywalker’s face. In full Regal Jedi form. Rey extends her hand as if offering him his lightsaber. The two acknowledge each other and we can see the pain in his eyes during this long awaited reunion between father and daughter. Or at least that is what we are lead to believe which makes perfect sense. Aaaaaaaaaad credits. That’s how this incredible roller coaster ends folks.
Final thoughts:
The movie was a monumental moment for not only Star Wars fans but cinema as a whole. The movie capped in at just over two hours and it honestly felt like maybe 30 minutes. It was a beautifully composed and orchestrated piece that literally gave the audience every single thing on their wish list or at least it did for me. We had a well crafted script, an amazing score provided by John Williams, a stellar cast that worked so harmoniously together and had the best chemistry within an ensemble cast I’ve seen in a long time. The practical effects and CG were so beautifully blended together that everything just seemed organic leading to the overall synergy that dwarfs even the most well crafted of films. When I say this film will be one of the great moments in cinematic history I mean it. It revived a franchise that has been under fire since George Lucas decided that he needed to re-release the original three films with shit that didn’t need to be in it, having Greedo shoot first, fucking up Anakins ghost by having that fuckup of an actor Hayden CG’ed over the original actor to the absolute shit festering abortions the three prequels gave us. The Force Awakened is a perfect title for this film because not only is it relevant within the story but its relevant within our world, with the franchise itself and with us, the fans who were seeking redemption, and I can say proudly we got it! I give this movie a 10/10. I’m not just giving this a great review because I love the franchise which I do, I truly feel that it deserves it. Unlike the rubbish that has been seeping out of Hollywood these past few years this movie provided the audience with a memorable adventure sure to please old and new fans alike.
