"STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS", And it Truly Has!

The wait is finally over! The seventh installment in the most beloved and popular movie franchise of all time has finally arrived! Directed by J.J. Abrams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes place about 30 years after Return of the Jedi, as remnants of the Empire, now called The First Order rises and fights against what used to be the Rebellion, is now the Resistance. The First Order is led by a new villain named Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) who is strong in the Dark Side of the Force. One of the Stormtroopers of The First Order, Finn (John Boyega), realizes that this life is not for him and escapes, causing him to be stranded on the desert planet of Jakku. There he meets a scavenger named Rey (Daisy Ridley). With the First Order on their tail, the two, along with a charismatic little droid named BB-8 and some new, as well as familiar faces, start a new exciting galactic adventure. This new Star Wars movie simply puts us back in the feel and adventure of what these films were about. It has truly been a while since I enjoyed a movie in the theater so immensely, and I really feel like we are back on track.



Of course this movie has some our old favorites coming back, but we do get some new characters, and truly most of them are the ones that stole this movie! Most of us never knew how we were going to react to these new faces after we have seen the movie, but luckily they were entertaining as well as interesting. John Boyega as Finn was I think the new character I was worried about the most. I never dreaded him, it's just in the trailers and promotions, he always seemed serious like he was going to be boring stick in the mud. Far from it! Not only is Boyega as Finn really funny, without being forced, no pun intended, but he has an engaging story arc trying to redeem himself to others as well as himself, considering the life he was supposed to live. Boyega plays this role so well, and I pray that we see his superstar status only get bigger. Oscar Isaac plays Poe Dameron, a X-wing pilot for the Resistance, and the minute he was introduced, I instantly fell in love with this character. He has charisma, comedic timing, and wit, and the sharp dialogue along with Isaac's amazing performance is what helped make this character three dimensional. The more I think about it, the traits of Finn and Poe is what would have made Anakin in the prequels a lot more interesting. Speaking of the two, they have great and enjoyable chemistry whenever they are on screen together. Adam Driver is absolutely brilliant as the villain Kylo Ren, But not only is the performance great, but the character as well. When you look at his appearance initially, you might think "Darth Vader wannabe". But Kylo Ren is his own character, and he is a wonderful one! He is menacing and conflicting. His personal conflict is what makes him such an engaging character, and it kind of creates a twist to an element what we are familiar with when we are watching Star Wars movies. Then there is Daisy Ridley as Rey, the scavenger from Jakku. She is the heart and shining star of this movie! By far my favorite new character in the movie! There is so much warmth, excitement, and wonder to her character. She is strong, yet vulnerable. The writing gives her so much depth and Ridley's acting is what gives her charm. Her brilliant arc is what drives the story. And like Isaac, Daisy Ridley has amazing chemistry with John Boyega. Seeing the two on screen together and interacting with each other is a delight. Like Boyega, I want to see Daisy Ridley become the next rising household name in Hollywood. I welcome her as a new hero in the Star Wars universe as she has found a place in my top five favorite Star Wars characters. We also have the new droid BB-8, and the reason I bring the character up because there is so much personality to this little guy. He ascends from being just a mascot of the marketing and becomes an essential part to the story. We also get another new character named Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyongo) who adds a lot of the interesting mythos to the movie in just her few scenes. Then we have new villains like General Hux (Domhall Gleeson), Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), and Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis). I know some people criticized that we did not get enough of those characters, but I'm kind of satisfied they did not, because it would have just added to much making the movie seem cluttered. 

We have Harrison Ford returning once again as the scoundrel smuggler Han Solo. We see Ford here really enjoying the fact that he is returning to his classic character. We see that Solo, while still being the admirable scoundrel from the original movies, has had significant changes to his character as well, as he indeed too as engaging story arc in the movie. We learn that Solo while being the same, as evolved too. Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) returns as well, and well, he's same old Chewie. He is everything you wanted him to still be and he is still Solo's awesome right hand Wookie. We also see appearances from Leia (Carrie Fisher), now known as General Leia, C-3PO, and R2-D2, They are not in it as much as Han or Chewie, but it still nice to see them. I do not believe this is a spoiler as it was announced way back when the full cast was announced but  Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is in it as well...and I'll leave it at that. To sum it up it was a pleasure seeing our favorite characters return, as well as get an introduction to these great new characters!



The visual effects in this film are outstanding! A lot of it is a call back to practical effects such as creature puppets, model ships, and prosthetic make-up, which gives this movie that classic Star Wars feel again. They are done so well that they do not feel outdated at the slightest in this modern film. We also get a good number of good CG effects in the movie as well in a lot of the action scenes. This movie proves that great practical effects and great digital effects can co-exist as long as they compliment each other, and J.J. Abrams  as well as the visual effects team really nailed that! The cinematography of the movie is absolutely beautiful. The lighting is on point, the scenery, whether it is really there or not, is breathtaking, and the color palette just pops! J.J. Abrams also did  a tremendous job in directing this movie. He had such a burden to carry as he was directing Star Wars, the most beloved film franchise of all time! On top of that the last Star Wars films we had were the not so beloved prequel trilogy. Then to add to that he was responsible of a new chapter to the saga that had to make sense to the overall mythos of the world. I tip my hat to Mr. Abrams as he succeeded in what most people believe is the possible, make a Star Wars movie that is at least good and pleases the fans. He sure as hell satisfied me as well as millions of Star Wars fans across the galaxy. If I had one minor nitpick it would be John Williams' score. Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore John Williams and a lot of his work. He is one of, if not,THE industry's most respected score composers. And I was excited to hear that he was coming back. It is great to hear the opening fanfare as well some old character themes again, but with that being said there is not of lot exciting or even memorable pieces to be found here. Though Rey's theme may grow on me the more I watch the movie. It has a nice melody that may be easy to get used to. I guess I am kind of spoiled that way and was hoping for another "Duel of the Fates" or something. So yes that is a very minor nitpick in an otherwise almost flawless movie!





A lot of the major complaints I've been hearing about the movie is that story has too many call backs to the original Star Wars, or how it is commonly referred to as, A New Hope. Some felt it was a down right remake of it. That is kind of true as at first I found those call backs to be a bit distracting and were not very necessary. But the more I thought about it and how those call backs, I began to say to myself "Well wait, there was no intention of them to be lazy and just spend all this money and get this cast together to just to out right repeat the past, so why those call bakcs?" It's because they were just nice little homages to remind us what we loved about the world of Star Wars in the first place. They are call backs to what we remember and what we connected this franchise to, not a repeat. That and I realized those call backs were never really the main focus of the plot, they were just little side stories. The real focus was the introduction of these new generation of characters, their conflicts, their path to their true calling, and their overall arcs. The reason why those arcs are the most interesting is because they are what focus is supposed to be and I find that brilliant. Because when you really think about it, that's what all the Star Wars movies have really been about, the characters finding their calling and their destiny, even in the prequels. Of course in the prequels, they were under developed, but in the original trilogy we see Luke on a path in becoming a Jedi, we see Han and Leia on a path in finding romance in another as well Han's change in being a better man and a beloved hero, and we even see Darth Vader on a path in finding himself again by the end of the original trilogy. We get those kind of stories here again and each new character has a path to either finding their true destiny or redemption, for better or worse. These arcs make these characters, old and new, completely fleshed out as well as evolving how we see Star Wars and its mythos today. What Star Wars: The Force Awakens did was jump start a whole new exciting trilogy, with new and intriguing characters whose arcs I cannot wait to see evolve, develop, and take paths that may not be expected. I swear I am not being bias here, but my genuine reaction to this movie is that it gave me one hell of an entertaining time watching it and returning me to the wondrous, magical, and adventurous world I love so much! Star Wars is back, and how Han Solo had said it "We're home". 

GRADE: E