Some mock science fiction and call it the bottom of entertainment, literature, and cinema. However,
Star Wars proves that science fiction is not just a generational thing, or even a western world thing, but it is a global thing that crosses the gap between rich and poor, young and old, and male and female. Since 1977,
Star Wars has altered common global culture, the world of cinema, and science fiction forever. The original holy trilogy ran from 1977 through 1983, and then there was the gap of decades until the prequel were announced in 1994 some eleven years after
Jedi. From 1999 to 2005, the unholy, shitty Prequel films tarnished the world of
Star Wars, and it was believed that this would be the way the
Star Wars films ended...with a flaming bag of dogshit. As Lucas altered and raped our childhood with new elements to the holy trilogy, the deal with Disney was looming. In October of 2012, it was announced that Disney had bought LucasFilm and the mouse would be making more
Star Wars films, starting with the sequel trilogy. In November of 2014, we finally got to see the first trailer for
The Force Awakens and reaction was strong that these new films would be a return to good
Star Wars films...so, is it? Here is my
Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens SPOILER FREE review. I saw this film in Dallas on IMAX 3D at an 1000am showing on 12/21.
The Basic Plot (Maybe Minor Spoilers!)It has been 30 years after the Battle of Endor, and in the First Order has arisen from the ashes of the Galactic Empire. Siding against the First Order is the Republic. While the Republic and the First Order are not engaged directly, the Resistance is the insurgency to the First Order and is being supplied by the Republic. Now, there are forces at work to destabilize the situation in the galaxy...and that is where the film opens.
The GOOD
For the most part,
Star Wars VII: the Force Awakens is a solid, very enjoyable
Star Wars that ranks up there with
The Empire Strikes Back, and is the second best sci-fi film behind
The Martian this year. It has the soul, character, world of
Star Wars all there with healthy doses of
Star Wars IV: A New Hope to create a bridge between the classic films and this new generation of action figures...I mean...heroes. This is the film that we fans deserved in 1999 and it has redeemed the promise of
Star Wars after the abortion that the prequels were.
While there are tons of SFX, they are a fusion of practical and CGI that makes
The Force Awakens more real than the plastic prequels. The connection to the old characters is there, and it is more than just fan service. The new characters are real characters in their own right and I was excited to see the development on Kylo Ren as more of a real character than a set piece. The film manages to get the little element rights, along with the big ones. I laughed, I cried, and I marveled at the world of
Star Wars again. For me, this movie was more "the fans awaken" than the Force awakens.
The BADAs I said above,
The Force Awakens is strongly connected to the original 1977 film in more than just imagery. For those of us that have seen the
ANH repeatedly,
The Force Awakens can feel like a retread in both theme and plot points. You knew what was going to happen, and while the film is very good, it can feel very borrowed, and that some of the film's plot points are there just because of that. This is true of one of the only major thing I really disliked about the film.
The great looming menace that our heroes have to deal with is just a borrowing of
ANH element, that it makes little sense on its own. Since this is spoiler-free, I cannot say more than that. Also, the movie moves very quickly from place to place, like most
Star Wars films, and the scenes on planet Jakku are the longest. This jumpiness is even more apparent in order to make the combining of the new generation and the original, the film needed to throw together characters, like the original film or
The Phantom Menace, and that can also feel forced. and things being done because the script says so. Another thing I disliked was the lack of explanation over the current political situation in the galaxy and who these factions were. I personally think this was done on purpose due to the attention paid to the political situation in the prequels to death.
Also, I was surprised by the tacked on nature of the big central question in the background of the whole film, and then it is solved in the final few minutes and the ending feels rushed. I honestly thought the end scene in
The Force Awaken should have been saved for episode VIII. Then that brings to my last "Bad" portion of
The Force Awakens...the science.
Star Wars has never been about being an ambassador for hard science fiction, and general it is soft science fiction. But,
The Force Awakens takes to a new level of softness...like liquid. Several times, I was stunned at the lack of real-world elements and one element was so bad, it derailed the film for a few minutes for me.
The UGLYBottomline,
The Force Awakens is a very good
Star Wars movie that reminds us of how good this universe can be...and brings us to the ugly aspect...it reminds us how bad, crushingly bad, the Prequel films are. For decades, we fans have wanted to see the apex of the Jedi Order, the rise of the Sith, and the Clone Wars...and we got this flaming bag of dogshit.
The Force Awakens does not acknowledge the prequels save for one comment, and it show how irrelevant those prequel films and how plastic they appear. This film generated feelings of remorse for ever investing anytime into the prequels and makes you also wish we could get them remade with the gusto of
The Force Awakens. I can honestly saw that when it comes time to buy the
Star Wars films on Blu-Ray, I am buying four of them now and not just the original three.
Should You see The Force Awakens....waitaminute...you already have.Everyone is going to see this that is remotely interested in the film...maybe I should ask another question.
How Does The Force Awakens Fit into the World of Star Wars?
Because
Star Wars is a saga that tells the story of the Light and Dark Sides of the Force along with the family history of the Skywalkers, how does this new film fit into the rest of the saga? I can say, very well.
The Force Awakens feels like an organic piece of the puzzle and it is a brave start to a new trilogy storyline. It retains that favor of the original films and allows for a bridge from
Return of the Jedi to
The Force Awakens. My hope is that more of our questions about some of the events in the background are answered in the next two films.
My Big Worry...To date, JJ Abrams has helmed two of the biggest franchises in the realm of science fiction:
Trek and
Wars. The excellent job paid to the new
Star Wars proves to me that he has talent and can make a excellent film without ripping the original material to shreds...like he did with his "vision" of
Star Trek. Honestly, I hate his
Trek films and think they are simply pieces of shit that trade on the good and hallowed name of
Trek. His
Trek is related to the original
Star Trek has much has was the
World War Z film had in common with the
World War Z book. My big worry is that JJ Abrams will not be able to replicate
The Force Awakens and we will get films that tarnish the new hope we fans have for the sequel trilogy.
For the most part, Star Wars VII: the Force Awakens is a solid, very enjoyable Star Wars that ranks up there with The Empire Strikes Back, and is the second best sci-fi film behind The Martian this year. It has the soul, character, world of Star Wars all there with healthy doses of Star Wars IV: A New Hope to create a bridge between the classic films and this new generation of action figures...I mean...heroes. This is the film that we fans deserved in 1999 and it has redeemed the promise of Star Wars after the abortion that the prequels were.
Because Star Wars is a saga that tells the story of the Light and Dark Sides of the Force along with the family history of the Skywalkers, how does this new film fit into the rest of the saga? I can say, very well. The Force Awakens feels like an organic piece of the puzzle and it is a brave start to a new trilogy storyline. It retains that favor of the original films and allows for a bridge from Return of the Jedi to The Force Awakens. My hope is that more of our questions about some of the events in the background are answered in the next two films.