Movie Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens needed to do two things. First of all, it needed to erase the sour memory of the prequels, at least in the minds of ardent Star Wars fans. Secondly, it needed to prove it could stand with the original trilogy as a fitting sequel to Return of the Jedi (1983). Amazingly, it does both. From the opening crawl, which packs more excitement into it than any of the crawls from the prequels, director J. J. Abrams delivers an insanely entertaining movie that deserves to takes its place as the third best film in the franchise behind The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars (1977).

Taking place thirty years after the defeat of the Empire (see Return of the Jedi for details), The Force Awakens hits the ground running by introducing Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), as he searches for a clue to the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who has vanished after a failed attempt to rebuild the Jedi. Meanwhile, the First Order, which has risen from the ashes of the Empire, led by the mysterious Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), also searches for Skywalker to keep him from aiding the Resistance and thwarting their plans to overthrow the Republic and take control of the galaxy. Along the way, new heroes (Rey and Fin) and villains (General Hux and Captain Phasma) are introduced (as well as some old ones) and the story (which, for fear of giving too much away, or getting too bogged down with plot details, involves a few exotic worlds, a couple thrilling battles, a lightsaber duel, and more than a few other things) moves briskly along to a satisfying, if still dizzying climactic battle and denouement.

It is apparent that director J. J. Abrams has far more affection for the Star Wars universe than he did for its Star Trek counterpart. As good as his Star Trek reboot was in 2009, it still doesn’t display the devotion to the franchise that The Force Awakens does. His screenplay, co-written with Lawrence Kasdan, and Michael Arndt, does a fine job of telling a story that skillfully weaves older characters such as the aforementioned Skywalker, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), and Leia Organa (Carries Fisher) into new adventures while simultaneously introducing new characters like Poe, Rey (Daisy Ridley), and Fin (John Boyega).

This aspect of the screenplay immediately addresses the biggest problem that afflicted the prequel films – a complete lack of engaging characters. In those films, there were no characters worth rooting for or caring about. They were merely foils that watched as events unfolded around them as those films became simply a means to setup the events of Star Wars. The Force Awakens suffers no such problems. Although characters like Rey and Fin are obviously updated versions of the Luke and Han archetype, they are still more compelling and engaging than any character George Lucas brought to life for the prequels. Daisy Ridley’s work as Rey in particular gives the series its strongest female character to date and her likability gives the series a broader appeal than it has had in a long time.

All of this praise aside, The Force Awakens does have its problems. Probably the biggest is an over-reliance on the original Star Wars trilogy which is evident in the way the key plot points and character arcs in The Force Awakens unfold in situations strikingly similar ways to those in earlier films. In some instances it’s a case of same story, different character, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If Abrams had employed more artistic freedom, the film could easily have turned into a misguided homage like Star Trek Into Darkness (2013). So perhaps he struck the right balance here and subsequent installments will need to address that imbalance.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is one of those films that never gives you the opportunity to get bored, there’s always something going on or some new spectacle to take in, which makes for an entertaining two-and-a-half hours. Is there room for improvement? Of course there is. Subsequent installments need to stop relying on rehashing stories and themes from earlier installments (or at least not do so as blatantly). Nevertheless, J.J. Abrams does more for the cinematic representation of Star Wars with The Force Awakens than anything has in the last thirty plus years. It is a wildly entertaining and engaging sci-fi epic.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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