The force has awakened….and it was beautiful. We can all
finally move on from the prequels because Star
Wars: The Force Awakens actually feels like a Star Wars movie. J.J. Abrams does a tremendous job kick starting
the new trilogy off. First and foremost, The
Force Awakens is an incredible action packed space opera. As soon as the
crawl in the beginning started, I was smiling until the end of the movie. I have
waited for a long time for this movie and I can gladly say it did not disappoint.
The film’s bright spots? Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac
(Poe Dameron), and Adam Driver (Kylo Ren). The four newcomers were tremendous
in their performances and gave me the sense of a bright future in the Star Wars films with those four leading
the way. The new droid BB8 is just as fun to watch as R2D2 was in the
originals. Speaking of originals, I got chills every time a member of the old
cast appeared on screen. Abrams did a fabulous job giving each character a
pretty epic entrance. But as I said earlier, it is the new comers that steal
the movie and give me hope for the future. Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren is not as
scary as Darth Vader was, (In fairness who can be?) but he is a formidable
opponent whom has emotional conflict within himself. The chemistry between
Ridley’s Rey and Boyega’s Finn is just a delight to watch. While one is scared,
the other is a fighter. The characters have both intense emotional scenes and a
lot of light hearted scenes as well. But it was Isaac’s Poe Dameron that was
the crown jewel of the bunch for me. His character was not given a lot of
screen time, but his performance was so heavy, it just drew me to him. The Force Awakens also has an abundance
of well-timed comedy in it as well. There were times though that the comedy felt
forced. (No pun intended). Without getting into spoilers, there were some
things that bothered me about the film. It was a difficult task for Abrams to
fit 30 years of history into one movie and it shows. There are characters that
show up throughout the film and we are given barely any, if any at all, history
about the character. We never learn who they are, what importance they to the
story, and how they fit into the grand scheme of things. There were some story
telling issues such as we got too much story of 2 people when we could have
gotten a little more from others. Finally, my biggest gripe with the film is a
spoiler, so I will give that away.
Conclusion:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a
great action packed, space opera that does an excellent job in reopening the
doors to the Stars Wars saga. Director
J.J. Abrams does a noble job in making The Force Awakens feel like a Star Wars
movie. The new cast brings a fresh flavor to the film, while the old cast
brings the nostalgic energy that had us all excited from the beginning. While
we don’t get to learn enough about some characters, and the story has its
issues. I assume that both those issues will be resolved in episodes 8 & 9.
One does not have to see the original trilogy to enjoy Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But it would definitely help make the
experience much more exiting. Star Wars:
The Force Awakens is a must see movie.
SCORE: 9/10 - GREAT
No comments:
Post a Comment