Movie Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Sci-Fi/Adventure/Fantasy

Rated – M

Duration –135mins

Release – Dec 2015

Director – J.J. Abrams

Cast –Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Harrison Ford, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Carrie Fisher

Mr Knight

Let me start by saying I am not a raging Star Wars nerd. I do not own a Darth Vader t-shirt. I do not have a Yoda key ring. I do not wear storm trooper underwear. I do not have a light sabre message tone on my phone. However, I am a movie fan and you cannot deny the ultimate success of the original films and the enjoyable and creative storyline and characters. When I attended Event Cinemas, Adelaide on Boxing Day to see the newest installment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I was pretty damn excited.

Set thirty years after the fall of the Empire and the death of Darth Vader, the galaxy has a new threat for domination. The First Order. Still wielding the might of the storm troopers and the power of the dark side, The First Order has a similar feel and goal as the Empire from the original films, and just like the Rebels, to stand up to this new threat, is the Resistance.

The Force Awakens brings two unlikely characters from two different worlds together. Daisy Ridley’s desert scavenger Rey and John Boyega’s defector of The First Order, Finn. Rey and Finn find themselves dragged into an adventure, coming across familiar faces to Star Wars fans, to help save the lives of millions and foil The First Order. Both relatively green when it comes to the movie scene, both Ridley and Boyega gave first class performances and very likable lead characters to enjoy for any upcoming movies.

At the completion of this one I was thoroughly impressed! Director J.J. Abrams did to Star Wars: The Force Awakens to what Colin Trevorrow did to Jurassic World. Stayed true to what people ACTUALLY loved. The originals!

Episode 1 to 3, made between 1999 and 2005 were taken to the extremes of special effects and everything was so over the top it made my head want to explode! The cities were so busy with flashing lights and thousands of space ships. The fight scenes were so cluttered and filled with robots and laser gun fire. The fight scenes with Anakin and Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan were like watching a high speed gymnast or fire twirler on acid! It looked so ridiculous and unrealistic that it was hard to stomach!

The Force Awakens did not follow that recipe. A majority of the film, like the originals of the 70s and 80s, was set on space ships, desert islands or rebel bases. Simple, BELIEVABLE landscape that wasn’t trying too hard to show off. The light sabre fights felt like actual sword fights! They didn’t have all the jumping, and flips and lightning quick twirling and spinning of the light sabre. Again, making it feel more real. That and the fact the original actors that played Chewbacca and C-3PO jumped back into a handmade suit and again played their characters. Not CGI which if directed by someone like Michael Bay, probably would have! Despite one character, Supreme Leader Snook played by Andy Serkis, the use of special effects for characters felt at a minimum which was refreshing.

To summarise, I’m sure Star Wars super fans out there will find things they don’t like. Just like Harry Potter fans when they got their movies after the books. I know not everyone can be pleased. But for me, being a semi-enthusiast I thought the movie was great. It held up to my high expectations. It had twists I didn’t expect, and I look forward to the next installment. If you haven’t seen it, get out there and see it on the biggest screen possible! Just not 3D. I hate 3D! Enjoy! 

 
Mrs Knight

Star Wars: The Force Awakens took many people back to their childhood of watching the originals. It did for me too, but for a very different reason. It took me back because all I could hear was the Spice Girls yelling “Girl Power’ every time Rey was on screen and killing it! It was a breath of fresh air to see a likeable female character be such an awesome role model for females! In saying that, the Star Wars franchise does have a good reputation of including strong female leads, like Princess Leia and Queen Amidala.

I’m definitely not a Star Wars fanatic. It shames me to say that the first one I saw was Episode 1, in cinema, when I was 10-11 years old. Jar Jar Binks was one of my favourite characters (cringe). I then watched them all again later in life and quickly realised I should never admit my love for the worst character. I also realised that he is in fact the worst.

While I went in to The Force Awakens hopeful, I was still unsure as to whether I would enjoy it and definitely wasn’t excited. It is set a three decades after the defeat of the galactic empire. The film quickly brings you up to speed with what has happened to the old favourites in the years you have missed and introduces you to new ones. Including the previously mentioned, kick ass scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley), Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega), pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) amongst others.

There is a new threat, the First Order, who is attempting to rule the Galaxy. This is led by Supreme Leader Snook and his best asset Kylo Ren, who is Adam Driver from the series ‘Girls’, I cringed a little when I first saw him on screen as I wasn’t sure if he could pull it off. Thankfully he did, perfectly!

As someone who can only remember the basic gist of the originals I really enjoyed it. It is a perfect film to introduce new people to the franchise. Although it does help to know the background of who the characters are and what they have been through.

There is criticism of the story line being too familiar, but I liked that it was close to the originals. The story line made sense for it to go where it did. It kept me engaged the whole time with moments of lightness and comedy to break up the action and everyone was enjoyable to watch. It was good to see Harrison Ford back on screen in his iconic role, Han Solo. He was definitely one of the highlights for me. I walked out of the cinema wanting to go and watch the originals, which is something I have just about never wanted to do in my life! I am now a Star Wars fan and can’t wait for the next one!