Better late than
never for this review, even as a boy I was the last kid on the block to see new
Star Wars films, so it is almost fitting to carry on the tradition with “The
Force Awakens”. There has been a lot of talk in the media, fandom and the
Twitterverse about this latest installment of the Star Wars franchise being the
first true film of the iconic saga since “Return of the Jedi”, and I’m here to
say I couldn’t agree more! Maybe it’s seeing Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and
Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew, yes, there’s a real person inside that fur) together again,
or the absence of Jar Jar Binks, but this film possesses an authenticity none
of the three prequels were able to capture.
The storyline is familiar,
even derivative, but the Force is in the details. A young loner on a desert
planet, Rey (Daisy Ridley), escapes her lonely, yearning existence when she discovers
a small droid, BB-8, holding important information needing to be relayed to the
good guys. Sound familiar? However, the secret information is the location of
long missing Luke Skywalker and the baddies are led by new masked villain, Kylo
Ren, who also happens to be the son-gone-bad of Han Solo and Princess Leia.
This sounds good just typing it!
***MAJOR SPOILER
AHEAD***
By now it is almost
common knowledge that Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) kills his father, Han Solo, in a
vicious ending to an intensely emotional scene both Driver and Ford played to perfection.
While this is of course an important event in Kylo’s turning to the Dark Side,
I feel killing Solo was a mistake. Bringing back Solo only to kill him in the
first film of a new trilogy is as disappointing as having Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam
Neeson), a great character, killed off in “The Phantom Menace” by Darth Maul (Ray
Park), a great villain who is himself then killed off in that film. Solo was a
beloved hero, rogue, even role model. Perhaps Harrison Ford didn’t want to do another
film or two, but if this was Abram’s decision it was a bad one. In my opinion Abrams
needed to earn our trust with this franchise before doing anything so grandiose.
The death of Han Solo, though well played and built up to, feels like the work
of a man overplaying his hand by robbing us of an old friend.
***END SPOILER RANT***
Naturally, the
effects are astounding and the action scenes intense. Light sabers look very
cool in 3D. Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher still have that onscreen chemistry
that made the romance between Han and Leia so genuine three decades ago. Newcomer
Daisy Ridley’s Rey is strong yet vulnerable, bright yet still full of wonder. The
maelstrom of emotions Daisy conveys during her final discovery of Luke
Skywalker was the work of true talent, even if her London accent was a little
distracting on occasion. Will Daisy move on to other successes like Harrison
Ford after “Star Wars”? I think so.
The loss of Solo
notwithstanding, “Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens” is the best thrill
ride I’ve seen on the big screen in a long, long time. I actually found myself
sitting there, smiling, really enjoying myself, and few films do that for me
anymore. Yes, this is the best Star Wars film, perhaps since the original, certainly
since “Return of the Jedi”. See it, or see it again, but don’t be the last kid
on the block to do so!
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