“Force Awakens” tricked us into thinking it’s a new movie
Star Wars played a big role in my life and I’ve been a fan of it for as long as I can remember. When I heard the news of a new film I was ecstatic. George Lucas’ universe was one so varied and so filled with potential that I was excited to see what new steps the franchise would take.
Sadly, it didn’t take any… yet.
Force Awakens is a remake of The New Hope in disguise. It could be said with certainty that if this wasn’t a Star Wars film, it would be plagiarism. The film introduces new, compelling elements, but they are completely obfuscated by a nonsensical war that pushes the plot forward, giving way to the big money action sequences the default blockbuster requires. The similarities of the plot are so laughably obnoxious that they give a new meaning to the term “playing it safe”.
Instead of moving the franchise forward in any new way, the film opted to appeal to nostalgia above all else, blatantly placing on-the-nose references on the screen any time it possibly could. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with references, but it’s done here in a way you would only expect to see in a Star Wars Theme Park attraction. Violently and frequently.
Still, these moments seemed to strike a chord with the audience. The film almost played like a Jedi mind trick, completely encapsulating all present in the theater with nostalgia, making them willing to forgive and forget any flaws of a film that’s just too big to fail.
The film’s pace is so hectic that it reserves almost no time for character development, playing out like one endless action sequence. And not in a good, Mad Max: Fury Road way, either. All the new characters are shallow, sculpted with the specific purpose of pleasing the audiences, showing little to no respect to the depth in their individual backgrounds.
One of the new characters, for example, is a Stormtrooper. After being taken as a baby and surviving 20 years of Imperial brainwash, he refuses to kill innocents on his first mission. Yet, 10 minutes later, he finds himself murdering all his old friends and colleagues as he ejaculates “Hell yeah!” with extreme joy.
The antagonists are nothing more than your classical one-dimensional villains with a thirst for meaningless destruction and power. It is baffling to think what could convince anyone such as Kylo Ren to follow such a senseless regime, whose ideologies don’t go as far as “Hulk smash”.
The new planets are a big step back from the prequels as well, with no distinct architecture or original world-building anywhere to be seen. The film sticks to the defaults - desert, snow and forest biomes - giving us a glimpse of a much more interesting landscape before blowing it up to smithereens.
Considering the film’s high praise and critical reception, I can only assume the nostalgia and hype is getting the best of the audiences as well as critics, making all go easy on flaws that would be unacceptable in any other film. I’ll forever refer to this as the “Star Wars Effect”.
Force Awakens is a fun, nostalgia-driven ride. Perhaps on Episode 8 it’ll finally break off its chains and follow its own path. But it is not a good film as the sequel it’s supposed to be, even though it wants you to think so.
Lucas Rizzotto is an artist and internet man who does internet things. You can follow him on Twitter.
