Let’s Talk About STAR WARS.
A clear-eyed look at what worked with THE FORCE AWAKENS, what didn’t, and what’s next
I’m writing this on Sunday, where THE FORCE AWAKENS has been in theaters for a record-obliterating weekend. Still, inexplicably, there are still a lot of people who have not seen the film, so please consider this a warning that I’ll be talking about several plot points from the film. I hope you get the same luxury that I did, of going into the film “clean.” Come back later, after you’ve seen the flick.
Movies like THE FORCE AWAKENS make me glad I’m not an active, publishing film critic anymore. I’m an unabashed fan of the STAR WARS series, and there is simply no way I would have been able to turn in an objective review. I am envious of people like my buddy Mark Walters, who can turn a critical eye on a film that he has been waiting for just as much as I have been. Few people are as massive a STAR WARS fan as Mark, yet he was able to quickly turn a really good analysis of the film in a professional manner. Hat: tipped.
When people talk about THE FORCE AWAKENS, you’ll usually hear the phrase “after the prequels…” tossed in there, somewhere. We now use that as a period of time that we all survived, and persevered through. I’m usually quite derisive towards “fan edits” or other things that deviate from the director’s vision. That said, after re-watching the prequel trilogy this month, I really want to see Topher Grace’s now-legendary edit, where the three films are edited into one two-hour, cohesive film.
I liked THE FORCE AWAKENS. Quite a bit. It holds up well to multiple viewings.
Also, I had forgotten how great it was to have no idea what I was going to see. I’ve watched the STAR WARS films so many times, like so many of you folks, that I can quote the entirety of the six films. Grouse all you want about the JJ Abrams Mystery Box, but the precise reason you keep a film like this under wraps is so you have a really pristine experience when you go to the theater. More studios should figure out how to entice people to go to their films, without giving the whole plot away.
Yes, it’s highly similar in tone and structure to STAR WARS. However, it does a lot to set up the next two Episodes. I don’t agree that it’s a detriment to the film. I’d compare this to a beloved band coming back and recording a new album after a long layoff, and not a “tribute act.” THE FORCE AWAKENS needed to mirror a few plot movements, to let the audience know that “yes, we know what you want, and we promise we’re going down the road you want us to travel.” I’m fairly certain EPISODE VIII will not be reminiscent of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and EPISODE IX will damned sure not echo RETURN OF THE JEDI.
Daisy Ridley is going to be a superstar. Harrison Ford got top billing in the film — and deservedly so — but this is Ridley’s film. Probably going to be her trilogy. I was already a fan of John Boyega from his work in ATTACK THE BLOCK (walk away from your computer right now and watch it if you haven’t already), and liked the way Finn was written as an over-eager youth, rough around the edges and just this side of manic.
I have not seen one second of Adam Driver’s previous work. (Yeah, that includes GIRLS. Sue me.) His Kylo worked for me, and I’m hoping his turn in EPISODE VIII is more evil, more driven to do more than get out of his father’s shadow.
I’m truly, absolutely glad to not be in the market to write about the implications of Ridley or Boyega in the pantheon of STAR WARS characters based on their gender or race. They are both brilliant actors. The conversation ends there, in my head. The whole “Mary Sue” or “social justice” conversation just makes me want to grab another drink and join a different party.
Harrison Ford has been infamous in his derision for the role that made him famous. (He’s much happier with Indiana Jones than our favorite smuggler, and I think it irritates him that we like Solo more.) Without any empirical evidence, I believe in my heart that he only signed on to do FORCE AWAKENS if they promised him, upfront, that Han Solo would die.
That’s why I’m not overly sad Han’s gone. His death still shocked me, because Lawrence Kasdan knows how to make a scene like that work. He and Abrams spent the majority of the film making us all remember why we loved Solo so much, which made Ben’s plea to help complete his turn to the Dark Side that much more potent. What father wouldn’t make that sacrifice?
The majority of the lines my friends and I have been quoting were delivered by Ford. Equal credit for the script, and delivery. So good, all the way around.
My least-favorite elements of the film wound up being related to Starkiller Base. As much as I am able to suspend disbelief in science fiction and space opera, the impracticality of completely draining a star of its energy for your primary weapon is a bit like Daffy Duck trying to finally top Bugs Bunny. “Yeah, I wiped out our enemies… but I can only do it once.”
I also wonder if there was a point in the writing process where Rey convinced Captain Phasma to lower the base’s shields via Force Persuasion, instead of the really awkward way Finn and Han do it.
(As much as we bemoan how poorly Darth Maul was used in PHANTOM MENACE, we’ll have that same conversation about Phasma, yes? At least her fate is still unclear — with luck, someone got her out of that trash compactor before the planet went fusion.)
If I was eager to see THE FORCE AWAKENS, I’m now champing at the bit to see the next two Episodes. Sure, I want to see if Rey becomes more powerful than any of the previous generations of Skywalkers (yeah, put me in the camp of folks who think Rey is Luke’s daughter, but we won’t know for sure for two years), but I also want to see what the story is with Supreme Leader Snoke, and watching Andy Serkis get to stretch out and cement his place in STAR WARS lore.
Also, gimme more Maz Kanata. Lupita Nyong’o gave a goofy little character a great deal of depth with her voice and mo-cap work. Bravo.
Finally, gimme more Mark Hamill, who has become a much better actor in the last two decades than we saw in the original trilogy. It’s time we gave Hamill his due.
Why do we care?
Why do middle-aged fans of STAR WARS want the film to be so good?
I think it’s because the fans who were kids — six, ten, thirteen — when STAR WARS came out had their collected brains whacked around in their skulls by a movie that redefined the way the world watched movies, and the way Hollywood made movies.
Then, the Prequel Trilogy came. We had changed a bit, but not so very much that we were completely removed from that first experience with the original films. We wanted the prequels to deliver the same feeling the first films did… but they couldn’t. It’s not at all possible. The kids that were six, then, thirteen in 1977 were now 28, 32, 35. We were still working things out.
Now, we’re adults. We’ve been beaten up by life for a good couple of decades. We’re okay, for the most part, and we’ve gotten a handle on who we are and what we’re doing. We need a little taste, a slight glimpse of what made our eyes widen with wonder four decades ago.
I am happy to say THE FORCE AWAKENS did that for me. Hopefully, it did for you, as well.
