NOTE: In my best effort, this review is spoiler-free. Want your viewing experience untainted? This is not the review you’re looking for. *Jedi wisik ng kamay*
For geeks who are feeling a bit anxious about Star Wars: The Force Awakens, let’s set things straight, the movie is not disappointing (not that there’s a particularly high bar set after the prequel trilogy). In fact the movie’s quite good. Trust me, casual viewers would find many things to love about it. Is it great though? Well, that would be a matter up to debate.
Without going into spoiler territory, The Force Awakens takes places roughly thirty years after the events of Return of the Jedi — in which Luke Skywalker faced-off against his father, Darth Vader; The second Death Star had been blown apart, and the Galactic Empire (ehem, bad guys) was defeated. Now many years after, the Empire has re-grouped and reemerged as the villainous First Order and they have plans on taking back the galaxy, as well as finally putting down once and for all the noble Rebel Alliance (which btw now goes by the name, The Resistance). Things are soon kicked into high gear as a message relayed via droid (why does this feel familiar?) pulls the new characters — smarmy fighter pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), storm trooper-with-a-change-of-heart Finn (John Boyega), and Force sensitive scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley) — in on a mission.
Right from the start, The Force Awakens is unabashed in its preying on Star Wars nostalgia. This is a movie that knows how well its whole mythology resonates with the public and it’s not afraid to use it. There are a lot of fan service bits scattered all throughout its 2 hours 16 minute run time that pander on both casual audiences and fandom — from the entrances of past characters to nods of bits from the original trilogy.
JJ Abrams directs the movie with that old-school flair the original trilogy had been known for — it’s fun and full of wondrous adventure and memorable characters. He also manages to marry what makes the original movies so enjoyable with more contemporary filmmaking and plot themes; evident, respectively, in the movie’s exhilarating dog fights and grittier lightsaber duels to its tackling of progressive topics like feminism.
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When it comes to villains though, things don’t work as well. If it wasn’t for Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), I would say the movie falls pretty short on the bad guys front. The rest of the First Order are either wasted due to lack of screen time (ehem, Captain Phasma) or feel like Saturday morning cartoon characters come to life. They’re bad! They want to rule the universe! Booooo. Having Domhnall Gleeson’s General Hux ham it up, shouting lines to the similar effect as these à la Hiter does not help at all. Maybe I may be expecting too much but I still believe in the old adage that a story is only as good as its villain. Right now, Kylo Ren’s angsty, more-conflicted-than-a-teenager-mid-puberty fanatic of character cuts it but I want to believe that there’s more to the First Order than being just a mere Empire redux in the franchise’s succeeding movies (and please don’t waste those guys from The Raid next time around).
Amidst its feminist themes, the movie’s progressiveness does not connote plot complexity. This is not necessarily a bad thing though. In The Force Awakens’ drive to emulate the magic of the original Star Wars trilogy, they succeed in making an accessible and easy to love adventure; and that it does very well. This works as a double-edged sword though because with this simplicity things become too safe. They wanted to make something like the original Stars Wars and that they did, albeit a little too much. It does not push any boundaries in terms of storytelling and this boxed themselves in from making a truly great Star Wars movie. They wanted to please fans and casual viewers alike and they did in expense of creative and more wonderful storytelling and reducing well-loved characters of the past trilogy, like Han and Leia, into fan-serving movie palabok. They, and generally many of The Force Awakens’ characters, could have been much much more.
Ultimately, Star Wars: The Force Awakens serves its purpose. It does not do anything new and does not break any ground but what it does successfully though is open up the world of Star Wars to new audiences. It is a safe reboot that succeeds in making viewers feel the thrill of the original movies; you’ll experience wonder, excitement, and likable characters. Take it as what it is, a reinvigoration and not a reinvention, and you’ll surely find yourself having tons of fun.
