Star Wars is back!
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has brought us back to a galaxy far, far away once again and in a big way. As soon as the opening crawl began, I was hooked. It was extremely captivating and really succeeded in setting the tone for this new story.
The new characters were absolutely incredible and vastly exceeded my expectations. Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) was everything that was promised. A Resistance pilot who will not be intimidated and is afraid of no one. That is made apparent as soon as you meet the character. He is the Han Solo of the new cast, but he's not Han Solo (if that makes any sense). Poe Dameron is the face of the Resistance and that is made apparent by his strong loyalty to the cause and to those involved in the fight against the First Order.
Finn (John Boyega) is an extraordinary character because his story is one no one has seen before. Storm troopers have always been these dispensable characters that were never thought of as anything else. Now, we get a chance to see who is underneath the armor and explore that character, making it a personal journey. Also, while watching John Boyega's performance, you can tell how much effort he put into this role. Every scene was acted beautifully and his chemistry between the old and new cast was off the charts. Definitely a character that many will love.
Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is a different kind of villain. We remember Darth Vader as this powerful, intimidating, and ruthless character that has a strong handle on himself. Kylo Ren, while having some of those qualities, is a very different character. One can tell that there is a gray area in his mind that still has to be explored. There is definitely a story to be told here.
Rey was, hands down, my favorite character. Her story is mysterious but raises many questions during, and after the film. Daisy Ridley did an absolutely masterful job executing this role, especially since this was her first film. She is the star of this movie. I will leave it at that for now until my spoiler review on the 21st.
Now, the overall story was fantastic. There are similarities to A New Hope, but that didn't take away anything from the movie. History repeats itself. I think J.J. Abrams wanted this film to bring back the feel of the original trilogy and he accomplished that goal, while setting the tone for this trilogy in a great way. This film feels like its on a mission the whole way through. There are no boring moments or forced humor. The only thing I will say is that this movie will require multiple viewings. Being 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi, there is a lot of information to digest. You will be left with a lot of questions and I think that was the intention. But, if you feared this movie will not "feel" like Star Wars, don't worry about that at all. The action, humor, adventure, and every other feeling that the original trilogy conveyed is in this movie and it works.
As I mentioned before, I don't want to accidentally say something that could spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it yet. I will give a very detailed review of the overall film, character stories, and Episode VIII speculations on Monday.
My rating for Star Wars: The Force Awakens: 4.6/5
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