Star Wars: The Force Awakens Reviews

Loved the original 'Star Wars' films as a kid, still do. Especially 'Empire Strikes Back' while considering 'A New Hope' a genre landmark. Didn't think the prequel films were that bad personally, but they had a lot wrong with them and were a long way from great, especially 'Attack of the Clones'.

Despite seeing 'Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens' around the time it first came out (maybe a little after), there was a long time of being put off by the vitriolic hate it's gotten here and the practical war zone there is in order to review it (even when it was critically acclaimed). Finally mustering the courage, count me in as somebody who loved 'Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens'. A masterpiece? No. Better than the prequels? Absolutely, and although some may disagree this is saying a lot. The best 'Star Wars' film since 'The Return of the Jedi?' Yes.

'Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens' is not the most original plot-wise. It has been criticised for being a re-hash of 'A New Hope', understandably. However, instead of being done in a cheap and slap-in-the-face way, it felt like an affectionate and nostalgic homage. Exemplified by bringing back major characters from the original trilogy in supporting roles. JJ Abrams, and this may be considered blasphemy, does a much better job here than he did with his 'Star Trek' reboot films, here he keeps the original spirit of the original trilogy intact while giving the film its own identity at the same time.

While it certainly dazzles in spectacle and action, 'Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens' doesn't feel too big, too noisy or too chaotic at the expense of creating memorable characters, a fun story and brains and heart. The characters are memorable with easily identifiable leads, the original trilogy characters bringing a lot of affectionate nostalgia and a well executed if not iconic (not by Darth Vader standards anyhow) villain in Kylo Ren (unpredictable and dangerous but feeling he is morally justified).

The story lacks originality but more than makes up for it in energy, non-stop heart-thumping thrills and excitement, generosity, a cheerfulness that is positively space operatic, vibrant charm and a few fresh twists along the way. In many ways it is a celebration of the universe while also an expansion of it. It is sometimes sentimental but never overly so, one crucial death scene is just heart-wrenching (particularly Chewbacca's reaction) and doesn't feel like a slap in the face to the character in question.

Could the villains have been better written? Ren is fine but Snoke only just about works as a character thanks to the visual effects and especially the powerfully enigmatic with a touch of vulnerability performance of Andy Serkis, other than that the character is underwritten. Also felt that Gwendoline Christie's character was unnecessary, so limited was her screen time.

Visually, 'Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens' is a triumph. It is gorgeously shot and designed with Abrams' visual storytelling shining far more here than it has in other films he's done. The special effects are a dazzling marvel. John Williams delivers yet another rousing score that has its own character but cleverly includes the well-known iconic themes from the previous films. Thank goodness that the dialogue contains little to none of the cheesiness heard in the prequels, and it even has more layers than that of the original trilogy.

Acting also shines, with winning charismatic performances from John Boyega and particularly Daisy Ridley. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher still have it, while Max Von Sydow shows himself to be a master of gestures and eye contact speaking louder than words. Adam Driver is a suitably menacing Ren and Serkis makes much of his somewhat underwritten character. Oscar Isaac gives a typically strong performance.

In conclusion, a great film, the best 'Star Wars' film since 'The Return of the Jedi' and one of the best of the saga too. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Loved the original 'Star Wars' films as a kid, still do. Especially 'Empire Strikes Back' while considering 'A New Hope' a genre landmark. Didn't think the prequel films were that bad personally, but they had a lot wrong with them and were a long way from great, especially 'Attack of the Clones'.

Despite seeing 'Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens' around the time it first came out (maybe a little after), there was a long time of being put off by the vitriolic hate it's gotten here and the practical war zone there is in order to review it (even when it was critically acclaimed). Finally mustering the courage, count me in as somebody who loved 'Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens'. A masterpiece? No. Better than the prequels? Absolutely, and although some may disagree this is saying a lot. The best 'Star Wars' film since 'The Return of the Jedi?' Yes.

'Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens' is not the most original plot-wise. It has been criticised for being a re-hash of 'A New Hope', understandably. However, instead of being done in a cheap and slap-in-the-face way, it felt like an affectionate and nostalgic homage. Exemplified by bringing back major characters from the original trilogy in supporting roles. JJ Abrams, and this may be considered blasphemy, does a much better job here than he did with his 'Star Trek' reboot films, here he keeps the original spirit of the original trilogy intact while giving the film its own identity at the same time.

While it certainly dazzles in spectacle and action, 'Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens' doesn't feel too big, too noisy or too chaotic at the expense of creating memorable characters, a fun story and brains and heart. The characters are memorable with easily identifiable leads, the original trilogy characters bringing a lot of affectionate nostalgia and a well executed if not iconic (not by Darth Vader standards anyhow) villain in Kylo Ren (unpredictable and dangerous but feeling he is morally justified).

The story lacks originality but more than makes up for it in energy, non-stop heart-thumping thrills and excitement, generosity, a cheerfulness that is positively space operatic, vibrant charm and a few fresh twists along the way. In many ways it is a celebration of the universe while also an expansion of it. It is sometimes sentimental but never overly so, one crucial death scene is just heart-wrenching (particularly Chewbacca's reaction) and doesn't feel like a slap in the face to the character in question.

Could the villains have been better written? Ren is fine but Snoke only just about works as a character thanks to the visual effects and especially the powerfully enigmatic with a touch of vulnerability performance of Andy Serkis, other than that the character is underwritten. Also felt that Gwendoline Christie's character was unnecessary, so limited was her screen time.

Visually, 'Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens' is a triumph. It is gorgeously shot and designed with Abrams' visual storytelling shining far more here than it has in other films he's done. The special effects are a dazzling marvel. John Williams delivers yet another rousing score that has its own character but cleverly includes the well-known iconic themes from the previous films. Thank goodness that the dialogue contains little to none of the cheesiness heard in the prequels, and it even has more layers than that of the original trilogy.

Acting also shines, with winning charismatic performances from John Boyega and particularly Daisy Ridley. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher still have it, while Max Von Sydow shows himself to be a master of gestures and eye contact speaking louder than words. Adam Driver is a suitably menacing Ren and Serkis makes much of his somewhat underwritten character. Oscar Isaac gives a typically strong performance.

In conclusion, a great film, the best 'Star Wars' film since 'The Return of the Jedi' and one of the best of the saga too. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I was interested to see how someone other than George Lucas would handle the Star Wars franchise, the results are to me a mixed bag, but overall I found it less painful and more entertaining to watch than any of the prequels

The issues I had with the film have to do with borrowing too many themes from A New Hope, and some CG characters like Maz and Snoke, which I didn't find very convincing, or just strange to look at (Maz looks like a the child of a minion and an orange, Snoke just looks completely CG) they probably would have been better realized a real actors.

I felt no real need for Starkiller base, which is painfully obvious as another Death Star, with the rise of the First Order and Vader obssesed Kylo Ren, there should have been enough of a plot for Leia and Ren to both be trying to find the missing Luke Skywalker, with Rey, Han, Finn, Poe and the First Order all getting caught up into the mix, without the need for another type of Death Star...a lazy, and unwelcome addition to the story.

Depending on who Rey is the daughter of, it will either make her a Mary Sue type character, or it could make more sense depending on explanation in 8.

All that aside I generally enjoyed the energy, new characters, adequate acting, and came out feeling more positive than negative about the film, despite how barrowed and somewhat unoriginal Kasdan and Abrams where at times with the story.

The Force Awakens... I didn't hate it, but I certainly didn't love it either. It nails a few key elements that make action movies enjoyable, but it has a long list of failings to go with it (see my list of pros and cons below.) I found myself thoroughly enjoying the first 45 minutes only to feel my enthusiasm steadily drop for the next hour and a half as it became clear how paint-by-numbers this movie was turning out. Its biggest problem is that it's instantly the most derivative Star Wars film ever made. The events are almost entirely a retread of things that happened in the original trilogy (OT) and it adds little of interest to the Star Wars mythos. It's the cinematic equivalent of a highly caffeinated soda: tastes good going down and gives you a nice energetic zing, but ultimately its empty calories and will be harmful to the body in the long run.

Pros

1. Most of the new characters are likable, especially BB8 who is a genuinely endearing droid  with lots of personality.
2. The action scenes looked and played out well on a technical level. (Hooray for competence!)
3. It successfully recreates the inherently dangerous but intriguingly exotic feel of the Star Wars universe from the OT.
4. Mostly well paced. (Hooray for competence part 2!)
5. Humor was hit and miss, but when it did hit (mostly BB8) it was good.

Cons

1. Poe / Rey / Finn bond WAY too quickly, almost to the point of incredulity.
2. It re-enacts too many scenes / scenarios from A New Hope (Storm Trooper slaughter on a desert planet, Cantina 2.0, Death Star 3.0 blows up planets, X-wing full scale attack followed by trench run attack, etc.)
3. With a few beautiful exceptions (Jakku, new Cantina, night time light saber battle in the forest) the film's locales really did not look that good.
4. No details about why "The First Order" or "The Resistance" emerged from the old Empire and Republic / Rebellion or how these new incarnations are even different from the original ones.
5. OT characters feel like cheap nostalgia distractions, because they are.
6. Kylo Ren becomes too vulnerable way too quickly, removing all sense of mystery and menace about the character before the first movie is even over.
7. The title of the movie is bullshit: The force does not "awaken" in any general sense. The force may have awakened in ONE character, but it was already awake in other characters, so this is clearly not what the title implied.
8. Rey's "awakening" is completely vague to the point of shit just happening because the plot wants it to happen.
9. An untrained force initiate defeating a trained Sith is ludicrous to the point of breaking my suspension of disbelief. That was a cheap, unearned victory. Luke Skywalker, by contrast, spent three films learning, training and being battered down by the forces of darkness before emerging victorious in Return of the Jedi.
10. Highly derivative: What substance did this movie add to the Star Wars universe? For all the shit the prequels get, at least a lot of new things were tried and an entirely different dynamic (the slow rise of evil instead of the hero's journey to fight evil) was presented to us. This movie showed almost no creative courage.

The Force Awakens will not age well, even in the short term. As the release hype dies and people who engage in thoughtful movie analysis realize how much of the movie was carbon copied, reviews will moderate and scores will drop. Given how much longer my list of cons is than my list of pros, I'm giving The Force Awakens a generous 5/10. It seems "the force" of nostalgia holds some sway over me as well. JJ Abrams and Disney benefit more from that nostalgia than they do from anything they've contributed to the franchise.

MINIMUM SPOILER ALERT






As a movie in its own right, it is not good at all. Perhaps it is just me, perhaps this is modern movie making for a Vine generation, where characters don't have time to be fully developed and motivations do not need to make sense, as attention spans simply aren't long enough. But for a mature viewer, such as myself, the film had three major faults. Firstly it is as if someone had asked all Star Wars fans 'What is your favourite clip' and that is what you are now watching, a well linked clip show of all your favourite bits. You liked the rebel leader putting data into a droid before being captured? Done. Liked when the droids argued about which way to go? Done, but we'll make one human so it's not too similar. Who is your favourite character? Boba Fett?! Right, we'll cram in a cool looking character, with very little dialogue, short screen time and give them a similar ending. You liked how the Jawas captured the Droids? We'll have a droid captured for you. And so it continues thought-out the entire movie. It even goes as far as backgrounds, there is sand [A New Hope], snow [Empire Strikes Back], space station [Star Wars/Return of the Jedi] and forest [Return of the Jedi], just like the best locations in all the first three Star Wars movies. Then there is poor character development, take the story of Finn, one of the lead characters. He is a stormtrooper who doesn't want to kill, and the death of his fellow Stormtrooper moves him to get as far away from the fighting as possible, so how does he escape? By killing all those those fellow Stormtroopers he grew-up with, trained with and probably knew very well. The ending of the movie is also equally disappointing, simply a Sir David Attenborough film about wild birds on Skellig Michael, in Ireland. I think they turned the voice-levels off so that all speech is inaudible, but you can still imagine Sir David's voice whispering about the nesting habits of the birds here. And that is how it ends, setting up a long series of Star Wars movies to come.

This review not contains spoilers. For a very simple reason: if you know Star Wars, there is virtually nothing to spoil, because you have already seen the whole plot. Star Wars: The Awakening of the Force is a copy-paste of scenes you've seen in the classic trilogy. Copy-paste so that the movies I, and who was with me we have repeatedly anticipated softly several jokes, never having seen the film, because they were the same, identical of the classic trilogy.

Mind you: the quotes are always pleasant, the freebies as well. But when the film is made up exclusively of repetitions of things already seen in the previous films in the series, changed just that bit you need to not be dragged into court for plagiarism, and when the entire story is similar to that of the first film (Star Wars: A New Hope, or Star Wars), is no longer quote. It is no longer free. You copy. It trim heated soup fresh guise.

I do not know about you, but I feel taken for a ride. Again, because J.J. Abrams did the same copiaincolla with Star Trek. I was hoping that Star Wars was more in his ropes and I dared to be optimistic, but I had to reverse.

You like it? To those unfamiliar with the original probably yes, because it does not know that The Awakening of the Force is a shameless rip-off and there is a lot of action, there are spectacular scenes, there are interesting characters, there's an epic story. Fans a little 'vintage men, those like me who have fallen in love as children wonderful universe created by George Lucas, probably not, if not due to nostalgia.

It could have been worse? Certainly. If the comparison is with Episode I: The Phantom Menace, this film is very successful. Abrams has certainly done less worse than Lucas. But with all the money you give to the writers, because we always have to make do with a measly lesser evil? Paying the difference, you could have at least a flicker of originality? A plot not already seen and stravista? Why not just take the scenes of previous films and stir a bit 'the assignment of beats to the characters to say that he wrote a screenplay (a method already used by Abrams for Star Trek Into Darkness).

Dear brothers and sisters starwarsiani, now you'll know how we felt we Star Trek fans after we got their hands Jar Jar Abrams. I prepare the tissues for you.


What you save

The music of John Williams. The theme of Rey is wonderful, a great classic theme, romantic and adventurous than those who only know John Williams to compose; the rest of the soundtrack is a great support for images, also it is not likely unique levels of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, and initial fanfare still puts chills after almost forty years. If J.J. Abrams published a version of the Awakening Forces of no dialogue and only with the musical soundtrack and sound effects volume down, buy it.

Special effects. Excellent and flawless, but it is also true that today is the norm, if you have a good budget, and here there were about 200 million dollars. I can not say anything about the 3D, because I saw it in 2D.

The visual style. This film is wonderfully true to the style, design and photography of the original trilogy. Many sets and physical models (though extended and enhanced digitally), many creatures made in animatronics instead of computer graphics, the same air lived and worn rooms and vehicles that has always been one of the characteristics of genius and inventiveness of Star Wars missing so dissonant in the prequel, too glossy (also because of the time other than that described) and digitized. Among other things, the lens flare that Abrams fastidiosissimamente overused in his previous films here can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

The actors. Harrison Ford, despite the years have passed, is perfect in the play the role of Han Solo's oldest and most bitter, and Carrie Fisher is equally up to the task. All other new players get along very well, especially Daisy Ridley, the protagonist (Rey), which is good and strong, and John Boyega (Finn). The droid BB-8 is cute and adorable. Peter Mayhew also makes good Ciubecca (or Chewbacca, depending on the dubbing that considered canon), perhaps even better than in the classic trilogy, much to rip several smiles of fun and affection for an old friend found. See them in action is a joy, although refer things already seen.

The humor. There are jokes dazzling and memorable, but there are funny moments, and we are light years (or should I say "twelve parsecs") far from the levels of George "do-the-pound-a-crap-that-is-always- laugh "in Lucas prequel.

The choice of humanizing an Assault Troop. This, I must admit, it's a decision that shows the original look unexplored universe of Star Wars. It well be the choice to play the part by an actor of color.

Choosing to have a woman as protagonist. Considering that women in the original trilogy (except Leia) were practically irrelevant, this is a good step forward.

A scene. I promised that I would not spoilers, so do not tell you which one, but a scene that moved me so much there was.


What goes in the flush

A mistake of translation. More than once, in the wake of the Force, the characters speak of the "Dark Side" (the Force) and then the "light". But in the original it is "The Dark Side and the Light", which implies Light side. It is not light: the adjective is clear. Possible that there was a translator able to do a second search before making a blunder so spectacular? It's not that the concept of the Force, with a dark side and a light one, it was hard to find: it is well known to have entered the common lexicon. Just a click on Wikipedia, which even has an appropriate heading. Oh, and do not translate stormtrooper Stormtrooper, but shock troops (as famous line from Leia "Not a bit 'down to belong to the shock troops?" In Star Wars).

The bad guys. One is a spoiled brat; another is a tedious and disconcerting banality. Neither it is formidable. Darth Vader, the Emperor and Tarkin were quite different.

The plot. Throughout. The explosive force of the first Star Wars not only stemmed by the innovative use of special effects: gushed from disruption of the archetypes and the classic rules of the plot. The unblemished hero who conquers the princess; the princess instead of a damsel in distress is a tuff sarcastic; the universe frayed and worn, with things falling apart instead of being shiny and aseptic; the choice to get straight into the action, skipping even the opening credits (so that George Lucas is why it took a fine); the irony; aliens who speak with subtitles; etcetera, etcetera. Awakening to the Force completely lacks this charge of innovation. We already saw the fair.

I promised that I will not spoiler, so I'll be vague, but this is a short list of the many, too many conditions or scenes lazily copied and repackaged. If you do not want even these vague hints, stop reading here.

- No longer it called the Empire, but the First Order. Same soup first.
- It is not called Tatooine, but Jakku. Same sandy planet populated by beggars.
- They do not call Jawa, but it's the same old story.
- The bad guys have built a superweapon ammazzapianeti that must be destroyed.
- The above superweapon is destroyed using exactly the same technique of his earlier films. Even Han Solo points it out.
- The secret plans of something important hidden and stolen by good using exactly the same trick of his earlier films.
- An alien very old and wise, of small stature, dispenses advice to life and preserves important secrets. Only this time it is not green: a prodigious leap of originality ... is orange.
- The villain wears a long black robe and a mask.
- The villain is obsessed with power and is manipulated, without realizing it, a bad meaner.
- The dream scene in which a character is confronted with the ghosts of his past (as in the tree magic on Dagobah in The Empire Strikes Back).
- The bar filled with bizarre alien where there is a complex of other aliens who play music Earth very badly: virtually the Mos Eisley Cantina - New management.
- Some say that a character has yet passed to the dark side of the good within themselves and have perceived (as in The Return of the Jedi).
- The villain speaks via hologram with the bad in second in a breakfast room (as in The Empire Strikes Back) and discusses the idea that one of the good should be brought to the Dark Side (as in The Empire Strikes Back).
- The bad guys are asking each other if they have experienced a tremor (sorry, an awakening) in the Force.
- While the heroes are hidden in the belly of the enemy base, to one of them something serious happens, another cries of shock and so the Imperial troops ... er, the First Order realize suddenly the presence of intruders (in A New Hope, Luke cries when Ben Kenobi is shot down by Darth Vader's Death Star hangar).
- There are many other, absolutely central to the film, but as I said I will not do spoilers. You'll know yourself. And you too will cry out "NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!".