Carter Sigl on Star Wars: The Force Awakens

​Well, after 10 years of waiting, it’s finally here: a new Star Wars movie. Unless you literally live under a rock, it’s been impossible to avoid the hype for this film. I have been a full participant in the hype myself; I am a massive Star Wars fanboy, and I have been ever since my dad showed me the original movie when I was a little kid. So I am of course incredibly happy to get a new entry in probably my most beloved of all franchises. However, after viewing the movie, my joy does come with one reservation. For all it’s glory, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is held back by the seeming unwillingness of Abrams and Disney to blaze a new path for the franchise. 

More than 30 years have passed since Darth Vader and the Emperor were killed in the Battle of Endor. Since that time, the galaxy has been fractured into numerous pieces. Some it is ruled by the New Republic, child of the old Rebel Alliance. But some of it is still oppressed by remnants of the Empire, one of which is called the First Order. Fighting this tyrannical regime is the Resistance, including ace fighter pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). Poe has journeyed to the desert world of Jakku for a very special mission: to acquire a map for the Resistance which lead them to the long-lost Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). But before he can deliver it, Poe is captured by First Order Stormtroopers under the command of the Dark Side warrior Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Fortunately, his astromech droid BB-8 escapes with the map, and eventually runs into the scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley). Meanwhile, Poe escapes from Ren with the help of defecting Stormtrooper FN-2187, whom Poe dubs Finn (John Boyega), although Poe is seemingly killed in their escape attempt. It’s not long before fate brings together Rey, Finn, and BB-8 and launches them into a star-hopping, epic, galactic adventure.
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The first and most important thing about this movie is that we finally get to jump back in to the incredibly rich world of Star Wars. We have everything that amazed and awed us when we first watched the movies as children: mysterious worlds, bizarre aliens, amazing space ships (and space ship battles), cool one-liners, awesome heroes, terrifying villains, lightsabers, and the Force. For those of us who have seen entries in the series before, it’s pure nostalgia fuel. Whether you grew up with the original trilogy or the prequels, watching this movie will feel like the first time you glimpsed into that galaxy far far away. For those youngsters (or elders) who have not yet had that privilege, it will be a wonderful starting point. 

​Next, the acting in this movie is superb, particularly that of newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega. The two of them amazing chemistry both with each other and the rest of the cast, and each of them completely own their roles. Both of them get comparable screen time are equally important to the plot, which I thought was a nice touch. I expect both of them to become major Grade-A actors as a result of this movie, which will be well-deserved. The supporting cast is also fantastic- Oscar Isaac channels a younger Han Solo as Poe, complete with far too many wise cracks and one-liners. Adam Driver similarly channels Vader, although Kylo Ren is not so similar that it feels like a rip-off; Kylo Ren in-universe is directly inspired by Vader in much of what he does. Domnhall Gleeson steps into Governor Tarkin’s shoes as General Hux, a ruthless and efficient First Order commander, who at one point gives a speech which will win this year’s Hitler imitation contest hands-down. And in a surprisingly good supporting role is Lupita Nyong'o as an ancient alien named Maz Kanata, who is somewhat of a cross between your grandmother and Hector Barbosa. Gwendoline Christie and Daniel Craig both have cameos as First Order Stormtroopers- try to spot them by their voices! 

But this movie does have one major flaw. Anyone who has seen the original Star Wars will undoubtedly notice how close The Force Awakens hews to that film, especially in terms of plot. Obviously it’s difficult to talk about in too much detail without getting into spoiler territory, but suffice to say that it is incredibly similar to that original in terms of plot. Some critics have gone as far to say that plot-wise there is nothing original in this movie and J.J. Abrams just remade the original with a new cast and better visuals. Although I would not describe it so harshly, I can’t help but partially agree with this sentiment. The whole time I was watching The Force Awakens, I was having so much fun seeing my old favorite characters, my new favorite characters, and everything else I mentioned several paragraphs above. I was positively giggling like a little kid for much of the film. But I also kept waiting for something new, something different to happen, something I didn’t expect. And that moment never came.
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So in the end, The Force Awakens is held back from true greatness by it unwillingness to break new ground, to do anything new, to metaphorically go somewhere that Star Wars has never gone before. And this is disappointing, because at times it honestly does feel like you’re just watching the original movie again. That movie is of course one of the greatest movies ever made, and by extension every other film in the franchise is vaulted to cinematic greatness.

But that is not enough. It is not enough to walk down paths that have already been blazed. What separates the merely good from the truly great is the willingness to try something new, to blaze a new path and make something new. Abrams refused to do that, and that is why Star Wars: The Force Awakens, for all its glory, is not a truly great film.
That being said, I will go see it at least two more times. Because come on guys, it’s fucking Star Wars!
 
Grade: A-

Neel Shah also wrote a review of The Force Awakens, which you can read here.