 |
Star Wars: The Force Awakens poster: From the top: The new characters. Dressed in black, a hooded and masked Kylo Ren holds his crackling, red lightsaber in parallel to Rey's metal staff. Small versions of alien, Maz Kanata, a pilot called Poe Dameron, and ball-shaped droid, BB-8, are below them. A Death Star (or something close to it) is on Rey's right, illuminated by a blue lightsaber held by Finn. Below these new characters, we have Chewbacca, droids C3-PO, R2-D2, General Leia Organa, and Han Solo, who holds a gun. Unsurprisingly, they have aged since the original trilogy. The Millennium Falcon is being shot at by lasers fired from enemy spaceships. Captain Phasma, a new silver Stormtrooper with a black cape, holds a gun while flanked by two white Stormtroopers on either side. Rebellion ships blow up on the left.
In 1999, I was six and struggling against gender
stereotypes. The Phantom Menace was in cinemas, and many of the boys in
my class owned Darth Maul lunchbox. To this day, I don’t understand why they
choose the bad guys to market the Star Wars, but Darth Maul’s red and
black, scowling face unsettled and intrigued me, so I’ve there’s the answer, I guess.
But as far as I was aware, none of the other girls shared my feelings on
anything to do with the film. To cut a long story short, I believed this thing
called Star Wars, as Yorkie bars adverts bullishly told us at the time,
was not for girls.
I enjoyed Yorkie bars regardless of this, but I disregarded Star Wars as
something I couldn’t enjoy because boys liked it.
Fast forward to the end of 2014, and I was a self-confessed
geek – Doctor Who was heading into a weird direction, but I was obsessed
with a little show called Game of Thrones. I was also proud of the
knowledge I enjoyed the original Star Wars trilogy. What’s more, the teaser trailer for The
Force Awakens was released, and it looked awesome. I watched it
again for this revisit and squealed with excitement, I kid you not.
I wrote a review for The Force Awakens upon its
cinematic release. As per my previous revisits, my thoughts from 2015 will be highlighted in turquoise.
The Director: J. J. Abrams
The Cast:
Harrison Ford - Han Solo
Carrie Fisher – Princess Leia
Mark Hamill – Luke Skywalker
Daisy Ridley – Rey
John Boyega – Finn
Oscar Isaac – Poe Dameron
Andy Serkis – Supreme Leader Snoke
Lupita N’yong’o – Maz Kanata
Domhnal Gleeson – General Hux
Gwendoline Christie – Captain Plasma
Adam Driver – Kylo Ren
Certificate: 12A
Released: 17th December 2015
The Plot:
A new threat, called the First Order, rises, and the
mysterious Kylo Ren (Driver, Marriage Story) searches for legendary
Jedi, Luke Skywalker (Hamill, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance).
Meanwhile, a young scavenger called Rey (Ridley, Peter Rabbit) has
teamed up with Finn (Boyega, Pacific Rim: Uprising), a deserting
Stormtrooper. There are not alone, though, as famous outlaws, Han Solo (Ford, The
Call of the Wild) and Chewbacca, are looking for new hope to restore
peace to the galaxy.
The Review:
Contains spoilers!
2015: Like nearly every Star Wars fan, I reacted to the
announcement of a sequel with a resigned dread. As long as it was better than
the prequels,
let Jar-Jar Binks be an awful distant memory, etc. etc.
2020: Thanks for reminding us, younger me.
2015: Then came the news that J.J. Abrams
was going to be at the film’s helm, the man who had contributed in successfully
bringing Star Trek back down to a
level that new audiences could understand and enjoy as much as veteran
Trekkies. This was very reassuring to hear.
2020: This is a genuine question – what is the Star
Wars equivalent of a Trekkie?
2015: The Force Awakens
successfully
incorporates some of the best and most beloved characters of the original
trilogy, as well as introducing us to some new ones. There’s Rey…a lonely girl
living on a scavenger planet, called Jakku. She meets a BB8 droid (who, by the
way, is cuter than R2-D2) with an important message.
2020: Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Like
the Star Trek reboot, The Force Awakens plays it reasonably safe,
borrowing ideas from the original trilogy, so those unfamiliar with Star
Wars don’t get lost. At the same time, the veterans smirk and scoff over
the glaring nostalgia. We meet Rey scrounging for parts in a fallen,
dilapidated Imperial Walker. She and Finn steal the Millennium Falcon (despite
Rey calling it “garbage”) to escape the First Order and the moment when Han Solo
steps on board, and says to Chewbacca, “We’re home,” brings such a rush of
ridiculous joy to my geeky little heart, even now.
2015: Then there is Finn (John
Boyega, Attack the Block; a rising
star for 2016, I don’t doubt), who is perhaps the most original character;
between [him and Rey], there is so much we don’t know…he is the biggest
mystery.
2020: A “traitor” Stormtrooper
remains a ballsy idea which, to my knowledge, had never been explored until
this film. Boyega plays Finn as a suitably earnest, young man finding his feet
when all he has is a sense that the world he’s grown up in is wrong. In
contrast, Ridley does her best with what she has been given, though her
character remains a bit of an empty shell with no evident character flaws (dare
I call her a Mary Sue?). Even so, Both Finn and Rey
act as the audience’s mouthpieces towards the familiar aspects of the lore
without sounding contrived.
Rey:
This is the ship that made the Kessel Run in fourteen parsecs?
Han
Solo: Twelve!
[mutters
to himself in disgust]
Han
Solo: Fourteen.
I love
how Han Solo and Chewbacca have fallen into stories of legend. However, very
little is said about General Leia (the marvellous Carrie Fisher). Why is that?
2015: My one disappointment is
Gwendoline Christie’s character. For those who are unfamiliar with the
ins-and-outs of Game of Thrones, she
plays an incredible female knight [Brienne of Tarth]. However, we don’t even
get to see her face in this latest role, Captain Plasma. I hope we’ll learn
more about her in the coming sequel in 2017.
2020: Oh, dear. This time, I won’t neglect
to mention Adam Driver’s stunning performance as Kylo Ren. He’s a powerful Jedi
in a black mask with a glorious long-sword-style lightsaber. Look at him!
|
 |
| Picture Description: Kylo Ren is hooded in a snowy forest,
dressed all in black, and wearing a black mask with chrome plates tracing the
eyepieces. He holds his red, crackling lightsaber in one hand. I’m not fangirling, YOU’RE fangirling.
His Master
is Snoke (a suitably CGI’d Andy Serkis), a disfigured man who only shows up as
a hologram this time around. Is Kylo Ren as powerful as his grandfather, Darth
Vader? Yes, but he’s a lot more volatile. In a fit of rage, Kylo Ren destroys a
ship console, as two Stormtroopers are marching past. Rather than risk facing
his wrath, they turn around and hurry away in one of the funnier parts of the
film.
But where the hell did Kylo Ren get his grandfather’s helmet?  Picture Description: Darth Vader’s black helmet sits on a black stool. The face mask, though immediately recognisable, is battered and broken. It looks like pumpkin two weeks after Halloween. It’s moments like this that the film stumbles, choosing fan service over logic, and not allowing the characters to breathe between all the action. The death of Han Solo is a beautifully lit, enigmatic scene, but we’re almost immediately thrust into a showdown between Kylo Ren and Rey. This works in the context, but after watching The Rise of Skywalker, it’s hard to ignore J.J. Abrams’s worst habits as a script-writer/director. Notwithstanding, the final battle in the snow looks absolutely gorgeous.  Picture Description: A fierce battle in a snow-covered forest at night. Kylo Ren is frozen in movement (left), raising his red lightsaber. Rey (right) bares her teeth and wields a blue lightsaber with both hands. 2015: There are a lot of parallels with the trilogy, but it reminds us of just what we were missing out on with Phantom Menace etc. [Watching The Force Awakens], I felt like a kid again, from that opening line to the very end. Believe the hype this time around, people. Is this the best film of 2015? Quite possibly. 2020: Given that I grew up in the shade of the prequels’ mediocrity, The Force Awakens was a breath of fresh air, giving new hope to a tired film series. It is, however, far from perfect, borrowing heavily from the original trilogy, and relying on fan-service to keep momentum. As a first instalment, that’s fine, but it’s not as great as it thinks it is. A satisfactory attempt at fanfiction. The Verdict: 2015: I give this film ***** 5 stars out of 5 2020: 3 STARS OUT OF 5 Sources: The Force Awakens poster https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2488496/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0 Needless to say, this Yorkie chocolate bar advert has not aged well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GVXnyD93qc The Force Awakens teaser trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erLk59H86ww What is a “Mary Sue” and is Rey one of them? https://www.vox.com/2015/12/28/10672628/star-wars-force-awakens-rey-mary-sue Quote – Han Solo corrects Rey https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2488496/quotes/?tab=qt&ref_=tt_trv_qu Picture – Kylo Ren in all his awesome, scary glory https://ew.com/article/2015/12/21/jj-abrams-kylo-ren-shocking-act-star-wars-force-awakens/ Picture – Darth Vader’s helmet, ravaged by battle and time https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/aug/26/jj-abrams-darth-vader-could-be-martyr-figure-in-star-wars-the-force-awakens Picture – Kylo Ren VS Rey https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsCantina/comments/9w3w1m/rey_vs_kylo_round_2_who_do_you_think_will_win_who/ |
Comments
Post a Comment