THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
For years, many fans of Star Wars wanted a new film to take place after Return of the Jedi. In 2015, the Dream became a reality with Episode VII: The Force Awakens.
PLOT
It opens in the fictional planet Jakku, where Resistance pilot Poe Dameron discovers the map to the last jedi Luke Skywalker, who’s been missing for some time. Before being abducted by First Order Sith Kylo Ren, he gives the map to his droid BB8. Through torture by Ren, he gives up where the map is. As the droid befriends the scavenger Rey, Dameron is rescued by a stormtrooper named FN-2187, which he names ‘Finn’, before they crash land on Jakku. When Finn wakes from the crash, he only uncovers Dameron’s jacket from the crash site, believing him to be dead. When he meets Rey and BB8, he poses as a Resistance member, telling her what Poe had told him of the map. They leave together when being chased by Stormtroopers, as they board the abandoned Millennium Falcon. In space, they are discovered and boarded by Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) & Han Solo. They avoid gangs that Solo owes debt to by unleashing carnivorous Rathtars, escaping in the Falcon in the progress. When Supreme Leader Snoke discovers of the Falcon being spotted, he asks Ren if he handle his emotions if encountering his father Han. The protégé replies, ‘He means nothing to me’. Before landing on Takodana, Solo explains to Rey and Finn that Luke exiled himself when attempting to rebuild the Jedi order, his apprentice Kylo Ren turned to the Dark Side. At Takodana, they request Maz Kanata to take BB8 to the Resistance. As Finn attempts to leave to the Outer Rim, he tells Rey of his past, leaving her disappointed. At the cantina, she discovers Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber, discovering her connection to the Force. Maz explains this to her, but Rey leaves in fear. The First Order summon their planet converted super weapon ‘Starkiller Base’, destroying planets that represented the New Republic. They invade Takodana in search of BBQ. Rey is abducted by Ren, who discovers her knowledge of the map. Our other protagonists are rescued by the Resistance, led by General Leia Organa and the surviving Poe. In her captivity, Rey resists Ren’s mind reading attempts, as she uses it against him. She says aloud his fear of not bringing stronger than his grandfather, Darth Vader. She is able to escape when he tells Snoke how strong she is with the force. The Resistance plans to destroy Starkiller Base by targeting their ‘thermal oscillator’, which will destabilize it’s core, crippling the weapon in the progress. Finn, Han & Chewie got to the Base to disarm the shields, so that Poe’s crew can destroy it. When arriving, they reunite with Rey. They split up to plant the explosives around the oscillator. Within this time, Han finds Ren. Hoping to bring his son back, he calls him by birth name ‘Ben’. Remaining in the dark side, Ren kills his father with his lightsaber. Heartbroken of losing his best friend, Chewie shoots Ren in the stomach and triggers the explosives that destroy the oscillator. The injured Sith catches up to Finn and Rey who escaped the base. Finn fights him with Luke’s saber, which was given to him by Maz earlier, but is wounded in the progress. Ren reaches for it, but it goes to Rey instead. She fights him and slashes his face in the process. Chewie picks up his new friends after the duel, and Poe’s crew leave with them together, after successfully destroying Starkiller. Ren is able to escape the destruction as well, after being picked up by General Hux. When our protagonists return to base, the droid R2D2 wakes up for the first time since Luke’s disappearance. It reveals the rest of the map of his location and BB8 shows the final piece. The maps shows his location to be at the oceanic planet Ahch-To. Rey goes there with R2 and Chewie. It ends with her finding the last Jedi at the top of the mountain, offering to return his saber. THOUGHTS
When first viewing this film in 2015, I admit that I had a blast being part of such a cinematic experience. Seeing this in the said year in theaters felt to me the same experience moviegoers had when Star Wars came out in 1977. This movie is depicted as epic like any modern blockbuster but ensures it to be fun and exciting as the franchise can be known for. Despite being entertaining throughout, it is highly noticeable when rewatching, that it is similar to A New Hope. BB8 with the map reflects R2D2 with the Death Star Plans. The Starkiller Base is a bigger Death Star. And Rey discovering to be one with the force is similar to Luke’s beginning. When thinking of story flaws, the first itch I had was that Kylo Ren sensed Finn’s rebellious thoughts but does nothing. If you want to eliminate the enemy, he should’ve done something before he could ever plot to help Poe. Also, the TIE fighters were acting completely reckless on both Takodana and Jakku. They were shooting non stop without thinking about BB8 who has the map to Luke. If they weren’t bad at aiming, they could’ve destroyed that droid. Also, it was dumb for Han to have BB8 stay with him when dealing with the gangs. It would’ve been safer if the droid had hid with Finn and Rey. And if Ren was shook how strong Rey was with the force, he should have showed her to Snoke immediately rather than waiting for Snoke to tell him to do so. If they wanted to make Phasma a badass, she should’ve put up a fight with Finn, Han and Chewie before lowering the shields for the oscillator. Lastly, we get the biggest plot hole on how Maz Kanata found Luke’s first lightsaber. I bet there was some novelization that reveals how it was found but for something as precious as a weapon once owned by a legend, that should be explained onscreen and it sadly never was. If you can ignore the reflection and the flaws this movie has, you can still enjoy it for what it is. Returning to the goods, I wasn’t sure of the idea of J.J. Abrams directing a Star Wars movie considering he directed two Star Trek movies prior, but that fact was easy to forget because he makes it his own. Despite the similarities to its first movie, Abrams is able to find a way to make this overdue sequel feel inventive enough. It’s clearly a visual spectacle with the the Millennium Falcon chase as the best example and the cinematography by Dan Mindel is breathtaking. Despite providing incredible visuals throughout, I respect that the movie still had a good use of practical effects, seeing various creatures and the puppeteer work on BB8. The set pieces we get to see ensure the authenticity we are witnessing in this fictional spectacle. John Williams may have not retired as a composer but this score felt like a comeback as he succeeds providing music to make this movie exhilarating as the prior Star Wars films. While the past have had moments that are unintentionally funny, this one has tensionally funny moments that pay off. The best examples go to Kylo Ren’s tantrums or the Stormtrooper played by Daniel Craig being convinced by Rey to free her. The realization that Simon Pegg plays Unkar Plutt is what makes it hilarious to look back at. Since we're going into the characters, there is no argument that the mix old and new made things all the more interesting. I felt nothing but joy seeing the return of the characters of the original trilogy. I would either smile or have a tear of joy seeing Leia, C3PO (Anthony Daniels), R2D2, Han and Chewie because not only do the returning actors not skip a beat, it truly felt like my childhood had returned. I was satisfied seeing Carrie Fisher return as Leia because she reminds everyone that age shouldn't stop you for fighting for what you believe in. Harrison Ford made the best out of his return because he portrays Han Solo as a man running from the mistake he was ashamed of. Like Leia, he felt guilty that he couldn't prevent his son from turning and wished he could have done more than Luke could. He may have not succeeded bringing him back, but he wasn't gonna waste time not trying. His death is one of the most shocking and heartbreaking deaths I have ever witnessed as not once would I think a great character like him would go down horrifically. Luke Skywalker will remain my favorite character of Star Wars and it was odd seeing him in a short period of time as the search for him was the main plot. It feels made up for not because of the following sequels, but because Mark Hamill is able to speak volumes with his silence. When he sees Rey with his lightsaber, he is glad that there are others that are one with the force but is worried that the past has come back to haunt him. That overall explains why it’s a scene I like going back to. While the returning characters are what kept older fans onboard for this spectacle, the new characters help bring in the new audience, creating a new generation of fans. I like John Boyega as Finn because he is able to reflect his fear and turn it into bravery. He may not be a Jedi, even though that’d be cool, but he clearly has a will as strong as one. With the given time, Oscar Isaac is great as Poe Dameron mainly due to his snarky yet adventurous attitude. Domhnall Gleeson makes General Hux an intimidating figure in this film, due to the speech he gives before the Starkiller’s Attack, but acts like a wimp, which is a massive problem with the character. Another waste goes to Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma. Her costume alone is intimidating but she doesn’t effect the story. Andy Serkis gives another home run with the use of motion capture, only this time with the role of Supreme Leader Snoke. With this character, the mystery surrounding him is what makes him imposing. Although we only see him via hologram in this film, the height he’s depicted from the said hologram makes him all the more terrifying. For Lupita Nyong’o, she brings charisma and wisdom with the motion capture performance of Maz. She doesn’t affect this story either nor does she do so with it’s sequels, but you appreciate her for motivating Rey to trust the force. As for Adam Driver, he makes every action Kylo Ren as hateful as you’d expect from a villain like him. He makes him cold and calculated, due to the blindness of power he craves. Seeing this and the transition we see in the sequels make the role his best as it becomes one of the things that carry this trilogy. Also, he actually becomes extra terrifying with his lightsaber, due to the actor’s fencing skills. And it is pretty badass when he stopped Poe’s blaster shot in midair. Last but not least, Daisy Ridley makes Rey a national treasure. She makes her that way because she is able to express so many feelings throughout her journey. She shows fear when encountering foes like Ren, abandonment whenever it came to wanting to find her parents, joy when being accepted by others, and courage when she finally trusts the force and takes the lightsaber. It’s awe inspiring seeing her take the saber because it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done before because the past will never define you. And it also doesn’t matter whether or not someone supports you because as long as you believe in yourself, you can set your own path. When you realize that, you can accept how empowering that moment is. Her journey that begins here and ends in The Rise of Skywalker earns her spot as an icon to not just the franchise, like other characters, but to cinema in general. To wrap up, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the great comeback to the iconic franchise that led to much more movies people would or would not enjoy. If you grew up enjoying both the original and prequel trilogies, yet still want more of Star Wars, don’t take too long to check this out.
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