Honestly, there is no point in reading this review until after you’ve seen the movie. There is no way that my review of a Star Wars movie will influence your decision to see it or not. So this review will have spoilers. To be clear, this is not a review to belittle, but rather my honest thoughts on the film, not a recommendation on whether you should see it. If you come here quickly to look at the score, I gave it an 89/100. Undoubtedly, if you’ve watched the other films, you’ll want to see this one in the theater. If you’re new to the franchise and wonder which movies you need to see before watching Episode VII, I would recommend watching IV, V, and VI. Those are the ones that will help you best understand this film. You don’t need to see I, II, or III. I’m not sure if you can fully appreciate VII without seeing IV, V, and VI first. It is assumed that you have seen these films. If you haven’t, there is no real effort or desire to explain anything that happened in the past.
My first question to anyone who has an issue with Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens would be, “What were you expecting”? This was a great movie, and I think it met all expectations. I feel that if you’re a fan of a franchise and you don’t like this movie, you probably wouldn’t be satisfied, regardless of the director, screenwriter, and producer being J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Cloverfield). When it was announced that Abrams would take over the franchise, there was considerable concern that Star Wars would too closely resemble Star Trek. These two franchises have been stacked up against each other for the past 40 years. In some ways, they are very similar, but in many ways, they are very, very different. I love the Star Wars franchise, while I think the Star Trek franchise has always been a little too geeky and much too cheesy for me to appreciate. By no means was Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens too Trekky. Quite the opposite. It reestablished credibility to the franchise while, in at least some small way, paying homage to all six previous films.
My first question to anyone who has an issue with Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens is, “What were you expecting?” This was a great movie that met all expectations. If you’re a fan of a franchise and you don’t like it, you’re unlikely to be satisfied, regardless of the director, screenwriter, and producer, such as J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Cloverfield). When it was announced that Abrams would take over the franchise, there was considerable concern that Star Wars would too closely resemble Star Trek. These two franchises have been stacked up against each other for the past 40 years. I love the Star Wars franchise, while the Star Trek franchise has always been a little too geeky and too cheesy for me. By no means was Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens too Trekky.
The plot is the easiest to follow. This is good, especially for younger fans of the film. However, this movie has no target audience, so Abrams must develop a story that is easy to follow and keeps people interested. With Star Wars, the story isn’t the focal point as the characters, the visuals, and the sounds. Also, Jar Jar Binks? The franchise needed a fresh face to lead it. Thank you, George Lucas, for your vision, storytelling, and ability to draw us into the incredible universe. Also, thank you for knowing when it was time to step aside and let someone new take over.
As mentioned, the story is certainly not the most difficult to follow. I’ve typed the message that appears in the opening crawl below.
Luke Skywalker has vanished. In his absence, the sinister FIRST ORDER has risen from the ashes of the Empire and will not rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed. With the support of the REPUBLIC, General Leia Organa leads a brave RESISTANCE. She is desperate to find her brother Luke and gain his help in restoring peace and justice to the galaxy. So Leia has sent her most daring pilot on a secret mission to Jakku, where an old ally has discovered a clue to Luke’s whereabouts….
If the last Jedi has been gone for 32 years, why is there a sudden need to find him and destroy him? Has the First Order not been effective, wreaking havoc on the rest of the galaxy since he has been gone? While the story is easy to understand, what is the urgency behind it? We need a more precise timeline to appreciate what is happening. This is a fantasy movie, and I don’t take issue with the logic as I would in a traditional film.
So, who are the new players? Well, we need to quickly learn who is the most daring pilot of General Leia (Carrie Fisher – The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi). That turns out to be Poe Dameron (soon to be household name Oscar Isaac – A Most Violent Year, Ex Machina). He is sent to the planet Jakku, where he is to meet Lor San Tekka (Max von Sydow – Shutter Island, Minority Report) and receive a piece of a map leading to Luke Skywalker’s location. Unfortunately, just as he is given the map, the small village in Jakku is attacked by the First Order. The stormtroopers wreck everything in their path, forcing Poe to send his droid BB-8 as far away as he can get and hide before turning back to fight himself. Finding himself quickly outnumbered, Poe is forced to surrender to the stormtroopers and is taken aboard the spaceship. The new leader of the First Order, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver – Inside Llewyn Davis, While We’re Young), uses the power of the Force to find out that Poe has given the map to BB-8. He meets with General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson – Ex Machina, Brooklyn) and orders him to send more soldiers to Jakku to find this droid.
Meanwhile, stormtrooper FN-2187 (John Boyega – Half of a Yellow Sun, Attack the Block) witnesses in horror as his fellow fighters show no mercy while executing innocent villagers. He seems to be a newer recruit, and the stress of the situation almost forces him to break down. However, instead of looking the other way or succumbing to the problem, the stormtrooper (later named Finn) agrees to help Poe escape in exchange for Poe taking him with him. Poe quickly agrees, and the two manage to escape via a fighter ship. Unfortunately, after a battle in the sky, their ship is shot down and crashes back on Jakku. Poe cannot be found, but Finn is alive and well.
There is a quick introduction to some of the new characters, but Rey is one of the most important. She lives by herself on Jakku and does the best of her life by scavenging for food. However, she has no family and no purpose in her life. So, when she rescues BB-8, she has no idea that her life is about to change. But, like how the relationship started between Luke Skywalker and R2D2 in Episode IV, BB-8 is grateful to Rey and is indebted to her for the future. Eventually, Rey and Finn meet up, and Finn tells his new friend the importance of the droid.
These are all the leading players in the story. Not so fast. Han Solo (Harrison Ford – The Fugitive, Raiders of the Lost Ark) and Chewbacca provide much more than just a cameo. They are as integral to the story as are Finn, Rey, and Poe. And the Millennium Falcon has been dusted off and is back in full force again. As soon as we saw that (if not before), we knew we were back to the Star Wars that we remember. Soon, Han, Chewie, Rey, Finn, and BB-8 have reunited on the Resistance base, D’Qar, and specifically with General Leia. They talk about their son Kylo Ren, and Leia believes there is still good in him. Unfortunately, the time to reconnect is short-lived, as a mission is needed to immediately target Starkiller Base (think of it as the Death Star on steroids) by attacking its weak spots in the force fields. I believe this is the central battle in the movie, and while there is plenty of action throughout, these are most likely the fight scenes you will most remember. Of course, both good and bad things happen along the way (I won’t elaborate), but we can distinguish between good and evil characters.
The story is straightforward and doesn’t seem corny. The goal remains to defend the republic against all who wish to harm it. We wanted a believable story that we could buy into. We also wanted to meet some new and exciting characters and find a new breed of heroes who will lead us into episodes 8 and 9. Rey, Finn, and Poe are characters we can root for, and BB-8 stole the show. I’m not counting R2D2 out yet, but this new little droid had quite the personality. It will be interesting to see where episodes 8 and 9 go. Unfortunately, the First Order did not accomplish its goal of eliminating Luke Skywalker. The end of Episode 7 leaves us with some characters to consider, but it doesn’t reveal what story might emerge. Heck, it might be because the next chapter hasn’t been written.
The sound was terrific. A Star Wars movie cannot receive anything less than a perfect score for its sound. The cinematography was excellent. The first three episodes were all CGI, which detracted from the overall experience. However, the battle scenes in the sky and on the ground felt more legit, and we still got some great lightsaber duels. Everything felt purposeful, and at 2 hours and 15 minutes, the timing felt perfect. The acting was better than anything you’ve seen in the first four films. Boyega, Ridley, and Isaac are the real deal. The transitions between scenes are much more subtle. Any of the distractions I felt deterred viewing of the previous films were either minimized or eliminated.
For me, this was the episode I was waiting for. I go back to my second paragraph in this review. What more could a fan of the franchise have asked for? If this movie didn’t meet expectations, those fans’ expectations might have been through the roof, and nothing would have sufficed. I like franchise movies that lead into the next film, while still being a standalone, that are complete in themselves. That’s what we had in this one. I was also happy with the PG-13 rating. I had believed, until just a couple of months ago, that this would receive a PG rating. I’m not sure why it was rated PG-13 (perhaps due to the violence), but that’s not for me to decide. This was an excellent movie that I suggest seeing sooner rather than later. I also recommend multiple viewings.
Plot 8.5/10
Character Development 8/10 Character Chemistry 8.5/10
Acting 8.5/10 (the best acting in any franchise…Ewan McGregor never felt right)
Screenplay 8.5/10 (I am less into the comedic lines than most…the dialog was far less cheap than probably all six other films)
Directing 10/10 (redemption for the franchise)
Cinematography 10/10 (of course)
Sound 10/10 (of course)
Hook and Reel 9/10 (at times, it got a little slow, but they were few and far between…I think that because we waited so long for this movie, we wanted every moment to count)
Universal Relevance 9/10 (this franchise unites us)
90%
B+
Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Trek
- Oblivion