Attention all Star Wars fans who were disturbed by their lack of faith in Disney’s ability to do right by its recent acquisition of Lucasfilm: You may now breathe a sigh of relief. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the movie we thought we were getting back when we whipped ourselves into a collective frenzy in 1999 ahead of The Phantom Menace. Episode VII is one hell of a fun ride that seeks to reclaim what people loved about the original trilogy, while sweeping all that other stuff under the rug. It’s filled with engaging action sequences, new characters who actually feel like individuals instead of canned merchandising opportunities and just enough fan service to not come across as pandering.
Spoiler alert: The following plot details are for illustrative purposes only and contain no information that isn’t in the trailer or the first five minutes, but you still may want to avoid this paragraph. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. The first thing fans will notice are the many narrative parallels between The Force Awakens and A New Hope, with droids carrying secret messages across desert planets, the nefarious intentions and murderous actions of a paramilitary connected to the dark side and the evolution of history into legend and myth. In A New Hope, people have heard of the Jedi and the Force but brushed them off as fairy tales. In The Force Awakens, many of the key players have drifted out of view while gaining mythic status. Planets are littered with remnants of downed ships and scarred from epic battles, yet the specifics of the war itself have faded. Gone are the irritating details of trade pacts and space politics, as focus rightly shifts back to magic and mythology.
The first entry in what has been dubbed the “sequel trilogy,” The Force Awakens has far more on its plate than your typical blockbuster sequel/reboot. It’s a reset button, a guarantee that this beloved universe is in worthwhile hands with Disney. J.J. Abrams and company (The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi scribe Lawrence Kasdan and Academy Award nominee Michael Arndt of Little Miss Sunshine and Toy Story 3) evidently approached this with three goals in mind: undoing the wrongs of the past, setting the stage for future installments and being a good enough movie in its own right. And they succeed on all fronts; selecting Abrams as director was an inspired choice, as no young director working today is as simultaneously aware of style, pace and fan expectations while playing ball with studio demands. He’s been trying to go full Spielberg for years, and Disney gave him the resources to do just that.
If one were to nitpick—and, guaranteed, others on the Internet will be far more unforgiving than this—any movie with this many hats to wear will not be perfect, and The Force Awakens does have a few of what are better thought of as hiccups rather than flaws. Abrams can’t help but announce himself occasionally with franchise-inappropriate quips. The myriad practical effects are so stunning that the decision to go CG with characters and scenery can be jarring and momentarily harm the immersion. And one massive event—which will remain unspoiled —that should be on everyone’s minds for the rest of the film just happens and is quickly forgotten about, no doubt to be picked up by a later entry.
Yet even laying out the things that aren’t 100 percent mind-blowing about The Force Awakens have to be accompanied with compliments on what it gets perfectly. The absolute worst complaint that can be lodged about the movie is that it rests more on skill than inspiration, which is, in fact, no complaint at all. This is a thoroughly satisfying palate cleanser, and a gift to world-weary fans who have grown tired of the disclaimer that they don’t like the prequels. It’ll be a pleasure to see where Episode VIII and IX directors Rian Johnson and Colin Trevorrow go with a setup this good.
Playing this week
Regal Stonefield 14 and IMAX
The Shops at Stonefield, 244-3213
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip
Brooklyn
Creed
The Good Dinosaur
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2
Krampus
In the Heart of the Sea
The Martian
Sisters
Spectre
The Peanuts Movie
Violet Crown Cinema
200 W. Main St., Downtown Mall 529-3000
The Night Before
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Trumbo
