Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (Review)

Note: We’ve pointed our editorial Death Star at any Alderaan-sized plot spoilers, so you can read our review without ruining your enjoyment of the film.

From the moment John Williams’ inimitable score bursts forth from the speakers and the classic, yellow Star Wars logo jumps into frame, it’s tough not to be affected by the seventh film in a series that has spanned four decades and spawned a near limitless number of spin-offs, merchandise and uber fans. Everyone has a Star Wars story — whether being among the first to see Episode IV when it exploded into the public conscious in 1977, or part of the small minority who actually liked Jar Jar Binks, few people can claim to be truly separated from George Lucas’ magnum opus.

Except that, at least in practical terms, this is a very different Star Wars from the one we loved in the seventies and eighties, and mostly ignored in the nineties and naughties. Lucas has long since been excised from a franchise he nurtured to fruition and then threatened with extinction. He has neither produced, directed, nor written this film. Instead, there’s a new grand master in town — and it sports two big ears and talks in a high-pitched strain.

Disney has a lot to prove with Star Wars: The Force Awakens (). Not only must they eventually recoup the $4 billion spent acquiring Lucasfilm, they also have to prove that they can successfully resurrect a franchise we weren’t quite finished with — but no one was entirely sure they wanted more of. Has it been successful? Yes. Undoubtedly. The Force Awakens isn’t original — there’s too much history for that to be possible — but it works on several levels: it’s a reboot, a reimagining, an incredibly indulgent fan-service, and the kickstarter to a new trilogy of films that Disney hopes will line its pockets with mon- I mean, delight fans old and new for years to come.

Set thirty years after the events of Return of the Jedi, this is a new and uncertain world. Uncertain mostly because the classic scrolling text at the film’s opening does little to establish the new lore beyond the bare minimum. The Empire is gone, replaced by the First Order, an almost identical evil organization with even more overt Nazi references. The Rebellion is similarly disbanded, replaced by the Republic and its Resistance fighters, who are trying to rebuild a galaxy torn apart by Vader and company. The history, the politics, the aftermath of the Vader years, none of that matters. Star Wars is much more focused on introducing its new main characters — for the most part, anyway.

Those new additions are a curious mix of familiar and fresh. Familiar is Rey, portrayed by the fantastic Daisy Ridley. If Ridley had little notoriety before this film, she’s sure to command it in the years to come, as her Rey — who scratches out a meager living salvaging parts from decades-old crashed Empire starships on the desert planet of Jakku — is exactly the sort of likeable, just-vague-enough type to carry the gravitas placed upon her later in the script. Her story smacks of A New Hope — she finds a droid (the adorable BB-8), it reveals that it has information, she tries to deliver said information to the Resistance while uncovering more about herself — but Ridley balances the comedy, action and drama that Rey is thrown into.

A similarly excellent find is John Boyega. He stars here as Finn, a First Order stormtrooper who, on his first mission, refuses to murder innocent civilians, reacting to a conscience that he was specifically trained not to have. Finn stumbles across Rey and the two become locked together as they try to return the droid. Finn is this film’s Han Solo, reluctant to fight, eager to run and hide from the First Order, but he slowly comes around to both his feelings for Rey — be they friendship or otherwise — and a desire to take down his former masters. Boyega matches Harrison Ford’s easy ability to command the screen during action sequences, but also breezily switch into comedy during the film’s many lighter moments.

Adam Driver is almost unrecognizable as Kylo Ren, commander of the First Order. He’s our new Darth Vader, complete with electronic voice and murderous inclination. However, when his helmet is removed during one scene, gone is the confident swagger Driver portrays in Girls. Here, he looks young — too young to be committing the atrocities of his character — but in terms of his story arc it makes perfect sense, and Driver carries Ren with conviction. This is a person punching above their weight, eager to please a new big bad — Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis, back in CGI-enveloped comfort). Ren’s master is stepping into the role of Palpatine as the guiding hand behind the Order’s despicable actions, though we’re offered no further exposition in this film. Maybe in two years.

Speaking of Harrison Ford, he returns, hardened further by time, but with Chewbacca ever present at his side. Star Wars teases the reveal of Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill to excellent effect. As for their exact roles, this reviewer won’t spoil Force Awakens. It bends to fan service on more than one occasion, in both character reveal and script, meaning that fans will take a lot from it. Those new to Star Wars will gloss over these moments, however — and, indeed, if anyone has somehow managed to remain buried in the sand, the importance given to Ford et al will be entirely lost on them in terms of the film’s terrible handling of events between Return of the Jedi and now.

And that’s one of the more apparent issues with Force Awakens. For the most part, the screenplay — by Lawrence Kasdan, Michael Arndt and J.J. Abrams — hits the right notes. There’s the grand, operatic overtones the series has long been known for. It bounces between intimate storytelling and galaxy-spanning interludes, offers heart-pounding action sequences peppered with jokes that are often laugh-out-loud funny, and delivers more than one punch to the gut — one of which is sure to set discussion sites and comment sections ablaze for weeks after the film’s release. But there’s also the sense that we’ve seen all of this before. Rey’s origin story, Finn’s transition from terrified escapee to stony hero, the confrontations between characters, the set pieces, the ending — which you’ll call from a mile off, because it’s basically A New Hope. This may be a galaxy far, far away, but we’ve been here before — it just wasn’t nearly as polished.

That polish comes courtesy of Abrams. If the rebooting of Star Trek was Abrams testing his handling of space-based action, Star Wars is the fruit of that effort. Gone is the gimmickry that bogged down the other space franchise, with no lens flare, faux handycam shots, hyper-stylized contrasting, or glossy filtering. Force Awakens was shot on film, which perhaps aids the fact that it nails the gritty realism of the original trilogy. Sure, the space sequences are CGI, the set designers have more money to play with, and even the stormtroopers get fancy new costumes, but this is a universe that feels lived in. It’s been kicked around, there’s a few scars, a bit of dust. Abrams largely steps out of the way, instead confidently enabling the action, the story, the battles, the conversations to step to the fore. Lucas’ departure hasn’t been the audience’s loss — Abrams guides Force Awakens with ease. It’s not a perfect transition into the modern era, though — for instance, the real sets and puppets clash horribly with CGI characters such as Maz Kanata, a bar owner portrayed by Lupita Nyong’o, whose clean, digital appearance doesn’t mesh well with the dirt-covered, sweat-soaked actors around her.

However, though it’s easy to criticize Force Awakens, it’s also easy to adore it. For its various foibles and the awkward transition between old characters and new, there’s something undoubtedly exciting about this new trilogy of films. This is Star Wars, returned, reformed, revitalized. It’s a trilogy for a new generation, reintroducing a narrative that has long enthralled young and old alike. Every time I laughed at a reference, every time I saw a familiar face, every time John Williams’ glorious score swelled in my ears, I couldn’t help but get sucked in by it all. No, this isn’t a perfect film, but for fans of the series that won’t matter. It’s more Star Wars — and this time, there’s no shoehorned comic-relief characters or terrible child actors to ruin proceedings.

The force is strong, folks. Really strong.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens Friday, Dec. 18, in area theaters. Visit fandango.com.

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