BEST NEW FEATURE
dir. by J.J. Abrams
It's every bit as good as everyone had hoped.
Finn (John Boyega) is a Stormtrooper for the First Order, an organization which seeks to exterminate the Jedi. When a pilot from the Resistance is captured by the First Order leader Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Finn decides that he no longer desires to serve the Order. Meanwhile, droid BB-8 is holding important information for the Resistance, and in his effort to escape the desert planet he is stranded on he runs into Rey (Daisy Ridley), a tough local who he believes may be of assistance. The Force Awakens contains numerous parallels to A New Hope, but that's not to say that it's a carbon copy. This new film feels fresh and contemporary, featuring state-of-the-art effects, a diverse cast, and a story which is at once epic and personal. It begins on a desert planet, but in spite of many further similarities, what follows is very much its own story, with the torch passed to a new cast of heroes and the story reflecting a new struggle. It's a film haunted by the ghosts of the past, and that is very relevant to the story.
The immediate thing that is perhaps most essential in any science fiction or fantasy film is the world building, and The Force Awakens provides a world more compelling and engrossing than any I have seen in recent memory. Star Wars's gritty world of rebellion and scarcity is recreated for the new era, built by special effects of the highest calibre and revealed by the phenomenal camera work of cinematographer Dan Mindel and the Abrams's exhilarating direction. The plot of a group of plucky heroes rising up to face an overwhelming force of evil provides, as always, fertile ground for an incredible power fantasy, conveyed as always through unsuspecting heroes leading the forces of good to victory. This conflict may be simple, but it lends itself greatly to playing out on an grand scale. As with all Star Wars films, The Force Awakens is set in the midst of a great battle between good and evil which is communicated through the opening text crawl, through which the film wastes no time in communicating that, yes, you are watching a new Star Wars film in theatres.
Although the film is peppered with familiar faces, they're all in service of the new cast, specifically the aforementioned Finn, Rey, BB-8 and Kylo Ren, as well as the enigmatic master of the First Order and the Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). The protagonists are every bit as lovable and intriguing as those of the original trilogy, with Finn's past being a particular point of novelty amidst the largely implied backstory. This is, of course, helped by the excellent performances of both Bogeya and Ridley, who confidently and charismatically headline the film without compromising the essential traits of their characters. These characters are deceptively deep, with wonderful arcs and with plenty of potential for future instalments, and in particular the villain Kylo Ren is richly developed and truly fascinating. Most exciting of all, however, is how the characters have inextricable ties to the characters and events of past films while also forging new stories through their actions. The overall feeling is that of watching a new legend being made, of a new saga unfolding. I don't know when I last felt this way.
The film rockets forward at a rapid pace, filled with eye candy and exhilarating action and wonderful humour in equal measures. The new worlds are beautifully rendered, with the often gorgeous cinematography emphasizing the spectacle of the film's myriad great set pieces and frequently communicating the same sense of scale which unifies all of the previous films, good or bad. The dialogue is lively, and the script establishes wonderful chemistry between the paired leads, and punctuates the operatic drama of the story with superbly-timed humour. The action, which is an essential part of films of this nature, is impeccably choreographed and intensely filmed, and each action sequence has a unique character distinct from the others. Adding all this up, the film is an exciting and honest-to-goodness fun work which is destined to be an essential part of film history.
The Force Awakens is nothing short of astounding, and though it may have tiny flaws in its occasional cliches and the limits of its constant rhyming with A New Hope, these prove to be so negligible as to not even have the slightest impact on the film's overall quality. This is a truly great film, perhaps even a new classic. It's the stuff myths are made of, and it's a new chapter in cinema's most important epic saga. On top of that, it's a brilliantly crafted and thoroughly enjoyable film which will inevitably please all but the pickiest of audiences. The return of Star Wars initially seemed like a questionable prospect, with the impact of the original films having so permeated cinema as to make a recapturing of that magic seem futile. However, with this new film, it's been proven that not only can the franchise still stand out amidst the films it inspired, but it can remain fresh in a pop culture landscape which the original films helped shape. Call it an early Christmas gift.
10/10
Support me on Patreon!
Although the film is peppered with familiar faces, they're all in service of the new cast, specifically the aforementioned Finn, Rey, BB-8 and Kylo Ren, as well as the enigmatic master of the First Order and the Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac). The protagonists are every bit as lovable and intriguing as those of the original trilogy, with Finn's past being a particular point of novelty amidst the largely implied backstory. This is, of course, helped by the excellent performances of both Bogeya and Ridley, who confidently and charismatically headline the film without compromising the essential traits of their characters. These characters are deceptively deep, with wonderful arcs and with plenty of potential for future instalments, and in particular the villain Kylo Ren is richly developed and truly fascinating. Most exciting of all, however, is how the characters have inextricable ties to the characters and events of past films while also forging new stories through their actions. The overall feeling is that of watching a new legend being made, of a new saga unfolding. I don't know when I last felt this way.
The film rockets forward at a rapid pace, filled with eye candy and exhilarating action and wonderful humour in equal measures. The new worlds are beautifully rendered, with the often gorgeous cinematography emphasizing the spectacle of the film's myriad great set pieces and frequently communicating the same sense of scale which unifies all of the previous films, good or bad. The dialogue is lively, and the script establishes wonderful chemistry between the paired leads, and punctuates the operatic drama of the story with superbly-timed humour. The action, which is an essential part of films of this nature, is impeccably choreographed and intensely filmed, and each action sequence has a unique character distinct from the others. Adding all this up, the film is an exciting and honest-to-goodness fun work which is destined to be an essential part of film history.
The Force Awakens is nothing short of astounding, and though it may have tiny flaws in its occasional cliches and the limits of its constant rhyming with A New Hope, these prove to be so negligible as to not even have the slightest impact on the film's overall quality. This is a truly great film, perhaps even a new classic. It's the stuff myths are made of, and it's a new chapter in cinema's most important epic saga. On top of that, it's a brilliantly crafted and thoroughly enjoyable film which will inevitably please all but the pickiest of audiences. The return of Star Wars initially seemed like a questionable prospect, with the impact of the original films having so permeated cinema as to make a recapturing of that magic seem futile. However, with this new film, it's been proven that not only can the franchise still stand out amidst the films it inspired, but it can remain fresh in a pop culture landscape which the original films helped shape. Call it an early Christmas gift.
10/10Support me on Patreon!
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