30 Years after the fall of the Galactic Empire, a new threat in The First Order has risen from it's ashes. The Republic is failing, so a Resistance has formed with General Leia Organa as one of it's leaders. The First Order has new Clone-Free Stormtroopers who are raised to be fighters. But one has second thoughts about which side he's on. FN-2187 and Resistance Pilot Poe Dameron escape from the Command Ship of Kylo Ren, a new villain determined on finding the last Jedi....Luke Skywalker.
FN-2187, who is dubbed "Finn" by Dameron, stumbles across a scavenger named Rey and a droid named BB-8 who is carrying important information on Luke's whereabouts. They team up with Han Solo and Chewbacca and go on an adventure to get the information in the little BB-8 unit back to the Resistance before Kylo Ren and the First Order can get their hands on it.
Cast:
- Harrison Ford as Han Solo
- Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker
- Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa
- Adam Driver as Kylo Ren
- Daisy Ridley as Rey
- John Boyega as Finn
- Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron
- Lupita Nyong'o as Maz Kanata
- Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke
- Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux
- Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
- Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca
- Max von Sydow as Lor San Tekka
Who will like this:
If you are one of the very few who have never seen a Star Wars movie, picking this one to see is not recommended. However, it does hold it's own as a stand alone movie, but just barely, as you won't get the whole story or be as invested in the characters if you haven't seen the others. Star Wars fans who prefer the Original Trilogy better than the entire filmography will be greater fans of Episode VII.
Phantom Thoughts
I think it goes without saying, but I will give you the warning just in case....*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD* Please do not read on unless you have seen the movie.
....OK, still here? Good. Then either you've already seen it or don't care. Either way, here we go:
To put some perspective on this, I will tell you that I saw the first Star Wars in the theater in 1977. And I have been a major Star Wars fan ever since. You may already have figured that out by my other blog entry: 4 Reasons Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was a good movie . That being said, JJ Abrams did a great job in bringing this new chapter to life. To be honest, I was a little nervous when I heard that he came on to direct. I watched the Star Trek movies and was not impressed. His annoying use of lens flare and the direction it was taken was disappointing to me, and I'm not even a Star Trek fan! But he redeemed himself in my eyes with "The Force Awakens".
Now I'm going to nit pick at some things that bothered me. First of all, this movie marks the third time a massive planet like weapon was used by the bad guys and destroyed using a weak spot by the good guys. Think they've learned their lesson by now? Perhaps the Sith would be better off figuring out a way to be the ultimate power in the universe without such a massive target for the Resistance to concentrate upon? I hope they have for the sake of the upcoming sequels.
Kylo Ren. Here is the new mysterious masked villain who wants to pick up where Darth Vader left off. But does he really? His use of the Force is very powerful as we see in one of the first scenes by him stopping a blaster shot in mid-air. Impressive. What's not impressive is him taking the mask off to interrogate Rey. Once he does that, the mystique is gone. He seems more human and less threatening even after he puts it back on. However, if they had let him keep it on until the SECOND time he takes it off (when Han Solo, his Father, asks him to do so) it would have made for a much more powerful scene. If he had to take the mask off, THAT should have been the first time to do it.
And just how evil IS Kylo Ren? He mentions a few times of the struggle within him between the Light and Dark sides of the Force. He is the offspring of Han and Leia. He trained under Luke when he was young. And here's the kicker....he blatantly ignores the orders of Supreme Leader Snoke in trying to get the map to Skywalker's location. It will be interesting to see his role unfold.
Chewbacca, Han and Leia have had years of history together. They have a closeness that only decades of friendship can accomplish. So I'm a bit confused as to why there was no moment between Chewie and Leia when he gets back to her after Han's death. That emotional moment was given to Rey, who she hardly knew.
Here's something I never thought I would say....I was unimpressed with the new score by John Williams. It was no where near the epic music he added to the prequels. This one was of the most unmemorable and un inspiring pieces he's written for any Star Wars movies. So disappointing.
Getting back to that massive weapon...Starkiller Base. There were a TON of references, nods and Easter Eggs in this movie. Way too many to get into here, however, Starkiller is one of them, being the original name of Luke before it was changed to Skywalker. Anyway, my question is this, it looks like they created the weapon out of an actual planet. it then used the Sun that was close to it as it's power source for the weapon. So then, how does it move to the next sun for another shot? And wouldn't the planet "die" in the meantime?
Again, these are just a little nit picking. But another complaint that I've been hearing is that it is pretty much a carbon copy of "A New Hope". And there is no denying the obvious plot similarities. In fact, you can use the same general description to narrate both films. "But Phantom" you say, "Isn't this the exact same gripe you had against Jurassic World ? " Yes it is. But let me tell you why it's different. See, in Jurassic World, they just re-hashed the same scenes and stories of the previous films. For no reason other than they had no new ideas to discover. In The Force Awakens, it's used as a reflection of the past to start a new story. If I am right, this will unveil itself in the following sequels. Am I just being biased because I am a fan? I don't believe so. But you draw your own conclusions after the next films.
But after all is said and done, it was a magnificent movie to watch. They got back to using real sets and a lot of practical effects that were lacking in the prequels. The BB-8 droid that was an ACTUAL remote controlled robot was a technical masterpiece! The inclusion of the original members of the Trilogy were a continuation of the story and not forced cameos. New characters were introduced and were relatable and people we cared about. There was a good flow to the movie with a lot of action and decent story development (although we do need some gaps filled in. Hopefully this will be addressed in future movies) .
Most importantly, I walked out feeling 7 years old again, seeing Star Wars for the first time and completely hooked for life. And seeing young viewers exiting the theater with that same wonder in their eyes, I know I wasn't the only one.
Until next time, see you in the center seat!
....and May the Force be with you.
