Once Upon a Twilight!: Movie Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Run Time: 135 minutes
Directed By: J.J Abrams
Produced By: J.J Abrams, Bryan Burk, Kathleen Kennedy
Writers: Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams, Michael Arndt, George Lucas
Starring: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Max vo Sydow, Peter Mayhew, Gwendoline Christie
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence
Genres: Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi
Official Sites: Website | Facebook | Twitter | IMDb | Instagram

The Galactic Empire was defeated thirty years ago. The Galaxy is now facing a new threat: a new faction named the First Order. Their main mission is to rule the Galaxy and destroy all who oppose them. Their commander is a ruthless, mysterious, powerful Sith, Kylo Ren. Kylo has an ambition to find and kill the last Jedi who is able to restore order and revive the Jedi ways, Luke Skywalker. Luke's unknown location is also a main concern for General Leia Organa, a General from the Resistance that now trying to find him too. Han Solo and Chewbacca meet some new companions: Finn, a defective First Order Stormtrooper, and Ray, a scavenger from the Jakku planet who acquired Lukes location through a BB-8 rolling droid. This unexpected team is forced not only to fight and resist the First Order, but also to find Luke Skywalker.

I am a movie geek. This year I have seen 143 new theatrical releases, in a movie theater, and the year isn’t over. Other than horror flicks, I will watch everything and anything that I can squeeze into my schedule. I am also a huge Star Wars fan. I had the toys as a kid. I have the toys now, only I pretend that the toys belong to my children. I owned all the movies on VHS. Then, I modernized and owned all of the movies on DVD. Today, I own all six of the films on Blu-Ray. I even own just about every Lego Star Wars Space Ship that has been made, with the prize in my collection being the Millennium Falcon. Given how much I like Star Wars, I was disappointed with the new installment in the saga.

That said, I didn’t hate Episode VII, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I rather enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed it when it was called Star Wars Episode IV. Episode VII is a rehash of Episode IV! There. I said it. I loved Episode IV, it’s what started it all. After 30 years and something like a two year production schedule, I expected more than Episode IV regurgitated for a new generation. I read somewhere that George Lucas saw the new installment and liked it. Yeah, it’s his story from 1977. Why wouldn’t he like it? Given the two schools of Star Wars, the original trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) and the prequels (Episodes I-III), I wanted, most people wanted, a new installment that was akin to the original trilogy. Episode VII isn’t akin to the original trilogy, its exactly like the original film.

I started to write a review chock full of spoilers, so that I could point out all of the similarities, but that isn’t fair. You deserve to see it on your own. So, I deleted to this point and I am, instead going to tell you about the movie aside from the unoriginality. I was not crazy about the villain. Darth Vader was a badass, thru and thru. This new villain is more of a petulant child. Every time things didn’t go the villain’s way, the villain threw a fit. (Did you see what I did there? If you haven’t seen it, I’m not going to spoil it for you. You’re safe. Keep reading.) It was a source of comedy. The villain is throwing another fit. Really. I find it hard to believe that this villain can lead the Dark Side if he can’t control his own emotions.

About emotions, you will notice that Star Wars: The Force Awakens has quite a bit of humor in it. I wasn’t crazy about the humor. It seemed forced and too obvious. The original trilogy had moments of humor, but they were subtle, because, I think, saving the galaxy isn’t really a funny story, and still, Han Solo snuck-in some classic one-liners. The humor in this installment felt like “insert laugh here.”

There were plot holes galore. Some were real head scratchers, events that challenge everything you know about the galaxy far, far away. Jedi mind trick is used by someone that has no (recent) training in the Force. How? Luke Skywalker was trained by Yoda. People can’t just Jedi mind trick, can they? And how is it that just anyone can pick-up a lightsaber? And if people and things can go missing, how is it that they were all conveniently found just in time for the movie? Could they have been found all along?

Still, it was a fun movie to see. The special effects are very cool. I recommend large format. Personally, I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens in IMAX 3D. The special effects, as well as the costumes, were my favorite aspects of the film. There is something cool about paying homage to the classic films. I would have appreciated homage. This wasn’t that. See Star Wars: The Force Awakens playing everywhere now.