Producer: Lucasfilms Ltd./Bad Robot Productions
Writers: Lawrence Kasdan. J.J. Abrams, Michael Arndt
Director: J.J. Abrams
Starring: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Max von Sydow
Release Date: OUT NOW!

I was 17 years old when I saw the first Star Wars movie and it was so exciting and fresh I went to see it several more times. If I was still 17 I might feel the same about Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

In Star Wars: The Force Awakens the Republic is under attack from the First Order. There’s a droid the First Order is looking for, carrying information vital to the Rebellion. A tall, black-helmeted and caped villain controls the dark side of the force. Eventually the rebels find a flaw in the weapon’s design and launch a last-minute hail-Mary play to take it out. Along the way a new Jedi discovers her power. If all this sounds familiar it should: it’s basically the plot of the original Star Wars circa 1977.

That would be fine if Star Wars: The Force Awakens did not depend on egregious and extremely improbable coincidences to put all the players on the board, and if the plot holes were not so large. For example, the droid, the adorable BB-8, standing in for RD-D2, is carrying a map leading to the missing Luke Skywalker. How such a thing even exists would require tortured logic to understand.

What the movie does best aside from pressing the nostalgia button (Han! Chewie! Leia! Luke!) is action, and there’s plenty. As usual, Storm Troopers can’t hit barn sides, and there’s lots of aerial dogfighting. The film also scores with its two new heroes, FN-2187/Finn (good thing he wasn’t named QZ-2187), a deserting Storm Trooper who is given some of the best lines; and Rey, a scrappy young lady scavenger who helps BB-8 and is able to pilot the Millennium Falcon, which just happens to be parked near her house for some reason.

The third new character of interest is Ren, a chip off the old dark force block. He looks and acts like a young Severus Snape. His light-sabre tantrums are amusing but make him seem less menacing and more childish.

Thankfully the film ignores all the midichlorian nonsense from the last three Star Wars films, and again treats the force like the sub-ethereal power we fell in love in 1977.

By all means, go see Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Just don’t expect a well-written plot and instead enjoy the action and don’t think too hard about the plot. In other words, a near-prefect cinema going experience if all you are looking for is some entertainment and escapism.

 

Reviewer: Joe Lovece
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker