Star Wars: The Force Awakens(2015) and other observations

I’ve been reluctant to write about the Star Wars saga on this blog, largely because there is really nothing more to be said. Just type in the words Star Wars on any search engine and you will likely come across more than a million results.  My Star Wars fandom is limited to the original trilogy - I don’t like the prequels and have never read a Star Wars novel/comic book in my life. It used to annoy me how  hardcore Star Wars fans insisted that Boba Fett survived the events of Return of the Jedi, because they read it in a Star Wars novel.  The fascination with Boba Fett has always baffled me, especially considering his death in Return of the Jedi is treated as a punch line, but I digress. While the rest of the internet was a buzz over The Force Awakens, I was fairly indifferent. However, when my sister offered to buy me a ticket to the movie, I figured, “Why not? It certainly can’t be any worse than Attack of the Clones,” and promptly accepted her invitation.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The best thing I can say about The Force Awakens is that it felt like a genuine Star Wars movie, by which I mean that it is focused entirely on the adventure – there isn’t an awkward romance, there are no boring senatorial debates, nor, thankfully, an annoying comedy sidekick that kills every scene he is in.The young protagonists (Rey, Finn, and Poe) are likable and have character arcs. It’s nice to see Harrison Ford actually put effort into his performance as Han Solo (compare this with his acting in Return of the Jedi, where he looks bored the entire time, and you will spot the difference).  The movie occasionally pays fan service (the holographic chess game from the first movie makes an appearance), but it not as distracting as it was in the prequels – at least, there is a genuinely good reason for Chewbacca to be in the movie.  It’s definitely worth seeing at the big screen at least once. However, rather than write a long winded review, I am going to list a few observations, about the entire Star Wars Saga, instead.

1.       PLOT HOLES.
There’s a huge difference between plot holes and nit picks. Most of the “plot holes” that people complain about in The Force Awakens are nit picks.   How does Rey speak Wookiee?” Who cares? Do we really need a ten minute scene that show a ten year-old Rey learning Wookiee? It's also fairly easy to forgive the real plot holes in the Star Wars: The Force Awakens, because it is a fantasy movie. Star Wars has often, mistakenly, been labeled as science fiction, when in reality it has more in common with a movie like The Wizard of Oz than it does with 2001: A Space Odyssey. The “science” in Star Wars is more of a plot device that allows the characters to get from point A to point B; The Millenium Falcon is on par with the magic carpet in The Thief of Bagdad. How often do you hear people complain about gaping plot holes in The Wizard of Oz? I can assure you there are plenty, but that doesn’t make it a less enjoyable movie. 

2.       WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FORCE AWAKENS AND THE PREQUELS?
The Force Awakens, structurally speaking, isn’t anything new. In fact, critics are correct in pointing out that it is essentially a “loose remake” of the original movie. Yet ,it vastly more entertaining than the prequels and that’s largely because the characters are for more engaging. Let’s compare The Force Awakens with The Phantom Menace:
Rey, Finn, and Poe are likable character with distinct personalities. Th  main characters in The Phantom Menace are complete flatlines:  Qui Gon is a pretty pointless character, Obi-Wan is practically an extra (until the climactic light saber battle), and Padme glowers the entire movie. Anakin is annoying child who is also revealed to be “the chosen one.” Whenever a scene shows promise, Jar Jar Binks will open his mouth and absolutely kill the moment. The protagonists in The Phantom Menace rarely display any genuine emotion and spend most of the movie talking in circles.
Rey is essentially the “Luke Skywalker” character of The Force Awakens, she is stuck on a desert planet, but has greater aspirations in life. She is a perfect surrogate for the audience, just like Luke was in the original movie. Finn is a turncoat storm trooper who is having an identity crisis - he was born and raised to be soldier - but he shows undying loyalty to Rey and true bravery. a  Note: I absolute refuse to call the original Star Wars “A New Hope,” because that would be buying into George Lucas’ revisionist take on the series. The movie in its initially release was simply Star Wars – A New Hope was added to the title in 1981. The flaws in the prequels could have easily been overlooked had the characters been more engaging. The acting isn't always the problem, most of the time it is the writing, and this bring me to my next point...........

3.       HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN IS NOT A TERRIBLE ACTOR!
Hayden Christensen has been  maligned for his performance as Anakin Skywalker in the prequels.  However, I actually think Christensen did a fine job in the role – at the very least, he gave it his all, unlike most of the actors in the prequels – and that he is more of a victim of bad writing/bad directing. Even a more accomplished actor couldn’t make the infamous “I don’t like sand” line work.  George Lucas wrote Anakin as a petulant brat and Christensen, rather successfully, brought his director’s vision to life.  Anakin is poorly written, but not poorly acted. 

4.  TOO MUCH STAR WARS?
While, I immensely enjoyed The Force Awakens,and am looking forward to Episode VIII, I got to admit that I bit apprehensive about all these Star Wars spinoff movies that are in development. How many Star Wars movies do we really need? If they are not any good, they could easily diminish the enthusiasm for Episodes VIII and IX.  What made the original Star Wars movie so exciting was that it was a truly unique movie going experience in 1977. It was a breath of fresh air in a truly cynical time, now, unfortunately, with all these upcoming spin offs it threatens to become just another cash cow franchise. 

Cast: Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Domhall Gleeson (General Hux), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Lupita Nyong’o (Maz Kanata), Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke), Max von Sydow (Lor San Tekka), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Gwedoline Christie (Captain Phasma), Simon Pegg (Unkar Plutt), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker).

Director: J.J. Abrams
Screenplay: Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams, Michael Arndt.
Running Time: 136 min.