Saturday 19 December 2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Duo Review

Dan's Review


The biggest film of 2015 is finally here after years, almost decades of an excruciating wait for a true continuation of George Lucas's original trilogy, something of which would attempt to eradicate the wholly mediocre memory that the prequels imprinted on the Star Wars community, whilst expanding the well and truly cherished universe for a whole new generation of young children who's experience of The Force Awakens may indeed be their first taste of Star Wars on the big screen. With George Lucas handing directorial duties to renowned sci-fi enthusiast, J.J. Abrams, the man behind the reinvention of the Star Trek series, The Force Awakens was already heading in the desired direction with Lucas finally understanding that money can only go so far and what was truly needed with The Force Awakens was to return to the imaginative and truly immersive spectacle the original trilogy portrayed all the way back with the release of A New Hope in 1977. Has it succeeded? Is The Force Awakens the magnum opus of the Star Wars universe many have proclaimed it to be? Not exactly, but one thing is for sure, it is a resounding homecoming and like the original trilogy, a whole lotta fun.




Beginning once again with the legendary line of "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away", John Williams famous overture blasts onto our screens over the scrolling opening crawl that informs us of Luke Skywalker's apparent disappearance and the rise of the First Order, a seedy, evil faction of the fallen galactic empire who are attempting to discover the location of the lost, legendary Jedi, an opening backdrop much more streamlined than the tax credit political nonsense that The Phantom Menace began with. So far, so good, and the film takes no time at all settling into the introduction of the both the film's antagonist and protagonist with the Sith-ridden Kylo Ren being introduced through ruthless murder and an understanding of the force similar to that of Vader himself, whilst Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron comes across as the cocky, swaggering second shade of Han Solo himself, and already I'm sold. Within the first ten minutes of the film we are exposed to an understanding of the force unlike anything I have ever seen before and this is a riff played extensively upon throughout the course of The Force Awakens, resulting in a villain both ominous and ambiguous who is crippled by, excuse the pun, the force of expectation brought upon him due to his rather muddled family tree. No spoilers here.




Where Kylo Ren proves to be a real win in terms of the evil side of the force, the introduction of Daisy Ridley as Rey and John Boyega as Finn are welcome entries into the Star Wars universe, with Rey particularly being a strong, independent, and well-developed female lead, expanding the rather limited female base of characters established in the universe so far and for that I'm glad. Following in the footsteps of the universally recognised R2-D2 also, is that of BB-8, the orange coated roller-ball who, along with the return of Chewbacca, brings the greatest comedic elements of the film, particularly in a scene where it responds to Finn's thumbs up which resulted in the entire screening laughing in hysterics. As for the return of the golden-oldies, Harrison Ford's Han Solo is the obvious winner with him not only getting the greatest screen time, but also the best lines, most of which hark back to the original trilogy or his relationship with his favourite Wookie, a true bromance is ever there was one whilst it is his character which takes the front-line in the film's most shocking twist, a cinematic moment on par with "I am your father", and one that is set to send shock-waves across the Star Wars universe.




As for the film's production, The Force Awakens is a particularly handsome movie with spectacular scenes of vast, endless landscapes, gorgeous looking CGI spaces battles, and a unnerving attention to detail that highlights the love and dedication to which the film has been made with. Where the film ultimately succeeds is in its' sheer diversity to the prequels, with the dodgy CGI of the early 21st century being totally outclassed with the use of practical, real life props, giving the film that rustic aesthetic which makes you feel these places actually do exist and aren't created on somebody's computer, a brilliant change of direction, and one that leaves me reeling for more. For all the film's brilliance, there are certain degrees of similarity in terms of plot which reduces the film's overall originality, yet one can afford to overlook such weaknesses and exhale in relief. The Force Awakens is a true return to the magical wonder of the saga's original trilogy, incorporating new, interesting characters whilst working a winning nostalgia appeal with the return of the series' most famous faces. A real triumph. How many years until the next one? 
Overall Score: 9/10





Josh's Review

The hype is real and totally worth it!
Usually in these duo reviews it seems that I'm the one to poke holes in the plot, but I don't know if I'm "fanboying" too much while mentally blocking most of them out. There isn't many films that I would say that I'd gladly sit in the cinema and watch again, back to back, but I would for this. If you haven't yet, go see this film!
As obvious as the statement is, this is undoubtedly a Star Wars film. What I mean by that is that it feels like a continuation of the originally trilogy. J.J Abrams decision to use more costumes and animatronics instead of relying solely on computer effects is a noticeable improvement, bringing a more organic feel to environments and sets.


The return of the previous cast is a welcome sight and a good measure of the passage of time. Its good to see that none of the previous actors have forgotten their roles despite it being 32 years since they were last in their characters shoes. Moving on to the new characters, Dan had huge praise for Daisy Ridley's 'Rey' and I loved the character progression which was done at a good pace. Along with Oscar Isaac's character 'Poe' who immediately resembled a Han Solo personality and humour (but thankfully not to the extent which he mirrors him). John Boyega's character Finn slightly recalled me to how Luke was in the original film. Its often hinted throughout the film that there is something special about him but he struggles to become it, yet that's not to say that his character doesn't also make loads of progression. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who left the cinema wanting a  BB-8 for Christmas. The lovable droid, despite only commuting with limited gestures was hilarious and adorable, even more so than dare I say; R2-D2.


No Star Wars film is complete without the Dark Side. Though I admit I was originally sceptical  to Adam Driver as the First Order's Kylo Ren, however, he did an impressive job...while the mask was on. Without the mask he just didn't seem as big nor as threatening, yet maybe that was deliberate. What Kylo Ren can do with the force though brings a new evil with the Sith (torture) and I love his character for that.


One little complaint I have would be with Gwendaline Christie's character, Captain Phasma. Despite being one of the most advertised characters her role was minuscule with hardly any dialogue. She didn't even fire her blaster once! Hopefully she will have a larger role in the future upcoming films.


The fight choreography is perfect for the setting of the film. No force triple back flips or over the top dance fighting which is how it should be. Every swing has the characters emotion in it, along with the amazing camera work and epic music it creates truly enjoyable fight scenes.



After watching the film you can clearly tell that J.J Abrams is a huge fan of the original trilogy and directed "The Force Awakens" for fans. Its safe to say that he hasn't let us down at all. There are throw backs to the previous films but not so many that we are chocking on it or that it disrupts the pacing of the story. I am really looking forward to seeing what happens next and hopefully it continues with this momentum.
If this had came out before I did my top 5 this would've easily been my number 1!


9/10