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
