A nostalgic trip down the memory lane
By Murtaza Ali Khan (@apotofvestiges)
Featured in IMDb Critic Reviews
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| Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - By J.J. Abrams |
Our Rating: 6.5
IMDb Ratings: 8.7
Genre: Action | Adventure | Fantasy
Cast: Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega
Country: USA
Language: English
Runtime: 135 min
Color: Color
Summary: 30 years after the defeat of Darth Vader and the Empire, Rey, a scavenger from the planet Jakku, finds a BB-8 droid that knows the whereabouts of the long lost Luke Skywalker. Rey, as well as a rogue stormtrooper and two smugglers, are thrown into the middle of a battle between the resistance and the daunting legions of the First Order.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, directed by J. J. Abrams, is the
seventh installment in the celebrated Star Wars film series, created by George Lucas. Co-written
by Bryan Burk, Kathleen Kennedy, and Abrams himself, The Force Awakens has a
stellar ensemble cast—as one would expect with a highly anticipated movie of an
enormously popular film franchise—with Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher reprising the roles of Hans Solo, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa, respectively.
The movie also stars Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Max von Sydow, Andy Serkis, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Adam Driver.
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| Han Solo with Chewbacca in Star Wars: The Force Awakens |
The Force Awakens picks up 30 years after the events depicted in The Return of the Jedi (1983), wherein the
Rebels Alliance had successfully put an end to the evil Galactic Empire under
the command of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and his apprentice Darth Vader, thanks
to the heroics of the last Jedi, Luke Skywalker. It is revealed that following Luke’s
sudden disappearance, a new evil regime, the First Order, commanded by the Supreme
Leader Snoke and his apprentice Kylo Ren, has risen from the remains of the
fallen Empire and it now seeks to eliminate Luke and the Republic. The
Resistance, which is led by Luke's sister, Leia, must find Luke and stop the
Order from unleashing its evil plan.
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| Daisy Ridley as Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens |
The return of Han Solo, Princess
Leia, and Luke Skywalker to the Star Wars universe after an absence of 32 years
is a grand spectacle in itself. Add to
this the reemergence of the Millennium Falcon and Solo's close confidante
Chewbacca along with C-3PO and R2D2, and we have another great Stars Wars
adventure in the making. Alas, The Force Awakens flatters to deceive
the millions of Star Wars fans the world over! A major problem is the conspicuous
lack of suspense owing to predictability in the plot despite an abundance of
high octane adventure. It is apparent that the makers are desperate to prepare
us for a lofty trilogy instead of relishing us with a definitive Star Wars
sequel that we deserve.
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| Adam Driver as Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens |
The rub is that in their endeavor
to build mystery around the disappearance of Luke, the makers shy away from
feeding us with anything new or surprising, thereby adding to the plot’s predictability.
The movie unfolds like a well-practiced ritual devoid of the frenzy we often
associate with the Star Wars franchise.
It is apparent that the makers are desperate to prepare us for a lofty trilogy instead of relishing us with a definitive Star Wars sequel that we deserve.Perhaps, in a bid to make up for the lack of impact, a major character is killed in the third act, leading us to an 'epic' lightsaber duel sequence featuring two franchise upstarts, only it is not epic enough for a Star Wars movie. The scene does make one nostalgic but for all the wrong seasons. In order to get rid of the bad taste, one is forced to revisit the truly epic climactic lightsaber duel sequence between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005).
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| John Boyega (right) as Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens |
In The Force Awakens we find a white female (Daisy Ridley as Rey) and
a black male (John Boyega as Finn) at the forefront of all the action—a clear
sign of the changing times. While Ridley and Boyega play their parts with
reasonable conviction, they pale in comparison to the leading characters in the
earlier Star Wars movies. One of the
biggest disappointments is the effeminate villain Kylo Ren (played by Adam
Driver). Ren’s desperation to fill in his idol Darth Vader’s shoes (he wears a
mask merely to look like Vader) is perhaps best matched by Driver’s own longing
to fill up the void created by the departure of David Prowse’s James Earl
Jones-voiced menacing cyborg supervillain from the Star Wars universe. Ren’s
weak caricature has drawn flak from various sections of the press including the
Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano which observes that Ren and Snoke are
pale imitations of predecessors Vader and Palpatine.
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| Han Solo embraces Leia in Star Wars: The Force Awakens |
Overall, Star Wars: The Force
Awakens fails to match the brilliance and uniqueness of the earlier Star Wars
films. But, the visual effects do make it one of a kind; it is indeed stunning to watch in 3D. While the cinematography is topnotch, there
aren’t any images powerful enough to get permanently etched in the viewer's memory. There
are few who would ever forget the iconic double sunset scene of planet Tatooine’s twin
suns in A New Hope (1977) or Luke’s deadly
encounter with a Wampa on the icy planet Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Having said that, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, to its
credit, does succeed in its endeavor to make us feel nostalgic and
the nostalgia alone makes it worth the ticket. As for the newbies, it is best
advised that they watch the earlier six films prior to watching the seventh in
order to avoid confusion and embarrassment.
Readers, please feel free to share your views/opinions in the comment box below. As always your insightful comments are highly appreciated!
References:
References:
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
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