A couple of days ago, I went to the Vue cinema to experience the most anticipated film of the year. I was rather ambivalent about the film before I seen it. As much as I was glad that George Lucas had decided to give the franchise to Disney (or rather just packed it in), and allow the imagination of the universe to expand further, I didn't really know what to think about JJ Abrams being in the directing chair for this new series of films. Granted, while I have heard that he did a good job with the Star Trek reboot, I must admit that I never really watched Star Trek and therefore I don't really have a solid opinion on the series at time of writing, but I will say that I felt like he would carry over a lot of elements from that series into Star Wars. Thankfully, I found that the film held its own well, and despite the strong similarities to A New Hope, the new characters and updated settings were more than enough to keep me satisfied.
Now to explain my history with Star Wars, I have to confess that I am one of those fans who went into the franchise long after Return of the Jedi was released. Unfortunately, even when they re-released the special editions in 1997, I was too young to be aware of them at the time. Then I watched a commercial on TV in 1999, and my interest was sparked after I seen a guy in red and black make-up with horns on his head, and I was enticed by this mysterious looking character. I was so hyped to see this film. It was a bit of a shock for me to realize that there were three films before Phantom Menace, and while I do credit the film for getting me interested in the universe with its impressive settings, and two characters in Qui-Gon-Jinn and Darth Maul, it was a little bit too convoluted for its own good, and it lacked a lot of the character and humour so prominent in the original trilogy. I will always stand by the fact that this film was more interesting than Attack of the Clones by far, and while I admit that Revenge of the Sith was more relevant to the timeline, I found it too dark for its own good.
Now the original trilogy was viewed by me during the time Revenge of the Sith came out, and I was in awe of it. It was a universe that had archetypes, a good and bad that you can feel for (the battle between Vader and Luke is still exhilarating) and imagination. While its morality is a little more questionable, and the writing wasn't always top notch, Star Wars, to me and a lot of others, has always been more about the characters, effects, worlds, and mythology. The Force Awakens seems to be going in the right direction in this respect.
From the beginning, the title scroll explains exactly what is going on, and actually manages to give us an identifiable character, Finn, who wants to get out of the First Order where he is forced to be a Stormtrooper. When he saves the pilot Po, the two strike up a friendship that is really believable, and I was quite shocked by how well done it was. The two really work well off eachother. Eventually, things go wrong, and Finn is stranded on the planet Jakku where he meets a scavenger by the name of Rey, who has been waiting for her family to return. They are all on the same journey, and when Rey meets up with Finn, their relationship is probably the strongest part of the film. Of course, we get Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Leia in their matured roles, so it manages to feel very familiar while keeping the focus on the two main characters strong. It turns out a new villain called Kylo Ren is wanting to take over the Galaxy, and while this motivation has been seen time and time again, I feel like the way that Kylo Ren is portrayed in the film is the way that a Young Darth Vader would have acted, and had the prequels done Anakin a lot better and in a more identifiable way, this would be how I think many would have liked to see it. His mask hides the turmoil, and he isn't even the top Jedi to take on this kind of role, making his journey as interesting as Finn and Rey's.
Overall, I feel like this film is a step in the right direction. It does have problems, especially since most of the film feels a bit too similar to A New Hope, and one really controversial scene in the middle of the film is still quite jarring for me, but overall the mythology, friendship, new antagonist (and Snoke being the new big bad), humour and visuals are top notch, and I am excited to see where they go from here. It was a film that has much of the greatness expected in Star Wars, even if it falls short compared to the original films.
