Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Movie Review

My friend won this poster. He gave it to me as a birthday gift, so oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Oh my god, this movie was amazing.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens happens to be one of my most anticipated movies of 2015, and the best movie of 2015. My god, guys, this movie wasn't a movie; it was more of an experience. Yes, it was an experience, mainly for me because I get to watch Star Wars in theaters on the silver screen. Watching the opening crawl unveil made me so much happier, but also at the same, knew I am going to be watching something good. 

It certainly wasn't disappointing. It was such an incredible movie. I loved how much everyone has put their work into this, and at the end, paid off as being the best movie of 2015. I’m not trying to let the fanboyism take me over here, this really was an amazing movie. Mainly because you can see it was such a refreshing change from the prequels that happened before, and you see filmmaking at its truest form. They used practical effects. The characters are real. It conveyed so much emotional depth in each character. The special effects and cinematography looks grand. In this review, I’m going to take everything in more depth and detail.

Completely spoiler free review. As the trailers did so well shrouding this movie with secrecy, I don’t want it to be spoiled for you guys. Have fun reading, not a single thing spoiled.

Film Synopsis - Thirty years after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, the galaxy faces a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and the First Order. When a defector named Finn crash-lands on a desert planet, he meets Rey (Daisy Ridley), a tough scavenger whose droid contains a top-secret map. Together, the young duo joins forces with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to make sure the Resistance receives the intelligence concerning the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the last of the Jedi Knights.

The Pros

A Nostalgia Flick - This movie slapped fans in the face with so much senses and things we remember from the original trilogy. It had a lot of references and showed everything you loved about the old Star Wars movies. At the same time, J.J. Abrams wasn’t copying it. He took those references, and injected them with renewed energy, and took them off with different directions. Although there are some that kind of happened in the old movies before, but they were executed well. The writers managed to convey those scenes so well, it is not exposition heavy. Speaking of exposition heavy…

A developing, compelling story - What this movie did so well, which is an improvement over the prequels and in my opinion Return of the Jedi, even though that was a great movie, was the fact that it doesn’t expose you to information through stating facts literally. The story goes along, the plot develops, it grows, you unveil things through dialogue, but they are not spoken literally out loud, for example: “Leia is your sister Luke!” They don’t do that. They talk through dialogue, but have the audience turn on their brains to put two and two together just to make a fact and story in the movie make sense.

Speaking of the story, there are some plot points that were re-hash of the original Star Wars movie, but took them in new directions. It gave the story a completely different energy from the old movies. You are thoroughly entertained, and things you have seen before were taken into a refreshing account, making you forget whether if it is really copying off the old movies. To be honest, it is, but wasn’t there just to shoe-horn those references to make this movie nostalgic in its way. It was there to get the story moving along, but also rack up people’s memories from the old movies. I absolutely loved how it was made into this movie.

J.J. Abrams has always been great with it, as that is exactly what he has done for Star Trek. Although I can’t say whether Star Trek is going to die again when Justin Lin took the helm of Star Trek beyond. Who really knows?

(Creeps)

 

Daisy Ridley and John Boyega as Rey and Finn - These actors have a bright future ahead of them. They both killed it in this movie. You can feel John’s charismatic energy from this movie, and you can tell he gave it everything he’s got to make his character real. Hell, when he was in a Stormtrooper armor, and it is impossible to see the expression since the helmet covered it, you can just tell how much emotions he is able to convey, and show what is unsettling him. Showing what is bothering him and disturbing him. John Boyega was thoroughly brilliant in the movie. They set him up so well in this movie.

However, Daisy Ridley was the one who stole the entire show. See, this movie was great, because not only there is a black guy being a main character, but also a strong female lead? She was an excellent discovery, from someone who was quite unknown, and finally know how much of an important and strong character she is in this movie. You completely forgot she was there as an actor, but you’re looking at an actual real human being. She was an absolutely excellent casting choice made by J.J. Abrams, and I can’t think of anyone else who can play Rey that well.

I’m excited to see what John Boyega and Daisy Ridley can really do in the next two Star Wars movies. 

(Apocalypse Actor playing as "the best freaking pilot in the galaxy")

Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron - He was a fun person to be with, and really cool at the same time. He’s not cocky, but he is really assured of the skills he had with piloting. You feel that warmth coming off him, and his cute relationship between BB8 was flawless. Funny, isn’t it, you see a guy had so much relationship with a droid?

Filmmaking in its truest form - This was actual filmmaking. The practical effects gave a major boost to this movie, since we are all so used to blue screens and CGI soldiers from the prequels. Everything in this movie is entirely real. The sets are incredibly detailed and real. There’s beautiful forests and huge landscape of deserts. But the sheer size of the scope of the Star Wars universe was once again showed to us in The Force Awakens. It was absolutely enthralling to see the world expand even more, and now you can finally see how big the Star Wars universe really is. Speaking of practical effects and models, they were all real. Of course there are special effects and fake airplanes flying in this movie, but they looked so real as well. The colorization of the special effects blending in with the entire set around it just paid off to make it look realistic. Soon, the special effects in this movie, just like the original trilogy had done so well, will be timeless forever. Soon, this movie would be an actual classic among many viewers in the future. 

(I looked like a little kid gaping as he watched Saturday Morning Cartoons)

There’s also use of actual humor that landed well in this movie. They were funny, and made us laugh. It was just so appropriate for that to happen, because I am going to make this statement: This is the darkest movie so far of the entire Star Wars Saga. As the 2^nd PG-13 Star Wars to ever exist, it was way darker than Revenge of the Sith. For some of the scenes, it was really sad and dark at the same time. Some scenes crushingly violent for a Star Wars movie, although I have definitely seen worse, but not that kind of approach J.J. Abrams made. The lightsaber Kylo Ren held was so violent, as you see it was a lighter red than the other lightsabers, and a cross guard extension, but also how crackling the surface of the lightsaber is. It makes violent noises and crackles a lot, with the unstable electricity of some sort running it through, and that thing meant so much business. And speaking of business, let’s talk about…

Kylo Ren - This dude is on par with Darth Vader at this point. He is one of the best villains I’ve seen for a long time. I thought he would have been a Vader 2.0, but no. Kylo Ren was humanized brilliantly, but also big and scary at the same time. However, that is not what makes him such a great villain. Adam Driver was able to express the humanity of Kylo Ren. He is not a super villain that doesn’t get injured. He is vulnerable as well. Also, Kylo Ren managed to express his motivation so well, you understood him as a character. That is what makes such a good villain. Villains get motivated to do such evil deeds, to do what is right for them. They believe what they are doing are right, no matter how dark, twisted or evil it actually is.

The Returning of the Original Cast - They are not shoehorned for the sake of making more nostalgia for the audience. You see their characters, coming off from the original trilogy, but also seemed to have developed and grew as human beings, with more personality and emotional depth in them, because after all, it had been so many years between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. Harrison Ford had more humanity in him, although he kept some of his funny side and the smuggler side of him from the originals. He wasn’t a man child, and if he was I would have been very disappointed about the fact that he didn’t grow at all. Thankfully, thanks to good writing, he did. And so did Princess Leia. Or should I say, General Leia Organa, because she’s been promoted. Duh.

Seriously, you see how well they reunited Han and Leia together, and they showed such sweet moments in the movie. At the same time, you feel a bit of remorse between them of something that has happened between The Force Awakens and Return of the Jedi. You see more humanity in their characters, and it was awesome.

Of course, you got Peter Mayhew back as Chewbacca, Anthony Daniels back as C-3P0, even though he wasn’t there much in the movie, and Danny Baker as R2-D2, who was also not much in the movie as well. And of course… Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.

Was Luke Skywalker in this movie? Yes.

That's about all I'm going to say.

BB8 - How can anyone possibly make another droid that can be better than R2-D2? Well, they've certainly made one. BB8 was the best kinds of comic relief given to a movie possible, and all it takes is a puppeteer robot doing its own thing. BB8 was cute and funny at a few scenes, but thankfully wasn’t there to steal the entire show. It was there as secondary humor, just like the minions from Despicable Me, but at the same time was important to the story. I loved where this movie went with this droid. I can’t think of which droid is my favorite, because they are both so funny. BB8 was cuter, so yeah. 

(<3)

Cinematography - There’s so much I can comment on with the cinematography. You don’t see those shots through the Prequels, and the first Star Wars movie and Return of the Jedi. The only other good well shot movie was The Empire Strikes Back, but The Force Awakens had some of the most effective uses of cinematography I’ve seen in a long time, possibly ever since Avatar.

This movie’s 3D actually worked. In fact, I was guessing it was deliberately filmed in 3D, and not a way to milk customers with more money. The explosions popping in your face, the ships coming into your face, the shot of things appearing very close to our eye, and making straight contact with you as if it’s really trying to punch you in, was so brilliant. When I watched this movie in 3D, there’s not a scene I was like: “That was a way to milk customers for money.” Everything in this movie was so well-shot. J.J. Abrams had the eyes for those kinds of cinematography ever since Irvin Kershner’s view of The Empire Strikes Back.

Speaking of a dark movie… - This really was the darkest Star Wars movie to ever exist in our time. It was truly Pg-13 at this point. One example was how much emotion it gave when sad scenes happen, and how violent in the end it was. There were more blood used than any other Star Wars movies used. Everyone was vulnerable, not a bunch of superheroes, and you truly felt the unstoppable force of The First Order, the same thing we have felt from The Empire Strikes Back, when The Empire was really pushing the Rebels back.

I am glad at that new approach J.J. Abrams gave to the movie, as it gave the humanity of everyone in the universe as well as showing you how cruel human nature can be.

Eye-popping action sequences - The movie had very entertaining action sequences, whether it was space fleet dogfights, ground battle shootouts, or the lightsaber duels, but they were really entertaining, and J.J. Abrams knew exactly how to film those scenes, and execute it at the same time. As the movie was a fast-paced movie that never stops moving, the action sequences happen, and they were brilliant. Not a single time did the movie stalled, not boring us, unlike The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2.

The Lightsaber Duel - It was much less choreographed than the prequels did, but what was so great about the lightsaber duel in this movie, was how well it captured the intensity of the fight scenes. It reminded us largely of the original, because it is real combat, not something that is timed too well to make it work. It was unsafe fighting, and you see the characters hacking away at each other, along with the camera work and the trees falling down as they slice and dice. It was such a great step up from the prequels. 

John Williams coming back to compose the score - Come on. It's so beautiful and perfect. Every score worked with every scene. I’m going to buy the score soon. I will really appreciate it.

And finally…

J.J. Abrams’ direction of this movie - This movie was great mainly because of J.J. Abrams. He knows what he is doing as he is a Star Wars fan himself, so we are basically getting a fan film except it is a legit movie. The story, the filmmaking, the cinematography, the writing (he was involved with it as well as he worked with Lawrence Kasdan, the writer for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi) the characters, the humor (that made dialogue not wooden or stale, but relatable) was all thanks to J.J.’s assured direction of this movie. After seeing this movie, it is absolutely impossible to think of anyone who can helm this movie that well, and kick the sequel trilogy off with such a great start. It was a lovely and beautiful movie.

Neutral

Maz Kanata and Supreme Leader Snoke - They were really good characters, and a small worthy addition to this new trilogy. The motion capture of both of those characters looked great, but the only small issue I had with both of them was the fact that as J.J. Abrams has made the entire movie through so much practical filmmaking, the illusion between the impractical motion capture between Lupita Nyong’o and Andy Serkis wasn’t effective in its own way. Nearly everything in this movie was practical, but having them as one of the first impractical character alien designs in the movie was one of the issues I have with this movie.

Conclusion

I used to have 3 favorite Star Wars movies. I have about 4 now. The Force Awakens was an emotional roller coaster, with good acting, filmmaking, practical effects, cinematography, and of course, the assured direction of J.J. Abram’s view and scope of this world, made the movie pay off so well. I teared up at a few scenes, and it’s not something I feel from a Star Wars movie. It was an absolutely beautiful movie. I also suggest watching it in 3D, too.

I am extremely excited what Disney and Lucasfilms can bring to the silver screen after The Force Awakens gave Star Wars new injected and renewed energy, and I would have loved for J.J. Abrams to come back. But of course, it is always better to give it to other directors to take the helm. Just give them a chance. But I will always remember the fact that this is J.J. Abrams’ best movie to date. I am also very happy to give this movie the rating it deserves.

The Pros - 13

Neutral - 1

The Cons - 0

Rating: CINEMATASTIC (6/6)

Sorry for the long hiatus, I have a lot of things to do before the Christmas Break. Of course, now that I’m free now, I wouldn’t mind reviewing the other two Star Wars movies I would love to talk about: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983).

Please comment on your views on after watching the movie and how you feel about it. Thank you!