(December 2015, U.S.)
THE FORCE AWAKENS can best be described in one word: redemption. Redemption for the sour taste that the saga's finale, RETURN OF THE JEDI, left in my mouth for decades (bad acting and bad dialogue!). Redemption for Han Solo and Princess Leia, whose characters I felt had been completely lived out by the time JEDI came around. Finally, redemption for J.J. Abrams. While I deeply admire the man who wrote REGARDING HENRY when he was still a kid and later created ABC-TV's LOST, there's not a single film of his that I enjoyed before THE FORCE AWAKENS. I also have to acknowledge what a challenge it must have been to be bestowed the legendary space opera franchise after Disney acquired the rights in 2012. How do you pick things up more than thirty years since the timeline was severed? What's more, how do you win back an audience that felt disenchanted and alienated by George Lucas with his less-than-embraced prequel trilogy? I suppose in all fairness, THE FORCE AWAKENS had plenty of good luck on its side from the beginning. The return of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill were an immediate incentive. For myself, the return of writer Lawrence Kasdan at the helm (he wrote EMPIRE and JEDI, though JEDI had its many flaws) was nothing to sneeze at, either.
And so, thirty years later, we're all back in that galaxy far, far away we've known and loved since 1977. The Empire is long dead, but the First Order has risen to destroy the New Republic once and for all. Like the Rebellion, they are opposed by the Resistance, backed by the Republic and General Leia Organa. Luke Skywalker has also disappeared, and his sister has never stopped her desperate search for him. Like the first STAR WARS film, a charming little droid (BB-8) carries a secret message in the form of a map that will lead to Luke. The opening action also takes place on a sand heap of a planet, Jakku, and Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (played by Oscar Isaac) is captured after an attack on his village by stormtroopers led by the saga's new arch villain, a Darth Vader wannabe, Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver). Like Vader, Kylo Ren hides behind a sinister black mask and is all-knowing and all-powerful with the Dark Side of the Force. What he cannot predict is that one of the stormtroopers, who we'll later know as Finn (played by John Boyega), decides in a moment of consciousness and righteousness, to defect from the First Order. Meanwhile, BB-8 meets Jakku scavenger Rey (played by Daisy Ridley) who, while simply trying to survive every day, knows that there's something mysteriously special about her.
After helping Poe to escape his captors, Finn and he return to Jakku to try and find BB-8, but end up crash landing the Tie Fighter they've stolen. Finn and Ray meet and join forces to not only survive the First Order, but to try and locate BB-8 also so that the ultimate mystery of Luke Skywalker's whereabouts can be solved. The film's true turning point is not just the rediscovery of the junked Millenium Falcon in action, but that all-too wonderful moment when Han Solo and Chewie return "home" when they board their beloved ship. Yes, we've waited more than thirty years to see the mighty Han Solo back where he truly belongs and now we've got it. Tell me that you don't smile yourself when you watch Harrison Ford smile at the sight of the cockpit he's missed for so long.
As the story and all-too familiar space action of any great STAR WARS film continue to lead closer and closer to Luke, Rey's true identity and past continue to mystify. We're given many hints that would indicate her own personal connection to Luke Skywalker (her father, perhaps) and the powers of the Force, which she progressively discovers for herself as she matures into a warrior that would rival the legacy of the Jedi's past. We're also reminded of the past by the existence of the Starkiller Base (Starkiller, by the way, was the last name for Luke that Lucas first came up with when he was writing the first STAR WARS film), an echo of the Death Star, with enough fire power to destroy many planets at once. In fact, during its primary testing of its fire power, I'm quite sure one of the planets that's destroyed is Coruscant from the prequel trilogy (am I really the only one who can recognize that??). Other questions that never quite answer themselves are just how Kylo Ren came into possession of his grandfather's (Vader's) burnt-up mask. And just how did cantina owner Maz Kanata come into possession of Luke's original lightsaber, which supposedly fell into oblivion when Vader severed his hand during their Cloud City duel in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK? She actually tells Han that that's a story for another time and another place. To date, we still haven't heard that story.
Like films of the past, the climax will come together in a pivotal lightsaber duel between good and evil, this time between Rey and Kylo Ren. These are moments we come to expect. What we cannot possibly expect or imagine (not without spoilers, anyway) is that Kylo Ren is actually the son of Han and Leia, who turned to the Dark Side after the teachings of his former Jedi Master, Luke, failed. What's even more shocking to us (again, only if we walk into the movie theater completely unaware) is that Han Solo will die before the film is over. This is a moment that many of us STAR WARS fans must face with a heavy heart. We've watched the mighty Solo in action for four films, and now the time has come to say goodbye to his character forever. We almost can't help but want to shriek ourselves along with Chewie at that moment when Kylo's lightsaber penetrates Han's body. Solo was a renegade who once told Obi-Wan Kenobi that he'd "seen a lot of strange stuff". But never could he have ever fathomed the idea that he would die at hands of his own son. The shocked and mystified look on Ford's face before falling into the abyss says it all. As THE FORCE AWAKENS comes to its moment of truth, we wait in anticipation for its ultimate conclusion. This has been primarily a film about finding Luke Skywalker, and find him we eventually will. In a final moment that is without dialogue, Rey and Chewie arrive in the Falcon to an isolated island and Rey climbs her way to discovery. It's been more than thirty years, and we know look upon the face of the legendary, if not mythical Luke Skywalker; alone, older, worn out, beaten, and unsure of what his ultimate destiny in the universe will be.
Admittedly, there's a strong sense of drama in the way I write this post. I think that J.J. Abrams intentionally tries to create an equal sense of drama in this film. He recognizes that it's been decades since we've been with these characters and it's surely a major challenge to not only pick things up after so long, but to try to account for a timeline we've been unable to be a part of for so long. There's also an equally strong sense of mystery and awe in having been away for so long, and yet one cannot help but feel cheated at the same time in our inability to have been a part of what's happened up until now. We're given the backstory of Luke's establishment of a new Jedi order and its ultimate failure that led to the son of Han and Leia turning to the Dark Side. We know that the love and marriage of Han and Leia failed, too (hell, maybe we even expected that), and yet it does our heart good to see Ford and Fisher reunited in unity and strength. Because even as we embrace new faces and fresh blood, we cherish the familiarity of the past in not only our heroes, but in our beloved droids, as well. THE FORCE AWAKENS reminds us of what STAR WARS was in the past; energetic, joyous, thrilling, surprising and filled with solid performances by credible actors (well, at least that was the case in STAR WARS and EMPIRE, anyway). It celebrates the STAR WARS of the past while finding new ways to expand and continue it.
Now let me ask a question that I still haven't found the answer to anywhere on the web. Does anybody else notice this bizarre, ongoing consistency of red patches on many things and characters in the film? Take another look and you'll see a red patch on the shoulder of Poe's jacket, a red patch on the shoulder of the commander of the stormtroopers, a red patch on the side of the Tie Fighter that Poe and Finn steal, and finally, an entire red arm on See-Threepio. This red is just too damn consistent to be merely a coincidence! It must mean something, but for the life of me, I can't figure out what! Somebody please help me with this!
Favorite line or dialogue:
Han Solo (upon returning to the Millenium Falcon): "Chewie...we're home."
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