‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ is a return to what makes film great
For fans of the “Star Wars” saga, a lot was riding on J. J. Abrams’ take on episode 7 of the beloved franchise. My personal stake on the matter was simple: If Abrams failed to honor the actual episode 4 of the franchise, then he would be forever remembere
However, to honor it he did. At its heart, “The Force Awakens” is a gripping, well-paced homage to the cultural touchstone that began in the ‘70s, updated for the modern day. That The Force Awakens is a great piece of cinema might not come as a surprise to many who follow Abrams’ recent endeavors. After all, the “Alias” director made fans of “Star Trek” happy when he took over the reigns for the first Star Trek reboot featuring Chris Pine.
In many ways, the success of The Force Awakens follows the same trajectory: both of the first films in a newly rebooted franchise follow a strict adherence to the majesty and spirit of their respective original series.
The Force Awakens picks up 30 years later after the events of the last movie in the original trilogy, “Return of the Jedi (which was released in 1983).” In the movie, we follow the two main characters: Finn, a disillusioned Storm Trooper and the young scrapper/scavenger Rey. Both are played convincingly by newcomers John Boyega and Daisy Ridley.
Abrams dispensed much with the noise that the prequels brought to the mythology of the franchise. If the original trilogy (which starts with “A New Hope”) focused on having a relatively simple story told with great attention to moral nuances, the prequel movies focused more on pomp and flash. By contrast to the prequels, The Force Awakens is super-sleek: story elements are focused on the hero’s journey of our two main characters and the rise of a new enemy. No unnecessary screen time was given to garrish exposition.
In one scene, Rey contemplates the meaning of her life as she is stuck in a desert wasteland. The entire range of emotion was delivered through a series of looks and close-ups, accentuated by a beautiful score and top-shelf framing.
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