Ten years after “Revenge of the Sith” (2005) and thirty-two years after “The Return of the Jedi” (1983) rolled into theaters comes a new Star Wars film, “The Force Awakens”-directed by J.J. Abrams-that brings both nostalgia and good movie making into the next trilogy. I saw “Revenge of the Sith” when I was a senior in high school ready to graduate and move on into adulthood. I guess I became an adult, but I still collect Star Wars action figures. The Black Series six inch figures are best. And I was still four years away from being conceived by my parents when “Return of the Jedi” came out. That got awkward. We’re talking about “Star Wars” so it’s okay. Ten years is a long time to wait for another Star Wars film.
“The Force Awakens” revolves around three new characters within the Star Wars universe. Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is the new baddie who wears black clothing, a sinister mask, and wields a deadly and unstable red tri-lightsaber. Finn (John Boyega) is a stormtrooper who wants to run away from his problems. And Rey (Daisy Ridley) lives as a scavenger on a desert planet called Tatooine-I mean Jakku. These three new and exciting characters plus an aged Han Solo (Harrison Ford) intersect with one another making for a lot of fun adventure, conflicts, and new story points making us the audience root for them. Yes, even Kylo Ren. He’s my favorite character in this film because he has the most conflict and layers underneath that mask.
The visual and practical effects and CGI in this film is absolutely astounding. Everything from the TIE fighters, the blaster shootouts, the aliens, and the lightsaber fights, which all make a ton of improvements for a spectacular movie watching experience. The story too matches the visual effects. Too many times can visual effects over shadow the story in a film like this. “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (2009) comes to mind.
My last little bit of insight with this film is there is not an ounce of fat. What I mean is that it’s edited to the point where there is no wasted frame, shot, or line. Everything in this film goes so fast that I couldn’t even comprehend what was going on. It’s not a bad thing. When I first saw this film on December 17th-a Thursday- I was so overcome with excitement and joy that the movie went by so fast. I wanted more! I since then have seen this film two more times and I noticed Easter eggs, additional lines, and movie making galore. This film surpassed all of my expectations and gets better every time I see it. Episode VIII can’t get here fast enough!
Daisy Ridley (L) and John Boyega (R) in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
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