Star
Wars:
The Force Awakens
This is no Phantom Menace.
Here’s the quick plot summary (which you learn in the first
two minutes of the movie, so don’t start screaming about
spoilers).
It’s about 30 years after Star
Wars: Return of the Jedi, but
Luke Skywalker has vanished and The First Order, which is rising from
the ashes of the evil Empire and using the dark side of the force to do
so, will stop at nothing to find him. They are waging all out war on
The Republic, and their leader, General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher).
Sure, some twists seem
too convenient.
Sure, you will feel like many elements from the previous Star
Wars movies are being employed
here as well.
Sure, it looks like Carrie Fisher has had more botox than all of the
Housewives of Beverly Hills and New Jersey combined.
Yet, Star Wars: The Force
Awakens is awesome!
Writer/director J.J. Abrams, with his co-writers Lawrence Kasdan and
Michael Arndt, has captured the spirit and tone of the original trilogy
to take us all to a galaxy far far away where good and evil battle,
heroes are forged from circumstance and the mystic force guides fate.
It’s swashbuckling fun wrapped around a Shakespearean tale as
everyone involved with the film is willing to have a sense of humor
about it when appropriate, and grip your soul with drama when
it’s time.
While fans will be thrilled with the appearance of familiar characters,
the new ones fit in just fine. The rolling soccer ball, BB-8, much like
R2D2 before him, turns out to have more charisma than Adam Sandler as
he wins over the audience with a childlike excitement and love teamed
with rich emotions you don’t expect from a droid.
Then, our new trio of leads, Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and
Poe (Oscar Isaac), become the new heart and soul of the Star
Wars universe.
Isaac brings an
undeniable roguish charm and attitude as the best darn fighter pilot in
the galaxy.
Boyega is wonderful as the conflicted man trying to find
himself after years of forced conformity, while Ridley is a classic
heroine in every positive sense of the word with power, vulnerability
and guile.
Abrams perfectly mixes the old and new, but truly amazes the audience
with constant allusions to the Star
Wars universe we know and love.
From images to storylines to themes to costumes, Star
Wars: The Force
Awakens proves to be a welcome
continuation of the mythology we loved
as kids, which reminds us of the past, but moves the story forward in a
new direction I am eager to see come alive on screen.
Ultimately, Star Wars: The
Force Awakens wins us over
because it is
about hope. In our world, where evil and greed always run amok and
trample on those who stand for what is right and just, we need those
reminders that good can win.
Let yourself feel like you are 8-years old again and check it out.
Star
Wars: The Force Awakens is rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence.
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