The anticipation has reached fever pitch. The hype train is running out of control.
The Force has awoken. Have you felt it?
My name is Alice W. Castle and I’m here to ask and answer one simple question: Is Star Wars: The Force Awakens any good?
Yes. Yes, it damn well is.
Now, we here at Multiversity Comics have been (somewhat) patiently awaiting the release of The Force Awakens for months now and I was lucky enough to see the film at midnight last night thanks to international release dates. This review will be a spoiler free first impressions discussion about whether or not I liked the film.
I repeat: there will be no spoilers in this review.
However, suffice it to say, it’s pretty much a given that no one is on the fence about this movie. If you’re reading this and you’re already a fan of Star Wars then you’ve already got your answer as to whether the film lives up to the hype. It does. Not only that, but it more than exceeds the hypes in ways you could never imagine. If you’ve never seen Star Wars then my advice to you would be the same regardless of if I’d seen the movie or not: watch the Original Trilogy first before watching this film. And if you don’t like Star Wars then I have no idea what you expect to get out of this review because for as much as I loved the film, it’s a Star Wars film that bleeds Star Wars and is very proud of that. If you already don’t like the franchise, I don’t know if this is the film that will sway you.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the film that Star Wars fans have been waiting decades for. It’s a truly spectacular successor to the films that spawned this world and honours and expands on that legacy in ways you couldn’t even imagine. It’s a testament to the story by Michael Arndt, J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan that The Force Awakens feels like the Star Wars you know and love in the most recognisable ways while feeling inherently fresh, modern and exciting and, most importantly, fun.
The greatest compliment I could possibly give to The Force Awakens is that it’s everything that The Phantom Menace isn’t. Upon revisiting The Phantom Menace, it’s hard not to describe it as a soulless husk of a movie where cardboard cutouts of characters wander from planet to planet in hopes of running down the clock until the credits role. Nothing is accomplished, there are no characters to grow attached to and, ultimately, everyone’s time is wasted. With The Force Awakens, it feels like J.J. Abrams has gone out of his way to craft the anti-Phantom Menace. The film is packed to bursting with story, characters and thematic elements that are dripping with that Star Wars feeling. It’s this sweeping, romantic, pulpy epic of a film that starts sprinting right out of the gate and does not stop for the next two hours.
It’s what can only be described as a thrill ride of a film. You’ve never seen such an action-packed Star Wars film with so many different set pieces and so much going. It’s exhilarating and once again a testament to the effort that J.J. Abrams has put into this movie that not one element feels boring. It’s two hour run time is packed with content and not once did I feel like the movie was anything other than perfectly constructed. The structure of the film’s narrative feels like a jigsaw, piecing things together scene by scene until the picture finally forms and by that point we’re already gearing up for the assault on Starkiller Base which turns out to be the greatest third act I’ve ever seen in a Star Wars film. It’s the best part of both Death Star assaults blended with the best parts of the Endor scenes (sans Ewoks, mind you) with a good helping of the Vader/Luke fight from Empire sprinkled on top.
It’s not just J.J. bringing his a-game, though, as everyone acts their little hearts out in this movie. The new trio of heroes – Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn and Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron – more than live up to the legacy of Luke, Leia and Han and all of them put in fantastic performances. Sadly, I would say that Poe Dameron is largely underused, but given what is revealed about Rey’s character, I would say that it’s worth it. Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren will go down as one of the most fascinating and interesting aspects of the film, crafting a villain who’s more Anakin-gone-dark-side than Darth Vader with a lot of rage bubbling just underneath the menacing exterior.
Continued belowAnd, of course, you have the original heroes. As you might have guessed, it’s Han Solo who gets the lion’s share of the screen time between him, Leia and Luke (who I’m worried might break my no spoiler rule just for mentioning). There was a definite worry when this film was announced to be bringing back the original heroes that notorious Gruff Old Man Harrison Ford would underperform his return to Han Solo. Well, put those worries to rest. Han Solo is back and it feels like he never left. General Leia Organa similarly feels like she never went anywhere as Carrie Fisher brings a wizened, quiet grace to the character who feels appropriately the most mature of the three.
I can’t tell if it’s a spoiler to even say if Luke Skywalker is in the film at this point so I’m just going to move swiftly on.
If there’s only one disappointment I have in the The Force Awakens, it’s that Captain Phasma feels criminally underused. She’s been described as the Boba Fett of this trilogy and if you take that to mean that she has a design that’s the coolest in the film yet has very little to do in the end, it’s entirely true. I can’t wait for the Marvel comic series about her.
In the end, it’s hard to deny that there was a slight apprehension about The Force Awakens and it’s ability to live up to the hype surrounding it. What if it wasn’t any good? What if it was just like The Phantom Menace all over again? What if we wasted the last year for nothing? What if, what if, what if? Well, it’s probably the greatest relief of my entire life to say that the film not only lives up to the hype, but exceeds it in ways you never thought possible. It’s an action-packed thrill ride that’s exhilarating, emotional and unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. After the release of Star Wars, pretty much every subsequent film stole liberally from it, it literally changed the face of cinema as we know it. Prepare for every blockbuster for the next five to ten years to steal from The Force Awakens, it’s that good.
With Episode VIII two years away and a lot of unanswered questions lingering this isn’t the end of this journey, after all, but just the beginning.
Star Wars is back, baby, and it’s here to stay.
