By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com
Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (No Spoilers Until Marked Light Spoilers) WITH SPOILERS IN COMMENTS
I don’t feel like making a detailed, spoiler-ed argument for a very small percentage of readers who have actually seen The Force Awakens. So I am writing a few spoiler-free graphs, then clearly marking a place for a few soft spoilers, then I will stop… until Thursday or Friday, when I will publish a spoiler piece about the film.
JJ Abrams is a talented, skillful, good guy. But his career in movies to date has been defined by what he’s not: he’s not DePalma/Woo/Bird/McQuarrie, he’s not Gene Roddenberry, and he’s sure not Steven Spielberg. Add to that now, he’s not George Lucas.
Nothing to be ashamed of. He has put himself in a position to be compared to some of the most special filmmakers of several generations. He has not shown the unique skills to stand besides these greats as different but debatably equal, more so with story than anything else. I believe he loves the films of these filmmakers, as he professes. But I don’t think he always understands what makes them magic for audiences. (In the case of Mission:Impossible III, his first directorial feature, I think he simply didn’t have the skills to deliver at a high level.)
The basics of what made Star Wars so important and indelible are not on display in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The “materials” from the film are all there on display, from some characters to lightsabers to Tie fighters. But JJ missed the soul.
Star Wars was not a film in a rush. The characters were allowed to marinate. As much as characters in a space opera can make sense, they made perfect sense. Archetype after archetype. Mix those elements well. Pour over special effects, including character make-ups and puppets, which felt fresh back then. Serve.
The Force Awakens rushes past so fast, so busy leaping from one step to the next, so uninterested in offering direct exposition instead of trying to trick the audience, that not only doesn’t it work as a standalone film, but it is missing the depth of emotion and of fun that the original films have.
Yes, there are lots of jokes. But for me, some of them recalled the Apocalypse Now Redux turn of adding Kilgore material that made one of the most disturbing scenes in film history into a punch line. Can you imagine Darth Vader’s rage getting a laugh? Me neither.
And emotionally, you need to let the characters have enough space so that when they confront their emotions, you really care deeply. This film too often relies on the series’ history to bring depth. By the time you found out Luke was Leia’s brother, you were invested in his romantic interest in her… which made that a great moment. Here, you have some big emotional ideas that zoom by like another phalanx of TIE fighters.
There is some really cool stuff. Things that should age well. But the freedom to load frames with a lot more action than in the originals – sometimes in flight, sometimes in character-heavy towns – is subtraction by addition.
Daisy Ridley is a natural movie star, albeit a genetic knock-off of Keira Knightley and Kate Beckinsale. John Boyega is solid, but gets hung out to dry by the screenplay too often for my taste. Adam Driver’s hair is fabulous, though he seems about eight years to old to be what his character is, ultimately. Oscar Isaac is well photographed and charming, but not a fully-formed character. Lupita Nyong’o is animated (great voice). Domhnall Gleason as the tightest-assed Brit ever is a glorious good time. Max von Sydow wasted. Andy Serkis, by no fault of his own, is a major mistake. But a well cast film.
The film is a bit overscored, but what a score. Thing is, I can’t imagine how this film will qualify in a very picky Academy branch that seems to love to disqualify films for overusing previous material. A lot of that here. They might look the other way, but maybe not.
I don’t love the film. I don’t hate the film. But I was profoundly frustrated by the film because it kept being close to becoming something great. So I hold great hope for Rian Johnson’s film.
Make no mistake… you can hear JJ Abrams’ voice in this film. Much more than I expected. Not to the benefit of the film. There is a lot of Star Trek in this Star Wars. But the brilliant idea of his first Star Trek film – Star Trek Babies – overcame his limitations as a director. Not so much here.
There are plenty of people who will enjoy this film. Some will love it. I will be back to see it again in a few days, tickets already paid for. And maybe my Star Wars-y expectations will be lowered enough that I will see the movie that is there, with all of its Star Wars elements, for more of what it is than what it is not.
LIGHT SPOILER SECTION
What Mr. Abrams decided to make is really a spin-off of Star Wars, which ironically they are also doing at Disney/Lucasfilm. His tale centers on Rey and Finn, who are both seeking something else in their lives. The Star Wars Universe, decades past Episode 6, pretty much foists itself upon them. But the Universe is represented not by any of the classic standbys, but by two more new characters, Poe Dameron and BB-8.
There is a new political baddies in this film with a guy in a mask with a voice modulator and another in a tight suit… but not any of the guys we know… more new guys. And as we will find out, there is really no need for the voice modulator… except maybe it’s because he is a Darth Vader fanboy.
But let’s go back to the original Star Wars. Within three minutes, you knew who Princess Leia was, who R2D2 and C-3PO were, and who Darth Vader was… and though there would be complications, we never veered from their realities.
Here, you kinda know that Finn is some kind of bred Stormtrooper, though they don’t really get much into why this is so terrible. If they made the decision to humanize the stormtroopers (a decision I am not convinced was a good one), where is the story of what it is like to be one… other than you participate in creating carnage? Is something else going on or is this guy just sensitive?
We meet Rey and we know quickly that she is bright and resourceful, though she seems to be eating a lot of crap in her “work”… and we really don’t know why. Who is she? We start to figure out very quickly that she is more than she seems (that is, unless you have never seen a movie). But it’s hide and seek with any definition, about why for most of – well, all, really – of the movie.
Who doesn’t remember when Darth Vader told Luke that he was his father and the movie ended and we had years to wait to get the rest of the story… to even know if it was true. But that was one of the great things about Star Wars… there were no fake-outs. If something was clearly said, it was true. There might be an explanation (Lando!), but the facts were the facts. Not in this film. There are a variety of fake outs. Anti-Star Wars to my feelings.
This film is also big on people with no experience being naturals at the tasks that they are suddenly thrust into. Remember how Luke took pretty much all three episodes to mature into Jedi-dom? Forget that. Apprenticeships are for suckers in this new universe.
And what is the journey of this film? Someone smartly said that The Force Awakens is a good pilot for a new series. I’m not sure it’s really even that. But that is what this feels like. It features one of the most obnoxious cliffhangers I have ever seen in any movie series… in great part because it’s not even a damned cliffhanger.
There are some very interesting ideas here that I will get into in the Full Spoiler review. But really, the only fully formed idea in this entire movie is the coming-of-age (to some degree) of the Rey character. Everything else is half-measures. Finn has a lot of screen time, but little time for depth, but a lot of time for jokes… which is great if you came to Star Wars for jokes.
Perhaps the most offensive of these half-measures is that Han Solo is really the only “classic” character who gets enough screen time to count as really being in the movie. And that includes our favorite droids.
It’s kind of like, “hey… we got you in the tent… now we’re going to make you pay to see another movie to see the characters you know and love and really paid to see… because we can.” I’m sure the team was not that mean-spirited, but man, does it feel like a bait and switch.
I’m not going to give away any big surprises, but I will say this… by the end of the film, there is a character with some control over The Force whose origins are still a complete and undiscussed mystery, like no one noticed that this person suddenly had Force powers.
Why?
Because there really are no adults in this film. Han & Leia are minor characters, though Han is on screen a lot more. The Max von Sydow character… nope. No analogous characters to Obi Wan or Yoda or Darth Vader or The Emperor or even Leia’s clear focus on a bigger issue than a specific fight. I like kids well enough. But they aren’t even Padawans.
And there is a huge piece of the puzzle that not only signals itself a half-mile away, but also never gets a legitimate explanation. Which it deserves. Which it needs.
With that, I will end, lest I offer up some real spoilers. I want people to have their experience spoiler-free, as they deserve to, as I wanted for myself.
But I do have a list of five specific things I actually did hate in this film. Hate.
There is one that I love. A couple more I will remember.
And so it goes…
Great review and thanks for not including major spoilers and warning us of the light ones! That can be difficult to do, especially with a review that includes some dissenting opinion. If you and I were to have a conversation I would propose that A New Hope is also guilty of not allowing characters to “marinade”. I think the brunt of the character development you missed in this new movie could have similarly been missed if watching the original Star Wars more analytically and in impossible isolation.
TFA is fine. Prequels were better. More handmade.
Less synthetic. I think I was sitting right behind you today.
“TFA is fine. Prequels were better.” – somewhat contradictory.
Great review. The hype for this film has been insuffrable. I will see it, but I’m in no rush. The yammering from the fanboys about this film became white noise and turned me off…will box office match the hype, I wonder.
Having seen the film, your review seems forced. The movie is very good and I can’t see the negativity. It isn’t perfect, but it is remarkably well put together. You are really reaching here.
I find your lack of faith disturbing
This is pretty much what I was afraid of, which is why I’ve been trying to keep my expectations for the film in check. Abrams, for as “entertaining” as his films are, they all amount to what is essentially glorified fan fic. There’s never any “there” there. I’m still looking forward to this, but I have much higher hopes for Rian Johnson’s follow-up.
The prequels were doomed by Hayden Christensen’s failed performance, one of the least convincing romantic couplings in film history, and a deluge of somewhat eventful errand running.
Keep in mind that David seems to be in a real minority with his review. I’m seeing it next week.
“If something was clearly said, it was true.”
“A young Jedi Knight named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine before he turned to evil, betrayed and murdered your father.”
“Keep in mind that David seems to be in a real minority with his review. I’m seeing it next week.”
I think he sees Abrams for who/what he is. A lot of critics tend to get carried along by the emotional high of his movies (see: the first Star Trek, and even Into Darkness to some extent, which scored f’ing 87% on Rotten Tomatoes) without actually, y’know, thinking critically about the fact that the stories all pretty much suck.
” so uninterested in offering direct exposition”
I always thought of this as one of the strengths of the original. So, I see this as a good sign.
The mystery boxing is just the worst damn thing.
Was poking around twitter for the first time in a while…..saw the review and here I am…….
I’m not the hugest fan of Star Wars. I liked them better when I was younger, and thought Harrison Ford was the hottest thing since sliced bread (needless to say that I watched the 5th movie numerous times for the kiss between Han and Leia)……
Anyways, any nostalgic feeling I felt while watching the new trailer (and boy did I feel them, despite not even that big a fan….I think that says something for what George Lucas created)……left my loonie heart as soon as I saw JJ Abrams name.
I’ve tried to watch/finish both of the Stark Trek films, to no avail. As far as I’m concerned the only great action film he’s made is the Mission Impossible film with Phillip Seymour Hoffman. So I KNEW that this movie would have a great trailer, and not much else.
I may catch Star Wars eventually, but no. Abrams is just a huge turn off for me.
And about the humans-are-stormtroopers thing……I read quite a few spin off books and “encyclopedias” on the world of Star Wars before and after the Emperor and Darth Vader were killed, yada yada yada……Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidius was extremely xenophobic–so eventually all of the Storm Troopers and soldiers/officers were all replaced with humans. The only people allowed to go to the Academy (the place where a lot of rebels received their training before jumping ship like “A New Hope” when Luke’s friend does that) were humans……
“Keep in mind that David seems to be in a real minority with his review. I’m seeing it next week.”
Having been in a real minority now and then myself, so what? You yourself don’t even know which side of the divide you’re going to be on until next week.
Fair enough, Luke. But aside from that one… which made sense in terms of story…
Don’t get the JJ Abrams hate. He hasn’t made enough movies to know if he can do only make certain types of films. The history revision of Star Trek: Into Darkness made no sense really, but otherwise a decent flick. I loved Super 8, by far his best movie I’ve seen of his to date. I didn’t read this review, just the comments, because I see no point in getting spoiled for a movie I plan to see in almost 24 hours from now (10p east coast).
Someone on my Facebook feed has been posting spoilers of the movie just to annoy his friends. I wrote him a note and tried to explain to him why I thought it wasn’t cool, but he wouldn’t listen. I Unfollowed him and am wondering if I am taking this too seriously.
I would think he’ll have zero friends on Facebook real soon. lol.
Thanks for the levity. The critical reactions seem to mimick those of the “Star Trek” reboot–which as you say, is a very good flick–but was absurdly rated the #1 movie of the year at Rotten Tomatoes.
@brack, I think 5 films is enough. Abrams is frusterating because as David says, he comes soooo close to hitting it out of the park. “Super 8” almost falls apart in the last act, I think most agree.
“I’m not going to give away any big surprises, but I will say this… by the end of the film, there is a character with some control over The Force whose origins are still a complete and undiscussed mystery, like no one noticed that this person suddenly had Force powers.”
I’ll dance around specifics here, but this simply isn’t true in my interpretation. ‘Someone’ clearly did.
My point is that you shouldn’t decide not to see it based on David’s review. Can we agree on that?
My problem with Abrams is that generally, he gives you a simulated version of an original. He is so tries to ape other directors that he fails to find his own style or groove. He is what Applebees is to fine dining, what Beatlemania is to the Beatles.
“There is a lot of Star Trek in this Star Wars.”
That’s odd, since there was so very little Star Trek in his Star Trek to begin with.
“My point is that you shouldn’t decide not to see it based on David’s review. Can we agree on that?”
I, well…no. If somebody decides to see it or not see it based on this review alone, it’s really their own business/problem/issue/thing. Neither you nor I made that decision after reading this mixed-positive(?) review, and we could still wind up agreeing with it or disagreeing with it once we see it ourselves. Plus, it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that you could wind up thinking he was far too kind to the film and I could wind up thinking he’s a moron.
You should not decide to not see The Force Awakens based on my review.
If you are reading this page, you need to see the film. It is part of movie history and matters as such.
I don’t think it’s great. Honestly, I keep reading “thumbs up” reviews that clearly don’t think it’s great. I have rarely seen so much “the kids will love it” reviewing gamesmanship in my life.
But you should see it.
And I will be seeing it again tomorrow, on my dime, with my kid, happily.
Taking my three daughters on Tuesday. Tickets were almost sold out for that day already. I’m talking Vancouver Canada here. Luckily it is reserved seating.
Anecdotal for sure, but I’m already booked to see this at least twice, once with the family, that’s five tickets, and once with buddies, that’s four tickets. I expect a lot of that is going on.
“You should not decide to not see The Force Awakens based on my review.
If you are reading this page, you need to see the film. It is part of movie history and matters as such.
I don’t think it’s great. Honestly, I keep reading ‘thumbs up’ reviews that clearly don’t think it’s great. I have rarely seen so much ‘the kids will love it’ reviewing gamesmanship in my life.”
I’m still seeing it, but jeez, this comment doesn’t do the “movie history” argument any favors, Dave.
If you are reading me, you are into movies. Good, bad or indifferent, this movie matters. The Phantom Menace matters too.
Abrams is bringing his Star Trek into Darkness mimicry into Star Wars.
Kind of have to disagree with a lot of David’s points. We knew half of the cast of the original Star Wars in three minutes? Um, no we didn’t. These new characters seemed pretty fleshed out and relatable to me. And yes, in Revenge of the Sith, we did get a laugh out of Vader’s anger, an unintentional one when he yells “Noooooo!!!!!!”
You got a laugh out of it. I get that it was reference to Frankenstein, and George loves overly theatrical misery. That aside, I adore this movie, and it’s my favorite I’ve seen all year. I really thought that JJ and Kasdan would fucking punt this shit, and they fucking kicked it out of the god damn stadium. Tremendous damn movie, that’s all about the fight, and why you need to pick up your sword.
It should be nominated, it should get some acting noms, but this is the academy. We all know, that it will win those tech awards. That’s life, but it sure as shit deserve the same love Avatar received.
No “Luke Skywalker never quits!” complaint? 😉
I think Dave is reaching on a few points but he feels what he feels. I wouldn’t bother comparing this to the original trilogy, or even the prequels as much as folks want to shit on Lucas. I don’t mean that as a qualifier so that this movie can be viewed favorably, just that it’s such a radically different time in filmmaking now. I thought TFA was straight up excellent, and the best popcorn film we’ve gotten in forever. Acting was top notch, Ridley and Boyega are legit stars. The film is actually *exciting*. And I liked that they humanized Storm Troopers. They came across as actual threats vs the original trilogy. They still can’t shoot for shit though.
“They still can’t shoot for shit though.”
They seemed a tad more accurate, though they’re never better than our heroes. And there could be a reason why a certain storm trooper was more humanized, but why David needs an explanation for this, I do not know. Well, we actually do get a line like “because it’s the right thing to do.” That was enough for me. It’s a Star Wars movie, not Shakespeare.
Brack, Luke and Bruce have very different mission statements, and seeing that BvS:DOJ may somehow tie into the Nolanverse. This may mean, that Bruce never quit. Nevertheless, Luke had sincere reasons, other than his writer and director wanting to communicate the PHYSICAL TOLL to us.
Seeing as Shakespeare was the Star Wars of his time, that’s not an exact analogy. It’s Star Wars, that’s just how shit works. Works better.
Oh I did have two complaints that aren really complaints, just things I didn’t love. The destruction of the Star killer base seemed too afterthoughish in execution. Abrams didn’t quite stick the landing in his version of the Star Wars multi-climax.
Personal pat on the back: I absolutely knew Rey was the Jedi. The advertising lifted way too much water to point at Finn.
JS – I was only ribbing you.
Brack, I never know .
Man, there may be something special about Finn. Time to wait 17 months to find out.
Have we declared this the spoiler zone then? brack – he didn’t quit. He was waiting. There’s a difference.
Perhaps so Wally, but he waits around even while another WMD is being created and used?
Dave hits the nail on the head. Abrams counts on you knowing and loving the previous versions of characters. Otherwise the scenes with Leia and Han are meaningless. He did the same thing with Star Trek, counting on fans’ devotion to the Shatner/Kirk and Nimoy/Spock to assist the Pine & Quinto versions. Contrast that with Mad Max: Fury Road where you could go in never having seen a previous George Miller film and still get taken along for the ride. TFA was a fun film, but not a great one.
JS: my take on Finn is he becomes the Solo swashbuckler guy of the new group. I’m assuming Phasma plays a huge role in his arc over the next few movies.
Pete: I usually agree with that kind of criticism but in this case who the fuck isn’t familiar with these characters?
Was very entertained by this, on a surface level, and there’s e much mythology to chew on between films. But I find it sad that so many critics and “fans” (read: people who only liked 2 or 3 of the 6 previous films) are giving it a pass simply because it has better dialogue and acting than the prequels. What it doesn’t have are any imaginative locales or fresh situations. When Lucas put “echoes” in the prequels they were reminiscent and usually resonant to make a reflective point. Here, they’re not echoes but straight-up rehashes that don’t work as well as the originals. Can anyone honestly say that final base attack was thrilling?
I’m really curious what storylines Lucas had in mind. Because I really doubt he would have recycled himself in this fashion. And with other people writing the actual scripts, you would have removed the stuff dialogue problems and the bad humor (the jokes here were much better).
Hopefully Rian Johnson gives these characters better (and newer) stuff to do.
Amblinman: I saw TFA at 9am today. Afterwards I stopped off to eat lunch at a restaurant. A young lady was bussing tables and saw I was wearing a Star Wars t-shirt and asked if I had seen TFA. When I said yes, she said she’d never seen a single Star Wars movie and wondered if she could follow the storyline. She legitimately didn’t recognize any of the individuals on my shirt. So yeah, crazy as it sounds, there are folks who don’t know these characters.
Pete, sure. Anecdotally there are plenty of them. Do they make up the majority of people going to see the movie? Nope. And honestly, it’s not like the mythology is so dense that you can’t pretty much pick up who is who and why you should care.
If it proves to have wobbly legs, could this offensively derivative narrative mess be the first such tentpole movie for which “only” a billion dollars is seen as a disappointment? Serious question.
This review pretty much nails it, though I have larger problems with the movie. However, the snotty teen Vader wannabe aspect of it was pretty brilliant IMO.
David, the journey is about the grand daughter doing, what the people in here family do. Which is bringing balance to the force. It’s right there on the poster. It’s up to Rey, to carry on the tradition of her father, and her grand-father before him. This what they do. This is why Plagueis made them, to bring balance. This is why she can fly anything, and other natural abilities. It’s what her people do.
Oh yeah, the actors and the characters they play, seem to be sharing the same age in this trilogy. Which means, Kylo is a 32 year old man. He doesn’t want to be anything. What he wants to do, is inherit the throne, and it’s very hard with all that light around you.
geeze how did this purposely non-spoiler review turn into a serious spoiler thread in the comments?
The story I had in my head with these characters was so much better than the one on the screen.
“geeze how did this purposely non-spoiler review turn into a serious spoiler thread in the comments?”
Whoops! How’s ’bout that Ben Solo, eh?
well it’s always fascinating how wankers delude themselves into thinking the act of being one is somehow clever and pithy rather than the sad, pathetic reality. N P D! (and so the world turns)
Like, always?
So many of these points seem nit-picky. Overall, this is a tremendous accomplishment–JA has brought Star Wars back from the dead and he has made a film that is better than almost all the others in the series. The performances are great, the music, the look of the film, the effects…all excellent. I had the best time I’ve had at a movie for a long while.
I think its time to give a Star Wars movie the Best Picture Oscar. Star Wars is a cultural event and this movie, even with some small flaws, is an epic undertaking.
“But that was one of the great things about Star Wars… there were no fake-outs. ”
Like, “Darth Vader betrayed and murdered your father?”
The very turn you praise is predicated on a fake out.
“This failure: to invoke archetype; to layer meaning through design; to understand and invoke the parallels between Star Wars’ politics and Western imperial history; and failure to even deepen and validate the character and plot choices he makes in TFA means that JJ Abrams effectively de-Mythologised Star Wars.… Abrams took a movie property that had not only maximised film’s power to match ancient man’s primal capacity for Myth, but which had created the world’s first secular global mono-Myth- and reduced that artefact to a normal ‘story’. A workaday block-buster. An elevated TV episode.…” FORCE AWAKENS REVIEW: https://artistscoalition.wordpress.com/2015/12/25/the-end-of-magic-review-of-the-force-awakens/comment-page-1/#respond