Star Wars: The Force Awakens – ★★★★ (1/2)

SYNOPSIS: Following the disappearance of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the heroic Resistance send pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and his loyal droid BB-8 to the planet Jakku to trace the veteran Jedi Knight’s whereabouts. But when the evil First Order, led by sinister Sith lord Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), capture Poe, BB-8 escapes and ends up being looked after by a female scavenger named Rey (Daisy Ridley). In the meantime, Poe is rescued from captivity by disillusioned stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) but the pair get separated back on Jakku. Finn then encounters Rey and BB-8 which leads to the trio escaping from the planet and meeting the renowned smuggler Han Solo and his wookie sidekick Chewbacca. Together the group must reach the Resistance base as they look to prevent the First Order from unleashing their ultimate super weapon.

Back in 2012, a large majority of Star Wars fans were unsure about whether Disney’s plans of making a new film would work given the underwhelming response to George Lucas’ prequel trilogy. But once JJ Abrams was announced as director, things looked up especially when the former Lost and Star Trek filmmaker managed to bring in a solid cast which included some of the old faces from the original trilogy.

The hype became more intense once the film unveiled its trio of majestic trailers over the course of a year for which Disney did an exceptional job preventing spoilers from being leaked to the press. For those concerned with how the film would turn out need not fear as those high expectations are met from the moment you see “A long time ago, etc” appear on the big-screen. Once that iconic music and the text crawl play out, you can’t help but smile which is exactly how I felt throughout the entire showing.

Abrams’ passion for Star Wars is clear from the get-go as he sets up the new characters quickly and does a fantastic job of reintroducing the old ones in more epic fashion especially in the cases of Han, Leia and C-3PO. The film is also elevated by the crucial return of Empire Strikes Back writer Lawrence Kasdan whose clinical screenplay enables us to understand the plot better as well as developing the characters. It also helps that the intensity of particular situations in the film rely on heavy emotional investment especially when it comes to the fate of those certain individuals. But that’s not to say that the film is always serious as the wise-cracking humour comes into play on various occasions whether it be from the sarcastic tone of Han Solo to the scene-stealing moments from the rollicking BB-8 droid, an adorable character who is already set to become a household name to many fans.

In a film that runs for just over two hours, Abrams does well to ensure that the pacing never subsides especially when staging the big technical set-pieces. Unlike the heavy CGI used in the prequels, the visuals are restricted but they are still used to great effect for some of the enthralling action sequences which include the Millennium Falcon’s jaw-dropping flights and the climatic battles between the Resistance X-Wings and New Order TIE-fighters. Through all this, you can easily tell that so much craft has gone into the making of this film with Abrams getting the best out of his production designers and sound experts in order to recapture the magic of the original trilogy. The old-school formula of this is evident from the welcoming return of puppet work which was sadly overlooked in the new trilogy in favour of CGI. It’s also handy to have the greatest film composer of all time back in the fold as the legendary John Williams returns to contribute fantastic new additions to his iconic collection of music.

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But there’s no denying how important the characters are to the Star Wars saga especially in this outing as the newcomers shine alongside their more experienced counterparts. In the case of the old guard, Harrison Ford’s return as Han is a successful one as he ends up with the biggest role out of his fellow Star Wars veterans and seems to enjoy every minute he has on screen. His humourous exchanges with Chewie and the newbies always produce a good laugh but we also get the remorseful side to him as shown in his heart-warming scenes with his old lover, Leia. Though her appearance is more limited, it’s a joy seeing Carrie Fisher slip back into the authoritative role of Leia while the sight of C-3PO and R2-D2 adds to the nostalgia of what feels like the ultimate big-screen reunion.

However a lot of credit must also go to the casting department for bringing in several newcomers who all make an immediate impact and will undoubtedly carry on the Star Wars legacy for a good, long time. Given his tough guy roles in films like Drive and A Most Violent Year, Oscar Isaac is surprisingly endearing as the extremely likable Poe Dameron and plays a key part in the film’s opening and closing acts.

The bold decision of having a stormtrooper become one of our main heroes proves a universal success with the impressive John Boyega doing a unique job of portraying Finn as a traumatised individual who ultimately does good for the sake of his new friends and allies. It also helps that he shares some wisecracking banter with the likes of Solo and Dameron even when the characters are placed in dangerous predicaments.

The biggest praise though must go to the lovely British starlet Daisy Ridley who makes a massive impact in her career-changing role as the mysterious scavenger Rey. Given the intense pressure of playing a key character in this heavily-hyped installment, Ridley completely nails her part by bringing so much charisma and emotional energy to a young heroine whose destiny is set to become significant for this new trilogy. Her great uncle Arnold Ridley (Private Godfrey from Dad’s Army) would have been proud to see his great niece excel and there is no denying her stardom will continue to rise.

On the dark side of things, Adam Driver provides ruthless intimidation as the notorious Kylo Ren, a troubled young man whose tragic past is explored greatly which ultimately results in him producing one of the saga’s most shocking moments. Another rising actor to stand out is Domhnall Gleeson whose portrayal of merciless General Hux evokes the presence of Adolf Hitler which is evident when he commands his New Order army to bring down the Resistance. However it’s a pity that Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones’ Brienne of Tarth) is wasted as the bulking Captain Phasma as she is restricted to a couple of scenes. One hopes that she will have a bigger part to play in the next installment of this new-look franchise.

If there is one significant issue with Force Awakens, it’s that the actual story does rely on a similar plot thread to A New Hope whether it be the journey of particular characters or even the super-weapon that the First Order use to showcase their authority. While it’s admirable of Abrams to pay homage to that film with a lot of references and classic Star Wars throwbacks, it does feel underwhelming that the actual narrative couldn’t have been more original. Thankfully it helps that the injection of new characters and humour enables this outing to be just as, if not more, memorable than its predecessor and it will be intriguing to see how the next film picks up when Episode VIII is released in 2017.

After all that, it’s safe to say that The Force Awakens lives up to its hype greatly and that Disney and JJ Abrams deserve major plaudits for the way they have handled the film over the past three years. Nostalgia has become significant for film fanatics this year through the likes of Jurassic World, Spectre and Creed and there’s no denying that all generations of Star Wars fans will embrace the new journey that their beloved franchise has taken on. The force is most definitely strong with this one!

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