Sunday, December 27, 2015

Star Wars "The Force Awakens" MAJOR SPOILER!!! Movie Review




Okay, so I reviewed the movie last week, and made every attempt to keep it clean of any potential spoilers.

Now, be warned, I am going to review the movie and not hold anything back - and that means spoilers. So, if you have not yet seen the movie but intend to, and do not want any surprises spoiled, than close this review now, before anything is revealed that you do not want to know yet.

Yes, I am serious, this review will reveal a lot, if not everything, that happens in the movie, so if you mean to see it and have not done so yet, than this is your last warning.

Done?

So, here goes:

Kylo Ren is kind of a wuss, compared to Darth Vader, the Emperor Palpatine, and Darth Maul. Those were bad guys who were frightful, who helped make Stars Wars.....well, Star Wars. He gets his ass kicked in a lightsaber fight by someone who has never before used a lightsaber!

Plus, I heard some complaints that he sounds more like a whiny teenager, than like the next Darth Vader. Then again, I once heard someone say that Anakin's whining in the prequels also sounded a whole lot like a teenager who's complaining  after his father denied him use of the car for the weekend.

Ultimately, it seems that they opted to make Kylo Ren incomplete. Yes, he kills his father, which would seem to make his turn toward the dark side complete. Remember, he was having his doubts before that, regretfully admitting that he felt the pull towards the light side of the force. That makes him more human, and also makes the ideological merits of the dark side feel somehow more real.

So, he is both more human and, simultaneously, less purely frightening than previous Star Wars villains. It will be interesting to see where they take that character in the next movies. He got injured in the lightsaber fight towards the end of the film, getting slashed a few times. And what was with him hitting himself repeatedly? Maybe I missed something (I do intend to take my son to go see the movie again), but I was not sure what that particular thing was all about, anyway.

In any case, I doubt that this means he will need the helmet and costume, which makes me wonder if they will alter the costume a bit (I am kind of hoping for it). Also, will he lose his arms and/or legs, like Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader?

The next big topic would be Han Solo dying. Yes, I did like Kylo Ren not being so anonymous, as he appeared in the months leading up to the film's big release. The fact that Han Solo and Princess/General Leia Organo had a child together, and that he has become the main bad guy in this movie, was really quite cool. It was a throwback to the old trilogy, while making the story line more compelling. Then, having Kylo complete his turn towards the dark side of the force by killing off his father, Han Solo? Quite brilliant, actually.

Truth be told, I saw this death coming, even before the film's release. Don't get me wrong, I did not know that Kylo Ren was his son, or that he would be the one to do it. However, the real life Harrison Ford wanted the Han Solo character to be killed off in the last film almost thirty years ago, so I kind of expected him to get killed in this one at some point. This was the most intense moment in the movie, although I have to say that it felt somehow rushed.

The next major point of controversy regarding the movie would be Luke's appearance, which lasts just a few seconds. I mean, he was the star of the first trilogy, and he was referenced throughout this movie, from the beginning credits all the way to the very last scene, when he finally makes his wordless appearance.

Here is what I liked about that scene: there he is, on a remote island in the middle of an ocean on a isolated planet far, far away. Rey has to climb a ton of stairs just to get to the top of the mountain, symbolic of all of the training that she will need to get through to become a Jedi herself. And there is the question of why the lightsaber seems to call to her, and why the force is so strong within her. Is that somehow a sign that she is Luke's son, or at least somehow related?

Much speculation has been made about this, although no one but the writers can say for certain. What I d know for certain is that Mark Hammill in this movie looks almost identical to Robert Plant these days. The resemblance was so staggering, that I almost thought that it was Plant for a second there!

Of course, despite the appearance in this film of the original "big three" Star Wars characters with Mark Hammill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Princess/General Leai Organo, and Harrison Ford as Han Solo, and the smaller original roles of Chewbacca, C-3P0, and R2-D2, there were some all new characters, as well. We have Rey (played by Daisy Ridley), who seems to combine the female role of Leia with the main Jedi role of Luke Skywalker. There is Fin (played by John Boyega), and there is Poe Dameron (played by Oscar Isaac).

So, let's take a look at these new characters, starting with Rey. From the posters and the trailers, the impression left for fans was that Fin was going to be the new Jedi to be. However, anyone who watched the film would know that it winds up that Rey, not Fin, actually seems to possess this calling. The lightsaber speaks to her at one point, and then, towards the end of the film, after Fin has almost been killed by Keno Ren. Ren looks at Luke's lightsaber, buried in the snow, and instead of simply walking over, he uses the force to try and make it come to him. And, of course, it flies right past him, and into the hands of Rey, who proceeds to essentially kick his ass in a lightsaber fight, but only once she begins to really feel the force flowing within her.

If there are some weaknesses in the movie, this is, as mentioned before, one of them. How a powerful villain like Kylo Ren essentially is unable to defeat someone so new to the force seems a bit preposterous. Also, why a third Death Star, and why on earth does it still have the same weaknesses as the previous two? Have they learned nothing? Unlike in the other films, when the Death Star being blown up essentially was the deciding point in the movie, this one felt really like no big deal, almost like everyone was simply going through the motions. One more thing, also: why is it that the First Order, the successor to the Empire, still seems the far more powerful warring side, while the Republic, the successor of the Rebellion, still seems to be on the run and always teetering on the edge?

Okay, anyway, back to the characters. Fin is next, and he seems to be blend elements of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, at least at first. It seems like he would be a potentially powerful candidate to use the force, although this never does actually materialize in the movie. Still, despite not having particularly great powers, he is a great character that you understand and care for immediately, complete with a background as a Stormtrooper that makes him even more compelling. That said, it will be interesting to see how they will develop his character in the future.

Then, there is Poe Dameron. He is a great character, although I will admit that it seemed a bit puzzling that he would seem to have a relatively small role in the movie, not quite making it as one of the three or four main characters. He seems like the heir apparent to Han Solo in terms of humor and wit, while also having the mechanical and flying abilities of the Skywalkers, or particularly of Anakin and Luke, before him. I would imagine that he should have a much bigger role in future movies, because he was pretty cool.

Finally, who in the hell is Supreme Leader Snoke, anyway? What's his story? So far, based on having seen only this movie, he seems to essentially be another Emperor Palpatine. But where did he come from? How did he get involved with the Dark Side of the Force, let alone wind up being a master?

There were little nuggets for the fans. That exercise ball on the Millenium Falcon, as well as the chess set. The pilot's helmet that Rey briefly puts on, and the sand covered skeletal remains of the Star Wars Destroyer ship, as well as the AT-AT Walker on Tattoine.

All in all, it was a good movie, and a solid addition to the Star Wars movies. My son really enjoyed it, probably comparably to how much I enjoyed the originals when I was his age, give or take. This also felt special because it is likely the last time that I will go see a new movie in the theaters with Luke Skywalker, Princess/General Leai Organo, and Han Solo all together. I grew up on those movies, and now, got the chance to go to the movie theaters with my son and see one last movie with all of them in it.







Here are some interesting links (most with spoilers as well) of the most recent Star Wars film:

Lawrence Kasdan on the 'crazy different' Han Solo film and where 'Star Wars' will go from here by Josh Rottenberg, December 22, 2015:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/herocomplex/la-et-hc-lawrence-kasdan-star-wars-han-solo-20151221-story.html


Q&A Harrison Ford on reuniting with Han's blaster, and forgiving Lawrence Kasdan for the Ewoks by Josh Rottenberg, December 9, 2015:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-harrison-ford-star-wars-force-awakens-20151209-story.html

http://io9.gizmodo.com/33-questions-we-desperately-want-answered-after-star-wa-1748953034


http://io9.gizmodo.com/harrison-ford-says-han-solos-lines-in-the-force-awakens-1746996774


http://io9.gizmodo.com/all-the-stuff-from-the-force-awakens-trailers-that-wasn-1748720944


http://io9.gizmodo.com/io9-round-table-what-does-star-wars-mean-to-you-1748536461




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