While
I’ve seen all the Star Wars films, I
wouldn’t consider myself a Star Wars
person. In the lead-up to The Force Awakens, my general thought
was, “I’m sure I’ll see it sometime,
but do I really need to see it in theaters?”
I definitely wasn’t going to be camping out in a line. However, the movie’s excellent fan and
critical reception – and more importantly, positive buzz about the dual
protagonists, a woman and a man of color – put it more squarely on my radar,
and I realized I’d better see this movie sooner rather than later (basic plot
spoilers.)
In the
time since the destruction of the Empire, a new nefarious group called the
First Order has risen up, complete with their own stormtroopers and powerful
leader in a black mask. They’ve been
terrorizing the galaxy and fighting the resistance movement, led by our very
own Leia. When they set their sights on
a(n adorable) droid containing valuable information, it’s up to Force-sensitive
salvage collector Rey and stormtrooper deserter Finn to help it reach the rebel
base with its intel. Three guesses as to
which “pile of junk” ship they commandeer to escape the First Order, as well as
which human-Wookie space cowboy duo said ship-commandeering attracts the
attention of.
With
the film, there’s definitely a sense of revisiting the greatest hits, and a
number of original-trilogy hallmarks get pulled out in additional to the
familiar characters; things like a cantina-esque locale and a major clash over
a strategically-important droid, along with more spoilery elements I won’t
mention, have a pretty strong ring of familiarity. The nods to the past are clear, and it’s fun
to see the old characters again. In
general, I think the movie does a pretty good job of reconciling what came
before with the story they’re giving us now.
Han and Leia, for instance, have changed in the years since we last saw
them, but very understandably so, and they’re still 100% recognizable as who
they used to be. (The original cast, by
the way, don’t miss a trick – everyone does a really nice job.)
For me,
though, I’m more excited for the new threads introduced in this movie, chiefly
Rey and Finn. I think I need a bit more
time to fully process them (expect a Relationship Spotlight and/or some
Favorite Character posts before too long,) but I really enjoy both the leads
here. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega do
terrific work as these two characters, and the
friend/partner/ally/romantic/whatever chemistry between them is great. They both have a feel of being very familiar
within the Star Wars universe while
somehow seeming completely new at the same time. I’m looking forward to learning more about
both of them in future installments.
Other
drive-by cast members of note (so many characters, and so little screentime for
many of them) include Lupita Ngong’o (Patsey from 12 Years a Slave,) Andy Serkis, Gwendoline Christie (Brienne!,)
perennial J.J. Abrams collaborator Greg Grunberg, and Ken Leung (Miles from Lost.)
Fine work all around!
Warnings
A fair
amount of sci-fi violence and frightening images for younger viewers.
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