Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

Dustin: 4 of 5 stars Nick: 4 of 5 stars Average: 4 of 5 stars (Live canary)

Dustin: If you haven’t seen Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens yet, go do so now as there will be spoilers in this review. We’ll wait…

Welcome back!

The Force Awakens is the first Star Wars movie in 32 years, and is basically an amped up version of the original 1977 film.

Nick: Which was the film’s biggest problem. All it did was set new characters in the old shoes and the old characters in the shoes of the wise leaders. While The Force Awakens is a better film than any of the prequels, they at least had stories that had not been told before while expanding on the distant galaxy of the Star Wars universe. But this ends up being such a small problem because I was never bored or rolled my eyes at any of the dialogue, which was always a problem when George Lucas was writing the script.

Dustin: This was substantially better than the prequels and fit more easily into the series. It fixed a lot of the problems with the prequels, and in a way was sort of a reaction to them. The prequels were roundly criticised for the overreliance on CGI, wooden acting, tonal dissonance between scenes, boring/predictable shots, sensory overload in action scenes. This movie used more practical effects and only CGI where necessary, solid actors, was funny at times but also had emotional weight, and was exhilarating overall.

Nick: I’m sure Lucas will order that the films have upgraded CGI in ten years when they’re out on whatever we are watching movies on in that time!

The three main characters Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) are well sculpted and overall a more interesting trio of characters than the original three--Han, Luke and Leia. Rey is basically a version of Luke that is not annoying while being able to kick ass from the get-go. Though she was even forgotten by the merchandising crew! http://www.dailydot.com/geek/star-wars-force-awakens-wheres-rey-action-figure-set/

Sex sells, but apparently women don’t!

Dustin: They must not want the fanboys to think they’re playing with a doll rather than an action figure. #TriggerWarning

I immediately like Finn, I warmed up to Kylo Ren as the villain, but I still haven’t warmed up to Rey. But still, these movies had characters I would like to see again. They had personalities and are will carry on the series nicely.

Nick: I must say I don’t think Han Solo’s death was done to the potential a scene like that could generate. Harrison Ford was my first favorite movie star with roles like Han Solo, Indiana Jones, and Dr. Richard Kimble. I should have cried, but it didn’t even register with me emotionally. It felt more forced with Ford not being a fan of the character, but doing one last film for the fans (and a huge paycheck) to give the character an ending. I think it would have been better to build him up again and kill him during the second film. Wasted opportunity. Maybe he will somehow show up as a Force Ghost!

Dustin: I think the biggest problem was it felt a little too much like the first movie. Information is put into a droid that falls into the hands of a nobody on a desert planet, they have to take it to Princess Leia with the help of Han Solo. Then they end up having to blow up a new Death Star. There’s a scene where they show the new Death Star (forgot what it’s actually called), and Han Solo just says, “So it’s bigger? How do we blow it up this time?” Sort of acknowledging then dismissing the expected criticism. I don’t really think that makes it any better.

Nick: The film is basically a polished version of A New Hope. Adding layers that were missing from elements that lacked depth while keeping the details that worked the first go around. Which hopefully means Finn and Rey are brother and sister! (fingers crossed)

Dustin: Even though I thought many elements felt too familiar, I still enjoyed a lot of it. The new Death Star can blow up an entire solar system, using the energy sucked from a sun to blow up the planets in another system. The stakes felt real, and I was actually on the edge of my seat for most of the movie.

Nick: Well the stakes felt real in the original! Blowing up one planet just isn’t enough to scare good ol’ Dustin! It has to be a whole solar system!

Dustin: I was comparing it to the prequels, where there was literally nothing at stake, making it hard to care. See, for example, the robots-making-robots conveyor belt scene in Attack of the Clones. It looks like a cartoon, then, when the machine pounds down on Anakin’s hand, it somehow forms a space around his hand. At that moment you realize the characters can’t even get hurt and you don’t care as the tension has been removed. That’s why so many people described the prequels as “boring,” despite the overblown set pieces.

Nick: Sorry, thought we were still on comparing it to the originals! Darth Maul still might be my favorite villain in terms of badassery! I wonder if Supreme Leader Snoke is pulling a Great Wizard of Oz with his size? I bet he’s a small fry like Yoda, but with a Napoleon complex!

Dustin: I was happy with this film overall. It felt like a legit Star Wars sequel, and got the movies back on track after the mess that was Episodes I through III. I was embarrassed to admit I was a Star Wars fan for a long time. I’m a fan of the original original trilogy (not the special editions that progressively got worse). I liked what they did with The Force Awakens, and hope they can keep up the momentum.

Nick: As long as the next one’s not a beat for beat reboot of The Empire Strikes Back.