Did the force truly awaken?

Hello all, it has been a very long time since I have posted a blog here. Over a year in fact. But that is because I have been posting my blog posts over on https://anenglishmaninkorea.wordpress.com/.

Anyway I have now seen Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens two times and I wanted to write a little review of the movie and where I see the next installments potentially going. This will evidently include spoilers so if you have not seen the movie please look away now. Also, if you haven’t seen the movie yet, what is wrong with you sir? It is the most anticipated movie of all time. Get out and try to see it! Wait, do or do not see it, there is no try!

 

I really enjoyed The Force Awakens as a whole. The anticipation was heavy, I had never been that excited for a movie since, well, potentially Star Wars episode 3 ten years previously. However at the end of the movie I realised I had a few problems with it. So I had to watch it again so that I could make my mind up about it. Experiencing the movie over a second viewing was more enjoyable than the first. It gave a better sense of the bigger picture and several questions that began as ‘why the hell did that happen?’ quickly turned into ‘oh that makes total sense’. Moving the story on from Episode 6 and to do it 30 years later was always going to be a difficult task. But J.J Abrams and his team achieved success, especially in introducing the new characters and without a doubt the movie had amazing acting in every corner of the galaxy. So let’s see what did and didn’t work in a review with a slightly different approach to many others you will find on the internet.

 

The force is strong with this one: 

The helmet acting: 

Without a doubt some of the best acting and emotion in the original star wars movies takes place when Darth Vader is watching his son being electrocuted by the Emperor. You can feel the conflict in his eyes and sense him being torn between his son and master every time he turns his head. And we can feel all that despite the fact we can not even see his face. And the force awakens certainly continues that. John Boyega’s acting within the storm trooper helmet at the beginning of the movie was fantastic, we didn’t need to see his face, we knew exactly how he was feeling and what was happening in his head. Also with Kylo Ren, you can really feel his anger and emotion within the helmet. Captain Phasma too, she was so awesome in the helmet. Everyone can agree she needs more screen time in episode 8.

Kylo Ren/Ben Solo: 

While it seems he is based partly on Jacen Solo, the original Han Solo son who turned to the dark side before being wiped out by Disney’s own Death Star weapon capable of destroying the whole extended universe, it is clear they have taken another direction with him completely. And he is the stand out villain in the movie, if not, all 7 movies. There is so much potential with him and questions to answer but for now, his raw emotion and inability to control it is so great to see on-screen. He is the emotional mess and confused young man who Anakin Skywalker should have been. I enjoy the prequels more than the average man, but even I agree that Anakin was not only wooden, but so unbelievable. You can never really believe his conflict in episode 3. Wait, so they reject you from a serious promotion and give the job of defeating the last general in the clone wars to your master, so you what? Become a child murderer and kill all your friends. Oh yes but he had a bad dream. Oh poor Anakin, kill as many children as you can then and hate the Jedi, it is the only way.

But still, enough of prequel Anakin hate, Kylo Ren is everything that was promised in the prequels. We can believe his conflict. He is conflicted between the light and the dark. Split between his powerful and legendary parents and his hopes for being as powerful as Darth Vader. I especially liked the moments when he lashed out with his saber or the force, I’m sure not even he knew what he was going to do. He is still not a Sith Lord in this movie, and it is a great change to seeing all the villains being so cold and calculative, always reserving their emotions. This time the villain is unpredictable. Even his light saber is unpredictable and bursting out/waving energy, unlike what we have seen before. Does it reflect the character or his skills not being complete?  It is also the first time we see a laser bolt stopped in mid-air, and while this was awesome, Darth Vader could easily do more than that as he evaporated the laser bolts when Han shot at him at Bespin.

But most of all, we don’t know his true motives or what he wants yet. This makes the film more exciting and fun. When Kylo Ren says to Vader’s burnt helmet, ‘I will finish what you started’, we are left wondering what he was referring to. Is he referencing Vader’s attempts to rule the galaxy or become the most powerful force user in the galaxies history which Vader could not do as Obi Wan had turned him in into more machine than man? Or is a big twist coming and he is talking about bringing balance to the force by destroying the last Sith (Snoke). If this is true it means he sacrificed his father in order to complete his mission. And it will make that death, which was one of the not so good parts of the movie into something more meaningful. Or he could just be a massive Vader fan boy. Either way, Kylo Ren is a fantastic character and I cannot wait to see more of his story unfold.

Luke Skywalker: 

At first viewing I couldn’t help thinking Luke’s story made no sense. The hero who sacrificed his life for his friends, always putting others first and now he is hiding when he could be helping. But on second viewing I realised that the movies jut wouldn’t work with Luke as the hero, everyone expects him to win. The movie premise of finding Luke works really well as it allows the new characters to grow and find their links to him in their own personal story. But the final few seconds of the movie were incredible to find Luke looking just like old Ben Kenobi in episode 4. We can see he has become so wise and powerful with the force, and that is without him even speaking one line in the movie. It also might easily explain why he is hiding in the first place. He may feel too much of a hindrance to the galaxy rather than help. He is now really powerful and if he failed in his attempt to restore the Jedi, he may feel that maybe the galaxy doesn’t need Jedi.

The dream team: 

Han and Chewie back together was great. Harrison Ford brought one of the most memorable Hollywood characters back to life in style, and it broke all hearts to see Chewbacca lose his friend. Their chemistry and Han’s wit was great.

The light saber battle: 

Many people including me asked this question at the end. How? How did she defeat Kylo Ren? Why is Kylo Ren not able to swing that weapon like the old Jedi? How did Finn last even a minute?  Well there are a few answers to that. I actually really enjoyed the final fight and had goosebumps when Rey used the force to get Luke’s light saber and the force theme played. It may have even been the stand out scene for me. It was a fight for survival and reflected the character’s build up to this point, it was not a contest to see who had the most fancy swings and turns. Still, why did Kylo Ren lose?  Well, to start with he was shot by Chewie’s bowcaster and severely injured. More importantly though, Kylo Ren does not have fantastic training with the weapon, he is good but not prequel level great. No one is good with a light saber after episode 3. The Jedi are all gone and no one is training to use a light saber daily and study its purposes and powers. This is why the fighting is so advanced in episodes 1-3, everyone has trained with them all their life. They are experts in combat, the knights of the galaxy. But by episode 4 light sabers are banned in the Empire and only one person is an exception…Vader. But he has robotic limbs and is breathing through a machine and Obi Wan is an old man so cannot fight well too. Luke was a young adult who was given a light saber and told to swing. Yes he has natural ability but would not be of the level of the Jedi temple days. We see this clearly when he defeats the Hutts on Tattooine. That is not the striking of a man who knows how to use that weapon skillfully. And it’s unlikely he even taught or knew how to teach Kylo Ren the art of using the light saber to pre-Empire levels. So Kylo Ren is not an expert with the weapon already.

Lastly, Rey’s raw abilities with the force is shocking Kylo and he beings to doubt himself in the movie. He had just gone through a traumatic event, that being the murder of his own father. To see someone with that power without knowing it and having a better claim to the light saber he wants to worship must be devastating. He is not a Sith and wasn’t an accomplished Jedi before he turned, so it is not too difficult to see him failing in this fight as everything is stacked up not in his favor.

 

I have a bad feeling about this:

Han Solo’s death: 

For me it was way too predictable. Star wars likes big moments on bridges and walkways too much to not thrown Han off of one. I knew Han or Chewie would probably die in this movie for some reason, and I wanted it to be a better reason than asking his son to come home and then being stabbed by him. I was devastated at his death and even more by the fact his body will never be recovered. I just hope it is able to serve a higher purpose in the overall story arch.

Rey and Finn’s natural abilities: 

While this is mostly with Rey it also exists with Finn too. How is she so good at being a pilot the first time around? How can she fly the Millenium Falcon better than Han Solo can when Chewbacca is with him? Even if she is connected directly to Anakin and Luke, they had experience of some piloting first and her abilities are too much too soon. Finn is a natural gunner, we do not know who his parents are yet, only that he was taken away from them. Is there a deeper story there? Why are they better at these things than trained pilots. And while Rey’s raw ability with the force was exciting, they were making her too powerful in contrast to Kylo who is aware of his own powers. Also the previous movies went far to explain that Jedi mind tricks are hard to do and take training, and some people just can’t be mind tricked. Why is it so easy for Rey to do it to Kylo Ren himself?

What are the odds: 

How do Han and Finn find Rey so easy? It was silly enough on the Death Star, but Starkiller is an ENTIRE planet. If you don’t think that is silly, they were lucky enough to find Rey straight away on a planet whereas you cannot even find your mother in the same supermarket. Moreover how did they so easily infiltrate the base and set explosives up. Just where is everybody? They make the Empire’s security look good. Why does the sanitation officer (Finn) know the weak spot to destroy Starkiller, if he does that means almost everyone on the planet would know and could potentially be a traitor. Beyond that, why is no one protecting the air space above the planet. In episode 6 they needed a code to even go near the Death Star, but on this planet you can enter if you fly low and come out of hyperspace late. This is sci-fi, they need to and should be able to detect that.

What are the odds the one character Han Solo flies to for advice happens to have Luke’s saber. Why does she even have it?

You can’t find your friend in here? Let’s expand our search to the whole planet.

 

We’ve been here before: 

The movie went to, sometimes painful, lengths to relive episode 4. Rey and Luke both grew up on a desert planet not knowing their parents and dreaming of a life outside what they have. Someone comes into their life and changes it, that someone happens to be a droid with an important message. Then the heroes infiltrate the enemies base to save the girl who is more bad-ass than they are. Oh and that base destroys a planet, or several. All of this takes place while the main character discovers a connection to the force and the mentor character dies in front of them. Oh and the enemy base is destroyed just before the Resistance is. It was just too much effort, it felt in many places, episode 4 reborn. And this is why the characters and acting was so central to it, because without great characters it wouldn’t have worked at all as a similar story had already been told.

Premonitions you say?: 

Two big questions arise at the end of the movie. Firstly, is Rey Luke’s daughter and secondly is Supreme leader Snoke Darth Plagueis. The movie goes far to suggest Rey is his daughter, it would explain his face at the end and the reason she has a link to the light saber more than Kylo Ren does. Also this may be why R2D2 only woke up when she arrived. They even gave her a similar start in life. I think she is Luke’s daughter. We will find out in Episode 8 and people think she may be a Solo or even a Kenobi but it just makes no sense to deviate from the path they have started down. There is even another theory that Rey is like Anakin, a being created through the force itself.

Supreme leader Snoke is likely a Sith and the infamous Darth Plagueis who trained Palpatine. Is it too much to imagine he survived or tricked his apprentice into thinking he was dead? It would make it more interesting. It would damage the previous movies to think just another random Sith Lord has appeared, rather than the most powerful one in history who was probably watching and waiting for the emperor to fail the whole time. He could create life with the force, did he create Anakin? If he is not the infamous dark lord then I hope this is a big villain, someone who can be linked with the original story.

You can find this YouTube video which is really convincing.

Conclusion: 

I loved the movie. Yes it left so many questions unanswered and actually created more questions than it even attempted to answer. But we know with patience everything will be revealed to us. It is great to go back to the Star Wars galaxy and the movie was pure entertainment throughout. We need to see more of Captain Phasma and Poe Dameron, they were the coolest guys on-screen and not given enough time. And Han’s death needs to be adequately addressed, let’s not forget what they went through to save him in episode 6.

Ultimately the Force did Awaken, but that is all it did. The movie did exactly what it says in the title, started a story. Now we just need to wait and see what will happen now that the Force is awake.