First up, let's return to the word I mentioned earlier: characters. These are important - we know that, right? In many ways, characters are your primary source of emotional connection in a film. Your film can live and even thrive without a plot if you've got good characters. It worked with the original trilogy. As far as plots go, they're really not up to the standard of many of their contemporaries, but they have character. It's kind of okay that Boba Fett gets accidentally knocked into a Sarlacc Pit, because every other time we've seen him, he's either looking effortlessly cool or being told by Darth Fucking Vader not to disintegrate anybody. When he falls over, it feels like an unfortunate circumstance that happened to a cool character. J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, and Michael Arndt got this. They knew how important it was, above all else, to have solid characterisation, especially because they were unable to entirely rely upon the fan's preexisting knowledge when all of these new folk were coming in to play. They also knew that they couldn't spend the duration of the film wheel-spinning through introductions. What we learned of these newbies, we had to learn fast, and every moment with them had to be a banger. So, let's go through the bangers. The film begins with a slaughter of civilians on a desert planet by what is left of The Empire, now going by the name First Order. Amongst the carnage, a ship lands, and out of it emerges our new Darth Vader, now going by the name Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). The first thing I noticed is how much Kylo Ren walked like a, well, like a human. Darth Vader's movement was regularly obfuscated by his cape, making him almost seem like a gliding, ethereal force (heh). This was magnified by the deliberateness of his steps; if he didn't have to walk, he wasn't going to. Kylo Ren's cape is thinner, and flows behind him, making his movement available to see in plain sight, serving to highlight how mystic he does not appear to be. He approaches the captured Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), and we're introduced to our new Han Solo type. Kylo Ren, face covered with a mask not too dissimilar to his former, stares at Poe, saying nothing. Eventually, Poe says glibly, "Who talks first? You talk first? I talk first?" Kylo Ren begins to speak, for the first time, and his voice, like his former, is obscured through a filter. "I'm sorry," Poe cuts him off, "but it's very hard to understand you with that thing." This guy is staring down the new Darth Vader and cracking wise. This guy's got some fucking stones! But, more than that, he's resisting the new evil. Amongst the sea of slaughter around him, he's showing that he's not afraid of the group demanding that he show fear. Don't forget about Kylo Ren just yet, now; we will be coming back to him. Poe is taken back aboard the First Order's ship, where he meets Finn (John Boyega), a Stormtrooper who faced the reality of his employer down on that planet and is having a change of heart. He sneaks Poe to a safe space, removes his helmet, and says he's getting Poe out of here. "Why are you helping me?" Poe asks. "Because it's the right thing to do," Finn replies. There's a pause. "...you need a pilot, don't you?" says Poe. "...I need a pilot," says Finn, and we're introduced to our new Han Solo type. They sneak into the hangar, steal a Tie-Fighter and get the fuck out of there with only a couple of hiccups. Amongst the shouts and whoops, Finn says, "It's good to meet you, Poe." "Good to meet you too, Finn!" Poe shouts back. Boom. Besties. They're soon attacked, the ship crashes, and Finn can't find Poe, believing him to be dead. A full hour later, they reunite by chance at the Rebel Base, and it's the potency of the lightning-fast characterisation that makes us believe that these two are genuinely happy to see each other again. They hug, and smile, and laugh, and get serious in the space of seconds, and we believe all of it.
Now, characterisation in this film is so important, I could spend this entire review on it, but there's more to cover, so I'm going to do my best to integrate, lest I swallow reality and start my book called The Force Awakens Did It Good. You may be aware of this already, but there appears to be a disconnect between the creators and the merchandisers when it comes to the reality that girls like cool shit too. Like all of the superhero films before it, a lot of the merchandise for The Force Awakens isn't including their new Jedi, and kind of their new protagonist, because she's a woman. Now, this is fucking stupid, and I'm not about to say that it isn't, but I think, in this situation, we're looking at it from the wrong angle. This is not because Hasbro has already made efforts to rectify the problem, because including a token for your shitty board game doesn't make up for one damn thing, and it's not because I think there are bigger problems to discuss. It's that when it comes to identifying inclusivity, or lack thereof, there is only so much progress that can be made by crying foul. I know that revolutions are never started by the quiet, and I'm not about to say that we shouldn't shout from the rooftops when we're pissed, but consider the fact that this is maybe the biggest fucking movie ever, and so little of the discourse is reflecting just how many rules of standard Hollywood film representation it breaks. Let's run the list: The film's main character, and seemingly only new Jedi, is Rey (Daisy Ridley), a woman. Beside her, also arguably the film's main character, is Finn, a black man. Beside them is Poe Dameron, a Guatemalan. Against them is Kylo Ren, whose heritage includes English, German, Dutch, Irish, and Scottish. Beside Kylo Ren is General Hux (Domnhall Gleeson), an Irishman playing an Englishman. Pause there; our two main antagonists are Europeans that aren't Russian or German, and they aren't black. Also, helping our heroes are an old woman (Carrie Fisher), two old men (Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill), a giant hairy monster (Peter Mayhew), and two robots. The fact that the film doesn't highlight the race or age of any of these characters, nor does it go to a single length to hide their skin tones or age, for a major motion picture, is fucking astounding, and to continue to cry foul of elements somewhat helpless to other organisations does a disservice to everything the film gets right. But, seeing as positivity doesn't negate the shittiness entirely, lets chip away at it a bit more by highlighting how fucking good Rey is. When Finn first sees her, she's about to get attacked by some thugs. In the time it takes him to race over to her, knight in shining armour, she's already taken care of her would-be oppressors, and we're introduced to our new Han Solo type. When the First Order bears down on them, Finn grabs Rey's hand to lead her to safety. "Why are you holding my hand?" she says. Later, he tries to grab it again. "I know how to run! Stop holding my hand!" Gradually, bit by bit, Rey asserts to Finn that she's plenty capable on her own, a sentiment that is capitalised when it's Finn that needs rescuing from her. Later, when she's captured by Kylo Ren, Finn, Han Solo and Chewbacca launch a stupid-as-all-shit rescue mission that also might stop the First Order. As Finn panics about the odds they're up against, and the fact that she needs them, Han taps him on the shoulder and points out that not only does Rey not need them, but they might need her, communicated visually through the window as Rey tests out her new force abilities to scale a wall. When they are eventually reunited, Rey is overjoyed that Finn came for her, not because she needed to be rescued, but because someone cared enough about her to come looking. It's an emotional rescue, not a physical one, and the strength of that cannot be overstated.
Now, on to the bad stuff, where I point out that it's actually really good stuff. There's been a lot of criticism leveled at this film. Most people can agree that the new characters are shit hot, because that's an objective observation, but beneath that, many can't get past the fact that this film is beat-by-beat kind of a remake of A New Hope. "Lazy filmmaking!" they cry, without pausing to consider that this laziness might actually be intentional; without pausing to consider that maybe it's actually really brave. Yes, this is beat-by-beat kind of a remake of A New Hope, with smatterings of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi for good measure, but that's the point. Consider the world's narrative surrounding this plot: everyone in this universe loves Star Wars as much as you do. Actually, let me rephrase that: everyone in this universe loves what Star Wars used to be as much as you do. Rey plays around in the shell of a downed AT-AT wearing a Rebel pilot's helmet, a handmade stuffed doll Luke Skywalker sitting on her shelf at home. When she meets Han Solo, she's starstruck. "You're THE Han Solo?" she asks. I know that's not what you're mad about, though. You're mad about another Death Star, aren't you? But not just another Death Star, a bigger Death Star, that can kill more than one planet, at the same time! Well, consider the idea that, if you're willing to accept and celebrate that our heroes are in love with the old days, that the villains might just be too. Let's frame this around Kylo Ren, as I firmly believe he's the key to learning to stop worrying and love the J.J. I told you we'd be back. Let's start by acknowledging that his story in this film is how Anakin Skywalker's descent into The Dark Side should have gone. Before his helmet came off, I was already thinking that he behaved like a shitty teenager. His walking was the first clue, then came some of his strange turns-of-phrase, where he almost seemed...snotty, then comes his lightsaber temper tantrum when he doesn't get his way. The writing is almost on the wall before he takes his helmet off, and you see that there's nothing wrong with his face. He's actually quite beautiful. Darth Vader wore the helmet because it was the only thing that kept him not dead. So why is Kylo Ren all dressed up? Because he doesn't want to evoke Darth Vader, he wants to be Darth Vader. More, we come to understand that his indignant behaviour stems from his knowledge that he is not, and may never be, even a shred of the figure that his grandfather was. Oh yeah, he's Han and Leia's kid as well, and a former student of Luke Skywalker. The guilt-tripping as he started to shift from the light to the dark probably contributed to his feelings of being misunderstood, and also probably acted as fuel for him to prove everybody wrong. And, here's the thing: Kylo Ren is an idiot, because he's just a kid, but he is dangerous. Throughout the entire film, Han Solo drops hint upon hint that, given the chance, he's going to confront his son. Our understanding of Han Solo, such as it is, might lead us to believe that this confrontation would involve Han fighting to his last breath to bring his son back to the light. But this is not the Han Solo that we knew. We should have known our Star Wars better; the victory of the big conflicts pale in comparison to the systematic generational losses that our heroes suffer through. A war is nothing when held against the fact that the parents keep fucking up for their children. But not this time. As The First Order begins to charge Starkiller (the new Death Star), sucking the light out of the sun, Han Solo confronts Kylo Ren on a bridge not too dissimilar to another iconic father/son bonding sesh. "BEN," Han bellows, the implications of his son's name ringing in our heads as they approach each other. Ben Solo refuses to acknowledge the man in front of him as his father, but as Han continues to press, layers begin to peel away, and Ben acknowledges that, try as he might, he still feels the pull of The Light. He knows what he has to do in order to fulfill his destiny, but he can't do it alone. "Will you help me?" Ben asks. "Yes," Han replies. "Anything." It's testament to how rock-solid this writing is that, framed differently, this scene could play as Ben pleading for his father to pull him away from The Dark Side; to be good again. But to do so would be to defy that this series has always been about generational failures, and this film is all about letting go of the past. Han's not about to let Ben down again. Seeing his son in pain, he helps the only way that he can. As Starkiller is ready to fire, having sucked out the last of the sun's light, leaving only the dark, Ben fires up his lightsaber, illuminating the room in reds and blacks, and plunges it into his father's chest. As they share a final look, Ben is horrified but sure of what he's done. Han Solo is tired, but in one final gesture, he raises his hand, strokes his son's cheek, and falls off the bridge. As he dies, the staunch refusal of these characters to let go of the past dies with him. It's not an accident that our protagonists are there to see him die, nor is it an excuse for Chewie to win the MVP award for being the only character in the film to successfully shoot Kylo Ren, though as a quick aside, holy shit do our writers get it. The only thing that transcends the force, Light and Dark, is love; Chewie's pain at seeing his best friend perish is more powerful than anything this universe could throw, and holy shit is it heartbreaking to watch. No, our new protagonists and our new antagonist are there for this moment because it's here that they learn that this actually is a brave new world, and they will not be able to look back for answers anymore. Like it or not, they have to take charge. Yes, a Death Star but bigger was a dumb idea, but I guarantee you that at the next corporate board meeting, Kylo Ren's going to have a new pitch. This filters through to the audience as well; Abrams and Co. have proven that they have it within them to make the Star Wars that you loved. Now, you have to trust them when they say they want to take you somewhere new.
I swear that one day I'll stop, but watching The Force Awakens, I couldn't help but think about Jurassic World, and how much The Force Awakens is everything that Jurassic World is not. In the Jurassic World version of The Force Awakens, Han would introduce himself only to have Rey react not in wonder and admiration, but with a, "Who? You're old!" It does worry me that Colin Trevorrow is taking the reigns of Episode IX, but given the fact that Disney/Marvel is very much a producer-based house that know what they want and seek directors that will do what they say, as opposed to Steven Spielberg's reputation as a producer, which is to throw money at it and say, "Who gives a fuck? I know I'll make it back", leaves me feeling that it may be okay. Colin Trevorrow's not a bad director, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't know that his film hates its audience. That film's issues stem from cultural problems, not auteur problems, which is why it's so heartening to see a film like The Force Awakens, a film which is certainly more design by committee than others is a film that not just respects its audience, but loves it. Abrams and Co. love you, but more than that, they love Star Wars. They love everything that it was, everything that it is, and everything that it can be. That last one is the important one; while the film does tread the line of being self-referential to the point of being derivative, it does so for a reason, which is to ease you into accepting the new things that are in store. Even better, they demonstrate that these new things will not come at the sacrifice of the emotional components that cause you to love Star Wars so much. This wonderfully diverse group has genuine affection for each other, that, while developed quickly, is not dishonest. It's earned. Is it a film without faults? Of course not. Emperor Snoke is the antagonist not yet mentioned, who is yet another boring J.J. Abrams CGI-monster with dead eyes. Having said that, we see Snoke for all of two minutes, and he's played by Andy Serkis. Who am I to judge before seeing the payoff? There's also the fact that though there are now finally two women in a Star Wars film, their only two interactions are a hug and a one-sided conversation where Leia says to Rey, "May the Force be with you." Emotionally affecting as these moments are, it is a bit disappointing that these characters, who have a shitload to talk about, one having just lost her husband, the other having just lost her father figure, both sharing in The Force, aren't given the 30 seconds it would take to have a fucking conversation. Having said that, this probably isn't the last time these two characters will be in a room, and it is a small fucking miracle that there is finally more than one woman in a Star Wars film. Who am I to judge before seeing the payoff? And that there is the last point I want to leave you with. A lot of people are hanging their hats regarding the future of Star Wars on this film alone, when Disney has been planning from the beginning for not just three new films, but an entire extended universe. There's a plan here. If you haven't received your answer, or you're unhappy with where something ended, consider the fact that you've only received the first fraction of the plan. Abrams and Co.'s job with The Force Awakens was to prove that a good Star Wars movie can still be made. Their greatest achievement was not getting greedy. Breathe out. It's okay. The Force Awakens is good, nothing more, nothing less. And that's nothing short of a miracle.
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