Since Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars hadn’t seen a new entry in its franchise. However, Disney came along and bought LucasFilm from George Lucas and decided to create their own sequel trilogy. The first of them is Star Wars: The Force Awakens and it introduces a new cast of characters while bringing back some original.
As the movie rolls, audiences are introduced to Daisy Ridley as Rey, the new main character of the Star Wars franchise. John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, and Gwendoline Christie also make their debut in the Star Wars universe.
Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Mark Hamill return as their respective characters from their original trilogy.
It’s directed by J.J Abrams, who returns to helm Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.
The Good
It’s safe and follows the formula of Star Wars. After a period of nothing, The Force Awakens returns the franchise to the big screen. Most of its beats are familiar and I see this as a good thing for the first movie back. It retreads past events but puts a fresh spin on them. This helps to bring in new audience members and keep old too.
The introduction to the new cast is handled well. Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren, and Poe Dameron are developed enough we are satisfied until the next movie. Much like the Original Trilogy, we don’t learn everything about those characters straight away. The plot builds the development into it and when the credits roll we’re hooked waiting for more answers.
Carrie Fisher’s Leia and Harrison Ford’s Han Solo are reunited. Leia has upgraded from being a Princess to a General for the new Resistance. The movie also adds another layer to their relationship by introducing their son Ben Solo. He’s better well known as Kylo Ren. Yes, Leia and Han’s son grows up to be one of the leaders of the Empire’s sequel, the First Order.
Kylo Ren isn’t your run-of-the-mill villain. He’s not only the son of Leia and Han but he’s also a conflicted young person with anger issues. His anger issues highlight how he is seduced to the dark side and when he kills his father, he seems to manage his anger better. He was conflicted about killing his father but he goes ahead with it. Usually, there would be a last-minute save in these circumstances. The fact they had Kylo kill Han pushes him away from a chance of redemption.
The Bad
In the lead-up to The Force Awakens, there was a hype around Captain Phasma. It’s the same hype given to Boba Fett, and much like him, Phasma was criminally underused. By the end of the movie, it seems she’s dead yet she returns in the sequel. Phasma could have been a horrifying character to be likened with a Nazi officer and instead, she brought nothing to the overall story sadly.
Another problem in the lead-up to its release was Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker. With how the trailers were cut, it seemed like Luke would be in a good section of the movie. However, The Force Awakens fails to use Luke until the cliffhanger ending. Its marketing makes fans feel short-changed they never got to properly see the one who started it all.
