Force Awakens Review

Spoiler Warning

I’ve watched the Force Awakens, and it lead me thinking, after watching it I left quietly and pondered my thoughts. First of, it’s crazy that the guy who created the fan theory from watching the trailer was 100% right. Even in the smallest details such as Rey being afraid of the lightsaber but Finn being attracted to it.

The Good

1-Finn, Poe and Rey have incredible chemistry

It’s undeniable how good these guys are. Especially, Oscar Issac is astounding as Poe Dameron, his relationship with Finn was amazingly believable. The same come be said about Rey who has a really good chemistry with Finn.

2-The movie feels amazingly physical and real

From the opening shot to running around Jakku, the movie feels very tactile and authentic. The stormtropers invading Jakku, and brutalizing the people was so real, its insane. No blue nor green screen, I felt that the action was unfolding in my eyes.

3-A simple and fast paced story

Unlike the prequels the story here makes you care about its characters, they are more human and real. This movie doesn’t waste time, it goes straight to deliver what the people and critics want. We get the fun, the action and the strong story. The first 20m are brilliant and the best Star Wars had ever had.

The Stars of the Movie

The Bad

1-The chemistry was weak between the original and new cast members

Sorry to be harsh with you guys, but I just couldn’t buy why Han was so open to both Rey and Finn. It seemed that there was no reason. Han feels like a good mentor to Finn and somehow believable, especially Boyega who is extremely good at acting. However, at times it felt contrived, how receptive Han is with these guys and how he welcomes them with open arms.

2-Kylo Ren’s story is not as strong

I really liked Kylo during the promos he truly seemed evil but more importantly menacing. “I’ll show them the dark side.” However, in the movies he just comes off as kid, a really stupid one. If his father cannot turn him back to the light side then nothing will. Also it just seem unbelievable how could someone kills his own father? Parents and children relationship is so strong that not even Vader was able to cross that line. He’s character went from somehow compelling to emotionless in a brink of a second. He should have at least struggled more in trying to kill his father. Also he gets overpowered too easily by Rey, whose not even a Jedi. Sure he was injured but

3-Too much fan service 

Like Lucas said, its like poetry. Han dies and Obi-Wan dies, the death star is destroyed and Starkiller Base is destroyed, the empire blows up alderaan, the first order destroys the republic. JJ does not stray at all from the usual structure but unlike the Phantom Menace this movie makes you care about the characters.

Final Thoughts

This movie was excellent as both a self-contained story and a spiritual sequel to Return of the Jedi. Had it not need to connect it to the originals and maybe focused more on developing Hux, Ren and Phasma, it would have been a 10/10. However, the need to connect it the original trilogy as well as to deliver fan service ends up lowering its quality; It just doesn’t mesh well. Also, Maz Kanata wasn’t convincing to me and Phasma ended up not being as a strong a woman as she could have been. The first order disappoints as on the trailers they seemed so menacing and threating while in the movie they come off as guerrilla up and comings who want to do something but aren’t as compelling nor convincing enough. Also Supreme Leader Snoke looked like a big baby with a giant head. At times the First Order comes off goofy which should not be the case as they should at least appear as more menacing.

I give the movie a 9/10, anything below it would be unfair and anything above it would be to not acknowledge its flaws.   One word to describe the movie would be fan service: to the fans, to the target audience, to the critics.