Star Wars as Art – Tom Wheeldon

5 stars

For a long while I’ve been very much the product of the Cambridge English Tripos, mostly to the irritation of myself and others. I can’t even watch an episode of Coronation Street without making a comment like “that piece of dialogue was an efficient Barthesian index”. But the experience of watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens has robbed me of that monstrous instinct to analyse narrative art. The only appropriate response to this flawless masterpiece is to heap lyrical adulation on it.

The immersive quality to this film creates an aura of all the multifariousness and profundity of deeply felt real life experience. The Force Awakens – like the first masterpiece Star Wars: A New Hope from 1977 – presents the classic narrative of an obscure young protagonist discovering the extent of their power, as the story builds towards an arc of good triumphing over evil. Yet at the same time there are complex, even tortuous, aspects at work – most strikingly the Freudian element in Luke Skywalker’s struggle against Darth Vader. And in the new film, this father / son dynamic across the dark side is displayed with even more complexity and emotional force.

Even better than the young Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker nearly thirty years ago, Daisy Ridley portrays her character’s gradual realisation of her destiny with impeccable skill. Her character Rey is brilliantly strong – from her opening scenes it is clear that she will resurrect the glory of the Jedi knights. But at the same time, Ridley conveys with exquisite finesse the broken glass hidden behind the force of her character’s outward appearance.

The majesty of Ridley’s performance is almost equalled by that of John Boyega – another young British actor – whose character Finn escapes from his former life as a Stormtrooper to join the Resistance against the new manifestation of the Dark Side. And most affectingly, most heart-warmingly, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill reprise their former roles by portraying a perfect balance of their characters’ constancy and development since the events of the Return of the Jedi.

None of the weaknesses of the prequels are present here. All the sublime qualities of the original films are there in force – but the jewel in the crown is the extra touch of visual slickness facilitated by new cinematic technology and J.J. Abrams’ commensurate skill as a director.

Mere language is insufficient to express how good this film is. There is Tolstoy, there is Shakespeare – and up there with them, there is Star Wars.

 

Star Wars in context – Joe Robinson

4.5 stars (Nothing's perfect, except The Empire Strikes Back)

Star Wars has always occupied a unique position in cinema. Now, as in 1977, it enters a cultural landscape dominated by gritty tales of hard-nosed antiheroes – the Tony Sopranos, Walter Whites and Don Drapers of this world. Star Wars’ promise is one of telling a more hopeful tale in a galaxy far, far away. But, unlike in 1977, The Force Awakens enters an existing universe with its own chronology, characters and tropes. Its challenge was to tell a story that felt quintessentially Star Wars without devolving into glorified fan service, and which felt fresh while still remaining faithful to the previous films.

In short, The Force Awakens does this superbly and ends up being the best Star Wars film since Return of the Jedi. Does it push all the right nostalgic buttons that makes grown adults weep, howl and cry (even in swift succession)? Absolutely. True, it apes the original film – 1977’s A New Hope – with its narrative of heroes from an arid planet helping Rebels (now the Resistance) in their fight against an evil Empire (now the reformed First Order) armed with a cataclysmic superweapon. But the structural similarities are almost inevitable if Star Wars is to fulfil its brief as a fantasy; tales of heroes plucked from obscurity to fight evil will always take a certain path.

The masterful mix of things old and new renders the film familiar yet modern. The returning cast do more than generate fan feels – they ground the film’s new stars and show us what life was like after Return of the Jedi. And the new cast is stellar, particularly John Boyega as Imperial deserter Finn and Daisy Ridley as scavenger Rey. Not only was there chemistry with the original cast but camaraderie between them, enabled through dialogue that was witty and contained genuine banter (contemporary comedy writers, take note). While Domhnall Gleeson as the icy General Hux and Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron were excellent (and both deserve more screen time going forward), a special mention should be reserved for Adam Driver as Kylo Ren. Playing a post-Vader Star Wars villain was never going to be easy, but Driver rises to the challenge, portraying a character whose instability gives him a dimension never before seen in the franchise. He is what Anakin Skywalker in the prequels should have been.

By far, the film’s lightsabre fight was its best part. Gone are the prequel-era dance choreography and triple-backflips – The Force Awakens’ duel has a rawness and physicality that gave it a sense of genuine tension. It looked like what it was – a desperate life-or-death clash. The look of the lightsabres in the snow gave the duel an aesthetic quality never before seen, with light refracting off the actors and the surroundings, and giving off steam when dragged through the snow. It represented the film in microcosm – it gave us a familiar formula and took it up another gear, offering nostalgia and innovation in equal measure.

 

Star Wars out of context - Alex Izza

5 stars

It is difficult to escape Star Wars. As an entity it pervades modern pop culture, and The Force Awakens is no different. Beneath all this past mythology, it is very easy to lose the fact that this remains just a movie. The vast media hype train for this film seeks to draw people (myself included) into seeing this as something akin to a Second Coming; the return of meaning to a franchise mired in modernity. But beneath all this paraphernalia remains one indisputable fact: as well as a great Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens is a great movie.

The cinematography of this film is a thing of beauty. Too often modern blockbusters forget the subtleties of cinema in the mad rush to “tick the box” of action and excitement craved for at the box office. This film, however, exudes artistry at every turn. Dan Mindel continued his partnership with JJ Abrams on this film and has created moments of real beauty. The desert planet of Jakku is filled with vast vistas of endless sand, juxtaposed with the haunting graveyard of Star Destroyers. My favourite shot had to be the sepia sunset that greets the arrival of the TIE Fighters, evoking all the tangible danger of Apocalypse Now despite the fantasy setting.

But the real star is the script. Lawrence Kasdan’s presence is felt throughout this film’s writing. Every word has meaning. It is very easy for a film to have scenes that feel like delays as the writers work out a way to draw it all together. The Force Awakens charges head long into every moment with genuine verve. The action dialogue does its job, guiding the viewer without distracting from the spectacle. But Kasdan creates so much more than an action move. There are moments of genuine tragedy. Moments of triumph. And above all, constant, relentless humour. Compare this dialogue to the ‘comedy’ in the comparable blockbuster Jurassic World and Kasdan’s triumph becomes clear.

Undoubtedly this is a film brimming with little nods for long-term fans. But I urge those unconverted to Star Wars to see this film. It has a young, and hugely able cast. Daisy Ridley particularly shines as Rey, giving a passionate and moving performance. One Guardian critic described her as a less able young Keira Knightley. Ignore that. Daisy Ridley has talent and emotional expression Keira Knightley could only dream of. John Williams remains on fine form, creating a surprisingly subtle score that intersperses the new with the old. Crucially, the plot works. JJ Abrams has created a narrative that builds throughout the piece. Each scene blends perfectly into another. The cynics will argue that it simply puts new faces onto an old story. But this is so much more than a Star Wars: A New Hope 2. This is a complex, exciting, and emotionally traumatic piece of cinema. As Christmas approaches join the rest of the world and see this film. It will not disappoint.

 

Star Wars as Nostalgia – Oliver Yeates

5 stars

Abrams has done it. Star Wars: The Force Awakens wonderfully revitalises what made the original trilogy so iconic on the big screen. This film alone compensates for the entirety of the prequels, but also does so much more.

John Williams’ score is nothing short of cinematic legend, and its effect in The Force Awakens is one of setting its signature nostalgic tone. To see the original title credits rolling up the screen with the iconic title theme was exhilarating.

The Force Awakens is overwhelmingly true to the originals, and much of the format of its story is strongly synonymous with Episode IV: A New Hope. Abrams’ decision to eschew the CGI eye-sore of the prequels and return to the visual simplicity of the original trilogy is at the heart of what makes the film successful. The care taken to use miniature models, real locations, real sets, and real costumes translates beautifully onto the screen, constituting a convincing and immersive cinematic experience. The iconographic weight behind the franchise is unrivalled, from its characters, to costumes, to weapons, even to how deserts are presented. The Force Awakens executes them triumphantly. The sounds of TIE fighters, R2-D2, lightsabers, and blasters are marvellously crafted, yet with a newly imbued modernisation and clarity.

But The Force Awakens doesn’t merely translate Lucas’ original vision; it lovingly transforms it. It revives the series’ charm by being the funniest film of the franchise yet, is tied together by John Williams’ score but also introduces new musical textures, recognises the importance of the simplicity of imagery, and yet also goes bigger and bolder in creating a planet sized death machine and Kylo Ren’s newly-styled lightsaber. 

The film is an utter recognition and nostalgic admiration of the originals. That much is made clear by its visual style and cheeky references made to garbage compressors and jokes about the Death Star. However, the film finds its own voice in not merely re-hashing Lucas’ films – it revitalises, refreshes, and pushes forward. It’s a thrill for those who wanted to return to the characters and iconography of the originals, and at the same time promises so much more, tantalisingly so, for what’s to come next.

 

Star Wars as a con – Yaz Jung

1.5 stars

The Force Awakens is a vacuous and impotent attempt at a sequel to 1983’s culturally transcendent Return of the Jedi. Advance trailers have for months traded off imagery depicting Han Solo and Chewbacca “coming home” along with scenes of the classic lineup, as bait to lure-in generations with the potential of seeing these beloved characters adventure one more time (while launching new stories).  Yet, despite all its promise, the iconic characters never all get-together onscreen, cheating the audiences’ decades-long anticipation to witness the enduring chemistry of the original cast once again.

John Boyega’s Finn is a one-dimensional construct who miraculously defies years of inculcation to spontaneously emerge as a pure, selfless hero, forming an unrealistically deep attachment to Daisy Ridley within a microscopic space of time. Baby-Vader is like a moody goth teen who mimics his idol while being manifestly frustrated that he’ll never measure up to him. Whereas Bobba-Fett was enigmatically threatening, hyped side-villain Captain Phasma channels Battlestar Galactica’s Cylons circa 1979, and does nothing. By the time Skywalker finally appeared, I knew I’d been conned.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to re-launch a new trilogy, but this was feeble. There was no episodic pay-off – the teasers in the trailers of Luke, R2 and 3PO’s new arm were left unanswered as everything was reduced to a perpetual set-up for something else which never came. Beyond a couple of one-liners, the dialogue is virtually devoid of substance. Han Solo just banters with Chewie throughout, while the film simply lurches from one relentlessly exhausting CGI set-piece to another. Nien Nunb is in, but no Calrissian?! At least Admiral Ackbar cameos. Angsty Sith Lord Jnr who moved out of his parents’ to party with bad company on an immense planet-sized battle-station, which - although 100 times the size and sophistication of the Death Star - is still treated in such an absurdly clichéd manner that it defies all common sense. No single character even approaches the presence of Darth Vader or the late Sir Alec Guinness. The pristine black triple-decker Star Destroyer does nothing. Apparently the big mystery for viewers to solve is guessing Rey’s parentage. Maybe John Boyega’s Finn is really Mace Windu’s grandson, but who cares?

The entire film lacks originality and depth and I am not being unduly harsh. Nearly every single plot-point and cue is recycled: the orphaned desert scavenger with big dreams, falling-in with a reluctant cynical smuggler, accompanied by a cute droid desperately entrusted with data of galactic significance – all with an estranged father-son dispute thrown in for good measure. The production aesthetic of the original trilogy is retained but acts merely as false window-dressing while heroes are carelessly sacrificed for cheap heat to compensate for the lack of real drama at work in the piece. Apparently Hollywood’s talent pool runs so shallow that they had no choice but to use the same one man to direct both Star Trek and Star Wars.

Sorry J.J. I want my money back.