I Watch Films: The Force Awakens

 

The Force Awakens

What’s to say? There’s a secret hidden in a droid that the ragtag Resistance needs. A loner on a desert planet comes across it. There’s a prisoner who needs rescuing. There’s a guy who doesn’t want to be part of all this who keeps being called on to act the hero. There’s an evil man in a mask whose rage is being directed by another on behalf of even more evil ends. There’s a cantina, there’s a giant space weapon, there’s fighters doing a trench run, there’s an old lightsaber looking for someone to use it.

So what is there that isn’t A New Hope*? What have we learned since then?

We’ve learned you can change sides, and not just to be seduced to the dark side. FN-2187 becomes Finn, he gives up being a stormtrooper. And because of that, and because we’re vaguely aware of The Revenge Of The Sith, we know this could go either way. Not with Finn, the First Order want him dead. But with Rey and Keylo Ren. He might convince her to join him. She considers it for 17 seconds. And she could get him back. Even now after killing Han Solo**.

We’ve learned you can skip some bits, because you’re doing them again. You can just brainstorm at a meeting of officers and explain how you’re setting up the final sequence. And you can not skip them, but linger on it, have Rey try out her Jedi powers. Given Finn the lightsaber for a while, see how he gets on with it. Have the Millenium Falcon fly through narrow passages and low over planetary surfaces***.

Is this then a good film weighed down by the expectations of a new Star Wars? Perhaps it is! But that’s not really important. A new generation of Star Wars heroes and villains, a new try at stopping the bad guys with their hideous plans. A new version of an old story. I guess that has to do.

Watch This: It’s Star Wars, you love it
Don’t Watch This: It’s Star Wars, you hate it

* Or always and forever from when it first came on British TV in the early 80s Star Wars.

** Solo of course is back to amoral smuggler again, but he’ll have to come back and do something heroic will he? Very well.

*** No new iconic ships, but then they haven’t really had anything good since the chrome skinned Naboo ships in The Phantom Menace.