Movie Review: Star Wars VII – The Force Awakens

Released: 12/18/15

I did it!  I finally saw The Force Awakens!  Judging by the box office numbers, I am the last person to see it.  Others managed to not give away any spoilers and I will attempt to do the same with this review, just in case I am NOT the last person to see it.

I’ll start with the good.  I loved all the new characters, and Rey (Daisy Ridley) is a great lead – she is noble, smart, and resourceful.  She is 1000x more capable and likable than Luke ever was.  Luke’s whininess in A New Hope made him difficult to root for.  For those worried that the dialogue would be as clichéd and cheesy as episodes I-III, don’t.  The dialogue was clever, exactly what you’d expect from JJ Abrams.  Finally, I found the camera work to be very good, I noticed it early and I noticed it late – I thought “wow, that was good camera work.”

Now for the bad.  Perhaps the biggest disappointment was its complete and utter lack of creativity.  Every single element you’ve seen before.  One of the things that made the original Star Wars great was how incredibly new and innovative it was – no one had ever seen anything like it before.   Watching The Force Awakens, I felt like I’d already seen the movie, yet this was my first time.  I liked what I saw, but I felt I had already seen it.

Also, I noted two continuity errors.  One was from the original films to The Force Awakens and the other was within the film itself.  They might be explainable, but they haven’t been so far.  I also struggled with the characters’ motivations.  Why are they doing what they are doing?  What is their goal?

I know it seems like the cons to this movie are greater than the pros.  They aren’t.  I still greatly enjoyed the movie and (being the geek that I am) I want to see it again already.  I’ll wait for it to come out on DVD, though.  The Force Awakens is an entertaining sci-fi action film, even if it is one you’ve seen before. 

WWYT Rating: 7.8

IMDB Rating: 8.4

Rewatch: Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi

Released: 5/25/1983

I’ve always wondered how much time passed between the end of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.  Luke has matured immensely since the last time we saw him (and immeasurably since he was a whiney farmhand on Tatooine.)  Did he return to complete his training with Yoda?  (But there was a later scene when he did return that implies that he didn’t).  If he didn’t return, how did he complete his training?  It is something that has always bugged me, but I always liked Luke’s maturation through the films – it’s such a large part of the story.

How can you not love the Ewoks?  Cute and cuddly, and ultimately responsible for the downfall of the Empire.  A mighty empire brought down by sticks and stones – literally!  Perhaps the Emperor couldn’t foresee such primitive beings aiding the rebels (not only aiding, but turning the tide against the Empire).  There is some kind of message there, I’m not sure what it is, but there it is.

Return of the Jedi is my least favorite of the original trilogy.  It wasn’t as groundbreaking and awe-inspiring as A New Hope.  It didn’t have the sheer entertainment value of Empire Strikes Back.  As a conclusion to the trilogy, though, it did have some major points in its favor — the maturation of Luke Skywalker, the redemption of Anakin Skywalker, and the downfall of the evil empire, plus the lovable Ewoks.

Bring on Force Awakens!

WWYT Rating: 8.5

IMDB Rating: 8.4

Rewatch: Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back

MOVIE POSTER Film ‘STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK; STAR WARS: EPISODE V – THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK’ (1980) Directed By IRVIN KERSHNER 21 May 1980 CTS65543 Allstar Collection/LUCASFILM **WARNING** This photograph is the copyright of LUCAS FILM & can only be reproduced by newspaper & magazine TV guides in conjunction with the promotion of the above film. A Mandatory Credit To LUCAS FILM must also be printed. For Printed Editorial Use Only, NO online or internet use. 1109z@yx

Released: 6/20/1980

Holy crap, Darth Vader is Luke’s father!  I guess I already knew that, as does everyone.  Now.  At the time, it was quite the bombshell, however.  The Empire Strikes Back was always my favorite movie of the original trilogy.  I’m not exactly sure why, I think part of it is that it didn’t have a “Hollywood ending” as I like to call it – a forced happy ending where the good guys win.  Life isn’t always like that.  The Empire undeniably wins at the end (the title probably should have given that away) – the rebels are on the run; Han is frozen in carbonite; Luke lost his hand; Yoda believes that by leaving early, Luke has lost all his training and hard work; Luke is hurt that Ben didn’t tell him that Vader is his father.  Things are not so good for our heroes.

I do find it interesting that Luke doesn’t listen to Yoda – he enters the cave with weapons after Yoda telling him he won’t need them; he doesn’t believe that he can use the force to lift his fighter out of the Dagoba muck; he leaves Dagoba before finishing his training.  In each case, Luke was wrong – the cave went poorly for Luke; Yoda had to take his fighter out of the muck; and by going to Cloud City, he endangered himself (lost a hand) and his friends (they escaped, but had to turn around to get a one-handed Luke) but accomplished nothing (Han still frozen in Carbonite).

Speaking of mistakes, could the Empire have botched the invasion of Hoth any worse?  The rebels were well prepared for the evacuation, but the Empire still could have captured someone.  By the time the shield generator was destroyed, the last transport had already left.  Perhaps they should have targeted the Ion Cannon, which was primarily responsible for letting the rebels escape.

From a story-telling perspective, perhaps The Empire Strikes Back wasn’t a masterpiece, but from an enjoyability standpoint it still ranks up there with my all-time favorite films.

WWYT Rating: 9.5

IMDB Rating: 8.8

Rewatch: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope

Released: 5/25/1977

I was two years old when Star Wars was released.  As a result, I didn’t get to see it in the theaters when it was first released (or at least I don’t remember if I did).  I wish I could wipe my memory and go see it for the first time in the theater – what an epic experience that must have been.  I don’t remember how old I was when I did see Star Wars for the first time – I do remember being pissed that Vader got away.

From the opening, the giant scrolling text, the grand orchestra, the giant ship rumbling across the screen.  Even if it seems commonplace now, that’s because Star Wars changed cinema forever (in some ways not for the better).  There’s a reason why I rarely see movies made before 1977.

The movie isn’t without its problems, of course.  Luke is really whiney – like annoyingly so.  After watching all of the Star Wars movies – he is supposed to be that whiney.  And why is Luke more upset about Ben dying, a man he didn’t know more than few days, than his uncle and aunt, who raised him since he was a baby?

I’ve had the Star Wars theme stuck in my head all week (I can’t imagine why).  The score that is so closely tied Star Wars.  When you hear the “Imperial March,” you know exactly what is coming (Vader!)  Watching it again, when we first meet Luke we hear his music.  Jaws, Rocky, Close Encounters of the Third Kind all pop in mind as other examples of music that are tied to the movie.  [Disney movies don’t count, the music is the movie].

I don’t think anyone needs to be told how good this movie is.  You’ve probably already seen it.  You’ll probably watch it again.  There are (probably) those out there that don’t like it, and that’s okay, they are just missing out.

WWYT Rating: 9.5

IMDB Rating: 8.7

Rewatch: Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith

Released: 5/19/2005

One of the many criticisms of the Star Wars prequels is Lucas’ over-reliance on CGI and not enough on plot and characterization.  This is largely true in my opinion, though after rewatching Revenge of the Sith, I think they did a good job of showing Anakin’s decent into the dark side.  His final step, though, was a doozy.  Anakin went from feeling guilty about killing Count Dooku, an unarmed prisoner, to killing Mace because he was about do the same to Palpatine.  Then his first act as Darth Vader was to kill the younglings in the Jedi Temple.  That is a large leap, but I’m okay with that.  Anakin/Vader is willing to do anything to save Padmé.  I believed his motives and the seduction of the dark side.

The other criticisms of the prequels – bad acting and dreadful dialogue – reoccur in Episode III as well.  Anytime Anakin and Padmé are on the screen together you cringe.  And, this is probably just me, but I also thought Kenobi was far more jovial in the prequels than the grumpy old Jedi in the original trilogy, but maybe losing a war and living on a desert planet for 20 years will turn anyone grumpy.

Fortunately, Anakin and Padmé aren’t on the screen together very often.  Instead, we are treated to almost non-stop action of war and betrayal – by Anakin and the clone army.  R2-D2’s and Yoda’s awesomeness are on full display in Revenge of the Sith.  Combining action with Anakin’s embracing the dark side makes this the only prequel worth watching.

Up Next: Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (Yay!  The Original)

WWYT Rating: 7.0

IMDB Rating: 7.7

 

Rewatch: Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones

Released: 5/16/2002

On the last rewatch, I said that Episode II was the worst movie of the entire saga.  I was not…disappointed.  Or whatever the opposite of disappointed is.  Let’s make up a word – propointed. I was not propointed by the Attack of the Clones.  The entire movie is overshadowed by the dreadful acting of Hayden Christensen and horrific dialogue.  Literally everything is wrong with the love story between Anakin and Padmé – from the creepy obsession that Anakin has with Padmé to the terrible cheesy dialogue.  I have seen over 100 Hallmark movies, so I feel I am well qualified to opine on terrible cheesy dialogue.  Attack of the Clones makes Hallmark movies look like Shakespeare.  I am fairly certain a five-year-old could write a better love story.  It is a pity because their love is such a vital part of the saga.

They did get something right, and it is even more pivotal to the saga than the love story – the death of Schmi (Anakin’s mother).  Her death is the moment that Anakin begins his path to the dark side.  His hatred and anger consume him and he slaughters every sand person in the encampment.

Even as a nine-year-old, Anakin is “too old” to begin the Jedi training.  I don’t remember if it is explicitly stated, but it is because he has formed an attachment to other people, specifically his mother.  Because of this attachment, it can lead to pain, fear, and anger – the path to the dark side.  However, it is Luke that proves otherwise, because it is love that saves him and destroys the emperor.

For all the attempts at parallels between Anakin’s story and Luke’s story (and there are a lot of them), the one thing that does seem to be missing is the loss of his mother.  The closest analogy here is Luke losing his uncle and aunt – he shrugs that off and says, “Good, now I can go off and join the rebellion just like I always wanted.”

One thing I forgot to mention about Phantom Menace which reoccurs here in Attack of the Clones is the prophesy “Anakin is the Chosen one, he who will bring balance to the Force.”  I love prophecies, I think they bring something extra – they are usually cryptic and don’t exactly turn out the way you expect, but this prophecy makes no sense.  Is the Force out of balance?  It seems like that if anything the Force is out of balance in the Jedi’s favor, so anything that would “bring balance” would not be in their favor.  This is clearly not thought out very well and probably could have been dropped completely.

With a competent love story, Attack of the Clones could have been a decent movie.  As it is, though, the dreadful acting and dialogue sunk this movie – overshadowing anything they might have done right.  Up Next: Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.  I recall liking this movie far more than Episodes I and II.  We’ll see if it holds up before we really get into the good stuff.

WWYT Rating: 5.0

IMDB Rating: 6.7

Rewatch: Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace

Released: 5/19/1999

With one week to go until Episode VII, it is time to rewatch the first six Star Wars in episode order.  One, to get psyched, and two, to remember what happened – it has been 10 years since the last Star Wars was released.  I prepared myself for the awfulness that is Jar Jar Binks.  What I didn’t prepare for was all the other little things that were wrong with the first prequel to one of the best trilogies of all time.

I have seen people come up with alternative versions of Phantom Menace that were superior to what was actually produced (Google it, I’m sure you’ll find something better.)  I even like the theory that Jar Jar was supposed to be the Sith apprentice in future movies but got scratched because everyone hated him so much.  In some scenes there is absolutely some validity to the theory – until you watch all the other awful scenes with him.

First, how the hell did technology devolve in the roughly 25 years galactic years that the Star Wars saga takes place?  All the ships have force fields in Episode I – I’ll double check when I get to A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, but nothing has a force field until Return of the Jedi (the fully operational Death Star).  Droids are more advanced in Phantom than anything in Episodes IV-VI.  Everything is sleeker and more futuristic looking thanks to advances in CGI in our timeline.

Second, one word: “midichlorians.”  When this originally came out, I didn’t have much of a problem with it.  On the rewatch – yes, this is definitely a problem.  A) Why do we need a physical entity to explain the Force (we didn’t before).  Eastern philosophy subscribes to a life force (better known as the scrabble word “Qi.”)  “The Force” was always good enough, no need to add extra mumbo jumbo.  B) The whole spontaneous birth thing [Note: It is not the immaculate conception – that means born free of sin.  /Sunday school] just made me roll my eyes (Merry Christmas, by the way.)  The fact that Anakin has a midichlorian count that is off the chart is useless.  You might as well say he has high testosterone – it has just as much meaning to the story.

Third, C-3PO is built by Anakin Skywalker.  It’s just another thing I’ll have to watch for in Episodes IV-VI, if Vader ever comes across C-3PO, because surely he would recognize the droid that he built.  Off hand, I can’t remember when he does see him.

A minor complaint – the age difference between Natalie Portman (Queen Amidala) and Jake Lloyd (Anakin Skywalker) is 8 years, which makes their pending romance a little icky when Anakin is 9 years old.  Though in canon Amidala is only 4 years older than Anakin.  Portman was probably too old to play Amidala – she didn’t come across as 14 at all.

The Phantom Menace wasn’t all bad – Senator Palpatine’s Xanatos Gambit was brilliant.  Darth Maul might be the best villain in the entire series.  This brings us to one of my axioms – if you are rooting for the bad guys, it probably isn’t a very good movie.  Now, I wasn’t outright rooting for them, but they are definitely the best thing about this flawed script.  [Also, are we certain that Palpatine is the bad guy?  I don’t recall if we are told why the Empire is bad in Episodes IV-VI – we just take it on faith that the rebels are good and the Empire is bad.  I’ll double check when we get there.]

Up Next: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.  By far the worst movie in the saga.  May the Force be with me, I’m going to need all the help I can get to get through it.

WWYT Rating: 5.5

IMDB Rating: 6.5