Review: The Force Awakens

Introduction

BY: CHRISTINA RIVERO

The concept of these stories taking place a long time ago still rattles me a bit considering how far along they are in technology and thought. Nevertheless, it has been quite a while since we last saw the obligatory famous words introducing us to a galaxy far far away. With the less than remarkable prequels (with the exception of some characters and actors who more than carried the films) we had yet to be impressed by this series since A New Hope. I guess that is why J.J. Abrams was “our only hope.” Not only that, but they are surprisingly relevant. I remember when Star Wars had officially been purchased by Disney and then remember when the franchise was officially implemented into their parks to the point where they had their own section in Hollywood Studios. Let us just say it was quite the time to be alive.

Soon after, Disney officially announced that it would be bringing yet another trilogy to the table. This is where a lot (and I mean a lot) of people were angry and unsure of Disney’s ability to do the franchise justice. Honestly, who could blame them? People could not fathom that Disney could follow up on a plethora of mediocre sequels, largely due to poor writing, with anything worth watching.

It was not for another two years did people begin to have a change of heart. Was it due to the director announcement? Could it be because they were bringing back Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Mark Hamill? Maybe it was simply anticipation as the premiere date got closer, but the turnaround in people’s opinions was nothing short of a miracle.

By the time the 2015 school year rolled around, everyone was more than ready for what December 18th had to offer. It was all anyone spoke of for a long while. I will humbly admit that when I viewed the first TV Spot tears sprung from my eyes as Han Solo and Chewbacca walked into the Millennium Falcon and Solo exclaimed, “Chewie, we’re home.” I doubt I am the only long time fan who got emotional over seeing them come back to fight once again among the stars.

December was not the Christmas Season, but was instead Star Wars mania that had everyone running for last minute tickets and cosplay planning. I, for one, enjoyed my sanity and decided to stay strong and wait until after Christmas to see it so I would be guaranteed a seat that was not considered the nosebleed kind. As we got our popcorn and drinks I had to pick up some BB-8 (a new droid presented in the film) styled 3D glasses. It seemed to be the only logical thing to do. You only get to experience the new Star Wars movie for the first time once.

As we sat down, and the illustrious title appeared on screen with the intro flying into the dark depths of space, I began to cry. When the film began we are instantly thrown into an adrenaline rush of Rebellion and Stormtrooper chaos. This is where our first protagonist is introduced and the story already tells us he has a high level of importance. His name is Poe Dameron.

CHARACTERS

A Look Into: Poe Dameron

BY: DARIAN SABLON

Charming, handsome, witty, yet faithful and able to see the good in people no matter who they were in the past. Poe Dameron is the very definition of hero and is able to inspire those around him (like Finn) to become heroes themselves and stand up for what they truly believe in. To give some background to Poe, he was once a pilot for the New Republic until he defected to the Resistance led by General Leia Organa, becoming one of the most talented pilots in the resistance and possibly in the entire galaxy (sorry Luke). Poe is sent to the planet of Jakku to receive the map leading to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker’s location but is attacked by the First Order, thus entrusting the map with his droid BB-8 when he gets captured by the First Order, where he is then tortured by Kylo Ren. This is where Poe shows some of his greatest strengths, being so loyal to the Resistance that he takes on full blown torture for a very long time until he finally gives in (but with considerable effort on Kylo Ren’s part). Yet this loyalty and total dedication to the Resistance is what some people (like General Leia) fear will bring his fall, risking everything everything for the Resistance and ultimately his life.

Although he was not as prominent in The Force Awakens as Finn and Rey, Poe Dameron was instantly and instant favorite with fans since he represents that side of us that wants to be charming and handsome and witty, an unrealistic goal to be sure, but he also represents the side of humanity that gives all they have towards their dreams and a loyalty towards their friends that is simply unmatched even when it is our very downfall. Poe Dameron embodies all of this and in the less than 20  minute time frame, he becomes one of the best Star Wars characters out there in that galaxy far far away.

A Look Into: Finn

BY: NOAH CASTANGA

As the final text of the opening crawl escapes from sight with the iconic score fading, the film opens to a small Resistance base on the desert planet Jakku.  First Order ships inevitably arrive, seeking information from the Resistance aggregation. Within the crazed flurry of violence that takes place between the two forces, one reluctant Stormtrooper is made apparent. Mask smeared by the blood of a fallen soldier, the Stormtrooper quivers with fear, clearly not accustomed to the trauma of combat.

With this introduction Abrams paints a breathless picture of who the soldier later dubbed Finn is. The cowardice of the Stormtrooper is easily discernable, and more importantly, embraced. In the next scene, Finn works to rescue Poe Dameron, for albeit selfish purposes. Nonetheless, the courage absent within the first scene is present here, enunciating his character strengths and shortcomings within the first ten minutes. After Poe presumably perishes in the wreckage of their ship, Finn does not move immediately to flee Kylo Ren once encountering BB-8, the centerpiece of Poe’s mission.  His desire to honor Poe by carrying on this mission is what truly defines Finn as a hero.  No longer guided by the selfish desire to escape from the First Order, Finn no longer clings to his dreams of escape for comfort. The inner struggle Finn faces throughout the film revolving around his flee from conflict and complication adds depth to what could have easily turned into a stale, one dimensional mess of a character.

Finn is flawed, and makes mistakes on a near consistent basis throughout the film. These mistakes are what grounds him, and allows the audience to connect with Finn on a deeper level than could be accomplished when relating to someone as godly as Rey or charming as Poe. Luke and Leia were brash and hard-headed, and Han was too cocky for his own good. Finn does not shy away from his innate weakness, feeling the urge to to run from his challenges instead of facing them. His relationship with Rey is what molds him into a hero, and strengthens him as a character in general. And in parallel to the opening sequence, the movie concludes with Finn’s courage to fight as he faces Kylo Ren, a leader of the First Order. After living his entire life as a faceless soldier of an unending war, Finn finally had something to fight for.

A Look Into: Rey

BY: CHRISTINA RIVERO

How does one describe this character? Maybe, as a “Rey of light”? Bad pun, I know. However, her character does harbor a portion of representation that is entirely her own. She has completely reformed the idea of “Women in Star Wars” from Padmé Amidala’s horribly butchered political stance in the senate, which was simply done to advance Anakin Skywalker’s character (this is mostly referred to as “Women in Refrigerators” coined by Gail Simone, comic book writer) to Leia Organa’s sexual mistreatment in Return of The Jedi (not just this film alone, but it was most prominent here) when she was forced to endure a poorly made “bikini” slave outfit just to have the male audience drool which usually means her actual character is forgotten and thrown out the window.

Now that The Force has awoke we are able to witness the female character we always wanted, and needed, through Rey. From seeing her beginnings on Jakku to the ending of the film where she is the new pilot for the Millennium Falcon we are in a constant state of awe as we continue to witness her character adapt and grow. Instead of the usual cop outs for the female character to get ahead, Rey’s character endured many great challenges in order to obtain certain goals. For example it is prominent that she had to survive on her own for years on a desert planet which included learning how to physically defend herself and mentally be able to outwit those who would want to manipulate her.

There are many key characteristics that she upholds due to her past which clearly explain how she is able to go through certain obstacles in the film that others possibly could not. This is mainly in relations to the constant title of “Mary Sue” being given to her. A “Mary Sue” is a character who simply excels without any form of help and/or training. Yet, Rey had gone through so many problematic events and did receive forms of training, yet everyone simply believed she was “all knowing” because she was able to use her abilities properly and at the right time. Pretty sure Luke Skywalker only received three days (at the most) of training from an old, out of practice, Jedi yet was able to use The Force and a lightsaber at an extremely advanced level. But, of course, Rey is the “Mary Sue.”

Regardless of the flawed views from the audience, Rey was able to bring a sense of joy and hope to the film that had only been brought to the franchise in the original trilogy since the prequels were heavily based upon the destruction of what little peace was upheld. Her character was not only refreshing, but she gave the audience a type of spark that allowed them to use and forge a fire against the First Order. She is truly an inspiration we needed.

A Look Into: Kylo Ren

BY: KYLE NELSON

Malicious, resentful and ruthlessly powerful are all qualities expected to be found in a Star Wars antagonist. Within the first few minutes of The Force Awakens we are introduced to a mysterious and obvious villain, later becoming known as Kylo Ren, he is most definitely the “Darth Vader” or “Darth Maul” character of this series that we have seen time and time again. Throughout the film we find out much more about Ren and his current mental state than expected but his past was left out, which will probably be explained some other time. While not much is given away, it becomes evident that Kylo Ren is actually the son of Leia and Han Solo turned wild, seduced by the dark side of the force. Throughout the film we learn much about Ren and about this inner battle he seems to be fighting with himself. He wants to become as all powerful as his infamous grandfather, Anakin Skywalker or “Darth Vader,” but cannot because he can feel the “light” pulling him back. As the film progresses, we see Ren speaking to the mutilated helmet of Vader, asking to be shown the powers of the dark side of the force, as if to stop the pull of the light side.

Kylo Ren seems to be adolescent minded, power hungry and angry, this is shown by his useless outbursts of anger… seem alike anyone else we know? Exactly. Ren even destroys one of his own holding cells out of rage when Rey escaped. Ren is constantly feeling the need to prove his worthiness to himself and to his Supreme leader. He cannot stand the fact that he is not to be the head of the attack on the Republic, shown when Ren has another childish outburst when the Supreme Leader tells him he will not be leading the assault. Once again, this is an obvious parallel to Anakin’s story with the Jedi council. While this is not a for sure theory, once examined, it really does make sense.

Overall, Kylo Ren is a character that will certainly develop much more as we see this trilogy move on, but whether he will be pulled deeper into the dark side or back to the light is unsure. Despite his childish moments and ridiculous attitude, he is certainly a character that is very “Star Wars like,” thus adding to an even more familiar feeling to this film. It is expected that Ren will be an interesting character in the next film and so on.

 Conclusion

BY: CHRISTINA RIVERO

Walking out of the film I felt entranced with the ambiance of the credit’s ending theme, beautifully composed by John Williams, echoing within my imagination and reawakening my Star Wars senses. The film did not fail to disappoint, however, there are a few concerns that everyone can easily comply with.

One of the main issues that struck me immediately was Kylo Ren’s character. Within the first few minutes of the film we witness how great his power is due to his ability to stop a blast from a gun in midair; this is something we had never seen before in either the Jedi Order or The Sith. However, we are then quickly disappointed when the film continued to show Kylo’s immaturity and lack of focus with The Force. The blast Kylo froze is quickly contradicted by his childish actions in the rest of the film. For example, his bursts of anger are taken out on ship equipment with his lightsaber continually. I guess you could compare his anger managment issues to those of Anakin Skywalker, but even then I do not believe Anakin had that many tantrums in a single day. In addition, Anakin’s anger resulted from the loss of a loved one and mistreatment from the Jedi Council. This is far more understandable than Kylo’s reasons, which can only be described as petty and misguided. Even with his ill-founded intentions he was still able to give the audience some form of substance; although, I am more than sure this was due to Adam Driver’s acting. Here we witness yet another writing mishap for a Star Wars character.

Another huge issue (possibly the most discussed of them all) was that the bad guy’s ultimate weapon was another Death Star. No, I am being serious. Only this time, to present it as “more clever”, the planet killing machine was built within another planet. The irony does not stop there. This new weapon can not only destroy planets in other parts of the galaxy without traveling, but it needs to absorb stars in order to fuel its blast. Very “different” and “unique”, right?  You would think after so many years the writers would be able to formulate something else as the ultimate threat. Did I mention the name for the new weapon is the Star Killer? Genius.

Even though we are presented with a few difficult-to-swallow circumstances these do not degrade the film of its overall extravagance. The film was able to present a familiar sense of hope that was only last exercised in the original trilogy. From the beginning, you are given a suspense that can only be brought about by the heinous Sith. When we see the revamped Empire, known as The First Order, land on a Western Reach planet known as Jakku we see their new leader, Kylo Ren, step off his ship and are then thrown into the hectic life of Kylo’s latest captive, Poe Dameron. Although, Dameron seems to take things quite sarcastically, we know what was about to ensue was the beginning of a certain good  vs. evil plot that could only be executed within Star Wars.

When we are introduced to Finn and Rey, plots begin to intertwine with a gracefulness that could immediately be recognize as that of Abrams’. It was interesting to take in as someone who is quite familiar with his work, especially that of Star Trek. Yes, I understand I just mentioned the “rival” of Lucasfilm, but I have to admit that there is something about Abrams and his sci fi that leaves an indentation on your heart. This is especially true when you come from a household consisting of both Star Wars and Trek. With his ability to create plots and have them all come together at the end to form the final solution allows your mind to wander a bit and make assumptions of what was not said. This is a key detail that I personally enjoyed about the film. It held a mystical conundrum which grants your logic and intellect to travel without leaving your seat.

Personally, I view this film as something that is ahead of its time which seems to be the pattern in this series dating back to the original trilogy. I am grateful to have been able to grow with these films and observe two sets of them (prequels and sequels) in my lifetime. Regardless, of the mistakes made this film will be sure to impress generations to come just as Luke did as a teenager on Tatooine long ago. I, and my fellow writers do as well, have high hopes for what Disney will produce in the future for this galaxy. Whether it in fact was a long time ago and far far away, we will be sure to witness great things to come.