Review: Star Wars is back in magical, mysterious 'The Force Awakens' + showtimes
Our old friend is back. And I could not stop smiling at the sweet reunion.
With the long-awaited "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," director J.J. Abrams has done what many thought impossible, blending an old guard of familiar characters with a new generation of heroes and villains.
Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), R2-D2, C-3PO … and on and on — they’re all here.
And joining them is an equally impressive cast of newcomers.
Set about 30 years after "Return of the Jedi," The Force Awakens doesn’t waste a moment. We are launched from the most satisfying opening crawl in Star Wars history (“Luke Skywalker has vanished!”) straight into a breathtaking shootout between swaggering ace pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and a legion of stormtroopers.
Gone are the dreary trade negotiations and humdrum boardroom conferences of George Lucas’ prequel trilogy. In their place Abrams and screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan supply danger and daring, lovable and despicable characters, and heaps and heaps of heart.
Darker and more diverse than its predecessors, Abrams’ Star Wars is racing at light speed toward "Avatar’s" box office records.
The sparkling heroine of this new adventure, Rey (Daisy Ridley), scavenges on the desert planet Jakku, sleeping in the hull of a fallen AT-AT and awaiting the return of her family. Bound to Jakku by the promise that they will one day return, Rey leads a monotonous life similar to that of the young Tatooine moisture farmer, Luke Skywalker.
Then destiny rolls up in the form of BB-8, a volleyball-like droid certain (in our galaxy) to make the Tickle Me Elmo craze seem dinky.
BB-8, like R2-D2 in "A New Hope," is on a secret mission for the Resistance, the military wing of the New Republic government established in the wake of "Return of the Jedi."
Early on Rey is paired with Finn (John Boyega), a stormtrooper who deserts after a crisis of conscience. Boyega brings charisma and relatability, leaving little doubt the two can boldly carry Star Wars into the future.
To Rey and Finn, Luke Skywalker and the Jedi are the stuff of myth. Dusty old legends from a war that concluded before they were born. That is, until one of those dusty old legends emerges from the Millennium Falcon’s exhaust fumes to confirm it all.
Harrison Ford’s Han Solo plays the biggest part among the old school gang, zooming about the galaxy with Chewbacca, Rey, Finn and BB-8. To Ford’s credit, this feels much more like the Han Solo we know and love than Indiana Jones did in his 2008 return in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."
Solo’s reunion with Leia is touching, and their war-weary faces tell us all we need to know about how the past three decades have gone. Ford and Fisher lend the relationship a lived-in quality, and it’s too bad we don’t get to see more of them together.
And then there’s Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), a conflicted master of the dark side, who delivers the most affecting performance of the lot. Fueled by rage and envy, Ren is a potent villain, even if his core motivation is unclear. Ren is a leader in the Knights of Ren, a group of dark-side force wielders we are told little about.
Members of the evil First Order, a fascistic regime risen from the remnants of the Empire, Ren and General Hux (Domhall Gleeson) compete for the attention of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), a mysterious alien atop the nefarious bureaucracy.
As the perma-sneering General Hux, Gleeson recalls Peter Cushing’s classic performance as Grand Moff Tarkin in the original Star Wars. While lacking Cushing’s gravitas, Gleeson exhibits a petulance that suits the role.
Driver and Ridley shine brightest in The Force Awakens, and the opportunity for future conflicts between their characters tantalizes, rivaling the Darth Vader/Luke Skywalker dynamic established in "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back."
Speaking of Skywalker (Mark Hamill), he is not included in this review for good reason. To say more than that would spoil some of the fun.
It wouldn’t be Star Wars without movie maestro John Williams’ score, and he produces boisterous music as good, if not quite as memorable, as anything from the original trilogy.
"The Force Awakens" is thrilling, and the best blockbuster in years, but there are flaws.
The relationship between the Resistance and the New Republic is murky, as is the backstory of the First Order. If the good guys are running the show, what are they resisting? In "Return of the Jedi" we were shown a galaxy in celebration. From where, then, did the First Order sprout?
It all seems a little too convenient. Moviegoers love underdogs and rebels, so we have the Resistance, and not some grand army of the New Republic.
Even more puzzling is Kylo Ren. Without giving too much away, let’s just say what we know of his backstory isn’t enough to justify his cruel and violent acts. This has to be explored in director Rian Johnson’s "Episode VIII" (2017), or else Ren will feel contrived.
"The Force Awakens" leans heavily on A New Hope — too much so. The First Order’s mega-weapon, called Starkiller Base, is basically another Death Star, only bigger and deathier. Abrams acknowledges this in the film, but that’s not enough.
"A New Hope" is beloved, but reinvigorating the franchise didn’t have to mean pulling the same tricks.
Disney was explicit that critics not reveal any spoilers, so I am treading carefully here when I say that there is a moment during the all-too-familiar climax that is going to polarize fans. It’s a true stunner, right up there with “No, I am your father” from "A New Hope."
Maybe it was necessitated by the plot, but this moment could’ve meant much more than it did. It was sound storytelling, yes, but the twist lacked the dignity and grace it should’ve been afforded. We can all talk more about this delicate subject next week.
But don’t let any of that stop you from seeing "The Force Awakens." It is Abrams’ finest work, and could become the most successful movie ever.
There are a few massive spoilers that will be dropping all over Facebook and Twitter Thursday, so see it as soon as you can. Then see it again.
For true fans of Star Wars, "The Force Awakens" demands repeated viewing. The awe and emotion inspired by seeing blasters, and light sabers and roaring TIE fighters on the big screen again is distracting at first, in a most blissful way.
And yes, there are motivations that need fleshing out and we are missing big backstory chunks, but that's what made the original trilogy so wondrous. The feeling that the universe extends beyond the frame — into the past and far, far into the future.
Like "A New Hope," J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars is the perfect launch pad for the new tales Disney has promised.
The table is set. A feast of possibilities await. May the force be with Rian Johnson.
Beaufort County showtimes:
This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Review: Star Wars is back in magical, mysterious 'The Force Awakens' + showtimes."