STAR WARS: The Force Awakens Review
- Maha S
- Dec 18, 2015
- 4 min read
Thursday 17th December, today like every other Star Wars fan I watched the most anticipated film of the year - STAR WARS: The Force Awakens.
So first I will tell you how I got into Star Wars! My first exposure was when I was around 11 years old and The Phantom Menace was on TV. I watched the prequel trilogy and I thought it was awesome because I hadn't seen anything like it. After that I learnt that there were 3 more and so I watched the original trilogy and enjoyed them even more because of various reasons that would appeal to a young girl (handsome Luke and Han, cute Jawas and Ewoks and epic battles!)
Over the years with more knowledge and growth I learnt to appreciate the franchise as a whole!
And now I am a very happy Star Wars fan - I even have some merch like this Empire Strikes Back (my favourite out of the original trilogy) t-shirt that I wore today for the film.
This was taken just before we left the house.
SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't seen the film yet scroll down to the film reel.
First of all I should make it clear that this isn't going to be a porper review since for that I need to have seen a film several times before writing scholarly about it - so this is basically be writing about what I enjoyed and took away from the film. (I really want to see it again ASAP)
The first portion of the film was well paced, not too fast but not too slow either. We got a good fair ammount of opening screen time per central character. I was particularly impressed and pleased by the character Rey. Abrams obviously knows and understand women because the way he has chosen to represent Rey is absolutley empowering and authentic. Even her name is neutral, the way we meet Rey she is genderless as in we are forced to focus on WHAT she is doing rather than WHAT SHE IS which is a woman. In other words we focus on her as an individual - AN ACTUAL CHARACTER rather than the 'token female'. In many ways I would say SHE is the protagonist of the film and the one who shines the brightest.
The way in which Finn first sees Rey as well was a key moment for me. Obviously his initial instinct was to rush to her rescue as he saw her being stuck by the two scavangers but then we see Rey holding her own and ultimatly takeing the two down with her strength alone. Her strength being both physical and mental. Yet we never see Rey in a completely masculine way, she is very feminine and delicate while being fierce and driven by what she believes is important to her and that is something that really impressed me.
Hollywood can seriously learn a lot from the way Abrams has written his female characters. Abrams knows and I am so so so glad that he does because I believe it's going to help make the changes that we need in terms of the way females are represented in films. Progress!
Something that surprised me was the level of humor that was in the film! I laughed out loud so many times and it's clear that Abrams has an excellent wit and sense for comic relief while still having the grit adn weight of the story.
The big surprise for me was learning that the mysterious Kylo Ren was infact Han and Leia's son! That was an excellent development and one that fits the story and links in Anakin/Darth Vader. It also gave Kylo Ren a far more complex character background that I hope is explored further in episode VIII. It's clear that Kylo Ren has a lot of oppressed emotional torment and I am an absolute sucker for messed up hot guys with long hair - I mean just look at him! He's gorgeous!
HOW COME NO ONE TOLD ME HOW HOT ADAM DRIVER WAS?
SERIOUSLY THOUGH - When Kylo Ren takes off his helmet for Rey I had an absolute 'DAMN SON' moment because wow he was very beautiful. The long black locks with the clean sharp face and his slender physique was really alluring. I really didn't know who Adam Driver was before and I hadn't seen any of his films so this was my first time seeing him act.
The biggest shock was the death of Han Solo. I really was shocked, I couldn't believe it and to be killed at the hands of his own son - my heart seriously sank at that moment. I really thought that Kylo Ren had a change of heart but damn that red colour scheme foreshadowing - so sad.
But seeing Kylo Ren all teary eyed and having somewhat of a 'moment' with his father did make me think that there is still light in his heart. There was that moment where he seeks Vader's strength to repress the 'light' thtat he feels creeping in - depsite everything he did I am still totally into Kylo Ren. I just love everything about him - I am sucker for bad boys hahaha (no really I am)
Top 5 Random Takeaway Thoughts
1. Did they really just cast Gwendaline Christie for her body (I mean really why didn't we get to see her DO stuff? She looked freaking epic though!)
2. BB-8 you damn adorable cutie
3. LUKE'S EPIC ROBOTIC HAND!!! Totally reminded me of Ed's (FMA) Automail !
4. Everyone is hot
5. Disney can do no wrong if this is how we are going
At it's core, thiis film is a huge homage to the original trilogy and it's clear that Abrams wantd to make sure that this film would honour the original trilogy. Th nostalgia is the heart of this film and what makes it so beautiful - the countless references are so well placed and even if you aren't a Star Wars fan you can get someone into the series very easily through this one!
Abrams has set up an excellent foundation for the films to come, we got a lot of what we expected while recieving just enough teases to keep us guessing and excited for wha's to come. This was easily the best film I have seen all year and I cannot wait to watch it again to truly break it down fr a proper review!
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