DETROIT, MI – I used to be one of the biggest Star Wars
geeks on Planet Earth. I was one of the original fans back in 1977 when the
film first opened. In fact, I was turned
away no less than four times because the film had sold out and the theater was
packed. I didn’t end up seeing the movie until October that year, (the movie
originally opened in May). Obviously
this was long before the web so getting any kind of information about the film
was next to impossible. You had to either see it or talk to someone who has
seen it. You might get some insight at the newsstand or in comic book
adaptations but nothing really did the experience justice.
That being said the new trailers for, “Star Wars: The Force
Awakens” really didn’t do the film any justice either and I was glad for that.
The new film is far more explosive and interesting than I originally gave it
credit for. This is Chapter 7 and takes place after, “The Return of the Jedi”
and true to form it didn’t look like anything I really expected. But then again
that is the case for all of the Star Wars films in the series. Just when you
think you have that whole Universe figured out they throw you a curve ball and
there are plenty of them here. The force is disrupted by the Dark Side with
Dark Vader’s successor Kylo Ren. The evil galactic empire is back up to its old
tricks.
Disney has taken over the franchise and has breathed new
life into it. I had my doubts whether or not this would even work but it does
fall into the original ideology of the series creator, George Lucas. He
originally wanted this to be a new type of mythology for new generations to
come. Even back in 1977 there was talk about this series being a total of nine
films which at the time seemed overly ambitious. I was on board for that even
back then but then the films never came until much later. So as kids we had to
seek out our Star Wars thrills via, “The Star Wars Holiday Special” on CBS and
various video games created for the Atari 2600. It almost seemed that this was
a product of the 70’s and early 80’s. One reason for the long wait was Lucas
himself. I had read in a PC magazine that he wanted technology to catch up to
his vision which, if true, would explain for the decades long wait.
So is it worth it? The fans cry out in unison yes! In fact,
the new film has generated 1 Billion in ticket sales in just twelve days which
has to be an industry record of some kind. The film is clunky like the first
Star Wars: A New Hope and is also gloriously violent. The movie doesn’t hold
back on the laser beams and soldiers getting totally blasted away. I am
reminded when Lucasfilm actually toned the violence down in particular the
effects of fire explosions on the Imperial commanders in the Death Star scenes.
Apparently, the 90’s audience was too sensitive for the films’ original brutality.
I am glad to report that is not the case in this film. It is full on…. WOW.
This film has to speak to the new audience in such a way
that will continue the franchises growth. The characters are of simple
development upon the first viewing. But there are complexities within them that
might not be relevant at first. The empire has reformed to look for remaining sole
Jedi, Luke Skywalker in hopes of destroying him. But there is a new awakening
in the mysterious soft spoken female lead character Rey. She has talents and a
power that is strong in the force and that is recognized by the new villain in
black Kylo Ren. But he is not totally confident and fully trained into his
emersion in the dark arts. And there are times, although not appropriate to the
new hardcore fans, I am reminded of Rick Moranis in, “Spaceballs”. Although the
humor of course is purely unintentional.
The battle sequences are nothing but spectacular and one
must see them on the IMAX in 3D to get the total geek effect. It is interesting to see what one of these
films looks like a literally unlimited budget. It is also interesting to see
the complex reintroduction of the original trilogy characters including Han
Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker. The pace of the film is really well
played out and is very endurable despite the fact that it runs close to three
hours. The film actually feels like it runs for a lot longer due to the epic
nature of the plot.
What is most enticing for the fans has to be the nature of
the force. The evil guys are really super evil and the good guys are really
fighting for something good, pure and noble. To put it bluntly they really hate
each other and try their best to eliminate one another.
One of the most interesting scenes is where the entire
empire is gathered outside in some sort of assembly. It screams Nazi Germany
and the Leni Riefenstahl film, “Triumph of the Will”. The gathering includes
Imperial Stormtroopers, guards, standing in multiple rows, and fleets of Tie
Fighters. The large red flags behind the podium screams Third Reich and I
couldn’t help but notice the weather was snowy outside. This reminded me of
what Albert Speer referred to as, “The Cathedral of Light” which was meant to
inspire, bring awe and terror to the world.
The film has many twists and turns in it and I won’t give
away any spoiler alerts. But this wasn’t quite the experience I had expected. To
be honest since 1983, I had no idea what to really expect but director JJ
Abrams has managed to pull it off and bring excitement back to the series. The
film is very open ended and the new characters are interesting enough to care
about them.
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