I've managed to avoid almost all the spoilers until today and have just seen it. This was hard to do as even the adverts before the film had spoilers! Here is my review: I was going to post this yesterday evening but we had a power cut (yesterday was all very 1970's!) and I couldn't. Apologies that some people have already said the same thing in the meantime.
What can I say? It is deserving of being called a
Star Wars film. It is good. Go and see it. I much prefer JJ Abrams did more of this than he ruined more
Star Trek.
More than that, well it is much more like the original trilogy than the prequels. Launches straight into the action and good versus evil - no trade mission blockades and economic history here, just explosions and shoot outs. No Jar Jar Binks here. All that is good obviously, but maybe it has too many homages to Star Wars so that it actually is too much like the original Star Wars - even a parody of it. What I mean (and spoilers follow obviously) is desert planet, ice planet, jungle planet. An abandoned child who is strong in the force. A death-star like facility only much bigger (that's no Moon, it's a planet) with even a waste disposal facility. The Millennium Falcon flying down a tunnel but it isn't a creature. Master and Apprentice Dark Lords (hero fights the apprentice while the distant Dark Lord villain is kept on ice for a later film.) A Mos Eisley style bar. Much of this is completely intentional, either as a joke or homage, but I'll be a little harsher on it if the next two films don't introduce something new to the franchise.
I wondered why Han told them not to stare when entering the bar as it didn't seem very different to other bars we have visited in this Galaxy. My son thinks it was just to prevent any possible misunderstandings - of the "My friend doesn't like you!" kind. Even the band had musicians from the same race (maybe they are the only species who play music?) though they played different tunes (that old song is obviously no longer in the Charts.)
On the plus side - the attack on the 'not-the-death-star' was how the attack on the Death Star should have been if the special effects had been better (though it can never be the Death Star for me without those little messenger robots that go "der-der-dit-dit".) The creatures Han was carrying were interesting (like those in
Men in Black.) I did wonder why they were so valuable that two rival groups wanted them? Also I loved the starship graveyard and the battle that took place there. I liked the explanation of why Stormtroopers no longer look like Jango Fett (however I couldn't help but think the Finn character was simply there to do the fight scenes Han Solo was too old for.) I like that the villain is family as it makes it more personal. (But what did happen to midi-chlorians if everyone 'strong in the Force' is now blood related?)
It does seem like anyone can use the Force now. Ben Solo made a pretty poor showing in his fight scenes, especially against Rey who had just picked up a lightsabre for the first time. I know that Ben didn't finish his training with Luke, but Rey has had no training at all. Why is he so evil? Killing his father in such a cold hearted way. He doesn't even have the excuse that his parents never loved him! And he has plenty of anger, but where did it come from? What did he fear that turned to anger that turned to hate?
So, the Force must be in pretty strong in Rey? My son thinks Rey is Luke's daughter, but I disagree. She must have some complicated back-story yet to appear but I don't subscribe to his idea that her parents left her behind on a desert planet because they (Luke) had it done to him and thought it only fair
Also, that would really start to make the Family History very complicated. Or maybe Anakin and Owen had another brother? The one they never talked about? Basically the whole seven films could have been sorted out on the
Jeremy Kyle Show and the Galaxy Far Far Away saved all this trouble.
My other thoughts - that they didn't hold back on the "evil" imagery here - flaming crosses as lightsabres is very KKK and the Nazi-style rally with the red banners and lines of stormtroopers and a hysterical leader. The complete execution of a whole village simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I got the message very clearly that the Galaxy's governance had taken a very wrong turn and the First Order were not the good guys here. Very Black and White. I also thought it was dark. Maybe as dark as
The Empire Strikes Back and given how that film still tops polls it may be intentional too. George Lucas said that all the films were written for 15-year-olds. I don't agree.
The Phantom Menace was clearly for a younger audience, but this was for an older audience. Anyway, it is still suitable for all with parental guidance. No arms were lost in the making of this film! Just some of Harrison Ford's toes.
I only had one nit really. That was why did BB8 act like he had never seen R2D2 before and tried to wake him up? The Resistance Base was his home. He was the Droid of Leia's best pilot. He must have seen R2D2 most days he had been there. The part where they fitted the small map into the larger map was a little unconvincing too. Are they seriously telling us that they couldn't find Luke's planet from the position of the planets in the small map without having the larger map?
Luke must have been very bored on that little island (just steps to walk up and down all day and not even a house.) My son and I both couldn't help but think about the baby birds they killed while filming the scene (it was on BBC News.) Obviously Luke will train Rey, the new hope... er the awakened force... but he took an incredibly long time to just stand there, looking at her. Surely the Force had already told him she was on her way? Also, is Yoda going to appear as a small dodgy ghost to teach her too?
I see that a few people reflect what I have said, particularly that Ep VIII needs to find a new direction. I can accept it here because they wanted to show that this was a 'real'
Star Wars film. They may have tried too hard and had too much fun with this.
