First, let me be the first to admit that I totally ate up the hype for this movie. And for those of you who have been in a coma for the last 16 months, the hype for this movie has been palpable. Like, an unprecedented amount. Featuring one of the most extensive (and successful) marketing campaigns for any entertainment product in human history, this movie has been built up and simultaneously shrouded in secrecy for over a year, and everyone, myself included, has been going apeshit. Abrams and the whole team at Disney have put out some miraculously vague trailers and doled out small tidbits of information throughout 2015 to get the fans just excited enough to definitely go see it, and yet know essentially nothing about it going in. They really wanted to turn this movie into an event, one unlike any other that I can remember in my (admittedly not very long) lifetime so far, and I was totally part of it. I went to the IMAX 3D midnight screening on its Thursday night preview release, waited in line for three hours with a bunch of nerds in varying levels of Star Wars getup, and I'll admit, there were several times during this film that the crowd cheered, and I joined in. The opening fanfare and the ending specifically drew massive applause from the audience. It's cheesy and maybe not completely warranted, but dear God, it was fun.
If you've seen or heard anything about this movie, you've been waiting for me to talk about one guy - Kylo Ren, the villain, played by Adam Driver. This is the character that Rey might be a close second to as my favorite in the movie. Some may find this audacious to say, but Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens is more compelling and interesting than Darth Vader in A New Hope. Now, remember, we've had six films to understand the entire plight, backstory, rise, fall, and redemption of Darth Vader, but in A New Hope, he was just a bad guy in a suit who choked people and had a big gun. Kylo Ren is one of the best movie villains in years. He is what Anakin Skywalker in the prequels should've been - a bratty, confused, and angry teenager seduced by the Dark Side but having strong inclinations to the Light Side, and the resulting tension turns him into a goddamn monster. Ren throws tantrums, has doubts, and relies on anger and pain to give him a false sense of power, and this works into the story of both the movie, the sequel trilogy, and the entire franchise brilliantly, and is a perfect and compelling use of the Dark Side in this universe. Adam Driver does a great job with him, as well. The primary achievement with the characters in this film is that I really want to see what else they do in the upcoming films in the trilogy.
On a technical level, this movie is an absolute treat. John Williams returns to give us another brilliant musical score, and again, it's the Star Wars you've always known and loved. Whether these tracks will be cultural icons like the originals is of course up to the test of time, but there are several that I already have stuck in my head, and I'm listening to the soundtrack right now as I write this review. Dan Mindel is the cinematographer behind the film, and he does a fantastic job. This movie is incredibly well shot, and the action scenes are slickly directed, brilliantly composed, colorful, fun, engaging, exciting, and full of just the right amount of tension. The mixture of CGI and practical effects is for the most part phenomenal, with the exception of Nyong'o and Serkis's characters and the "Rathtars", who seem a bit out of place, but only because the rest of the effects are incredibly convincing. The creature design, makeup work, set design, and practical pyrotechnics and effects are reminiscent of the best action films of yesteryear, and they're a treat for the eye and do an excellent job pulling the audience back into the Star Wars universe. The sound design is also great; I'd love to watch this movie with headphones sometime.
So, let's talk about the biggest point of contention for most people with this movie - the story, and specifically its similarities to A New Hope. I'll be the first to admit it; a lot of the story beats, locations, and characters in The Force Awakens are incredibly similar to A New Hope. You can chalk this and the inclusion of various elements (the Millennium Falcon, deus ex machina R2-D2, Death Star 3.0, etc.) up to fanservice and/or nostalgia, which is undoubtedly a factor in their being there, but in my opinion, the movie surrounds these with enough believable story explanation for it to be all right with me. It made me happy to see old stuff I loved, and made sense within the story, and I frankly don't see that to be much of a sin. Fanservice and nostalgia can be pulled off when it's not overly cheap. And if you're like me, you can explain away a lot of the story similarities for yourself if you want, as well as consider the fact that all Star Wars movies are allegorical and self-referential. The fanservice and the nostalgia-baiting are there, but the movie surrounds them in enough story logic and, more importantly, exciting new stuff for me to mostly forgive it. Finally, its similarities to the originals mostly hinge on aesthetics. The themes and ideas are new and fresh enough here to, on top of the other reason I just mentioned, make me forgive much of the nostalgia-baiting. The third Death Star was a little much, I guess.
What did I not like about this movie? Honestly, I hate to come off like a fanboy, but not much that matters, really. All my problems are nitpicks, and will be covered in the spoiler review that I'm sure will be forthcoming. Some of the editing in the movie was a bit jarring. There were some shots, moments, bits of dialogue, and transitions to scenes that I would've liked to last a second or two longer or maybe be cut differently. It was enough to make me notice it each time I saw it, but not enough to destroy my enjoyment of the movie. One or two of Finn's bits of dialogue felt a little forced or overdone, and not all of his humor was "Star Wars humor". He had a lot of good moments, but some felt a little off or out of place. The story similarities to previous films don't really bug me, but I do hope Episode VIII goes in much newer directions. Abrams has set up a lot of great stuff for Rian Johnson to use in the next part of the trilogy, and I hope he goes nuts with it and makes something special. If Episode VIII has the look, feel, acting, and directing strength of this film, but with expanded character development and new fresh story ideas, then Episode VIII will be a truly amazing movie.
Overall, what can I say? This movie was a ton of fun. I wanted a good Star Wars movie, and I got a really good and fun movie, and a great addition to the Star Wars franchise. I've already seen the beginnings of this film creating a new generation of Star Wars nerds and converting the uninterested. The movie isn't perfect (but what is?), and I've got my share of nitpicks about the story and editing, but it is a technical triumph, a perfect callback to the Star Warses of yore, a showcase for a host of new and interesting characters, a shitload of fun to watch in any format, and a perfect kickoff for the new trilogy that has me unbelievably excited to see what happens next. In my view, that's what The Force Awakens needed to do, and it did all of those things splendidly, and gave me by far the most enjoyable theater experience of the year. This is the most enthusiastic "A" I've given all year. May the fucking Force be with you.
Grade: A
Stay tuned for my spoiler-filled review at some point in the future, where I'll do a point-by-point breakdown of things I liked and disliked about the movie specifically. It may be a few months, but you never know.
ALSO stay tuned for my reviews of Anomalisa, Carol, and The Revenant this week, and my Golden Globe and Oscar talk next week.
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