Star Wars: The Force Awakens goes back to the roots of the franchise, focusing on family, adventure and political uprisings. JJ Abrams has arguably created the best Star Wars movie we have seen over the past 30 years, this retro thrill ride through the galaxy is the Star Wars movie fans have been waiting for.
Of course we saw more of Han Solo compared to Luke and Leia however this does make sense knowing his outcome at the end of The Force Awakens. The studio had planned to make Luke and Leia more crucial in the upcoming movies however given the recent passing of Carrie Fisher, the final movie will most likely follow Luke or the new characters. Fighting for the Resistance against the rule of the First Order, Rey, Finn, and Poe all bring different temperaments to the table and unique backgrounds, well at least for Finn and Poe. Rey's storyline is a rehashing of Luke's in A New Hope, a young adult dreaming of travelling the universe but is stuck on a rural planet as they can't be raised by their birth parents. Finn's backstory however is an original and gives the Stormtroopers a more relatable, human aspect, he also brings great comedic value to the movie. We don't get to see as much of Poe as I would have perhaps liked but audiences will hopefully get to see more of the Resistance fighter in the upcoming sequels. These three characters are fascinating and entertaining to watch as we see their relationships grow and they connect in both a fun and thrilling way. Individually however all of these characters are relatable, funny, entertaining and it's all down to the fantastic performances and wonderful writing.
While The Force Awakens is a fantastic film, I have no doubt about that, it does have its flaws like any other movie. The main internal struggle I have with the movie is it's retro use of rehashing a movie we have already seen. This is however a blessing and a curse as it's great nostalgia but not great for an original storyline. A few smaller struggles I have with the movie is Gwendoline Christie doesn't have nearly enough to do as Captain Phasma given how much it was hyped that she was in the movie. And although Adam Driver does deliver a deeply emotional turn of Kylo Ren he also reminds me of a whiney teenager which makes me rather despise the scenes he is in without a helmet covering his face. Another flaw I found before I had even watched the movie was the predictability. It is well known among the Star Wars fandom that Harrison Ford HATED being in the franchise, the reason his character was put into carbonate was because he was so sure he wouldn't return for the Return of the Jedi. He has said in multiple interviews that he wanted his character to be killed off and would not return for another movie unless his character died. This meant most Star Wars fans knew the fate of Han Solo before even watching the movie.
After the shamble that was the CGI overloaded prequels, Episode VII brings fans back to the heart of the franchise, a world they recognise and fell in love with 30 years prior. Every shot of the movie is a beautiful piece of cinematography from riding alongside an X-Wing during battle or watching a droid cross over a desert planet. Although the movie was criticised for rehashing the plot of A New Hope, it's a fun, retro way to start off a new trilogy. However the next movie in the franchise, The Last Jedi can't get away with using nostalgia to hold it up. It will have to be able to hold itself up as not only a creditable movie but an original Star Wars movie. There's nothing that feels quite like Star Wars, and The Force Awakens captures the heart the franchise.
Easter Eggs
#1 Millenium Falcon parallels
It's no secret that The Force Awakens is full of references to A New Hope. In particular the scenes in the Millennium Falcon is chock-a-block with parallels to the original Star Wars movie. For example we see Rey and Finn hide under the floor just like the original gang did when they were captured by the Death Star. Finn also accidentally turns on the Dejarik ( or "holochess") table that we saw Chewbacca play against R2-D2. Finn also picks up and tosses aside the remote training ball Obi-Wan used to give Luke his first lightsaber lesson.
#2 Celebrity cameos
When The Force Awakens was announced, every actor and actress under the sun wanted to be a part of the iconic franchise and the majority of them made it into the movie. Simon Pegg plays Unkar Plutt, the junk dealer on Jakku who keeps stiffing Rey on food portions. Jessica Henwick who plays Nymeria Sand in Game of Thrones is an X-Wing pilot. Carrie Fisher's own daughter, Billie Lourd, plays Lieutenant Connix, who can be seen in the Resistance command centre with a similar hairstyle to Princess Leia herself. Ken Leung who played Miles on Lost can be seen calling the shots in the Resistance command centre. Greg Grunberg, childhood friend of JJ Abrams plays the bearded X-Wing pilot Snap Wexley. Dr. Kalonia who tends to Chewbaccas wounds is played by Harriet Walter who found fame on Downtown Abbey. Both Yayan Ruhian and Iko Uwais, who play Mad Dog and Rama in The Raid franchise, are among the Kanjuklub gang after Han Solo. The song playing when the gang are entering Maz Kanata's castle is sung by Hamilton star Lin-Manuel Miranda and JJ Abrams himself. Thomas Brodie-Sangster who played Jojen Reed in Game of Thrones is a First Order Officer who unfortunately doesn't last very long. Composer Michael Giacchino who often scores other JJ Abrams movies, got a cameo as the Stormtrooper that delivers Poe Dameron to Kylo Ren since the composing for the movie was done by John Williams. This last one may or may not be a cameo as even the actor and JJ Abrams have denied it but reports say that James Bond star Daniel Craig played the Stormtrooper that got mind-tricked by Rey.
#3 Starkiller Base
The First Order's new base/weapon, Starkiller Base is inspired by the original name for Luke Skywalker in the first draft of the script for A New Hope, Luke Starkiller.
#4 BB-8
One of my personal favourites out of all the easter eggs is the voice of BB-8. Saturday Night Live veteran Bill Hader and Parks and Recreation star Ben Schwartz are both credited as "BB-8 Voice Consultants". Schwartz worked on the film for a couple of years trying to give the new droid a voice but it never sounded right so they brought in Hader. since the voice they were doing sounded too human, the version we hear in the movie ended up being, according to Hader "JJ f*cking around with this sound effects app on his iPad that was attached to a talk box operated by me".
#5 FN-2187
Finn's Stormtrooper identification number was FN-2187, a homage to detention cell 2187 located in Detention Block AA-23 aboard the first Death Star. This detention cell is the very cell that was used for the interrogation and detainment of Princess Leia Organa in A New Hope. The original number itself is a reference to "21-87", the 10 minute experimental short film made in the mid-'60s by Canadian filmmaker Arthur Lipsett, who influenced a young George Lucas.
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