The Force Awakens – Review

One problem with having a baby is that going to see a movie when it is new is impossible, so watching The Force Awakens had to wait until it came out on DVD. And it says a great deal about the movie that I watched it in three instalments, rather than sitting down and letting it play from start to finish.

The Force Awakens has two major problems, both of which need to be acknowledged before we proceed. On one hand, it isn’t Heir to the Empire. The Expanded Universe had its problems, but the Thrawn Trilogy books were outstanding and, until recently, considered the Episodes VII-IX. The Force Awakens does not live up to them. And, on the other hand, The Force Awakens follows the plotline of A New Hope so closely that it’s tempting to accuse the scriptwriter of plagiarism. Even without the multitude of spoilers, there are few true surprises in this movie.

Heir to the Empire and its sequels built on the ending of Return of the Jedi. The Force Awakens effectively goes back to the start.

That said, there are a number of good moments in the movie. Kylo Ren is no Darth Vader, but in many ways that was a good choice. Vader could not be outdone, so the producers chose to go with a whiny little man-child than a abused, tormented and ultimately tragic character. Ren is, in fact, a stand-in for the problems we face today; students and other youngsters who literally don’t know how lucky they are to live in the modern world. There is no logical reason for Ren to embrace the dark side – unlike Darth Vader – and perhaps that is his ultimate tragady. If Darth Vader was a reflection of fears from the 70s – and Palpatine was a reflection of fears from the post-9/11 world – Ren is a reflection of the problems we face today.

Kylo Ren: Han Solo. I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.

Han: Take off that mask. You don’t need it.

Kylo Ren: What do you think you’ll see if I do?

Han: The face of my son.

This actually leads to the best part of the movie, the final confrontation between Han Solo and his son.

I like to think that Han and Leia would be happy after Return of the Jedi – they certainly were throughout the Expanded Universe – but in The Force Awakens they are split-up and probably devoiced. Han goes back to being a smuggler … why? But I forgive that because the final meeting is perfect. Han knows he’s screwed up with his son – although it’s hard to understand why Ben turned out so poorly – and he’s prepared to risk his life to save Ben from himself. And even in death – a scene that bears more than a passing resemblance to Obi-Wan Kenobi’s death – Han still loves his son.

Unfortunately, the weaknesses in The Force Awakens drag it down.

Of the three new characters – Poe, Finn and Rey – I find that I like Finn the best. Finn has come in for quite a bit of knocking online (just like Rey) but Finn as a character has room to grow. And he does grow over the course of the movie. Poe, by contrast, remains static throughout the movie.

And then we have Rey, Rey who is far too close to being a Mary Sue.

A Mary Sue is a character who is unreasonably good. Han, Luke and Leia are not Mary Sues; they grow and develop throughout the original trilogy. Han is the most capable of the three of them – which makes sense, because he’s definitely the most experienced character – but Rey has no reason to be so good. She’s a superb mechanic, a superb pilot and an excellent fighter (with blaster, staff and lightsaber); she shows more ability to use the force than Luke did (in all three movies) and fights Ren to a standstill despite never having used a lightsaber before. (Ren was wounded, after all, but still … he should have stomped her effortlessly (unless part of the point is that Ren isn’t anything like as good as he thinks)). And Rey has a tragic backstory …

The reason that Leia is not a Mary Sue is that while she is good, she is not unreasonably good. She is defiant when captured – perhaps hoping to gourd her captors into killing her before she breaks – but she doesn’t free herself. She can’t. And yet, once she’s free, she helps plot the escape from the Death Star, kills Jabba with the chains he put her in and helps destroy the shield generator on Endor. Leia grows and develops throughout the trilogy, like Luke.

Rey does not. Indeed, the only time she comes close to losing is when she is captured and taken to the enemy base. And she is very quick to free herself.

Leaving the characters aside, there are other problems. The plot mimics A New Hope far too closely. The Super Death Star – sorry, Starkiller Base – is awesome, but we’ve seen it before – twice! And does the First Order really have the resources of the Galactic Empire? This is not the time for investing vast amounts of money in a giant base, even if it is a terror weapon of great power. Surely, fighting a more conventional campaign would be a better idea. And then there’s the odd relationship between the Resistance and the New Republic. And surely destroying a single planet will not be enough to put the New Republic out of business permanently …

On its own, The Force Awakens isn’t a bad movie. Like I said, there are parts of it I enjoyed – unlike the reboot of Star Trek, which was awful.

But it doesn’t live up to Heir to the Empire.