FORCE AWAKENS THOUGHTS
DO NOT READ THIS UNTIL SEEING THE MOVIE YOU'VE BEEN WARNED WARNED WARNED
SERIOUSLY, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED THAT SPOILERS FOLLOW
Okay, it happened. After so much waiting and hype and, my God, me literally freaking out about a new movie that opens the Star Wars universe up to new characters, stories, and adventures, it happened. I’ve spent the past few months rereading Star Wars novels and discovering news ones (I highly recommend Lost Stars and Dark Disciple); diving into Clone Wars again; buying a PS4 just to play Battlefront, and because it had a Darth Vader on it; producing my own Star Wars comic with friends out of pure love and releasing it for free (you can read it here!); speculating on Force Awakens, reimagining the prequels, and letting my curiosity roam throughout all corners of the Star Wars universe; playing Jedi adventures with my kids; and so on and so on.
Last night, after going through the six-movie marathon, I finally laid my eyes on a brand new Star Wars movie. And I really, really liked it. I’m not sure I love it, not yet. But I will see it again. And again. And again.
Because I’m a writer, and because I have a very analytic brain (to a fault), I had some thoughts on the movie. Some criticisms, some questions, some ruminations. Now, before we see this as being negative—I want to stress, again—I really enjoyed the movie. But there’s some things about it that were difficult for me, and a I realized how I need to change my outlook to enjoy these new films.
That said, without further rambling, here’s what’s on my mind. Read, and let’s all discuss in the comment section below!
I MISS GEORGE LUCAS
Yup. I said it. Now, just put down the blaster and let me explain…
I’ve always contended that despite how contrived, silly, and at times bad the prequels were (and, don't get me wrong, I actually love these movies), they were decisively their own thing. Lucas was, at no point, trying to duplicate the original trilogy in any way. Sure, there were nods, call backs, and reference, but those movies were going after a look and feel all their own. And I commend Lucas for that. The problem was that Lucas, as a screenwriter, didn’t quite have the ability to deliver the subtleties, nuances, and complexities that the story required (which is why he’s always best alongside strong collaborators, like Kasdan, Kennedy, etc.). There is a great story in those prequels, and that’s what I think fans find most frustrating—we all see the potential that never came to life. The ideas driving the prequels are terrific and essential: Anakin’s inner turmoil, the moral ambiguities of the Jedi order, the brotherly relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin are all really rich and Star Wars stories. There’s no denying that.
Here’s where my issue with The Force Awakens comes in. I’ll admit, when it was announced that new movies were being made, I was pissed, for a lot of reasons. But mainly, I couldn’t wrap my head around why the story needed to continue—Why here? Why now? What’s the vital thing that needs to be told that would make this story essential, and not fan fiction? Over time, I came to terms with my immediate reaction. In fact, I’ve been practically humming with elation for this new movie. I’ve actually been a bit sad all week, in fact, knowing that the ride leading up to The Force Awakens was coming to an end, because I’d been having so much fun immersing myself in the Star Wars universe. And let me be clear, again—I really, really enjoyed the movie. I thought it was fun, exciting, full of wonder and imagination, I loved the characters, and there were some truly terrific moments.
But I don’t think it answered my question: Why?
There’s a few reasons I feel this way, which I’ll get into if the following sections. But, on the whole, I think the movie failed at justifying why it needed to exist. The ending of return of the Jedi brought the Star Wars/Skywalker story to a satisfying close. Luke saved his father; the rebels toppled the Empire; peace was restored the galaxy, balance was restored to the Force. That was the impression we were all left with after this movie. If you’re going to undo that, or compromise that, I think you need really, really compelling reason to do so, and I don’t think we go that. Did it diminish my enjoyment? A little, but not much. I can’t act like that question, and its answer, doesn’t exist, though.
WHO, OR WHAT, IS THE THREAT?
A secondary reason to this is that I never felt like there was a threat in The Force Awakens. The film essentially had three villains—Kylo Ren, Snoke, and Hux/the First Order. Kylo came off as a sullen, angry man child (a role Driver has perfected) who never feels like he’s much of a danger to any of our characters—I mean, even Hux laughs him off (and not in the way Tarkin controlled Vader, at all). When he goes into his rages, I don’t want to it undercut by a scene of stormtroopers walking the other way. It feels less like passionate rage, then, and more like “oh boy, Kylo’s having another temper tantrum, let’s head this way.” And then he gets his ass handed to him by Rey, who learned the Force like ten minutes ago.
As for the First Order? Another Death Star, which is a threat we’ve seen bested twice already. And we don’t get much from Snoke at all. I have a theory on who he is, but what we’re given, in the movie itself, isn’t all that threatening or frightening. As we move forward, I don’t get a sense that there’s that much to for any protagonist—be it Finn, Luke, or Rey—to be worried about. I could be proven wrong in time, but right now, the conflict doesn’t feel all that compelling or unique.
WHERE’S THE GRAVITAS?
Every Star Wars movie has its Force Sherpa—Qui-Gon, Yoda, Obi-Wan. Now, I’m not saying FA needed to give us a replication of this, but some moment where the action slowed down and took a moment to really acknowledge the Force, what it means, and the role its playing in this movie (it is called The Force Awakens, after all) would have been nice. I think we were all hoping to get that from Maz Katana, but we didn’t. Her role wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. And I think, ultimately, this is a JJ problem. He doesn’t seem willing to deliver gravitas unless it’s dealing with death or daddy issues. By placing Maz in a silly setting—it was more or less a casino on Mos Eisley—and obfuscating her moment in quips, we really got a diminished version of what could have been a powerful scene that glued the Force elements of the movie together. I mean, the words she said as a voiceover in one of the previews held more weight than they did in the actual movie. This was the moment, to me, where the film could have talked seriously about the Force and why it’s important to this story, and that opportunity was lost.
THAT SECOND ACT
A hallmark of a JJ movie is moving the chess pieces around too much. He makes his characters come together, then diverge, then come together again, and now they have to go here, and they reconnect with that other character, etc. way too much. Having watched the marathon leading up to FA, one of the remarkable things I rediscovered is the leanness and wonderful simplicity of the plots. They are so neat but somehow so dynamic at the same time. Empire is a marvel of screenwriting—arguably one of the best mainstream movies ever written. FA spends a lot of the second act having its characters run around not knowing what the hell they’re doing. It reminded me of a video game like Assassin’s Creed, which are often times called “go fetch” games, because you spend so much time running around the game’s word, tracking down or a person, an item, a weapon, whatever. Han, Finn, and Rey having to go to Maz to get to the Resistance was a stretch to begin with (though would have been more palpable had the scene with Maz been more satisfying) and then having all the character diverge--and having them sold out by a spy/mole for the second time in the movie—added up to a whole bunch of convulsion. The momentum of the jaw-dropping first act really stalled out here, and I think if the film had more clarity in the ideas driving it, it would helped smooth out this stretch.
SPEAKING OF MYSTERIES…
Rey's secret origins...
You know, this is such a JJ thing. Everyone has to have a mysterious backstory that they don’t want to talk about but is crucial to the plot. Again, think of the neatness of A New Hope. You walk away from that movie knowing everything you need to know. But JJ loves his character mysteries. And he also loves his pop culture duplications, which is why maybe, in Episode VIII, we'll hear Luke tell Rey “I’m your father.”
R2’S SADNESS COMA
Stop it. He’s a robot.
WHAT IN THE HECK IS HAPPENING IN THIS GALAXY?
No, for real. What’s happening here? From what I understand, given the information we’re given in the crawl, the Republic is reformed, ruling at least a good chunk of the galaxy. Okay, check. And the First Order is opposing them in some capacity. But do they have at least some galactic systems on their side? A home planet that’s more than the new Death Star? Who’s funding this movement? How are they robbing babies for Stormtrooper indoctrination? What is the nucleus of this whole thing? And the resistance—you can basically ask the same questions about them (minus the baby-robbing thing). But also, more importantly, if they are the fighting force that’s opposite the First Order, then that pits them with the Republic. So wouldn’t they just be the army of the Republic? The battle lines are brought up, but they’re never clearly explained. The movie kind of drops it after the crawl, and we’re never really given a sense of place or an answer as to what happened after Return of the Jedi to cause this galactic turmoil. When did the First Order start? We certainly don’t need the politics of the prequels, but I think clearer battle lines were needed. Which, again, returns to the point I started with—what’s going on with the Star Wars universe that this story needs to be told? And this raises another question without an answer, making it harder to justify its reason for being.
BUT I STILL LOVED SO MUCH OF IT
I really, really did. The characters are instantly lovable, BB-8 was terrific, so many beats hit just the right mark. I’ll keep saying how much I enjoyed the movie and will see it multiple times in the theatre to prove my allegiance to its enjoyment. But…buuuuuuuut. I can’t act like I have some nagging questions. I can’t act like, ultimately, I need to train myself to enjoy this installment—and most likely future installments—in a way that’s different from episodes I-VI. And that’s okay. It’s still Star Wars. It’s still strange creatures, life-affirming philosophy, lightsaber battles, great characters, and on and on.
Star Wars fans, we’re home.
Now, I’m going to give one theory. Scroll way down if you want to read it. Otherwise, you can happily stop reading here and hit the comments. Let's talk Star Wars!
NOW, IF YOU REALLY HAD GUTS
Here’s what you do:
You return to mid-cholorians. And no, I’m not joking. Here’s the thing—I think that Snoke is probably Darth Plageius. If so, what’s Plageius’ hallmark? He can make life. Anakin was an immaculate conception. Born of midi-chlorians. Therefore, he was created by Plageius. Being as such, his entire line needs to be destroyed. All the Skywalkers must die, and the line must end. Rey isn’t a Skywalker—she’s the real chosen one who will bring balance to the Force by helping Luke kill his real father (in a sense) then kill him, Kylo, and Leia.
The story will never go there—it’s far too dark—but hey, it’s a theory.
