REVIEW: ‘The Force Awakens’ Is A Brilliant, Joyous Return To The Star Wars Universe

This review includes a sealed section at the end that contains MAJOR SPOILERS. If you haven’t seen The Force Awakens, do NOT scroll all the way down really fast like an idiot. You have been warned.

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Star Wars is back.

Without giving anything away, The Force Awakens is a dyed-in-the-wool piece of Star Wars royalty now. It is truer, both tonally and spiritually, to the legacy of the original trilogy than anything Lucas tried to do to recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle he harnessed through the ‘70s and ‘80s. It is a rip-roaring, swashbuckling jaunt through galactic space which will leave you reeling.

The end of this review contains a “sealed section”, within which all the terrible secrets of the film shall be hastily tethered. That way madness lies. If you saw the film already, that’s where you can go to read my thoughts on certain key plot points, and how I processed them. You have been warned.

The Force Awakens takes place many decades after the destruction of the second Death Star. I momentarily considered explaining “what is a Star War”, but realised that culturally, Star Wars is about as universally edifying as you’re going to get. If you grew up with Star Wars, you get it. If you were burned by the prequels in a room full of crestfallen, costumed cohorts, you get it. If you fall asleep at night imagining you’re flying the Falcon between spinning meteors, you get it. If you never saw them, and you’re considering wandering in cold, for the love of GOD sit down and watch the original three (try Googling the Despecialised Editions and thank me later). This film leans on and taps into that primal Star Wars part of the nostalgia centre of your brain, and as such will hit the hardest if you’ve been initiated already.

And if you are a fan, you’re in for a treat. The new characters are, in a word, superb. The showstealer here is Rey, played by Daisy Ridley. I could spend hours breaking down just how pivotal she’s going to be for people growing up looking for cinematic heroes; she brutally slaps down the damsel trope, repeatedly proves her worth above and beyond most other characters, and swiftly becomes one of the most fleshed-out and exhilarating players in the Star Wars universe. There’s a genuine deftness to Ridley’s performance which cements her as the moral core of the film, and I cannot wait to see what happens to her next.

Similarly, John Boyega’s turn as Finn is terrific. Boyega was astounding in the indie horror comedy Attack the Block, and here he couldn’t be more different; his comedic beats are effortless, and his banter with Rey, BB-8, Han and Chewie make him a necessary foil to the film’s occasional bouts of grimdark. Poe Dameron, played by Oscar Isaac, is utterly charming but criminally underused. And BB-8 might be my favourite non-human character in Star Wars; never before has a wordless offsider possessed both comedy and profundity in such staggering quantities.

Harrison Ford (who I interviewed last week, and who I adore even more having met the man) delivers a terrific performance. He and Chewie are in top form, and there are moments (especially in the last third of the film) where Han Solo truly comes to life. The cinema collectively released their breath once Ford delivered some of his best lines as Han Solo, thereby proving that he needed to be there. In many ways, this film is about Han Solo, and about who that character is, and what he means to the people around him.

Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver, is a guttural, petulant, malignant new stain on the Star Wars universe. I shan’t go into detail and blow any truly monumental moments for you, but I will say this: you will have very strong opinions about Kylo Ren by the end of The Force Awakens.

There are so many other superb players in this space opera, and perhaps it’s only true flaw (that I can talk about here) is that is might lean a tad too heavily on the beats of the original trilogy. But tonally, it’s a hell of a place to start what I’m hoping is a superb new series. The cinematography is downright Apocalypse Now-esque, the use of (mostly) real muppets warms the heart, and the score soars and roars alongside the visuals at a cracking pace. The Force Awakens is a startlingly touching, genuinely funny and powerfully moving installment in the Star Wars pantheon. It’s a great time to be a Star Wars fan.

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SEALED SECTION — Do NOT Read Past Here If You Haven’t Seem The Damn Movie

Okay?

Seriously, Don’t Come Complaining To Us If You Read Them.

We Good?

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We Good.

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So. Let’s talk about some of the contentious points of the film. Not bad, just… hard to process.

First of all, I’m convinced that Rey has had her memory blocked for some reason, and that she’s not using the force, she’s remembering how to use it. This theory is largely unsubstantiated, so let’s instead move on to my handy go-to guide on HOW TO PROCESS YOUR GRIEF.

When Kylo Ren (let’s not call him Ben, as he doesn’t rightly deserve that name anymore) turned – and it looks like he turned very hard – Luke, Leia and Han, who’d spent decades being heroic and wonderful as a team, all relapsed to who they were before they were heroes. Luke went back to being a loner on a distant planet. Leia withdrew back into military strategising and diplomacy, and Han grabbed Chewie and went back to smuggling. I’d say this happened about five years before The Force Awakens. The trauma of their perceived failings causes them all to pretty much relapse; they don’t become bad people by any means, they just struggle to process their grief.

Before that point, it’s implied that they helped re-found the Republic, start a Jedi academy and have all manner of adventures. Han has had decades of adventuring with his friends, and several years on the road with Chewie, just like old times. He’s in his early seventies, has forgotten what it means to be Han Solo, and suddenly, he meets these two young people (on his old ship, where he learned to be a real hero) reminding him what “hero” means. They wake him up, drag him back to Leia, and she asks him to bring their son back.

So what does he do? What does this 73 year old ex-smuggler, ex-war hero do, when given a chance to escape, to flee? How did we expect this beloved character to die? In his sleep? Or voluntarily rolling the dice and trying to save his son? Han Solo’s demise is difficult to stomach, but how else could he go? In his sleep? Or proving to himself and his friends that he is the person they percieve him to be? So in the end, after an ocean of adventures (both onscreen and off), he goes out like a hero. And I suspect his final gesture will in fact have a part to play later on in the series.

This does, however, lead to a qualm I had with the film which several friends of mine also brought up of their own volition. Why did Chewie and Leia not grieve together? Why’d he just walk on by? We know they’re fond of each other, why didn’t we get a proper cathartic, eulogising moment to cap off the film? It’s possible we’ll get that in the next movie, but we have years to wait until then.

This concludes the sealed portion of the review. I do hope these thoughts help you if, like me, you struggled with that particularly heartbreaking moment. I loved this movie, and the fact that it hit so hard can only be a good thing.

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Paul Verhoeven is the host of Steam Punks on the ABC, hosts the gaming comedy podcast 28 Plays Later,, and tweets from @PaulVerhoeven