MOVIE REVIEW: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Ten years after the last film in the saga was released, and arguably 35 years after the last great film in the Star Wars cannon was released, we get Episode VII: The Force Awakens. There was a lot riding on this for director J.J Abrams. Yes, he’s directed big Hollywood blockbusters before, but this is Star Wars. A saga that people hold so dear to them that it has almost become like a religion. The added pressure comes from the stream of let downs that the prequels served up. Personally I think those films get more stick than they perhaps deserve, but needless to say they did not live up to the original trilogy in any way, shape or form. I was initially very skeptical about this movie. “Oh here we go again, Hollywood milking the all too obliging Star Wars fanatics for another billion dollars.”. But as they started rolling out the trailers, I became more and more intrigued. I wouldn’t say I was keeling over in excitement, but as 2015 rolled on my opinion on there being a new Star Wars film went from cynicism to skepticism. These movies, even the prequels which I grew up watching before the originals, hold a special magic to me. I certainly didn’t want a repeat of the prequels, but at the same time I didn’t want a nostalgic rip off of the the first film. This is why Star Wars must always be approached with caution, because its so easy to screw up. Many would argue, myself included, that even the original saga had numerous flaws from a technical stand point, but the depth of feeling it gave you when you watched them was something very profound.

I am sorry to say that The Force Awakens did not give me that feeling. This is a good movie, but a heavily flawed one also. I got the feeling as I sat there in the packed cinema that I was being played a little bit. Like these hoards of people had crammed in here expecting to see the best film of the year, and many probably left confirming that to themselves in their own minds. I myself went in with super high expectations, maybe too high. I wanted another Empire Strikes Back, with the same practical effects, action sequences, memorable characters and meaningful story. A few of these elements delivered in Episode 7, but too many fell way, way short.

Let’s start with the characters. The two central roles were afforded to Rey and Finn. The former being an unassuming scavenger on Jakku, the latter being a rogue stormtrooper for The First Order, who has always doubted his allegiance to the dark side and decides to escape. Daisy Ridley as Rey is good, but not spectacular. Her performance felt a little bit theatrical to me. I don’t know what it was. Maybe her very pronounced British accent (I’m British myself), was what annoyed me, but it certainly wasn’t helped by some of her dialogue, which was sometimes prequel level of bad. “I didn’t know this much green existed in the whole galaxy” being a highlight. Finn, played by John Boyega, was slightly better. I enjoyed his storyline quite a bit, but I think a bit more time should have been dedicated to him as a stormtrooper, it would have added some emotional weight to his betrayal and subsequent heroism. The relationship between the two was cool to watch develop, but as so often is the case with Star Wars, they throw in too many jokes at serious moments. I couldn’t get as invested as I would have liked in the story because whenever I felt some tension was building up, they would kill it with a joke. Don’t get me wrong, I love the way humour was used in the original trilogy because it was well timed and placed. Here it felt sometimes haphazard and overused, although some lines did make me chuckle.

Han Solo returns in this movie and he is definitely his old self. It was emotional seeing him and Chewee back in the Millennium Falcon of course, and for the most part Harrison Ford did an amazing job portraying that swashbuckling space cowboy for the fourth time. Carrie Fisher as Leia was also good, but I would have liked a bit more of her. As far as the dark side is concerned, here is where I have my major issues. The main protagonist is Sith Lord Kylo Ren. I am hearing everyone say he is nothing like Darth Vadar. Seriously? He spends most of the movie with a helmet on, speaks like Vadar, walks like Vadar, is conflicted like Vadar and spends the whole film serving a puppet master, like Vadar. We find out early on in the film that Kylo is in fact Han and Leia’s son, and was trained by Luke Skywalker. Luke then fled, presumably due to the shame of letting his dear friends down. I like this idea, but again not enough time and dialogue is given to Han or Leia to explain it. I get that this was probably done to build anticipation and mystery for Episode 8, but I have to judge this as a stand alone film. Apart from this, Kylo just kind of bored me. I didn’t feel the same threatening presence when he was on screen as I did watching Vadar or the emperor, or even Darth Maul. The great thing about episodes 4-6 is that we only found out explicitly that Vadar had conflicting emotions at the very end, so it felt like a cathartic release. With Ren we get none of that, it is spelled out for us plain and simple when he says that he still feels the pull of the light side.

The surrounding cast was good but once again, left more to be desired. Leader of the First Order, Snoke, was a CGI mess. His dialogue with Ren and General Hux was decent but predictable.  Hux himself was one of my favourite characters, partly because I’m a huge fan of Domhnall Gleeson, but also because he delivers one of the best patches of the script in the whole film when he’s dictating the role of The First Order to a huge army of stormtroopers. I needed more of that type of scene to build the universe up to a point where I cared about the characters in it more. BB8 was easily one of my favourite things about The Force Awakens. He was just as endearing and likeable as R2-D2, if a bit of a rip off.

The plot of The Force Awakens echoes many of the earlier films in tone and arc. George Lucas always said that the saga was like rhyming couplets, and I can see the beauty in that. Yes, it steals a lot from A New Hope, but I don’t think that’s the main negative here. The main issue I had with the movie was lack of character development and a few plot holes. The first being Rey and her affinity to the Force. It all felt very predictable when she finally managed to break Kylo’s mind tricks and eventually managed to fend him off in the lightsaber battle at the end. But really, how is this possible. I seem to remember both Luke and Anakin requiring years of training to master the force and become Jedi. Luke didn’t have the first idea how to harness the Force when he first started training with Obi-Wan. This was a major problem for me because I think this training element was part of the magic of the first six films. Yoda’s message was that a young Jedi must master oneself, one’s mind and one’s body before they could master the Force. Anakin had to learn for years with Obi-Wan, and Luke had to spend much time with Yoda on Dagoba before either of them could even face a Sith Lord. Yet Rey didn’t need any of that to fend off Kylo with a lightsaber, or to resist his mind tricks. This was simply a plot hole too far for me, and spoilt the suspense those two moments would have had if she’d faced him after training.

My second major gripe is with Han’s death. I have no problem with him being killed, in fact I think the time was right. But as I mentioned before, I didn’t feel a strong father-son bond between them when they ending up meeting on Starkiller base. I didn’t have enough back story to care that much, compared to when Vadar and Luke met in cloud city and we understood the magnitude of the moment. Maybe some flashbacks would have served to remedy this for me. I also didn’t like how the death was handled from a physical standpoint. Han tries to bring Ren back to the light which I liked, but when he took off his helmet the moment was killed for me once again. This all added up to the death of one of my favourite characters becoming a bit of an anti-climax. The rest of the story was pretty standard for Star Wars. The Resistance has to take down yet another death star-like base by blowing up a reactor. The moment they managed it was satisfying but also felt a bit too familiar. The story comes to an end with R2-D2 and BB8 collating their maps of the universe to locate Skywalker. This was a cool idea, but I still don’t get why R2-D2 waited all that time to activate. Rey then travels to find Luke in the outer reaches of the galaxy, where we get a final shot of him looking sad and reflective as he sees Rey. This was a really great way to end the film, but it would have been more poignant if I’d been more invested in the whole movie. That being said it did have me intrigued about what the next film might serve up.

I think where this film really shined was in its action sequences. There were some poor ones, namely the lightsaber fight at the end, which was far too short and badly shot in my opinion. The opening action sequence was great, as were most on Jakku. I was on the edge of my seat when Rey and Finn were trying to escape a First Order air raid with BB8 right behind them. It felt like classic Star Wars stuff, and most importantly, it felt real. The sets were also impressive, and the practical effects did their thing in making this feel authentic and nothing like the prequels. Starkiller base was grandiose and massive, blending the natural with the artificial, which I think just about stayed within the bounds of realism. Pretty much every set blew me away. This movie is a visual treat, especially after spending the last week watching the prequels. The CGI characters, aside from Snoke, were believable and well realised. John Williams' score provided brief moments of nostalgia and delight, but ultimately didn't live up to his work on the other films (even the prequels). There were no themes that grabbed my attention in the same way Yoda's theme or the Imperial march did, but that might change with repeated listens. Overall it was a solid score.

I won’t say much more about The Force Awakens. I applaud Abrams for tackling such a delicate project and especially for bringing the saga back to the real world with amazing practical effects and sets. Technically this movie is a feast for the eyes and ears. Your average movie-goer will enjoy this film, and to Abrams’ credit I think he has made a movie that will appeal to both newcomers to the franchise and long-term fans. But for me, several things spoilt my enjoyment of the movie a little too much for me to hail it as one of the best of the year. The fact that it tried to recreate the magic of A New Hope I think worked to both its advantage and disadvantage, but overall I just simply didn’t care as much about the characters or the story. But who knows, maybe this is just me and my cynicism. Its more than likely that these characters will be the heroes of a new generation, and that’s great. I hold out hope that Episode VIII will fill in some blanks and develop the characters historical and emotional profiles to a point where I can feel as close to it as I did the older films. That remains to be seen.

Acting: 45

Narrative: 45

Visuals: 60

Music: 65

Overall: 54/100

MOVIE REVIEW: The Theory of Everything (2014)

It’s almost impossible to debate or overstate the scientific achievements of Stephen Hawking. He was, and still remains, a true genius. A film about his life most definitely seemed warranted to me, and I held off a long while before I finally got around to watching The Theory of Everything the other day. I was excited to see it, and as the first half an hour unfolded I was impressed with what I was getting. But as it went on, I felt the narrative peaked and troughed, ultimately leaving me wanting a little bit more out of both the story and characters.

The first act of the film finds Stephen enrolled as a student at Cambridge, one of the most prestigious universities in the world, along with its twin, Oxford. Having been a resident of Oxford myself now for 4 years, I strongly related to the aesthetic environment of the first part of this film. Towering cathedrals, archaic brickwork, smoky pubs, bars and halls. Grandeur left, right and centre. You immediately get the sense that Stephen is unusual and oddly eccentric, but somehow slots perfectly into the microcosm of Cambridge and its social structures. We learn early on that Hawking was a bit sporadic and undisciplined when it came to his work as an undergraduate, yet clearly by far the most talented student in his class. I enjoyed watching this early persona and it reminded me a bit of Good Will Hunting – a young person of unimaginable intellect who requires a bit of wisdom and experience in order to fully realise his potential.

Right from the get go its clear that this is not going to be a film focussed on Hawking’s intellectual prowess though, and we are introduced to the next most pivotal figure in the film in the first 3 minutes, Jane Wilde Hawking, played by Felicity Jones. A rather typical ‘falling in love’ sequence then occupies a good half hour of the film, culminating in the two kissing under a firework display at a collegiate ball. All very romantic, but to me it lacked an emotional punch and all felt a bit idealistic.

As the film moves into its middle third, it switches in tone. This is mainly due to Stephen being diagnosed with motor neuron disease, sending him into a spiral of depression and anger. I like the nuance of how this revelation was explored, both in relation to Stephen and Jane, who are both clearly going to suffer greatly at the hand of this disease. Hawking’s feelings seem to switch dramatically between total acceptance and flat out rage and helplessness. This part of the movie was the high point for me. As the reality of it all sets in, big decisions begin to be made by both characters. Jane’s defiance is touching, yet in the background there is a perpetual feeling of doubt that might end up being the film’s main theme.

The story only really glances over Stephen’s absolutely fascinating work as a physicist, which I really take issue with. I understand that director James Marsh wanted to focus the energy on his personal life, but unfortunately I don’t think it stays interesting for 123 minutes. A more even balance between personal and academic happenings would have satisfied me much more. The times where the film did delve (albeit simplistically) into what Hawking was trying to work out was gripping and engaging. His relationship with fellow Cambridge students and professors like Dennis Sciama, played brilliantly by David Thewlis, should have been explored so much more.

Ultimately the film settles into a story basically about Jane, and her struggles dealing with her relationship. Her mother suggests she tries singing in a church choir, which she takes up. Predictably the choir master is a handsome, well intentioned, single man looking for love. There is a bit of ambiguity throughout this part of the film as to who Jane really loves, but not enough to make it suspenseful. All that’s really there is doubt and adulterous thoughts. This almost obscenely nice choir master, Jonathon Jones, gets involved with the Hawking family, becoming very friendly with not just Jane, but her kids and Stephen himself, who by this point is almost unable to move or talk. Its obvious that this is problematic, a time bomb waiting to detonate. The last half of the film is mostly centred around this dynamic, and to be honest I found it a bit dull.

Eventually the two go their separate ways, with Stephen also finding an adoring admirer in Maxine Peake. There were several clichéd moments that I really didn’t care for. The worst being when Hawking has a seizure and almost dies at the exact moment Jane is about to sleep with Jonathan, as if their souls were intertwined. I found this all too scripted and like the director was trying to make us overly sympathise with Jane, when it was she who was massively in the wrong. This sums up my main gripe with The Theory of Everything – its not about the theory of everything. Its about Jane’s struggle to deal with Stephen’s illness. Although I definitely had admiration for what she did in caring for Hawking, I can’t help but feel the story was too nice to both of the lead characters. It painted Hawking as emotionally dissonant after his diagnosis, laughing off genuinely heart-breaking moments, and Jane as someone acting only out of love.

Eddie Redmayne did as a good a job as he could depicting Hawking with the script he was given. His acting as Stephen with the disease was very convincing, yet I must reiterate that I don’t think nearly enough screen time was given to him or his work. I can’t take anything away from Felicity Jones either, she clearly put her absolute all into the part. I think the principal issue was the script and narrative. Whilst it had its great moments, it had its equal share of poor ones. Ultimately I think it lacked a clear objective, instead trying to be everything at once (no pun intended). It didn’t respect its audience enough to give more attention to the science, which is its main flaw. This could be why many were calling the movie ‘Oscar bait’, and although I disagree with such a sweeping classification, I can see where people are coming from. I mean, it succeeded, didn’t it? No, I don’t think Redmayne deserved the Oscar, but I don’t think it’s a great injustice either. By all means watch this film, its an enjoyable and easy experience, but far from the best 2014 had to offer.

Acting: 75

Narrative: 50

Visuals: 65

Music: 60

Overall: 63/100