Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

"You're Han Solo." -Rey
"I used to be." -Han Solo

"We'll have to figure it out. We'll use the force." -Finn
"That's not how the force works!" -Han Solo

SPOILERS!

There are two sides to this review. (In keeping with the theme of Star Wars.) The Light and the Dark. Together the two sides of form a review in balance.

The Light Side

Up against incredible pressure and Everest level expectations, J.J. Abrams succeeds on basically all levels of film: dialogue, effects, story, acting, character development, information security, symbolism, circular referencing, heroic narrative, and on and on. It is a new Star Wars for a new age, and I loved it. Very seldom do franchise films succeed on such a massive scale both financially and artistically. These rare films should be enjoyed by all. I particularly see the Force Awakens as the inverse of A New Hope with some circular references to Empire Strikes Back. I cannot help but draw parallels between the death of Obi-wan Kenobi and the death of Han Solo. Their mutual struggles to turn their sons back from the dark side, and to reclaim their former glory form an elegant comparison. *They both USED to be called General, too. The lightsaber battles in The Force Awakens were more inline with classic samurai or original trilogy fight choreography than the lightsaber acrobatics on display in the prequels. They were emotionally satisfying as well as technically sufficient. Bring all this together with solid acting performances by the ensemble and a quirky script that added well timed laughter and you have the recipe for a great movie.

The Dark Side

The Force Awakens is not Art. It is not new. It is not exciting and it most certainly should not be mentioned in the same breath as the original trilogy or even the prequels. It is the ultimate pander delivered in its purest form. I understand the choices of JJ Abrams and respect him, but it is disingenuous to state that he was bold or visionary in his approach or concept for The Force Awakens. He laid up and delivered an incredibly crowd pleasing PAR, winning the tournament. (polite golf clap). This is a sure fire way to give the fans and Disney exactly what they want. Disney listened to what the fans wanted. They asked JJ to creatively execute to meet their needs. He delivered. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. This is stale and should not be praised as anything other than a well executed marketing plan.(One that albeit, I like. -It was made for me to like.) I now have greater respect for George Lucas. He's the Tin Cup of film making. Epic failures on all technical levels listed above (and those prequels are bad) are more worthy of praise than The Force Awakens. They risked all and are unique, uncompromising, and ugly. And in that they are beautiful. The Force Awakens risked nothing and is inherently compromised. And with that it is ugly.  We can no longer look to Star Wars for greatness, just old pleasing stories that offer no challenge and no reward. (Nice, Par.)

On a scale of 12 to 14 parsecs, I give Star Wars: The Force Awakens 3.75 out of 5 stars.