Star Wars is officially back.
Director J.J. Abrams has pulled off something which could be seen as almost impossible - which was to create a brand new movie that follows the imprint of the original trilogy that happened back in the 70's and 80's, to unite the fans from the original trilogy and the prequels by giving us a kick-ass movie, and set a tone so strong that the rest of the trilogy can follow.
Abrams did all that and I want to say a big "thank you" to him, and give him a Wookie hug.
For a two and a half hour movie, this had a very fast-moving pace. And what I really appreciated about it was how consistent the tone and pace of every single scene was. There wasn't one scene which I didn't care for even when I was watching it a third time last night.
Both the CGI and practical effects were beautifully rendered into the movie. Sure, when the CGI came on, I could tell it. But they didn't take me out of the movie. Lupita Nyong'o's performance capture of Maz Kanata, and her voicing, was fantastic.
What actually took me out of the movie, and it pains me to say, was Carrie Fisher's acting. I didn't get the feel of Leia Organa from her anymore, especially when Harrison Ford was so on point. Ford was more Han Solo than Han Solo ever was. And you can really tell that Ford had so much fun bringing this character back.
The new cast of Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver were all phenomenal, thanks to the direction of Abrams. Boyega and Ridley have become such a star in this movie. They were equally likeable and they carried their scenes with ease.
I wasn't sure of Isaac's character before the movie came out because there was so little of him, but he went beyond my expectations and I like him just as much as the others. He had so much charisma and magnetism, so heroic and selfless, I have a man-crush on him.
Driver has so much layer to his Kylo Ren in those brief scenes we saw him. He has this internal struggle that I'm sure will play out even more in the next few movies. But his portrayal of Kylo, the way he stands, the way he extends his hand to use the Force; he has created such a great villain that his fearsome and hateful.
The humour by Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan was brilliant. Every humour bit landed perfectly in the tone of the movie.
However, as with most movies, this wasn't perfect as well. And here we will definitely enter SPOILER territory, so be warned.
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The character relationships were developed way too fast and I didn't feel what the characters supposedly felt. Most obvious one happened when Kylo read Rey's mind and said she thought of Han Solo as a father figure. I didn't see that happening. Another being Rey and Finn forming a romantic relationship perhaps? If so then their attraction wasn't apparent as well.
Other flaws happened with some of the plot like how the Millenium Falcon could enter Starkiller Base and not the others like X-Wings, which had light speed capability as well?
Finn was unwilling to kill villagers even on the battlefield of Jakku, then why was he so ready and eager to fire at his own friends and comrades during his escape?
I'm going to say the very unpopular thing here. Why did Luke runaway and left the universe out of balance? He has a responsibility being a Jedi. Just because he lost Ben Solo and the other padawans, doesn't give him the right to disappear. He should be finding ways to bring balance back into the Force. Instead, he just ran away like a spoiled brat; letting the universe turn chaotic while searching for him.
And I thought Mark Hamill overacted quite a bit in that final one minute. Every shot of him was over-the-top, and took me out of the movie again.
What about R2-D2? The way he suddenly just woke up so conveniently with no proper explanation was weird.
Lastly, the biggest disappointment I have was the watered down roles of Gwendoline Christie's Captain Phasma and the actors from The Raid series, Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian and Cecep Arif Rahman. One could argue that Phasma will be back for more later on in the trilogy, but for the martial artists of The Raid series, what a waste! They did practically nothing. They didn't even help choreograph any fight sequence and I thought that was opportunity wasted. And Abrams did confirm that they were only used in that sequence.
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But the negatives weren't too apparent. The movie as a movie was so high in entertainment value that it has turned non-fans into fans and fans like me going back to rewatch it in the cinema and still not feel lethargic.
That alone makes this movie one of the best this year. I can't wait to watch it again on IMAX when I get to the US!
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