Dec 15, 2015 · ... The ForceAwakens’ Deliversthe Thrills, With a Touchof Humanity ... Awakens’ Deliversthe Thrills, With a Touch ... StarWars: The ForceAwakens ...
Dec 15, 2015 · The reviews are in for "StarWars: The ForceAwakens" and ... says it deliversthe thrills. With a touchof humanity and the ... that StarWars like ...
The
big news about “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is — spoiler alert — that
it’s good! Despite the prerelease hype, it won’t save the world, not
even Hollywood, but it seamlessly balances cozy favorites — Harrison
Ford, ladies and gentlemen — and new kinetic wows, along with some of
the niceties that went missing as the series grew into a phenomenon,
most crucially a scale and a sensibility that are rooted in the human.
It has the usual toy-store-ready gizmos and critters, but it also has
appealingly imperfect men and women whose blunders and victories,
decency and goofiness remind you that a pop mythology like “Star Wars”
needs more than old gods to sustain it.
J. J. Abrams, the director of “The Force Awakens,” may not have the makings of a god or an empire builder like George Lucas,
but he turns out to be what this stagnant franchise needs: a “Star
Wars” superfan and pop culture savant. Given that the fans have been
doing much of the heavy lifting for a while, holding up the franchise
even as the filmmakers let them down with some titanic clunkers (“Attack
of the Clones” — why, George, why?), it seems fitting that the new film
was directed by one of their own. Mr. Abrams was 11 when he saw the
original “Star Wars” back in 1977; by the time he was a teenager, he had
a gig cleaning Steven Spielberg’s old student movies.
You
could call Mr. Abrams a love child of Mr. Lucas and Mr. Spielberg, born
to the blockbuster world they helped make. At its best, that world taps
into the wonder that can come with new visions and realms, sending you
into raptures with earthly delights or those in galaxies far away. Too
often, though, this world gives privilege to special effects and
anonymity over story, character, directorial vision or just a little
creative intelligence. Instead, moviemakers bludgeon viewers, numbing
them into quiescence with pictorial monotony punctuated by apocalyptic
clamor, with the same repetitive story beats, explosions, close shaves
and grindingly unsurprising saves. In these pictures, good invariably
triumphs over every evil except moviemaking formula.
Mr.
Abrams became a small-screen name with television shows like “Alias”
before making a discouraging transition to film directing with the
third, prophetically titled “Mission: Impossible.” He scaled down nicely
for “Super 8,” getting his Spielberg on with a story about some kids
who help an alien return home. Even better was his “Star Trek,” an
enjoyable big-screen gloss on the 1960s series that he followed with a
disappointing sequel, taking two steps back. Mr. Abrams is still trying
to transcend the worst of the blockbuster imperative, but with “The
Force Awakens,” he shows that he hasn’t stopped learning and that the
lessons have begun to pay off. (He’s backed by some of his regular
crewmates, notably the cinematographer Dan Mindel and the editors
Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey.)
Photo
Adam Driver as Kylo Ren in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”Credit
David James/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Mr.
Abrams’s smart idea — an overarching ethos, really — in “The Force
Awakens” is to have returned to basics, largely by dispensing with a lot
of clutter. This is no small thing in a complicated movie universe
in which the series sequence doesn’t even align with the release dates:
The original 1977 film, for instance, is the fourth in the series and
now known as “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope.” “The Force Awakens”
is the seventh chapter but also the first film in what’s being called a
sequel trilogy. This sounds headache-inducing, but it just means that
“Force” picks up years after “Return of the Jedi”
(1983), the third release, left off, after Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill)
prevailed over villainy with his sister, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher),
and their pal Han Solo (Mr. Ford).
MoviesBy AINARA TIEFENTHÄLER and ROBIN LINDSAY1:03Movie Review: ‘The Force Awakens’
The Times critic Manohla Dargis reviews “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
By AINARA TIEFENTHÄLER and ROBIN LINDSAY on Publish Date December 17, 2015.
Photo by Film Frame/Lucasfilm, via Associated Press.
Watch in Times Video »
Much
as in the real world, though, the war has dragged on, and now Luke,
Leia and Han have been succeeded by a charismatic, talented trio —
played by Oscar Isaac, John Boyega and Daisy Ridley — who look more like
the multitudes humankind contains, a genuine diversity infrequently
represented in our movies. Yet while these three are variations on the
original holy trinity, part of what makes them contemporary isn’t just
their skin colors but also the slippery playfulness of their roles. Mr.
Isaac, as a resistance pilot, Poe Dameron, suggests a next-generation
Han, but so does Mr. Boyega as Finn, stormtrooper turned refusenik. The
one seemingly unambiguous note is that the new-school Luke Skywalker is a
young woman, a desert scavenger named Rey (Ms. Ridley), who shares
Luke’s skill set and love of natural fabrics.
Photo
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” features some favorites, including Harrison Ford, and new kinetic wows.Credit
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
That
Finn saves Rey and she saves him in turn isn’t a new dynamic; Princess
Leia, created in the wake of second-wave feminism, was always a
thoroughly liberated woman, whether shooting a laser gun or working a
metal bikini. Leia is now a resistance general and played with a muted
twinkle and tasteful up-do by Ms. Fisher. Like Mr. Ford, she has become
more of a supporting player in a crowded room that also includes Adam
Driver, who brings intensity and flowing physical grace to Kylo Ren.
Among the strongest creations of Team Abrams, Kylo Ren is a kind of baby
Darth Vader who throws tantrums in inky-black robes while wearing a
leather-and-metal head appliance that looks like a domination mask by
way of the grille of a 1952 Chevy.
By LUCASFILM2:13Trailer: ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’
Written
by Mr. Abrams, with Michael Arndt and the “Star Wars” veteran Lawrence
Kasdan, “The Force Awakens” takes off with a battle and closes on a
meaningful moment of quiet. Mr. Abrams doesn’t pile on the mayhem, and,
for the most part, the pace remains fast without being overly frantic.
In the inaugural skirmish, you can follow Poe Dameron as he darts across
the screen; he doesn’t get lost among the shadows and editing, a
clarity that remains fairly consistent. As for the story, well, it’s as
simple as ever, with the usual complications and a bestiary of cute,
cuddly and loathsome creatures (humanoid and not) with odd names and
habits that keep this circus jumping. It’s the old war of all against
all, with fur and feathers, snouts and slapstick, and a guest appearance
by Oedipus.
Photo
“Star Wars: The Force
Awakens” picks up years after “Return of the Jedi,” the third release,
left off, after Luke Skywalker prevailed over villainy with his sister,
Princess Leia, and their friend Han Solo.Credit
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
It’s
no surprise that paternal problems have made a comeback in “The Force
Awakens,” which folds in a father-and-son schism that evokes the one
between Luke and Darth Vader. Even so, the more interesting Oedipal
struggle may turn out to be between Mr. Lucas and his cinematic sons,
starting with Mr. Abrams. He has delivered a more seamlessly diverting
movie than Mr. Lucas has in years, but his most far-reaching
accomplishment here is casting Mr. Isaac, Mr. Boyega and Ms. Ridley — a
Latino, a black man and a white woman — in this juggernaut series. It’s
too early to know how this will play out as the whole thing evolves, but
the images of Mr. Boyega and Ms. Ridley each holding a lightsaber are
among the most utopian moments in a Hollywood movie this year.
Over
the decades, as “Star Wars” grew into an entertainment machine, it took
on the aspect of a cult. That, at any rate, is how it could feel to
those of us looking at it from the outside in, especially as one
mediocre movie after another with noxious creations like Jar Jar Binks
crushed the box office. Mr. Abrams may be as worshipful as any “Star
Wars” obsessive, but in “The Force Awakens” he’s made a movie that goes
for old-fashioned escapism even as it presents a futuristic vision of a
pluralistic world that his audience already lives in. He hasn’t made a
film only for true believers; he has made a film for everyone (well,
almost). So, will Rey, Finn and Poe save the day? Will they battle Kylo
Ren and Oedipus, too? Stay tuned for the next potentially thrilling, or
at least pretty good, adventure.
“Star
Wars: The Force Awakens” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned).
Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes. The Dark Side lives.
A version of this review appears in print on December 17, 2015, on page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: A ‘Force’ to Be Reckoned With.Today's Paper|Subscribe
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