To New Worlds and Beyond, J.J. Abrams Reinvigorates “Star Wars”

Daisy Ridley and John Boyega in "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

*Spoiler-Free Review*

In 1977, director George Lucas changed blockbuster filmmaking forever with his epic space opera, “Star Wars.”  The story of Luke Skywalker and his friends battling the evil Galactic Empire captured the imaginations of countless moviegoers, and we were then given two rip-roaring sequels with “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi.”  Between 1999 and 2005, Lucas wrote and directed a prequel trilogy that chronicled the villainous Darth Vader’s rise to the Dark Side, but it’s best not to dwell on those three movies.

When Lucasfilm was bought by The Walt Disney Company in 2012, they immediately went to work on a sequel trilogy, and I’m beyond happy to say it’s already off to an explosive start.  This new trilogy begins with director J.J. Abrams’ “Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens,” and with a thrilling expansion of the franchise’s mythology and a union of characters both old and new, Abrams delivers the insanely enjoyable sequel we have waited a decade for.

I won’t reveal anything about the actual plot because I want you to experience the heart-pounding giddiness I felt when learning about the story for the first time through the opening text crawl while John Williams’ iconic theme music thunders through the speakers.  All I will say is the film takes place about 30 years after the events of “Return of the Jedi.” 

The sequel trilogy establishes many new characters in this chapter, but the one to which we must call the most attention is the main character, Rey, played by newcomer Daisy Ridley.  For any future blockbusters that plan to have a strong female role model at its focus, this is the template they should follow.  Rey exhibits the skills she needs to survive in the worlds she gets thrown into, and Ridley has the acting strength to carry this sci-fi series and be the leading force (pun intended) for this new trilogy.

The rest of the cast is filled with fresh characters.  There’s John Boyega as Finn, an ex-stormtrooper who joins Rey on her journey; Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, who is shaping up to be a formidable villain for the new trilogy, displaying the conflict between his character’s sympathetic qualities and Dark Side sensibilities; Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), an ace pilot who thrives on the excitement of high flying; and General Hux, played by Domhnall Gleeson, who channels the evilness that made Peter Cushing’s performance of Grand Moff Tarkin in “A New Hope” so memorable.

I really wish I could go into detail about the performances from Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher, but it’s rather difficult to do so without giving away certain plot details, so I’ll leave it up to you to experience the surprises these characters offer.

Some of the new characters are given more development than others, but you can tell the lesser-developed roles will gain more significance in episodes eight and nine.

Although the story has many similarities to that of “A New Hope,” the screenplay by Lawrence Kasden, J.J. Abrams, and Michael Arndt has enough world-building that sets much bigger things in motion for the next two episodes, which will be released in 2017 and 2019.  Kasden co-wrote “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi,” so it was a pleasure to have him back for this latest installment.  The story for “The Force Awakens” moves along at a great clip, opening with an action sequence that gets the audience excited to be back in the “Star Wars” world, and it doesn’t let up from there.

One of the things Abrams does that makes this film superior to George Lucas’ prequels is it has more of a balance between practical and CGI effects, whereas Lucas’ prequels had an overabundance of CGI that made you long for the moviemaking magic of the practical effects in his original creation.  Abrams brings his aura of mystique to the proceedings, as we have seen in his other films, particularly in his two “Star Trek” films, which showed he could take a beloved property and make it feel new while also respecting what made the franchise wonderful, and he pulls that off once again with one of the most popular film series of all time. 

Although Abrams isn’t directing episodes eight and nine, which will be helmed by Rian Johnson (“Looper”) and Colin Trevorrow (“Jurassic World”), respectively, he has placed all of the pieces into position for what will surely be a grandly entertaining continuation of the “Star Wars” saga.

I wish I could mention more about this film, but the less said, the better.  I just want to say you should see this movie as soon as you can before you have its biggest surprises spoiled for you.  Given how long we had to wait for a superb “Star Wars” movie that helped get the bad thoughts of the prequels out of our heads, you deserve to go into the theater unaware of what awaits you.

Final grade: A-