So Just Chill, Til the Next Episode

A Few Quick Thoughts On ‘The Force Awakens’

WARNING: Some spoilers below, obviously.

Judging by box office receipts, I was the last person alive to see the new Star Wars. I had good reasons. But last night, on an IMAX screen in Auckland — the only IMAX screen in New Zealand — the force was indeed awakened.

Some quick thoughts while they’re still fresh in my head follow.

First and foremost, I thought it was great. Given the caliber of the people involved and the early buzz, I had a feeling I would think it would be great. But I was still pleasantly surprised by just how good it was. J.J. Abrams and crew hit a walk-off homerun.¹

Where do I think it ranks amongst the existing canon? I’m hesitant to say, having only seen it once and knowing that my immediate bias is likely to skew it more positively. So I’ll give a range. Right now, having just watched all of the Star Wars again recently, I’d rank them as follows:

V, IV, VII, VI, III, II, I

But I could be convinced that IV and VII should be switched. Heresy, I know. I’m trying to dampen my immediacy bias here. Regardless, I firmly believe VII belongs in the top half of the franchise.

As for the IMAX component, I thought the one major bit of footage shot in IMAX (around the Millenium Falcon) was fantastic. When the screen opens up for the full ratio, it’s amazing. The other films I recall using this to such effect are Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol (when Tom Cruise dangles outside of Burj Khalifa) and anything directed recently by Christopher Nolan (Interstellar being the latest prime example). Others disagree, but I would definitely see The Force Awakens on an IMAX screen if you can.

I only wish Abrams had shot more footage with the IMAX camera. Help us, Episode VIII, you’re our only hope.

As for the 3D component. Meh. I give it a solid ‘B’, but I honestly could have done without it. But I’m also a 3D hater. I hate wearing those fucking glasses for a few rather gimmicky effects. There was one — still — shot of a Star Destroyer that I thought was cool, otherwise: meh.

On to the story itself, yes, it borrowed heavily from the structure of A New Hope (a.k.a. Episode IV — or, if you prefer, Star Wars). But I thought that was the savvy thing for Abrams and fellow screenwriter, Lawrence Kasden, to do. Lest we forget, the prequel trilogy was pretty awful. Best to wash away those sins with a return to form, quite literally.

Minor nits I have involve the fact that I wish they had used Oscar Isaac more — he was so good in the first quarter of the movie — but I’m sure that will happen in episodes to come. Also more Domhnall Gleeson, please.

Carrie Fisher’s vocal performance in these films has always been a bit odd — in the original, she seems to talk with a British accent at first — but now it’s almost like she’s doing a Tom Waits impersonation; it’s a bit jarring. Before you jump all over this — that’s not talking about her physical appearance! I thought she looked great, honestly, a spry 59. She looks like what Princess Leia would look like nearly 40 years removed from when we first saw her. Though, presumably, her intervening years of hard-living played a role in her voice now. And it’s hard to listen past it.

Speaking of voice, I thought they did a great job with Kylo Ren’s helmet baritone, but it did make Adam Driver’s actual voice sound a bit… emo, by comparison. But again, all minor.

On the spoiler front, I’m so impressed/proud of the internet for not ruining the obvious one in any overt manner. Naturally, I avoided clicking on Star Wars-related links the past couple of weeks, but I still couldn’t believe I didn’t know what was to come (though, of course, I had a suspicion based solely on the marketing).

As for conspiracies/theories, I haven’t read nearly enough yet to know what to think. But after reading a few things last night/today, put me in the camp that doesn’t think Rey’s lineage will be quite so obvious. But I do really like the Kenobi theory…

As for who Snoke is, I find the Darth Plagueis theory compelling… Though I will say, while watching The Force Awakens, I had this nagging suspicion that things would eventually get real weird — like, Snoke is Kylo Ren in the future weird. Probably crazy, I know. But I do wish Snoke were actually a giant, and not just a giant in hologram-projection form. At first, I was like, “wow, they pulled out a Sauron-like literally massive bad guy.”

Those are my quick thoughts. Mostly, I feel Iike I really need to see The Force Awakens again to wrap my head around a few things. Which is great — the mere fact that I want to see it again immediately. I found the pacing of the entire film to be excellent, though I would expect nothing less from Abrams. I also thought it was Harrison Ford’s best work in years — he was more wooden than old Han Solo, but less wooden than any character he’s played since the 1990s.

A couple things I read today hone in on the fact that both Abrams and Kasden were solely focused on one thing: “delight.” I think they nailed it. Will The Force Awakens win the Best Picture Oscar? No. Could they have pushed the envelope in more provocative ways to get it to that level? Sure. But as I left the theater, after taking off my goddamn fucking awful 3D glasses, I felt part happy, part giddy, and quite satisfied. Delighted, even.