The Force Awakens...

It came. After many years. I saw it. It did not conquer my heart.

Not quite, but it came damn close! I salute director J.J. Abrams and his team for delivering a success. They certainly had all the odds against them.



The opening battle didn't thrill me. As a designer, I'd have started a little more dramatically after the audience had waited for 40-odd years. However, Sith master Kylo Ren/Ben was initially very impressive. I loved his design, with the voice being OMG-cool!


Soon, things start feeling a bit familiar with FN-2781/Finn and his exploits aboard the First Order battleship where he rescues Resistance pilot Poe Dameron. This feeling progresses when we're shown scavenger Rey's exploits on Jakku, a planet very much like Tattooine. We identify with the mission of the lovable BB8-droid entrusted with the map to Luke Skywalker's location.



We are FIRMLY back in the saddle shortly thereafter. Han Solo and Chewbacca show up to re-take control of the Millennium Falcon. Harrison Ford plays his role extremely well, and Chewie is awesome as always. At times, he provides some comic relief.


Overall, the tone of the film is nowhere near as dark and gritty as I would have liked. Sure, there are some chilling "Heil Hitler!" Stormtrooper scenes, but they're few and far-between. Then again, that's probably personal preference. I would have enjoyed if it were similar to The Dark Knight reboots. Having said that, there are a few moments when X-Wings swoop in that had me going, "Hellyeah!" The explosions and special effects are as orgasmic as you'd expect.

The plot and storyline are similar to something I could have easily dreamed up on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Not great. They just go for what's easy and guaranteed to be popular. Having said that, I did enjoy most of the flashbacks to past memories like General Leia Organa. So, the storyline's not awesome, but its execution is near flawless. BIG budget and grand. Star Wars is always epic in scale, and The Force Awakens was no exception.

I enjoyed it. I didn't really expect to. Pretty good acting overall, excellent costume design and a super setup for the future. They certainly have the platform for a marvellous story in years to come.

Let's hope so.
15/21
:-)

One minor gripe; the film dragged on past several poignant potential endings. That alone gets a -1.

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