Finally I was able to admire this highly anticipated feature film. Although, I wasn’t waiting impatiently for this new episode, like so many millions of other Star Wars fans. I always have to think hard while trying to situate this Star Wars movie in the whole saga. All that prequel, sequel or semi-sequel mumbo jumbo isn’t something I’m thrilled about. To be honest it annoys me immensely. When I was an 11-year-old boy I went to the theater, together with an uncle, to watch the very first Star Wars movie. Afterwards I came out of the theater totally flabbergasted. It just knocked me of my feet. This was, at that time, never seen in any previous movie and was quite impressive. Especially for a young boy like me. The following two sequels build further on these foundations and kept the magic around Star Wars alive.
The magic disappeared for me the moment Episode I [The Phantom Menance] (to be clear, not the very first movie, but the first movie in the complete saga) came out. Hopefully they won’t release an episode situated even further in time, otherwise they have to renumber the whole shazam again. Don’t get me wrong. Episode I wasn’t bad looking! That would be a joke. I’m sure that 22 years after the first original film was made, the filming techniques and the creation of computer animations improved significantly. Not? So for me the package on its own was more stylish and impressive, but the content was soulless. I had such a “lets-think-up-yet-another-episode” feeling (and that feeling stayed the next two films). Commercially The Force Awakens was a masterstroke. “Let’s go back to the essence and the spirit of the first movie” the masterminds of Lucasfilm thought. Maybe “The Force” woke up in this film. In my eyes it’s just a harmless pilot flame that’s left.
R2D2, C3PO and Chewbacca stood the test of time well. The only ones who couldn’t stop their aging process, are Han Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker. However, you can only see the latter for a few minutes. That’s just to make sure there’s room for some more sequels. And again, lets hope there won’t be a prequel for this one, otherwise you can expect a Star Wars 4.2 and 5.2.
However, I was wondering if the story, some events and the ultimate outcome hasn’t been used before. Yes indeed. Just put the original film next to this version, and you’ll soon find several analogies. And that even without a magnifying glass. It all looks well polished and stunning (the chase scene with Rey controlling the Millennium Falcon while being chased by two Tie Fighters, is breathtaking), but it had less impact on me as the very first film. I even knew when the famous phrase “May the Force be with you” would be used. I think there’s also a tiny, small “force” inside me!
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is out now on DVD, Blu-ray and via on-demand services.
Peter Pluymers
For more of Peter Pluymers’ movie reviews, check out My Opinion as a Movie-Freak
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television
