Star Wars 7: Force Awakens

IMDB info:

• 2015

• Director: JJ Abrams

• Writers: Lawrence Kasdan, JJ Abrams, Michael Arndt

• Cinematographer: David Mendel

Critic Reviews:

• Peter Bradshaw (The Guardian): "JJ Abrams and veteran co-writer Lawrence Kasdan have created a film which is both a narrative progression from the earlier three films and a shrewdly affectionate next-gen reboot of the original 1977 Star Wars — rather in the style of his tremendous re-imagining of the Kirk/Spock Star Trek. Familiar personae, situations and weapons will appear like covers or remixes, and meshed in with new storylines. This notice will be a safe space, incidentally, with a trigger warning only for basic plot points and material already in the public domain. ..JJ Abrams has an instinctive sympathy for the classic Star Wars landscapes and lays them out with élan: the switch from galaxies to shadowy forests and of course vast rippling deserts. In almost her first appearance, Rey is seen tobogganing down a huge dune on a sled made of rope. For me it’s a reminder that though the first Star Wars was avowedly inspired by Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress, I think it originally derived its look from David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia or even the dreamscapes of Dalí."

• Justin Chang (Variety): "Marvelous as it is to catch up with Han Solo, Leia and the rest of the gang, fan service takes priority here over a somewhat thin, derivative story that, despite the presence of two appealing new stars, doesn’t exactly fire the imagination anew...By contrast, “The Force Awakens” feels disarmingly swift and light on its feet, possessed of a comic sensibility that embraces contemporary wisecrackery and earnest humor in equal measure. Shot on 35mm film (plus some 65mm Imax footage), in a decisive refutation of Lucas’ all-digital aesthetic, Abrams’ movie has grit under its nails and blood in its veins, as we see in an early battle sequence in which an Imperial Stormtrooper’s white helmet is suddenly streaked with red...Abrams’ filmmaking has enough dynamism and sweep to zip us along for much of the fast-paced 135-minute running time, and for impressive stretches he achieves the action-packed buoyancy of the old Saturday morning serials that partly inspired “Star Wars” in the first place. At once polished and pleasingly rough-hewn, Dan Mindel’s lensing alternates between stately landscape compositions and nimble camera movements as the situation requires, while editors Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey prove as attentive to the coherence of the action sequences as to the rhythm of the overall narrative, while making adroit use of the signature side-swiping scene transitions...In the end, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” suggests the work of a filmmaker who faced the exciting yet unenviable task of partially reassembling one of the most beloved ensembles in movie history, furthering their characters’ adventures in a meaningful fashion, and helping them pass the baton from one generation of action figures to the next — and emerged, in the end, with a compromise solution that, even when it’s not firing on all cylinders, has been put across with sufficient style, momentum, love and care to prove irresistible to any who have ever considered themselves fans."

Narrative: unrestricted and omniscient, viewers have access to all information about what each side is doing. 

Main Characters: 

• Ray - driven and resourceful; She proves herself as worthy of a Star Wars heroine when she first meets Finn. Finn sees her in danger and goes to save her, but before he get to her, she saves herself proving she is quick thinking and can fight. 
• Finn - uncertain, but loyal; He is uncertain as stormtrooper and uncertain as a hero; He cares for Ray immediately but when he has a chance to run, he almost takes it; When Ray is taken by Kylo Ren, proves his loyalty by going after her, no matter what.
• Kylo Ren - Determined and driven; he is set on a path towards evil and even his father can change his mind
• Poe - resourceful and smart; He is the "best fighter pilot" according to Finn; He is supposedly dead after a tie-fighter crashes but we, of course, see he later attack and destroy the new empire weapon.

Explicit meaning: After finding each other through impossible circumstances, a rag-tag bunch launches a desperate plan to destroy a new super weapon devised by the new First Order regime (a revision of the Empire).

Implicit meaning: Determination and loyalty will always find a way to succeed.

Implicit Meaning Scene: saber fight between Kylo Ren and Ray/Finn. 

• Setting: snowy night in the forest on the base planet of the First Order's new weapon. Everything has a cool blue tone so when the sabers are on they glow eerily. 
• Kylo Ren and Finn duel first and Finn is injured. Luke Skywalker's lightsaber rolls away in the snow. Ray runs to help Finn but it stopped by Kylo Ren. He reaches out with the force to take the lost saber, but it flies past him to Ray, who takes up the duel. Kylo Ren definitely has the upper hand over the diminutive Ray until she is stopped at the edge of a cliff. We can see the calm determination of the force take over her demeanor, and soon Kylo Ren is on the defensive. It seems as though Ray is almost ready to take the final swing, when the ground gives way and splits the two. Ray runs to Finn to make sure he is alive. 

Judgment: I agree with Peter Bradshaw, this was a fun film and it lived up to the promise of episodes 4, 5 & 6. It was a fast paced action film. Though I think the Justin Chang has a point, there are a few too many similarities to A New Hope, it is Star Wars. It is simply what any fan could hope for. Ray is refreshing as a protagonist. She is a role model for all girls to look up to. Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia was never really given much opportunity to be the swashbuckling heroine, so it is even sweeter to have the main hero of this story a girl. I can't wait for the next one.