{"id":18866,"date":"2016-01-14T21:11:19","date_gmt":"2016-01-14T11:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=18866"},"modified":"2019-12-28T23:35:38","modified_gmt":"2019-12-28T13:35:38","slug":"star-wars-episode-vii-the-force-awakens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/?p=18866","title":{"rendered":"Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"forceawakensposter\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Contains spoilers<\/em><\/p>\n

Director: \u00a0<\/strong>JJ Abrams
\nWriter: \u00a0<\/strong>Some Guy
\nCast: \u00a0<\/strong>Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac<\/p>\nI<\/span>t starts with a giddy sense of anticipation and excitement when the yellow text begins to trawl across the screen, accompanied by John Williams\u2019 signature fanfare.\u00a0 Then a palpable sense of relief as the opening scenes unfold and everything feels right.\u00a0 They\u2019ve done it!<\/em>\u00a0 JJ Abrams and his team have delivered the Star Wars<\/em> film we wanted – an honest to God, bona fide successor to the Original Trilogy.<\/p>\n

The film follows the narrative arc of A New Hope <\/em>closely \u2013 perhaps a little too closely for some \u2013 but through the eyes of a new generation of characters – wide eyed, fresh faced and a little more diverse.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s Rey (Daisy Ridley), a scavenger on the desert planet of Jakku played by newcomer Daisy Ridley.\u00a0 She is fiercely independent and the Force flows through her as though she is the heir apparent to Luke Skywalker.\u00a0 One of my favourite scenes\u00a0in A Force Awakens<\/em> is during a rare moment of peace and quiet in which Rey sits next to a dilapidated AT-AT wearing an oversized helmet, pretending she\u2019s shooting tie fighters in space.\u00a0 It\u2019s a small, low key moment in a film that is about bombast and spectacle but it\u2019s the scene that won me over with both Rey\u2019s character and Abram\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Finn (John Boyega), a young Stormtrooper with a conscience who abandons his post after seeing how the newly minted Dark Side army known as the First Order wipe out the farmers of a small village.\u00a0 Finn is enthusiastic, clumsy and as yet doesn\u2019t have any of the skill or bravado that a Han Solo might have.\u00a0 He is probably one of the most relatable characters to every grace the Star Wars universe and the idea of seeing the world through a Storm Troopers eyes is such a good one it\u2019s a wonder they haven\u2019t tried this earlier.<\/p>\n

Finn, Rey and their robot companion BB8 (presumably a distant cousin of R2D2) are easily the highlight of the film for me and as a result, it\u2019s the opening act of The Force Awakens<\/em> that is my favourite.<\/p>\n

\"kyloren\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Gradually, the scope of the film expands and some familiar old faces return.\u00a0 We also learn more about the new threat known as the First Order lead by the mysterious General Snoke and young Kylo Ren \u2013 the estranged son of Han and Leia – who worships a shrine dedicated to Darth Vader and is immersed in the Dark Side of the Force.<\/p>\n

Abrams has skilfully pulled off a delicate balancing act with The Force Awakens<\/em>, both paying homage to the themes and mythology of the Star Wars<\/em> universe that makes it so popular but also injecting it with fresh, contemporary characters that give reason for fans to want to look forward rather than simply reliving a Star Wars<\/em> Greatest Hits collection.\u00a0 It\u2019s a credit to Boyega and Ridley that after the initial buzz wore off from seeing Han Solo and Chewbacca on screen, I was ready to get back to focusing on Rey and Finn.<\/p>\n

Where JJ Abrams succeeds with The Force Awakens<\/em> and George Lucas bombed so spectacularly with the Prequel Trilogy is recapturing the breezy, swashbuckling sense of fun that embodied the Original Trilogy.\u00a0 The Force Awakens<\/em> is a very funny film and it moves like gangbusters.\u00a0 The space battles and the light sabre fights are enthralling fun that should spark the imagination of the audience\u2019s inner ten year old.\u00a0 Mercifully, it is free of the clunky and wooden dialogue that plagued the Prequel films; instead it serves up zingers and one liners that should warm anyone and everyone on the new characters.<\/p>\n

Where the film stumbles a little is with some of the peripheral characters, particularly the non-human ones, who came off a little bland to me.\u00a0 I don\u2019t believe for a second that the likes of the Unkar Plutt (the junkboss of Jakku)\u00a0or Maz Kanata\u00a0will be remembered as vividly as the likes of Yoda, the Ewoks or even Admiral Akbar.<\/p>\n

JJ Abram is a director whose body of work polarizes audiences.\u00a0 He is rightfully lauded for his accomplishments with the hit tv show Lost<\/em> but even the most ardent supporters would acknowledge that he couldn\u2019t quite stick the landing.\u00a0 With the new Star Wars<\/em> trilogy, that burden of responsibility doesn\u2019t rest with him.\u00a0 Instead, directors Rian Johnson and Colin Treverrow will take the reigns.\u00a0 Abrams was tasked with reinvigorating the Star Wars <\/em>series and infusing it with a fresh cast and he has handled his assignment with aplomb.<\/p>\n

One thing I\u2019ve noticed in the weeks after the film\u2019s release is the wild speculation that has built up over the many unexplained narrative gaps that The Force Awakens<\/em> leaves in its wake.\u00a0 By moving the story along at such a brisk pace, there are plenty of unanswered questions.\u00a0 Who is the man at the start of the film who knows of Luke\u2019s whereabouts?\u00a0 How did Maz\u00a0come to possess his lightsaber?\u00a0 What is Rey\u2019s lineage?\u00a0 Personally, I hope that when Rian Johnson picks up the mantle, he doesn\u2019t sweat the small stuff.\u00a0 I think overthinking a light hearted romp through a galaxy far, far away is what gave us \u2018midichlorians\u2019.<\/p>\n

Listening to the multitude of opinions on Star Wars<\/em>, its interesting to hear what the series means to different viewers and subsequently whether they thought The Force Awakens<\/em> delivered.\u00a0 Some people loved it.\u00a0 Others bemoaned the lack of detail or how overly familiar it felt.\u00a0 I even know someone who wished it could\u2019ve been more like The Phantom Menace<\/em> (they\u2019re young).<\/p>\n

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For me, Star Wars<\/em> is the story of the Hero\u2019s Journey \u2013 what once was Luke\u2019s and now is Rey\u2019s.\u00a0 It\u2019s about larger than life characters and memorable moments.\u00a0 The trench run in A New Hope<\/em>.\u00a0 Vader\u2019s revelation to Luke in Empire<\/em>.\u00a0 That lightsabre showdown in Return of the Jedi<\/em>.\u00a0 I revel in the series\u2019 tropes and motifs \u2013 the John Williams score, the distinctive hum of the lightsabre and the indecipherable speech of Chewie and R2.<\/p>\n

The Force Awakens<\/em> has its big moment (the worst spoiler of 2015).\u00a0 It has a fine new hero in Rey.\u00a0 There are plenty of new good guys to root for and villains to jeer.\u00a0 It looks, feels, walks and talks like Star Wars<\/em> should.\u00a0 Judged on those merits, I think The Force Awakens<\/em> is an unqualified success.\u00a0 It was everything I wanted it to be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three decades after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, a new threat arises.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[2365,2358,2363,2355,194,2364,1763,779],"class_list":["post-18866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-films","tag-adam-driver","tag-carrie-fisher","tag-daisy-ridley","tag-harrison-ford","tag-jj-abrams","tag-john-boyega","tag-oscar-isaac","tag-star-wars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18866"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19062,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18866\/revisions\/19062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thefatwebsite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}