Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Get Me A Hydrospanner - and More Tickets to Star Wars!

I’ve seen The Force Awakens three times now, and it seems to get better with every viewing – or at least to further cement itself in my mind as a classic and outstanding episode of the saga.  Do I even need to warn you about spoilers?  Go see the movie!

I just can’t stop thinking about this film.  I’m awed by the magnificence of the casting.  Did Daisy Ridley fall out of another "more civilized age"?  She feels like she belongs to the Golden Age of movies.   And she’s perfect in this role!  She captures characteristics of both Luke and Han from the originals, but makes this character feel unique in her own right.  On my third viewing of the film she seemed more young and vulnerable than she had before, but that did nothing to diminish the strength and brilliance of Rey.  If anything, it reinforced the drama of her story and the significance of her agency.  Ms. Ridley has achieved a deep and resonant character that can morph into different versions, depending on our needs and expectations.


Lupita Nyong’o’s timeless voice breathes life into a thousand-year-old alien and makes me want to sit down at the bar in Maz’s castle and talk with her about the Jedi.  John Boyega’s Finn is often played for humor, but consider his more serious moments: “We all need to run” and that wonderful, desperate, almost suicidal dash across the ruins when Kylo abducts Rey.  It’s powerful stuff.  Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren is cruel and yet regal, crazy and conflicted.  In the mask, he stalks through the movie like a demonic vulture, poised to devour his prey.  There are scenes where his movements are so smooth and eerie he almost seems like a special effect – in a good way.  Even Poe Dameron seems to get cooler with every viewing.

There are so many fun puzzles to muse over.  Of course, there’s the obvious question of Rey’s heritage, but there are plenty of other matters to consider.  Did Luke personally battle the Knights of Ren when his Jedi Order fell?  Why is he reaching for R2 at what seems a pivotal moment?  Who is Snoke?  How much does Leia know about him and his influence?  Will the Republic be reborn?  Who will lead it?  Are we going to pick up with Episode VIII immediately after this film – or will we never know exactly what Luke first says to Rey?

Do you have complaints about this film?  “Let go, Luke!”  It’s like the cave on Dagobah – perhaps you’ve brought too much cynicism and negativity with you.  Are you really worried about science in a space fantasy movie?  How does Starkiller Base shoot across the cosmos? ... Who cares?  Maybe it burns a hole in the fabric of space-time.  Maybe it’s secretly fueled by the power of the Dark Side!  Star Wars needs big space-guns and gigantic explosions.  Why does R2-D2 wake so conveniently?  For the same reason that Han showed up at just the right moment during the Death Star assault in A New Hope – to make amazing cinema.  Outside the film, J.J. Abrams actually provides a fine explanation, too, about R2 processing data from his long-ago Death Star interface, and slowly reawakening after BB-8 prompts him for information.  But maybe Luke’s mechanical hand has transformed his connection with the Force, transcending the ordinary boundaries of organic life and forming a spiritual-mechanical link with R2, thus stirring the droid once there is a great disturbance in the Force.  Anything’s possible in Star Wars.


It’s derivative of A New Hope, you say?  Classic Star Wars was derivative of all sorts of stuff – but it still managed to be amazing, and the same holds true here.  To me this movie feels fresh and dynamic – watch Rey and Han when they arrive on Maz’s planet and Rey marvels at the lush landscape.  Han can’t quite believe that this kid still sees the universe with innocent eyes, but she does, and so should we.  Okay, maybe this movie isn’t as seamless as The Empire Strikes Back, but I think The Force Awakens has a better closing scene than Episode V.  Cliffhangers can be frustrating, but this is in the tradition of the inspirations behind Star Wars, like Flash Gordon.  Besides, it’s all just so beautiful – the scenery, the cinematography, the music.  And Rey’s look and gesture at the end all but say “Help us Luke Skywalker, you’re our only hope.”  Yet, just as in the original film, the true hope may reside not in the old teacher but in the young student – in this case, Rey herself.

The Force Awakens is well and truly Star Wars – and Star Wars triumphant!  The old characters are there, exploring new elements of a familiar galaxy.  The new characters are as archetypal as they can be without turning into carbon copies of the old ones: a scavenger letting go of a traumatic past, a deserter struggling with his place in the world, a prodigal son who breaks his parents’ hearts.  The music is glorious, the battles are exciting, and there is wonderful alien weirdness throughout!  And such tenderness: that moment with Rey wearing the Rebel pilot’s helmet while sitting beside the wrecked AT-AT is priceless.  I admire the reverence for the legacies of the saga, as when Rey’s force vision shows her – and us –  “the future, the past… old friends long gone.”  It’s all here and I’m going to savor every moment of it.  There’s a little dialogue running in my head…

Me: “I love you.”
The Force Awakens: “I know.”

No comments:

Post a Comment