This review requires some background information about my relationship with the Star Wars franchise: i.e. that no such relationship, other than a basic knowledge, exists.
I saw A New Hope in theaters when it was re-released in the 1990's and demanded my parents buy a box set of all three Star Wars films on VHS. I promptly didn't watch them. I didn't see The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi until...I think it was 2011-ish. I watched them with a friend who was so into Star Wars that she dragged me to the 3D re-release of The Phantom Menace. Which I fell asleep during (although no one can blame me for that). I also watched the Star Wars Holiday Special around this time, which is one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen. Star Wars Holiday Special just might be my favorite of the Star Wars movies (it counts as canon!!).
So, as you can see, my interest in the Star Wars films is very slim. I had zero intention of seeing The Force Awakens because...why? People said it was an important cultural moment. But if you are thoroughly disinterested in baseball, would you watch the World Series just because it's "important"?
But yesterday I went and saw The Force Awakens with my parents and damn if I didn't thoroughly enjoy it.
1) It uses simple storytelling
My fear going in is that I would get totally lost trying to follow the plot. I'm really bad at following two genres of films: science-fiction and heist movies (fuck Ocean's Eleven, by the way). And with the added confusion of weird names, numerous planets, and crazy weapons, I thought I would be a goner.
But The Force Awakens is an incredibly simple film. First Order vs. The Resistance. A map to Luke Skywalker. Kylo Ren is Han and Leia's kid (spoiler? Y'all probably already saw the movie). These basic aspects of the plot are repeated throughout so that even a 7 year old can follow the film, which is exactly the point. The movie also focuses on action rather than complicated intergalactic politics. It was pure popcorn fun, but with...
2) A little bit of emotion
Just as I found myself genuinely touched by Harry Potter's realization in The Prisoner of Azkaban that the figure creating a Patronus spell he thought was his father was actually Harry himself, I have to say that the whole emo Kylo Ren plot in The Force Awakens got to me. Come on, when he (spoiler) kills Han!? That's some cold shit. Full disclosure: I fucking love Adam Driver. The dude is like the epitome of a guy who seems both dangerous and vulnerable. Like he might slip a roofie into your drink, but he's just as likely to curl up into your arms for a hug. Good choice on casting, there, JJ Abrams. Driver's Kylo Ren is pathetic and despicable, but also oddly sympathetic. Instead of a Byronic hero, he's a Byronic villain.
The Force Awakens isn't a drama, but it has enough emotion to make you invested in the characters and their fate.
3) A black dude and a woman are the main characters
THANK YOU. According to a recent survey, the number of lead and secondary female roles has actually dropped in the past ten years. Things are even worse for black characters, many of whom are relegated to films aimed specifically at black audiences (which isn't a bad thing, but it'd be nice for more racial diversity in films that are meant to appeal to all demographics). But The Force Awakens took a bet on casting a white woman (Daisy Ridley as Rey) and a black man (John Boyega as Finn) as the main characters. And that bet paid off. Ridley and Boyega are fucking excellent and, frankly, the diversity just makes sense in the Star Wars universe, which is populated not just by a diversity of humans, but a diversity of species.
Some folks complained about the fact that Lupita Nyong'o, the talented Kenyan actress who starred as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave, was cast as an otherworldly creature (Maz) in The Force Awakens, and I totally get that beef since there is a long history in media of depicting black women as exotic creatures. However I think that the diverse casting in The Force Awakens (in addition to Charlize Theron's lead role in this summer's Mad Max) portends really good things for women and people of color in genres that normally exclude or pigeonhole them.
***
There are many other things I enjoyed about The Force Awakens (howsabout that music during the bar scene at Maz's...written by Lin-Manuel Miranda!), but I think you all get the picture. I may never be a full-blown Star Wars fangirl, but I can say that The Force Awakens brought me over to the light side...at least a little bit.
Grade: A
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