January 6: Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015 -- J. J. Abrams)

★★★★

We’re overdue a Star Wars movie that doesn’t involve a two-pronged attack on a Death Star.  It’s surprising that JJ Abrams would turn to that plot yet again.

But everything else works great in The Force Awakens, especially its nostalgic, change-of-era mood.  Camera and lighting show Hans Solo, Leia and Luke as out of shape, stooped, wrinkled and weathered by time and experience, while Rey, Finn and Poe are energetic, open, strong and eager.  Even R2D2 yields narrative time to BB-8, and Kylo Ren has emerged as a boyish-faced Darth Vader bad guy.  To his credit, Abrams makes this transition one of the themes of the film.  The older generation provides knowledge, advice, connections and support to the new characters, while the young bring their sincerity and passion.  And a strength here is that the older still have important contributions to make in the continuing fight against the Dark Side.

And this central theme aside, there are other strong elements to the film.  It’s got great visuals, especially the large-scale shots of the wrecked Imperial Destroyer and the special effects around the battles.  The story moves quickly, too, and the stakes rise as it goes from Jakku – where we meet Rey with no backstory – to the Star Killer base. There are moments of wit, like when a laser shot is suspended in the air by Ren only to suddenly burst forward after he leaves, and there are moments of drama, loss and sadness.  The new actors bring a freshness to their roles, especially John Boyega as Finn.  He launches into Finn with all the game energy and sincerity that Buster Crabbe gives to Flash Gordon.  Also, kudos to Abrams for the satisfying references to and embellishments on the earlier films; these rarely seem like superfluous fan feed.  The Force Awakens leaves us satisfied and interested in Rian Johnson’s next installment, when we’ll be able to learn more about the relations among the different characters.

This film is a fun time at the movies and even works on a meta- level.  Just as Hans, Leia and Luke are handing to a new generation the battle with the Dark Side, so does The Force Awakens represent the George Lucas generation handing this cinematic myth to the next generation.  It’s off to a strong start here.