The Star Wars franchise is perhaps the
most popular and beloved franchise ever; like the Coca Cola of soda and Ferrari
of sports cars. Releasing a decade after the completion of the previous
trilogy, it's been a long wait for fans, and not something that was necessarily
expected. To add to the anticipation, was the sale of the Star Wars
franchise to Disney in 2012; which left fans with questions as to how Disney
would choose to handle what was previously George Lucas's brainchild.
If commercial success is anything to go by, Star
Wars - The Force Awakens has already made big strides. It eclipsed Avatar
in the US in 2015 to take the no.1 spot, for all-time highest box office gross.
Globally it sits at no.3, just behind Titanic,
with predictions saying it'll make it to the no.2 spot eventually. So with all
the success, what was The Force Awakens
really like? In short, it's more of the same, and though some were left wanting
more, for the masses, J.J. Abrams delivers a repeat of the original formula that
works. The new narrative seems plausible, especially considering Episode VI
ended with a sense of closure to the series. In terms of look and feel, it's
more like the original trilogy versus the shiny and new Episodes 1, 2 and 3.
The setting, pace, characters, factions and overall plot is in line with the
original trilogy. The Death Star even has a bigger brother now! Most of the
favorite character’s return, albeit in a much older avatar. Hans Solo steals
the show; his performance being seamlessly in line with the original trilogy
that ended in 1983. Exhibiting the same spirit of adventure, sarcasm and fun,
only that now it seems comfortably legendary. The new characters are
interesting enough, though Kylo Ren played by Adam Driver was a bit
disappointing. While perhaps doing justice to his young conflicted side, his
sense of menacing was poor. Hopefully this will better develop in the following
movies. Speaking of which, there are a lot of open questions, so as audiences
wait for the next movie in the series to be released later this year, the
franchise has scope to intrigue and entertain.
If you're a Star Wars fun, you can't
help but go watch The Force Awakens. It's only the most talked about
movie in recent times, and the quickest to earn a billion dollars, in a record
12 days. As an old school Star Wars fan, you can also seek comfort in the
fact that though Disney owns the franchise, it still stays true to its roots,
and feels like George Lucas's epic space saga. For the discerning sci-fi viewer,
it fails to amaze, as its not sufficiently awe inspiring. BB8, the new droid to
join the ensemble is easily the cutest droid ever; who for most part is like an
adorable puppy dog.
I was able to experience Star Wars - The
Force Awaken in IMAX, and what an amazing experience it was. The positional
sound was excellent, and the intensity also stood out. Visual effects were in line
with what you'd expect from the Star Wars movies; the 3D being nice as
well.
My Recommendation: Watch It + (Star
Wars…. more of the same, in every sense)
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