As I sat in the movie theater waiting for Star Wars: The Force Awakens to begin, I noticed all the children arriving. I was distressed when a family with two children under the age of three sat not far from me. Another child had some kind of light up toy and was spinning it so it cast a green light throughout the theater.
One of the ads before the movie started was selling Star Wars pet toys. The pets were complaining that they didn’t get to go to the movie with their owners. I have seen Star Wars branded products from toys to oranges. It made me wonder if I had paid to see a movie-length commercial. SPOILER ALERT: I am now going to discuss the film assuming you have either seen it or don’t mind reading about details of the plot.
The movie was fun. I enjoyed it. I was surprised to see a storm trooper who is unwilling to kill people. I wanted to know more about how that happened. I loved that the primary protagonist was a woman who doesn't need others to rescue her. I was delighted that no one commented on her appearance. The variety and diversity in the casting are important and appropriate. This film even passes the Bechdel-Wallace test!
The Force Awakens reminded me of the three original Star Wars movies more than the three prequels, but it had shades of those, too. In fact, it reminded me of the prior movies too much. We started on a sand planet with scavengers. We had an orphaned character who adopts a droid. A short wise alien gave advice. The force was used to escape. A man battled with his father. Planets were destroyed by a horrible weapon and then the weapon was destroyed. It felt like returning to an old home that had been updated and redecorated by new owners, but was still essentially the same place. Although the film received initial praise, more recent reviews have been more critical of its derivative nature.
As has been well documented, the plot didn’t make sense. I kept asking questions that the film didn’t answer. It was a good versus evil parable, but it didn’t say much more than evil is like the Nazis and good must fight evil. The real title should have been Star Wars 3 7: The Search for Luke. However, how and where we found him was also baffling.
I imagined a script meeting for the 2013 Star Trek film, Into Darkness, where J.J. Abrams says to the Star Trek screenwriters, “Just take your favorite moments from earlier episodes and films and rework them. That’s what I am doing with Star Wars.” The prior Star Trek picture, also helmed by J.J. Abrams had some of the same issues as this one: too much rehash and a plot that didn’t make sense. Into Darkness lacked all of The Force Awakens’ positive traits, and is a far less faithful shadow of the original.
And unfortunately, that is what these two recent revivals of old beloved “Star” series have in common: they are nostalgic copies. They are action-adventure rollercoaster rides that dazzle our eyes, leave our hearts pounding, our heads spinning, but take us nowhere except back where we started. They are products designed to sell toys, merchandise, DVDs, and movie tickets. They exploit our fondness for Stars past by copying the shell but neglecting the substance. The recent Star Wars picture does much to modernize the franchise and bring it into the twenty-first century. It even feels more like the original trilogy. But it should have been so much more.
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