Thursday, 31 March 2016

Star Wars The Force Awakens review



STAR WARS 4


 So I finally got around to watching Star Wars 4 the force awakens. Just so you know there is going to be spoilers here, if you haven’t seen the movie, go watch it already.

SPOILERS!

 And I have got to say it’s pretty good. After the abysmal prequel nonsense, it’s great to finally see the story from the first three movies actually continued.



 We are introduced to the first order, which seem to have replaced the empire as the big bad of the series. Its sightly odd that they have their own branding and uniforms, but some time has passed since the last movie.

 The Jedi are gone again, and no one believes they existed, which is strange. There is a major light-sabre wielding villain so I’m not sure how such disbelief can exist so soon. Maybe the big bad mind wiped the universe or something.

 That’s the general back drop; we are then introduced to some scavenger woman and a Stormtrooper. This seems like it’s going to be a ham-fisted romance. A romance hammered into a sci-fi because there has to be a straight male lead and a female object of his affection. 



 This seems like it’s going to be a little better as the hero is the woman and her love interest is played by an African American.





 But then Poe enters, and I almost think I see flirting from the two male leads, Finn the Storm trooper and Poe the rebel pilot. I think maybe the actors just had amazing chemistry. But no that’s actual flirting, there actually romancing each other. 




 I am amazed, a romance between two male characters in star wars. They have taken a tired and overused movie-trope and just altered it slightly, but it’s beautiful and it’s refreshing. 




 Some highlights for me were; Finn recognises Poe’s flying skills and is overjoyed to see he survived. Poe lets Finn keep wearing his team jacket, just like a high school romance, which is adorable. 





 I also have to say I like the practical effects, there was some CGI of course, but the movie didn’t seem too saturated with it.




 I am very happy that Finn is a great role model, a former Stormtrooper who becomes a Jedi. On top of that he’s played by an African American and is in love with a male rebel pilot. It’s great to see such inclusion. I remember watching the originals when I was a kid, I can’t imagine how more well-adjusted I would have been if Luke had had a male love interest, instead of his sister.



 My only concern is that this romance was only just developing; I worry that bigots will harass the team to destroy the romance. I hope they don’t retcon Poe and Finns love. It’s really the one thing that made this movie stand out. Otherwise it’s just kind of redoing the first movie.




 I hope the fans of Star Wars don’t allow the dark side of bigotry and hate to influence their appreciation of this movie.



 As it stands now with the burgeoning relationship between Finn and Poe i give this movie; 4 out of 5.



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