Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Content by Tony Macklin. Originally published on December 16, 2015 @ tonymacklin.net.

The Force wobbles.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is one of those films in which the elaborate special effects overwhelm character. [The exception is the superior Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, out now on DVD.]

Action films today depend ad nauseam on redundancy. But if you've seen one stormtrooper in white shot and destroyed, do you really need to see 3,600 more of them blasted - often one by one?

But the Star Wars franchise may be inviolate. The more redundancy the better.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the story of how the Resistance and others defend themselves and their society against the ferocious assault by the evil The First Order. A motley gang of free spirits fights for their very existence.

The newest film does have its assets. Harrison Ford is terrific in his reappearance as Han Solo. Joyfulness seems dead and gone in the latest venture, but Ford still has his inimitable bravado. Of all the actors he seems to be having the most fun.

Oscar Isaac brings welcome, fresh humanity to the franchise as pilot Poe Dameron. Ford and Isaac invest their characters with indomitable human spirit.

Less memorable are the actors who portray two other leading main characters. Daisy Ridley as Rey, scavenger turned heroine, and John Boyega as Finn, a stormtrooper turned rebel, are little more than adequate.

Adam Driver has a difficult role as Kylo Ren, but his character is only a dollop of complexity in a simple world. Domhnall Gleeson, as General Hux, is a stock character - the most superficial performance in his career.

Carrie Fisher is drab as Leia, now a general. Fisher has no personality.

Fortunately, a droid prevails. The droid - BB8 - has more unspoken personality than most of the other actors together. At one point, Rey says, "Actually the droid's not for sale." Actually he is.

A villain calls him a "toy." Parents, alert.

J.J. Adams directs full throttle. The original Star Wars (1977), directed by George Lucas, delighted people of all ages, including impressionable young children who as adults have fond memories galore. The latest Star Wars is not for small children. If the original created dreams, the latest creates nightmares. It's in no way for small children. It's full of torture, anxiety, threat, annihilation, and death.

"The villagers."

"Kill them all."

The anti-climactic ending is trudging, not soaring.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is full of spatial potholes caused by explosions. But its saving graces are the fervid spirits of Harrison Ford and Oscar Isaac, and the gentle nature of BB8.

Roll, droid, roll.

May the droid be with you.

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