 |
| How it all began. |
A long time ago, in a town far, far away… I can’t remember how old I was when that Star
Destroyer first flew overhead, blocking out the sky – maybe five or six? I
know that I saw Star Wars on ITV,
that I was too young to see Empire at
the cinema, or had completely missed it by the time I saw the first one. I saw Jedi at the cinema, but it would be
another year, maybe two before I saw Empire.
Much of my childhood was spent obsessed with everything Star Wars. I had a
healthy collection of figures and ships, none of which I have now, for reasons
of ill-advised putting away of childish things, or even more ill-advised
experiments in inflicting realistic-looking battle damage, following a dire
convergence of circumstances involving a scorching hot day, a magnifying glass
and poor, poor Zuckus.
When I first met my now-wife, I took her to an all-day
marathon of the original trilogy, as she’d never seen any of them. With
hindsight, I’m not sure what my motivations were – wanting her to share
one of my passions, or a test to see if my suspicious fondness for Wookiees
would send her backing slowly out of the room. Luckily for me, she stuck
around, though it’s fair to say she tolerates rather than shares my affinity
for all things in that galaxy far, far away. However, our daughter is very much
a fan. I can’t begin to imagine how that happened.
The arrival of the prequels, however, began to change
everything. People make comparisons now between the hype and weight of
expectations for The Force Awakens and
what we saw back in 1998–99 for The
Phantom Menace. I can only assume I was as excited as everyone else, but I
remember nothing about this time – the much-vaunted trailer, the
marketing, going to see the film itself, what I thought of it. The whole
experience has been wiped away. It’s as if my mind cried out in pain and was
suddenly silenced. I remember thinking that Attack
of the Clones was, at least, an improvement (though that’s less certain
with hindsight), and I remember going in to Revenge
of the Sith with a sense of grim obligation, only to be (slightly)
pleasantly surprised – at least until the notorious ‘Noooooooo!’
 |
| From http://www.deviantart.com/art/Darth-Vader-Brand-Nooooooo-s-Cereal-Tshirt-Design-367971806 |
I still can't quite believe that made it to the final film.
Fuck’s sake, George.
Having recently revisited the prequels with my daughter, they’re not all bad. They have their moments. But these are few and far between. I find them turgid, humourless, confused, unmemorable affairs, with no appealing characters, questionable, wooden performances, empty spectacle and a sickly synthetic sheen courtesy of over-reliance on the not-fully developed CGI of the era. One of the things that’s great about the original trilogy is that all of the main cast, but especially Han, seem like ordinary people in an extraordinary environment. There’s nothing to ground the prequels. Everybody, with the possible exception of Ewan McGregor, is a dead-eyed sci-fantasy cipher.
The prequels left me bruised, dejected, hoping that would be
an end to it. There would always be the originals, of course, but there was
clearly no need for any more. The announcement of The Force Awakens, then, led to many conflicting feelings. A new,
young cast of nigh-unknowns combined with some icons from the original trilogy,
a new director, no George Lucas… all of these could be either promising signs
or portents of doom. The trailers looked great, but as others repeatedly
mentioned, this is exactly what happened with The Phantom Menace. I tried my hardest to remain cautiously
optimistic while reining in my enthusiasm. Right up until last night. Right up
until this.
Until Jimmy Fallon, the Roots and the cast performed an a cappella medley of Star Wars themes. That was it. Defences broken down. I was all in. A few hours later, I found myself in a pub full of bearded men in Millennium Falcon and Stormtrooper T-shirts (and my friend Martin in full Emperor (bath)robe), awaiting the midnight screening. It was actually happening.
It didn’t disappoint. Far from it.
I will avoid spoilers, for there are many things to spoil, but The Force Awakens is both a fantastically entertaining film in its own right, and a symbolic passing of the torch between generations. Much of the speculation and hype has focused on the presence of the old guard, but in truth it’s the new kids – Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Adam Driver and, especially, Daisy Ridley – who are the backbone of this film. It’s an expansion of the original trilogy, building on its elements, establishing new aspects of the mythology and moving forward. And, crucially, it’s built on character, on ordinary people in an extraordinary environment. Finn and Rey are our point-of-view characters, everypeople thrust into a world they – and we – don’t fully understand. They’re immensely likeable, compelling, funny and have a real chemistry between them. But fans of the original cast (and who isn’t?) won’t be disappointed either. Speaking as a massive Chewbacca fan, who feels the character has been somewhat under-utilised in the past, this film made my furry heart gronk furiously with joy.
I will avoid spoilers, for there are many things to spoil, but The Force Awakens is both a fantastically entertaining film in its own right, and a symbolic passing of the torch between generations. Much of the speculation and hype has focused on the presence of the old guard, but in truth it’s the new kids – Oscar Isaac, John Boyega, Adam Driver and, especially, Daisy Ridley – who are the backbone of this film. It’s an expansion of the original trilogy, building on its elements, establishing new aspects of the mythology and moving forward. And, crucially, it’s built on character, on ordinary people in an extraordinary environment. Finn and Rey are our point-of-view characters, everypeople thrust into a world they – and we – don’t fully understand. They’re immensely likeable, compelling, funny and have a real chemistry between them. But fans of the original cast (and who isn’t?) won’t be disappointed either. Speaking as a massive Chewbacca fan, who feels the character has been somewhat under-utilised in the past, this film made my furry heart gronk furiously with joy.
 |
| From Chewbacca #1 by Phil Noto |
There are criticisms to be made, though. In trying to
balance the old and the new, JJ Abrams occasionally tips a little too far into the nostalgic side of
things. A few moments amount to little more than ‘Hey! Remember this minor
detail?’ and come across as cheap, and there are some concepts and sequences that
are needlessly recycled when a new vision may have been more desirable. Part of
this, of course, may be the fact that events in the Star Wars universe are
cyclical, as we’ve seen before and will no doubt see again. Part of it is, as
mentioned, a passing of the torch. This is a bridge between old and new, but
the former doesn’t overshadow the latter.
To illustrate this point… it was notable that there were several spontaneous rounds of applause throughout the film. I understand that American audiences can often be a bit more audible in their appreciation of movies, but we Britishers are largely reticent. Applause just simply does not happen at a film, so this was remarkable in itself. And there were multiple nostalgia-fuelled outbursts here – for the crawl, the first appearance of the Falcon, of Han & Chewie, of Leia, C-3PO… But the biggest, most enthusiastic one was reserved for an unbelievably wonderful, heart-stopping, lump-in-throat, fuck-yeah moment for Rey, for Daisy Ridley. It was extremely telling. She’s our hero. In two days’ time, when I see it again with my family, I’m pretty confident she’ll be my daughter’s hero too.
Torch passed.
To illustrate this point… it was notable that there were several spontaneous rounds of applause throughout the film. I understand that American audiences can often be a bit more audible in their appreciation of movies, but we Britishers are largely reticent. Applause just simply does not happen at a film, so this was remarkable in itself. And there were multiple nostalgia-fuelled outbursts here – for the crawl, the first appearance of the Falcon, of Han & Chewie, of Leia, C-3PO… But the biggest, most enthusiastic one was reserved for an unbelievably wonderful, heart-stopping, lump-in-throat, fuck-yeah moment for Rey, for Daisy Ridley. It was extremely telling. She’s our hero. In two days’ time, when I see it again with my family, I’m pretty confident she’ll be my daughter’s hero too.
Torch passed.
