I have now seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens twice and believe my initial reaction was probably right. It’s a more than solid 4 stars film with some great new characters in Daisy Ridley‘s Ray and John Boyega‘s Finn. There are perfectly executed comic moments and a big emotional emotional punch.
SPOILERS BEWARE.
If you haven’t seen Star Wars stop reading as this article discusses the big emotional punch of the film.
Still here? Good.
So Kylo Ren is really Ben Solo, Han Solo’s son, who in a gut wrenching scene kills his father. An emotional Adam Driver utters the line, “There is something I need to do but don’t know if I have the strength, will you help me?” The light side is the seductive power Ben Solo is trying to resist, Han and the audience hope he means he needs strength to turn back to his family but as he kills his father he commits to his future as Kylo Ren. Director J.J. Abrams recently spoke about why the scene had to happen.
“Star Wars had the greatest villain in cinema history (Darth Vader), so, how you bring a new villain into that world is a very tricky thing. We knew we needed to do something fucking bold. The only reason why Kylo Ren has any hope of being a worthy successor is because we lose one of the most beloved characters. It’s this massive tradeoff. How can we possibly do that!? But… if we hadn’t done that, the movie wouldn’t have any guts at all. It felt very dangerous”.
It is just as shocking when you know it’s coming. In the character of Kylo Ren through one film Abrams achieved what the prequels failed to do over 3 films. To effectively show the descent of an immature Jedi to the dark side and the emotional cost of that decision. Kylo Ren is almost adolescent with his anger making him more complex that Vader.
The Force Awakens is a great ride but its main flaw is the parallels to Episode IV: A New Hope making some plot points predictable. However I have just booked some tickets to see it for the 3rd time!!
#Peace.Love.StarWars
