The Force Awakens - a No-Spoiler Review

Rey and BB-8

Last week I went to Swedens first commercial IMAX theatre to watch Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens. I was not disappointed.

Non-spoiler Impressions and Review

There is a lot to like in The Force Awakens, but the most important thing is that it actually feels like I'm watching a 'proper' Star Wars movie again! While watching it I was awed by the production design, props and creature design as pretty much all of feels like it fits perfectly into the Star Wars universe. Just like when I watched The Fellowship of the Ring for the first time, I almost got a little teary eyed watching TFA as there are so many moments that I had seen in my minds eye since I was a kid and somehow they had been translated perfectly to the silver screen!

Still, when walking out of the theatre I felt happy to have seen a new Star Wars movie but it took me a day to really process it and discover my interest in the setting being rekindled. Don't get me wrong, I've always been a Star Wars fan, but ever since the disappointements of the prequals my enthusiasm has been somewhat dampened. That might have happened anyway, naturally over time, but the prequals certainly didn't help. However, now I suddenly find myself properly excited about Star Wars and the future of Star Wars for the first time in 15 years!

Say what you want of the entire saga, but even including the prequals, I kind of felt that it has grown a little stale. Hmm... that's probably the wrong word for it, but it very much felt like everything had been done. An x-wing is an x-wing is an x-wing. Kind of. Now it's all new and dynamic and fun again and I feel like that time when I was a little kid and learned that there was more than one Star Wars movie! Just having that feeling of apprehension and wanting to see what happens next, what kind of cool spaceships and planets we'll see and just following these great characters again.

Another thing that occured to me was how nice it was to have a Star Wars movie for grownups again. The prequals always felt like the aimed squarely for the younger age bracket and even though I quite enjoy Star Wars Rebels (and to a much lesser extent the Clone Wars) the same is true there. The Force Awakens, while fun and silly in just the right places, goes back to the much grittier feel of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. It's awesome having Stormtroopers actually being scary!

Now I find myself checking out all the new Star Wars books that are being released together with the movie and while books like Ultimate Star Wars look awesome I'm actually more interested in finding out about The Force Awakens - The Visual Guide, The Incredible Cross Sections and the Art Book look really nice for that! Also, I think I might need the Rey's Speeder LEGO set...



So yeah, that's my touchy-feely thoughts on the movie. Here are some bullet points.

• Costumes, props, ships and general production design is almost flawless. There was nothing that stood out to me as 'un-starwarsy' (unlike the prequals) and it generally felt grounded in the setting.
• It's funny in a good way! Just like the original trilogy there are jokes and funny moments and they all work and are actually funny. No poop jokes or C3PO going mental.
• Rey, Finn, BB-8 and Poe are all characters that are likable and fun to watch.
• The music is... there. Only Rey's Theme really stood out to me during the actual screening, but I think I need to listen to the soundtrack a bit more to get a better feel for it. 
• Scary Stormtroopers doing the stuff that was only hinted at in the original movies.

I could keep on just typing stuff, but I'd start to repeat myself. Bottom line: the Star Wars I grew up with is back but it's new and exciting! While you can nitpick at details in the film that simply doesn't compare with the great achievement JJ Abrams and the rest of the crew has managed to pull off.

Now I need to book another screening...