Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Directed by J.J. Abrams
Country: USA

Movie Review: “The Force Awakens”, the seventh installment in the Star Wars franchise and the first part of the new trilogy announced by the Walt Disney distributing company, was intended to be a galactic epic. Within this specific genre, it manages to deliver a pretty decent plot filled with exciting battles, interesting new and old characters, and some nostalgia without falling in exaggeration. The film was directed, co-written, and co-produced by J.J. Abrams, who reinforces his ability to recycle former epics (“Mission: Impossible”, “Star Trek”) and successfully adds a few fresh, well-shaped characters to the super settings, to accompany the old ones who are still present. From now on, the main protagonist is Rey (Daisy Ridley), an obstinate and totally independent scavenger on the desert planet Jakku, who frees the lovely spherical droid, BB-8, from the net trap of a fantastic metallic creature. BB-8 secretly carries the map with the location of the now vanished Luke Skywalker, the celebrated Jedi that became the primary target of the forces of evil known as the First Order, represented by the malevolent commander Kylo Ren, his master, Supreme Leader Snoke, and the fanatical and nihilistic base leader, General Hux. The map was previously in the hands of BB-8’s owner, the courageous Resistance pilot fighter, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), who was captured by the First Order stormtroopers. However, he managed to escape with the help of a rebellious soldier, Finn (John Boyega), a good-natured man who can’t stand being on the dark side anymore. To join up the strong newcomers - Rey, Finn, and BB-8 - we have the prevailing characters of Han Solo, resumed by Harrison Ford, Chewbacca, and the General Leia Organa. Also, the legendary golden humanoid robot, C-3PO, now carrying a red arm, has a couple of brief and yet funny appearances. It’s impossible to disregard the heightened production values: the dazzling cinematography by Mr. Abrams’s usual collaborator, Daniel Mindel; the efficient production design; the emphatic set decoration; the astounding special effects embellishing each scene; and last but not least, John William’s majestic score that has a large influence on our perception of the adventure, whether in face of triumph, danger, or loss. The screenwriters, opting to recreate rather than innovate, even grant us with another strenuous lightsaber battle, allowing us to revive the prior movies. The tactic was to establish new arrangements for some of the cherished elements of the past, providing a new rebirth for the saga.