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This is a spoiler-intensive review. If you haven’t seen the film, please, watch before reading. So much of the movie is in the surprises. If you’ve seen it, read on and enjoy!
JERHOW continues the review of “The Force Awakens”
I won’t presume to relate to the issues that face a 21-year-old today, so I won’t try to talk in their voice like I just did with the 11-year-old.
But one of the themes that resonates big-time in this film is the power and strength, and impulsiveness, of youth. The fate of the galaxy lies with Rey, Finn, and Poe, just as it did with Luke, Han, and Leia. In A New Hope, there is a clear passing of the torch to this young generation when Obi Wan asks Luke to come with him to Alderaan to deliver the stolen plans to the Rebels. Here, he says, “I’m getting too old for this sort of thing.” Obi Wan helped to shape the face of the galaxy in the Prequels when he was their age. But now, he needs to look to youth to help him, and he’s willing to mentor, if they are willing to listen.
Ironically, it was Luke’s youthful impulsiveness that nearly got him killed in The Empire Strikes Back. Vader tortures Han Solo, and Luke’s undisciplined mind picks up on this pain and suffering. When Luke decides he has to go rescue his friends, Yoda says, “If you choose to end your training now, if you choose the quick and easy path, as Vader did, you will become an agent of evil.”
It seems very clear that impulsiveness vs. patience is a theme that defines this new trilogy. While we don’t know what happens, something with Kylo Ren’s upbringing, and his training in the Force, motivated him to turn to the dark side. With Luke presumably failing in his teachings that led to the transformation of Ben Solo into Kylo Ren, now he faces Rey, who comes to him brandishing the lightsaber of destiny, filled with undisciplined Force angst, and needing to be trained.
What a dilemma for Luke for Episode VIII.
If he doesn’t train her, her youthful ignorance, all that emotion, all that instinct, could be used to recruit her to the Dark Side. If Luke turns a blind’s eye and does nothing, he will be equally as responsible for the fate of the galaxy through his inaction as he was by wrongly training Kylo Ren, if that is, indeed, what happened.
And yet, if he trains her, and if the same mistakes are repeated, it will be more death and destruction and blood on the hands of the Original Trilogy’s most important hero.
How great is it, by the way, that the lightsaber first forged by Anakin Skywalker, passed down to Luke Skywalker, and now to Rey, has become the Excalibur of the Star Wars Trilogy. Through the Force, it’s the one true unifier of all three trilogies. Remarkable.
Did anyone else hear the voices of Yoda, and both Alec Guinness‘s older Obi Wan and Ewan McGregor‘s young Obi Wan during the Force flashback/premonition montage?
What made Luke so heroic in those first films was his purity. The innocent farmboy could easily have been corrupted and jaded in the face of all of that evil, and yet he stayed true to his moral compass. He never wavered.
Now, Luke finds himself in the exact same predicament as Obi Wan did in the Prequels.
Here, though, Luke is essentially facing himself when he sees Rey. How easily the path of good vs. evil can be blurred and while Luke and Obi Wan chose the right path, Anakin and Kylo Ren did not. The path Rey is about to embark on will either cause her to bring balance to the Force, as Luke did, or leave it in darkness, as Anakin did.
When we are young, how often do our parents, or those we look up to, lend their wisdom to us, and how often do we say, “They think they know everything but they don’t really know.”
How often does youth make their mistakes despite the urgings of their mentors to pursue an alternative path.
Perhaps it’s the inevitability of our humanity that forces us to have make our own mistakes and learn from those mistakes. But this is also what fills us with so much limitless potential. The fate of our world is sculpted by the actions of our youth, right here in this target demographic.
The Force Awakens brilliantly debates the destiny of this far-away galaxy in the exact same way. And so, while on the surface, the film mesmerizes with pure joy in its fast-paced action and jaw-dropping special effects, there is an undeniable undercurrent that gives it it’s depth.
Yet it’s the simple things, like an act of courage or kindness, which gives the film it’s heart.
We see that heart in Finn’s arc. It’s why that article from the “backlash critic” about the “unforgivable plot holes” of the film, citing the lightsaber duel with the “ex-janitor,” is so surface level in its thinking. What makes Finn a hero is that he isn’t invested in the struggles of the ones around him, and yet he chooses to fight for what is right. He doesn’t have a destiny that ties him to the Force. He doesn’t have a father and mother who are leaders of the Resistance. As the article points out, he’s simply a maintenance stormtrooper.
For all intents and purposes then, he had every right to hitch a ride to the Outer Rim and live in peace for the rest of his life. The world hasn’t given him anything and so what does he owe the world?
And yet, over the course of the movie, he unexpectedly discovers the family he never had. He finds it in Poe Dameron, whom he admires like a big brother. Like Poe, Finn has witnessed the horrific atrocities committed by the First Order. It frightens him, it compels him to want to flee to the Outer Rim. But his “big brother” looks that evil square in the eye when the odds are against him and basically says, “Bring it on.” Poe is a huge inspiration for Finn, one of the reasons why Finn decides to stay and fight.
With Rey, there’s an obvious attraction there, but their relationship, their bond, stems from their friendship. They trust each other. Will their love for each other turn into a romantic love? Only the future installments will tell. Nevertheless, Finn has clear affection for Rey, he’s devastated when she gets captured, and his destiny becomes clear – to save and protect Rey, the only friend, the only family, he has ever had. Finn may very well be the most noble of heroes in the film.
Finn isn’t simply the “janitor.” He’s a reminder that any one of us can make a difference. One doesn’t have to be born into royalty to succeed in life. One doesn’t have to have a high midi-chlorian count to change the fate of the galaxy. There’s nothing special about Finn, but that’s the point, and that’s what makes him so special. With a little heart, determination and courage, any one of us can be a hero.
What makes Rey so awesome is that she clearly doesn’t need “protecting.” Or rather, she prides herself on her own inner strength, she’s a survivor, and so she’ll never ask for help.
What a sweet moment between the two when Finn keeps trying to take her hand to run with him, and she keeps telling him to stop trying to hold her hand. She says it with appreciation, she admires the gesture, the bravery, but in many ways, she’s stronger than Finn. How great is it, then, when, after Finn tries to take her hand twice, she grabs his hand in the end.
Rey, Finn, and Poe demonstrate the moral compass of this new Star Wars trilogy. It’s no coincidence that these three characters put together, really, are Luke Skywalker from the original trilogy.
Like Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley was plucked from relative obscurity and thrust into the pinnacle role as “Rey” in the single greatest franchise in movie history. Also like Hamill, she handles it with an innocent appreciation, a surprising confidence, and a remarkable strength. Hers is a highly emotional character, her journey, the most powerful. Daisy Ridley seems clearly up to the challenge.
John Boyega‘s energy and enthusiasm are infectious. His positivity radiates from him. And its inspiring. Finn may very well be my favorite character of the three.
And Oscar Isaac‘s Poe Dameron is the clear “heartthrob” of the trio. He has the least to do in the film, but he soaks up every opportunity when he’s on screen. He’s great.
Adam Driver as Kylo Ren. Complex. Dark. Emotional. Layered. He is excellent.
Really, they couldn’t have cast a better group of young actors. Each character is interesting. The “backlash critics” complain that The Force Awakens is a complete retread of A New Hope, but these core characters have all expressed so much more dimension, so much more range, in this first installment than any of the original cast did in their first outing.
The adult in me knows something about the Original Trilogy, and these comparisons to A New Hope are a perfect opportunity to conclude with some thoughts on The Force Awakens through my eyes right now at my age…
Click HERE for “JERHOW explores THE FORCE AWAKENS, Part 3”
Or, if you missed Part 1…