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| Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and the adorable BB-8 |
As someone born after the Star Wars genesis, my knowledge of the franchise is limited only to the familiar: the iconic names and faces, and lightsabers. Ask me about the fundamentals of its mythology and canon, I would just grin at you. But I do recognize its sacred place in the sci-fi and movie universe, and I am a happy observant of the hysteria of its multitude of serious fans.
In The Force Awakens, the bad guys, The First Order, and the good guys, The Resistance, are on the hunt for the vanished Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). The hero of this tale is a girl—a Keira Knightly lookalike named Rey (Daisy Ridley), a feisty Jakkuan scavenger with a curious origin.
Rey finds herself teamed up with a reformed First Order stormtrooper, Finn (John Boyega), and an uber cute beach-ball droid, BB-8 (Bill Hader) owned by Resistance pilot Poe (Oscar Isaac). Soon, they battle the evil, insecure Darth Vader wannabe, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), ultimately revealing bloodline issues and drama.
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| Domhnall Gleeson and Adam Driver of the Dark Side |
J.J. Ambrams delivers a neat and inspired reboot of this phenomenal epic space opera. With a knack for creating atmospheric and nostalgic sci-fi films that feed the soul of a fan just like himself, he reawakened the thrill, the joy of the franchise. And when he cues in the iconic characters, it's perfectly timed: the grand entrance of Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Joonas Suatomo), R2D2, and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) will melt a fan's heart.
The new, lovable characters of Rey, Finn, Poe, and BB-8 do not overshadow the iconic ones; instead, they propel Star Wars into new, exciting possibilities. With their strong presence (the highly expressive Boyega is a pure delight) and palpable team chemistry—these new additions are naturally built for the Star Wars universe and hint of a cult following.
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| "Chewey, we're home!" |
Smooth and beautiful cinematography, smart editing, fitting John Williams score, a light, easy-to-follow story, and a balanced combo of action, adventure, humor and romance, the Force Awakens will charm even the non-fans. Although it did not spark fanhood in me, did not set off a curious quest for the previous films, the film generally entertained me.
The Force Awakens is a seamless, refined, passionate tribute to a classic. It welcomes old fans with a tight, warm hug, and enlightens new audience why the love for Star Wars is passed down to generations.
Opens December 17, 2015 in Philippine cinemas
Opening across the Philippines on Thursday, Dec. 17, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures through Columbia Pictures. Follow the official social media accounts of Star Wars in the Philippines, namely, (FB) StarWarsPH, (Twitter) @starwarsph and (Instagram) iamstarwars_ph and use the hashtag #TheForceAwakensPH.
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