Okay, enough stalling and asides. I’ve taken what should’ve been a three week project and stretched it out into five. But no more interruptions! I’m just gonna get through all three sequel movies this week. I’m not gonna cut to The Book of Henry to talk about why Mr. Colin Trevorrow lost his Star Wars movie, or something like Brick to argue that Rian Johnson has always been good, actually (although both of those are on my Star Wars-adjacent films list). And considering I haven’t seen these movies since they were in theater, this should be… refreshing? Certainly something.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one:
Our hero starts off on a desert planet but comes across a droid that has information important to the rebel forces working against the evil order. They leave on the Millennium Falcon and find out that the evil order has a planet destroying super weapon the size of a celestial body, which they use to blow up one of the rebels’ worlds. Not only do our heroes infiltrate the super weapon with the goal to sabotage it, but it’s also a rescue mission. Along the way they encounter a villain dressed in all black with a red lightsaber who kills the old mentor/father figure. But the rest of the heroes escape and attack runs piloted by rebel forces destroy the super weapon. Sound a bit familiar? If not, what are you doing reading this when you haven’t seen Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope or read my post on it? Odd choice, my friend.
The differences are what matter, of course. Obi-Wan Kenobi being killed by (a then unrevealed) Luke’s father feels different than Han Solo–a man we’ve known for decades–being killed by his son in an attempt to stay with the dark side of the Force. This story is about three main protagonists–Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac)–coming together via fate. Finn is a stormtrooper who realizes mid-mission that the First Order is evil, so he helps Resistance pilot Poe escape. But Poe dies when their ship crashes on Jakku, sinks into the sand, and explodes. Finn runs into Rey, who separately found Poe’s droid, BB-8, that information on where Luke Skywalker disappeared to. Hunting them is Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who we learn was Ben Solo before he was corrupted by Supreme Leader Snoke (voiced by Andy Serkis). General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) is also there. Rey and Finn run into Han Solo and Chewie, and together they get information from Maz Kanata (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o). Rey also gets Anakin and Luke’s old lightsaber–no word on where she found that after it was dropped in Cloud City–and visions from the Force. Turns out she’s very powerful and able to tap into Force knowledge in a way we haven’t seen, so of course the worst parts of the internet call her a “Mary Sue” for being too perfect. Also, hey, what? Poe’s alive? I mean, I love the homoromantic energy between him and Finn, so I won’t ask too many questions. After Rey gets captured by Kylo, our heroes sneak into Starkiller Base to get her back, doing some light sabotage along the way. But Han attempting to connect with his son fails, resulting in the hero’s death. Finn tries to fight Kylo but is grievously wounded, and it’s only Rey tapping into the Force who barely manages to defeat and scar the villain. The Base is destroyed, the main villains escape, and Rey takes the lightsaber to Luke’s remote location, which it turns out she’s been dreaming about.
I legit think Kylo Ren is an amazing villain. He’s a brooding loner prone to violent temper tantrums, trying desperately to stay entrenched in the dark side. And really, he’s a near perfect 21st century villain. In an era where the alt-right has political influence and fuckin’ neo-Nazis are brave enough to march around without masks, the rise of the First Order–trying desperately to be the Galactic Empire–feels very relevant. Ben Solo got himself a Daily Wire subscription and started watching way too much Jordan Peterson, eventually becoming a nasty villain while trying to hide the scared little boy he is deep inside. I mean, it certainly helps that I’m a sucker for villains who fall to evil more because they believe themselves to be bad, because after all, that’s just how bad people act.
But back to the similarities to A New Hope, I really question if this is the film that director and co-writer JJ Abrams actually wanted to make. It feels too… safe. It retreads the structure of a film fans already love and while yes, it does add elements that significantly change the story and some “fans” found contentious, it feels too by the numbers. But I will give it to him that he can set up a story. He loves his “mystery boxes,” which basically means he drops a lot of mysteries that he stretches out so people will stay with the story to find out the answer. Who are Rey’s parents? Why is she so strong in the Force? What turned Ben to the dark side? Who is Snoke? And what’s up with C-3PO’s red arm? Lost is probably the best example of Abrams doing this, and also the best example of how bad he is at answering those mysteries. But here it’s fine. Each of these movies was to be written and directed by a different person, so all Juh’Jabrams has to do is set up the mysteries and someone else will answer them. Sounds easy!
It was, in fact, not easy.
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