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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 325773" data-attributes="member: 23">THE SEQUEL TRILOGY The Force Awakens (2015) <img src="https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.knowitalljoe.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F10%2FStar-Wars-The-Force-Awakens-Poster.jpg&f=1&nofb=1" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 530px" />As with the prequels it’s fair to say expectations were low for this one.In many ways it’s exactly the film one would expect from a belated Star Wars sequel (we’re now more than three decades on from Return Of The Jedi). It essentially tells exactly the same story all over again with a new generation of characters walking in the footsteps of the earlier generation,  who themselves return as the series elders with experience behind their world-weary eyes (even if it hasn’t necessarily made them wiser). It’s an entirely (almost clinically) predictable exercise in pleasing old fans while enticing in new ones.But these are exactly the reasons it works so well, and there are just enough twists on the familiar themes to make it feel not just watchable but compelling. Right at the top of the film, when we spent time with a Stormtrooper having a panic attack, I knew this was going to be an interesting one. Not only did I appreciate that for the first time one of these faceless minions was being given their own story, I needed to know who was beneath that helmet, and why they were in such a tizz.Something this film does with precision is allowing the viewer to be a step ahead of the story, knowing where it’s going to go and yet still needing to see it happen, or even be anxious that it may not. Again and again, I experienced this: I was convinced Poe and Finn would escape in the TIE fighter, but I still felt relief when they did. I knew Rey would allow BB-8 to be her companion, but I was still concerned in those moments where she was ordering him away. And I wanted Finn to be able tell the truth about who he was, and I was sure it would be OK in the long run, yet I was really worried that it would undo their bonding, even if only temporarily. In short, I quickly connected with these characters and I was invested.Not only this, but I found myself enjoying action sequences. The tone was mostly right and my investment helped. The effects also looked significantly more convincing the most recently made of the prequels, so it’s fair to say that CGI had come a long way in a decade.Casting was pretty good. Most of the new characters were extremely likeable. Daisy Ridley worked really well as Rey, and had something about the young Sidney Prescott to her. I’d had a big problem with her   contemporary RP inflections when I very recently watched the period film Death On The Nile. She still uses it here, but since this is set in a galaxy far, far away, who’s to say their English wouldn’t have evolved in this way, even if it was a long time ago. Finding her watchable here was a kind of redemption. John Bodega was better still. I really liked his character’s arc here and I thought he turned in a terrific performance. Already he feels like an essential piece of the puzzle. I’d far rather watch these fresh new characters than Ewan McGregor attempting to impersonate Alec Guinness. continued…</blockquote>

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