Film Review: Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Rated M (science fiction themes and violence). 135 minutes. Directed by J.J. Abrams. Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan, J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt. 

Our return to the Star Wars universe was always going to be complicated. Courtesy of a protracted pre-release marketing strategy, expectations about how welcome Abrams’ (StarTrek Into Darkness, Super 8, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible III) vision for the revered saga would be, soared. 

The good news is that as nostalgia, The Force Awakens is faultless. The masterstrokes are having Kasdan (Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back), composer John Williams, and our beloved original heroes of the resistance – Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew’s Chewbacca, and Anthony Daniels’ C-3PO – return.

When Chewie and Han Solo appear on screen together again for the first time, you may very well find it impossible not to either burst into tears or stand and cheer. Abrams’ camera lingers long on the returning icons, allowing us to reconnect with characters who undeniably shaped the cinematic experiences of a generation.

The new leading players – ace resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), a Stormtrooper with a guilty conscience, Rey (Daisy Ridley), who trades space junk for sustenance, and dark lord Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) – deliver outstanding performances and effortlessly match the trusted old guard with an abundance of passion for their place in Star Wars history.

The work of cinematographer Daniel Mindel (Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible III) and production designers Rick Carter (War Horse, Avatar, Jurassic Park) and Darren Gilford (TRON: Legacy) is never less than completely spell-binding, and the true wonder of The Force Awakens is how stunning it looks and feels. It is a beautifully detailed realisation, and the entire film contains precious gems of references to the story so far.

Long may it continue.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness. Rated M (action violence). 132 minutes. Directed by J J Abrams. Screenplay by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof.

Verdict: A thrilling, big screen adventure.

With his magnificent reboot of the Star Trek film series in 2009, J J Abrams set the bar incredibly high for the two planned sequels, of which Star Trek Into Darkness is the first. Fortunately, everyone who collaborated with Abrams on Star Trek is back on deck for the sequel, and his spirited young cast – led by Chris Pine as James T Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock – all deliver fantastic performances of great depth and passion.

Star Trek Into Darkness begins with a stunning sequence in which the crew of the USS Enterprise are attempting to stop a volcanic eruption on Planet Nibiru that threatens to exterminate the population. When Spock’s life is at risk in the depths of the volcano, Kirk decides to break the rules and rescue him, revealing the Enterprise to the primitive inhabitants of Nibiru in the process. It’s not only a wonderfully adventurous way to begin the film, but one that sets the breath-draining pace for all that is to follow. Upon their return from the mission, Kirk is demoted for breaking ‘prime directives’ by revealing the Enterprise to other civilisations. But when Starfleet headquarters is ruthlessly attacked by a rogue agent John Harrison (a perfect Benedict Cumberbatch), the young and ambitious crew of the Enterprise – with Kirk back in charge – set out to find Harrison and hold him to account.

Abrams (Mission: Impossible 3, Star Trek, Super 8) is at his super-confident best here, with a screenplay that (for the most part) blends generous amounts of humour and intriguing moral dilemmas with lavish and brilliantly realised action set pieces. The only stumble is an anti-climactic punch-up between Spock and Harrison, which seems to belong to some other less visionary film rather than this fearless story about the clash of not only civilisations, but also generations.

Scott Chambliss’s (Cowboys & Aliens, Salt, Star Trek) production design is, once again, exemplary – with the first appearance of the Enterprise rising out of the ocean simply breathtaking. Dan Mindel’s (John Carter, Star Trek) cinematography is never less than superb, while Maryann Brandon (Star Trek, How to Train Your Dragon) and Mary Jo Markey’s (Star Trek, Super 8) masterful editing and Michael Giacchino’s (Cars 2, Super 8) thumpingly good score ensure that Star Trek Into Darkness is a thrilling adventure that demands to be seen on the big screen.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Super 8

Super 8. Rated M (science fiction themes, violence, coarse language and drug use). 108 minutes. Written and directed by J J Abrams.

We’ve all experienced the misfortune of being trapped in a never-ending conversation at a party with the most boring guest in the room. You know the one: that person who bangs on for hours about every mundane possibility in their impossibly ordinary lives. But their big party trick is telling us a long-winded joke, with a punch-line that was never going to be worth the wait. And we dream of excusing ourselves before they start showing us holiday snaps or describing every detail of their kitchen renovations.

Welcome to the motion picture equivalent.

Perversely, given the talent involved, it is difficult to find more than a couple of moments of inspiration (or originality) in this seemingly interminable, muddled 108 minutes – such is Abrams clear intention to reference Steven Spielberg’s (credited as Executive Producer) back-catalogue of vastly superior films. An awkward air of self-reverential indulgence pervades practically every scene – not helped by the fact that the ‘kids making a zombie movie with a Super 8 camera’ premise provides the movie with its only points of charm and genuine engagement.

15 year-old Joel Courtney makes an impressive acting debut as young Joe Lamb, whose mother dies in a workplace accident at the beginning of the film, and who finds solace in doing the make-up for the film project and a burgeoning relationship with Alice (the excellent Elle Fanning). When ET’s cranky relative turns up to wreak havoc, the authoritative adults arrive (in typical Spielberg fashion) to spoil all the fun.

Abrams screenplay rolls out the ‘your childhood’s over now kids’ metaphors at a hundred miles an hour – of which the spectacular train crash in the middle of their film shoot is one great big thundering, over-produced clunker (topped only by the tank rolling through the playground and crushing the swings scene).

One good thing to come out of it all though, is that you’ll have a ‘DVDs I want to watch again’ list as long as your arm. At the top of my list is Rob Reiner’s coming-of-age masterpiece Stand By Me – which is precisely the film that Super 8 is trying so desperately hard to be. Regrettably, it misses the mark by a long shot.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.