No more wooden and forced acting in this Star Wars
You have to credit J.J. Abrams in his choice of cast, especially the newcomers to the Star Wars universe. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega’s who play the two leading roles,Rey and Finn, are wonderful. This is a far cry from the prequels where we had to contend with an annoying, whiny main character with the acting chops of a piece of wood. Sorry Hayden Christensen, but you were pretty bad.
Ridley’s performance especially, caught my attention. Playing the role of a scavenger in Jakku, she is no damsel in distress as she can hold her own in a fight, sometimes even showing up the men in the movie. It was nice to see a strong female lead and the movie didn’t even try to shove in some force love story line into it like the prequels did.
Boyega’s role as a deserting Storm Trooper was an equal joy to watch, especially when he was with the other cast members. While his performance on his own was good, it was even better when he interacted with the rest of the other cast. He manages to switch between dramatic and funny really well and it’ll be a treat to watch him again in the upcoming movies.
It wasn’t just Ridley and Boyega that were good performers. Adam Driver excelled in the role as the main baddie for the flick. He may be no Darth Vader, but the menace he manages to convey, despite having his face covered three-quarters throughout the entire movie, makes him a pretty good replacement to the big old Sith baddie. And the few times that he had his face uncovered, we actually get to see actual emotions from a major Star Wars villain (yes and that includes Hayden Christensen and Jake Lloyd’s performances in the prequel).
Then there was Harrison Ford who was really back in form as Han Solo. This is the Han Solo we loved from the original movies. He still has that cocky streak but it’s now tinged with a bit more maturity and a little regret. At times it did feel like he would dominate the movie but to the credit to Boyega and Ridley, they managed to hold their own, and even had really good chemistry with Ford.
Of course one last fine piece of acting, came not from any human actor but BB-8 the droid. Now I do realise that BB-8 is essentially a giant remote control toy but the film makers really knew how to bring this “toy” to life. It was hard not to find the little feller cute or lovable and at the end of it, I really wanted one of my own (which you still get from Sphero). Then again, I shouldn’t have been surprised as we’ve also managed to fall in love with the equally ‘faceless’ R2-D2 in the original movies.
Watch this movie you must
Suffice to say, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a must watch. Not only for existing Star Wars fans but everyone. It isn’t perfect I have to admit, but it is well put together and a lot more believable (or as believable as a Sci-Fi movie can be). There are some obvious plot holes that fans will be able to spot but, then again that would be nit-picking, but the movie as a whole manages to stand-up and deliver, and with great effect too.
You will laugh, be kept in suspense and yes, for some, you might even shed a tear (I did but saying anymore would be a major spoiler).
With the new trilogy coming off to a great start, we can only hope that the coming movies will be equally good or better. All I have to say to Abrams is, please don’t f*#@ it up in the next movies. Or else you will feel a massive disturbance in the Force coming from legions of Star Wars fans.
Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Issac, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Lupita Nyong’o
Directed by: J.J. Abrams
