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Star Wars: Episode VII - New faces, same story
The core appeal of The Force Awakens, and the obvious focus of its writers and director, is the nostalgia of it all. The purpose of this long-awaited first film of the new trilogy, it seems, is not to astound as much as it is to reacquaint. Watching Awakens is like meeting an old high-school friend – a good friend… some one you looked up to maybe. It’s quite exhilarating at first, but the excitement of the encounter wears off as you notice how much your friend has aged, like you, and that your old buddy doesn’t have a lot of news that’s truly interesting, even after all these years.
Although Awakens
is the first film of the series not to have George Lucas listed as a writer (insert
J.J. Abrams who also directs), its story follows the same course as Lucas’
first three. The Empire is done, having gone the same way as its puny Death
Star, and has been replaced by The First Order, which looks much like its predecessor
only with bigger weapons. The secular First Order is out to defeat the Republic
and rule the galaxy (no change there) and its spiritual controllers from the Dark
Side wish to finish the deal by extinguishing the last of the Jedi (and no
change there). They are all searching for Skywalker who has disappeared,
without trace (maybe), after a vaguely defined betrayal by a student Jedi.
Awakens' strategy
is clear throughout; hook and hold with the old while hoping we can imprint
enough on what little is new to assure the success of episodes VIII and IX. Fortunately,
Star Wars’ far-far-away galaxy is still a very small place, making it easy for
Abrams to bring all of the old and new together. All key planets in the story seem within
fractions of light years of each other and key characters are serendipitously closely
clustered. Random crashes on planets place our main players within walking
distance of each other. But I shouldn’t nitpick… maybe this is just The Force
at work. After all, Star Wars has
always been an interstellar soap opera – a space western never preoccupied much
with the science part of its “Science Fiction”. It’s really part of the franchise’s
charm I suppose – spacecrafts banking like F-16’s whether they’re in space or
atmosphere. The Millennium Falcon (oops… mini-spoiler… yes, the old bird is
back) still looks to have the aerodynamics of a cardboard box but maneuvers like
a P-51 when negotiating the trenches of Jakku. Like the old faces we see, however,
these quirks will be friendly reminders of familiar and fond places for most.
So with hooks firmly in place, Abrams attempts to sell the
new - new faces that is not new ideas. Abrams shows us a dark helmeted villain,
a cocky pilot, and a daydreamer young upstart living on planet Podunk and longing for
adventure – hmmm… I know these guys from somewhere. The new faces maneuver in the
same places as the old once stood and often in identical ways. There’s nothing
wrong in visiting the past. But it’s never quite the same is it. Ford’s Solo is the clear star – giving us glimpses of the old Hans. But they’re just glimpses,
barely enough to make up for the disappointing Princess, err… General Leia, who
has obviously had a too many packs of Camels while ruling the Republic all
these years. Awakens is fun – it’s good and better than the mess heaved upon us in episodes I - III. But at some point we’re going to have to move on aren’t we?
Here’s for hoping that episode VIII can better transport us from old to new and and from good to great. Awakens gets a 7 out of 10.
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So Star Wars: The Force Awakens certainly doesn’t rank in my
list of Best Space Films. Take a look at what does.
I’ve narrowed the science fiction genre to “Space Films” for this list. There’s a lot of good sci-fi films out their that never leave earth's gravity field - but that's another list. To make this list below, you’ve got to spend some time out there in zero-gravity,
in the cold confines of the great vacuum – dealing with whatever you find in
that final frontier. But enough of the cliches, Here we go!
Pat's Best Space Movies
#10 - Apollo 13 (1995)
“Houston, we have a problem” … in space. A gripping true event turned into a gripping film. I admire films that can take a story that everybody knows and still rivet you to your seat. Ron Howard's no-frills direction conveys the isolation and desperation of being lost in space and the lengths taken and ingenuity expended on all sides to return home. Nail biter, tear jerker, and flag waver for the human race all wrapped into one. Sneaks by another real-lifer, The Right Stuff (which would be on the honorable mention list if I had one) to get here.
#9 - Solaris (2002)
Space psychodrama. If you go looking, don’t be fooled by the professional critics when they tell you that the 1972 Solaris is better than the 2002 Hollywood version – they’re movie snobs and these guys always think that the older, non-Hollywood version of anything is better. They’re both good – but I take Clooney in 2002. This is space madness (maybe). Something weird has happened on a space station observing the planet Solaris. A psychologist (Clooney) arrives to investigate, but no one is able to explain exactly what has happened except that memories our becoming real. Surreal, cerebral, ambiguous, and incredibly interesting. A short story that one might give many different meanings to or take many different messages from.
#8 Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The best of the Star Wars Series. As big and flashy as the original but the characters have hit their strides in this one. Imaginative and engrossing – best of the space fantasies and the most compelling of the tales of the mythic clash between good and evil.
#7 - Silent Running (1972)
I doubt that many have seen this early 70’s sci-fier, but Silent Running is an out of the ordinary thing that should be seen. Bruce Dern plays plant-loving botanist Freeman Lowell who happily carries out his duties on the spaceship Valley Forge, a giant orbiting greenhouse which contains the last remaining samples of flora from a now-barren Earth. When Lowell is ordered to destroy his cargo and return home, he is faced with a choice of what lives and what dies.
#6 - 2001 (1968)
Although not completely accessible without reading Clark's novel maybe, it is still the most beautiful space film. Kubrick conveys the film's arguments with imagery and music in unprecedented fashion. A mesmerizing and cryptic look at beginnings and ends and beyond. So why didn’t I put this on top of my list? That’s a good question. I don’t know.
The Wrath of Kahn represents sweet redemption from the disaster that was the first Star Trek movie. And maybe it is the satisfaction of seeing that the ol’ crew of the Enterprise could hit their stride again that puts Kahn on my list. Ricardo Mantalban creates a top-10 villain and the film is pumped full of cool add-ons; the Kobyayashi Maru Scenario, Spock dies (temporarily), and Khan’s giant chest - and that line... "I have and always will be your friend" - it doesn't get any better.
#4 - Alien (1979)
One of the best in the science-fiction/Space/horror genre. The crew of the cargo ship Nostromo lands on a barren planet in response to an SOS signal only to encounter an acid-dripping alien killing machine. Unlike its revved-up sequel Aliens, Alien is slow paced tenseness as the crew attempts to search and destroy but finds themselves the hunted instead of the hunters.
#3 - Interstellar (2014)
Interstellar has as much to do with sentiment as it does with outer space. It’s an ambitious composition with big themes. The world has turned against its inhabitants. Blight and global famine have reduced mankind and its governments down to a single focus on survival. The search for a solution includes escaping earth to a new world. Mankind’s exodus will be made possible by the mysterious appearance of a wormhole near Saturn. Its origin is unknown but its timely arrival must be more than a coincidence. Who will win the race against time, man or nature (or man’s nature)? Both the heart and head parts of Interstellar are complex and large-scale things. Some will find the film incredible… others may find it inane as it pits the human attributes of faith and love up against instinct and logic. I obviously found myself in the first of those two categories.
#2 - Contact (1997)
This is a special movie to me. The interplay of science (understanding based on observation) and spirituality has permeated my mind for most of my life. Contact is about the search for life outside of our little planet. But the movie is more about ideas of fact, faith, and human nature, than the potential scariness or oddities of life beyond ours. The movie has the depth that you would expect from a product based on Carl Sagan’s work – which it is. A science-fiction core wrapped in a discussion of what we believe and why.
#1 - Aliens (1986)
I’m not sure why I have listed this at #1. Maybe because it’s so much dang fun to watch. Rarely is the sequel better than the first but Aliens is the exception. From where Director Ridley Scott left off with the horror of a single, inexplicable monster in Alien, director James Cameron speeds up the action using legions of monster bugs with Ripley (the lone survivor from the previous encounter) embedded with high-tech Marines to battle them. This is a modern sci-fi classic and one of my favorite movies of all time. Intense suspense with muscular story telling.
