12/21/2015 · originally published on uselessanalysis.com

Star Wars VII: A Useless Movie Review

Star Wars!!!!!! I'm not necessarily a Star Wars superfan, but it's great to see that the series is back.

My favorite memories of the series from my past include watching it for the first time on the 1995 VHS release, playing the soundtrack as a member of the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestra, having my mind blown by Knights of the Old Republic (my favorite Star Wars experience of them all), and watching the Mr. Plinkett prequel reviews about a hundred times each. Kind of all over the place, there.

I don't have a definitive mainline ranking of the saga, although my tiering would be similar to most. A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back are in the top tier, without question. Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith are much further down. Yes, the inanity of the Ewoks and the general unfocused nature of the Endor narrative do indeed bring episode VI down to episode III's tier in my book. Finally, The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones bring up the rear, although the fan-edit A Vergeance in the Force fixes the fixable prequel issues and makes it a bit more watchable.

So that brings up to The Force Awakens. Fake spoiler alert: I really like it. It's a new addition to the top tier. Go see it.

Why do I like it? Real spoiler alert:
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Here's what I liked:

Episode VII is a return to the mental side of the force. The force itself makes a triumphant return as the omnipresent life energy that binds us all, and main characters like Kylo Ren and Rey explore their abilities to influence outcomes and others using their wills and minds. The best scene of the movie takes place as Kylo Ren is interrogating Rey, she resists him, and she ultimately flips the script and gets inside his head. We saw "the force awaken" within her in the most dramatic way possible.
The sides of the conflict and main characters are all emerging. There is no clear incumbent holding power, and there is no superhero or supervillain who far outmatches their opposition. The film lays very strong groundwork for the rise of both the light and the dark side of the force.
Kylo Ren's unrefined take on the dark side is fascinating. The faux swagger and bravado he brings to fights belies the weight of the insecurities he hides away behind a mask. It's a very different, petulant, and emo take on a servant of the dark side.
The Poe and Finn show is hilarious. I only wish they got more screen time together.
We see the democratization of the lightsaber. The lightsaber is a cool weapon, but it returns to its place as one of the many tools in a Jedi's arsenal, instead of the primary way to channel the force (as it was in the prequels). Finn may have lost his battle against Kylo Ren, but it showed that any force adept person can use a lightsaber because the force is guiding them ... instead of them having studied lightsaber 101 at Lightsaber University.
The film makes Star Wars look and feel exciting again. My favorite action sequences in this movie were actually the TIE fighter failed escape with Poe and Finn and the successful Millennium Falcon flight with Rey and Finn. It had been so long since the "ships battling in space" element of Star Wars has worked.
The story is fun and looks to be building to greatness. Of course we know nothing about how the series will evolve, but this saga is a fantastic foundation for the future. Rey, Finn, Poe, and Kylo Ren are tremendous, intriguing new characters. Han Solo effectively passed the torch. The final sequence with Luke was beautifully done. And I can't wait to see the next episode.

All that said, I do have some issues with the film. Here's what I didn't like:

Too much fan service from the original trilogy. I'm sorry, but I really did not need to see C-3PO or R2-D2 in here. There was a touch too much Millennium Falcon, particularly the largely irrelevant action sequence with the monsters and Han's debt collectors. And I really didn't need a third Death Star, even if it's huge in comparison to the first two. This all just felt like filler material.
Not enough Poe, particularly in the back half of the movie. Maybe there is something more interesting going on with him that we'll see in the next episode, but some of the callback sequences could have been replaced by Poe adventures and the experience would have been better for it.
Virtually no back story on the political environment. It's clear that J.J. Abrams and team wanted to steer as clear as possible of prequel-like political machinations. I get their rationale, but the movie loses proper framing as a result. I had no real understanding of The First Order or The Resistance, how they emerged from the New Republic, and why Stormtroopers, TIE fighters, and X-Wings reprise their old roles in the story.
The film is a bit too frantic. Some of the early scenes with Poe, Finn, and Rey could have used some downtime sequences to give viewers a chance to breathe and the characters a chance to build relationships. To its credit, The Force Awakens actually does use the action to show our heroes and villains growing, but I still would have liked a few more quiet moments.

So there you have it! This is a great movie, one that lives up to the best films in the series. I hope the sequels continue to explore the force in new, cerebral ways and don't revert to the videogame version of the force that we saw in the prequels. More Empire Strikes Back and less Star Trek: Into Darkness, please!

Happy holidays, and may the force be with you!

-rj