Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - Abrams scores big time, makes beautiful space opera blockbuster

12/19/2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - Abrams scores big time, makes beautiful space opera blockbuster

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+ Best Blockbuster of the Year
+ Best Shooting Star Actress of the Year (Daisy Ridley)

+ Most Profitable Movie of the Year: 582.36 mil. $ range

The irresistible, packed poster for J. J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars is back!
And back in top shape, thank God! Disney acquired Lucasfilm and the franchise in 2012 (for a whopping 4.06 bil. $) and have done right by it in a big way here: Great filmmaker J.J. Abrams (Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)) has co-written the script with Lawrence Kasdan (Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)), based on an existing Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine (2006)) script.

A storm trooper, who adopts the name Finn, rises against the misdeeds of the First Order and joins forces with a scrap collector called Rey and a droid called BB8, who has vital information concerning the whereabouts of Jedi master Luke Skywalker and the Jedi temple.

The Force Awakens takes place about 30 years after the last of the 'old' Star Wars movies, Star Wars: Episode VI - The Return of the Jedi (1983). It presents (the beginning of) a fresh story that is to play out in two coming episodes (released in '17 and '19, probably), which also relies on several familiar characters from the old movies. Therefore, the new film is closer to the original three Star Wars movies (1977; 1980; 1983) than the recent three (1999; 2002; 2005).
The Force Awakens ranks up there with the best of the franchise, which are in my opinion Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1983) and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), (and yes, I know that I'm somewhat alone in loving the latter film.)
The new film is a roller coaster ride of emotions, especially for a Star Wars fan: Excitement, awe, laughs and several touching moments. - The Force Awakens is certainly the most emotional Star Wars movie to date!

Star Wars creator George Lucas (Star Wars: Episode VI - A New Hope (1977)) has played an ambiguous ringside role in the making of the new film, pretty far removed from influence, as far as I can discern, which was probably a good decision on the part of Disney, Abrams and co. They have brought an incredible score of other people originally central to the Star Wars movies back, so it is easy to understand Lucas' possibly mixed feeling about the film. - It is in his mold, though, and no-one has cashed in more on the franchise, both monetary and in terms of respect and admiration, than he.
The new film presents two great, young stars as new leading forces: English Daisy Ridley (Scrawl (2015)) has the perfect, nimble physique and intensity to carry her role as Rey, and also English John Boyega (Attack the Block (2011)) has a great innocence to him, and can deliver humorous lines like a pro. - They have great chemistry and suit the screen beautifully. Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave (2013)) plays an amazing CGI-created character called Kanata, which has no resemblance to her, so if you had looked forward to see Nyong'o turn in another great performance, you might feel cheated here; but on the other hand the creature she portrays is really special. New rotund droid BB8 quickly steals audiences' hearts, but beloved veteran droids R2D2 and C3PO also turn up for some hearty laughs and good times. Domhnall Gleeson (Ex Machina (2015)) is a frightening, fascist leader, and Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)) stars as another CGI character, (his specialty by now), the giant Snoke. I don't know if I think CGI evil is so auspicious, really; the human face can create a sense of evil that is just more compelling, I suspect, as Ian McDiarmid (Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)), for instance, proved again and again as Chancellor Palpatine in the 5 last Star Wars films. Then there's Adam Driver (Frances Ha (2012)) as new villain Kylo Ren, who seems more like a rebellious post teen with an anger issue for some time, but later gets a lot more potent. Driver is tremendous in the part, and he is instrumental in two of the film's best scenes: SPOILER Firstly Han Solo's death scene, which should go down as one of the great death scenes in cinema history, which lends the film enormous weight; and secondly the climactic snow forest laser sword fight, which is unbelievably beautiful visually.
From the 'old gang', Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)), Carrie Fisher (Maps to the Stars (2014)) and Chewbacca have great, emotionally soaring scenes, and they immediately seem natural, back as the characters we haven't seen on the silver screen in decades. SPOILER And Mark Hamill (Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)) also turns up in the film's (nearly) heart-stopping ending.
The Force Awakens is a stunning, almost perfect space opera, an absolute delight and certainly a must-see in the cinema (preferably in 3D) experience. An outstanding Christmas treat and a film to rewatch over and over again.

Related posts:

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

A star is born: J. J. Abrams' Star Wars - The Force Awakens' Daisy Ridley

Watch the great trailer for the movie here

Cost: 200 mil. $ (423 mil. $ includes marketing, producing videos and merchandise such as video games, action figures and costumes)
Box office: Not known yet
= Unknown
[The Force Awakens was shot partially on IMAX cameras May - November 2014 in England, Iceland, Abu Dhabi and the US. Ford fractured a leg during production, and Abrams injured his back in the same accident. John Williams (Lincoln (2012)) composed the score. The movie premiered in Hollywood's Chinese, El Capitan and Dolby theaters simultaneously, and is breaking several records on its opening weekend. Its gross is expected to be somewhere between 2-3 bil. $, with a total that includes merchandise sales upwards of 10 bil. $. Critics and audiences alike are loving Star Wars: The Force Awakens heartily: It is certified fresh at 97 % with an 8.3 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Star Wars: The Force Awakens?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (5-24)

12/19/2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - Abrams scores big time, makes beautiful space opera blockbuster

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