Today we conclude our look at the first entry of the sequel trilogy as it turns ten years old. Picking up from last week, here’s the final five things that still hold up today about The Force Awakens.
1. John Williams Returns (as well as Lawrence Kasdan)
It seemed ridiculous to think that they we would witness Episode VII of the Star Wars saga without John Williams at the helm of the soundtrack. He was confirmed to be returning to the galaxy far, far away all the way back in July 2013. There was one glaring difference, however, and that was that for first time a Star Wars film would not be under the guise of the London Symphony Orchestra. There are some wonderful themes in the film with Rey’s Theme still among the top. Hearing the main title theme over the introduction sent shivers down my spine when I was first sat in the cinema all those years ago. Williams would go on to see out the rest of the sequel trilogy and the Skywalker Saga along with it. None, however, would quite match the energy, nuance or excitement of The Force Awakens’ score.
An often-overlooked factor into the success of the film is the return of the screenwriter Lawernce Kasdan at the helm. We know him, of course, from Empire, Jedi and Raiders and the man understands storytelling and the art of the motion picture. He writes Han Solo like an artform and has always said that Han was the most interesting character to him. I believe that Solo: A Star Wars Story works just the same because Kasdan was the co-writer of the film. It was Kasdan who made Finn into a defecting Stormtrooper and I believe it was Kasdan’s directive for this film that helped make it into the phenomenon that it was. Larry Kasdan said of Episode VII, as he sat down to write with Abrams; “This film needs to be delightful.” And it certainly was.
2. Real World Locations
When the team began the process of the making Episode VII, they were coming off the lukewarm reviews of the prequels. Though the kids that loved the prequels hadn’t come of age yet and the love that Episodes I -III now basks in was still a ways off, the team decided to go back to the beginning and try and work with real world environments and locations as much as possible. It paid off. Jakku, which was filmed in Abu Dabai looked fantastic and for anyone who’s has taken a trip to the Lake District in England will know that Derwent Water, used partially to film exterior shots of Maz’s Castle on Takodana, is potentially one of the most stunning places in the world. Combine this with the most cutting-edge technology at the time at ILM and you’re left with a visually stunning film that looks continually right after Return of the Jedi but still looked fresh for audiences back in 2015.
3. Rey’s Vision
Now, admittedly, this Force Vision only works in the context of not having seen Episode VIII or IX, however, upon a recent rewatch of The Force Awakens, it’s still a well put together sequence. The fact that the vison begins only when Rey touches Luke and Anakin’s lightsaber hilt in a mystery box threw up a lot of questions. We’re quickly greeted by the hallway that was featured in the duel on Bespin during Empire. Luke and Vader were originally meant to be featured in this shot as Rey saw them battling it out but it was later cut. We get glimpses of the Knights of Ren and we also get a shot of a hooded Luke and R2, crouched down in the rain in what we’re led to assume is in the aftermath of the massacre of his Jedi Temple. My favourite thing about this sequence though are the voices. Frank Oz recorded new dialogue that was to be featured but it was dropped in order to reuse some lines from Empire. The best thing, however, is Obi-Wan. The post-production team took dialogue from the late Sir Alec Guinness. The word was ‘afraid’. In that word is the sound ‘Rey. It was a stroke of great fun and the vision is capped off by none other than Ewan McGregor himself saying the new line; “These are your first steps.”
4. Duel in the Snow
On returning to the film recently the climactic duel still holds up. As Rey and Finn are confronted by Kylo Ren in the snowy forest, he’s become completely unhinged after murdering his own father only a few minutes before. The fight between Finn and Kylo is well choreographed but the real star of the show is the setting, the lighting and the production design. The blue and red blades look stunning as they clash and the last time we had seen a fight on the big screen was back in 2005 and that was over lava. Taking the action to snow was a nice touch. When the action then turns to Rey versus Kylo, again its nicely staged. The real gut punch comes at the end of this set piece and it’s when Chewbacca arrives in the Falcon. He’s in Han’s seat and it hits all the harder that we’ve just lost Han Solo. Chewie cuts a lonely figure indeed in this moment.
5. Luke Skywalker and the Cliffhanger of Cliffhangers
When, in the final duel, the lightsaber hilt is twiddling in the snow and then flies through the air, I admit that – for a second – I thought that Luke would be standing there to reclaim his weapon. That wasn’t to be, however, as it went to Rey, meaning that the first time we saw this film could now only mean one thing; Luke wasn’t going to be in the film right until the end. The sequence and the build up to the reveal is incredibly well done. The music builds and the setting on the island looks incredible. We’ve literally been working towards this moment for the past two hours and indeed, really, for the past 32 years since the end of Return of the Jedi. I remember watching this for the first time at the midnight screening and my heart pounding, my palms sweating and mind swirling that we were about to see Luke. The drama of the moment is superbly played by Hamill. With only around 90 seconds of screen time, he conveys so much in what we see. He deserves full credit for his acting here and the moment still holds up.
Join us next week for the final countdown as we celebrate ten years of The Force Awakens.
