Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The true essence of Star Wars, built on new characters who are fun, interesting, and above all three-dimensional, which is something I wouldn't have expected after the eternal division between the light and dark sides. Yet even more pleasing are the emotions of all the returns, reminiscences, and general nostalgia. The greatest triumph is the emphasis on a great adventurous story of self-discovery based on intimate family drama. Gone are the empty political talks that felt inappropriate and forced in all the previous installments, which is why The Force Awakens, with the exception of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, is the only episode that I can fully enjoy. J.J. Abrams brings a subtly subversive humor that pleasantly undercuts even the most serious scenes and saves its most powerful moments only for the most crucial scenes. And when he combines the archetypal outlines of the original trilogy with the longing atmosphere of the new trilogy, I find myself wanting to see and know more. Much more. (18/12/2015)

It's all there. Abrams promised that his Star Wars would be traditional, classic, and fans would be excited about it, and he delivered. It's all right here. When the old heroes show up, be they human, alien or mechanical, it's almost touching. Plus, the new ones fit in perfectly alongside them, and the trio of Boyega, Ridley and Isaac are spot-on and perfectly cast. The action clicks, the twists and turns work, and as a film designed to please the cognoscenti and introduce this universe to a new generation, it works brilliantly. Maybe too much so. Whereas with Star Trek Abrams had the courage to go further and cross the shadow of the franchise, that sadly doesn't happen here. He does his job brilliantly and sacrifices everything, often including his distinctive directorial style, to make "the right Star Wars". And in the end, he has no time left to shock, move or entertain beyond expectations. I don't mean to sound disgruntled, I liked Star Wars Episode VII, but the feeling that it played it unnecessarily safe is just too strong to speak of absolute enthusiasm. It's enough for a damn good movie, though, without any problems. (16/12/2015)

I’ve been waiting for the story to continue for many years and suddenly it was over. The result? I could find a lot of reasons to criticize the seventh instalment. Mirka Spáčilová in her review for Mladá Fronta did not disappoint. Sadly, she only stated in her review what could be somehow expected of this instalment. I wouldn’t be surprised if she just got up after the opening credits and left. Anyone could criticize that the story dilutes the original trilogy and does not bring anything new. However, introducing new characters in a universe like that is also a craft that not everybody can do, and I think J. J. Abrams managed it really well. Personally, I feel that towards the end of the year I couldn’t encounter better movie in the cinemas. There are fewer digital effects than real ones, which is really to the creators’ benefit. New characters played by Daisy Ridley and John Boyega are also really nice. Adam Driver also fulfills his mission in this story. He is a scumbag at first glance with clearly a weak will to be a weakling. However, the circumstances make him into a real monster. Add in an epic story like in the first trilogy. What else could you ask for? I really don’t know. (24/12/2015)

Let’s not be fooled by the clever promotional campaign parroted in most reviews and responses to the film – the new Star Wars is not a project by fans for fans. Abrams has not created an elitist fan film. Instead, based on the principles of fan fiction, he has taken the previous world, characters and moments familiar to fans and placed them in a new narrative with different rules that builds on the unexploited potential of the original and can appeal to a segment of the audience that has not been affected or has been overlooked by the original cult. Paradoxically, this segment comprises the majority of viewers standing apart from the obsessive adoration of Star Wars and the ceaseless criticism of Lucas, as well as the massive toy-industry lobby. Together with Lawrence Kasdan, Abrams awakened the Force, cleansing the series of all of the ballast piled on it not only by Lucas, but by all of pop culture. It’s not appropriate to reproach the film for lacking courage or playing it safe. On the contrary, it would be difficult to find a more progressive and daring concept within the major Hollywood studios than the plan to create a blockbuster based on nerdy archetypes, with a girl, a black man and a couple of pensioners as the main highly developed characters. The path to reviving the franchise has not led through a reverential copying of pre-digital Lucas; instead, Abrams is (at least notionally) taking up George Miller’s torch. The new Star Wars, together with the latest Mission Impossible, thus proudly follows in the wake of Fury Road as an emancipated blockbuster and new-age action flick in which CGI is finally given its place as a post-production tool and honest on-set work comes to the fore. (23/12/2015)

A decent pilot episode for a very expensive TV series. There’s no sign of the force, in fact, there’s not even the Sith darkness I felt so palpably in the old trilogy, or in Revenge of the Sith. If I were fifteen or sixteen, and Episode VII was the first thing I'd ever watch in the Star Wars universe, I'd have no motivation to seek out the older episodes. And that’s sad. I enjoyed it quite a bit, that's for sure, but I didn't find anything in it that would give it cult-status or timelessness, like the old episodes. If I had to use a comparison, Abrams's film is something like Terminator 3, decent Hollywood craftsmanship, but nothing more. (28/12/2015)