They’re back. Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and so many other familiar characters from the original trilogy that there were times when I thought I was watching the original film (do I need to add Episode IV?). The plot is very similar, whole lines are repeated, there’s location shooting and miniature models instead of CGI, and the stormtroopers still can’t shoot for crap when the plot requires them to miss. But, who cares! Because the force has awakened and the magic is back! This film is what we were all hoping the crummy prequels would be, and it’s going to shatter every box-office record there is.
This is a film for 2015. It feels like it’s been influenced by recent Marvel pictures in its photography and presentation, but it’s also been influenced by the expectation of diversity. We have a lead female character, Rey (Daisy Ridley), who feels three-dimensional, as well as the first real black lead character since Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissian (did anybody else think of Spaceballs when John Boyega’s Finn took off his helmet?), and any movie with Oscar Isaac in it is better for having him.
But, this is also a film that feels as timeless as the original trilogy in its mythology and in its genuine sense of wonder. Sure, it’s light-hearted, particularly Han’s snarky comments, but it builds a world that it wants you to believe in while not taking itself too seriously. At the core of this world is The Force. As a young, brash seminary student, I wrote a paper critical of George Lucas’ use of the Force- it seemed like an Eastern concept, more similar to the Buddhist concept of Yin and Yang than a Christian worldview. It is certainly true that the way the Force is presented is as equal and opposite sides of good and evil, like Yin and Yang. But the reality is that we know good is going to ultimately triumph, which is the essence of Christianity. As Han Solo says (in the trailer, so it’s not a spoiler): “It’s true. All of it. The Dark Side, the Jedi. They’re real.”
In a world that is constantly looking to deconstruct every truth claim, expose successful people as phonies, and make irony and sarcasm its highest forms of humor, The Force Awakens is a reminder that we really do want to be inspired. We hope against our doubts that there is a force that is behind and around everything and is moving us toward victory over the darkness.
And it’s true. All of it.
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