Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I don't mind the criticism that it's all too derived and the whole movie is the most expensive fan made affair of all time. I would even add doubts about the main villain, which so far looks more like he’s from a Marvel blockbuster... Yes, part seven fuses proven motifs and practices primarily from episodes IV and VI. Unlike Star Trek, Abrams moves in a much more stylistically grounded universe, but that doesn't mean he doesn't serve us a total abrasive delight, as Dan Nekonečný would say. After 136 minutes, the film rushes forward and the runtime is simply subjectively terribly short. The obsession with the overpaid mise-en-scène has disappeared, Mindel's camera moves more with characters who don't just recite theatrically, but rather breathe. The digital haze of the new trilogy has given way to materiality. Stormtrooper skirmishes are pure pleasure and there is no choice but to move the spin-off Rogue One among the most anticipated films of 2016. The new characters learn quickly. Emphasis on well-dosed pathos, gestures, timely winks - they learn it all with ease. But of course, the battlefield belongs to veterans who awaken the Force of Nostalgia. Star Wars has ceased to be an epic galactic saga about the taxation of trade routes and relations between various representatives of galactic politics, and they are returning to a fairy tale with everything that it encompasses. Epic arc, ancient scenes, big beautiful words. If the new trilogy was criticized as an operetta, this is an opera again. We may not seem to have much in common with 1977, but for me, this epic of the eternal battle of good and evil is as important today as it was in a time dominated by villains. Not so much because it contains a very complete feminist undertone (which torments Czech mental apartheid), but rather because it again fully recalls the validity of Yoda's thirty-two-year-old words: "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." Abrams may have just built a bridge between the old trilogy and the new universe, but it's a bridge that is a joy to walk on. (12/16/2015)

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. (12/18/2015)

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. (12/16/2015)

A demonstration of the Force and pure filmmaking goodness from a fan-boy who is one of the exclusive handful of filmmakers who understand how to hook nostalgics ages 30+ with an offset Millennium Falcon on their t-shirt, and wannabe nerds shoving a lightsaber on their profile picture just because it's popular on Facebook at the moment. I went to see the new Abrams film and understood how people felt at the end of the 1970s. It’s pure filmmaking ecstasy, brimming with kinetic action, divine special effects, balanced humor, winking at all ends of the galaxy, and, most importantly, another advancement of the universe. Whining about Episode IV being remade is misguided. The previous 6 episodes weren't really about anything else in the end. I have to watch it one more time... To get bored the second time and only really appreciate it after the third screening. I suspect there are so many hidden hints of things to come that in 2019 we'll still be wondering. (12/20/2015)

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. (12/28/2015)