Reasons Why The Force Awakens Is a Great Star Wars Film: Introduction

By this point, it's safe to say that Star Wars has gone through a massive resurgence. Not that it was unpopular beforehand, but in the wake of brand new Star Wars media being released to the public, it has once again become a global sensation.

All of that peaked with the worldwide release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh film in the main series' chronology. I mean, who wasn't expecting this to be a hit?

Because of a genius marketing campaign and a dedicated fan base, the film was met with a record-breaking opening weekend just a week prior to Christmas.

(Photo source: The Hollywood Reporter)

What added to the film's success is that fans actually responded well to a Star Wars picture for once. Many of these people (myself included) also went back, showing that multitudes of fans were more than satisfied with the experience.

Well, at least that was the case for most people.

A common complaint which has been launched at this film virtually since its release has been one of overwhelming familiarity. While many people I know have claimed to still enjoy the film regardless of this, they expressed disappointment that The Force Awakens shared too many similarities with other entries in the series.

In any case, it's no surprise that there would be some backlash in contrast to strong positive feedback. That's inevitable for any motion picture, and such is also reflective of a healthy pattern of human behavior. Opinions on film develop from subjective outlooks, evidencing that each audience member views cinema through different personal filters.

With that being said, I am confused why some wrote off the entirety of The Force Awakens for its close resemblance to A New Hope.

Don't get me wrong, I do agree that this is a notable weakness in this installment of the franchise. Despite my unabashed love for Star Wars, I wanted to view this film as objectively as I could. As a result, I drew parallels to many comparable story elements in both films; this goes to plot details as well as the story's structure as a whole.

However, in the nine months which have passed since the film's debut, I have since thought hard about my actual feelings on the subject in question. While I still think that fewer homages to the original Star Wars film could have been helpful, I hesitate to claim that The Force Awakens is a bad film for that reason.

(Photo source: Official Star Wars Website)

Why? Because simply put, it isn't bad at all. In fact, in my not-so-humble opinion, The Force Awakens is one of the best modern blockbuster films out there.

Over time, I've learned that it's tough to shrug off a work of art for one single reason and ignore all of the other great elements on display. This most definitely applies to The Force Awakens, for there are so much more good things happening visually, verbally, and structurally than just its basic plot.

As I have studied this film over repeated viewings, other opinions, and my own critical analyses, I now view this film as the benchmark not just for blockbuster films, but also for how I conduct film criticism.

These things, among many others, have led me to this very post. Why do I choose to write this article now as opposed to the film's initial release?

Well, the first answer to that question could be that I wanted to do something special on my blog in anticipation of Rogue One. But moreover, since the general consensus for various public opinions has now been reached on this film, I now wish to weigh in on how The Force Awakens truly does deserve its praise.

If you did not like this film, though, please know that there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The great thing about America is that we enjoy freedoms of free speech and opinions, so we should all respect one another's reactions to art. And believe me, I also understand how it feels to be scrutinized for thinking differently than others.

Nevertheless, I fear that this film indirectly shed some light on the troubles of social media and modern film experiences/criticism. Not only that, those venues for sharing information have resulted in some unfair assessments of the latest Star Wars film.

My favorite film critic Chris Stuckmann felt this way too, in which I will later reference a number of points he made on this very topic. These will be derived from his YouTube video that is dedicated to the general public viewpoint on The Force Awakens; that video is linked directly below.

(Video embedded from Chris Stuckmann's YouTube channel)

As a result, this post marks the beginning of a ten-part (including this post) weekly feature that will divulge my opinions on both The Force Awakens and modern film criticism.

I hope you will enjoy these thoughts I will share over the next couple of months. On top of that, I would certainly hope that at least something I share will stir your brain just like how mine was in the process of preparing for this feature.

COMING NEXT WEEK: “A Return to Form (Part I)”

Click here to read my original review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.