Reasons Why The Force Awakens Is a Great Star Wars Film (Part II): Plot Structure
What you are about to read is an essay that is related to other articles in a 10-part series on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. My purpose in writing these posts is to analyze the initial public response to the film, discuss what that means for modern film criticism, and then share my thoughts on why The Force Awakens actually is a great installment in the franchise. All of this is done in anticipation for the next Star Wars film, Rogue One, which will be released in December. See the list below for all previous entries in this series.
Previous Posts
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Welcome back to my weekly feature on Star Wars: The Force Awakens!
Considering that much of what will be covered today was already discussed last week, this post will hopefully be shorter.
But once again, to fully understand my forgiveness towards The Force Awakens and its so-called "recycled plot," I feel compelled to further explain my points.
With that in mind, this post will focus specifically on the matter of plot structure. The premise of The Force Awakens was already enumerated in the previous post, so here I will mainly talk about how that concept was executed.
As alluded to in my previous two posts, Star Wars fans took notice that both the story ideas and structure paid homage to A New Hope. I won't bother you again with all of the individual similarities, but two of them are worth mentioning anyway: a droid carrying crucial information, and a giant space station with terrifying firepower.
If social media posts indicate anything, it's that these plot elements caught the eyes of numerous moviegoers other than myself. But in response to that, I ask the same question I ostensibly posed last week: is it a bad thing that The Force Awakens is similar to A New Hope?
I represent that question because the similarities are mainly to provide a reintroduction for fans, as well as producing a new fan of Star Wars fans. However, when it comes to the actual structure of the narrative, writers J. J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, and Michael Arndt appealed to all audiences.
How did they accomplish this?
As explained in the previous post, this smart team of writers seemed to focus the overall conflict upon the characters. But to explain this further, I will reference some of the older installments in the franchise.
As strong of a story A New Hope may have been, it can be argued that character development was not its main objective. I can only imagine that this was a result of George Lucas likely feeling the pressure of creating a new sci-fi universe.
Don't get me wrong, though, for the characters in A New Hope were certainly memorable in that film alone. However, instead of having breathing room to grow, iconic characters Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca and Darth Vader were admittedly present to serve the plot. Furthermore, Lucas also needed time to establish lore and provide a suitable amount of exposition.
The fact that George Lucas was able to wrap everything together so tightly on paper and in the editing room is astounding to me.
With that in mind, though, let us briefly consider that film's sequel: The Empire Strikes Back. Many feel that this is the best film in the franchise, and a key reason for this is how the story uses its characters. As I just mentioned, A New Hope was structured in such a way that that the characters served the plot. In other words, the story centered upon the Rebellion’s goal to destroy the Death Star.
The Empire Strikes Back turned things on its head by placing its focus on the characters alone. After all, the central conflict stems from the fact that they are in the process of retreating from the Empire. Therefore, their journey is all about their efforts to regroup and prepare for their future struggles.
The overall conflict is much more personal in this regard since this allowed for the heroes to draw closer together as they face their most difficult challenges. All of this is evident in the fact that the majority of the plot has three intertwined storylines: Luke receiving training from Yoda, the crew of the Millennium Falcon fleeing to safety, and Darth Vader following orders. We learn a great deal about these characters as their stories unfold and eventually converge together in the climax, making for a suitably powerful ending.
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Not only that, but The Empire Strikes Back is notable in that it ends with a cliffhanger, whereas its predecessor with complete resolution.
That may be all fine and dandy, but how do these things tie back to The Force Awakens?
I mention all of this since that film is almost like a blend of those types of plot structures.
First and foremost, The Force Awakens is a straightforward sci-fi adventure. The catalyst for everything that takes place in its narrative is Luke Skywalker, for those on either side of the conflict are driven to find him before the other faction does. Moreover, the Resistance’s struggle to suppress The First Order’s heinously violent actions serves as a secondary motivator for the characters.
Interestingly enough, though, these plot devices are used in such a way that character development is not ignored. Aside from Poe Dameron, I would argue that the new characters are some of the most realistic, human and memorable characters in the entire franchise. How did Abrams manage to play the right cards so that this would happen?
Visual storytelling and strong acting are both crucial here, for even though the plot moves at a delightfully brisk pace, the movie often takes the time to depict its characters as genuine people.
The creative team, most especially Abrams, clearly understood how important characters are to the Star Wars franchise. Thus, time is set aside for each major player to shine forth and allow the audience to be invested in their stories. Great examples of this include Finn actively reacting to the Jakku assault, Rey taking in the fresh air on a lakeshore, Han Solo choking up when he sees Kylo Ren on the battlefield, and so forth.
You get the point here: the plot is well-balanced between the larger conflict and more intimate character moments.
But on that note, it’s also worth mentioning how the film reaches its conclusion. Much of the first and second acts of The Force Awakens bear striking similarities to the original trilogy.
However, things change during the third act, especially in how the script implements character interactions, foreshadowing, and basic drama. Although this part of the film takes place during the last-ditch effort to destroy Starkiller Base, attention is placed elsewhere. The writers wisely chose to focus on the increasing tragedies of the Skywalker family, as well as giving Finn and Rey opportunities to overcome their personal struggles.
After having seen the film four times (along with rewatching clips over and over again), I can’t imagine a better ending for The Force Awakens.
...And yes, I am not super mad about the fact that Han Solo is dead.
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Even though this film did not end with complete finality, the fact that so much emphasis was placed on character growth made the ending that much more compelling. The cliffhanger was made up in that both the heroes and villains changed from who they were in the beginning. Character development showed up in spades during the prequels, but to be quite honest, Star Wars characters have not been this interesting since The Empire Strikes Back.
But this is just one man’s opinion here. If you do not like the fact that the story is very similar to A New Hope in some respects, that is perfectly fine. My simple wish is that anyone who disagrees could see that there is more to this story than the good guys facing off against a third Death Star.
Next to only The Empire Strikes Back, this film is the best character study in the entire series. Given the fact this is only the first part of an eventual trilogy anyway, I cannot wait to find out what else lies in store for us.
I will talk more about the characters in greater detail next week, though, so stay tuned for that post.
Thank you for reading, and feel free to share your thoughts on anything I have written.
COMING NEXT WEEK: “Characters Both Old and New (Part III)”
Click here to read my original review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
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