Movie Review: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (Warning: Spoilers Ahead)
Directed by J.J. Abrams, The Force Awakens evokes nostalgic feelings within Generation X. He gives us that with which we are already familiar. We were the generation that first saw Star Wars, that is the movie everyone now calls "A New Hope," in the movie theater when it was released. We grew up playing with miniaturized versions of Han Solo, Chewbacca and the Millennium Falcon, imagining what adventures Luke Skywalker and his band of rebels were getting into for the three years between films, gawking at the new and strange creatures to spring from the mind of George Lucas. Seeing updated versions of x-wing fighters, stormtroopers and tie fighters revived those memories within us. Leia was once again leading the fight against the forces of evil. Luke was once again the hope for freedom in the universe.
Abrams answered questions plaguing us for the past four decades. Han and Leia did get together. They had a child who took his steps alongside his uncle, learning the ways of the Force. And regretfully, although realistically, once the excitement of a shared struggle against the odds wore off, a star-crossed romance between polar opposites did fail, with both returning to that which they knew best.
We were introduced to new characters, with tantalizing storylines. After the first trilogy ended, exactly who or what lay behind the mask of the depersonalized stormtroopers was still a mystery. Now we were being shown a stormtrooper with a complicated storyline, one who found morality and rebelled against his training. One who grew beyond his numerical designation, and was given a name, Finn.
We were being shown a hot shot pilot, arrogant but possessing the skills to back it up. Poe Dameron was compassionate, and idealistic. He was dedicated to fulfill his mission of fighting against the sinister First Order.
We met Rey, naive and craving for belonging. "I didn't know there was this much green in the whole galaxy," she marvels when introduced to the forests of Takodana. It is a line with dual meaning. Not only was the planet green, so was Rey. Up until that point, she had only known the sands of the house desert planet Jakku. Now, her guide, Han Solo, had opened up a whole new universe, both literally and figuratively, to her.
And then we had Kylo Ren, a talented yet conflicted young man. He seeks power and glory. But while he terrorizes on the outside, inside he still debates his path toward evil. It is a conflict arising from his lineage, which includes not only the dark lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, but also freedom fighters Han and Leia. This conflict is skillfully placed on display for us, as he confronts his father, and begs him for help. But as the light dims from the devastating weapon sucking the life from a nearby sun, so too we see Ren, or Ben Solo as we come to learn his birth name, overcome by darkness and sever his connection to his family by murdering his deeply flawed father. Yet, we see hope of a possible redemption, as he resists destroying the budding hero, Rey, instead offering to guide her in this new universe and show her how to use this strange, new power.
Criticism of this new chapter tends to focus on our new protagonist, Rey. Detractors scoff at her discovery of Force sensitivity and label her a "Mary Sue." What exactly is a Mary Sue? It is a character, typically female and typically appearing in fan fiction, who exhibits incredible skills, irresistible charisma and is annoyingly perfect. Everyone loves a Mary Sue. Everything comes easy to a Mary Sue. A Mary Sue is so perfect, she essentially distorts the plot.
Set aside for jus a minute whether calling a character a Mary Sue is inherently sexist. The fact is, Rey does not manifest the characteristics of a Mary Sue. For one, Rey is far from perfect. Rey does not eagerly jump into a new adventure. She is a reluctant hero, who does not believe in herself. She does not want to set out on a quest to seek glory and excitement. She wants to stay home. Rey has no desire to leave her comfortable life as a scavenger. All she wants is for her family to come back to her.
Rey's skills, particularly with the Force, are imperfect at best. Recall that when she is introduced to possibility that Luke Skywalker and the Force are real, she dismisses that possibility as myth. He first brush with the Force is failure. Luke's light saber calls to her while In Maz's castle. When Rey touches the light saber, she receives a vision that she doesn't understand, and that frightens her. When Maz attempts to give Rey the light saber, she rejects, and runs away from her destiny.
In the forest, Kylo Ren easily overcomes Rey, paralyzing her with his knowledge of the Force. She is helpless against him, and becomes his prisoner.
Rey only starts to realize her potential for wielding the Force when Ren has her captive and restrained, and tries to reach into her mind. But once Ren touches her mind, the Force is awakened in Rey. Kylo Ren has inadvertently opened the door. Now Rey is able to step through. She is able to turn the connection that Ren created back on him, and see into his mind. In doing so, she begins to reveal the insecurities that Ren hides, namely that he is not as powerful as his grandfather, Darth Vader.
Rey has not discovered her abilities within the Force on her own. Ren has opened that path to her. It is only after Ren has opened the doorway within Rey's mind, a doorway that Rey desparately tried to keep shut, that Rey then experiments with her newfound potential. But even then, she is clunky. Left alone with a stormtrooper guard, she fails spectacularly when she attempts the "old Jedi mind trick" on him. Commanding the stormtrooper to loosen her restraints, he defiantly asserts that he will tighten them. Rey requires multiple attempts at this newfound ability before she gets it right. Even then, it doesn't occur to her initially that she would need a weapon if she were to escape. She only commands the stormtrooper to drop his weapon as he is almost out the door. Surely, a perfect character, strong in the Force would have had this all planned out before even attempting to execute it.
But even after showing success in her first attempt to wield the Force, her skills remain imperfect. It is Finn who first battles Kylo Ren with Luke's light saber in the snow covered forest of Starkiller base. Rey picks up the light saber, after Finn is critically injured. as she fights with Ren, she is clunky and unskilled. She throws he saber around recklessly. Kylo Ren recognizes this, instructing her that despite being strong in the Force she needs a teacher. Rey then closes her eyes, and charges at Ren with aggression and anger.
Recall, aggression, anger, those lead to the dark side. The dark side of the Force is easier to wield. It is seductive. In her light saber duel with Kylo Ren, Rey is being seduced by the dark side. She doesn't know any better. It is through the dark side that Rey ultimately defeats Ren. It is not because of perfect skills. Indeed, her journey towards the Force starts in an all but perfect fashion.
Note further that Rey's character does not distort the plot. Like Luke in a New Hope, she has begun her hero's journey. But this plot is complicated by Kylo Ren's internal conflict. While we see Kylo early in the movie confident and evil, his confrontation with his father, Han, raises doubts within him. This is a conflict that does not depend on the presence of Rey. Indeed, at this point in the story, Rey makes no attempt to redeem him. It is Ren who attempts to recruit Rey to the dark side, uner his tutelage.
But what about her mechanical knowledge? How could she possible know how to fix the complicated and fickle hyperdrive of the Millennial Falcon? Rey has been around the mechanics of space ships her entire life. When she is scavenging, she is picking apart the complicated engines of downed Imperial warships. In order to know which parts are valuable, she would need to know what they do. Han isn't just spontaneously impressed with her. Han is impressed with Rey because she has put to use knowledge that she had built up over time.
Likewise, Finn doesn't fall for Rey because she is oozing in physical perfection. Indeed, for a female character in a Star Wars film, where a princess was forced to where a sexy slave girl costume, and Twi'leck women titillate by dancing half naked, Rey is rather demure and modest. Finn has been forced to live in a world where his colleagues are forced to wear face-covering helmets. Of course the first time he sees an even remotely attractive female, he would be smitten.
Rey, in the Force Awakens, simply does not possess the characteristics that embody a Mary Sue.
Returning to the rampant sexism inherent in labeling a character a Mary Sue, it is a criticism mostly stamped on strong female characters. Comic book heroes, like Batman and Superman, clearly possess idealized physical characteristics. Back in episode four, Luke's first attempt to utilize the Force allows him to get off a more accurate shot than his computer-guided companions, and destroy a terror-inducing planet-killing weapon. Yet, when men exhibit these traits, they are rarely labeled a Mary Sue. Quite frankly, this criticism hoisted upon Rey is nothing more than rampant sexism from fan boys resentful that the main hero of "The Force Awakens" is female.
The film is by no means perfect. It lacks in originality. The plot is essentially a rehash of the first Star Wars movie, that is Episode Four. The MacGuffin is a tiny droid, who communicates in whistles and beeps, carrying information wanted by both the good guys and the bad guys.
The band of rebels, this time called "the Resistence," seeks to destroy a new weapon, a large ball in space that has immense power to destroy. Only this time, the weapon is no small moon. The weapon is a planet, capable of emitting a burst of energy that can destroy not only a planet, but an entire planetary system.
Abrams follows the same monomyth of Joseph Campbell that inspire George Lucas to create Luke Skywalker. A hero, whose lineage is a mystery, follows a call to adventure. She receives aid from a protective figure, and a magical talisman, indeed the very same magical talisman bestowed upon Luke. She crosses a threshold, literally entering through a dark tunnel of the empty shell of a fallen Star Destroyer, and finds herself in a whole new universe. She finds herself ready to take her first test, as she eventually finds the legendary figure she expects to be her new teacher. Yes, we have definitely seen this play out before, and in this series of films.
But, the film's lack of originality is not it's only problem. Much of the universe its reveals appears to be contrived, and lacking logic. There is already a functioning galactic government, the New Republic. So what is the First Order? It is not like the Galactic Empire from the first trilogy, which was the oppressive government. Where did the First Order come from? What is its purpose? If it is not a government, then how exactly did it muster the resources to build an army of stromtroopers, a fleet of warships, and weapon imbedded in a planet that seemingly defies the laws of physics? These are puzzling questions to say the least.
Other questions that plague the movie include the origin of Leader Snoke. He appears ancient and damaged. Where was he when the Sith corrupted the first Republic, and created the Galactic Empire? Who are Rey's parents, and why did they abandon her? What does Rey's vision mean?
Why did Skywalker abandon his friends and family? Why is he hiding on a recluse planet no one can find without the map BB-8 is holding?
The film ended on a hopeful note. R2-D2, who had been in hibernation without his master, Luke, revives once the map to Skywalker is secured, and shows the protagonists how to find the Jedi Master. Although Finn is in a coma, Rey has teamed up with Chewbacca to seek out Skywalker, and recruit him for the new battle against evil. Indeed, the film ends with Rey offering Luke his light saber, as if to implore his assistance in the new epic struggle. As The Force Awakens ends, we are left with the hope that the questions raised in the film will be answered satisfactorily, and the conflict between good and evil resolved, in the films to come.
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References
Bronzite, Dan, "The Hero's Journey --Mythic Structure of Joseph Campbell's Monomyth," Movie Outline.
Framke, Caroline, "What is a Mary Sue, and does Star Wars: The Force Awakens have one?", Vox (December 28, 2015).
Internet Movie Database, "Star Wars: Episode VII -- The Force Awakens."
Kurland, Michael, "What is a MacGuffin," The Writer.
Mansky, Jackie, "What Is a 'Mary Sue'?", Smithsonian Magazine (May 16, 2019).
"Mary Sue," TV Tropes.
Moyers, Bill, "The Mythology of 'Star Wars' with George Lucas," billmoyers.com (June 18, 1999).
Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki, "Takodana Castle."
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