The Force Awakens has generally been recognized as the most successful of the sequels. It brought the 7th installment of the Star Wars saga to the big screen and did not garner the criticism of The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker.
Yet, we may have issues with the storytelling in Force Awakens and find it weird or strange. Read on to find out more.
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Problems with the Storytelling in The Force Awakens
Many fans reacted to The Force Awakens similarly to posts on this discussion board. They remember the excitement of going to see this movie in 2015 and thought the story was good, especially compared to the next two installments.
In essence, fans and critics enjoyed this movie but were saddened or angered over how “the rest of the trilogy was executed so poorly.”
Yet, as we think more about the storytelling in the first of the sequels, we may reconsider its merits and see more downsides.
The problem with the storytelling in The Force Awakens may have to do with how characters are introduced. Characters like Rey were brought out “before they are of any value to the story” and provide a contrived quality to the movie. It could have been better if we followed BB-8 until “he bumped into Rey” and then proceeded with her story.
That type of character integration into the story is how the original trilogy worked along with shows like Andor.
Other commentators on the above Reddit board reveal how in Andor “Cassian asks Bix to call her dealer, which brings in Luthen” and then “Luthen’s thread spins off.” That matches with how Luke was introduced back in A New Hope. Characters were woven in and then developed.
In contrast, The Force Awakens seems to jump around with its characters and not have the coherence of other Star Wars films and shows. The reason for these storytelling issues may arise from the disjointed nature of the sequel trilogy.
This article provides a synopsis of how J.J. Abrams “originally intended for Rey to be descended from Obi-Wan Kenobi” until Rian Johnson came on to do the second movie.
Once Abrams returned for the final installment, he may have then “decided that Rey would be descended from Emperor Palpatine.” Those changes with Rey, or unplanned character origins, coincide with wayward storytelling.
These viewpoints coincide with other criticisms of the first sequel. Beyond the repeated criticism that this movie was a rehashed New Hope, it also undermined the premise that the New Republic had been re-established. The story has the Republic as “the underdogs” again.
So, we could conclude that The Force Awakens has problems with how it conveys the story and the story structure.
The Counterpoint
However, not everyone sees The Force Awakens as a jumbled and misconceived story. Opinions have been divided among fans and critics alike, with many finding merits in the first sequel.
The top response on this forum engages the argument over this film and delivers several reasons why we should recognize it as a good film with a good story. “Great character arcs” provide the leading reason, with Rey emerging through the story as the main protagonist. The main plot with the conflict between the First Order and the Starkiller base was also clearly delivered.
As this article contends, “In The Force Awakens, JJ Abrams and screenwriters Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt returned to the classic storytelling that defined the original films.”
This counterpoint even argues that the ending of this movie surpassed A New Hope by giving “Rey the hero’s journey she deserved.” The original Star Wars movie also may have messed up the story with Luke’s lightsaber having no relevance in the first film.
With the release of the film in 2015, this article acknowledges the “rip-off” quality in Force Awakens but sees it as an attribute. Just as comics like the Spider-Man series retell or reconfigure “origin stories”, so did this movie but with a Star Wars twist. J.J. Abrams did not remake A New Hope but “mostly remade A New Hope with mostly new actors.” The argument is that this was a purposeful and different kind of retcon to appeal to fans and revive the saga.
The Storytelling Force Awakens
We may not be convinced by the counterpoint, but it is worth considering it. We may recognize the following, or copying, of A New Hope as a failure and weird or see it as a means to revive the franchise.
More recent views tend to emphasize the strange failures of storytelling, while those a few years back or more prioritize the success of the story.