A Reel 10: STAR WARS - THE FORCE AWAKENS

“There has been an awakening…”

 

This month marks the 10th anniversary of STAR WARS – EPISODE VI: THE FORCE AWAKENS. 

The seventh episode of the series and a legacy sequel to RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983), THE FORCE AWAKENS was the first film produced by Disney after creator George Lucas sold the franchise in 2012. Picking up 30 years after the fall of the Empire, AWAKENS follows a scavenger and a former stormtrooper in their search for the vanished Luke Skywalker, with the hope that his return will fight off the First Order; the successor to the Empire. 

 

THE FORCE AWAKENS began production after Disney acquired the property from Lucas, who served as a creative consultant in the early stages. In the director’s chair would be J.J. Abrams, who had dazzled audiences with his STAR TREK revival in 2009. The script would be written Abrams, Michael Arndt, and Lawrence Kasdan…who was a co-writer on the Original Trilogy. John Williams would return to provide the score. 

 

Filming began in 2014 at Pinewood Studios in England, and on location in Abu Dhabi, and Ireland. The cast would include Daisy Ridley as the scavenger, John Boyega as the former stormtrooper, and Adam Driver as Kylo Ren; leader of the First Order. The rest of the cast would be rounded out by STAR WARS veterans Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Peter Mayhew…along with Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. 

 

THE FORCE AWAKENS would open to critical acclaim and would gross over $2 billion worldwide, becoming the biggest hit of 2015 and the third-highest grossing film of all time at the time of its release. It would be nominated for five Oscars and be followed by THE LAST JEDI (2017), and THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (2019). 

 

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It is rare for this Blogger to write up a 10-year anniversary, but for STAR WARS, exceptions will always be made. Long-time readers of Reel Speak know that this was the film that brought my wife and I together. And in 2019, we made the magnificent climb up the Jedi steps at the breathtaking Skellig Michael off the coast of Ireland; the now famous filming location for the new home of Luke Skywalker (read about that journey HERE). For this Blogger, THE FORCE AWAKENS flies close to the heart. 

 

From a filmmaking point of view, THE FORCE AWAKENS is a film that really moves. The editing and pacing have a rhythm to it, creating a sense of forward momentum with endless energy. Visual effects, sound editing, and John Williams’ magnificent score brings back the awe and wonder that STAR WARS does so well. 

 

In that galaxy far, far away, THE FORCE AWAKENS expands and goes deeper. It shows the impact that galactic politics and war can have on even the smallest of beings; Rey’s journey from lowly scavenger to hero of the Resistance strikes that chord inside all of us…the chord that always tells us we are meant for something more. As the first new STAR WARS film in decades, it revitalized the franchise with new heroes such as Rey, while combining them with nostalgia from the old Galactic Civil War. It honors what came before while setting up another ten years of STAR WARS content…with more films, video games, and streaming series. There was an awakening in 2015, one that brought us back into a galaxy of adventure and timeless optimism.

 

“It’s true. All of it.”