movies

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review (finally)

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

The Star Wars Trek

Star Wars’ Expanded Universe (EU) has been a crucial part of its narrative since its inception, even before the release of the sequel The Empire Strikes Back three years later. This expansion was marked by influential books like Alan Dean Foster’s Splinter of the Mind’s Eye and a few spinoff stories featuring the beloved character Han Solo. However, when Disney acquired Lucasfilm, they “rebooted” the EU, invalidating all narrative elements without the original and prequel trilogies; the primary Episodes would be rebranded as the “Skywalker Saga.” Three years later, Disney released the first canon entry of the sequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a collaboration between Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot production company.

Set three decades after Return of the Jedi, the movie introduces a new generation of characters. It revolves around the disappearance of Luke Skywalker after one of his rogue pupils annihilated his fledgling Jedi Order. His twin sister, General Leia Organa, leads the Resistance in defending the New Republic against the First Order, formed from the remnants of the fragmented Galactic Empire. On Jakku, a desert planet like Tatooine, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron discovers a star map of Luke’s location. This discovery leads to a chain of events, including the kidnapping and torture of Dameron by Kylo Ren, leader of the Dark Side-following Knights of Ren and successor to Darth Vader. A pivotal character in the narrative is disgruntled stormtrooper FN-2187, renamed Finn, who saves Dameron and escapes via a TIE fighter.

Kylo shares Vader’s dark sense of humor.

They crash-land on Jakku, escaping on the Millennium Falcon after the First Order begins an airstrike. The legendary vessel’s previous owners, Han Solo and his imposing furry friend Chewbacca, discover and board it, dealing with various gangs with which Han had conducted business. Afterward, the film cuts to political maneuvering at the First Order’s Starkiller Base, a planet converted into a superweapon (essentially a third Death Star, which the movie acknowledges, albeit capable of destroying entire star systems). Supreme Leader Snoke, who looks like a giant disfigured cross between Lord Voldemort and Gollum (with Andy Serkis ironically voicing the emperor stand-in), gives General Hux the OK to execute the weapon while questioning his apprentice Kylo’s capabilities as his enforcer (his reasons unfortunately spoiled to me by some jerkwad online before I saw the film in theaters).

The star map leading to Luke, harbored by the diminutive droid BB-8, is discovered to be incomplete. They travel to the planet Takodana to meet the cantina owner Maz Kanata, who is around a millennium old and offers the Resistance help. Visions of Rey’s past and the Jedi Order are revealed when she touches an old lightsaber below the cantina, which she allows Finn to keep. After a riveting speech by General Hux on Starkiller Base, the film’s dramatic high point, the superweapon’s fury is unleashed on the Hosnian System, home to the New Republic, leaving the Resistance by itself to face the First Order.

He could very easily be talking about many modern democracies. Try watching it in German, as well.

The First Order assaults Takodana in search of BB-8, with Kylo also capturing Rey and interrogating her at Starkiller Base. As the superweapon prepares to fire again, the Resistance launches a counterattack, with Han, Chewbacca, and Finn infiltrating the base. Kylo is confronted with a vile but heart-wrenching climax, after which the Resistance attempts to destroy Starkiller Base from within, with Rey and Finn confronting Kylo. The film concludes with a cliffhanger showing an aged Luke that ties into the following episode, The Last Jedi. The emotional impact of these events leaves a profound and lasting impression on the audience.

Probably the film’s comedic high point, ironically a bit before the emotional climax.

I didn’t have many expectations when I watched the movie in theaters, initially released in the previous decade. The trailers did an excellent job masking critical points of the narrative (but again, significant twists had been spoiled for me), and the focus on Luke’s disappearance at least surprised me. At first, it felt like a glorified remake of A New Hope (which it often and admittedly is). However, upon rewatching, I found it superior and better written, with the dialogue being nothing short of intelligent, including frequent witty banter, plenty of callbacks and homages to the original trilogy, and one reference to the prequel trilogy (“Perhaps Leader Snoke should consider using a clone army”).

The Star Wars franchise has always excelled in its sociopolitical commentary and themes, and The Force Awakens is no exception. Its chief motif is history repeating itself, freedom and democracy, and their perpetual struggle against tyranny, constantly being in flux. The characters, new and old, excel as always, with many, like Kylo, being very relatable and those like Han having had excellent growth between the original and sequel trilogies. While the sudden invalidation of the original Expanded Universe irritated many, the new canon has been just as enjoyable in many aspects.

Han probably had the best character growth in between the original and sequel trilogies.

However, The Force Awakens bequeaths many of the same issues as its predecessors, chief among them the sheer volume of events that occur offscreen, explained only in the canon books and television series, like C-3PO’s red left arm and the existence of the Knights of Ren themselves. Thus, the sudden dump of new characters, settings, and situations during the film’s initial release was somewhat problematic, with many books and series slightly filling the narrative gaps since then. There are also weird expressions like “moof-milker” (akin to The Empire Strikes Back‘s “nerf herder”).

Regardless, I enjoyed Episode VII upon my first rewatch, chiefly because it evoked many emotions from me, good and bad, and often hit home hard. I know its reputation has somewhat soured since its initial release, but I felt quite the opposite and think its themes could easily apply to today’s world. The characters and writing are superb, with the music and visual effects excelling as they always have throughout the Star Wars franchise. However, it inherits many problems from its predecessors, like the endless events occurring without the films. Even so, I was blown away by the movie when I rewatched it and will happily rewatch the following Episodes and the trilogies before.

The Good

  • Brought Star Wars to a new generation of fans.
  • Excellent characters.
  • Superb sociopolitical themes.
  • Heart-rending climax.
  • John Williams rocks as always.
  • Beautiful effects and battles.

The Bad

  • Basically a glorified remake of A New Hope.
  • Some questionable plot elements.
  • WTF is a “moof-milker?”
  • Way too many things that occur offscreen.

The Bottom Line

A great start to the sequel trilogy.

Avatar: The Last Airbender (live-action)

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

I watched the Nickelodeon television channel religiously when I was growing up but eventually outgrew it and moved on to other things as I transitioned into adulthood and started college. As such, I was in the dark about the network’s new programming throughout the first decade after the turn of the millennium, but I eventually heard of Avatar: The Last Airbender as one of their more contemporary cartoons a few years after it premiered on the channel and concluded after three seasons. It wouldn’t be until well into the following decade that I watched the animated series proper. 

My first exposure to the Nickelodeon franchise was its first live-action adaptation, The Last Airbender, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, previously affiliated with many a supernatural film with surprise twists. I thought it was a decent film, albeit certainly not perfect, even though critics and audiences widely deemed it a cinematic turkey, not solely the fault of Shyamalan, who genuinely liked the cartoon series and wanted to make several films out of the first season, before executive meddling watered down the final product and crammed everything into a single two-hour movie.

Like Disney had been doing the previous decades with their animated film classics, Netflix announced a live-action streaming series adaptation, in the producers’ words, “reimagining.” However, the first season largely follows that of the original series to the letter, albeit with some expansion, focusing on the background before the titular last airbender, Avatar Aang, awakens after a century of frozen slumber. Afterward, he joins others as he attempts to master the four elements while waging war against the adversarial Fire Nation, whose exiled Prince Zuko is especially interested in apprehending Aang.

While I enjoyed the original Nickelodeon cartoon and its respective sequel series, I had a fun time watching the live-action reimagining, which retains the aesthetics of the original and has fitting cast choices, none mercifully nepotistic like in the 2010 film, and stands well on its own. The backstory and mythos are intricate, and there’s plenty of action to keep one from boredom. It’s easily preferable to the live-action adaptation from the last decade, does the animated series justice, and is worth a watch. I will continue to watch it as future seasons are released.

Ben-Hur (1959)

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

A color remake of the 1925 silent film, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s iconic version released in 1959, like its precursor based on Lew Wallace’s epic historical novel, stars the late Charlton Heston as the eponymous Judah Ben-Hur, a wealthy Jewish prince and merchant living in Jerusalem, twenty-five years after the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, with both cities under the jurisdiction of the Roman Empire in the Judaea province. As in the book, Ben-Hur is condemned to galley slavery when loose roof tiles from a building from which he witnesses an imperial procession nearly kill the new governor. 

Three years later, Ben-Hur is a rower for the flagship of Roman Consul Quintus Arrius, who adopts him as his son after a naval battle leaves the two stranded, and the former spends time in Rome, training as a charioteer. The former returns to Judaea, meeting the Magi Balthasar and Arab Sheik Ilderim, who want him to participate in a chariot race before the new Judean governor, Pontius Pilate, although Ben-Hur initially refuses. However, after learning the fates of his sister and mother, he changes his mind, seeking revenge against Messala in the film’s iconic chariot race recreated from the silent film version and loosely done so twoscore later in the podrace of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

The rest of the film has Ben-Hur returning to Judaea to find his mother and sister, also witnessing the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. Overall, this film easily qualifies as a classic, yet deviates from Wallace’s novel in many ways, like what happens with Messala, the post-chariot race portions involving Judah’s mother and sister, and the absence of the scenes at the beginning of the Three Magi meeting and what happens with the Hurs after Christ’s execution and beyond. Regardless, it stands well by itself and is a significant part of cinematic history that warrants viewership by any cinema buff.

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Written by Union Civil War General Lewis “Lew” Wallace, the first fictional work of literature blessed by a Roman Catholic Pope (Leo XIII), and the inspiration for numerous live-action and animated film adaptations, Ben-Hur opens with the Three Magi: Gaspar the Greek, Melchior the Hindu, and Balthasar the Egyptian, visiting the newborn Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Twenty-one years later, the Roman Messala and the titular Jewish protagonist, Judah Ben-Hur, have a rivalry, with the latter being sent to galley slavery for life after a tile from a home whence he witnesses a procession nearly kills the new procurator of Judea, Valerius Gratus.

A few years later, Ben-Hur labors as a galley slave aboard a ship commanded by Quintus Arrius, who is fascinated by the young Jew and thus adopts him as his son. In Antioch, Judah sees Messala again and yearns to rival him in a forthcoming chariot race while hearing of a Messiah speaking of a greater kingdom, not of the Earth. The race transpires, but the results are contested, with northern barbarians dispatched to kill the Jew when he finds himself in an empty palace following the games. However, a maneuver involving his falsified demise allows him to escape.

Afterward, Pontius Pilate succeeds Valerius Gratus as governor of Judea, and Ben-Hur seeks his mother and sister, who went missing after the incident that led him into slavery in the first place. He eventually meets the prophesized King of the Jews, witnessing His miracles and returning to his former palace. Throughout the book, Judah befriends Balthasar’s daughter Iras, who talks of an escaped galley slave Jew who murdered others when they reunite. Messala’s fate receives its resolution, Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus, and the Messiah is crucified, having refused the throne of His ancestor David.

While I had read this around a decade ago, it didn’t very well stick with me, but I remembered some elements. However, I enjoyed Ben-Hur more with my recent reread. The historical and geographical tidbits indicate that Wallace did his research, with the names of the Wise Men and their respective countries of origin adding nice touches. I could well relate to the themes, within and without my Christian faith, and while there were many portions I somewhat skimmed, I could still follow the central plot well. Granted, much of the dialogue is awkward, such as “Unclean, unclean!” regarding lepers, but Ben-Hur is a must-read for any Christian book enthusiast.

View all my reviews

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Aimed at younger audiences, this animated addition to the Star Wars franchise occurs during the High Republic era, centuries before the Skywalker Saga films, focusing on fledgling Jedi younglings and beginning with six shorts that twenty-five half-hour episodes, divided into two stories each, follow. Throughout the series, the younglings repeatedly encounter a young pilot who goes by the alias Taborr Val Dorn. I highly enjoyed this series, my first exposure to any of the series content occurring in the High Republic era, and the Jedi youngling Nubs is undoubtedly one of the cutest characters in the franchise.

Home on the Range

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

This 2004 entry to Disney’s animated film canon occurs in the Old West, with wanted cattle rustler Alameda Slim, who can lure along bovines with his hypnotic yodeling, purloining those of Dixon Ranch. The remaining cow, Maggie, is sold to a farm called Patch of Heaven. A local sheriff, Sam, informs its owner, Pearl, that she must pay back a bank in three days, or her farm will go to auction. The cows ultimately decide to pursue Slim for the reward money to save their farm, aided by their fellow farm animals and others.

I’ll admit that given the horrid titular opening theme song, Home on the Range didn’t leave a positive first impression on me. Furthermore, I don’t care for most music that features yodeling of any kind; however, a few like that during the ending credits are pleasant. The voice performances are decent, like Roseanne Barr as bovine protagonist Maggie, Cuba Gooding Jr. as Buck the horse, and Randy Quaid (aside from his singing) as Alameda Slim. Unfortunately, the writing frequently sounds awkward, and some plot beats, like Slim’s yodeling, didn’t sit well with me. Overall, this film ranks below average in my view of Disney’s animated films.

The Marvels

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

The latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe follows the events of Ms. Marvel, also being a sequel to Captain Marvel, with the titular characters banding to battle the alien Kree, afterward another nemesis named Dar-Benn. Every time they use their powers, the Marvels swap places, like Freaky Friday in a superheroine setting. I thought it was a typical MCU film that attempts to fuse action with lightheartedness. While the cast performances were solid, with Samuel L. Jackson, as always, doing an excellent job as Nick Fury, along with a surprise after the ending credits, I honestly think that the superhero movie market has somewhat become oversaturated, and ultimately hope that the Marvel Cinematic Universe finds a satisfactory grand finale as it continues the next few years.

Ms. Marvel

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

This Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries follows Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old Pakistani-American high schooler who loves the Avengers, specifically Captain Marvel, but has trouble fitting in with society until she discovers her inherent abilities and becomes the eponymous superheroine, with the show ultimately tying in with the MCU film The Marvels. It starts a bit human-interest-centric but gives some decent insight into Islamic society in sync with Disney’s contemporary DEI approach and intensifies in the last few episodes. In brief, I didn’t think it was an excellent series, but I don’t regret watching it and will gladly see The Marvels as my next weekly film.

Hercules (1997)

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Disney’s original animated interpretation of the classic myth of Hercules opens with the songstress Muses narrating the film’s backstory in a musical style combining elements from the soul and gospel genres (and the studio back then was still mindful of DEI, even if in a different fashion), leading to the present where the gods Zeus and Hera have their titular son in Ancient Greece. Mythologically, the film fuses elements from Greek and Roman mythos, with Herc’s equivalent in the former being Heracles, but admittedly, that moniker doesn’t roll off the tongue, and deviations from the original myths abound.

While most of the gods of Mount Olympus celebrate Hercules’ birth, Zeus’ brother Hades, brilliantly portrayed by James Woods and the high point of the film, plots to overthrow the heavenly deities to rule himself. Thus, he sends his minions to kidnap the infant Herc and off him after having him ingest a potion that strips his immortality, although humans interrupt them and make them flee, leaving him with a drop of his godliness. Raised by mortals, Hercules faces estrangement for his excessive strength and discovers his destiny to rejoin the gods through heroism, with the satyr Philoctetes (or just Phil), just as memorable as Hades due to Danny DeVito’s performance, taking him on as his apprentice.

After proving his heroism in Thebes and boosting his popularity to being merchandized, Herc eventually confronts Hades and the Titans he seeks to revive while fighting for his eventual love interest, Megara (or Meg). In conclusion, this is probably one of my higher-regarded films in the Disney animated canon since I can easily relate to its themes of alienation and ostracization due to character and talent. Likewise, “Go the Distance” is an enjoyable central theme; despite what critics have said, I prefer Roger Bart’s in-movie rendition to Michael Bolton’s during the ending credits. As I mentioned, the film does take liberties with Greco-Roman mythology, but I nonetheless enjoyed it.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

The film adaptations of the first two installments of author Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians series seemed to amount to an orphaned franchise, but the Walt Disney Company, after acquiring 20th Century Fox, distributor of said movies, gave its crack at the fantasy novels in the form of a streaming Disney+ show. The first season adapts the inaugural book, The Lightning Thief, focusing on the eponymous dyslexic, attention-deficit twelve-year-old grade-schooler, expelled from school after a supernatural incident at a museum, whom his mother Sally begins to convey to Camp Half-Blood in a world where Greek gods and monsters are real.

While it’s been years since I last read the books and saw the films, I enjoyed the Disney+ adaptation, given its modern fantasy setting like the Harry Potter books and mythological influences. The episode titles hint at the show’s lighthearted nature (and borrow from a few chapter names in The Lightning Thief). Given that the length of all episodes totaled grossly outweighs that of the first cinematic film, it’s assumedly faithful to the source material, having excellent world-building and cast performances. Thus, I will continue watching this series as future episodes are released.