✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Cinema

Star Wars review: The Force Awakens ★★★★★

17 Dec 15 – 31 Jan 16, 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM

The latest instalment the Star Wars franchise: Episode VII: The Force Awakens meets our high expectations

By CW Contributor on 29/12/2015

1 CW reader is interested
Star Wars: The Force Awakens film still
Star Wars: The Force Awakens film still
Star Wars review: The Force Awakens 4 Star Wars review: The Force Awakens Caroline Halstead
Given the hype surrounding Star Wars: The Force Awakens – the latest instalment of that most iconic film franchise – we’ll get straight to the point. This is a blockbuster par excellence. Yes, it deals principally, and often comically, in clichés – good vs. evil, light vs. dark, the old hand who’s still got it – but it still manages to be hugely entertaining, not to mention genuinely moving.


As in the previous instalments of this thirty eight year old franchise, it tells the story of a galaxy threatened by great evil. The First Order, much like the Empire before them, are a coterie of masked figures, hell-bent on total domination and in control of an infernal arsenal. This time around the galaxy’s saviours are Rey and Finn. The former, a scavenger eking out a living in a desert wasteland; the latter, a rebellious Stormtrooper who refuses to assent to his commander’s brutal orders. Played by relative newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, the pair’s on-screen chemistry is undeniable. In the hands of less talented actors, the script’s comic understatement and slightly awkward repartee could fall flat. It’s to their credit that, here, it doesn’t.


The duo are joined by a gang of resistance fighters, among them returning characters Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Princess Leia (now Commander Organa). And these old favourites aren’t all that’s back. The film recycles plenty of its plotlines, and does so with a delectable knowing. The First’s Order new weapon is in effect a larger version of the Death Star. At one point, there’s even a hologram comparing the two. Meanwhile the infamous father-son showdown makes a welcome return, staged once more at the hollowed heart of a space station. Far from laziness, this is a moment of self-reference that draws its force from the series’ history: it feels timeless, almost elementally dramatic.


In much the same way, the villain of the piece Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver), draws inspiration from Darth Vader. In their cloaked garb and icy screen presence, there’s much that unites the two baddies. That said, there’s a capriciousness to Ren that separates him from Vader, and leaves Driver’s performance feeling fresh and terrifying in its own particular way.


The special effects, meanwhile, are as spectacular as you would hope and expect. Lasers fire across the galaxy; space ships hurtle between planets at light speed, and lightsabres smash into each other in perfectly choreographed fashion. It’s not exactly subtle, but it is deadly effective. You could say this of the film generally – the dialogue is lean, and the narrative familiar – but somehow it just doesn’t matter. The fact is, it’s tricky to think of a more enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours.


Star Wars outdoors:
The Force Awakens is being screened in London parks this summer as part of Luna Cinema's open-air film programme - book your tickets now!


What Star Wars review: The Force Awakens
Where Various Locations | MAP
Nearest tube Leicester Square (underground)
When 17 Dec 15 – 31 Jan 16, 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Price £Various
Website Click to go to Star Wars: The Force Awakens official website



Most popular

Things to do in London this weekend: 3–5 February
Things to do in London this weekend: 3–5 February
Zadie Smith new novel, The Fraud, to be released in 2023, photo Justin Holler
An A to Z of trends for 2023
Helena Bonham Carter in Nolly, ITVX (Photo: ITV)
What to watch on TV this week

Don't miss:


  • 1. THE REVENANT

    Birdman director's gritty new drama will competes for Christmas box office figures

    2 . NETFLIX CONTROVERSY

    Idris Elba's Oscar tipped $12 billion feature

    3. UNIQUE CINEMAS IN LONDON

    Our top places to watch arthouse and independent cinema

    4. JAMES DEAN BIOPIC

    Robert Pattinson stars as the Hollywood hearthrob's shutterbug

    5. THE MARTIAN

    Ridley Scott's new blockbuster is causing a galactic stir




Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
1

Sci Fi

Star Wars

J. J. Abrams

Action

Blockbuster

Children's Films

Book now!

You might like

  • Brand: A Second Coming film still

    Brand: A Second Coming | Documentary about Russell Brand ★★★★★

  • Crimson Peak Review

    Crimson Peak Review ★★★★★

  • Still from The Lobster

    The Lobster film review ★★★★★

  • The Revenant film still

    The Revenant film review: "violently immersive, bleak and beautiful" ★★★★★



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×