Dir. J.J. Abrams
Characterisation is key to a good story, right? If so, is Star Wars, one of the most beloved stories across the world, solely good because of its characters? No, not really. The original film wowed 70s audiences with cutting edge visual effects, ushering in the age of the special-effects blockbuster, an age which has yet to see an end. I'm also sure that the music of John Williams immensely contributed to the success of the film. Indeed, the storytelling of the Original Trilogy in particular, borrowing from Campbell's Hero With a Thousand Faces, is mythic, and appeals to people of all cultures, ages, sexes, and so on. But despite all of that, if we didn't know, understand, and love Luke, Leia, Han, Vader, and R2D2 as characters, then that galaxy far far away would be lifeless.
With the release of The Force Awakens, 38 years after A New Hope, the question on everyone's lips was: Could the magic of the original films be recaptured? Could J.J. Abrams and Co. do what even Lucas failed to do with the Prequel Trilogy? Those films, released in the interim, were criticised for many reasons, not least a poor script that had characters beholden to creaky, overt dialogue. Seasoned actors like Samuel L. Jackson and Sir Christopher Lee failed to bring it to life, with only a few standouts such as Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi managing to leave an impression. Amazingly however, The Force Awakens pulled it off.
While elements of the plot were critiqued by some as being safe, and a re-hash of the original A New Hope, the general consensus was that Rey, Finn, Kylo, and Poe were instant successes. Perhaps more surprisingly, despite returning screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, many found the returning cast from the original films short-changed, particularly Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker, who only features in the closing moments of the film.
This was always going to be a thorny issue. Fans built up their memories of the iconic Original Trilogy characters through multiple viewings of the original films, through extended universe fiction, and generally had personal interpretations and expectations of how these characters would have lived on after those closing moments of Return of the Jedi. It would be impossible to please everyone, as the reception to the sequel The Last Jedi displayed even more-so than The Force Awakens.
Myself, a fan of the extended universe novels and video games, did have a pre-conceived notion of the future of these characters. Luke Skywalker being a married Jedi Master, with a temple of students on Yavin IV. Princess Leia raising multiple children as she balanced serving the New Republic, fighting external threats to her family and the galaxy, plus some light Jedi training on the side. General Solo, balancing his role within the New Republic and his old smuggling life, fighting Imperial Remnants, and dealing with the deaths of Chewbacca and his son at the hands of alien invaders.
I left all that at the door, something many fans found difficult. This became evident as they compared the interpretations of the filmmakers, ones they found lacking, with their own interpretations, sometimes based off older extended universe stories, sometimes not. I remember reading at the time criticisms of Han Solo's return to smuggling in the wake of his son turning to the Dark Side of the Force. I remember hearing people's issues with the fact that General Leia hugs Rey, rather than Chewbacca, a character she knows far more, after the death of her husband, Han Solo. Some of these criticisms were from hardcore fans, some from established critics.
Unfortunately, with the advent of the internet, many criticisms of character became toxic, and were weaponized not only by bitter fans, but by online trolls with more malignant intent. How many times have you heard Rey described as a Mary Sue? Or Leia's hugging of Rey being framed as character assassination? The discourse became tainted, with the original characters held high as perfect examples of character-writing within their own films, and newer characters and story decisions torn down. You try telling fans that Luke Skywalker (whisper it) is kind of a Gary Stu himself? Or that Han Solo has barely any character arc in Return of the Jedi.
But, here we come to the thorny issue. Because I love The Force Awakens, I love everything it did with the new characters. Rey's introduction, with that perfect John Williams score, is some of the best purely visual character storytelling I've seen outside of silent film. Kylo Ren is one of the greatest villains of the screen, more-so with The Last Jedi included, but even within this film alone, he would rank highly. I find one character decision baffling however, and despite it being a small moment, it's a flaw I find concerning considering the return of J.J. Abrams as writer and director to the trilogy finale, The Rise of Skywalker.
Han Solo and his trusty Wookiee partner, Chewbacca have been adventuring across the galaxy for decades. They are established from the first moment we see them in A New Hope as partners, familiar with one another, and as characters who have had some bad scrapes in their time. From dropping cargo shipments, to escaping bounty hunters, and eventually confronting crime bosses like Jabba the Hutt. They aid in defeating the Empire, becoming heroes and holding positions of power (although Chewie never did get that damn medal for helping blow up the Death Star). In The Force Awakens, we learn that after their son Kylo Ren fell to the Dark Side, Han and Leia's marriage fell apart. Dialogue establishes them as falling back to what they are good at - Leia, politics; Han, smuggling.
This carries through to the film, as we first meet Han and Chewie as they re-capture the Millennium Falcon from Rey and Finn. The two are hauling live cargo, and have become entangled in the vying of two crime syndicates for said cargo. This becomes an action setpiece, easing us back into the wackier side of the Star Wars world, while establishing Han Solo's current life. Incidentally, we also see Chewbacca use his personal weapon, a Wookiee bowcaster, a sort of laser crossbow with devastating effect.
Later in the film, the villainous First Order Stormtroopers attack Maz Kanata's castle, equivalent to the cantina in the original film. As our heroes flee the wreckage and fight the First Order, we see Han deftly use his iconic blaster. As they hide behind cover, Han asks Chewie "Can I try that?", meaning Chewie's bowcaster. Han fires it to great effect on some stormtroopers, then turns to Chewie, saying "I like this thing". It's a cute comedy beat in an exciting action scene. I hate it.
Leia hugging Rey I can side with. Within that scene Chewbacca is busy taking care of an injured Finn, he has no time for a hug right then and there. Plus I can interpret it as Leia and Rey sharing the same grief via the Force, Leia due to her husband, Rey due to losing her mentor. Hell in A New Hope, Leia comforts Luke after he loses Ben Kenobi, despite the fact her entire planet and people were destroyed shortly before by the Empire! Maybe she copes with grief by comforting leads in films, who knows? J.J. Abrams has since claimed, despite some defence on his part, that he regrets not having a moment between Chewie and Leia.
But a significantly worse flaw in characterisation I find is that bowcaster moment. In all the time Han and Chewie have smuggled together, he's not once been curious to try out the bowcaster? In no scrape has Han been short of a weapon and had to resort to using it? Come on. Why this moment, what merits this entanglement with the First Order as being worthy of Han's interest in the bowcaster? I know I sound like an absolute nerdy stereotype right now, but genuinely I believe this is part of a deeper flaw of Abrams' ability as a screenwriter.
That bowcaster moment is a comedy beat in an action scene, one that serves a function of pacing and blockbuster humour above sound character work. These are characters everyone loves and is familiar with. Does it not ring alarm bells to have Han ask to flippantly 'try' the bowcaster out? Like it's a shiny toy that has only now entered his mind to even attempt to use, despite Chewie using it with Han for years and years. That one word "try" is maddening. "Use" would have added some ambiguity - "Can I use that". The follow up "I like this thing", clearly implies he's unfamiliar with its use, but for fuck's sake, we're nerds, we can work around dialogue intention to fit interpretations of character. As it stands, it's almost impossible to work around that dialogue, that one word, "try".
Abrams is a huge Star Wars fan, as, naturally, is Kasdan, who originally aided in defining Han Solo with his witty dialogue in Episodes V and VI. How did this slip past the both of them? Abrams otherwise is a master at crafting blockbusters, due to his excellent understanding of forward motion of plot, enhanced by his direction. See his Star Trek movies, which even despite some deficiencies in plot details at times, work as blockbusters. See The Force Awakens, which has a unique, kinetic quality to it, deftly carrying you through with some nuanced character work for Rey, Finn, and Kylo along the way. As the sequel trilogy closes, and caps off the Skywalker Saga of films, that fine detail will be needed more than ever. I worry that Abrams may not have learned from his mistakes here, that character work cannot suffer as part of a wider framework of blockbuster pacing. The production of The Force Awakens was relatively rushed, so one hopes, with a new screenwriter on side, and more time, that The Rise of Skywalker will deliver that magic again, but with an older, wiser Abrams showing off what he's learned.
