Dream of diversity actualized in ‘The Force Awakens’

Rey (Daisy Ridley) runs to save herself—and embrace her stellar destiny.

By the time this comes out, many readers shall have already watched “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” so our notes on J. J. Abrams’ films aren’t exactly “breaking news.” —Just call them “follow-up views” to either confirm or contradict what you already think about the movie:

The aspect we liked most about the new sci-fi saga was its breathless and breath-taking storytelling, despite the many diverse elements it had to weave together. True, some excessively brisk exits and entrances weren’t all that “logical,” but it was a minor drawback that we could live with, for the sake of excitingly crisp editing.

Big plus

Also a big plus for us was the deft way that Abrams and his team were able to make the film franchise’s past impinge upon and add reverberations to its new story and characters. It was bracingly moving, for example, to see Han Solo (Harrison Ford) interacting with his young counterpart, Rey, who “just happened to be female (she’s beautifully and vividly portrayed by exciting, new find, Daisy Ridley).

Similarly impressive and instructive was the film’s clear emphasis on diversity in its cast of characters, with not just a female protagonist, but also a black hero in the reneged stormtrooper, Finn (John Boyega).

And that’s just for starters: Aside from humans of all persuasions and colors, there are creatures from different worlds, from the sublime to the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious—plus, robots, monsters and even more far-out products of its literally spaced-out artists’ wildest imaginings—!

It’s deeply moving to realize that this dizzying diversity isn’t just for show and fun—it’s the film’s view of how the world can and should look many years hence—completely free of the polarizing and destructive onus of racism, sexism and all the other ugly -isms that divide and demean us today!

Yes, this is “just” a movie, but may its prediction of a completely diverse and fully integrated future world come true—as soon as possible!

On the minus side, we can observe that the film’s final fourth section is too heavy with “big” scenes, confrontations, battles, even the explosion of an entire planet—etc. Many of the film’s principal heroes and villains “have” had to be given penultimate and ultimate confrontations to the death, most of which are individually exciting—but cumulatively stultifying.

In addition, some of the mature cast’s performances are too nominal and sluggish, like Princess Leia, who’s now supposed to be a general, but is too laid-back to be believed as such. It’s a good thing that Ford as Han Solo is still able to make his character crusty, ornery and fun—never mind if he looks like Han Solo’s grandfather.

Let’s end on a more positive note, because “The Force Awakens” is predominantly a bracingly upbeat viewing experience:

On point of performance, the movie’s younger actors rule the roost, scoring thespic points with their incipient star turns. The film’s biggest star discovery is Daisy Ridley—a rare combination of beauty, acting, agility, dynamism, verve—and the prized X Factor that, coupled with a great “breakthrough” role like Rey, transforms a starlet into a star.

But, even Ridley has competition in terms of audience appeal —it’s provided by the new robot, BB-8, who holds its own in the face and force of all that human “star value.”

Yes, BB-8 is “just” a roly-poly ‘bot, but, oh, what a doll! In the next “Star Wars” installment, BB-8 should be introduced to Wall-E—and they should get married and beget—the cutest baby ‘bots in the universe!