I just watched The Force Awakens, and I’m going to get my thoughts out while it’s fresh on my mind.
First off, it’s good. Not “good,” as in, “well, maybe it wasn’t a total trainwreck.” No, it’s “good” as in, “tons of kids are going to emulate the new characters like my generation did with Luke and Han” good.
The visuals are impeccable. Abrams doesn’t feel the need to clutter every inch of screen real estate, so the creature and building designs really stand out. The dogfight sequences are kinetic and exhilarating. Poe Dameron is absolutely the man.
Which brings us to the dialogue. The earliest comedic beat in the movie comes from his back-and-forth with Finn (actually, “FN-2187”). It the kind of dialogue at which Joss Whedon excels, and a minute worth of witty banter sets up their characters perfectly.
The humor? There are no fart jokes or awkward mascot characters. Continued...