SPOILERS AHEAD: This article contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If you want to read our spoiler-free review, click here. The rest of you, read on… but know that you have been warned.
The praise for The Force Awakens is nearly universal at this point. Rotten Tomatoes has it at 95% among critics and 92% among fans. That’s about as close to perfect as is reasonably possible to get. The movie does have its detractors, however. A new review has just been published in a Vatican City newspaper, and not only does this reviewer dislike the film, he/she hates on it pretty hard.
The review, published in L’Osservatore Romano, and unattributed (fishy!), is an odd thing to see at all in a newspaper that usually deals with the comings and goings of The Pope. The Hollywood Reporter translates the review from Italian and while there might be some nuance lost in the translation, it’s clear that the writer really didn’t care for the movie. The primary problem, according to the review, is that the movie is "more reboot than sequel." The review goes on to say that even as a reboot it’s not as "classy" as Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, and that the movie is designed more for people used to sitting in front of a computer than those who sit in a movie theater.
The "reboot" point, at least, is a valid one. There are several key plot points that both the original Star Wars and The Force Awakens have in common. They both have droids containing important data that cross paths with our heroes, and a planet-destroying weapon that needs to be taken down. While the point is a valid comparison, it seems like an odd point to base such a critical review. Two out of the three original trilogy films contained the same enemy, after all. Even Return of the Jedi didn’t attempt to come up with a completely original idea. Apparently one person’s reboot is another’s homage.
The comment about it being made to suit a public more suited to sitting in front of a computer seems unfair, though. The review also calls the movie an update "twisted to suit today’s tastes." So...they made a movie to suit the tastes of people who go to movies? How dare they.
The whole thing really comes across as a "you kids get off my lawn" argument. Also, if you’re comparing the movie to a video game, please go back and watch the prequels again. We’re pretty sure the conveyor belt sequence in Attack of the Clones exists solely because it would have made for a good video game level. To finish off on a high note, the review calls the villain meant to replace the Emperor the "clumsiest and tackiest result you can obtain from computer graphics."
While there may be some valid points worth considering here, the basic premise appears to want to hate the movie before it gets started. What do you guys think? Who agrees that the film was this bad?
