Disclaimer: These opinions are mine and don’t reflect the opinion of all of GVN.
Before we get fully into this article, let’s go through a few things:
- I’m just talking about Jurassic World (2015) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I’m not speaking about the subsequent two films that came afterward. These critiques are not for the trilogies, just the films that revived the, Mostly because I wasn’t too big of a fan of the next two Jurassic World films and I couldn’t be bothered rewatching the next two Star Wars films.
- I like the prequel Star Wars movies and have since they came out.
- I really liked Jurassic World (2015).
Jurassic World vs Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Okay, now let’s get into this article. While Jurassic Park and Star Wars are two massive franchises, prior to 2015 and 2017, both franchises hadn’t produced films since 2001 and 2005, respectively. So, both franchises reviving were big events. And, let me throw another disclaimer out there – I’m a fan of Star Wars. I’m not the ultimate fan – I haven’t seen every cartoon, read every comic, or even attended a Star Wars events outside of New York Comic Con.
My Love of Jurassic Park
I am, however; a massive Jurassic Park fan. I even love Jurassic Park III – I had a copy of the movie on VHS and watched it often at home. I was over the moon when they announced Jurassic World. Not only because I loved Jurassic Park so much, but because I loved the cast. I walked into that theater with excitement. My husband and I bonded over our love of the franchise when we first met and here we were, watching the franchise produce another movie. Please, let it be good.
Jurassic World (2015)
And it was. It was great. Not only did it have the right amount of nostalgia, but it was its own thing. A new Jurassic Park story that honored the films that came before it. I loved that the park was fully functioning, despite the characters acknowledging how bad of an idea it was and why it was good it never opened in the original trilogy. Let’s be real, as human beings; we’d open that park up despite everything. I loved the return of B.D. Wong and I thought the payoff with his character was well-earned.
Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard were great leads and played well off each other. The CGI looked great and I liked how it acknowledged that we now know more about how dinosaurs looked in real life and why they weren’t changing the look for the film. It made sense and fit well. The nostalgia hit hard when the characters explored the old park and I still get giddy at the line “we need more teeth”. It was a great revival and while I really wasn’t crazy about what came afterward, Jurassic World (2015) was the perfect way to make something new, while also hitting the nostalgia points.
Star Wars: The Force Awkens
Now, let’s talk about Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While I wasn’t the ultimate Star Wars fan, I grew up with my dad showing me the original Star Wars trilogy. And I was a kid when the prequels came out. I actually loved the prequels and it wasn’t until the dawn of social media that I found out that it wasn’t a beloved trilogy as I believed it was. Poor, naive Tia.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens was set to come out and as a fan of big, geeky projects, I, of course; was going to go see it. Star Trek Beyond had just come out the year prior and I was a fan of the new rebooted trilogy. So, as a good geek, I felt it was my duty to be bipartisan and see the new Star Wars film. I had to give love to both franchises.
I Think I’ve Seen This Before
Even as someone who wasn’t very knowledgeable about Star Wars, I knew The Force Awakens was a rehashing of A New Hope. Now, I know what I said just there is going to spark some controversy. These are my opinions. I was in the movie theater, feeling like I had already seen this film. It was honestly surprising. If I knew anything about Star Wars, it was that this was George Lucas’s life works. It was shocking to see something he created be mishandled the way it was. And granted, I was not (and still am not) a Disney hater. I had thought Disney would do right by Star Wars, but it was a blatant cash grab and plagiarism.
I remember after seeing it and voicing these observations that I was told by some older members of my family that I did not grow up when the original trilogy came out, so I didn’t understand nor respect the callbacks that The Force Awakens had. Sure, okay, but I had grown up watching the original trilogy, even if I wasn’t alive when they hit theaters. And as a 90s baby, I grew up with Jurassic Park and saw how Jurassic World could have callbacks, while still being original.
Kylo Ren Didn’t Learn Anything from Darth Vader
On top of all of the parts of The Force Awakens copying off of A New Hope, I also disliked the main plot point of the film. Now, let me start by saying that Adam Driver is a fantastic actor and I enjoy seeing him in projects. I even like the idea of him playing Kylo Ren and that character being the child of Han Solo and Princess/General Leia. However, wasn’t the whole thing at the end of Return of the Jedi that Darth Vader betrays the Empire, helps his son Luke, and pretty much reflects on all the bad things he’s done? The end of Return of the Jedi even now features an Anakin force ghost. Wouldn’t Darth Vader’s redemption not just apply to Luke, but also to his daughter Leia and her lineage?
It didn’t make sense for Kylo Ren to proclaim such admiration for Darth Vader and claim to want to avenge him. Did Leia not tell her son that in the end, his grandfather rejected the Empire? Sure, I’m sure someone is going to tell me that that’s just the manipulative wars of the Empire, but as the audience, it doesn’t make sense. It really felt that not only was The Force Awakens a blatant copy of A New Hope, but also disrespectful to the entire Anakin Skywalker story. His tragic arc that culminated in Return of the Jedi felt tainted by Kylo Ren misunderstanding his grandfather’s death.
In Conclusion
I’m not going to go on for too much longer – there’s plenty of criticism aimed at The Force Awakens by people much more knowledgable about Star Wars than me. But, for me, I believe that Jurassic World (2015) was a better approach at reviving a franchise than The Force Awakens. Now, in the years since, Jurassic World hasn’t really produced better work afterward. While the Star Wars sequel trilogy was not good, the Star Wars franchise has produced good things like Rogue One, the Mandalorian, Obi-Wan, and the Ahsoka series looks good. So, maybe we can say that Star Wars has had the better revival in general, while a bumping start indeed.
What do you think? Which movie was a better revival?