The document provides an in-depth review and analysis of the 2015 film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It discusses the director, studio, budget, target audiences, characters, genres, filming techniques, style, and key scenes and characters featured in the film's trailer. The review examines how the film aimed to appeal to both existing Star Wars fans as well as new, younger audiences in order to be financially successful.

1. Star Wars Film Review
General Overview
Director: J.J. Abrams
Studio: Pinewood Studios
Year: 2015
Country: USA
Budget: $245,000,000
Gross: $936,627,416
Purpose
The Force Awakens was made by Disney after they bought
LucasFilm and then made the new Star Wars film to
commonly make a profit for the company of Disney. The
purpose of a new Star Wars film was to obviously make a
profit for the company but more simply to portray a story
with Star Wars having many sequels, and therefore
entertaining the audiences. The Force Awakens targets two
audiences being the primary and secondary audiences. The
primary audience is aimed at existing fans and the older
generation, who have already watched and followed the
older Star Wars films. The new arrival of the next Star
Wars film pleases the Star Wars fans and makes this
generation excited with the arrival of original
characters. The secondary audience targets more of a
newer audience including teenagers and the younger
generation that are interested in sci-fi or action films,
Film Review

2. but may not recognise this film as a sequel or even the
original characters.
An advantage of Disney targeting younger audiences is
that they can produce merchandise such as toys, clothes,
stationary items for example, promoting the new Star Wars
film. The use of toys and costumes of characters in The
Force Awakens shows how the younger generation can
connect with the characters and the film because they
would recognise them as they appear in the film.
Characters like Rey would appeal to more female audiences
and Fin would appeal to male audiences as they are the
same gender. Same with the costumes in the film, young
girls would probably prefer to have Rey’s costume and
boys would pick to have Fin’s because it’s just the same
gender and they would connect with the characters easily.
In addition, the robot, BB-8, would reach younger
audiences because it is small and in the film, a funny
character. Children would connect with BB-8 easily
because they can play and interact with toys of the
robot, connecting with this character and recognising it
in the film.
Genre
The genre of The Force Awakens is based around the
genres, fantasy and sci-fi and this is shown through the
Star Wars films in many ways. To begin with the Star Wars
films are based in space so this shows that the genre is
science fiction and expresses society’s anxiety about
technology and the future. The genre of sci-fi is also
delivered by the use of old spaceships and robots and we
see these not only in the film, but also in the trailer,
where we get a feel for the space fantasy with these
unusual objects that aren’t in today’s society and
lifestyle. The trailer also starts with Rey in an alien
looking costume, which delivers the abnormal and sci-fi
genre to the very start of the trailer and film.
The film also perhaps delivers a horror genre with
potential jump scares and fear. This could be delivered
by the robots, villains and scary objects, like the
Skelton head for example. Primary audience wouldn’t be
cautious that Star Wars is horror based because they are
aware of what has happened in previous movies and so they
know what kind of environment and characters they expect
to see. Also the mild use of horror and jump scares they
would probably prepare themselves for it as they know
that sci-fi will involve fight scenes and villains.
Whereas, primary audiences would not know what to expect
and what kind of sci-fi aspects are included in the
movies.

3. In addition, dystopian could be a possible genre of star
wars based around technological with bleak, oppressive
features that are to be avoided. This is because the
environment and location of the films are based in space
and includes villains and unpleasant characters so people
would generally want to avoid characters like storm
troopers for example.
Form
The new release of the film would allow large audiences
to go to the cinema/exhibition to watch the new Star
Wars. The primary audiences and original Star Wars fans
are only interested in watching the new Star Wars film
and not bothered about 3D effects and IMAX 3D because
they are just interested in the context and plot of the
story, being the next sequel of the previous Star Wars
movie. However, the secondary audiences and younger
generation would be more interested in watching it in
IMAX because if they are not familiar with the storyline
following on from previous sequels, then they are most
probably just watching the film for the sci-fi and action
sequences because they enjoy watching these kind of
movies and genres.
The Force Awakens was all shot on a film stock and on
35mm bar the scene of Jakku, which was located in the
desert, which was shot on a 65mm. The reason they chose
to film on 65mm is because 65mm is used in IMAX and gives
a better clear quality. Using this 65mm in Jakku allows
for wide and extreme long shots to be taken in very high
resolution so the film is seen as a high definitional
film.
Style
J.J. Abrams has used the 80s sci-fi style to appeal the
primary and older audiences, who have previously watched
the original films. The original movies of Star Wars were
made in the 80s so the new films give a nostalgic feeling
to the older generation and audiences who had watched
them. To appeal to the younger generation there are
better high quality SFX and CGI which makes the fantasy
of the film more realistic to the Star Wars sci-fi and
action sequences.
Content and meaning
The Force Awakens uses a trailer to promote the new Star
Wars film to target primary and secondary audiences. The
trailer includes cinematography and different shots to
show the scenes of the new film. The film starts off with

4. a close up of an alien looking figure and as a secondary
audience, we would now know if this is a human disguised
or an alien. Although we do not know if this is a human
or alien, we do know that whoever or whatever it is must
be important because it is shown first. At the start of
the trailer there is a sparse musical score being played
by a piano, making the sound feel empty as only one note
of the piano is played at a time as the scenes and shots
change. In this first close-up shot there is a
significant voice over saying ‘who are you?’ spoken by
Maz about the weird character shown in the first shot of
the trailer. This is significant
because as a primary audience we
might find out who it is.
However instead there is a
change to Rey exploring an
abandoned warehouse and
industrial climbing, so we just
make an assumption it was Rey.
As the shot changes to an
establishing shot of the desert
location, with Rey walking along the sand suggesting her
adventurous character, we hear her say ‘no one’ which
iterates how Rey does not count herself as significant or
worth anything.
We are then introduced to the sky and Rey again,
highlighting to the audience
that she is aware something is
going to happen. We then see the
title of LucasFilm, which is in
the colour silver perhaps
highlighting how silver is the
same colour as the stars in the
sky, showing how this is a space
and sci-fi film. Or perhaps
shiny presenting good by the
seal of quality and how it looks
new, emphasising this as a new film. There has also been

5. an added sound effect to draw the audience to the
LucasFilm logo, presenting its importance.
Next is a wide shot of Fin, perhaps highlighting that
these two characters may have a connection or may see
each other in the same location or on the journey of
their new paths. The wide shot of Fin also shows he is
alone and symbolises him taking off his identity, perhaps
being more than just a storm trooper. As a secondary
audience we don’t know if storm troopers are bad but from
Fin changing his identity and the previous shot where we
saw them line up like Nazis, we get the idea that they
are bad characters, and
potentially from Fin
taking off this identity
we get the idea he wants
to turn good. The shot
of the storm troopers
was shown before we see
Finn so the audience
knows what identity he
is taking off by the
similarity in the white storm trooper costume. From the
dialogue ‘raised to do one thing’ we also get the
assumption that Fin doesn’t want to be part of this, as
he wants to be seen as a hero and a good character.
Later in the trailer we
are delivered with the
third introduction
showing the bad villain,
Kylo Ren. As an audience
we get the idea that his
character is bad because
of the colours the shot
uses, with a black
costume and mask and a
red streak from space.
This streak of red leaks
the shot so we get a
real feel for the danger
this character is going
to cause and that he
isn’t a good person. The
primary audience will
straight away recognise
this is the villain of
the film, Kylo Ren. We
hear a significant voice over saying ‘nothing will stand

6. in our way’ suggesting that Kylo Ren thinks his group of
villains are better than everyone else and that they will
win whatever they are fighting for. As a secondary
audience we don’t know who this character is as their
back is facing the camera so we don’t see a face, but we
get an assumption that the character is bad as the
colours black and red show danger. The camera is moving
towards him highlighting his importance in the film,
making the audience aware of his role and what he might
do to cause danger in the film. The voice ‘nothing will
stand in our way’ is simply his own voice and character
but the film has made the voice sound artificial with
sound effects to show how the voice does not belong to a
human, sounding metal and making the secondary audiences
create an imaginary face in their head of what this
character could look like. This shot begins in long shot
which is crucial for the audience, as we find out what
kind of environment he works in, which is a spaceship.
The next shot is a close
up of Kylo Ren’s face
which is covered with a
black mask. The shot
shows the character
staring at us, us being
the audience. There are
dents and cracks in his
mask showing his
powerful character and
how he can be physical.
The audience may make an
assumption that the mask
is taking a beating,
battling inside to be
good or bad but he has
chosen to be bad. We get
another line from Kylo
Ren speaking ‘I will
finish what you
started’, which primary audiences and star wars fans
would understand however secondary audiences would just
make an assumption it can’t be good. The shots use fades
in to reveal the characters and after we get a shot of an
iconic mask from Star Wars which people would recognise
as Darth Vader, if they had watched the previous sequels.

7. The next close up introduces us to a new character that
looks fearful, as Kylo Ren is potentially trying to hurt
this character. The camera is at a Dutch angle, where it
is not quite centre so the character isn’t looking
straight at the audience, highlighting that this
character isn’t as important. At this time there is a big
crescendo in the music, as it starts building up to
something bad perhaps. As an audience we are scared and
fearful as to what could happen to this character. The
music builds up into a quick dissolve and shows the
character’s expression of looking fearful and scared,
highlighting the danger of
what Kylo Ren is causing. The
quick dissolve merges into a
red coloured explosion,
perhaps a visual
representation of what is
happening in his head. The
colour red also links to the
red light savers, which are
potentially dangerous so this
character is full of danger.
The next shots are
destruction and action
sequences, where we are
introduced to a new
character and see
original spaceships
flying and getting old
audiences excited. We
are also connected with
music from the Star Wars theme. We get a voice over
saying ‘they were stories that happened’ which sounds
like a folk tale of imaginary stories that have happened.
There has been 30 years between the old film and this new
film so the stories have almost become legend between
that large time period. We hear the Star Wars music as
action sequences begin, creating a dramatic and uplifting
atmosphere as see the nostalgic Millennium Falcon and
Hans Solo, huge aspects from the original films. In
addition to the action sequences we hear epic battle
music and sound effects of explosions and guns shooting.

8. We then see our two main
characters, Rey and
Finn, in a two shot
where Rey is at the
front as the main
character of the film and Finn
is behind her acting as support.
The next voice over is ‘it’s
true, all of it’ showing a mid-
close up of Hans Solo. Primary
audiences know that Hans Solo
was the original hero in the previous films so of course
he knows that the stories were true as his was there. We
also see a blue light as Hans Solo is shown in the shot,
so the newer and secondary audiences would understand
that Hans Solo is a good heroic character.
Next, we see the iconic use of special effects used as
the light speed is shown as a blue tunnel. Blue again
suggesting that something good is about to happen or that
this tunnel could lead to somewhere good. After this, we
get another bit of text, following from LucasFilm which
was shown as very
significant, saying ‘This
Christmas’ which is shown
to get people excited and
how Christmas is used as
it won’t be that far
away. Originally new Star
Wars films would be
released in May but now
that Christmas is an
iconic time to release
new films to get big audiences to watch the film. This
creates more hype and anticipation for Christmas and the
release of The Force Awakens.
The trailer continues with many clips of action sequences
and the iconic scenes of Star Wars and Sci-Fi shots and
use of the iconic red light saver. Characters who are in
black and red stand out and creates a questioning as to
what are they going to do? The bad guys are seen very
prominently as they follow a design of red and black
coloured costumes and shots including these colours very
obviously. For example, we see the black ship and know
this is to do with Kylo Ren as it symbolises danger. We

9. see a mid-shot of bad guys with General Hux show
including iconic ships, conventions and the iconic use of
x wing. As an audience we are aware of the shots of
battles and where the bad guys are hiding, preparing to
fight. We are aware things are on fire and there is lots
of action, which is pleasing to Star Wars fans. This is
good so Star Wars is making the primary and secondary
audiences excited about
the action sequences in
the new film.
We then see another shot
of Finn, where we see a
contrast of his
identities throughout
the trailer, showing
he’s not a bad guy or
part of Kylo Ren’s group
as a storm trooper. At
the beginning of the
trailer we see Finn
taking off his bad
identity compared with this medium shot where he has a
heroic costume, pleasing star wars fans.
Next, there is a match-cut shot of one explosion in the
sky, to another explosion on the land, in time to the
dramatic music. The significance of this is that the
match shot is showing the similarity in the fact they are
both explosions but they are contrasting from in the sky
to on the land,
highlighting there is
danger everywhere in the
film. Then there is a
quick action shot of both
main characters, looking
terrified and in action
with light savers and
swords to highlight they
are saving everyone from
the problem caused by Kylo
Ren. This is also significant because in this shot we see
our main characters, who at the beginning didn’t know
each other and now working together to be the big heroes
of the film, making this shot an introduction to both
characters together.
This shot then cuts to scene with 2 robots and we hear a
voice over saying ‘they’re real’ highlighting the fantasy

10. and make belief that these unusual characters and robots
are actually just the
same as humans. As this
voice over is spoken
there is a mid-close up
shot of an iconic
robot, to symbolise
what the speech is
talking about. After we
see a figure hooded
with a metal hand on a
robot. Star Wars fans
would already recognise this character as Luke Skywalker
but people new to the franchise would not.
We then have another introduction to a new character,
Captain Phasma who is seen in silver which may make the
audience wonder questions like is she important in the
film or is she the captain for Kylo Ren? We then get a
shot of Hans Solo and Chewbacca, who look like they are
surrendering and captured, but we see them looking at
something – could it be
the storm troopers? Rey is
seen looking angry with a
gun, which may represent
her strength over Princess
Leia.
Next are shots of many
explosions, pleasing star
Wars fans. We also see
Hans Solo and Princess Leia hugging, which we see as a
reunion but from their scared expressions we know it’s an
important meet up and something has happened. Fans are
excited to see these characters back together. And the
newer audiences are enjoying the drama in the action
film.
The trailer then finishes with a massive build up from
the action sequences to absolute silence and a black
screen to show the importance of ‘Just let it in’,
leaving the trailer at a kind of cliff-hanger as we know
that Rey has the power of the force but doesn’t know how
to control it. We then see
the recognisable Star wars
title in the middle of the
screen with the star wars
music, so the audiences
recognise the film
straight away by not only
the font, but the theme
tune. We also are aware of

11. the release date and are informed that the film is
available in real 3D and IMAX 3D, targeting old and new
audiences. Lastly we see ‘TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ‘which is
persuading people to buy tickets now.