Star Wars: The Force Awakens ****

Dir:  J.J. Abrams

Starring: Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis,

When Harrison Ford, as Han Solo, made his entrance about 45 minutes into the movie, I wanted to stand up and cheer. That’s what J.J. Abrams has managed to achieve with this, the seventh Star Wars movie but the first to be made without the direct involvement of George Lucas, the creator of the Star Wars universe. He’s not only managed to wipe out the disappointing memories of the three prequels but managed to rouse the inner fanboy (or fangirl) in us all and taken us back to our childhood/adolescence when we first discovered this galaxy far, far away.

Abrams has done this by going back to the basics. So much so that The Force Awakens could almost be dubbed a remake of A New Hope (the very first Star Wars movie) because it echoes so many of its key moments. An orphan abandoned on a desert planet; a droid carrying an important message which could be the salvation of the galaxy; a feisty, bickering duo of young heroes with possible romantic sparks flying; a shadowy leader of the ruling empire; a Jedi who has turned to the dark side; the search for a lost Jedi master; a seedy cantina full of aliens; a last ditch assault on a planet destroying weapon – they are all there, as are so many of the characters we’ve come to know and love over the years: Han Solo, Leia, Chewbacca, C3PO, R2DE. But Abrams brings us enough of the new – including the very likable young guns introduced in this movie, Rey (Daisy Ridely, particularly good), Finn (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), the mysterious and deadly Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), and the lovable droid BB8. There are also some new mysteries as well as some heart-wrenching turn of events, setting us up for the inevitable sequels.

Most importantly Abrams has brought back the sense of fun and the celebration of the pulpy origins of Star Wars that ran through the first three movies (Episodes IV, V, and VI) but which was lost in the ponderous prequels and merged it with the heft of The Empire Strikes Back (Ep.V). You can nitpick with certain plot points but in the larger scheme of things this is a glorious return to form for this beloved franchise.

Cut to chase: The force is with the Star Wars universe once again.

 

Ho Mann Jahaan

Dir:  Asim Raza

Starring: Mahira Khan, Adeel Hussain, Sheheryar Munawar, Sonya Jehan, Nimra Bucha, Bushra Ansari, Arshad Mahmood, Jamal Shah

Veteran ad filmmaker Asim Raza’s big screen directorial debut has quite a few good things going for it - even if many of them come with a "but" attached. It’s got a great looking cast (no buts here), the soundtrack is brilliant (even if it consists mostly of updated retreads with only a few original numbers), it’s a great advertisement for upmarket Karachi (with just a passing nod to the city’s seedier or grimier or grittier side - for that you’ll have to see the terrific Na Maloom Afraad), it’s got a youthful vibe to it (though it is very old-fashioned in its own way), its camerawork is generally pretty good (though the use of soft focus is irritating and unnecessary - Mahira Khan and Sonya Jehan’s beauty is more than acceptable even with any supposed blemishes) and despite its length – it clocks in at almost 3 hours - it goes down smoothly enough without overstaying its welcome too much (though it would have benefited greatly from having its running time trimmed by 30 minutes or so - which could have been done relatively painlessly), and the movie even manages to believably weave its corporate sponsors (Coca Cola) into the main storyline.

So I had a pleasant enough time watching this attractive looking musical romance. But. And this is a big but. The script needed work. The characters needed fleshing out. The romance between university classmates Nadir (Adeel Hussain) and Manizeh (Mahira Khan) barely exists in the beginning for us to really care about what happens to them later. The musical identity of the band to which they belong - and which is so important to them and to the film – isn’t really established well (is it a rock band? is it a folk band? is it fusion? is it pop?). The twist in the tale concerning their bandmate and best friend, Arhaan (Shehryar Munawar, also a co-producer of the film) comes out of left field with no discernible clues being given to us beforehand and hence its impact is considerably lessened. And Arhaan’s abortive relationship with the older Sabina (Sonya Jehan) is hardly developed enough to merit a key scene between the two that would have been much more effective if the movie had been brave enough to explore in greater depth this May-December relationship. Similarly, the only hinted at but interesting history of Manizeh’s separated parents (Nimra Bucha, Jamal Shah) deserved a little more screen time. And the movie really could have done with a little bit more humour though of the subtle kind, that which came out of character and not situations – such as the early interactions between Nadir and his mother (Bushra Ansari).

In summation, however, while Ho Mann Jahaan may not be this generation’s Dil Chahta Hai (though it had that potential) and despite my quibbling, I still found it amiable enough to spend three hours at the movies.

 

Cut to chase: Harmlessly pleasant and watchable but needed some grit and some fizz.

Kmumtaz1@hotmail.com; Twitter: @KhusroMumtaz