The plot of “The Force Awakens” is itself an exercise in loyalty. If you really think that a hero, under “Star Wars” rules, is permitted to sit down and confront his nemesis over a cup of coffee, as Al Pacino did with Robert De Niro in “Heat,” you’re in the wrong game. It is decreed, say, that when two major characters, who have prowled around each other at a distance, finally meet for a showdown, it should take place on a thin spindle of bridge, above a gulping abyss. Abrams, were to reassure devotees that all is well, and that, whatever his frenzy of innovation, much remains the same in their favorite galaxy. The new film is studded with details of that sort, as if the primary duty of the director, J. Needless to say, that simple motion will incite seat-dampening delirium among fans of the franchise, who will need no reminding that Luke Skywalker performed the same trick near the start of “The Empire Strikes Back,” when he found himself dangling upside-down in an ice cave, with his sabre stuck beyond his grasp and a shaggy white carnivore preparing to treat him as Carpaccio of Jedi. Better yet, if the hilt of your light sabre is partially buried in snow and you can’t reach it, the Force-manifesting itself as a superior wobble-can pull the weapon out for you, like a splinter from your thumb. For instance, if you find yourself shackled to a torture rack in the stronghold of your enemy, you can brainwash your guard into releasing your fetters and leaving the door open. We learn, from this latest installment, that the Force moves through all living things, which sounds lovely, if a trifle nebulous, yet the uses to which people put it, in the course of the narrative, seem highly specialized and precise. Like the One Ring, the Force can be wielded for both good and evil ends, but then so can a set of screwdrivers. One virtue of the new film is that it encourages viewers to ask afresh: What is the Force, exactly? I always assumed it was something that George Lucas dreamed up after too many Tolkien-themed parties at U.S.C. Not that you can blame it for dozing off. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is, as the title suggests, aimed squarely at anyone who was worried that the Force was asleep on the job. There’s definitely a new and strokeable touch of golden-blond about him. Great balls of firepower! And the biggest news of all: Chewbacca has had his highlights done, just for the occasion. The Death Star has been replaced by what appears to be its elder brother, and at one point we see the two of them, rendered as holograms, side by side. The Millennium Falcon is back, although one character dismisses it as “garbage,” and you still don’t need an ignition key to start it. Photograph by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Lucasfilm Ltd. Abrams, feels young, and as an act of pure storytelling it streams by with fluency and zip. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” directed by J.
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