Hey,
what’s up? What’s good, world? I’ve finally – yes, finally – decided to come
out of my blogging slumber and stop being my lazy bum self and write something
for you all to read, because I know you’ve missed that… Or, at least, I hope
you did (‘cause, you know, if you didn’t, then that would suck for me).
That
aside, OHMYGOD, HAVE YOU SEEN EPISODE VII?!?!
Now,
I’m gonna try and touch on this movie
as best as I can without spoiling anything, but that doesn’t mean I might let
some tiny things slip out, so… yeah.
You have been warned.
I
grew up on Star Wars. I remember
watching The Phantom Menace on VCD
when I was, like, 3 or 4, and I remember asking my Dad if there were any more
movies like that because – gasp – I was a kid who loved The Phantom Menace for what it was. It was kind of odd that my love
for Star Wars started with what many
considered to be the worst movie in the saga, but that was where it began.
Before you continue,
play this, to get you in the mood.
After
that, I ended up watching the original trilogy and I have loved these movies
ever since. Then I went to watch Revenge
of the Sith in theaters and, strangely enough, that movie (to me, at least)
defined what I wanted to get out of
watching a movie.
And
now we’re here – six movies, a dozen video games, and a s**t-ton of toys later.
I have waited,
literally, ten years for this movie.
I’m
gonna get to the nitty-gritty bits now.
So, The Force Awakens takes place thirty
years or so after Return of the Jedi
and the universe is more or less a s***tier place than Luke and friends had
intended to leave it. We have a new evil empire and we have a corresponding
resistance group, that being the First Order and the Resistance, respectively.
Everything feels familiar, and, at times, too
familiar.
I
sorta expected The Force Awakens
(which, from now on, I’m just gonna shorten to TFA to save time and because I’m a lazy bum) to contain multiple
plot elements from A New Hope because
that would be the easiest way to draw viewers – especially Star Wars virgins (how can you live with yourselves, by the way?) –
into this new trilogy.
Do I
have a problem with that? I can see why some would find it to be a problem, or at the very least think it could be too
familiar, but I, for the most part, have none.
You
see, the thing is, when you go into the theater and you sit down for TFA, you have to know that this is the
movie to rake in an entirely new generation of fans. It’s a Star Wars movie for people who love
movies.
And TFA does have a lot of those elements
that made the original trilogy what it is.
For
one, TFA is a character-based and a
character-driven movie, because, ultimately, the characters are what drove the
original movies to begin with. As you watch the movie and think about the new
characters more and more, the more you begin to appreciate them. And, this time
around, the characters are all very human. They have their emotions, they have
their strengths and weaknesses, and each character revolves around their being
human.
The
two stand-out characters for me, personally, in this movie were Kylo Ren and
Rey, and I’ll explain why.
He’s better than Nero.
First,
I absolutely love Kylo Ren as a villain. I mean, he’s a homicidal (and possibly
genocidal) asshat but what makes him particularly intriguing to me is what lies
at the very core of why he’s a villain in the first place. He’s not as
remorseless and ruthless as Darth Vader was, and he’s without a doubt not as
stable or as collected, but it’s his aspiration to be just like Darth Vader that makes Kylo the villain I wasn’t
expecting. He’s emotional, he’s conflicted, and he’s clearly got issues, and
the way he’s portrayed sets him up to be someone definitely worth saving (for
reasons that will be explained in the movie).
Now,
we move on to Rey (I love Rey).
Rey
is probably the strongest female lead
in a sci-fi or fantasy movie I’ve seen in a while. She’s smart, strong-willed,
interesting, and independent – and she does that all without being an asshole
like a certain Katniss Everdeen (let's be real here). Rey is probably the role model young girls of
this generation deserve. Forget Elsa,
forget Katniss, forget Anna, Rapunzel, all of them. Toss ‘em out the window.
Introduce your daughters to Rey.
I think this movie may
have just made Daisy Ridley the Queen of the Universe.
And
the other important characters in the movie were all great, as well. I loved
John Boyega, I loved Oscar Isaac, I thought Domnhall (or however you spell his
name) Gleeson was great – I wanna see all of them in more movies (especially
Mr. Boyega). I can’t heap more praises on the cast. Everyone was so bloody
good.
I’d like to see him as
Cyborg, if we’re being completely honest.
One
of the best things about this movie besides the characters and the way the
story was executed was how tangible
the movie looked. The film’s aesthetic elements were beyond breathtaking, and
everything felt real. And, if you don’t understand what I mean, watch this, and
you’ll know.
If
you still don’t know what I mean, then we have a lot to talk about.
I have a new rating
system, by the way.
Like
Mark Hamill said, “everything’s changed, but nothing’s changed.” This is still
the universe people who grew up with Star
Wars know and it’s a great way to introduce your pals to the series.
So, Star Wars: The Force Awakens – what did
you think about it? How much did you love it? And, as always, thanks for
reading, and I’ll try to get back to y’all when I can.
Image Credits:
http://www.starwars.com/films/star-wars-the-force-awakens-gallery
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