One more time, before I start, there will be spoilers!!! Okay, ready? Good. Let's talk some Star Wars.
This movie had been so anticipated, it was a touch ridiculous. The merch has been in stores since summer. It was almost to the point where it was like, there was so much Star Wars that you didn't even care if the movie was out or not, you could just see it depicted pretty much everywhere you looked. So was all the hype worth it? I say yes, although there were a few big things that bothered me.
The opening happens, and you find out that the First Order are the new bad guys, and the Resistance are the new good guys. They are both on a mission to get this missing map piece that will show them where Luke Skywalker is. Then we pan out to the new Han Solo in Poe Dameron, who is sent to Jakku to get that map piece. Very quickly, we meet pretty important characters in BB-8, Kylo Ren, Captain Phasma and the Stormtrooper with a heart, FN 2187 (or Finn, as he will later be known). Things get hairy pretty quickly, Poe gets captured, but gives BB-8 the map piece beforehand, and tells him to run. While Poe is getting interrogated, BB-8 makes his way through Jakku and eventually meets Rey, the scavenger who is savvy and sassy and missing her family desperately. Fates intertwine when Poe and Finn escape the First Order and land in Jakku. While Poe disappears, presumed dead, Finn ends up finding Rey and BB-8, and that's when all the fun begins.
After Rey, Finn and BB-8 escape Jakku on a piece of garbage (aka The Millennium Falcon), some of the best parts of the movie happen, at least in my opinion. When Finn gives BB-8 the thumbs up while talking about his past, and BB-8 responds with fire, my heart swelled. I didn't think I could love another Droid like I love R2D2, but BB-8 stole my heart right there. And also, there was this:
"We're home."
But that only leads to heartache later on. And I still can't believe they killed Han Solo. *remember, I warned you there were spoilers* Anyway, other highlights of the movie for me were the Stormtroopers themselves, who were often the source of the comic relief. (shout out to Daniel Craig for the Stormtrooper cameo!) And I liked that Rey wasn't a defenseless little girl, she was way stronger than Finn. But I worry that the role reversal will cause problems later on, maybe once Finn realizes that he is stronger than he thinks (he might be a touch Force sensitive, seeing as how he did pretty well with the lightsaber for never using one before, and Kylo Ren kept getting weird vibes from him in the village).
Of course, there were things I didn't like. The main one, which I already mentioned, was that they killed Han Solo!! That was so upsetting to me. And the worst part was, they didn't even do it in a way that he deserved. Once he walked out on that bridge, I think we all knew he was a goner (past Star Wars movies have taught us that you never go out on the bridge while dealing with the Dark Side!). But the fact that he didn't even fight back, and that Kylo Ren just did it, and then flung him off was just terrible. Han Solo was too good of a character to go out like that. Kylo Ren himself I had a real problem with. He was such a brat with total anger management issues. And as soon as he took off his helmet, I was like, what's up Professor Snape, where's Harry Potter? They couldn't have cast someone that looks even remotely like Leia or Han? (Because, Kylo Ren is Leia and Han's son, Ben) I mean, Rey looks like she is a Skywalker undoubtedly once she's next to Leia, and for the time being, its not known if she's related to them or not. So why didn't their son look like a relative? The under utilization of Captain Phasma was something else that I didn't like. She was built up to be this huge super villainous Stormtrooper, and she barely got any screen time, I mean, I guess they're setting her up for the next movie, but they could've used her more this time.
Overall, despite it being a roller coaster of emotions, I really enjoyed the movie. My family and I saw it late-ish Thursday night, and we had purchased our tickets through a gaming store here in town. They had bought out the theater, so we didn't see any previews (and yes, I was looking forward to seeing the new Star Trek trailer) and they gave away prizes (my son was the only one of the family that didn't win anything). The theater was filled with your mostly stereotypical nerds, and it was fun. Everyone laughed and cheered and gasped at the right times and it was nice. Although, by the end of the movie, most of the people had decided that it was Disney drivel and that Jar Jar Abrams had ruined the saga (it kind of reminded me of that part in Clerks 2 when the customer comes in and argues with Randall over the better trilogy, Star Wars or Lord of the Rings). I didn't agree, and I look forward to seeing it again at least one more time in theaters, and of course owning it when the time comes.
Have you seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens yet? (hopefully, since you've made it to the end of this spoiler filled post) Let me know what you thought about the movie in the comments below!
