Movie Reviews: Star Wars- The Force Awakens
Thirty years after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, the First Order rises in its ashes. The galaxy's only hope is a scavenger known as Rey and a defecting Stormtrooper called Finn. The pair eventually happen upon BB-8, a cute little droid with data that could reveal the location of a long lost Luke Skywalker. It turns out that the First Order, led by the mysterious Kylo Ren, is also on the droid's trail. Rey and Finn must work together with a certain smuggler and his fuzzy best friend to bring the droid to General Leia Organa and the resistance before the First Order can get their hands on it.
This movie had a lot to live up to. It had to bring the Star Wars saga to a new audience as well as giving the older fans something to enjoy. Not to mention that it had to make up for the whole mess that were the sequels. Thankfully, I can say that the movie pulled it off. Even if J.J. Abrams ended up pretty much remaking the originals in the process.
The movie wasn't just a total remake as there were plenty of new things to enjoy. Rey and Finn were great characters. Daisy Riley and John Boyega nailed the roles. I can't wait to see more from them.
It seems that everybody's new favourite Star Wars character is Oscar Isaac as hotshot pilot Poe Dameron. He wasn't in the movie nearly enough. The same could also be said for Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma. She doesn't do much at all before being shoved in a trash compactor off-screen. At least she had more luck than the cool-looking villains from the prequels like Darth Maul, Jango Fett and General Grievous. They didn't even make it to the end of their respective movies. Darth Maul might have been brought back in the Clone Wars animated series, but I'm not sure if they're still considered canon.
The new character that I wasn't to hot on was Kylo Ren. Most of the time he seemed little more than a petulant child. Say what you will about Darth Vader, at least he didn't throw a hissy fit like a little kid.
The character from the originals got plenty of moments to shine. I wasn't too upset that Han Solo ended up getting killed off. I was expecting Chewbacca to be the one to cop it. It was nice to see that Leia got a promotion too. I got a kick out of seeing Admiral Ackbar as well.
The only original character that we didn't see much of was Luke Skywalker as he spent most of the screentime missing. He only appeared in two scenes, a dream sequence and the final cliffhanger. We only got to see his face right at the end and he didn't get one single line of dialogue. I am sure that we will get to see much more of him in the sequel. I for one am eagerly looking forward to see where the story goes now.
Four pointy hats.
Next time: The Adventures of Hercules
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