We arrived at the movies with a fair bit of
expectation for this one. My sister and
I grew up on Episodes 4, 5 & 6 and could probably recite all the dialogue
along with each, and as I said December I tend to have an emotional
reaction to the music. Episodes 1, 2
& 3 were seen, but quickly forgotten and ignored. I managed to hear & know nothing about it
beforehand, except seeing the trailers, which was exactly as I planned!
If you are a fan of Episodes 4, 5 & 6,
you will like The Force Awakens. It harkens back to the originals, with
similar humour, concepts and characters.
It is surprising at points how much the story echoes episode 4. The opening scenes with the scrolling words
of explanation, the stirring music score and scenes of large spaceships remind
you that going back to the past is the future for the Star Wars franchise.
I was very pleased to see Harrison Ford
again as Han Solo, in a major role.
Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) are also
briefly present. With reprises also by
Chewbacca, R2D2, C3PO and the Millennium Falcon, there is much appeal and
crossover for long term fans. Wisely
accepting that time has passed for the actors, the story is set some 20-30
years later, the Force has been forgotten and the Empire is on the rise again
in a new form, called The First Order.
The new character we meet include a young
woman desert scavenger Rey who comes across a wandering droid with the key to
Luke’s whereabouts; Finn, an unwilling and soon renegade Stormtrooper; and the
new acolyte of the Dark Side, Kylo Ren, following in the footsteps of Darth
Vader.
I wonder if part of the appeal with Star
Wars has been that there is always had a clear distinction between good and evil
– the dark and the light – and this time it is interesting to hear Leia says
things like “I know there is still light in him”. The ruler of the First Order in Supreme
Leader and in scenes reminiscent of Hitler and the Third Reich, all the
stormtroopers line up to pay homage to their first commander.
All in all, for existing fans, a great
movie and a great reminder of why you loved the first movies. It’s also entirely possible that a whole new
generation of fans will enjoy them too, although I suspect they aren’t likely
to be newcomers to the franchise, but rather the children of previous
fans – our older two were keen to see it too.
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