On Dec. 17, fans across the world lined up in anticipation of the return of one of the greatest franchises of all time: "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens." It was a few years ago that the movie was announced, shortly after Disney bought Lucas Films. This was the first time fans from our generation were able to experience a "Star Wars" movie without knowing the end. We grew up knowing the most famous plot twist in all of movie history -- Darth Vader being Luke's father, of course -- and we knew that the prequel series was just to show us Anakin's turn to the Dark Side. "The Force Awakens" transported us back into our childhoods and it was truly magical.
"The Force Awakens" met our expectations and surpassed them greatly. It provided the right amount of nostalgia while introducing new characters for us to fall in love with. It ended up being the perfect mix between a reboot and a sequel -- which is was both. A critique I have heard from many fans is the lack of originality in the storyline -- that it was much too similar to "A New Hope." While I agree with this, it didn't deter me from loving it any less. I still thought it was extremely well done and it had me drawn in from the first minute.
Possibly my favorite aspect of "Awakens" was the personality in the characters. The movie was funny -- something that was lacking in the prequel trilogy. They kept us engaged and wanting to learn more about them. This was something that was absent in the prequels. The conversations usually lulled and were very formal while this time around they were refreshing. I remember thinking within the first five minutes that I had no clue that this movie was going to be funny. I had expected some laughs from Han Solo, but not any of the other characters.
The characters had spunk -- especially Rae who was the female hero we all deserve in this universe. She is the strong female lead that refuses to be overtaken by any beast or device -- a first for this series. I'm not saying Leia or Padme weren't strong characters, but they were never the leads. Their abilities were always overshadowed by the leading men while Rae refused to let anyone overpower her. She was able to escape from her capture after just learning she had the force and she kept off Kylo and gave him a run for his money the first time she ever held a light saber. Yeah, she did all this without training. Luke and Anakin were never able to do this. Basically, Rae is a badass, and I'm so excited to see where they take her character in the next two films.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" gets an A from me, and you can bet that I'll be collecting all the toys that will inevitably become part of the Happy Meal toy collection.
