"The Force Awakens" was the only way to reboot the Star Wars series. I laughed, I cried four times, and I left the theater feeling like a little kid again.
I love "Star Wars." One of my earliest memories is sitting on the floor of the basement, watching “Return of the Jedi” for the first time. It was literally the best movie ever, aside from “Sleeping Beauty.”
I’ve followed the making of “The Force Awakens” since it’s initial announcement -- from the director search to casting to pictures from Pinewood Studios to the first trailer (which made me scream when I watched it -- my roommates were concerned).
This was the most important movie of 2015, and when I found myself seated at one of the midnight premiers, I couldn’t believe I was actually about to see the new "Star Wars."
No one even knew what the movie was about. This is what IMDb lists for the plot: three decades after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, a new threat arises. The First Order attempts to rule the galaxy and only a rag-tag group of heroes can stop them along with the help of the Resistance.
The theater was still packed despite this lack of information.
I got chills during the opening crawl. There’s something about the combination of the space background, the music and the bright yellow font that immediately brings the nostalgia factor.
And the movie does rely heavily on nostalgia to propel the story. There are a few instances where the viewer can guess what’s going to happen, based off previous films.
The new trio (Daisy Ridley’s “Rey,” John Boyega’s “Finn” and Oscar Isaac’s “Poe Dameron”) feels disjointed. In the Original Trilogy, the iconic trio of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo is established late in “A New Hope,” but the friendship is there. I can’t remember a scene where the new trio spends any time together. I’m looking forward to that in the next films.
Even though their characters aren’t as chummy as I’d like them to be, Ridley, Boyega, and Isaac were the perfect choices to lead the new trilogy. Finn proves that not all Stormtroopers are as soulless as they appear. Rey is a certified badass slash pilot and is way cooler than the trailers make her out to be. And Poe is the best pilot in the galaxy who owns the cute soccer ball-looking droid named BB-8.
I would strongly encourage everyone to go see this movie, Star Wars fan or not. Knowledge of the original trilogy and prequel trilogy is not necessary. It’s a fun movie with breathtaking visuals, a strong female lead and enough nostalgia factor to take you back to your youth.
Director J.J. Abrams killed it, an I cannot wait to see where the sequel trilogy goes from here.
