Hello,
I was with a group of my own kind - dorks, geeks and nerds - for the Friday 9:15 am showing of "Star Wars". I'm poor and a tightwad so I didn't preorder tickets as I've never had trouble getting into a movie previously. I followed the local Megaplex movie theaters website and saw that they kept on adding movie times. Thus on opening day I watched "The Force Awakens" in a half-filled theater. But that movie theater was crazy as "The Force Awakens" raced to a $57 million opening day sale of tickets. By the way, there's no after credits final scene.
As I said in the title I'm still processing this movie. I already have plans to see this movie again and I also want to read Alan Dean Foster's novelization, which is out January 5th, 2016. I'm breaking this blog down into the things I liked and disliked about this movie.
Liked/ loved:
1) My absolute favorite thing about this movie, Han Solo back on screen again. I over that he didn't have a small part either, he had a substantial role.
2) Chewbacca and The Millennium Falcon back on screen again. Love, love, love.
3) John Williams score, which I've listened to multiple times already, review forthcoming.
4a) Of the new characters, the one I liked the most is Rey (Daisy Ridley), no last name. She's a Skywalker, right? Luke and Rey share a very knowing look at the end of the movie. Miss Ridley is my new "Star Wars" crush.
4b) I love, love, love BB-8, he fits in well with C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (couldn't find the actors name, though previous actor Kenny Baker served as consultant). Again it was so good to see those two old faces again- I love the humanity that the actors bring to those roles.
4c) I also like Kylo Ren very much, until he takes off his mask. No wonder he wears a mask as Adam Driver is just not that intimidating. Keep the mask on Kylo. And wait his parents are who?
5) I loved the homages to the original, the hologram game board, the garbage chute reference
6) No Jar Jar Binks sightings- thank all that is pure and holy in the world.
Disliked/ hated:
1a) Characters that I didn't like. John Boyega as Finn, sadly one of the most boring characters in the history of "Star Wars". Finn really didn't know his own name? Also Finn worked in sanitation, I wish would Boyega would take that up for a career. I liked his humanity of realizing that he didn't want any part of the First Order. I liked that he had the courage to with sides under his own volition.
1b) Poe (yawn) Dameron (Oscar Isaac). I just don't think Isaac is a very good actor- he doesn't play a swashbuckling pilot convincingly. I also dislike his not-believable chumminess with Finn. Isaac bored the hell out of me in the only episode of "Show Me A Hero" that I could tolerate watching. It's hard to believe that snorefest came from the same genius mind behind "The Wire".
2) I disliked that "The Force Awakens" felt like a "Star Wars" remake more than a continuing of the story. So many plot lines are similar between the two movies. For instance, the bad dudes have a big weapon that the rebels are able to scuttle. Both Luke and Rey have similar origin stories and both end up playing a much bigger part than they would ever believe. I think the scene that shows the intense similarities between the two movies is where the rebels compare the size of The Death Star and Starkiller. To me- that seems that's J.J. Abrams admitting they are are using the exact same plot point in both movies. "The Force Awakens" is definitely bigger, but not necessarily bigger.
3) The film is a bit longer than needed, a few minutes of edits would have made this movie better.
Grade: B, a grade I wish I could be a bit more excited about. Although I went in to this movie knowing there's no way it would live up to my expectations.
Bring on "Rogue One".
themusicaddict
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