“At last the cycle is complete…the force has awaken. Is there new hope for the franchise?” 

-Written by David Sabal

What makes you a Star Wars fan?  This is the first question that I asked myself while sitting waiting for the press release of Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens.

For me it started way back in the mid to late eighties when I was introduced to the Star Wars franchise with Return of the Jedi. The original trilogy will always be the core of my Star Wars soul. Flash forward and many toys, cartoons, and prequels later Star Wars has returned liked gang busters with The Force Awakens. The past year we have seen a steady increase of hype that has never been seen before in regards to a licensed franchise.  When George Lucas announced the sale of Lucasfilms back in 2012 the Star Wars hype train started. Fans rejoiced and cried at the thought of Star Wars under the house of the mouse. Many fans denounced the news and openly rejected the Star Wars franchise for “selling out” to Disney. I can’t lie, I was one of the first people to openly hate the idea of Star Wars becoming a Disney product. The idea of characters that I idealized would be turned into cooperate mascots was unsettling. However, with J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy, and the Lucas story group, at the helm my fears started to creep away from the darkside and into the light. I began to even look at the prequels in a different way after works like Clone Wars and Rebels led the charge for a new generation of Star Wars fans. Yes, THE prequels, the three movies that many Star Wars fans love or love to hate. Were the prequels perfect, no, however they are just as important to Star Wars as the original trilogy. It’s easy to hate on the prequels, but it’s a true fan that looks at the prequels and sees the good in them. Just as Luke saw the good in Vader, Star Wars fans need to see the good in the prequels. Without the prequels we wouldn’t have great characters such as Darth Maul, Commander Rex, Jango Fett, and the list goes on and on. Also the prequels expand on the central story of Star Wars, the Skywalker Legacy. Yes, we had the expanded universe with the books, comics, and audio plays, however make no mistake the central story of Star Wars is The Skywalker story, the prophecy of the Force. So being a Star Wars fan is really about accepting all of what you are a fan of. You can’t really call yourself a fan if you openly dislike something you say you’re a fan of. Master Yoda would be proud.

With that out of the way, my attention was on the actual press release and surprised how low key the event was.

To be honest while many fans and critics bemoan the past hype train of Star Wars, there is a feeling of anxiousness or nervousness in the crowd. Make no mistake as fans we loved the thought of Star Wars coming back to the forefront of pop culture and mass media. However, expectations are very high for the film. But why, why is Star Wars a franchise that is held over the rest? What makes this franchise better than others? My train of thought was interrupted by the lights dimming and a very familiar text screen appearing, “A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…” It was then that my question was answered. Star Wars is more than just comics and geek culture, it transcended where Star Trek stopped. You don’t see Star Wars fans being called “Warries”. Everyday people can get into Star Wars there’s a freedom of acceptance that we get from being told an epic story of heroes and villains from a galaxy far far away.  

I laughed, cheered, almost cried. All silently inside the theatre surrounded by my journalistic peers. Many criticized the direction of J.J. Abrams and in hindsight a lot of criticism was trollish in nature. Lens flares and shaky cam aside, fans forgot one important factor. J.J. Abrams is just like us, he’s a fan and loves what he does. Just as he treated Star Trek with respect and care we should have known that he would treat Star Wars with the respect it deserved. After this movie I know many fans will complain on something of the old characters, but the great thing that J.J. Abrams and his team has done for these characters is give them more life. Yes we don’t like it when people take liberties with characters we love and enjoy. However, a thought came to me as I came to grips with one of the biggest twist in the movies in the end. To me a bigger mistake would be not telling the stories of the characters and dealing with their fates.  This review is not going to have any spoilers that I promised, but getting to the see the old characters of Star Wars is much more fulfilling than just freezing them in a creative carbonite never to change or see the light of day. With that said, I still cried just a little…

Now to the big question, does Force Awaken live up to the hype? Simply put, yes in every way good….and bad.

As a movie on a whole the Force Awaken breathes new life into a franchise on the rise. George Lucas, to some degree, was right. This movie is what the fans needed and wanted. We may not like some of the creative choices, but Star Wars is on a path of new beginnings. The trinity of Poe, Finn, and Rey can carry the torch of Leia, Luke and Han from here on out. I found the performances of the new trio was very infectious. John Boyega’s Finn, aside from some of the questionable comedy points, is actually very charismatic. He’s the hero with no direction, parts of his character remind me a young Luke especially from a New Hope. His character also served a special purpose which I will not divulge, but let’s just say it gave more insight on what the 1st Order is really like. While his relationship with Rey and Poe seemed rushed the chemistry between the three is there. Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron is surprisingly one of the more interesting characters in the story. While not much development to his character was explored, he was established very well and given his opportunities Oscar Isaac made the best with the Resistance fighter. Daisy Ridley’s Rey is probably the weakest of the trio, in my opinion, she was established in her role and at times it seemed that her character’s personality was forced. She’s the strong willed of the trinity even in the face of fear.  She allows the force to guide her where she needs to go. It will be interesting seeing how her relationship with Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren will turn out. Finally for the new characters there is the main villain, Kylo Ren. While the 1st Orders cast of characters was interesting with General Hux, Captain Phasma, and Lord Commander Snoke. Kylo Ren’s presence ate up the darkside scenery. Adam Driver’s performance was very good, giving the very mysterious Kylo Ren a villainous broken character that harkened back to Darth Vader. Speaking of the past characters not much can be said, but the performance of Harrison Ford stands out the most. I’ve always wondered what the fate of everyone’s favorite scruffy looking smuggler was after Return of the Jedi and in the end I can say I’m happy where they went with Han Solo. While Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill’s appearance were special, Harrison Ford helped carry the torch for the old cast and pass it on to the newer trinity. I can’t wait to see where Episode VIII will lead us with our favorite characters. The one bad point I felt was in need to address is the character of Gwendoline Christie’s Captain Phasma. Make no mistake, Star Wars has always had one major flaw, wasted characters, we got it with Darth Maul in the prequels and some say it was Boba Fett in the original trilogy. Captain Phasma was hyped to be a major character and fan favorite, but to be honest the treatment of the character was lacking to say the least in this first installment. That’s key, this is only the first movie, and I hope more of this character is developed because it was made to look like she’s a major cog in the 1st order hierarchy, especially in regards to the Stormtrooper legion.

The Force Awakens was a solid beginning to the new era of the cinematic universe of Star Wars. Where Phantom Menace felt shallow and rushed to start the prequels, Force Awakens harkened back to the charm of New Hope. Establishing new faces to carry on for a new generation of Star Wars fans. The heroic cliffhanger ending was a perfect point for establishing Episode VIII, whatever they decide to name it. I hope to see a true development between Rey and Kylo Ren as they begin their journey down opposite sides of the force. As a fan I’m really excited to see Luke Skywalker again. Growing up everyone wanted to be Han Solo, but as for me I always wanted to be Luke, The Last Jedi. We got to see what happened to Leia and Han in some detail but I think a focus on Luke will be in store for Episode VIII.  Star Wars The Force Awakens was a thrilling ride with great homages to the past. May the force be with the new director Rian Johnson, Kathleen Kennedy, and the Lucas story group. The force is now awakened and now may the force be with all of us.

You can listen to David Sabal every week on his Star Wars radio show From The Bacta Tank.