Fans awaken for a new ‘Star Wars’ film

By Ryan, February 12, 2016

By Carly Delengowski// Staff Writer

We waited years for the Star Wars franchise to release a new movie and we were not disappointed. As an avid fan of the galactic world, I’ve seen “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” three times now and have a mixed relationship with it. George Lucas handed over the reigns to J.J Abrams, who made cinematic history. “The Force Awakens” broke the record for the biggest box office on opening weekend in both the U.S and globally –racking in $529 million.
Disney did a great job appealing to loyal fans by bringing back the original trio. We get to see our favorites: Leia, Han Solo, Chewy, R2D2, C-3PO and even Luke in a weird spinning stare-off ending. In “The Force Awakens,” the new trio is predicted to be Rey, Finn, and Poe… and yet another cute droid to steal our hearts, BB-8! I greatly appreciated a strong female protagonist and can’t wait to continue watching Rey’s journey as she learns to use the force.
Anyone who knows me knows I will forever love Anakin/Darth Vader. Unpopular opinion time: the prequels were my favorite. However, for all the love I have for the best Sith Lord of all time, I absolutely despise Kylo Ren. He is the most despicable Sith Lord in the Star Wars galaxy and I truly cannot wait to see Rey destroy him. Kylo throws multiple hissy fits, misuses the force, wears a mask for absolutely no reason (Vader needed it to hid his burns) and (spoiler alert) kills his father. Kylo will never live up to his grandfather’s legacy. On the other hand, I personally believed they revealed Kylo’s identity too quickly and very likely could of waited until the next movie. Luke finding out Vader was his father was one of the biggest cinematic reveals in history and J.J Abrams could have used Kylo’s relationship to Han and Leia to his advantage. Nor was I expecting Kylo to take off his mask so quickly because we don’t see Vader’s true face until “Return of The Jedi.” Abrams did a great job with “The Force Awakens,” however, if George Lucas directed it, it would have been very different.
Disney ignored Lucas’s vision for Episode VII and went in a completely different direction. The film definitely turned out to be what we’ve all been waiting for, but you couldn’t help but leave the theater feeling confused and wanting more. “The Force Awakens” reminds dedicated fans a lot of Episode IV. The First Order is another version of The Empire and this time, they are just blowing up a larger version of the Death Star. “The Force Awakens” was very predictable and I hope in the next one, we see a little more action.
Overall, “The Force Awakens” was a great movie and I’ll probably go see it for a fourth time. I’m excited to see what comes next for our new friends and if balance will every really be brought to the force.