By: Paul Esquivel
Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes up and hits right in your nostalgia spot and then keeps on giving more. Episode 7 sets the tone of the new trilogy by adding just enough grittiness without becoming too self-serious or lacking the charm we all love. It reminds us exactly why we love the series, but what it does better, is introduce us to a new generation of heroes while taking its’ time to develop the protagonists.
The movie doesn’t have to blatantly tell you the characters aren’t carbon copies; it just shows you they aren’t throughout the film. John Boyega as Finn, Daisy Ridley as Rey and Oscar Isaac as Poe each stand on their own and also add to the mythology of the Star Wars universe.
It was cool as shit to see the original Han Solo and Chewy return for pretty big roles. As far as Captain Phasma goes, even though she didn’t get a ton of screen time they were able to build her up well for us to see more in the sequels.
The all-out dog fights between the X-Wing fighters and the Tie fighters are the coolest in the series so far and the CGI looks spectacular. Now I can’t, lie I use to think Darth Maul was the coolest Sith, but Kylo Ren is now easily my favorite. Never have we seen a Sith just kind of a loose his shit so raw, not to mention, Adam Driver really plays him awesomely.
J.J. Abrams did a great job with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, adding a great new installment to the iconic franchise. It’s definitely a must-see while it’s in theaters. Even if you’re not a Star Wars fan it’s still a cool movie to see.
The phrase “stealth remake” is getting thrown around a lot and what I will say to those is, fuck your opinion. Especially if you say Creed should win movie of the year when that’s should pretty much be classified as a remake if you think Episode 7 is just a retooling. Abrams added nods and paid homage, but it was definitely a sequel and not a Star Wars retooling. Go see it.
