Gopika Nair, Copy Editor
I havenât watched the original Star Wars trilogy and I havenât watched the prequels. I hadnât even watched the trailer for âStar Wars: The Force Awakensâ before I saw the movie.
Stormtroopers, Han Solo, R2-D2, Darth Vader and Yoda somehow existed in my periphery throughout my childhood, but I didnât understand the fascination or hype surrounding the Star Wars franchise.
I get it now.
âThe Force Awakensâ takes place 30 years after âReturn of the Jedi.â The sequel features the trio from the original trilogyâHan Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), whose first appearances on screen had me, a novice in all Star Wars related things, cheering internally.
With lines like, âChewie, weâre home,â âThe Force Awakensâ give old fans of the franchise a taste of familiarity, while also welcoming new fans and a new generation as a whole.
The sequel introduces a power trio comprising Rey, a scavenger (Daisy Ridley), Finn, a stormtrooper (John Boyega) and Poe Dameron, a pilot (Oscar Isaac).
The recent Star Wars movie and the original trilogy share several parallels and themes, serving as a subtle reminder to veteran Star Wars fans that âsequelâ isnât necessarily synonymous with âdisastrous.â
For a movie that lasted more than two hours, âThe Force Awakensâ could have easily bored viewers, especially those who arenât die-hard fans of the franchise. But its biggest merit is that the movie didnât feel sluggish.
The plot was interesting. The characters tossed around clever lines which hit the right mark of being funny without trying too hard.
The fight scenes were executed well and the tight, seamless editing contributed to the overall flow of the film, particularly where Poe, Isaacâs character, is concerned.
He appears in the beginning of the film, but after an attempt to escape the First Order goes awry, Finn presumes Poe is dead. The pilot doesnât make a reappearance until the last 30 minutes of the movie.
Even so, his return isnât jarring or abrupt, but his absence isnât neglected, either. Throughout the movie, BB-8, Poeâs globular droid, befriends Rey to seek its master, thus ensuring that the audience remembers Poe.
Moreover, the actors, particularly Ridley, Boyega and Isaac, command viewersâ attention with their charactersâ likability, while the older actors retain the signature charm that long-time fans loved from the beginning.
Even though most of us arenât scavengers or stormtroopers or pilots located in a galaxy far, far away, Rey, Finn and Poe have qualities that make them admirable, quirks that make them likable and flaws that make them relatable.
Ultimately, âThe Force Awakensâ attracted a new generation of fans and thatâs evident from the sudden surge of Star Warsâ popularity since the sequelâs release.
No matter how many years pass, you canât escape the Force. The Star Wars franchise may have been dormant after the release of âAttack of the Clonesâ in 2005, but not anymore.