What to Love About Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Skyler Powers
The seventh installment in the Star Wars franchise has been released after ten long years since the final movie of the second trilogy. Diehard fans and newcomers alike have been lining up around the world to see if the introductory film of the third trilogy lives up to the glory of George Lucas’s famous original trilogy. Luckily, JJ Abrams didn’t disappoint and this film continues to break box office records around the world as it passes the likes of Titanic, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Jurassic World. Now, it is poised to defeat Avatar, which is currently the highest grossing film of all time.
Statistics aside, this movie has several things going for it. First of all, the acting is great. There is not a single bad performance in this film. The returning characters, which include Princess Leia and Han Solo, are still great, and so are the newcomers, which include Rey, Finn, and Poe. Everything is believable and the actors do a great job at conveying emotions, whether it’s happiness, sadness, or humor.
The new characters are refreshing and satisfactory. While the other films’ protagonists were mainly males, this episode introduces one of the first main female protagonists in the franchise, Rey, which is a true reflection of how our society has evolved. Finn, a rogue stormtrooper, provides some great cinematic depth as he struggles with what he wants to do. Poe, while he has a rather small role, brings some charm to the screen, and he is a very likeable character.
With this being the beginning of a new trilogy, it is rather easy to follow the plot, even for newcomers. Just knowing the basics of the Star Wars cinematic universe should ensure easy viewing, but even people with no previous knowledge should be able to follow the plot as well.
Now it’s time to talk about the main antagonist, Kylo Ren. I personally thought he was a better villain that darth Vader, which is a bold statement. He wasn’t better at being bad or even more intimidating, he was just more believable. He was conflicted and at war with himself. He wasn’t just some inhuman individual in a scary outfit put in the movie just to be the bad guy. Kylo Ren was obviously human under his evil persona, which I really loved.
Lastly, the action sequences and soundtrack were phenomenal. Instead of continuing with the over-the-top, unrealistic action from the second trilogy, this film went back to the classic, and superior, hand-to-hand combat from the original trilogy. It was much more intense and realistic. The soundtrack did include the original theme song, but it had other musical elements which were also great.
In the end, this film had many great aspects to it. It returned to its roots and was aided by great visuals, great action, great characters, and great acting. Even if the plot structure doesn’t go anywhere new, it is still solid and it did everything that franchise fans wanted it to do. It was an incredibly wellmade film and it is definitely one of the best, if not the best, of the year. I loved it, and I can’t wait for the upcoming two films in the trilogy.
