The Force Awakens within me, and I get Star Wars

/ December 21, 2015
(From IMDb.com)

(From IMDb.com)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is worth all the fuss.

And you don’t have to be one of the diehard followers of the franchise birthed in 1977 from the mind of George Lucas to appreciate the seventh installment, the one long-awaited by fans of IV, V and VI. (Yeah, I, II and III were prequels, a second trilogy that was released in the 1990s, long after the debut now called A New Hope was followed in 1980 by The Empire Strikes Back and 1983 by Return of the Jedi.)

So it’s been a 32-year wait for those who’ve put the plight and fate of Han Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker, creatures led by Chewbacca and robots pinned with such labels as CP3-0 in such high regard.

As I filed with my dear wife Karen into the packed Regal Cinemas theater in Syracuse mall Shoppingtown for an early Sunday matinée, I was not one of those.

In fact, I’d lived my years quite happily since 1977 without having seen any of the Star Wars films. Until Friday night, that is, when Karen convinced me we should buy the original on Amazon Prime so she could watch again to refresh things from her high school years and I could have at least that groundwork in place for this cultural phenomenon. (That viewing I shall report about here tomorrow.)

Now I understand.

The Force Awakens is very, very good.

Without giving away any spoilers to those who’ve yet to see it in week one, I like the work directed by J.J. Abrams and written by Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt because:

The storyline was compelling yet easy enough to follow for a newbie.

The battle scenes were gigantic.

The good guys were really good.

The bad guys were really nasty.

The recognizable faces, led by Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher as Solo and Leia, had aged gracefully but still carried plenty of pizzazz.

The new faces, led by Daisy Ridley and John Boyega as Rey and Finn, were important to the plot and had immediate chemistry.

The musical score by John Williams remains grand and majestic.

The cinematography was beautiful, and the special effects were cool without going over the top.

The 135 minutes flew past.

Fans clapped and cheered at the finish.

I felt like I’d indeed witnessed an epic.

Have you been a longtime fan of the ‘Star Wars’ franchise? If so, which is your favorite movie in the series, and why? Would you dress up for this movie, and if so, which character would go as?

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38 thoughts on “The Force Awakens within me, and I get Star Wars”

  1. I’ve only seen the 1st three, and was late to that party myself, but once I saw them, I certainly enjoyed them!! I do plan to see the others, just always doing things in my own time frame LOL! May the force be with you, compadre 🙂

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  2. I’ve been been a long time fan of Star Wars. Not much for dressing up though. I was always fascinated by Warwick Davis playing R2-D2 when he was a child. Davis has been in many epic film franchises over the years and I’ve enjoyed many of them.

    May have to check out the Force Awakens when the frenzy dies down. 🙂

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  3. Yes I was sceptical having loved the original three, and then been disappointed by the second three. The new movie really captured the spirit of the original movies, and although the acting was a little weak in places, on the whole I really loved it! So will you be watching the first 6 now?

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  5. You tempt me Mark. I was a big fan of IV V and VI, being 27 at the time of the first episode I wasn’t a kid by any means. I just enjoy good science fiction and fantasy. As for I,II AND III not interested in the least. From what little I did see it had too much computer generated stuff. But I may find a time to go. Preferably with somebody.

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  6. I’m a fan, but not a sit in a crowded theatre all night kinda fan 🙂 My family went on Thursday, and I stayed home and read Carrie Rubin’s new book. It was awesome. I’ll see The Force Awakens when we buy it 🙂

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  7. I am a huge fan. I actually own the original comic book that came out way before the movie. I have a holiday ritual with 3 old friends that we go every year to dinner and then to see whatever Sci-fi fantasy blockbuster is out (we started with Avatar, then Tron, and we’ve been “Hobbiting” the last 3 years), so we’re going next Monday! Excited to both to see my friends and to see the movie!

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  8. My husband and kids are going to see it on Tuesday. I’m not a huge fan so I thought we could save the money on my ticket…even though I heard good things. I read a review that was purposely filled with spoilers but mum is the word.

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  10. i’ve never been a huge star wars fan, though i enjoyed the first three. this one sounds good, even as a stand-alone, with lots of action, acting and all things sic-fi. good to know )

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  11. I love Empire Strikes Back. Great fun. I watched it a couple of times in the theatre in the 80’s. I look forward to this new epic. But I will probably see it on DVD. Dress up huh? Most definitely Leia in the white tunic dress and the white go-go boots

    But you should answer that question ^_^ as well

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  12. I hesitate to say it too loud, Mark, but I never understood what all the fuss was about. The lines in ’77 went around the block. We waited a few weeks to avoid the crowds (which were still there a bit). It was a good movie, had many innovations, but I was never blown away, like so many of my peers. It has that classic good/evil premise, but so did many other films that I thought did it better.
    Jim and I were always bigger fans of Star Trek, which had a lot more humanity, or so we thought. We will go see it, just not during the frenzy. ☺

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  13. I’m so glad I got this post today, Mark. I’ll be seeing “The Force Awakens” soon, I hope. I saw the first Star Wars movie the first day it opened in Boston. While I was waiting to see it, I realized it was going to be something very special, because some people had come out of their first viewing and immediately got back in line to see it again. That film and “The Empire Strikes Back” are my favorites.

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