I am a Trekkie from birth. I could have become a Star Wars fanatic, but fair or not, I came to a conclusion about Star Wars based on its fan base and my early experiences with the franchise. I first saw Star Wars during my freshman year of college when there were only three movies available for rental or purchase on VHS: Episode IV-A New Hope, Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI-Return of the Jedi. I watched it with a group of my nerdy guy friends, and we were digging it. When I cheered because Leia did something awesome, they responded, “It is only a movie. A girl can’t do that.” I did what I still do to this day: I silently judged them based on their response to the movie, finished watching all three movies in one sitting with them and disassociated myself from them soon thereafter. I loved the story, but fair or not, my conclusion was that Trekkies were less likely to be hypocritical in their fandom and more progressive. I watched the films repeatedly, but could be critical.
Does anyone remember when George Lucas began pulling a Sting (whom I love), and kept releasing new versions of these older movies with new, but slight improvements as a shameless money grab? I do. Who are you, Ted Turner? Stop messing with the classics!
I wasn’t surprised at his craptacular prequels. I paid my money, which I didn’t have much of (student loans), watched the newer releases in theaters and only got more disappointed at Lucas’ lack of emotional resonance or authenticity in his new releases: Episode I- The Phantom Menace, Episode II-Attack of the Clones and Episode III- Revenge of the Sith. The prequels simultaneously started too early (oh look, a baby is flying and in danger, and I guess Luke & Leia’s mom was a pedophile) then felt too rushed and ended just when things were getting interesting. Lucas’ idea of a love story was laughable. I watched them once and was done.
So when Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out, I was not lined up with everyone eager to get sand kicked in my face again. On one hand, I was hopeful because if J.J. Abrams is good at anything, it is breathing new life into beloved franchises-I actually liked the Star Trek reboot. On the other hand, he isn’t so great at sustaining them-Star Trek Into Darkness (though Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance is great, and it is a solid, but empty action film). As friends began seeing it repeatedly within the first 24 hours of release, I began to lower my guard and venture into the theater. I did not want to rewatch the 6 movies because rewatching Episodes 1-3 could have had the opposite of the intended effect: make me want to run away from the theater. So it has probably been decades since I saw 4-6, and I’ve forgotten plenty of details. I’m happy to report that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a solid movie-solid enough that I may actually rewatch all six movies and go back to the theater to rewatch Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes place thirty years after Episode 6. Luke is the last Jedi and in self-imposed exile after his nephew, Kylo Ren, the son of Han Solo and Princess/General Leia Organa, went to the dark side. Instead of the Empire, we have the First Order. They are bigger, but simultaneously British and Nazi-ish. What makes them interesting, rooted in our reality and germane to our times: the First Order kidnaps children, makes them into child soldiers who later become Storm Troopers and brainwashes them into doing terrible things while denying their individuality and humanity (they don’t know where they came from or who their family is). If you know even the smallest thing about child abuse, particularly psychological abuse, it is a huge thing and almost impossible to defy your abuser even years after you are no longer under that person or organization’s control. So when FN-2187, aka Finn, does so against something as imposing as the First Order and has effectively betrayed everything and everyone that he was taught is right and good, it is an amazing act of courage. Also it creates an interesting possibility: will other Stormtroopers follow his lead? If they can feel rage at his betrayal, they can also feel sympathy. Some of them already hate their jobs: note when they hilariously walked away during Ren’s tantrum after Rey escaped.
For critics that say it is disappointing that the first main black character once worked in sanitation, provides most of the comic relief, is so not getting the girl, is not a viable romantic lead, and is largely shaking in terror for the whole movie, you’re not wrong. These are unfortunate racist tropes that we’ve been dealing with for years, BUT I also don’t think that is all they are. Could working in sanitation be a reference to Leia’s inglorious escape from the Empire from Episode IV? Wouldn’t I be shaking in terror as I finally fled slavery and child abuse to face the greatest foe the universe has ever known especially because I knew what they’re capable of because I once worked with them? And are normal human beings able to wield a lightsaber and face off against one of the most incredible villains of any Star Wars’ episode, wound him and live? Even Darth Vader never stopped a laser with the force. When we first met Luke, we had no idea how important his lineage would be and how intertwined he was in Princess Leia’s story. I hope that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is starting Finn off as they did Luke Skywalker. I suspect he has Jedi lineage, and his past is more intertwined with Rey’s life than we know. He lives during a time when Jedis are myth so he would not know the significance of his act in coming in second for a lightsaber.
As for romance, why does Rey, the fan favorite and hero of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, have to have a romance? I hope that she doesn’t, especially after the dreadful Episodes 1-3. Episodes 4-7 developed the romance between Leia and Han effectively so I’m good. We are introduced to Rey living alone in grim poverty, and she is clearly suppressing more than we know. After all, when Ren reads her mind, she is not necessarily aware that the landscape that Ren is describing, an island surrounded by water, is actually Luke’s location until the end of the film. She doesn’t need a teacher-she already had one: Luke, who isn’t the last Jedi after all. When she realizes Luke isn’t a legend, but real, I think that she realizes that a lot of things that she thought were stories or dreams were actually real.
My theory: when Ren turned, something happened to his classmates. Ren thought he killed all of them, but he probably didn’t; thus Finn and Rey. Is Rey a Skywalker and if so, how? Luke, did you forget your space condoms when celebrating the destruction of the Empire? Maybe, but because we all guessed it, I feel like it is a bit on the nose. I need Finn and Rey to get over their numerous childhood traumas, master the force and continue their friendship before either of them are even ready for any kind of relationship. I watch Star Wars for fiction history, genealogy and cool laser fights. I don’t need the romance.
I knew that Ren was going to kill his dad. Abrams is great at honoring the older beloved characters then knowing when to clear the decks. I loved that Chewie’s response was, “I don’t care whose kid you are, I’m going to kill you now,” then aims his bowcaster at Ren. This bowcaster normally obliterates anyone in its path and tosses ordinary people across fields or rooms. Ren briefly stumbles, but proceeds to fight fairly well thereafter because of the Force; however, this injury may explain why Finn and Rey as a tag team were able to survive an encounter with laserstopper and have him on the ropes. Pardon my profanity, but all you Mary Sue truthers, go frack yourselves. Seriously, I didn’t use profanity until long after law school so when you were pulling this crap about Leia, I didn’t have the precise, succinct words to express my judgment, but I mean it. Go frack yourselves. Like some guy on a desert planet randomly becoming the last Jedi was obvious in Episode IV’s early moments. I’m sorry that your mom did not hug you enough. Get over it.
Are you suspicious of Poe? I am. Why did he disappear without retrieving BB-8? Adam Driver did a good job, but was anyone else bothered by the fact that he looks nothing like Leia or Han?
For those that complain that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is too similar to Episode IV, it is supposed to be. Star Wars is about mythology and themes repeating themselves. VII is similar, but also incredibly different. If Han’s disembodied voice suddenly appears like Obi Wan Kenobi’s voice, then you can complain because he isn’t a force user. If Ren killed Luke, sure, complain. If Finn or Rey had suddenly flown the plane that destroyed the Death Planet, go ahead. A valid complaint would be why didn’t Han give desert Jakku girl his coat that he kept discarding when he went inside. She must have been freezing. Instead she gets Poe’s little leather jacket, and not for long.
So Leia is clearly older than the First Order, and only her twin brother is a bigger badass because of his greater experience with the Force. She is the General of the Resistance, leader of the Republic and still carries some swagger as royalty from an extinct planet, but still I want more of her kicking ass in the future. She largely stood over papers and gave orders in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which is what a leader does, but I always loved that her titles were earned, and if necessary, she would just do the dirty work herself. If Han and Chewie could run with the young ones and show them how its done, let Leia fight. If she could kill Jabba with her bare hands and chains, then she can handle Ren. Take the belt off, mama!