The Force Awakens for a New Generation

The+Force+Awakens+for+a+New+Generation

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By Michael Younkin, Commentary Editor

  As soon as the movie began, any fan of Star Wars was instantly enthralled. As the opening text was laid out, it was easy to see that this movie would follow the classical Star Wars plot.

  When the movie began, it was apparent that the Jedi had been all but forgotten. They are treated almost as a myth, and we are given our first view of the series’ newest villain, Kylo Ren. Within minutes of seeing him, it was easy to fall in love with the new mask, and the lightsaber, and pretty much the entire thing.

  The movie went on, and as it did, it became apparent that the new face of Star Wars was not to be a detriment, but instead was a stellar addition to the saga, falling perfectly with the original movies, and none of the things we hated about the prequels. The CGI was greatly improved, as it should be, considering the time difference, and there was even some new concepts to make it even better.

  One such concept was the idea of using the aircraft like TIE fighters and X-wings for ground support, something we had never seen before, and added to some of the action. We saw a new Storm Trooper, a new Empire, now known as the First Order, a new Death Star, and a new Jedi. The whole movie did a spectacular job joining the past to the present.

  However, as the people of the YouTube channel, Cinema Sins, say, “No movie is without sin.” The Force Awakens was no exception.

  One of my biggest complaints was the new Sith. Until Kylo Ren removed the helmet, he was perfect. Dark. Foreboding. Powerful. The ideal person to fill the great helmet of the infamous Darth Vader. And then… he captured Rey. Everything went downhill from there, as it was revealed that he suffers from a major moral conflict, and even removes his helmet, revealing a face that, in my personal opinion, should have remained in the Harry Potter series, and does not at all fit his character. It was extremely disappointing to me from that point on.

  Another issue I had is that despite it being fairly evident that the Jedi have basically become a myth, Rey, upon discovering she has the ability to wield the force, is able to become adept at many of the jedi tricks that take years to master, such as the jedi mind trick, which she used to escape after being captured. Even if she is ridiculously powerful in the ways of the force, she had no way of knowing that that is possible with the force, nor could she master it in the space of, shall we say, a few hours, at most, with no training whatsoever. While I can accept that she could fight a mind probe (Leia fought Vader’s in Episode IV with no training) and she could calm her mind to utilize the force’s ability to give her total awareness in the final battle, this technique takes training and practice, something she did not have.

  On the whole, however, I would recommend this movie to anyone and everyone. This will be a movie that parents share with their kids for generations, just as the old movies were, and will continue to be.