At Least There Was No Jar Jar Binks (Star Wars: The Force Awakens)
©2016 Kari Carlisle
Warning: Major Spoilers, as if everyone hasn’t already seen it but me [sigh]
It is with some shame that I must admit that I have only just seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens a few days ago. It was seeing Star Wars in 1977 that led me down the path of sci-fi fan, and the only explanation I can offer for my current behavior is that I live in a very remote area and now rarely see movies in the theater anymore.
Backing up a bit, I was nervous about Disney taking over the franchise. But then I was excited that J.J. Abrams was involved in the first Star Wars movie being produced and felt confident that there would be no Jar Jar Binks shenanigans. So when I finally had an opportunity to watch the film, that was probably the first thing I said to my husband after it ended, “At least there was no Jar Jar Binks.”
That being said, you can say “At least there was no Jar Jar Binks” about every movie ever made except, what, three? So don’t consider that high praise for The Force Awakens. What I can say in praise of it is that it was a lot of fun to watch.
I really didn’t plan to watch it with a critical eye. I did just want to sit back and enjoy watching the movie. It was the middle of the day, so I closed all the blinds (we have black-out blinds) and turned off my phone ringer. Even the dogs left us alone (amazingly), and the only interruption was a bathroom break (too much coffee).
Several minutes in, I felt like I was watching a remake of Star Wars. All of them. The film stayed true to the rules of the Star Wars universe, as I expected. But the characters felt like shadows of old characters, and there didn’t seem to be any originality (with one exception, hang tight…). It felt like returning to an old home town and vaguely recognizing people and places, only I was recognizing characters, spaceships, robots, and aliens. Even the planet (Jenga? Something like that?) was JUST LIKE ANOTHER PLANET we’ve seen.
It was fun, but I kept waiting for the Big Moment, the Big Surprise, the Big Twist, the J.J. Abrams take on it. It never came. I even forgot they were looking for Luke the whole time. It was like one big side track. Any “big” revelations were predictable and not very well revealed. The “Darth Vader” lookin’ guy is Han’s son? With Leia? Yeah. Oh. The girl who runs a lot is Luke’s daughter? Yeah. Oh. Oh, then they’re cousins. Okay. Only she’s really good at the force, and he sucks at it. Got it. Okay.
The one character I really liked and felt was somewhat original was Finn. Yes, the one character whose name I remember. He’s original because he gives a face to all those faceless stormtroopers. Unfortunately, he’s also way too much like Han Solo in that they share the same flaw (don’t care about your cause, just want to do my own thing) that they both overcome (because it’s the right thing to do).
And what can I say about Han? Harrison Ford did a fabulous job of resurrecting him, and though I did an unbelievably fantastic job of avoiding spoilers before finally watching it, Han’s death is the one thing I accidentally found out about in advance. So I was more pissed than sad. No tears for Han.
Will I watch it again? You bet! It was fun, but I probably won’t watch it the 30+ times I’ve seen Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. And I’m told there are two more Star Warsmovies I haven’t seen yet? I can’t keep up - I’m starting to feel like Yoda (the one from Empire, not the young CG one from those other three movies).
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Warning: Major Spoilers, as if everyone hasn’t already seen it but me [sigh]
It is with some shame that I must admit that I have only just seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens a few days ago. It was seeing Star Wars in 1977 that led me down the path of sci-fi fan, and the only explanation I can offer for my current behavior is that I live in a very remote area and now rarely see movies in the theater anymore.
Backing up a bit, I was nervous about Disney taking over the franchise. But then I was excited that J.J. Abrams was involved in the first Star Wars movie being produced and felt confident that there would be no Jar Jar Binks shenanigans. So when I finally had an opportunity to watch the film, that was probably the first thing I said to my husband after it ended, “At least there was no Jar Jar Binks.”
That being said, you can say “At least there was no Jar Jar Binks” about every movie ever made except, what, three? So don’t consider that high praise for The Force Awakens. What I can say in praise of it is that it was a lot of fun to watch.
I really didn’t plan to watch it with a critical eye. I did just want to sit back and enjoy watching the movie. It was the middle of the day, so I closed all the blinds (we have black-out blinds) and turned off my phone ringer. Even the dogs left us alone (amazingly), and the only interruption was a bathroom break (too much coffee).
Several minutes in, I felt like I was watching a remake of Star Wars. All of them. The film stayed true to the rules of the Star Wars universe, as I expected. But the characters felt like shadows of old characters, and there didn’t seem to be any originality (with one exception, hang tight…). It felt like returning to an old home town and vaguely recognizing people and places, only I was recognizing characters, spaceships, robots, and aliens. Even the planet (Jenga? Something like that?) was JUST LIKE ANOTHER PLANET we’ve seen.
It was fun, but I kept waiting for the Big Moment, the Big Surprise, the Big Twist, the J.J. Abrams take on it. It never came. I even forgot they were looking for Luke the whole time. It was like one big side track. Any “big” revelations were predictable and not very well revealed. The “Darth Vader” lookin’ guy is Han’s son? With Leia? Yeah. Oh. The girl who runs a lot is Luke’s daughter? Yeah. Oh. Oh, then they’re cousins. Okay. Only she’s really good at the force, and he sucks at it. Got it. Okay.
The one character I really liked and felt was somewhat original was Finn. Yes, the one character whose name I remember. He’s original because he gives a face to all those faceless stormtroopers. Unfortunately, he’s also way too much like Han Solo in that they share the same flaw (don’t care about your cause, just want to do my own thing) that they both overcome (because it’s the right thing to do).
And what can I say about Han? Harrison Ford did a fabulous job of resurrecting him, and though I did an unbelievably fantastic job of avoiding spoilers before finally watching it, Han’s death is the one thing I accidentally found out about in advance. So I was more pissed than sad. No tears for Han.
Will I watch it again? You bet! It was fun, but I probably won’t watch it the 30+ times I’ve seen Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. And I’m told there are two more Star Warsmovies I haven’t seen yet? I can’t keep up - I’m starting to feel like Yoda (the one from Empire, not the young CG one from those other three movies).
Click here to receive the Apocalypse Observer Newsletter in your inbox
www.readmota.com
To comment, scroll down and type in your comment. Under Comment As, you can select Anonymous or Name/URL (you don't need to enter a URL). Then hit Publish.
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