Movie Title: The Force Awakens (Star Wars)
Grade: A+
Rating: PG-13, 2 hours 16 minutes
In a Nutshell: YESSSS! Episode VII is everything you
hoped it would be! I loved it! The fans that filled the theater to capacity where I watched it cheered and cried and loved it too. It has just the right amount of “old stuff”
with respectful nods to the past, yet it’s also full of new, interesting characters, creatures, and special effects. It's beautifully shot and will saturate your eyes with awesomeness. Every frame could be turned into
a popular movie poster.
With plenty of humor, action, lightsaber duals, space
chases, and exciting thrills, it FEELS like a great Star Wars movie. Everything looks
real, not a bunch of hokey CGI or fake green screen trickery. How do I get to be an Extra in the next movie?!! Did I ever tell you when I played an Extra on
a telenovela that never made it to the screen? It was called "Saints and Sinners." I played a Congressman's wife. So fun!
In the words of Supreme Leader Snoke, “There’s been an
awakening. Have you felt it?” In a word,
YESSSS!
Uplifting theme:
- “Don’t give up hope.” – Rey
- “The
crazy thing is it’s true. The
Force. The Jedi. All of it. It’s all true.” – Han Solo
- “Feel
the light. It surrounds you. It will guide you.” – Maz
- “May
the Force be with you.” – Leia
- “Hope
is not lost today. It is found.” –
Maz
- Like Rey, we don't realize the greatest inside us.
Things I liked:
- The audience immediately liked the new characters, yet applauded and cheered like crazy when former characters made their appearances on the screen. Director and writer J.J. Abrams has successfully created new characters that you care about. He has done a great job with the Star Trek franchise and now the Star Wars phenomena. He shows great respect for what has been and knows how to make new episodes fresh and new.
- Familiar
characters, but with a new twist, like a Storm Trooper with a heart. It's seriously impressive how well they kept the secrets about this script and cast before releasing the film.
- I love
the small details. For example, Rey
makes this really cool bread that only appears on screen for about 10 seconds,
yet it’s memorable. She also eats a
really cool piece of fruit in the bar scene.
- Cool new
creatures we haven’t seen before.
- I love
that Daisy Ridley (Rey) can cry so easily without having her entire face turn red like
mine does. She just releases
dainty, yet believable tears at the perfect time, a director’s dream. She is an unknown actress who is brilliant in this film. She is the heart and soul of this movie. How refreshing and wonderful to have a female heroine and one who is good and kind.
- Supreme
Leader Snoke is pretty darn cool. I
want a bad guy to look creepy and amazing at the same time. Mission accomplished. Even more is that he is voiced by Lord of the Ring's talented Andy Serkis who gave us the unforgettable Gollum.
- Maz is
awesome! My fave! She is voiced by the lovely Lupita Nyong'o.
- The scenery is beautiful and believable with great sweeping vistas.
- See it in 3D if you can!
- It makes WAY more sense to have a droid with that roller ball base, so he can get around on the sand and even stairs, unlike R2-D2. R2-D2's unrealistic transport mode always bugged me. BB-8, the new droid, also has some fun features, like the cigarette lighter that elicited laughter from the audience when he holds it up to show his enthusiasm for something. Did you know funnyman Bill Hader is the voice of BB-8? BB-8 is cute, but not overly like Jar Jar Binks who annoyed the heck out of everyone.
- Welcome to stardom, John Boyega (Finn). He does a great job and is quickly likable and enthusiastically charismatic.
- SPOILER ALERT: It was great to see Mark Hamill again as Luke Skywalker.
- Great sound effects and that epic sound track by John Williams! Check out this fun video that Jimmy Fallon and "The Roots" made with some of the cast to pay tribute to the epic music:
Things I didn’t like:
- It cracks me up how everyone can
understand what BB-8 says.
- Some
things are brushed off without explanation. That being said, fans have been critical of some of the previous episodes that told us what was happening, rather than show us. I like that this movie shows us!
- Leia (Carrie Fisher) should be dressed more like the queen that she is, but doesn’t until the end of the
movie. I used to adore her mother, the talented Debbie Reynolds.
- Kylo
Ren (Adam Driver) has some serious anger management issues. Ha ha He does an excellent job and I appreciate the good script-writing that gave us a villain with motivation and depth.
- Don't be impatient that there is a cliff hanger at the end. You already know that there are more episodes coming to complete the trilogy, so don't leave the movie disappointed. Enjoy this one.
Funny lines:
- “Women always figure out the truth. Always.” – Han Solo
- “I’ll
show you the dark side!” – Kylo Ren
- “So,
who talks first? You talk
first? I talk first? It’s just hard to understand you with
all that apparatus.” - Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac)
- “Look
how old you’ve become.” – Kylo Ren
“Something far worse has happened
to you.” - Lor San Tekka played by award-winning Max Von Sydow, who was also featured recently in the movie "The Letters", which is also in theaters currently.
- “Don’t
do that.” – Leia
“Do what?” – Han Solo
“Anything.” – Leia
- “You
know you can’t trust those little freaks.” – Han Solo
- “I’ve
got a bad feeling about this.” – Han Solo
- “This
is not how I thought this day was going to go.” – Han Solo
- “Whatever
you do, don’t stare.” – Han Solo
“At what?” – Rey, Finn
“Any of it.” – Han Solo
- “That
light saber…it belongs to me.” – Kylo Ren
“Come get it.” – Finn
The line that got the audience to cheer the loudest:
“Chewy, we’re home!” – Han Solo
when he steps onto the Millennium Falcon. It's so great to see Harrison Ford revisit his role as the lovable Han Solo. He and Chewbaca banter back and forth and it was more than wonderful to see the two of them together on screen again.
Tips for parents:
- The language is clean and there is plenty of action and fun creatures to keep young kids entertained.
- There
is a lot of violence and fighting.
Umm…it’s a Star Wars movie.
It might be interesting to talk to your kids about which kind of
fighting affects them more or has more of an emotional impact: close-up
light saber duals or the big space battles?
- There
are plenty of heroes in this film.
Ask your kids who they are and how they show bravery, courage,
loyalty, teamwork, and hope.
- There
are common themes that run through all of the episodes. Help your kids identify some of them:
good vs. evil, fatherhood, power, loneliness, hope, mentorship, etc.
- Ask your kids how marketing affects them. Invite them to point out all of the merchandising they have seen.
'STAR WARS' MAKED OVER $100 MILLION: Star Wars: The Force Awakens broke box office records, raking in more than $100 million on its first day in theaters, according to studio estimates. The previous record holder was the second installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which made $91 million on its first day. The Force Awakens also broke preview records, selling $57 million in tickets.
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