"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away ..."
Hello everyone!
To my absolute delight I finally, FINALLY had the time to sit down and watch the movie I've been gunning for since the moment they released information about it going into production. Not only have I been a huge fan for years now, but it's a sort of return to my childhood in a way, or at least to my teenage years since I think that was when the (then) last movie came out.
Of course I could have gone to the cinema and seen it there, and I'm actually bummed that I didn't make it, because it would have been totally awesome, but then again, in the privacy of my own room, I totally had the privilege to comment out loud and do all the usual fangirl things haha!
And obviously, I was going to do a LOT of those, for reasons I have already stated.
Let's just be honest with ourselves and say that Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens was probably the most anticipated movie of last year's winter time, as much as Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice is for this year.
For those of you unfortunates who haven't been chosen as Padawans, let's do a very brief rundown: Episodes I - III tell the tale of the Old Republic, a combination of worlds brought together into one central system, the fall of the old Jedi Order, or more specifically Anakin Skywalker who becomes Darth Vader in his deeply personal quest to save those he loves. From his forbidden union with Queen-turned-Senator Padmé Amidala come the children who will continue the family saga through the galaxy: twins, Luke and Leia Skywalker.
Their story is told in Episodes IV - VI during the reign of the Galactic Empire and the terror of Darth Vader, who is unaware that he had any children at all until those very same thwart his plans and join the Rebellion to overthrow the Empire. Succeeding where everyone else has failed, Luke manages to bring his father back to the light, and Anakin Skywalker does in fact bring balance to the Force once more before he dies of his injuries, leaving his children and their allies to rebuild what is left of the galaxy.
And this is where Episode VII picks up.
Thirty ears have passed since the events of Return of the Jedi, and unfortunately the last of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker, has disappeared. As if that (and R2-D2s hybernation) wasn't bad enough, the malevolent (and as of yet fairly mysterious) First Order has risen from the ashes of the Empire, striving to continue what Emperor Palpatine had begun decades prior. They attempt to achieve this with the so-called Knights of the Ren (which sounds a little bit whacky to me), and a masked figure who is trying super hard to be Darth Vader, but with his breathing not impaired and therefore silent, Kylo Ren is mostly just a figure you unload all your general negative feelings about bad guys to.
The New Republic is fiercely opposed to this First Order and is backing up the Resistance, which is led by an old favourite, General Leia Organa, who has sent her best pilot, Poe Dameron, to the planet Jakku to retrieve what she hopes will be a clue which will lead them to Luke.
Unfortunately, Poe is ambushed by Kylo Ren and captured, though not before entrusting the drive to his droid unit, BB-8, who rolls hastily away into the desert.
A novelty in the story is a Stormtrooper, FN-2187, who refuses to kill on order and escapes, freeing Poe in the process (but not before Ren has tortured him to learn about BB-8) and the two of them escape with a TIE Fighter ... only to crash right back on Jakku, apparently with only Finn (the newly named Stormtrooper) as the survivor.
As he's traipsing across the desert, our droid has managed to have a run-in with scavenger Rey, and I'm sure there would have been more bonding there if not for Kylo's attack on the settlement resulting in Ren, BB-8 and Finn running off in - wait for it - the Millennium Falcon.
Over my enthusiastic shrieks about seeing the old piece of garbage, I almost missed the fact that Rey is surprisingly good at mechanical and flying stuff, but before I had time to acknowledge that, the ship has been sucked into a bigger ship, and while we all wait on baited breath to see Kylo Ren's appearance, we actually run into old faithfuls:
Han Solo and Chewbacca have confiscated their ship and mean to make it home again, but gangs who have debts to settle with Solo come aboard and our company of now five individuals has to flee aboard the Falcon, aiming for the nearest location which would help get BB-8 to the Resistance.
This turns out to be a cantina, owned by a wizened figure Maz, who seems to know everything about anything, and we also get a brief history lesson about what, exactly Luke is apparently up to (searching for old Jedi temples and seeking peace because an apprentice of his went dark), and that BB-8 is carrying an incomplete map to his location. Finn only wants to flee, while Rey is drawn to a lightsaber in the basement which turns out to be that of Luke and of his father, Anakin, before him. Also worth mentioning are very weird and scary visions she gets while going for the weapon, including being left behind on Jakku by an unknown someone(s).
Meanwhile in the Galaxy, Supreme Leader Snoke (aka this generation's Palpatine) orders his general (who probably watched a lot of Hitler and Mussolini speeches to deliver is own) to fire the weapon they had finished building, named Starkiller Base, which is basically a planet converted into a weapon, and it charges its batteries by inhaling a sun.
And you thought things were weird when Jar Jar romped around, huh?
While the First Order destroys the New Republic's Capital (I'm thinking it was Coruscant ... noooooooo), Kylo Ren launches an attack on the cantina, but the Falcon crew are rescued by the Resistance pilots led by Poe (who survived!), except they're one short: Rey has been caught by Kylo.
At this point, the bombshell that is the fact of Kylo Ren actually being Ben Solo, aka Han and Leia's son, has worn off as the two old lovers meet again and the Resistance goes to hash out their plan of attack: they will infiltrate Starkiller Base to try and take out the generator, enabling the rest of the Resistance to destroy everything else.
By 'they' I obviously mean Han, Chewie and Finn.
Rey has, in the meantime, been unsuccessfully interrogated by Ren because she can apparently withsand his Force tricks, and uses one herself to leave the cell, running into the gang while trying to escape. Han confronts his son and begs him to come home with him, only to end up with a lightsaber in his gut.
Cue the internet breaking.
Enraged, Chewbacca sets off the detonators to take out the shields so the Resistance pilots can swoop in and do the rest, while Finn and Rey fight Ren outside the facility, only Finn ends up badly wounded while Rey actually manages to overpower Ren. He's only saved by a canyon that opens between them (very nifty). Snoke orders the general to evacuate the bring Ren along, while the gang escapes on the Falcon while Starkiller Base is destroyed.
While the Resistance celebrates and we all mourn Han, R2-D2 suddenly wakes up and brings up the remaining map, which Rey and Chewbacca then follow to an island in the middle of an ocean on a certain planet we have no idea about, where she finds Luke and offers him his lightsaber.
THE END.
Whew.
Okay, first off, I loved this. I enjoyed being back in a galaxy far, far away, and I loved all the new characters mingling with the old favourites, they brought a certain chemistry to the movie which I really, really liked. I also can't wait for Episode VIII because of that ending, and because of all the other unanswered questions!
Like, number one: who IS Rey? Fan theories are bouncing around like crazy, notably for her skills as a pilot and mechanic, her history of being left on a desert planet, and ability to talk to extraterrestrial creatures, which are all pretty much signs of a Skywalker. Not to mention, but has anyone noticed how much Daisy Ridley looks like Natalie Portman (Padmé)? It just can't be a coincidence, especially with Luke's shocked face at the end of the movie (my theory: he isn't shocked about the lightsaber; in my opinion he deliberately LEFT his weapon behind for the new "worthy" one to find, like the Sword in the Stone was for Arthur, but I think he just wasn't expecting it to be Rey - adding in the fact that she kept dreaming of an island in the ocean, and I'm thinking she's a Skywalker, somehow).
All notes aside, however, the general plot does seem a whole lot alike to Episode IV if you look at it. I'm sort of hoping they go more original with the next movie.
And definite kudos for finding Adam Driver (Ren), who looks astonishingly like Hayden Christensen and Carrie Fisher.
Have you seen the movie? What are your theories?!
xx
*images and video not mine
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