The Force Awakens

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....

It's been 10 long years since a Star Wars film has hit theaters. Since that time, there's been a worthy 3D animated series, many books and games, and even an animated feature in 2008. Now...as of 2015...a new Star Wars film has hit the big screen and what an amazing film it is! Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens takes us back to that galaxy far, far away thirty years after the events of Return of the Jedi and, like a long lost friend, has finally comeback!

I honestly thought this was not going to happen. I mean, why would Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill want to come back to a franchise that has been around since before I was born. For Harrison to come back was honestly a miracle; that and a ridiculous paycheck. This is a guy who wanted to disassociate himself from the character as much as Sean Connery wanted to disassociate himself from James Bond. But, here he is! Han Solo is back! Carrie Fisher has had a tough life, what with drugs and her bipolar disorder and electroshock therapy, but back she came! Mark Hamill! LUKE!!! He is back as well! I was thrilled!

The film takes place about thirty years after the events of Episode VI, and shows us a vision of the world George Lucas created after the fall of the Empire and the rise of the New Order: a faction of supporters of the Empire's previous glory and their attempt to retain it.

THE RETURN OF THE FALCON

Now, this film isn't just with the characters of old. We are introduced to a new generation of actors that will most likely take over the mantle from our friends in the previous trilogy. Rey, is a young woman living on the planet Jakku surviving off of anything she can get. Jakku is very similar to Tatooine, except far more baron. Surviving on her own, she befriends a small droid by the name of BB-8, an Astromech droid that contains the known whereabouts of Luke Skywalker. At first she is reluctant to have a droid following her around, let alone one that looks like a soccer ball, but an attachment is soon grown as they both are abandoned and without anyone to care for them.

Rey has made a new friend in BB-8

Meanwhile on another part of the planet, a New Order TIE Fighter crash lands and out comes Finn, who escaped a Star Destroyer after having a major case of PTSD once his fellow Stormtrooper dies in his arms. Now, attempting to escape, Finn races to find some water after walking for hours in the hot desert terrain. BB-8, knowing that Finn was a trooper for the Order, freaks out and informs Rey that he killed his master since he is wearing his jacket. Clearing the muddy water by informing Rey that Poe (BB-8's master) helped him escape and was shot down, took his jacket when that was all that remained in the wreckage. BB-8 starts to trust Finn a little more and they start to go on their way as a team. After a bumpy introduction, Finn hears the sound of TIE fighters heading towards the city and flees with Rey to take cover. As the ship they are headed for explodes, their only other option is to grab the next ship in sight. And that ship? The Millennium Falcon, Han Solo's old ship from the days of the Empire. Escaping the planet, the ship is then pulled into a tractor beam on a freighter piloted by non other than Han Solo and Chewbacca!

Now, upon first seeing Han Solo, I was cheering my ass off! It was so cool seeing Harrison back as his most iconic character. One of his first lines, "Well you tell them Han Solo has taken back the Millennium Falcon for good!" After that line, the whole audience cheered and it was something that you don't do unless it's something very special and these movie certainly are special. Before Han takes the crew off with the Falcon, two ships arrive and take over the freighter attempting to get the money that Han has owed them and promised to pay back. Han may be older, but he's still the same badass. As Han attempts to do what he "does best", Finn and Rey escape through a hidden duct and accidentally release the creatures that Han is stowing in tow. Once released, the creature wrecks havoc and kills most of the smugglers, and almost Finn. Han and company escape in the Falcon afterwards. While the ship is in light speed, Rey show's Han the map that was in BB-8 and how it is the map leading to Luke Skywalker. Han, surprised, tells them that he knew Luke and the Empire, the Jedi and the events that took place over 30 years ago really happened and were not in fact just stories.

Solo and Chewbacca aboard the Falcon thirty years after the Battle of Endor, just before meeting Rey, Finn, and BB-8

 

 

Meanwhile, Kylo Ren, the head of the New Order and the man who in fact captured and tortured Poe Dameron, will stop at nothing to find BB-8 and follows any lead possible. Now, here is a character who has a lot of pressure and impatience as he wants to become the next Darth Vader. It is revealed later on in the film that Kylo is in fact the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa and will stop at nothing to bring rise to the New Order. Kylo somehow even managed to obtain the charred mask of Darth Vader from Endor that Luke had left behind. Weird.

Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo (Son of Solo, Grandson of Vader)

Now, I'm not going to talk about the entire film, but I just wanted to give all of you a glimpse on what you will see when viewing this movie. It's awesome to see practical effects again, let alone REAL sets. I'm sorry George, while I praise you for creating one of the best franchises ever, I must say that I am not pleased with your lack of writing skills and poor ability to put emotion and depth into your characters. This is the return to the Star Wars from the past and a return to form and depth. Although I do have a soft spot for the prequels...to an extent...and not a very long one at that...I must say this is what not only myself, but I'm sure millions and millions of fans have been waiting for. 

The death of Han Solo was so sudden and I must say, I couldn't believe it. When he was on the catwalk and walking towards Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo, for a moment I actually thought he was going to convince his son to join the Light Side and go back to Leia. However, I knew he was too forgone to change after just one quick conversation with his father, so something was going to happen. As Han approached Kylo, you notice that Kylo takes off his helmet, begins crying and looks defeated and regretful. But no, he tricks Han by mistaking it for weakness as he puts a lightsaber through him, very much in the same fashion to Darth Maul killing Qui-Gon...except Han is no Jedi. After a moment of surprise, Han touches his son's face one more time and then falls to his death. Once he kills his father, he simply replies with, "Thank you" and moves on; but not before Chewie shoots him. "Aghhhhhhhhhrrrrrr!!!!!" aka YOU KILLED MY BEST BUD YOU ASSHOLE! General Leia feels Han's death and sobs. The Force is strong in her. The music, the intensity, the emotion...this is classic Star Wars and even though it wasn't as intense as the "Luke, I am your father" scene, it still holds up very well and it doesn't give you a chance to stop and linger. Han Solo is my favorite character from Star Wars and now I'm a bigger fan all the more for his death.

Now, at the same time, this wasn't totally to be unexpected. Harrison Ford wanted to kill off Han in Return of the Jedi. Now, I could certainly see that as there wasn't that much for the character to do once he landed on Endor. Lucas, however, didn't want Han to die because no one would want to buy any dead Han Solo action figures. Now, this sounds ridiculous, but I'm sure that wasn't far from the truth. So, even though Harrison came back...it sucks that he had to die in this movie. But her finally got what he wanted. Let's just hope they don't kill of Indiana Jones in the upcoming film!

I hope you enjoyed reading this and I think I'm probably going to see the film one more time before it leaves theaters. 

R.I.P. HAN SOLO