(Maz! Portrayed via motion-capture by Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong’o. Engaging characters who are brave and charming.So, how did I approach this movie? Turns out, I went for the simple: I asked myself, What does a good Star Wars movie look like, in my eyes? I made a list: It’s almost like it’s a metaphor or something! We’re not really dealing with a circle here, but a Möbius, that twists around and still somehow brings us back to where we started. Nobody can seem to talk about The Force Awakens without discussing thirty-five years of previous Star Wars history, just as Kylo Ren, the main villain in The Force Awakens, tells Darth Vader’s melted, distorted helmet that he vows to finish what his predecessor started.

Both narratives involve the weight of history, larger-than-life legends, and mistakes made that will either be overcome or will drag everything down into a morass. This is a case where the story and the metastory surrounding the film align in interesting ways.

Do I even mention the prequels, their disappointment, and the weight of expectation they’ve placed on this new movie? Or do I simply try to approach it as I would any other movie? Do I talk about the cultural impact of Star Wars in general? That seems to be the more academic, detached formula to follow. ’Nuff said.) That seems to be the standard accepted internet mode of talking about Star Wars. How does one even begin to review it, given all that history?ĭo I start with the personal-my long and geeky relationship with this franchise? (I dressed in costume for the Episode I premiere. Never has there been more cultural baggage and commentary surrounding a single film release. So if you’ve seen the movie, you’ll want to just skip to the second version if you haven’t seen the movie, you will probably want to stick with this first one (unless you don’t care about spoilers). At the end of the spoiler-free review, you’ll find a promotional image from the film, which serves as the divider, and then immediately following the image, you will find the second version, which does contain spoilers. The first, immediately below, is spoiler-free. Series: The Tales of Gorlen VizenfirtheĮditor’s Note: We’re presenting the following movie review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in two parts.Series: From the Lost Travelers’ Tour Guide.People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction!.

The force awakens full movie