In the latest installment of the Star Wars franchise directed by JJ Abrams, the force has indeed been awakened again for both younger and older generations. People of all ages waited with anticipation for the new movie. Entire families came dressed up in their star wars best. We at bgeekyblog wanted to join in on the fun. As we waited in line for our showing of the movie, we saw a mini princess Leia, and saw one older woman speaking to a ten year old boy about the first time she saw the original star wars, showing how this epic series has reached generations of people.

Having just seen the movie, here is my impression of what I saw. WARNING: Spoilers ahead.

Directed by JJ Abrams, I was already predisposed to like this movie and I was not disappointed. I think this is a worthy movie of the original franchise, and a solid movie on its own right. Here are the reasons why I liked the movie:

Strong female lead

The iconic Princess Leia was the original strong female lead in the original trilogy, and I feel that Rey is an even stronger lead. Not only is she smart (and I liked that it emphasized the fact that she is smart), but she did some major ass kicking in this film. In fact, my favorite fight scene in the movie was the final showdown between Rey and Kylo Ren in the snow. I also liked the witty banter she had with Finn, which is reminiscent of the banter Leia and Han had.

I liked her development as a character.  I think there was more self doubt, and questioning of what her role is in all this, and her fight scene with Kylo Ren was awkward just like someone who is just learning to control the powers she inherited. I like the mystery that surrounds her character especially concerning her past and her lineage.

Conflicted Villain

I found that I really liked Kylo Ren as a villain.  I felt there was more of a human interior battle and complexity in this villain versus past villains like Darth Vader.  My favorite part for Kylo Ren was the scene with Han Solo on the platform.  Adam Driver did an excellent job in portraying his inner battle between light side and the dark.  You knew the second he was overcome by the dark side without him having to say one word, and what’s sadder is that I think Han Solo saw it too.

Nice use of symbolism

In this movie, I felt like there was a lot more symbolism. One of my favorite scenes for this is probably the most tragic, and that is (SPOILERS AHEAD) the death of Han Solo. We see Kylo Ren’s losing battle against his dark side with the disappearing sunlight, and when the light completely disappeared, so did Ren’s side of light leading to the death of Han Solo.

My second favorite symbolic scene was the fight scene in the snow between Kylo Ren and Rey. I liked the rift that separates the two of them in the end like a rift separating the light and the dark side. Another scene that I thought was a nice use of symbolism was when Finn was peeling off bits of his storm trooper armor and tossing it aside in the desert of Jakku like he was slowly stripping away the storm trooper identity that he used to have.

Nods to the original trilogy

Whenever there is a sequel to a movie or another interpretation of a popular franchise (example being the new movie of Magical Beasts and where to find them for Harry Potter), we all love to see a nod to the original story that captured our hearts. This movie has several nice little “tips of the hat” to the original franchise. I think one of my favorite parts is when Rey and Finn are running away from storm troopers on Jakku, and their running towards one ship and completely disregarding another because it’s “garbage”. As it turns out the ship that Rey calls a “piece of garbage” is the one and only Millennium Falcon and Luke Skywalker had said a very similar thing.

I liked seeing bits and pieces of the old series throughout the series strewn across Jakku like the destroyed AT-AT Walkers, and the Star destroyer buried in the sand. And then there was the old school chess board that pops up in the Millennium Falcon when Finn sits down at the round table. One of the funnier nods to the original trilogy was when Finn asks what they are to do with the captured Captain Phasma, and Han asks if there is a garbage shoot and trash compactor anywhere and smiles. All these little things made the movie that much more enjoyable to watch.

BB-8

Need I really say more? That is the cutest little droid with much of the same spunky personality as R2D2. That little droid didn’t need to speak, but we knew exactly what he was saying. My favorite scene is when Finn is asking BB-8 to tell Rey where the rebel base is and pretend he is a part of the resistance. BB-8 looks at her, then at him, then at her again, then Finn, then tells her where it is. He then turns to Finn and whips out a lit lighter like a droid “thumbs up”.

Epic battle Scenes

Star Wars has always had epic battle scenes, and the Force Awakens definitely does not disappoint in this department. In fact, I think some of the action sequences and fight scenes were actually better than the original like the destruction of the Republic planet and neighboring moons. Instead of it being just a planet being destroyed, we see the people as they face the destruction raining down on them which made it sadder to see.

And the Starkiller base, a super upgraded Death star, is quite a force to be reckoned with in this movie, and its destruction by the rebel forces is quite an epic battle to watch on screen.

And I loved the fight scene between Rey and Kylo Ren. I liked the cinematography and how kick ass Rey in this scene.

Overall, I thought this was a well done movie for every one in the family to go see. It had action, it had heart and it had a nice witty banter between the characters in particular Finn and Rey. What I also loved about this movie was that it is one of the few movies that is a generation gap bridger. So few movies and television shows can be loved and enjoyed by children and their parents and even grandparents with the same enthusiasm. I think the Star Wars franchise does just that, and this movie breathed new life and excitement for a younger generation.

And what a visual treat it was to see on the big screen. It has all the things that made the original trilogy such a loved series. So, if you want to see a movie that the entire family can enjoy, definitely check this one out!