Gabe’s SPOILER FREE ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Reaction!
So I’ve literally just walked out of the theater. (Side note to theater: This is Star Wars—no one’s in a hurry to get out—please don’t turn up the lights before the credits even start rolling! Party foul!)
How fanatical am I? Not too much—I mean, I don’t go around dressed up in costume or anything—although my hot neighbor (who I’m carpooling to the theater with and who thinks this is film isn’t any more significant than say, The Scorch Trials) immediately asks, “Han Solo?” Guess I nailed it, subtly.
The real benefit to seeing something as soon as it comes out isn’t just to avoid spoilers, it’s also great because your expectations have been formed strictly between yourself and the film’s marketing team. There have been more than a few times when a film’s accumulated hype left me disappointed with the actual delivery—the product of unchecked adoration from the fanbase. Returning to such a film years later, my expectations palate cleansed, I find it to be much more enjoyable. Sometimes, a lot of bad reviews will having me dragging my feet to see something; only to realize, when I finally do see it, it’s just my cup of awesome.
My aim here is to provide your expectations a solid baseline—something you can hang onto in the oncoming storm of reviews and reactions that will be thrust at you from all sides now—until you’re able to see it for yourself and enjoy forming your own genuine experience and reaction, good or bad.
Again, all spoiler free, cause I hate when the beans are spilled beforehand—Star Wars: The Force Awakens is everything we need it to be. It is an organic extension of the galaxy far far away constructed in episodes IV, V and VI. Satisfaction, excitement and anticipation are the words in play. Some of the more elaborate wish fulfillment that might’ve taken place is instead solid and healthy story development as a new generation rightly takes the reins of the galaxy.
The tropes and mechanics you want are all there. The comedy is fitting with the proper Star Wars tone; as is the drama, story dynamics, character development and interactions—which were sadly all lost in the prequel trilogy. The action and cinematography are taken up a notch without violating what came before. So the production is very solid, any remaining uncertainty is only to what degree the story will resonate with you.
Zero complaints for me—although, the end result feels a bit more “The Empire Strikes Back” in that it leaves you hungry for more—which isn’t a bad thing! My expectations were already at a level where they wouldn’t have been fully slaked unless I left the theater having finally been taught to use the force and handed my very own genuine lightsaber. Again, short of becoming a literal Jedi in just over two hours, it was everything I needed it to be. I’m looking forward to watching it again and again, picking up all the little things I’m sure I missed during this first viewing.
Bottom line? No regrets. Looking forward to seeing it many more times. I think Star Wars: The Force Awakens is very hard to dislike—unless you believe in general that movies pretty much suck and sci-fi/fantasy anything is rather stupid (in which case we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation anyway and I wonder why you’ve read this far in the first place—good luck with your sad life).
Star Wars!
