This article discusses all ofThe Force Awakens,but avoids specific spoilers.
If you havent seen the film, proceed cautiously.
Did J.J. Abrams pull it off and deliver aStar Warsmovie worthy of the original trilogy?
Or did it fail to live up the hype?
(Full disclosure: Imtotallyall right with that.)
But there are four words that youre likely to hear over and over again.
Better than the prequels.
It is the one objective that really mattered for Disney-owned Lucasfilm, right?
And its actually safe to say thatThe Force Awakensdoes that, at the very least.
But how did it do that?
Exposition With Moderation
Thirty years have passed, andThe Force Awakenswants you to know that.
What is the First Order, and how does it relate to the Empire?
So there is a Republic, but then, what is the Resistance?
Or get into too much detail about what transpired in the intervening 30 years, for that matter.
All Kylo Rens past needs is a couple lines od dialogue, not an entire trilogy.
he asks after a beat.
Its genuinely funny, but more than anything, its human.
These are small moments that add up to a feeling of warmth that was completely absent from the prequels.
But what about Qui-Gon Jin?
Putting theForce Awakenscharacters through the same test yields much better results.
Rey is lonely, smart, and tough.
Shes afraid of further abandonment.
Finn is a man without an identity, and hes scared but with a strong moral compass.
Kylo Ren is lost, conflicted, angry.
Hell, I can tell you that BB-8 is loyal.
These are characters who yearn.
Chemistry Between the Actors
Theres more to casting than finding great actors.
Aside from being a brilliant cinematic mimic, J.J. Abrams true genius is his eye for casting.
