"it really can't be denied that Abrams is a guy with a knack for finding the heart and soul"
It absolutely can be denied.
"Star Wars never was exactly original to begin with."
There's a difference between drawing inspiration from other sources, taking elements, and then making them your own (which is what Lucas and people like JK Rowling have done in crafting the Star Wars and Harry Potter universes, respectively) and self-cannibalizing your own franchise.
Thank you for your comments.
Nice to see someone else who apparently shared my mindset about the whole thing, and walked away with an awesome movie experience to show for it. Some anvils definitely needs be dropped about Star Wars' "originality."
I have sort of middle opinions about the whole "rehashing Episode IV" bit. I do want to comment that BB-8 is great, though. As someone who likes marketing stuff it's absolutely perfect. If I were a little kid I would've gone "Mommy I want that for Christmas!"
The interesting thing is that after Plinket did his famous takedowns of the prequel trilogy, he looked at the Abrams' Star Trek reboot and argued that it was actually a better Star Wars movie than the prequels. Now I hold Abrams' take on Star Trek in contempt because it doesn't feel like Star Trek to me, but I LOVED this movie- so I think Plinkett was on to something. Abrams made Star Trek like he'd prefer to be working on Star Wars and, glory hallelujah! when he actually does get to work on Star Wars it WORKS because Wars and Trek are COMPLETELY different sci-fi properties and Abrams is much more suited to one than the other.
Always expect the worst and you can only be pleasantly surprised.
You make an interesting point, Arcane Azmadi. Who do you think would have made a better director for the Star Trek films? I\'m not a fan of Star Trek the way I am for Star Wars, so I liked the new movies for what they were but am curious to know who might have done it justice in the eyes of ST fans.
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Star Wars: Faster and more Intense
Yep, George Lucas has in the past asked it of his cast and crew as a form of "direction", but it seems what he really needed was someone like J.J. Abrams. While viewers have always been somewhat divided on the material he's been behind, it really can't be denied that Abrams is a guy with a knack for finding the heart and soul within some harrowing suspense, mindless action, and intriguing weirdness.
As he revitalized Star Trek's popularity in the mainstream, he was a logical choice to kickstart the Star Wars film franchise which, honestly, had become a laughing stock after the widespread negative reception of the original creator's long-awaited prequel trilogy.
It wasn't only logical. It was wonderful.
After the stuffy, tedious, and poorly conceived galactic costume dramas that were the last three films, this was a breath of fresh air. As a kid, I remember the Star Wars movies, the original three, as exciting and compelling adventure movies, not hokey political thrillers. So the fact that this was more in the spirit of the old pleased me to no end.
The use of practical effects against CGI is very well-done, Abrams continuing to display his Spielberg/Lucas influences. The world is brought to life in a visceral way, especially the scenes on Jakku.
I like that the original ensemble never really overshadows the new characters, yet their significance is never lost either. I won't even go into how awesome I find Rey, Kylo, Finn, Poe, or BB-8, or why. It's all been said.
But back to my point, I really like the fact that The Force Awakens, while following a lot of the same beats as the previous films (albeit in unique ways), was faster and more intense than any other kind of Star Wars I've seen. The heaviness doesn't wiegh down the journey, though. The action is really exciting. The comedy is actually funny. The drama feels organic. When the credits wiped across the screen, I just wanted more. I didn't want the movie to stop. That's usually the mark of a good movie, in my eyes.
I have to commend Abrams and Rian Johnson and the others for taking on such an idealized piece of pop culture and launching it into a new generation.
Is this the most original movie in the world? No. But let's not kid ourselves, Star Wars was never exactly original to begin with.
It's a good time. An exciting adventure. A fun experience.