The Star Wars universe will never live down the prequel trilogy for one simple reason: not only were they terrible Star Wars movies, they were terrible movies on their own merits. The Force Awakens knew that in order to be a good Star Wars movie, it first had to be a good movie, and it hit the target brilliantly.
The movie is fun, it's exciting, it's thrilling, emotional, tense, gripping and funny. It can never perfectly recapture the mythic spirit of the original trilogy, but it still feels like the Star Wars my generation (and the one before it) grew up with rather than the ponderous, self-important bloat of the prequels. Rather than just leaning on the originals by presenting "the further adventures of Luke Skywalker and company" it has the courage to start with a completely new set of characters with (apparently) no connection to the original cast whatsoever- and it works. Finn and Rey are a great pairing, the rogue Stormtrooper and the abandoned scavenger girl setting out on an adventure to save the galaxy. I particularly loved John Boyega's Finn, hilariously Adorkable, you get the feeling he would have been a natural-born hero if he hadn't been raised as an indoctrinated Stormtrooper, so in his attempt to struggle free he has to scratch and claw his way into heroism.
Of course, the film isn't perfect. I wasn't bothered so much by the film being a supposed step-by-step retread of A New Hope because there were still plenty of big differences there, but there were some story issues. The main thrust of the story being "where is Luke Skywalker?" felt a bit too low-stakes compared to the originals- it didn't really feel like there was a war going on. The First Order's Starkiller Base felt almost tacked on just so the end of the movie could have an assault on another Imperial superweapon, without the build-up the Death Star got, despite being ludicrously more powerful than it. Captain Phasma really didn't get enough to do, a shameful waste of an actress of Gwendolen Christie's caliber, especially when she's not only the first female Stormtrooper but the first female major Imperial commander. And there was a bit too much stuff clearly being saved for the sequels, like the deal on what Supreme Leader Snoke's deal is. Is he a Sith? Who knows. Also the cliffhanger ending was a bad idea; should have opened the 2nd film with that.
But there was also so much good stuff. I like Kylo Ren; sure he's no Darth Vader, but a) that's the entire point, and b) Darth Vader isn't the villain he used to be after the prequels. The action scenes and special effects are the best they've ever been. And despite the big climactic twist being predictable, it still hit right in the gut.
In short, this is not the best Star Wars film, but it IS a Star Wars film, make no mistake. The legend has truly returned.
It's damn good, and that's more than we could have hoped for.
The Star Wars universe will never live down the prequel trilogy for one simple reason: not only were they terrible Star Wars movies, they were terrible movies on their own merits. The Force Awakens knew that in order to be a good Star Wars movie, it first had to be a good movie, and it hit the target brilliantly.
The movie is fun, it's exciting, it's thrilling, emotional, tense, gripping and funny. It can never perfectly recapture the mythic spirit of the original trilogy, but it still feels like the Star Wars my generation (and the one before it) grew up with rather than the ponderous, self-important bloat of the prequels. Rather than just leaning on the originals by presenting "the further adventures of Luke Skywalker and company" it has the courage to start with a completely new set of characters with (apparently) no connection to the original cast whatsoever- and it works. Finn and Rey are a great pairing, the rogue Stormtrooper and the abandoned scavenger girl setting out on an adventure to save the galaxy. I particularly loved John Boyega's Finn, hilariously Adorkable, you get the feeling he would have been a natural-born hero if he hadn't been raised as an indoctrinated Stormtrooper, so in his attempt to struggle free he has to scratch and claw his way into heroism.
Of course, the film isn't perfect. I wasn't bothered so much by the film being a supposed step-by-step retread of A New Hope because there were still plenty of big differences there, but there were some story issues. The main thrust of the story being "where is Luke Skywalker?" felt a bit too low-stakes compared to the originals- it didn't really feel like there was a war going on. The First Order's Starkiller Base felt almost tacked on just so the end of the movie could have an assault on another Imperial superweapon, without the build-up the Death Star got, despite being ludicrously more powerful than it. Captain Phasma really didn't get enough to do, a shameful waste of an actress of Gwendolen Christie's caliber, especially when she's not only the first female Stormtrooper but the first female major Imperial commander. And there was a bit too much stuff clearly being saved for the sequels, like the deal on what Supreme Leader Snoke's deal is. Is he a Sith? Who knows. Also the cliffhanger ending was a bad idea; should have opened the 2nd film with that.
But there was also so much good stuff. I like Kylo Ren; sure he's no Darth Vader, but a) that's the entire point, and b) Darth Vader isn't the villain he used to be after the prequels. The action scenes and special effects are the best they've ever been. And despite the big climactic twist being predictable, it still hit right in the gut.
In short, this is not the best Star Wars film, but it IS a Star Wars film, make no mistake. The legend has truly returned.