History Awesome / TheForceAwakens

** A third, subtle layer of awesome: on her third, successful attempt, Rey speaks in a calm and polite voice, rather than the commanding tones in her first two attempts. Just like every other Mind Trick we've seen in the films. Without any training and no doubt fearing for her life, she figured out that the Mind Trick relies on charisma and charm, ''not'' brute [[IncrediblyLamePun force.]]

** What's more, that's confirmed as Creator/DanielCraig's cameo appearance. In meta-sense, Rey just mind-tricked ''Film/JamesBond!''

** Don't worry, there's more: Han and Chewie's explosives open up the hole for Poe Dameron to strike a lethal blow on all of Starkiller Base. Han is the only man to enter combat against all three imperial super weapons. And he's 3 for 3 in helping to blow them up. Chewie tops that... since he's not just the only one to have matched Han's feat, he's the only one to have survived it.

** The official novelization explains that Snoke destroyed the star system in the movie, despite being a valuable resource to the First Order, as a desperate act to prevent anyone from finding Luke... Luke Skywalker is so [[MemeticBadass ungodly badass]] that the villain of the movie, at the ''possibility'' of someone finding him, uses an UpToEleven ''Death Star'' to destroy the entire star system of people who could possibly find him. Luke Skywalker [[TheDreaded is so feared]] that using a Death Star to wipe out a star system at a significant loss of the people trying to keep him away is an act of desperation. Snoke is not just worried about Luke returning, he's ''terrified'' of it.

** General Hux's speech, just before the weapon is fired, is as awesome as it is [[NightmareFuel terrifying]]:

* '''''"Traitor!"''''' Cue Finn turning to where the voice came from, only to see a trooper drop his rifle, take out a stun baton and charge him. That's right - a ''[[{{Mooks}} stormtrooper]]'' charged someone wielding a ''lightsaber''. And then ''beat him in a straight fight''. Granted, Finn never used a lightsaber before, but it's still a CMOA for the trooper, who would've won if Han hadn't blasted him away with Chewie's bowcaster. Small wonder he became an instant favourite amongst fans.

*** This has to be noted: When Chewie goes on his (quite literal) RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the Stormtroopers, he's not charging ''out'' of Starkiller Base. He's [[SelfDestructiveCharge charging]] '''deeper''' into it. The exploding base that he himself just critically damaged. He just saw his best-friend and life partner die, and he's running ''towards'' the enemy, '''without any fear.''' [[OneManArmy Don't mess with a Wookiee, indeed.]]

*** To make it even better? Coming around a corner and being caught by surprise nearly took Chewie out. Running ''into an oncoming onslaught of Stormtroopers doesn't even make a scratch on him''. When a Wookiee is on the onslaught, you do ''not'' fire back - you turn around '''''and run away as fast as you can.'''''

*** It says something about the ''Falcon'' too - when she's not in capable hands - Han's, Rey's, Lando's or Chewie's - she ends up ''being crashed.'' For all her flaws, when someone ''capable'' is in charge, she ''works.;;

** The official novelization explains that Snoke destroyed the star system in the movie, despite being a valuable resource to the First Order, as a desperate act to prevent anyone from finding Luke... Luke Skywalker is so [[MemeticBadass ungodly badass]] that the villain of the movie, at the ''possibility'' of someone finding him, uses an UpToEleven ''Death Star'' to destroy the entire star system of people who could possibly find him.]] Luke Skywalker [[TheDreaded is so feared]] that using a Death Star to wipe out a star system at a significant loss of the people trying to keep him away is an act of desperation. Snoke is not just worried about Luke returning, he's ''terrified'' of it.

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:The Film]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Meta]]
* The cast announcement. After much speculation, it's confirmed that the full original PowerTrio is on board, as well as ''Max Von Sydow''.
* Harrison Ford's insistence that he would return to the set as soon as possible, even if his injury hadn't completely healed by that point. [[{{Determinator}} "Never tell me the odds" indeed.]] Made even better by all the pictures online of Ford hobbling along on crutches - making him a real HandicappedBadass. And, remember, he also injured himself while filming ''Film/TheFugitive'', but insisted on completing the film before surgery, because he thought the limp added to his character of Richard Kimble. Really, he's that dedicated of an actor.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erLk59H86ww first teaser trailer]]. Especially the last bit, where the music and the screen go blank... only to have John Williams' triumphant soundtrack blare as the ''[[CoolStarship Millennium Falcon]]'' - with new radar dish - pulls a barrel-roll into a clear blue sky as it dodges a wave of TIE Fighters. And everyone who grew up with the series is seven years old again...
** How about the audience's first glimpse of [[TheDragon Kylo Ren]]? We see this dark, mysterious figure [[TheFaceless with its back to the audience]] walking through a snow-covered forest at night. Then Creator/AndySerkis' voice [[EvilSoundsDeep booms]]: "The ''Dark'' Side. And the light..."
* John Boyega's [[http://mic.com/articles/105390/star-wars-actor-john-boyega-has-the-perfect-response-to-black-stormtrooper-critics response]] to the torrent of racist abuse directed at him after the trailer was released. Short, sweet, and dignified.
* Before showing the teaser at the Celebration panel, they talked about the props and making the droids, and brought out the actual BB-8 droid rolling around on stage getting into an argument with R2-D2, for those that thought it was just CGI in the first teaser.
* The sheer scale of the downed Star Destroyer on the planet Jakku makes for an awe-inspiring sight.
* The fact that Han and Chewie showing up was enough to erase all the ''WebVideo/CinemaSins'' the trailer had racked up to that point.
* The official ''Star Wars'' Facebook page's [[http://www.upworthy.com/the-star-wars-facebook-page-just-replied-obviously-and-correctly-to-a-sexist-comment?c=is1 response]] to a male fan complaining that Captain Phasma's armour doesn't make it clear what Phasma's gender is. CaptainObvious done ''right''. On a further meta level, the image capture shows that in the first 16 hours, the official reply got 305 Likes, while the original comment got... five.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGbxmsDFVnE The theatrical trailer]]. Oh man, where to begin?
** How about Finn, knowing he's hopelessly outmatched, taking up Luke's original lightsaber to fight Kylo Ren.
** Han Solo, the man who once declared he hadn't seen anything to convince him of the Force's existence, telling Finn and Rey that all the stories about the Jedi are true as they listen with awestruck joy.
*** Even better, he doesn't just confirm the presence of the Force and the Jedi, he speaks with ''reverence.'' He's gone fully from cynical pirate to true believer.
** Multiple shots of amazing-looking dogfights between ''huge'' amounts of X-Wings and TIE Fighters.
** Not to mention that shot of the ''Millennium Falcon'' gloriously soaring into hyperspace. Space travel in the galaxy far, far away never looked so spiffy.
** Kylo Ren cementing himself as the new face of terror in the ''Star Wars'' universe by interrogating and torturing Poe Dameron with the Force.
** Also, Kylo Ren shown ''surrounded'' by other members of the Knights of Ren... and dozens of corpses. With his lightsaber drawn. ''[[BattleInTheRain In the rain]]''. '''''With lightning!'''''
* [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/10/20/star-wars-daisy-ridley-and-john-boyegas-awesome-reactions-to-the-new-force-awakens-trailer Daisy Ridley and John Boyega react to the final trailer.]] ''This'' seems to be the moment when it finally hit these two newcomers that ''holy crap'', they're in a ''Star Wars'' movie! Daisy is just overwhelmed by tears and emotion, while John completely loses his shit towards the end (when his character is depicted going toe to toe against Kylo Ren in a lightsaber duel) and promptly ''falls over the back of his couch''.
* Music/JohnWilliams is returning to score this movie. That's right. The man himself has been confirmed to score this film and the other two ''Star Wars films'' after that. J.J. Abrams '''knows''' that this movie needs to carry on the legacy of having Williams score his films, and he will definitely deliver.
** On that note - no pun intended - Michael Giacchino, who has scored every one of J.J. Abrams' movies prior to this one, deserves a nod, which has a touch of heartwarming to it. Rather than feeling slighted, he mentioned in an interview that he would have turned it down if he had been offered it, since he himself would rather hear John Williams' music. As a nifty consolation, according to IMDB, he turns up as a stormtrooper.
** This fully pays off in the film itself, as even in his 80s Williams turns out some fantastic new tracks that blend perfectly with his work from 30+ years ago.
* The fact that Kylo Ren, Phasma, Hux, and their First Order machine are going up against the heroes who took down two Death Stars, Jabba the Hutt, Darth Vader, and Palpatine himself, and are they scared? '''No.''' Kylo Ren is standing proudly on the same Dark Side the Big Three spent their lives fighting, and is ''daring'' them to come after him. Hell, he's not even waiting. He's coming right for them, and he is planning to ''destroy them.'' The First Order isn't scared. They're angry. And anger is of the Dark Side.
* How about the fact that a stormtrooper's response to Finn with a lightsaber is not to run or shoot blaster bolts at him to be returned back, but to instead whip out an electro-staff and go head to head in a fight!
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdAUiyeJMFQ The international trailer]]. There is just something so awesome about TIE fighters flying out of the sunset. Or getting to watch a dogfight through an X-Wing's gun cam.
* From the very beginning ''The Force Awakens'' has been obliterating records, and is on track to obliterate even more.
** [[http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/23/media/star-wars-force-awakens-trailer-views/ The second teaser]] got a total of ''88 million views'' across multiple platforms in the span of 24 hours, scoring a Guinness World Record.
** The theatrical trailer then proceeded to smash that record, scoring '''''128 million''''' views in less than 24 hours.
** The demand for this film is totally off the charts. As soon as tickets went on sale, every single ticket-selling website crashed within mere minutes due to the sheer amount of traffic, with one site, Vue, [[http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34571070 selling over ten thousand tickets in ninety minutes.]]
** [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/star-wars-force-awakens-racks-842279?facebook_20151119 This culminated in]] ''The Force Awakens'' scoring over $50 million in pre-sale tickets, '''double''' that of previous record holder ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''.
** [[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4132&p=.htm Once released,]] the film raked in nearly $120 million ''on opening day'', making it the largest opening day profit ever and the first to break $100 million. [[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4134&p=.htm By the end of opening weekend,]] the film made almost $530 million worldwide, beating out ''Film/{{Jurassic World}}'s'' opening weekend of $525 million [[note]][[http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/12/star-wars-force-awakens-box-office-totals Keep in mind]] that $99 million of the opening weekend total for ''Jurassic World'' comes from China, [[http://www.ibtimes.com/hollywood-pays-attention-chinas-movie-box-office-grows-50-nation-adds-nearly-30-2011328 the second largest movie market in the world]]. ''The Force Awakens'' didn't open in China until January and it '''still''' broke the record.[[/note]]
** The hype train continued, as ''The Force Awakens'' then [[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4135&p=.htm broke records]] for biggest Monday and Tuesday box offices and topped the $1 billion mark in a record 12 days.
** The film also has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, putting in on near equal terms with Episodes IV and V.
** As of 6 January 2016, ''Force Awakens'' has now surpassed ''Avatar'' as the highest grossing film of all time in North America! Even better, it accomplished this in less than a month, while ''Avatar'''s number represented almost a whole year.
*** Another major sign of how much money the film made: Harrison Ford is now Hollywood's most successful actor again, after losing the title to Tom Hanks, who himself lost it to Samuel L. Jackson (and the latter's success includes numerous films in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse, the most successful movie franchise in history, plus this series' own prequel films).
** On 2 February 2016, ''The Force Awakens'' has crossed the $2 billion mark worldwide, becoming the third film ''ever'' to cross it and the ''second'' one to do it on the original run!
** The short version is that TFA broke so many records that [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_box_office_records_set_by_Star_Wars:_The_Force_Awakens Wikipedia has a page dedicated just to listing them all.]] The cherry on the cake is that [[UpToEleven one of the records is "having the most records."]]
** Two of those records are for being the highest grossing film in both the US ''and'' the UK.
* As pointed out by commentators, for the first time in a nearly forty-year-old franchise, one of the films finally has Rey, a badass ActionGirl, as the main character (after previous trilogies focus on Luke and Anakin) showing that women can be {{the hero}}es of their own stories and [[https://www.instagram.com/p/_LVWjblE1H/ giving young girls their own female Jedi to look up to.]] For commentators of color, having black and Latino heroes (as well as major Asian supporting characters) proved incredibly meaningful as well - [[http://www.bustle.com/articles/118126-ava-duvernay-launches-celebratestarwarsvii-hashtag-to-bring-positivity-back-to-a-galaxy-far-far-away consider the numerous black Twitter users who posted to the #celebratestarwars hashtag, talking about how much they wished they had someone like Finn growing up, and happy they were that their kids could have a black hero.]] Minorities have been fans of ''Star Wars'' [[http://samueldelany.tumblr.com/post/82806452407/samuel-delany-reviews-the-first-star-wars-movie since the very beginning]] and now they're finally seeing people like themselves as the stars of one of the biggest and most influential franchises of all time.
-->'''J. J. Abrams:''' [[http://www.etonline.com/movies/174761_jj_abrams_talks_star_wars_boycott/ “Everyone belongs, and there is nothing more important than embracing... When you think about the Force, [it’s] about embracing everyone.”]]
** Just think about what this means to the entertainment industry in general. For years we've heard of ExecutiveMeddling getting in the way of having women and minorities as protagonists in blockbuster films, under the logic that these kinds of characters "don't sell", and that a WhiteMaleLead is needed to rake in the box office dough. Then along comes ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', which tells the story of an ActionGirl and a black hero, and then ''annihilates'' just about every box office record and becomes one of the most successful films of all time, dispelling the cynical myth surrounding the profitability of female/minority characters. While some might argue that it was the ''Star Wars'' name rather than the characters that drew such huge numbers, but that is exactly what has been argued for years, if you make a good movie and tell a good story, it doesn't matter who the main characters of the story are.
* Daisy Ridley, a completely unknown actress with just a few television and short film appearances, turning in a winning performance as Rey and becoming an ActionGirl superstar overnight.
* While not as revolutionary or positive as Rey, the sheer shock and [[BaseBreakingCharacter base-breaking]] that [[BeingEvilSucks Kylo Ren]] brought upon the fanbase can be considered this. For years, the franchise ran on villains that were deliberately designed to be as cool, likable, badass and marketable as possible, most notably with SeriesMascot Darth Vader. In previews, Kylo Ren seemed like he'd be more of the same, especially since he was designed to be [[DarthVaderClone a deliberate expy of Vader]]. Then the movie itself comes out, and Ren is revealed to be an emotionally volatile, {{wangst}}y and obviously very disturbed PsychopathicManchild who tries too hard [[EvilIsCool to be as impressively evil as Vader was]]; in fact, he tries so hard that he kills his own father, Han Solo. This shocked audiences, cemented Ren's status as a HateSink, and defied expectations that he'd be yet another unshakable villain who mainly exists to look cool and show off his awesome fighting skills. In short, not only is Kylo Ren the first [[LoveToHate legitimately despicable]] ''Star Wars'' villain since Palpatine: he's also a {{deconstruction}} of Vader's popularity and status as a cultural icon, since he's what an [[LoonyFan obsessive Vader fanboy]] would be like ''in the Star Wars universe itself''. It takes some thought and [[BrokenBase is VERY debatable]], but it's quite awesome that they managed to surprise audiences with a complex, introspective, ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion]]''-esque character in a franchise that's best-known for running on RuleOfCool and being gimmicky and marketable rather than exploring deeper cultural and psychological issues.
* How about the effects team? For a ten-second shot of the ''Falcon's'' Dejarik set from the very first film, they brought in Phil Tippet and Denis Murren, the original effects creators, who proceeded to go into the Lucasfilm archives, retrieve the original maquettes, take one apart to get the original metal skeleton from 1977, cast new models of the pieces, and film the chess set using the same stop-motion techniques they used more than thirty years earlier. For a ten-second ShoutOut moment when Finn accidentally activates the table.
* Just the very fact the film was made. Everyone thought ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' was the last, with George Lucas constantly saying the sequel trilogy would never happen. Then, on October 30, 2012...
* In an age where TrailersAlwaysSpoil, the marketing slipped a ''massive'' one right under our noses by completely hiding the fact that ''Rey'', not Finn, was the true protagonist of the film. It makes the moment mentioned above under Film when she calls the lightsaber to her hand even ''more'' epic because it caught the audience ''completely by surprise''.
* The fact that this sequel trilogy to one of the most iconic series of all time had the balls to kill off one of the most iconic ''characters'' of all time in Han Solo, while simultaneously making it incredibly sad yet pulling it off so that it fits and doesn't feel cheap. Harrison Ford finally got to stop making the films, but his character was given such a shocking yet perfect end, and nobody felt like it was the wrong decision.
[[/folder]]

*** This has to be noted: When Chewie goes on his (quite literal) RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the Stormtroopers, he's not charging ''out'' of Starkiller Base. He's [[SelfDestructiveCharge charging]] '''deeper''' into it. The exploding base that he himself just critically damaged. He just saw his best-friend and life partner die, and he's running ''towards'' the enemy, without any fear. [[OneManArmy Don't mess with a Wookiee, indeed.]]
*** To make it even better? Coming around a corner and being caught by surprise nearly took Chewie out. Running ''into an oncoming onslaught of Stormtroopers doesn't even make a scratch on him''. When a Wookie is on the onslaught, you do ''not'' fire back - you turn around '''''and run away as fast as you can.'''''

* [[OneSceneWonder Lor]] [[CoolOldGuy San]] [[RetiredBadass Tekka]]... just, '''wow'''. A seemingly harmless old man, with no weapons and no training with the Force, who somehow managed to track down Luke Skywalker himself, something his own sister and the whole Republic couldn't manage. Sees the invasion and destruction of his village by the First Order, doesn't run, doesn't hide, doesn't flinch. He doesn't seem afraid of the armed stormtroopers attacking him, and when Ren asks him where he hid the map, Tekka basically politely tells Kylo Ren [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu to go f*ck himself]] [[HeroicSacrifice at the cost]] [[DyingMomentOfAwesome of his own life.]] The best part is that he doesn't seem the least bit intimidated by Kylo Ren's threats - if anything, Kylo Ren seems a little bit intimidated by ''him''. After all, Lor San Tekka knows what Kylo Ren's most ashamed of: [[spoiler:His true identity.]]

* Chewbacca shooting Ren with his bowcaster. And ''wounding'' him. One of the few times projectile weapons worked against Force-users. As Han - [[spoiler:whom Ren had just killed a moment ago]] - once said, it is ''not'' wise to upset a Wookiee.

* [[spoiler:Han's DyingMomentOfAwesome]]. This man has been a cynic and a loner all of his life, only recently coming out of a regression into his old criminal ways. Kylo Ren clearly knows he's there, and either chooses to ignore him, not ready to face [[spoiler:his father yet and counting on Han "failing" him again to turn him to the Dark Side]], or else stepping onto the walkway to set the scene for the confrontation. Either way, instead of hiding, Han approaches his son, calling him by name: [[spoiler:Ben]]. And then he does Ben Kenobi proud, walking up to him without hesitation or even drawing his weapon. Demanding he take the helmet off, then putting his cynicism aside for the slim chance of his son's redemption, [[spoiler:before dying and not leaving a body]].

* If we’re counting heroic actions, Rey achieved her greatest victory by channeling the Force in the final battle and then proceeding to beat Kylo Ren in lightsaber combat. Especially since this is after [[spoiler:Ren has killed Han, using his own father's ''love'' for him to gain the advantage]]. Seeing Rey (who had already come to think of Han as a father figure) totally ''own'' him is [[CatharsisFactor cathartic.]]

* Kylo Ren might be a little rough around the edges, but if there's one place in which he puts the old Sith to shame, it's endurance. He starts off the final confrontation having already been gutshot by Chewbacca's bolt caster (shown several times as particularly powerful, being able to kill several stormtroopers with just one hit) and his defeat of Finn isn't a curbstomp, he takes at least one good hit on his dominant arm and the battle is clearly exhausting. He then takes on Rey and she too puts him through his paces, yet he just keeps on fighting. She has to render him mechanically unable to stand for him to stay down, and he's still clearly trying to get up and continue the fight. Despite what you might think of him, [[spoiler:especially after he killed Han]], you've gotta give the bastard props for ''refusing to stay down''.

* While not as revolutionary or positive as Rey, the sheer shock and [[BaseBreakingCharacter base-breaking]] that [[BeingEvilSucks Kylo Ren]] brought upon the fanbase can be considered this. For years, the franchise ran on villains that were deliberately designed to be as cool, likable, badass and marketable as possible, most notably with SeriesMascot Darth Vader. In previews, Kylo Ren seemed like he'd be more of the same, especially since he was designed to be [[DarthVaderClone a deliberate expy of Vader]]. Then the movie itself comes out, and Ren is revealed to be an emotionally volatile, {{wangst}}y and obviously very disturbed PsychopathicManchild who tries too hard [[EvilIsCool to be as impressively evil as Vader was]]; in fact, he tries so hard that [[spoiler:he kills his own father, Han Solo]]. This shocked audiences, cemented Ren's status as a HateSink, and defied expectations that he'd be yet another unshakable villain who mainly exists to look cool and show off his awesome fighting skills. In short, not only is Kylo Ren the first [[LoveToHate legitimately despicable]] ''Star Wars'' villain since Palpatine: he's also a {{deconstruction}} of Vader's popularity and status as a cultural icon, since he's what an [[LoonyFan obsessive Vader fanboy]] would be like ''in the Star Wars universe itself''. It takes some thought and [[BrokenBase is VERY debatable]], but it's quite awesome that they managed to surprise audiences with a complex, introspective, ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion]]''-esque character in a franchise that's best-known for running on RuleOfCool and being gimmicky and marketable rather than exploring deeper cultural and psychological issues.

* The fact that this sequel trilogy to one of the most iconic series of all time [[spoiler: had the balls to kill off one of the most iconic ''characters'' of all time in Han Solo, while simultaneously making it incredibly sad yet pulling it off so that it fits and doesn't feel cheap. Harrison Ford finally got to stop making the films, but his character was given such a shocking yet perfect end, and nobody felt like it was the wrong decision.]]