Let’s set the tone…
I saw the original Star Wars at a drive-in movie theater on opening night (1977) with my uncle and grandmother in lawn chairs in the back of an El Camino. That sentence is so cool, I won’t knock off points for all the unnecessary prepositional phrases. Accept it.
My son, now in his mid-twenties, is legally named Anakin.
I’ve been to Skywalker Ranch.
Now that we have that out of the way…
Let’s see what the fine folks at Wikipedia have to say about this film (please donate to them if you can):
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (also known as Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens) is a 2015 American epic space opera film produced, co-written, and directed by J. J. Abrams. The sequel to Return of the Jedi (1983), it is the first installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and chronologically the seventh film of the “Skywalker Saga“. Set thirty years after Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens follows Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and Han Solo‘s search for Luke Skywalker and their fight in the Resistance, led by General Leia Organa and veterans of the Rebel Alliance, against Kylo Ren and the First Order, a successor to the Galactic Empire. The film stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Max von Sydow.
Work on a seventh entry in the “Skywalker Saga” commenced after the Walt Disney Company‘s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012. The film is the first Star Wars film to not extensively involve franchise creator George Lucas, who only served as a creative consultant in the early stages of production. The Force Awakens was produced by Abrams, his longtime collaborator Bryan Burk, and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, co-writer of the original trilogy films The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi, rewrote an initial script by Michael Arndt. John Williams, composer for the previous episodic films, returned to compose the score. Principal photography began in April 2014 and concluded the following November. Filming took place on sets at Pinewood Studios in England, and on location mainly in Abu Dhabi, Iceland, and Ireland. On a budget of $533 million, it is the 3rd most expensive film ever made.
The Force Awakens premiered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on December 14, 2015, and was released in the United States on December 18, making it the first live action Star Wars film to be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was positively received by critics, who found it an action-packed film with the mix of new and familiar actors capturing the nostalgia of the original trilogy and giving the franchise new energy.[4] The film grossed $2.07 billion worldwide, breaking various box office records and becoming the highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada, the highest-grossing film of 2015, and the third-highest-grossing film at the time of its release. It was nominated for five awards at the 88th Academy Awards and received numerous other accolades. The film was followed by The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019), rounding out the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
The Rev-iew:
I live in Texas. When this teaser trailer released, the internet – as well as people I know personally – thought it was fake. I remember people screaming to The Midichlorians that there was “no such thing” as a black stormtrooper. Of course, I’m being gentle. Those dolts were using the other word. The internet was a wild place in 2015, and it’s only gotten worse.
Not knowing what I know now, I loved this film with every ounce of my being. The super-fans were still spitting venom about the prequel trilogy and believed the Disney purchase led to a better future. We cried like little kids with skinned knees several times throughout. Then…
…the internet told us all how badly it sucked.
We believed it.
The Trump era began, turning our beloved social media outlets into a cesspool of filth and f**kery. I mean, scum & villainy.
We met The Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker with both fear and hate.
The dark side won in real life, but I digress. I’m guilty as well, but I’ve been redeemed. Now, back to Episode 7.
The bloody handprint on the Stormtrooper helmet, Kylo Ren coming on screen for the first time and hacking someone down, stopping a blaster bolt with the force, and then a bunch of randomized WTF’s until Luke’s lightsaber flew past his nephew and into the hands of The Scavenger. Who was this girl?
Luke’s one night stand?
Han’s one night stand?
Obi Wan’s distant spawn?
We didn’t know (and neither did Disney, in hindsight)!
Then, we lost a legacy character in the most poetic, tear-jerking way possible. We end it all with hermit Skywalker pulling his best Kenobi. Credits.
Was it an almost point for point re-skin of A New Hope? Yes, but it was safe. Disney didn’t want to “Jar-Jar” the hell out of this thing; at least not until they’d made back their four-billion-and-change investment.
To be honest, the time between films theorizing on things to come was much better than what we were given. Knowing what I know now from the entire sequel trilogy, plus all the Disney Plus series, it’s a much better film in parts, and a bit cheesier in others. All in all, it’s a Star Wars film, and there’s no such thing as “bad Star Wars”. Some entries are just better than others.
I’ll die on that hill.
I think I saw it thrice in theaters; once in a Seattle IMAX with a friend who’s no longer with us. I still gush over Kylo Ren’s ragged lightsaber and Poe Dameron’s stunt flying. Star Wars is a story comprised of several films, books, and television shows. Not every chapter in every book you read makes you giddy; sometimes, you must paddle through the muck to enjoy the waterfall.
I honestly believe there is a much better trilogy between The Force Awakens and Return of the Jedi, and perhaps we will get to see bits and pieces of it someday. Also, there’s one hell of a movie between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. We get what we get, and we all keep coming back regardless. Stop pretending that you don’t.
Anyone who says otherwise bought the Steel Book special edition and fondles it like his or her ‘precious’ in the bathroom at 3am.
If Revenge of the Sith and Empire Strikes Back are my 5 star saga films, then The Force Awakens is a solid 3.5. It welcomed us all back to a galaxy far, far away with some new characters and some glimpses of what Hollywood chewed up and spit out since the early eighties. It was the best they could do with the tools provided, and it satiated our Original Trilogy hunger; TV dinner style. Any port in a storm, and other similar nonsense.
It’s Star Wars. The end. Gen X kids dwelled on the original trilogy for nearly two decades before the prequels were released. Then, the sequels. NOTHING will ever match Ewoks killing the Empire. Nothing.
3.5 of 5
The Dime Western Returns!
“Reading Jim Walker and the Redemption Hymn is equal parts quirky fun and riveting action. Cloud’s confident, entertaining voice draws the reader in like an old radio western: the perfect bite-sized story with a main character you’re ready to follow through every adventure he finds himself on. So, tune in next time…”
– Megan Stockton, author of Lovely, Dark & Deep
The history books would read that Jim Walker was brutally executed after the Battle of Goliad, but a few promises in the right ear blurred the contrast between blood and ink. Now an aging bounty hunter on the verge of retirement, his services are requested in the Northern Arizona Territory to solve the terrifying mystery of the Verde River Massacre. With guns from a local Deputy, courage from a saloon proprietor, and a deathbed confession from an all-too-familiar Medicine Woman, Jim sets off on what could be his final adventure. Will he lay the ghosts of his past to rest once and for all, or is he simply whistling his Redemption Hymn?
The Gonzo Wolf 
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