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Image obtained from starwars.com

The Force Awakens, being the first live-action film in the Star Wars franchise to be released since 2005’s Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith drew astronomical amounts of anticipation and expectation from fans all across the globe.  Since its initial storm into theaters, the film has only gained more and more traction, breaking box office records and reaching huge heights within the film world, but what else was to be expected of a Star Wars film?  After all, isn’t this the first film to be released within the world’s most acclaimed franchise in just about a decade?  With that factor in mind, it is easy to say that most, if not all, of the planet’s population was eager to see the return of the series that has grown to be attached to so many hearts for the first time in theaters after so long, making the stakes quite high.  Despite the frantic nature of the film’s release to the general public, it was clear that The Force Awakens was a smash hit, changing the franchise and the Star Wars name seemingly forever.

The original 1977 film was an original of its kind, latching onto mainstream and managing to shape it and create a new standard of film for years to come, namely by how new and innovative this kind of concept for a film was.  George Lucas, the iconic director and creator of the franchise, was able to effortlessly mold his own imagination and concepts to create something so different and mind-boggling that this ‘galaxy far, far away’ was able to churn out more and more adventures as the years came and went.  As Lucas stated only a few days before the release of that first film, “I wanted a contemporary version of the myth and the fairy tale,” and needless to say, he accomplished that and more, building a household franchise from the ground up that is still recognizable and cherished decades later.  It seemed natural that even after so many years, a new chapter was due— fans were hungry for it, Lucas was on board, and a new story was aching to be spread for a new generation of Jedis to absorb—and with that, The Force Awakens was born.

Picking up roughly thirty years following the legendary destruction of the second Death Star, Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi, has disappeared and the First Order has risen, seeking to find and eliminate Skywalker and the New Republic.  Of course, this new conflict establishes a sense of urgency within the viewers’ eye, questioning the outcome of this new chapter: What will our new hero do to fix this?  Who is our new hero and where are they?  Audiences were then introduced to a new cast of lionhearts. First there’s the young scavenger Rey—who, may I add, is an important character on her own in terms of providing a role model for young girls interested in not only the franchise, but the film and acting industry itself—along with the adorable droid, BB-8, who provides much needed assistance to the characters along their journey, as well as the rebel stormtrooper, FN-2187, dubbed “Finn,” who is also an important character in terms of black representation in film, which is quite lacking as of late. A new trio of galactic warriors and the audience experiences this treacherous and often gut-wrenching path toward finding the myth-like Luke Skywalker before the First Order and Kylo Ren, their initial rival,.  Throughout the just over two hour span of the film, audiences are taken along on the twists and turns that our heroes encounter, drawn by the emotional turmoil that fuels the plot.

What makes this film so special, despite its compelling story line, impeccable choice in casting, and tremendous special effects and visuals, is its ability to draw in such a diverse spectrum of audience members, age, gender, and race. The franchise does not have a specific fan base in general—it’s as if the series is a huge magnet and no one can succumb to its force (no pun intended). Through the incredibly intelligent move to bridge this almost sequel to the previous films, audiences are able to experience that same love and a sense of nostalgia for the original series that can manage to branch old fans and new—those just starting to warm up to Star Wars and the veterans that have stuck with the franchise into the addition of this new chapter.  This concept of passing the story down to a completely new generation gave the film the leverage to appeal to a whole new set of eyes along with the die-hards, taking aspects from the old and inserting aspects of the new.  It can be said that the film manages to create a huge parallel between this story line and the plot to A New Hope, which, then again, brought about that sense of familiarity within the backbone of the franchise.  The Force Awakens sits in the balance and hits all the rights notes by being able to seamlessly blend qualities from the old (namely, the parallel between Luke and Rey, each being seemingly orphaned young scavengers to meet a droid carrying a secret message, then provoking a journey and the protagonist’s rise to become the hero of an anti-fascist space rebellion), classifying it as the closest to A New-er Hope as we’ll ever get.  By essentially retelling the classic film in a newer, more modern setting, The Force Awakens then reaffirms the core values of the series, taking the most intrinsic themes from the original films and effectively bringing them to new life.  This film not only makes these old stories new again, reaffirming that lasting quality that the films have—it doesn’t matter how many years it’s been since the original release because no matter what, there will always be Star Wars fans who appreciate and admire the films to no end, which is unlike any other film sequence of this time.

Even with the massive amount of pre-release hype from not only Disney and the film industry as a whole, as well as that from fans who have been actively anticipating a new film from the franchise closest to their hearts, The Force Awakens was actually a wonderful film, managing to balance the cozy favorites from the franchise’s past, as well as some new, easily likable heroes and themes that seamlessly welcome a new generation of fans.  As noted in an issue of Rolling Stone magazine, “People don’t love Star Wars because it’s great—Star Wars is great because people love it”, which is a fact that surely rings true with this release and its entourage of acclaim and praise, made into reality by the fans and the film alone.  It’s a generational thing: Star Wars never weathers down; it manages to touch anyone and everyone that gives it a chance, which is why this new film was so successful and so necessary.  I personally think the most amazing thing about this series is how those fans that were around to witness the release of the first film some 40 years ago still enjoy it and want to share it with their kids and those kids want to share it with their kids.  The Star Wars films have that kind of resilient quality and it’s certain that in 40 years’ time, the kids who were around to watch The Force Awakens enter theaters will be there in the theaters again to watch yet another release of the franchise with their own families.

With all factors considered, The Force Awakens is definitely a jaw-dropping, box office-breaking, and heart-warming classic and I’m sure that it will resonate that way, as the first film and entire franchise have for decades, which is truly remarkable.