Don’t worry, I will include no spoilers. I promise.
I will say that I very much enjoyed this movie. And I will admit that I had not seen a Star Wars movie since, I’m sure, the early 80s. I was the sort of person who probably watched each one once or twice when it came out. And that’s it. I also never saw the prequel movies. But the hype with The Force Awakens was HUGE. Moreso, a friend invited me to join her when she found herself with an extra ticket to the IMAX showing during opening weekend. And so I went. It was great!
With it having been so long since I saw that Jedi Return movie, I did feel a bit intimidated with the idea of going opening weekend. So I chatted with a friend before I went so I could get a nice catch-up of what all had happened in the original three movies–those things long forgotten over the last thirty-plus years. But I still wondered if there was something I should know, so I did what anyone would do, and I googled, finding “Ten Things to Know Before Seeing ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens.'” What a great find! The piece gave me just what I needed, without revealing any spoilers at all. That said, on the drive to the theater, I still listened to some of a podcast: Tom Ashbrook’s On Point, “‘Star Wars’ and the Evolution of Space Fiction.” Again, no spoilers were included. Finally–I felt ready for the movie.
The theme, to me, was nostalgia. From the scrolling words at the beginning to the oh-so-familiar grand music that played over the course of the movie.
And that’s all I’ll say. Other than repeating that I greatly enjoyed the film. And I have since enjoyed all of the podcasts or shows or articles I’ve come across, from the rest of the above On Point to the later-listened to TED Radio Hour, “The Hero’s Journey,” specifically the piece from that, “What is the Blueprint for Stories about Heroes?” which reveals the ties between Joseph Campbell and George Lucas and, of course, Star Wars.
Do go see it. It’s big. It’s grand. It’s utter nostalgia.
But it’s fun. And sometimes, that’s just exactly all a movie needs to be. (I know, I know. This movie is much more and will be analyzed up one side, down the other, and everywhere in between. But that’s by people far more informed about this genre. For me, it’s just a great couple of hours of wonderfully entertaining fun.)