The Force Awakens, Or Not?

It's 12:34 a.m.. The hubs and I have just gotten home from playing laser tag with my brother and nephew. I should be reading Allegiant, coloring in the adult coloring book my mom got me for my birthday or trying to catch some zzz's.  The sleeping is not going to happen, 1. my neighbor has a bright light on, and it's shining in my window and 2. I had a double shot cappuccino, dark roast.   Tomorrow, my Christmas vacation comes to an end and it's back to the daily grind. So many exciting things happened over this break, one in particular being Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

May the Force be with you!

I love all things Star Wars. I have a geeky side too and I'm proud of it! I often ask my students, "Wouldn't be cool if space was really like that?" Not so much the "wars" part, but all the other stuff. These are the things I think about in my spare time!

So many theories have come out debating Rey's parentage and backstory, from she being Han and Leia's daughter, to Luke's daughter or Obi-Wan's granddaughter.  I would like to think that she is Obi-Wan's granddaughter, but if this story takes place 30 years after Return of the Jedi, that doesn't seem possible.  I'd also like to see an Obi-Wan movie with Ewan McGregor reprising his roll as Ben. I remember hearing somewhere once that Lucas had a vision for how he wanted episodes 1-9 to go. The prequels, 1-3 were to be about Vader, which we got. Episodes 7-9 were to be about the Solo twins (Could this be what we're getting?). Lucas said that he wasn't going to make anymore after the prequels because he'd be in his 90's when 7-9 would be finished.

Let's face it, George Lucas has/had amazing story IDEAS, but his execution is/was horrible. I'm a part of the minority that believe the prequels weren't that bad. They were entertaining, I liked them. I loved the actors, even Hayden Christensen. He did a phenomenal job in Life as a House.  The actors didn't have much to work with though. The lines were terribly cheesy and their acting seemed forced.

My husband and I were discussing episodes 1-6.  Everyone's favorite movie is Empire Strikes Back, why? Because George Lucas DID NOT write the screenplay or direct the film. He came back to write the screenplay for Return of the Jedi.  Guess what? People HATED the Ewoks ( I can't say they hated them as much as Jar Jar Binks, but whatever, I liked them, they're cute!).

I started watching the movies in sequential order back in November, (Thanksgiving) to get ready for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. I finished right in time for my Thursday, December 17, 7:30 p.m. viewing. I noticed a lot of elements taken from all of the previous films.  Random thought....I also believe that Snoke is Darth Plagueis.

Random people in costume at a special Star Wars Night.

Everyone's heard the comments made by George Lucas about The Force Awakens. He didn't really like the movie.  He had another vision for episodes 7-9. I was a little disappointed by the movie, myself.  I felt like it was just a regurgitated Star Wars: A New Hope. Many people I've spoken to feel the same way.  So many things were just too predictable. Guess what, the acting was terrible in this movie too! The lines were incredibly cheesy! The acting also seemed forced.  Will these actors get as much flack as the actors in the prequels? Nope! I think they played the movie/story line way too safe. I love J.J. Abrams, I think he's an amazing storyteller. I wish the envelope was pushed a little further.

I liked the villain Kylo Ren.  I thought he was scarier than Darth Vader.  My husband disagrees. Maybe it's our age gap. He told me as a kid he was scared of Vader and Ren's got nothing on Vader.

My little Samwise Gamgee in his Chewy Harness. He obviously hates it. 

Overall, I thought the action was great, there were quite a few laughs, and it was nice to see beloved characters again.  I enjoyed the movie and can't wait to add it to my Star Wars DVD collection! Because it's Star Wars, The Force Awakens gets 5 out of 5 Pink Gerber Daisies. 

"The Force is strong in my family."-- Luke Skywalker

A couple of side notes:

1. Today we played laser tag, it's the closest thing I'll get to being Princess Leia (my laser tag name) or Padame Amidala.

2. We saw The Force Awakens Thursday, December 17th, the night before it actually came out. After the trailers ended, we were expecting the "A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away"... and there was nothing!  We had all that build up and NOTHING! The projector broke down. It took them 30 minutes to fix it.

3. Disney, please make an Obi-Wan movie with Ewan McGregor, oh please, oh please, oh please!  #EwanMcGregorIsHot