Force Awakens……And why I was not very impressed with it

I finally went to see Star Wars Episode VII on boxing day with the family. This was going to be my highlight of the year. Over the last year I`ve been scanning all the movie pages to try to get an idea about what’s been happening in the last 30 years since Return of the Jedi and what’s been happening to Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie. So when the opening crawl for episode VII came on the big screen I watched with growing excitement to find out but nope nothing.  The opening crawl did not give us any proper information about what’s been happening in the star wars universe since we last saw our hero’s at the end of Return of the Jedi. And my disappointment did not end there!!!!! The whole film felt to me as just a reboot of New Hope. We had the same types of characters.

Rey who was our Luke Skywalker character.  Like Luke she was stuck on a desert planet scratching a living out of the sand. Who then finds a droid that is on an important mission.

BB8 is the new droid that’s on the same old mission.  BB8 is carrying vital information for the resistance and is being hunted down by the First Order.

Poe Dameron is the new Han Solo. He is a bit older then Finn and Rey and is the top pilot for the resistance. BB8 is his Chewbacca.

Kylo Ren is the new Darth Vader. He can stop laser beams with the darkside of the force and force chokes those who dont see things his way.

Han Solo is back with his best mate Chewie. But this is a much older and wiser Han who helps the youngsters on their quest to get the droid and its information back to the resistance.

Don’t get me wrong, the film was not all that bad. The special effects were excellent and what with JJ Abrams going back to using models and latex suits it gives you warm fuzzy feelings of the original trilogy. I do wish they had been more original with the film or at least borrow something from the 360 odd books and comics that are out there. I`m hoping Episode VIII will be much better and not just a rehash of Empire Strikes back but with Luke Skywalker as the Yoda figure.

And what’s with Supreme leader Snoke??????

Our next venture into the Star Wars universe will be the first standalone film Rogue one. As its a original story I hoping next Christmas will be a better one!!!!

May The Force Be With You

P.S. I got the book today, so I`m  hoping it will be a bit better then the film and have some extra bits in it that was not in the film, as was Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones which was a much better book then the film!

 

 

 

 

 

Did you see the new tralier for Star Wars Episode VII?

Did you see it last night? The latest trailer for Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens came out last night and it was brilliant! We got to see some stunning scenery as well as some of the new characters and of course right at the end there was Chewbacca and a very gray-haired Han Solo.  The trailer opens on the scrap yard desert planet of Jakku.  The scenery is stunning as we track a speeder passing by a downed X-Wing fighter and then a half buried star destroyer.  We then get a glimpse of Darth Vaders melted mask and helmet which looks more like a skull, we then fade a again to see a robed figure stretch out his robotic arm to stroke R2-D2’s dome while they sit beside a fire, we then see Luke’s first lightsaber (Anakins lightsaber)  being given to someone, possibly Princess Leia, then we see an extended clip of the X-wings flying over a lake that we first saw in the first trailer.  It then switches to shots of the baddies and things blowing up.  The new Sith looks cool with a hint of Darth Raven about him plus that awesome lightsaber that he uses.  Also plenty of shots of the new stormtrooper and a new insignia for the Empire.  We then end with the millennium Falcon being chased by TIE fighters through a derelict spaceship, a scene that looks very similar to Return of the Jedi when the Falcon is flying through the super structure of the Death Star, we then end with Chewbacca and a very old-looking Han Solo who seem to be on the Millennium Falcon.  All the way through the clip we hear Luke talking, giving the same line he used in Return of the Jedi when he tells Leia that they are brother and sister. So far it looks like J.J. Abrams is doing a fine job and if rumours are true we might be seeing another trailer attached to Avengers : Age of Altron.  I don’t usually say this but HURRY UP DECEMBER!!!!!

May the force be with you…….. The Library Jedi

“Never tell me the odds!”

This week has seen rumours that if we are to belive them that our beloved scruffy looking nerf herder wont be making it to Star Wars Episodes VIII and IX.  In some ways this will be a shame but like a friend of mine said maybe this was the only way to get Harrison Ford back to play Han Solo.  Harrison Ford originally wanted his character to die in Return of the Jedi so maybe his wishes have been granted.  I know these are rumours and we know nearly nothing official about Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens but it does make me feel quite sad that they might kill him off.

My reasons are mainly to with the Star Wars Universe.  In Return of the Jedi we see a change in Han.  When we first met him he was only in it for him self, he was a very selfish person

“Look, I ain’t in this for your revolution, and I’m not in it for you, princess. I expect to be well paid. I’m in it for the money”

but as the trilogy goes on we see a change come across him no longer selfish and uncaring but willing to put his life on the line for whats right for the galaxy and his friends.  In the books we get to see more changes in him as he courts Leia and finally marries her and then his journey into parenthood.  It’s at this point I would like Han Solo to survive and continue a long and fulfilling life.  It was a very difficult decision for Leia to have kids.  At first she was really worried that one of her children would end up taking after their grandfather Anakin Skywalker but after reading her real mothers journals she gets to see Anakin Skywalker in another light and that persuades her to make the journey into motherhood.  In the end they have three children, the twins Jaina and Jacen and then later Anakin.  But things don’t go as planned. Anakin is killed during the Yuuzhan Vong war and Jacen turns to the dark side becoming Darth Caedus who is then later defeated and killed by his twin sister Jaina “The sword of the Jedi”  We get to see Han Solo in a completely different light as these events go on even him coming to logger heads with Luke about his kids (and Luke’s son) going on dangerous Jedi missions.  Its  sad times for the Solo family but there is a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of a granddaughter called Allana.  Near the end of the 2nd galactic civil war the Solo’s think their granddaughter (at this point they have only known she was Jacen’s daughter for a very short time) had been killed by a nano killer sent by the moff council.  Later we learn this was just a rouse much to Han and Leia’s delight and disguised as a war orphan Han and Leia get to adopt her so she is safe from all the politics of her home world plus learning a hell lot more about life and the galaxy from the Solo’s, also not forgetting a normal childhood (well I say normal but there’s never a dull moment when you are with Han and Leia).

So in my view yes it would be nice to see Han’s character through his journey of parenthood and all the ups and downs that come with it which we may see a glimpse of as other rumours say Daisy Ridley’s character could well be Han and Leia’s daughter but if the only way we are gonna get back Harrison Ford back is to kill his character off then so be it.

I will just leave you with this quote from one of my favourite Han Solo moments.

“Had a slight weapons malfunction, but everything’s perfectly alright now. We’re fine, we’re all fine, here, now, thank you. How are you?”

May the Force be with you…… Library Jedi signing out…….