Did you go yet? Did you go yet?!!
I think this one is my favorite. I never saw any of the Star Wars movies all the way through until Episode 3 came out. I wanted to go see 3 in the theater, so Benn insisted that I watch the original trilogy first. I ended up watching all 5 existing films and I actually preferred the prequel trilogy at that point. Benn and I have had many discussions as to why. In general, I am not a fan of the style in which movies were made in the 70's. I'm also not a huge sci-fi/fantasy fan, so any kind of space movie that doesn't deal with real or plausible science is usually not on my must watch list. I'm also not a huge action/adventure fan--at least not action/adventure in the 70's and 80's. So Star Wars wasn't something I was likely to love on first viewing. Also, if you've never seen Star Wars and you start with the prequels as stand alone movies, they're mostly pretty good--especially episode 3--except for a complete lack of emotional connection between Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman. If you grew up with Star Wars and it has a nostalgic value, I totally get why the prequel trilogy rained on your Star Wars parade, but if you watched the prequels first/at the same time, you might not feel the same way.
So that's where I was coming from going into this movie. I didn't expect that it would be similar to the prequels because most fans (J.J. Abrams included, probably) hated them. I also didn't know how much original trilogy influence to expect because if you just continue the story, you run the risk of being too repetitive. There are some repeated themes and plot lines to be sure, but they are just different enough to keep a sense of mystery alive until episode 8 is released. I liked The Force Awakens so much that I went back and re-watched the original trilogy last night. Seeing the flavor of the old films replayed with modern film-making techniques really brought home why people love the originals. I found myself actually enjoying the original trilogy because oft he way that The Force Awakens made me think/feel about Star Wars in general. There are flaws here and there, but I think that this movie is the most captivating from start to finish. It's a little bit choppy and I think if you haven't seen the originals, you'll not understand some things, but I think that you could watch it first and basically get the gist of what's going on.
I think we're going back again tomorrow night. I want to see it in 3D with Dbox motion seats to see if it feels like Star Tours.
Be good at something. It makes you valuable. Have something to bring to the table because that will make you more welcome. --Randy Pausch
Trip Reports:
December 2013: 10th Anniversary, 1st DVC Stay | April 2014: Birthday on the Boardwalk | May 2014: Star Wars Weekend, Navigating WDW with a wheelchair | August 2014: Villains Unleashed | September/October 2014: MNSSHP, F&W, Tower of Terror 10-miler | March/April 2015: Disneyland and California Coastal Cruise | November 2015: Wine & Dine Half, Food & Wine, 1st Disney Cruise | February 2016: Presidential Classic Gymnastics Meet | March 2016: "Work" Trip, Tours, F&G Festival | April 2016: Conference at Disneyland | Fall 2016: Festive Fall Fun | January 2017: Festival of the Arts | May 2017: AbD Backstage Magic | July 2017: AbD San Francisco | Sorry I had to give up doing trip reports. Too many time commitments right now.
I watched it in 3D and the graphics were amazing.
