This film changed that.
(The way the Star Wars films open makes it really hard to get screencaps of just the title and not the expository text. I never realised how annoying this is until now.)
The plot is pretty similar to A New Hope. Character from a sandy planet gets caught up in saving the galaxy, villains have a weapon that destroys planets, main villain is related to the heroes... But there are enough differences that it doesn't feel like a complete rehash.
I'm pretty sure everyone recognises the actors, so let's go straight to the plot.
Years have passed since the end of the original trilogy, and the First Order is the latest villainous group to try to take over the world -- er, galaxy. I was rather dubious about this when I first watched the film. "Seriously? Of all the possible plots out there, you had to go with another "villains take over the galaxy" one?" But moving on, Princess Leia (now General Leia) has sent her best pilot, Poe Dameron (and his droid BB-8), to find a piece of a map that'll lead the Resistance to Luke Skywalker.
Poe
BB-8, probably the most adorable droid ever to appear in Star Wars.
BB-8 escapes with the map, but Poe is captured by First Order stormtroopers and Kylo Ren.
Kylo Ren, Darth Vader-wannabe. (On a completely unrelated note, I really wish I knew how to refer to him. Is "Ren" his title and "Kylo" his name, or the other way round? Is "Kylo Ren" even a name at all?)
BB-8 finds Rey, a scavenger, who somewhat reluctantly lets him stay with her. Poe, meanwhile, escapes the First Order with the help of Finn, a defecting stormtrooper.
Rey and BB-8
Finn
Finn and Poe crash on Jakku, the planet where Rey and BB-8 are. Poe is apparently killed in the crash. Finn makes his way to the nearest town, where he meets Rey and BB-8. Then the First Order arrives, and the three of them have to escape in a ship Rey describes as "garbage": the Millenium Falcon.
I nearly died laughing when I realised which ship she meant.
They escape, meet Han and Chewie, have a very narrow escape from some pretty nightmarish monsters, and go to visit Maz, someone Han thinks can get BB-8 to Leia. Unfortunately the First Order turn up again. A battle ensues. In the middle of it Finn learns he can use a lightsaber, Poe reappears alive and well, and Kylo Ren captures Rey. Shortly afterward, Leia turns up (with C-3PO!) and has a long-overdue reunion with Han.
By this time we've learnt the terrible truth about Kylo Ren. He's Han and Leia's son, Ben Solo, who turned to the Dark Side because of Snoke, Supreme Leader of the First Order.
Rey saw the map, and Kylo tries to get it from her mind. He fails spectacularly, and storms off to sulk. Rey uses her newly-discovered Force powers to escape.
Leia, Han... and Threepio
By this time we've learnt the terrible truth about Kylo Ren. He's Han and Leia's son, Ben Solo, who turned to the Dark Side because of Snoke, Supreme Leader of the First Order.
Rey saw the map, and Kylo tries to get it from her mind. He fails spectacularly, and storms off to sulk. Rey uses her newly-discovered Force powers to escape.
Rey and Kylo (without his helmet)
Rey escaping with the (Force-assisted) help of a stormtrooper.
Meanwhile we've learnt what the First Order is doing. General Hux, who's supposed to be Kylo's co-commander but is more like an exasperated underling, is creating Starkiller Base, a new sort of Death Star that can wipe out multiple planets at once (as they demonstrate, unfortunately for the Hosnian system).
The Resistance sets out to destroy Starkiller. Finn helps Han and Chewie get into the base and lower the shields so Poe and his friends can blow it up. Along the way they meet up with Rey... and Han meets Kylo. This is a moment that always leaves me in tears, because... Kylo kills Han 😭
The Resistance sets out to destroy Starkiller. Finn helps Han and Chewie get into the base and lower the shields so Poe and his friends can blow it up. Along the way they meet up with Rey... and Han meets Kylo. This is a moment that always leaves me in tears, because... Kylo kills Han 😭
*sobs uncontrollably*
Finn and Rey fight Kylo while the planet is falling apart around them. And Rey discovers she has the Force, and fights Kylo with Luke's old lightsaber. Yes, it's as awesome as it sounds.
The Resistance destroy Starkiller, Rey and Finn escape, Kylo is presumably rescued and returned to Snoke, the galaxy is (temporarily) safe... There's just one thing left to do. Find Luke. So Rey follows the now-intact map and finds him. And then... the film ends. (I was really annoyed by this cliffhanger at first. It's become slightly less exasperating now that the sequel's out, but still.)
So, my overall opinion of the film? I love it. Is it the best Star Wars film? No. Does it borrow too much from previous films? Probably. (How many times can this series use Death Stars before they find a more original plot?) But is it a good film in spite of that? Yes!
Rey is awesome. At first her ability to fly the Falcon seemed a bit unrealistic, but then it was revealed she has the Force and it made perfect sense. Poe's survival comes out of nowhere, but I can forget about that and focus on his amazing piloting skills. Finn is just as awesome as Rey. In the space of a few hours he goes from being a stormtrooper to being lost in a desert to shooting TIE fighters. And BB-8 is simply adorable.
On the villainous side, there's the surprisingly sympathetic Kylo Ren. If you'd told me before I saw this film that my favourite character would be the crazy Darth Vader fanboy who murders Han, I'd have thought you were as crazy as Kylo. But then I saw the film. And Kylo became not just my favourite character in it, but one of my favourite characters in the whole Star Wars series. Guess I should have realised by now that I just really like tragic villains 🤷 First Loki, then Maeglin, now Kylo.
Is it available online?: Probably, but I don't know where.
Rating: 7/10.
So, my overall opinion of the film? I love it. Is it the best Star Wars film? No. Does it borrow too much from previous films? Probably. (How many times can this series use Death Stars before they find a more original plot?) But is it a good film in spite of that? Yes!
Rey is awesome. At first her ability to fly the Falcon seemed a bit unrealistic, but then it was revealed she has the Force and it made perfect sense. Poe's survival comes out of nowhere, but I can forget about that and focus on his amazing piloting skills. Finn is just as awesome as Rey. In the space of a few hours he goes from being a stormtrooper to being lost in a desert to shooting TIE fighters. And BB-8 is simply adorable.
On the villainous side, there's the surprisingly sympathetic Kylo Ren. If you'd told me before I saw this film that my favourite character would be the crazy Darth Vader fanboy who murders Han, I'd have thought you were as crazy as Kylo. But then I saw the film. And Kylo became not just my favourite character in it, but one of my favourite characters in the whole Star Wars series. Guess I should have realised by now that I just really like tragic villains 🤷 First Loki, then Maeglin, now Kylo.
Is it available online?: Probably, but I don't know where.
Rating: 7/10.
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