Star Wars Force Awakens Review

In short, I really loved it!  I had some minor complaints, mainly the absence of Luke and Leia from the story.  I can’t believe we spent the whole movie to get to Luke… and he doesn’t even have any dialogue!  And we still don’t know who Rey’s parents are.  I can’t believe I have to wait two more years for this.

Sure, the movie is a recreation of New Hope, but that’s okay.  I could have done without the Starkiller weapon; it’s pretty unnecessary since the story is really about the hunt for Luke and the origins of Rey and Kylo.

Visually, the movie was amazing.  It looked so real.  For all their faults I still love the Prequels, but I definitely prefer practical sets and effects over CGI any day of the week.

The characters were perfect.  I loved Rey.  Finn was great.  I went into the movie not liking Kylo, but they totally turned me around.  The helmet voice was perfect, and Adam Driver (who I really did not care for on Girls) really knocked it out of the park.  I love that he’s a brainwashed child soldier trapped in his position.  Even after what he did, I feel sorry for him.  Another huge surprise was Poe Dameron; I went in expecting nothing but he was actually quite charming.  Han and Chewie were perfect of course, and their banter was classic.  And BB-8 was completely adorable!

Advertisement

The Forever War and the New Preston/Child Novel

I just finished reading THE FOREVER WAR by Joseph Haldeman.  This is one of those classic sci-fi novels I had already heard about, and it’s been sitting on my shelf for years.  Aside from some glaring ‘of its time’ aspects, like people arbitrarily choosing to become homosexual, it was a very different and interesting look at the future.  I did find the middle section showing how horrible life becomes on Earth to be a little trying to get through.  He definitely had some out of the box ideas about future warfare, and some surprisingly prophetic ones as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Forever-War-Joe-Haldeman/dp/0312536631/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448932941&sr=8-1&keywords=the+forever+war

I also read CRIMSON SHORE, the newest Pendergast novel from Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.  It was a pretty good standalone story, though it’s probably going to be one of those books that’s thrilling the first time and average the next time round.  It did end on a wonderful cliffhanger and I can’t wait for the next book!

http://www.amazon.com/Crimson-Shore-Pendergast-Douglas-Preston/dp/1455525928/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448932827&sr=8-1&keywords=crimson+shore+preston