What Makes "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" So Absolutely Wonderful

Written by John Edward Betancourt

When it comes to our favorite films, we can always pin point the moment a franchise or a particular story called to us in incredible fashion, captivating our imagination and drawing us in as a fan forever. When it comes to Star Wars, that moment arrived for me in the summer of 1983 when the sixth entry in the franchise arrived in theaters; Return of the Jedi.

I was young in '83, young enough that I was just discovering the wonder of science fiction and fantasy thanks to the many re runs on television at my disposal on the weekends and after seeing commercials for this particular movie, I told my dad I wanted to see it and my dad being one of the big reasons I'm the giant geek I am today, was more than happy to take me to the Cooper 7 theater to let see what this movie was all about. 

Needless to say, I still remember just about every minute of that magical day. I'm sure there were other people in the theater that day but to me, it was just my pops and I, in awe of what was playing out on the screen once the movie began. I'd never seen an adventure this epic, action this incredible and I was instantly whisked away to this magical galaxy, far, far away and I never wanted to leave. It left me smiling for weeks on end, we went back and saw it a few more times, but sadly that sense of wonder and excitement I felt in the theater that day slowly faded from my memory as the years went on, even eventually disappearing from my mind...that is until last Friday.

This was the day I was able to settle in and enjoy The Force Awakens and let me tell you, once the music began and the titles scrolled across the screen, I was right there again, a young boy lost in the midst of an incredible story and I know I'm not the only one who felt goosebumps when the Millennium Falcon appeared on screen for the first time or cheered and clapped when Han and Chewie appeared on camera after all this time and it got me to wondering. What made this film so special? Why was this one able to recapture the wonder and awe of the original trilogy when the prequels could not? Well I found that the answers to these questions were surprisingly simple.

---

First and foremost, The Force Awakens brings back the fun. While the prequel trilogy was filled to the brim with incredible actors and stunning visuals, that set of films turned out to be incredibly boring. Let's be honest we weren't interested in Votes of No Confidence, trade negotiations or petty political mumbo jumbo. We have CNN for that, while Star Wars is designed to whisk us away to someplace special and the movie did just that. Between the laughs and the thrilling adventure laid out before us in this motion picture, good times are front and center once again. 

But I think what matters most when it comes to this film, is the fact that it manages to completely captivate our imagination one more time in all the right ways. There is plenty of mystery to be found within The Force Awakens, so much in fact that I've spent the days after seeing it discussing almost every aspect of the film with my friends. So many of us have questions now, none of which I pose here because let's keep spoilers out of this, but the sheer fact that days after seeing this film we are already thirsting to know more, to see more is a solid sign that the movie has accomplished wonders. In fact, after seeing Jedi years ago I made sure to get my hands on A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back to learn everything I could about the story and I'm already preparing to dive into the new stories that happen between ROTJ and TFA.

But I digress.  The bottom line is that J.J. Abrams has managed to recapture the magic of the original trilogy and yes, I've heard the criticism that it is too much like Episode IV and quite frankly, it doesn't matter because it pays respect to that wonderful film all while giving us something new and for that, I can forgive any homages found in this flick. Regardless, this is a Star Wars film that is already near and dear to my heart because it does what this franchise was always meant to do, it unifies fans and inspires generations of families and I am so thankful that this film transports all of us to that special moment when we fell in love with the franchise and I will no doubt be seeing this film multiple times for another opportunity to find myself staring at the screen with the same wonder and awe that captured my imagination so long ago.  

---