Welcome to my social distancing experience. It has consisted of a lot of cooking, a lot of FIFA, and a lot of Disney+… and by Disney+ I mean the newest Star Wars films: The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker. Not unlike most children who grew up around a Star Wars fan, I’ve seen all of the old ones so please don’t show up at my door with pitchforks, I swear I’m not that uncultured. When it comes to the new films though, I’ve stayed away for a variety of reasons, mostly just the fact that I didn’t want to go alone. My boyfriend, on the other hand, is a fanatic. Frankly, I’m surprised he’s held out on going to Galaxy’s Edge this long and I think he almost died when I told him I knew nothing about the new films. So, when he got the opportunity to trap me inside to watch all of them because of COVID-19, he jumped at it. I’m not going to spoil them, so don’t freak out if you’re as behind as I was, or if you haven’t had the chance to watch The Rise of Skywalker yet. Nothing I mention should be new information unless you have had no access to the outside world for the past five years, so, please enjoy my random thoughts about the films and their characters.
In regard to the actual films, I think they were very well made. I am well aware of all of the backlash they received from Star Wars fans, especially The Last Jedi, but from my perspective it really made me want to go back and re-watch the original films. Just like any other movie, there were a few plot holes that I disliked but it didn’t change my overall opinion. I have a really short attention span so movies can easily lose my interest if there is a lag in the plot. That never happened with these, which I really appreciated. Even scenes that were slower and not full of action still had enough to keep my attention focused on the film, which is a win in my book.
The many characters also brought me a variety of emotions. To start off—BB-8 has my ENTIRE heart. I would die for him, no questions asked. He gives me the exact same protective instinct I get when I see baby animals, he’s just precious. Also, he’s wicked cool and if it wasn’t for him, Rey, Poe, Finn and Chewie would’ve died at least six times. BB-8 has absolutely no dialogue apart from beeping but his beeping somehow makes the movies that much better?? He even gives a thumbs up to Finn, not to mention that everyone wants someone to love them the way that Poe Dameron loves BB-8. Another creature that holds my entire heart—the Porgs. They are the weirdest little bird-things, but I love them all the same. Apparently Chewie thought the same since he went from trying to eat them to bringing them aboard the Millennium Falcon. I feel like you just have to love them, but that could easily just be me. I’d just like to mention that every time BB-8 came on the screen, or a Porg, I pointed it out very excitedly and I’m sure my boyfriend wished I had a mute button.
Poe, Finn, and Rey also have my heart. Their friendship makes me tear up, as does their concern for one another. They’re never okay with leaving someone behind and repeatedly put their lives on the line to help the Resistance. The character development I saw in the three was beautiful too. Finn and Rey both went from having no affiliation with the Resistance, as a Stormtrooper and scavenger respectively, to being leaders. Poe went from being a very rash, impulsive pilot who would happily run into danger, to becoming the leader of the Resistance who takes more time to plan attacks. Finn and Rey also don’t have any real family, and Poe’s family is never mentioned, so it was very heartwarming to watch them find a family within each other.
It can’t be an article about these films without mentioning one of the internet’s favorite villains, Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. First of all, this man needs a therapist because he has a lot of deep family issues he needs to work through with a professional. Not to mention his anger issues, because in my opinion, destroying things with your lightsaber is really not the best coping method. Neither is cutting off various people’s body parts. He is also entirely too susceptible to the leadership of creepy, wrinkly bad guys who sound like they’ve been smoking for years and want to take over the whole universe. Now, even with all of his dramatic antics, he still managed to make the internet fall in love with him. Yes, even me included. Adam Driver manages to present Kylo in a way that even after you watch him do evil things, you still are convinced that there is good in him and he can be redeemed.
Basically, I had a great time watching these while sheltering myself from the outside world. I feel like I have official access to specific group of people and can actually say that I like Star Wars as a franchise. It is very obvious to me why there is such a large cult following and why it is regarded as being culturally significant. I really am glad that I was pushed to watch the new films and I’m definitely going to take the time to re-watch the old ones to refresh my memory since I now have some extra time on my hands.
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