Why Star Wars: The Force Awakens is my Favorite Film in the Franchise

Hello all!
First things first, I'd like to say that this week is my Spring Break so I will be posting quite a bit more. But unfortunately, next week I have finals, so there will likely only be a news wrap-up and a Sunday review.

So with the Blu-Ray release of Star Wars : The Force Awakens in a few days, I think I'm gonna be doing a few Star Wars related articles. So if you read the title of this post, you know what I'm gonna be talking about. SWTFA is my favorite Star Wars film, and I'm not afraid to admit that. (Note : Spoilers from TFA, but c'mon please tell me you have seen it by now!)

So I am going to list a few reasons why I love TFA more than other, practically flawless, pardon the prequels, Star Wars films. These movies have defined what it means to be a great cinematic experience, and have molded modern film into what it is today. So why have these timeless epics been outdone by a modern age sci-fi explosion? (Remember this is all opinion!) Also, I would also like to say that in my opinion the best film of the franchise is The Return of the Jedi. But this is my favorite. (what the difference between favorite and best film is very debatable, and I will try to explain this in a later post.)


Daisy Ridley as Rey/The Main Protagonist

Daisy Ridley as Rey not only played a fantastic lead in TFA, but she played my favorite character in all of 2015. (Close seconds were Kylo Ren, Eggsy from Kingsmen, and Mark Watney from The Martian.) I wish people would stop referring to Rey as "a great female performance" and just as "a great performance and character". In my opinion, just in this film, Rey reached character depths that Luke and Anakin never accomplished in their entire trilogies. In my opinion, she gave a more convincing and grounded performance than Mark Hamill, and had a better chemistry with her co-star. Many people also say that she is a "strong female protagonist for girls to look up to". Yes, she is all that, but she is also so much more. She is a convincing young actress, playing an inspirational hero, that everybody can take something from. Ridley's work was marvelous, and I can't wait to see what she does next. She's one of my favorite characters in the Star Wars universe, besides Yoda and Han Solo.


Pure Entertainment

I have seen each Star Wars film an equal amount of times : 3, with the exception of the prequels, which I have seen twice each. So I have had the same amount of exposure to each film, and that being said, if you asked me which one I want to see right now, I would say the Force Awakens. Star Wars : The Force Awakens is hands down the most entertaining film I have ever seen. Not a single shot or second in this film is wasted. I was not bored for a millisecond. Whether it's the thrilling action sequences, the gorgeous art direction and production design, or the intricate and masterful dialogue, there is not a dull moment in TFA. I saw this film in theaters three times because of how much I loved it. Every time I saw it, I saw new faces with smiles after having a great time at their local theater. There's a reason these box office numbers are so huge : people went more than once. 


Refreshing, while still paying homage

In my opinion, J.J. Abrams had one of the most grueling and difficult jobs I have ever seen. The sour taste left in the mouths of million of nerd fanboys by the prequels is a terrible aroma that required the best Febreze canister to rid of. And Abrams did it all. He went through tons of years of work for this one two hour masterpiece, and he went above and beyond, disintegrating all doubts, and making one hell of a film. In doing so, he made the film feel like a Star Wars film, and still made it as a fresh take on the franchise. As soon as the opening sequence with Poe Dameron and Kylo Ren occurred, you were instantly pulled into the galaxy far, far away. Many fans exclaim this to be "a New Hope rip-off". To that I say, well you hate the fact that the prequels are too far away from the original trilogy, and now you hate the new film for being too much like the originals. What do you want!?



As I write more posts about Star Wars in the next few days, you will see more reasons. But for now, farewell, and thank you for reading.