Okay, so I hinted at this in my Harry Potter post and got a few requests to explain. Here goes:

I didn’t like The Force Awakens. And it’s taken me a really long time to figure out why.

When I was a kid, I LOVED Star Wars. We had VHS copies of Empire and Jedi that were recorded off TV and we wore them out. We wore out several new copies as well.

When the prequels came out, I liked them too. Even Episode I, although it’s not as good as the others.

In junior high, I discovered that there were novels set in the Star Wars universe. That the story didn’t have to end with just the 6 movies. I read a lot of Star Wars in those days. (In case you hadn’t caught on yet, I’m a nerd.)

So initially I was pretty excited that there was going to be a new movie. I’d read quite a few books that would make excellent movies, in my opinion. But then Disney announced that none of the previously written books were part of the canon anymore. Okay, I can cope. They’re just taking the story in a new direction.

I’d been pretty pleased with J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movies, so I was fine with him taking on this series too.

I enjoyed the trailer when it came out.

When we finally went to the movie (somehow it’s a lot harder to get the whole family to the theater at once these days), I was pretty excited. I’d successfully avoided Internet spoilers and I was ready.

The beginning was good. It felt like Star Wars. I was a little irked that we started again with an orphan on a desert planet. And the whole New Order thing seemed off. The Empire was defeated right? Who are these guys? Where did they come from?

But, honestly I could’ve coped and adjusted to all that. I was totally destroyed by Han’s death. Like, I cried for the whole rest of the movie and some more when I got home. [I’m also pretty sure I was pregnant and didn’t know yet. Just for clarity.]

I get that Harrison Ford didn’t want to keep being Han Solo. I could’ve been okay with the fact that he died with a few adjustments.

1. How about he sacrifice himself for a character we actually know and love? I know Ben is his son and everything, but I found him as unpleasant as Jar Jar. He wasn’t worthy of that great a sacrifice. We don’t know enough of his story.
2. Why does Leia hug Rey when they come back? Chewie is who she should be hugging. I know Leia and Han hadn’t been super close lately (what’s up with that btw?), but seriously.
3. Also, Rey has not earned the privilege of sitting in the pilot’s seat of the Falcon. She can sit in the copilot’s seat and Chewie can fly. I know she’s this crazy-good pilot and all, but not just anyone sits in that seat.
4. Finally, there was no funeral. No closure for the characters or the viewers. We got a funeral for Anakin/Vader (at a time where we didn’t know his backstory yet, or really like him all that much). And we got a funeral for Qui-Gon and he only existed for one movie. Han died, so let’s go find Luke.

So, that’s what’s going on with me and The Force Awakens. We’ve owned the Blu-ray for months now and it’s still in its plastic wrapping. Maybe one of these days I’ll watch it again. Maybe I’ll wait until I’m no longer pregnant and volatile. 😉