Saturday, December 26, 2015

Sometimes the Force Sleeps In

Yesterday was Christmas here in Virginia. It was Christmas in other places too, if social media is to be believed. My R2-D2 stocking was hung by the chimney with care, and filled with an appropriate amount of candy. We made a ham and cheesy potatoes and thought about what we should do. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is, apparently, still showing, so we went to see that.

This being the second time seeing it, I found it easier to just relax and enjoy the movie. And I did enjoy it much more. I still think it's a movie with a lot of flaws from the start to the finish. I say that because I have specific issues with the beginning and end of the movie specifically. I think part of the problem, for me at least, is what do you expect a Star Wars movie to be? There are 6 already. That's a lot of baggage to carry around. There are so many tropes at play in the first 6. Is that what makes Star Wars what it is? Or is it less about hitting each of those thematic notes and more about having a space adventure about the battle between light and dark?

I don't have an answer for that. I guess we'll see what happens with Episode VIII