The pictures above are of me standing on line for the 8am early morning showing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. There has not been a more eagerly awaited and anticipated film in years, and keep in mind that includes all of the recent Marvel/DC/Superhero films that have dominated the box office as of late. Nerds and geeks love Star Wars probably as much, if not more so than they love Star Trek and Doctor Who.
I was going to wait until next week so see the new Star Wars film because I expected it to be a mad house, but while I was heading into the office I walked past the theater. There was no line outside for the earlier showing. I then decided I couldn’t wait and took a chance that tickets were available. Luckily there were spots still unsold and I was able to purchase a ticket. So I texted a colleague and rescheduled my 10am meeting until later in the day and went in to enjoy the show.
While waiting on the line I was approached by Mario Diaz of WPIX Channel 11 news. Mario Diaz is best known his reporting on the NYPD “Stop and Frisk” policy, as well as being the reporter that R&B singer Erykah Badu tried to kiss on air. I didn’t recognize him at first. We just started talking about watching the original trilogy like any two guys discussing their love for Star Wars. We both laughed at how everyone is able to tell you where they were and what it was like to see the original trilogy, but no one could recall anything about the George Lucas prequels. He then revealed who he was and that he was doing a story on the Star Wars opening. He asked me if he could interview me after the film and I agreed.
I am not going discuss the interview or give a full review here. We are going to be discussing the film on the next New York Cine Radio podcast later in the week. All I will say is this; I had mixed feelings about the movie. I liked it better than any of the prequels (episodes 1-3) from a few years back. However I don’t think it was anywhere near as good as A New Hope (episode 4) and The Empire Strikes Back (episode 5). And I might, and I stress might, rate it higher than Return of the Jedi (episode 6).
With that said, the film was still entertaining and adequately set the stage for what is to come. But there are huge gaping plot holes in the story and the actions and motivations of the characters seem “forced” (pun intended) at times. In full disclosure, I am not a fan of JJ Abrams. I absolutely hated his influence on the recent reboot of the Star Trek universe and feared that he would ruin Star Wars as well. I find much of his work extremely derivative and uninspired. He is not a good storyteller.
Right now I just think the Force Awakens was okay. I plan to see the film again once the initial hype dies down. Maybe I will feel different, but I doubt it. It appears that JJ Abrams Strikes again.
