by Dan Moren
The Force, awakened!
I hated The Phantom Menace as a name from the get go. It sounded ridiculous and cheesy, but I forgot all about that when the first trailer came out. (For the moment, we’ll ignore everything that happened after that.)
So what do I think about “The Force Awoken”? Meh. It’s not bad. A little bland, if anything, but I think that’s kind of the point. The movie has to make it mean something. Plus, with expectations this high, was there really any title that was going to blow people completely out of the water? (I also think that there’s a nice nod to the history of Star Wars here: It kind of feels like we’re all waking up after fifteen years of cinematic nightmares, right?)
As for the substance of it, I think it’s interesting that it focuses on the Force. Presumably it has something to do with the resurgence of the Jedi Order? One thing that always bugged me about the prophecy of the “chosen one” in the prequels—and there were many—is “what happens after balance is brought to the Force?”
Seems like we may finally find out. And if I were to tell you I’m not excited, I would be full of lies.