Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
For this week’s Focus Friday, we decided to nerd out and talk about the new Star Wars movie, coming this December.
Are you excited for the new Star Wars movie?
Opinion columnist Krishna Narra: I’m actually pretty excited. The only thing is I might have to re-watch all the other ones to make sure I am up to date with all the events that could be referenced for potential plot twists. I like how there seems to be mostly fresh characters which makes it easier to digest for those who are unfamiliar with all the other episodes of the Star Wars trilogy. All in all, this seems like it’s going to be a pretty impressive movie with the current technological advancements in the film industry.
Opinion columnist Caroline Cao: After viewing the trailer, as I don’t do the trailer reaction videos, I went and did a poem about my emotional response and my last verse was “unlocked the slumbering galaxies in my heart” or something. It’s notable that I was undergoing a period of cynicism over the news of The Force Awakens and thought I had outgrown my affection for Star Wars. Well, I guess the peek at Harrison Ford’s mug ignited something in me again.
Opinion editor Anthony Torres: I have been a Star Wars fan for as long as I can remember. When I found out Disney bought the rights to the franchise, I was a bit skeptical. But then they announced they were doing a new trilogy and, along with independent standalone movies, the inner child in me started screaming for joy. Plus, George Lucas has honestly not been that great for the franchise like when he decided not to release any of the movies on digital format, which Disney ended up doing. I believe in J.J. Abrams. I think his direction will truly make this a great new trilogy.
Will it live up to the hype surrounding it?
KN: This movie might be able to live up to the hype. However, I noticed that this movie seems to function on the same fundamental storyline as the original. This time, Harrison Ford’s character took Obi Wan Kenobi’s role as the mentor. I feel like this would work, but if the same cycle continues and it is predictable, this movie will not reach its potential and might fall short of the hype. That’s why it would be essential that this movie functions off of originality more than trying to ride an ancient wave to garner profits. We’ll just have to see.
CC: With cautious optimism, yes. There’s so much boiling hype for it. At the same time, I’m keeping in mind Star Wars is typically a conventional good versus evil tale, a classic one, but not quite complex or original. It’s all down to the execution and whether it preserves the same sense of wonder the original trilogy brought us. I’m also optimistic because George Lucas didn’t touch this one. But in all seriousness, it’s in good hands. I think Lucas would be proud.
AT: It would be a shame if this movie ended up going the way of Episode I: The Phantom Menace, where people were freaking out over there being a new Star Wars movie, only to be severely disappointed. But realistically, J.J. Abrams is a solid director. The Star Trek movie were great and he made a hard decision to give them up to take the helm as the new Star Wars director. As long as George Lucas is not involved in any capacity other than the adviser role he was given, I think this movie will be one of the biggest movies of 2015 and quite possibly, one of the best sci-fi movies in the past few years.
