![]() A First Order stormtrooper designated FN-2187 (John Boyega) but quickly renamed "Finn" by Poe, experiences a crisis of conscience from his part in the mass murder at the village and, intending to defect, agrees to break Poe free in exchange for his help in piloting a ship off the star destroyer. They take prisoner Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), an ace pilot for the Resistance. It does such a good job of getting us into the narrative thrust of the new characters, in fact, that when Han and Chewy finally do show up, it feels like a surprise.īB-8 has been given the map from a man in a Jakku village that the First Order, led by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), promptly burn to the ground. This is a movie that easily could've collapsed under the weight of its history, but by spending the first third establishing its new players, it allows the film to create its own identity (up to a point) and move things forward even though we know we're eventually going to be pulled back into matters of the past. ![]() We see none of the familiar characters for quite some time. They have star destroyers and TIE fighters (and a base more on that later) and they want that droid, which has been given a map revealing the whereabouts of Luke Skywalker, but mostly functions as the plot's MacGuffin that draws everyone into the fray. Interestingly, the movie then spends its entire first act suggesting exactly the opposite, as a plucky little droid named BB-8 turns up on the desert wasteland of Jakku and becomes the subject of an intense search by the First Order, the evil remnants that arose from the ashes of the Galactic Empire. Abrams' new entry into the saga announces its intentions as a tale still ultimately about the Force-filled fate of the Skywalker bloodline. But do not worry (even though I suspect some of you were cheering), because Luke Skywalker has vanished, and the franchise stewards very much care about that fact. ![]() For the first time since Star Wars began nearly 40 years ago, George Lucas is officially, completely out of the picture and Disney is now running the show. So says the first sentence of the opening crawl of Episode VII: The Force Awakens. ![]()
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