10 things we loved about ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

It’s safe to assume by now that we all loved The Force Awakens; what’s not to love about a new Star Wars movie at Christmas?!

Without a doubt, it’s been the most highly-anticipated film of 2015 – if not the 21st Century so far. Star Wars is arguably the biggest franchise ever (sorry, Mr Bond and Mr Potter) and with the original trilogy’s fans now all grown up with their own new generation of kids to take along, it was bound to be massive.

> Pre-order The Force Awakens on Amazon.

Here are ten things we loved (in no particular order) about Episode VII…

10. Meeting the new characters

In the lead-up to the film’s release, we’d been briefly introduced to the new characters that would take us on the next part of this journey.

Rey, Finn, Poe and especially BB-8 are all fresh faces, but the speed at which we feel very much at home with them is a testament to how good the writing and acting is.

9. The Millennium Falcon is back

After their ‘hit and run’ meeting, Rey and Finn quickly bond when they’re on the run from the Stormtroopers. (Although, stop holding her hand; she can run on her own.)

When it’s revealed that the “garbage” is, in fact, our beloved Millennium Falcon, we are slightly insulted by the choice of word but that is soon overcome by the feeling of coming home.

8. Han Solo and Chewbacca’s homecoming

Ahh, that moment when you’re expecting Stormtroopers to walk in but it turns out to be Han Solo and Chewbacca.

“Chewie, we’re home.” *cue audience whooping, crying and making Chewbacca-esque noises*

As much as we do really love the newbies, it’s still hard not to punch the air at the return of the original cast. Han and Chewie certainly know how to make an entrance in style, don’t they? Despite their three decades away, it’s as though we never left them.

7. Who is Kylo Ren?

In the run up to the release, there was a lot of speculation about who Rey is and whether she was the daughter of Han Solo. So it came as a big surprise when it was revealed that, in fact, Kylo Ren is the son of Han and Leia.

This is our seventh loved moment mainly for the shock factor; quite a feat in 2015’s spoiler-heavy Internet age.

6. Luke’s lightsaber

We couldn’t not mention this moment as it was such a pivotal scene.

Our sixth most-loved moment was when Rey found Luke’s lightsaber. When Rey touched the lightsaber and the force overtook her, we got to share that (slightly terrifying) experience with her which strengthened the bond between the audience and Rey.

5. The first lightsaber battle

Lightsaber battles isn’t all Star Wars is about, but heck, it’s definitely something very sacred to the franchise.

So our fifth favourite moment is the first lightsaber battle we see; between Finn and Kylo Ren. Finn may not be trained to use a lightsaber but he sure does have a whack at it. (Or should we say a ‘Vyoom Vyoom’ at it.)

4. Han and Leia reunite

Also much anticipated was the reunion of Han and Leia. After the revelation of Kylo Ren (or as they called him; Ben) being their son, we were left wondering about the strain this had put on their relationship.

When we saw them come face to face, they were the same old married couple we always wanted them to be with their loving bickering.

3. The light and the Dark

Symbolism has always had a place in the Star Wars universe with a lot of reference to light and dark which we believe to have been very fitting in a particular pivotal scene.

It’s a simple but effective technique; when the light is shining through, you can see the struggle of the good within Kylo Ren but when the light fades, so does the good in him and the dark side takes over. This symbolism is an example to JJ Abrams’ great direction (with not a dash of lens flare in sight!) and Adam Driver’s acting.

2. Throwbacks

A big thing we loved and were looking forward to was the tip-of-the-hat moments that really make Star Wars.

From Han Solo’s “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” to those classic wipe transitions between scenes, it’s all so reassuringly very Star Wars.

We also loved when Leia says to Rey, “May the force be with you.”

1. Finding Luke Skywalker

Although this list is in no particular order, we felt this one needed to be saved for our the top spot; seeing Luke Skywalker again.

Not only had you been waiting to see Luke since the end of Return of the Jedi, but throughout The Force Awakens you’re waiting with baited breath to see him again.

It was cruel/clever/both to only let us have so few seconds of him at the end of the movie, but whilst you’re happy to see him, your heart breaks at the overwhelming emotion that you can see in his eyes.