Here are some reasons why I loved it:
1. We have a female potential Jedi (and maybe the most powerful Jedi yet), who isn't a typical "Mary Jane" protagonist. A "Mary Jane" in movies is sort of like a wish- fulfillment heroine, a girl who is almost supernatural in her ability to kick ass. In The Force Awakens, Rey isn't aware of how strong the Force is within her. And when she does something extraordinarily well, the viewer realizes it's the Force working in her and guiding her to her greater destiny, but she's convincingly perplexed and pleasantly surprised at her ability. When she pilots The Millennium Falcon with a finesse Han Solo would be jealous of, her response afterward is incredulous, and Finn's like "How did you do that?" And she's all like, "I don't know!"
When Han gives her the blaster, he's like "Girlie, do you know how to use this?" And she says "Pull the trigger," and he's all chuckling like she's a dumb little girl. He says something like "Uh, there's a lot more to it than that." And that he'll give her lessons. When she does finally use the blaster, and after one stray shot, hits her target on the second, she looks down at the weapon in wonder, as if thinking, "I thought this was supposed to be difficult." As the audience, we know it's because of the Force in her. But she is wonderfully oblivious to it, until the very end.
And I love how the tables turn near the beginning of the movie where Finn is always trying to take her hand to pull her to safety. She keeps saying, "Stop taking my hand! I know how to run without holding your hand!" Then, there comes a moment when she offers her hand.
2. J.J. Abrams did a fantastic job with a subtle weaving of the intricacies of the Force throughout the movie. I especially noticed the lights of the sabers reflected in Kylo Ren's and Rey's eyes during their final fight. As their sabers were locked and Rey was standing on the edge of the precipice, Kylo pleads that he can teach her the Force. Then, in Rey's eyes, and in Kylo Ren's, you see the blue and red lines of the sabers crossed. Rey closes her eyes and concentrates on the Force within her. When
she opens her eyes, the blue and red lights are parallel, symbolizing the intended balancing nature of the force, while in Kylo Ren's eyes, the lights are still crossed.
3. The movie remained true to the origins George Lucas intended. George Lucas has said that the Force is a pushing and pulling of dark and light that strives for balance, and one side can't survive without the other. This is artistically depicted in the internal struggle of Kylo Ren. His heart seems to be tugging him toward the light, but his mind and ego and his worship of his grandfather (Darth Vader) yank him quickly back to the dark side of the Force. This internal struggle and his immaturity for one wielding such power is evident in his destructive tantrums when things don't go his way. I have a feeling that murdering his father (Han Solo) will haunt him in future movies.
4. There was no evidence of Jar Jar Binks! Or Ewoks (well, I think I saw an Ewok, actually, but it didn't speak and seemed to be in just one short scene, walking in the dust). Thank the Lord for that
small mercy! The droid BB-8 was actually entertaining (to me, anyway), as it rolled through every
scene like a loyal ally. His personification with human qualities such as trust, when he chose to go along with Finn's lie, was also endearing. His thumbs up welding flame was also actually smile inducing rather than...stupid.
5. There wasn't as much corny replay of the original trilogy as I thought there'd be. Yes, Han Solo did have some corny lines that made me slightly roll my eyes, but not nearly as much as I've seen in other sequels. For the most part, Han Solo and Leia acted how one would expect them to act thirty plus years down the road. They'd had a child, lost that child to the dark side, and split up. Leia is now a general, and a tired Han Solo has gone back to what he's done best--smuggling. The action scenes with Han running aren't far-fetched feats of almost superhuman youth, but reminiscent of a man tired of "the game" just doing what needs to be done to survive another day. His cocky, arrogant personality has subsided into almost a casual indifference.
6. Although we don't see Luke Skywalker until the very end, his presence is felt from the start and
builds toward the climax. It's the final piece to the map of his whereabouts that the First Order is destroying whole star systems to get to. Dumb move on their part--what if one of those planets they destroyed was actually where Luke Skywalker was? Then they'd continue to waste their time searching for nothing.
7. The third Death Star isn't as dumb as critics have made it out to be. Yes, the first two were little in comparison to this monster, the Starkiller. Ironic, isn't it, that in the first draft of the original movie, Luke's last name wasn't going to be Skywalker, but Starkiller? This Death Star had some definite improvements to go along with it's immensity compared to the previous Death Stars. It HAD to be big, though, because it's weapon had to pull 100% of the sun's energy into it before it could fire a shot that would wipe out entire star systems. There were some design deficiencies, though, because no one but Han, Finn, and Chewie noticed Rey climbing like a lithe little monkey up and down the sides of the walls in an effort to remain hidden from stormtroopers who were supposed to be on high alert.
8. The rumored plot holes were really not plot holes at all. A LOT of information had to be squeezed into a two plus hour film, but the info needed was there, if only for a brief second or two. Most of it flashes in quick succession when Rey first laid her hand on the light saber. She saw the murdering of the younglings by Anakin, she saw the reason why R2D2 went into a self imposed mourning. He was not actually mourning....he was waiting. Waiting for a very special moment when the Force briefly tipped toward the Light. That moment was when Rey and Leia hugged. In that instant, R2D2 fulfilled the mission Luke gave him in the flashback scene where Rey touches the saber.
9. There's another reason why I think that hug between Leia and Rey seemed so special, almost "motherly." We will have to see how that plays out. But with familial ties woven through all the movies, and Rey's mysterious family who abandoned her on Jakku, I wouldn't be surprised if our boy
Luke is a dad after all. Or perhaps Obi Wan Kenobi had a granddaughter we are just learning about.
10. The ending. I thought about the ending on the ride home. At first, I would've liked to have seen Luke stare at the saber for a second, raise his eyes, and have them widen even more as he beholds Rey, standing stoically in front of him, offering the saber. I would've like to have seen him outstretched his hand, and the saber in Rey's hand quiver the slightest bit before fading to black. But that's just my opinion. It ended well the way it did, too.
11. The bonus was the chills I got right at the beginning, with the original music, and the usual scrolling of the history so far. I'm so glad they didn't deviate! It literally gave me chills as memories came flooding back to me.
12. I loved the raw, almost unconscious control of the Force Rey exhibited. So refreshing to see a girl wield a light saber, even though clumsily at first (thrusting when she should have been slashing). Once she focused and let the Force guide her every move, she was unbeatable. And that's awesome.
And last but not least, I want one of these...
Anyway, can you tell how this nerdy girl LOVED that movie!!??
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