While Rey is in many ways an obvious reflection of Luke and Anakin, she also has a unique twist to her starting point. Unlike Luke, and even Anakin, Rey has no family to support her in her struggle to survive in the harsh environment of Jakku. There is no wasting time with friends or picking […]
R2-D2
Analysis of The Force Awakens — Leia Organa: A Princess and a General
Carrie Fisher’s portrayal of General Leia was a wonderful surprise. The lack of her presence in the trailers beyond a few brief shots made me worry that we would either see very little of her in the film, or that Carrie’s acting wouldn’t be on par with the other actors. But her scenes with Ford […]
Analysis of The Force Awakens — Finn: Born for One Purpose, Destined for Another
Like Rey, Finn is on his own hero’s journey. It starts with the death of fellow trooper FN-2003, aka “Slip.” This trooper’s identity was established in the anthology novel Before the Awakening and confirmed in the Visual Dictionary. Slip was the weakest link in Finn’s unit and Finn was reprimanded by Captain Phasma for helping […]
Analysis of The Force Awakens — Kylo Ren: A Villain’s Journey
Kylo is tied with Rey as my favorite new character. Having searched out spoilers, his characterization was actually one of the few surprises of the film for me. I suspected long before seeing the film that he was Han and Leia’s son and knew that he was a Vader fanatic, but his volatile and emotional […]
Analysis of The Force Awakens — Droids: Faithful Companions Old and New
BB-8: BB-8 is a great achievement in conveying emotion in a non-humanoid droid. It is hard to match R2, but I believe BB-8 lived up to the challenge. BB is immediately likable with an almost childlike personality. The emotion he shows at Poe’s apparent death; the hesitation to lie for Finn; the thumbs up; the […]
Analysis of The Force Awakens — Poe Dameron: Loyal Hero of the Resistance
Though he doesn’t get as much screentime as the other young newcomers, Poe has great impact on the plot of The Force Awakens. He is quickly established as a very skilled and heroic character, someone who is willing to risk his life for the Resistance, yet he is not without humor, even in the menacing […]