Star Wars: The Nostaliga Awakens (Yes, major spoilers)

The new Star Wars movie belongs to the most hyped things of 2015. Rightfully so? I kind of think so. Star Wars is still very much about the feeling, not so much about innovation. Certainly, you have a great universe with interesting characters. But it is not like we haven’t seen this story before: A young man becomes witness of genocidal actions through an evil, intergalactic entity and decides to abandon the scene. Next, some robot lands on a desert planet, is captured by greedy scrap dealers only to be released by another hero. 

Then, we have a death star – for the third goddamn time. Also, there are some serious family issues: This time, it is not the father who has fallen to the dark side of the force, but the son. The only thing that's missing is a line like “Han, I am your son” to complement the infamous “Luke, I am your father”. New ideas are applied very carefully. 

A female Jedi. Surprise, s*ckers!

Indeed, you would not expect the movie to be a crazy experiment that entirely changes the whole idea of what Star Wars is. Nostalgia is what this franchise has been running on for the last few decades, and this movie gets away with it by the virtue of being technically competent. Again, the writers have managed to preserve the feeling of the originals.

What is genuinely new to The Force Awakens is that it supports strong female roles. Women here are the center of attention, be it Rey, who becomes a Jedi Knight, be it Leia, who is a General now, or be it that female Yoda with the thick glasses. That makes the movie interesting beyond its nostalgic moments and I appreciate it. Those women are in stark contrast to the comparatively much weaker male roles. Finn is insecure as to whether he should flee or fight; Kylo Ren does not know if he has the balls to kill his own father, and upon finding out that he has, Han Solo's screentime ends. 

 

So, what do we get? An entertaining movie that proves that the Star Wars formula can keep up with the times. Fair enough, but the sequel's success will require a little more innovation than that.