Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review

By Stefano Terry

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Written by J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan

Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, and Oscar Isaac

I was born in 1979, two years after George Lucas released Star Wars, his little indie film that would change cinema for generations to come. The Empire Strikes Back released just a year later, with Return of the Jedi releasing three years after, in 1983. I was a bit too young to be introduced to that long ago far away galaxy at the time. It wasn’t until I was 6 years old that I was able to sit down in front of the television, with three VHS tapes ready to be popped into the VCR, and have a marathon session of the Star Wars Trilogy. I found A New Hope kind of boring, Empire too scary, and Jedi just right. Even so, a Star Wars fan for life was born that day. I loved the world. I loved the characters. I loved the aliens and the adventure, and as I got older and revisited the films time and time again throughout my youth and adulthood, I grew to love the simplicity of it all (not to mention my constant flip flopping between which one I love more, Empire or Jedi).

Star Wars isn’t about convoluted plots that require endless scenes of exposition. It’s not about the nuanced gray area where humanity resides. Star Wars isn’t David Lynch. Or Christopher Nolan. It’s not pondering existential crises, or waxing poetic on what the essence of a true hero is. Oh, there are definitely some elements of that in all seven released Star Wars movies, but at the end of the day, Star Wars is about as black and white as an Oreo cookie. The good guys are good. The bad guys are bad, and in the end, good will triumph over evil. Some may think that that somehow diminishes the accomplishments of Star Wars narratively, or from a character development perspective. That by stripping the narrative down to those black and white elements, we are losing nuance and depth. I disagree. We all know how delicious Oreo Cookies are.

The Force Awakens takes place 30 years after the events of the original trilogy. Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance have dealt a decisive blow to the sinister Galactic Empire, and a New Republic began to form from the ashes. But all was not as peaceful as the final celebration in Return of the Jedi would have us believe. The Empire’s head was severed when Darth Vader turned on his master, Emperor Palpatine, and seemingly freed the galaxy from the grip of the Empire. The Empire was down, but it was not out. The opening crawl of The Force Awakens does its best to fill us in, albeit in cliffnotes form, what happened in the interim of the Rebellion’s seemingly absolute victory over the Empire: Luke Skywalker has vanished for reasons unknown. The First Order, a splinter group of the fallen Empire, are scouring the Galaxy in an attempt to find and destroy Skywalker, the last Jedi. General Leia Organa, Luke’s sister, is desperately trying to locate him, in the hopes that he can aid her and her Resistance group, in dispelling the First Order before they grow into a superpower as prolific and deadly as the Empire. As the movie begins, she has sent one of her best Resistance fighters to retrieve a key piece of a puzzle that may lead her to her brother.

The set up is light, yet much like 1977’s Star Wars, you are dropped into a world with very little information. You are forced to assemble the pieces of the galaxy and how it works as the adventure unfolds. Director J.J. Abrams attempts to replicate the magic of the original trilogy by maintaining a sense of mystery, and wonder throughout the entire film. We aren’t explicitly told what the relationship between the First Order and the Resistance are. The relationship between the Resistance and the Republic. We don’t even know who our two protagonists are; the awol Stormtrooper, Finn, and the mysterious and talented junk scavenger, Rey. As in Star Wars, we are carted from location to location, set piece to set piece, and introduced to characters at a breakneck pace. From the First Order attack on the desert world of Jakku that introduces us to ace Resistance Fighter, Poe Dameron (played charismatically by Oscar Isaac), good natured and conscience stricken Stormtrooper, Finn (played by the charming and affable John Boyega), and the sinister Kylo Ren (played expertly by Adam Driver), you are briskly taken through the introduction of the world and conflict right out of the gate.

It moves so swiftly, with character relationships being born at the blink of an eye, that you couldn’t be blamed for missing key information said through seemingly throwaway lines of dialogue interspersed through all the snappy banter and quips. Rey, our primary protagonist, is introduced just as quickly, but this is one of the few times throughout the movie where you are given a chance to breathe. The pace slows, and we are shown, more than told, who this mysterious young girl is. We meet her as she scavenges through the remains of a gigantic Star Destroyer, left abandoned in the dunes of Jakku after some long ago fought battle. In these scenes, we learn that Rey is talented, lonely, and seemingly abandoned by a family she is expecting to return. The gears start turning again as Rey encounters Poe’s droid BB-8 (this movie’s adorable version of the Original Trilogies R2-D2), whom Poe has entrusted with the key piece of the puzzle in locating Luke Skywalker.

For the sake of limiting spoilers, Rey eventually meets Finn, and the two of them are forced to flee Jakku from First Order Stormtroopers in what is, for me, the most thrilling sequence in the entire movie. After their initial transport is destroyed, the trio find themselves aboard a piece of “garbage” known as the Millennium Falcon (former transport of choice for a certain scoundrelly smuggler and war hero, Han Solo). With Rey piloting the Falcon, they deftly manage to evade their pursuers. This sequence is absolutely stunning. The excitement, the tension, the humor, the fantastic score by John Williams, all coalesce to remind the jaded returning fan that yes, this is Star Wars. Out of all of the call backs to the original trilogy this movie has, this wholly original action sequence felt the most Star Wars out of them all. The audience practically jumped to their feet when the trio finally broke free of Jakku’s atmosphere and flew off to safety. The adrenaline still lingered despite the pace slowing a bit again to introduce our first returning character from the original trilogy: Han Solo (played to perfection by Harrison Ford).

For any Star Wars fan, Han Solo probably ranks up there as one of their favorites, if not the top of their list. And for good reason. He is brash, cunning, arrogant, and a bit of a scoundrel. Not many actors can pull off that combination of both admirable and loathsome character traits, but fortunately for George Lucas in 1977, and for J.J. Abrams in 2015, Harrison Ford is one such actor. 30 years have aged not only the actor, but the character as well. He is still the lovably gruff Han Solo, but the world has clearly taken its toll on the former war hero, smuggler, general, now smuggler again. Personally, this is Harrison Ford’s best performance as Han Solo since the original movie. Ford appears to be enjoying stepping back into the boots of Solo. His line delivery sharp and emotional. While Daisy Ridley and John Boyega are the movie’s muscle and soul, Harrison Ford’s Han Solo is the spine. Without his presence, most of the emotional gravitas of the film would be lacking. I won’t delve too deeply into spoiler territory, but Han’s arc, and how it intertwines with the arcs of Rey, Finn, and Kylo Ren are the strongest parts of the movie.

But the return of Han Solo also comes at a bittersweet price. While it’s great to see the old smuggler in action once more, I liken it a bit to returning home after a long, long time away, and seeing your favorite uncle again after many years, only to realize just how old he’s become. You’d like your memories of him to be of the times when he could pick you up and sling you over his shoulder with one hand while you squealed delightfully. Instead, he’s a bit slower than you remember. A bit stiffer. His hair a lot grayer. But it’s not all bad. The twinkle in his mischievous eye is still there. That knowing smirk. Yup, he’s still your badass uncle, for better or worse.

Even with the bittersweet nostalgia, it was still great to see how well the new cast mixed in with the old and familiar faces. The back and forth between Han and Finn was pitch perfect, and you’d think that Ford and the new crew had been working together for ages. There was an instant warmth and familiarity to the entire movie, like a warm pair of slippers. And therein lies the biggest, and probably the only complaint I can throw at The Force Awakens: it’s familiar. Maybe too familiar for a longtime fan returning to the franchise (your mileage may very). It has been stated many, many times that The Force Awakens is structurally similar to A New Hope (or Star Wars, for the sticklers that love to call the movie it’s official title upon it’s 1977 release), and I can’t argue. Well, maybe just a little.

Yes, the movie certainly has a lot in common with the original film; a ragtag bunch of heroes are brought together while a malevolent (and not so subtly Nazi inspired) military regime pursues them across the galaxy in an attempt to obtain some vital information. Familiar archetypes and themes are revisited (and some of them re-purposed), to follow the familiar heroes journey that isn’t exactly unique to Star Wars. But I posit that The Force Awakens is more of a “greatest hits” mix tape, if you will, of all three original films. The first act very much evokes the beginnings of Luke Skywalker’s heroes journey as seen in Star Wars: A New Hope; with Rey and Finn joining up with the wise mentor (Han Solo), who kickstarts their adventure proper. The second act is a bit more like Empire, in that it is introspective, dark, and has a feeling of discomfort and looming danger. The final act shares similarities to Return of the Jedi, with a small group of Resistance fighters landing on the planet surface to destroy a shield generator that will leave the powerful Starkiller Base vulnerable to an attack by the Resistance’s air force, all the while, another battle is taking place in which our heroes must face their destiny, or die.

These similarities and beats are interspersed throughout all 6 previously released Star Wars films. In the reviled Star Wars prequels, for example, Anakin Skywalker is also discovered on a sand planet (instead of Jakku, it’s Tatooine, the very same planet his son, Luke Skywalker, is discovered on many decades later), and gets whisked away into a life altering adventure to become a Jedi thanks to a kindly, if not gruff, gray haired man. There is also a space battle that culminates with the destruction of the enemies mega ship and dismantles their attempts to control Naboo. The way the series is intentionally set up specifically plays to these mirror events. There is this kind of parallelism to the entire series that is more than just coincidence. The Force itself is the very definition of destiny/fate. It is woven into the very fabric of the universe. In a fantasy world such as Star Wars (and I hold to the opinion that Star Wars is more fantasy than science fiction), destiny and happy coincidences are a bit easier to swallow. The suspension of disbelief isn’t as hard to overcome in this universe compared to something like Star Trek (which I also love), where its universe is more dictated by science and logic, not fate and magic space wizards battling space Nazis with laser swords.

This isn’t to dismiss the complaints of moviegoers that are disappointed that The Force Awakens “brings nothing new” to the table, although I have to disagree with that one as well. For every wink and nod and homage to the original trilogy, there is just as much new here that sets it apart from the six previous films. Here is where I will most definitely be treading the line of spoilers, and I’ll do my best to not completely reveal certain parts of the movie, but I thought a warning just in case I misstep is warranted.

The character of Rey herself is a rather significant departure from the original trilogy. Although many diehard Star Wars fans know that in George Lucas’ original concepts and outlines for Star Wars ’77, the character of Luke Skywalker was initially a girl, with the Han Solo character carrying the iconic Lightsaber weapon. J.J. Abrams based a lot of the look and feel of The Force Awakens from original series concept artist Ralph McQuarrie work on that original film, and I feel the inspiration for Rey is also an allusion to those original pieces of McQuarrie work. Rey is an enigma at the start of the film. Unlike Luke, who longed for adventure and to escape Tatooine, Rey has no such inclinations to leave Jakku. Luke wanted to be join the Empire, then the Rebellion. More than anything, he just wanted off of his dusty old home world. Rey wants nothing more than for her family to return to her. She was left on Jakku for a reason, and believes that they will come back to her. Throughout the course of the film, she is actively fighting against two directions pulling at her: The desire to help little BB-8 and her new friend Finn get back to the Resistance, and her desire to stay right where she is, so that she would not miss her family returning while she is away.

Rey’s life is a sad one. Luke’s is not. Not at the time we meet him. Luke lives with his aunt and uncle, Owen and Beru. He’s a moisture farmer, and despite his big dreams, he is not alone. He is surrounded by people who he thinks of as family, and who love him, and want what’s best for him. Rey is under the guardianship of a shady alien named Unkar Plott. He doesn’t seem to particularly care for Rey, and is keen to swindle her out of her daily food portions regardless of how much valuable scrap she turns into his junkyard. She lives alone in an abandoned AT-AT (Imperial Walker), where she has etched onto it’s rusted out hull the days that have passed since her abandonment on Jakku. I’m sure she’d take drinking blue milk with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru over her green, moldy looking insta-bread she is given by Unkar Plott.

Despite the breakneck pace of the plot, we are given a lot of visual storytelling that establishes Rey as strong, resourceful, and lonely. A particularly endearing moment that stands out for me is Rey sitting outside of her makeshift home, eating her moldy bread roll, and plopping a Rebel fighter pilot helmet onto her head while she eats. It serves no purpose as far as narrative structure goes, but it adds so much to her character. Another shot of her watching an old woman clean junk for Unkar Plot, the realization that she will perhaps become that old woman one day crossing her face is sad and poignant. Yet despite this dismal fate, she is fine with staying put, and waiting for a family she doesn’t even remember to return.

Her arc is the most drastic of the two protagonists, and her pivotal moment of realization is one of the films highest highs. She is not Luke Skywalker 2.0, despite possessing some rather Skywalker-esque traits (a knack for machinery, like Anakin, and excellent pilot, like Luke, and is damn good in a scrap, for example). Newcomer to the screen, Daisy Ridley, does an absolutely fantastic job portraying all of the aspects of Rey’s personality, through a mix of excellent delivery and comedic timing, to facial expressions that are both subtle and overt. As the first female lead in a Star Wars film, she is deftly handled, and is simultaneously strong and vulnerable, without teetering too far in the direction of damsel in distress, or impossibly perfect Mary Sue. There is a balance at work in Rey’s character, and the film does a marvelous job highlighting it.

If Rey is the stoic protagonist of the film, Finn is its beating heart. John Boyega is one of the most endearing young actors to burst onto the scene, and his portrayal as Moses in 2011’s British indie film, Attack the Block was reason enough for me to be excited by his casting in The Force Awakens. He brings his natural charisma and charm to the good natured and morally troubled Finn. From the moment the camera shifts focus from Resistance Pilot Poe Dameron to a slightly out of sync Stormtrooper stumbling through the chaos of the First Order raid of the tiny Jakku village, you knew something was different about this guy. When his fallen comrade brushes a bloodied hand over his helmet, leaving a dark red smear across the pristine white molding as he dies, you felt a tug at your heartstrings. Stormtroopers aren’t just nameless drones with questionable aim anymore. When Finn (designation FN-2187; yet another subtle callback to Star Wars: A New Hope for fans to get a chuckle out of), refuses to open fire on innocent villagers, you start to feel a connection to this out of his element soldier. After the massacre, Finn removes his helmet, and underneath is a traumatized, sweaty, and hyperventilating young man. This unconventional introduction to a Star Wars protagonist is one of the highlights of the movie for me as well.

Finn has managed to break away from his conditioning by the First Order (an element that isn’t explained in the film, unfortunately), and at great risk to himself, hatches a daring escape from the deadly Kylo Ren’s Star Destroyer, with prisoner Poe Dameron in tow. The back and forth banter between Finn and Poe is some of the most genuinely funny and charming elements in Star Wars. In general, the humor in the Force Awakens is leagues above the humor from the sterile Prequel Trilogy, and definitely more prevalent than in the original trilogy. Finn and Poe become fast friends, but are eventually separated. Alone, with no help, and stranded on Jakku, Finn’s lack of direction is both internal and external. He has abandoned the only home he has ever known. His only way of life. He was bred for killing, but doesn’t have the stomach for it. He now believes he has no purpose. He is a Ronin, wandering the deserts of Jakku without a master. He wants more than anything to get as far away from this planet as he can, so he can just disappear. But as is the case with Star Wars, the Force has bigger plans for young Finn.

He encounters Rey, and, through circumstances completely out of their control, they end up together, fleeing Jakku in the aforementioned spectacular escape sequence aboard the Millennium Falcon. Much like Finn and Poe, Finn and Rey become fast friends, working together, first awkwardly, then in sync, as they take out the pursuing Tie Fighters. Their banter is lighthearted and fun, and there is no denying that Finn is enamored with Rey and her resourcefulness, skill, and beauty. Over the course of the film, we see Finn grow from a terrified man with no purpose, to a man willing to risk it all to save his friends. Both Finn and Rey are longing for a sense of belonging. Rey believes that is with her family. Finn didn’t know what he was longing for until he met Rey. Both character arcs play out beautifully and in some ways, unexpectedly, in the film. Their arcs are far from over, and there is so much material that Episodes 8 and 9 can build upon for both of our heroes. Finn is the character that the audience may find themselves relating to the most. He is out of his element for the majority of the movie, and seeing him come into his own is a joy to watch. His double role as hero and comic relief may cause some to raise an eyebrow, but then again, John McClane wasn’t exactly Rambo in Die Hard either, was he? He faced everything with a quip and a limp, and Finn isn’t much different (well, minus the patented Bruce Willis smirk).

The third primary character in the film isn’t Poe Dameron, but is also a character that is the most difficult to discuss without spoiling major plot points. That character, of course, is the villainous Kylo Ren, who is perhaps one of the most layered and nuanced villains in all of the Star Wars films. I know I said earlier that Star Wars is very Oreo. Very black and white. Clear cut, and The Force Awakens still remains so. It just so happens that the villain of Kylo Ren has one of the most intriguing character arcs of the entire movie. When we first meet Kylo, he is a force (no pun intended), to be reckoned with. He is tall and imposing (thanks to the lanky 6’2” frame of Adam Driver). His voice is softly menacing when he speaks, and his displays of dark side power are on par with what we saw of Darth Vader in the opening scenes of A New Hope.

But Kylo Ren has a secret. One that even us, as the audience, and screenwriters J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, are painfully aware of: Kylo Ren is no Darth Vader. It was nearly an impossible task to create a villain that would be able to stand toe to toe with the iconic Darth Vader. There is hardly a villain in film that is as recognizable as the last Dark Lord of the Sith. Darth Maul, while certainly an impressive, intimidating figure in the first prequel, The Phantom Menace, did not have the staying power. Here, Abrams and Kasdan wisely acknowledge that Kylo Ren is not able to fill the black boots of Vader. It is woven into his very character, and even his character motivations. He wants, more than anything, to be Darth Vader. He talks to his burned, ashen helmet. He uses a voice modulator to make himself sound imposing. He is prone to outbursts of anger that intimate anyone but the most hardened of First Order soldiers. But he is not Vader. He may never become Vader. He is determined to do so, however, and at any cost. In order to accomplish this goal, he is given a task by the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke (performed perfectly by the award winning go to guy of motion capture performances, Andy Serkis). Snoke, at first glance, appears to be Emperor Palpatine 2.0. He is pale skinned and haggard, features distorted and scarred, perhaps a reflection of the corruption of the dark side of the Force on his body, and much like Emperor Palpatine in The Empire Strikes Back, we only get a few glimpses of him throughout the movie.

However, unlike Palpatine, there is a hint of uncertainty, maybe even fear, when Snoke (possibly a play on the words “snake” and “smoke”) speaks of Luke Skywalker, and his increasingly frustrated conversations with both Kylo Ren, and General Hux (played by the talented Domhnall Gleeson). It wasn’t until a second viewing of the film that the read I got on Supreme Leader Snoke is that he is deathly, deathly afraid of what would happen if the Resistance is able to reach Luke Skywalker before he can fully complete Kylo Ren’s training. Kylo’s skills, while certainly formidable, may still fall short of where they need to be to challenge the legendary Luke Skywalker. Throughout the course of the film, we see Kylo’s struggle to become greater than Vader. We see his frustration when disappointing Supreme Leader Snoke at a pivotal scene over halfway through the film.

Without being too spoilerish, I found Adam Driver’s performance as Kylo Ren to be precisely what many Star Wars fans wanted out of Hayden Christensen’s performance as Anakin Skywalker. Driver walks a very fine line between intimidating and unpredictably unhinged during his outbursts. I got the distinct feeling that Abrams and Kasdan were looking very closely at what missed the mark with Anakin Skywalker in episode’s 2 and 3, and instead of shying away completely from those elements, facing them head on, and addressing them in a much more effective way. Kylo Ren is Anakin Skywalker Pre-Darth Vader done right. And if his arc trajectory is heading where it appears to be heading judging by the end of The Force Awakens, I think he very well could become the Darth Vader that fans wanted Anakin Skywalker to become, and that, he himself, wants to become. I find that very exciting.

There is so much more I can say about The Force Awakens, but instead, here are a few more odds and ends before I wrap things up. The rest of the returning cast, you may have noticed, I haven’t spoken much about. And it is for good reason. Carrie Fisher’s General Leia Organa, and Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker comprise a very, very small part of the film. C-3PO has possibly the most entertaining re-introductions of a returning character, and R2-D2 maybe one of the saddest. Their parts in the film felt organic and natural, and not shoehorned in for fan service or an applause from the audience. If that meant they didn’t get much screen time, that was the price to pay to have the core narrative served first, over fan service and nostalgia pandering (the film does plenty of that across the entirety of its 2 hours and 16 minute run time).

John William’s score for the film, initially, felt understated. It’s hard to compete with the bombastic, orchestral themes of the original trilogy, or the soft, personal melodies of the prequels (say what you will about the mediocrity of the prequels, the soundtrack was not one of its faults). However, after a second viewing of the film, and then listening to the score in isolation, it has left quite the impression on my ears. It is a thematically different sound than what we are used to from Williams. Much of it felt experimental, a performer not relying on the merits of his older work to bolster his new, and he very well could have easily just coasted through the score of The Force Awakens by tinkering with existing themes from previous films. The way in which the new themes (Rey’s theme being a particularly standout and beautifully composed piece of music) easily interweave and intersect with the familiar scores is impressive. Williams has not lost his magic, even now, at the age of 83. He is still a master of his craft.

I’d also like to give some recognition to the director of photography, Daniel Mindel. He has worked with J.J. Abrams before on films such as Mission: Impossible 3, Star Trek, and Star Trek: Into Darkness, and it shows. The Force Awakens is just a stunning movie to look at. Not just the bombastic sweeps of the camera as the Millennium Falcon evades Tie Fighters across the sandy dunes of Jakku, but in the quieter moments, such as a single land speeder sweeping across the plains, silhouetted black against an orange sky and a setting sun, or a long distance shot of Rey, standing in front of the massive exhaust of an abandoned Star Destroyer, attempting to take a drink of water from a metallic container. This is the kind of movie where you could freeze frame nearly any moment, and pick apart the artistry of the composition and lighting direction. It may seem sacrilege to hear for die hard Star Wars fans, but I’d argue that The Force Awakens has the most impressive camerawork of the entire seven film series. It certainly benefits from the latest advancements in film, as well as a superb blending of both animatronic puppets and practical effects, and fully computer generated creations. Honestly, The Force Awakens, on a technical level, is exactly the kind of movie George Lucas himself would have made in 1977 had film technology been at this level back then. Perhaps that alone is why the film seems to familiar, so warm, and so inviting, to both newcomers and long time fans of the series.

My only real complaints with the film stem from the under-utilization of two of the films highly prominent characters: Oscar Isaac’s Poe Dameron, and Gwendoline Christie’s Captain Phasma, the Chromeplated commander of the First Order soldiers. Both characters appear in the film for short periods, but both characters hold so much promise and potential that their lack of screen time sticks out. Poe in particular has such good back and forth with Finn, that you desperately want to see him interact with every other character in the film. Captain Phasma is just a stunning piece of visual character design, that you want to see her wreck shop and be a badass at some point during the movie. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen. She doesn’t fire a single shot in the entire movie, and vanishes from the third act without much fanfare. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy wasn’t lying when she said that Captain Phasma was the Boba Fett of the new trilogy. Thankfully, both Phasma and Poe Dameron have been confirmed to show up in 2017’s Star Wars: Episode 8.

The film also suffers from a bit of under-explaining. While much of the pieces can be put together by paying attention to lines of offhand dialogue spoken by characters, a single scene stating in clearer terms what the deal with the First Order and the Republic and Resistance was could have helped allay some complaints. The Hitler inspired speech that General Hux gives his men before firing the Starkiller weapon hints at a truce between the First Order and the Republic that the Republic is undermining by funding the Resistance is easily missed on the first viewing (I didn’t pick up on it until the second time I saw the film). Even with these minor complaints, the flow of the film didn’t feel problematic or sloppy.

VERDICT: WATCH

Despite being the seventh entry in a series spanning over 30 years, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is accessible and welcoming to the die hard fans, and also those that have never seen a Star War before. It is fun, lighthearted, filled with charming, likable characters, exhilarating set pieces, and a sense of wonder and magic that had been sorely missing from the series after the conclusion of the prequel trilogy. It is not a flawless movie, but what it does right over-shadows the few nitpicks that I had with the film. My second viewing was a lot more enjoyable than the first, and I picked up on some things that I had missed in that first, adrenaline filled screening. I can’t recommend The Force Awakens enough. It’s a family friendly film, with little in the way of inappropriate or scary moments, so children over the age of 5 should be good to go as well. It’s not as dark as The Empire Strikes Back, but it’s also not as light as Star Wars: A New Hope. It’s a perfect entry point to new viewers that don’t want to sit through 6+ hours of the original trilogy, and another 6+ hours of the prequel trilogy.