And we’re back, after taking the August Long Weekend off! And I have quite a few things to share. I get all nostalgic for G.I. Joe, particularly the cool mail-away exclusives they used to have. I roll out another Mark Tastes Random Things where I sample A&W’s Fish and Chips. In The Streaming Report, I fall down an Internet rabbit hole and end up in Dollywood. And we wrap things up taking a look at Disney’s radical new distribution plan for Mulan.
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Directed by J.J. Abrams
Starring Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Issac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Anthony Daniels, and Peter Mayhew.
Three short years ago, the Internet exploded with the news that Disney bought Lucasfilm and that Star Wars: Episode VII would be coming in 2015. When that first trailer broke, we went nuts. We were following every development online. But, as excited as I got, there was always that nagging doubt in the back of mind…didn’t I go through all this 15 years ago with the prequels? I did my best to downgrade my optimism to cautious, but when the day came, I was heading into the theatre. How would it fare?
It’s been thirty years since Return of the Jedi. A new galactic superpower has emerged from the remnants of the Empire, called the First Order. To oppose them, the Republic has formed an army called the Resistance, and the galaxy has descended into war once again. Complicating matters is the disappearance of the legendary Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, whose reappearance could turn the tide. Soon thrust into the middle of things is a desert scavenger named Rey and a defecting Stormtrooper who adopts the name Finn. They’ve come into possession of a droid called BB-8, who holds the key to finding Luke Skywalker. Soon, classic heroes are joining our new friends, as the Resistance rallies to battle the First Order’s new super-weapon. Can the weapon be destroyed? Will Luke Skywalker be found? And what’s the true identity of the First Order’s deadly dark Jedi, Kylo Ren?
Wow. Right away, everything’s better than the prequels. The acting is so much better…the dialogue is so much better. It looks grittier than the prequels…more real. And, like one of my favourite things about Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Harrison Ford showed up. He’s not just Mr. Sleepy-Mumbler…he is Han Solo once again. I just found the new characters so believable and likable. The action is great. The special effects are great…it’s just great.
OK, so the plot is highly, highly, HIGHLY reminiscent of Star Wars, or A New Hope, or whatever you call the first one. So it might be appealing to nostalgia just a little too much.
Dude, it made me cry. I did not expect that. It’s just…that good.