The Force Awakens Has Me Worried

Can you feel it?  There has been an awakening.

Last night a new trailer dropped for the new Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens.  Most people seem really psyched about it but it actually has me less excited than I was after the previous ones.  I have a nagging feeling that this movie is going to be a long fan-wank for middle-aged Star Wars fans (a group which includes myself.)

There are several things that stand out to me.  First, the villain, Kylo Ren, is apparently obsessed with Darth Vader and collects Vader memorabilia, including his charred helmet and talks to his Star Wars collection.  Not only that, be he seems to be a Darth Vader cosplay enthusiast.  To put it mildly, this is very dumb.  Look, I love Vader, everyone loves Vader but he's dead, move on and create new villains, not wannabes. Especially not wannbes who are in-universe Star Wars collectors.

This new trailer also tells us a little bit about the world that has developed in the wake of Return of the Jedi.  Apparently the events of the Star Wars Original Trilogy have passed into legend and are spoken of in hushed tones by the people of the galaxy.  The heroes of the Rebellion are legendary and probably also have fans.  The subtext of this movie seems to be, "Star Wars is awesome, let's Star Wars!"  There is something annoyingly meta about it all.  

Also, there seems to be a new Death Star on the poster, which, ugh.

Mostly, I'm worried because of Super 8 the 2011 J. J. Abrams movie that was a "love letter" to the Amblin movies of the 1970's and '80's but was really just a self-indulgent hodgepodge of all the things you liked about those movies and little new and original.  Abrams loves Star Wars but I don't want to watch a movie about how great Star Wars is, I want to watch a great Star Wars movie with new and original ideas.  This is precisely why Abrams did such a great job on his two Star Trek  movies: he wasn't a fan.  He approached it as an outsider with a fresh take on the world and characters unburdened by fandom.

I hope I'm wrong.  I hope, The Force Awakens is great but I have concerns.

Patrick Garone
Follow Me On Twitter