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A New Hope

Star Wars: The Force Awakens–Thoughts to Consider (SPOILERS)

December 23, 2015 by J. Alan Sharrer Leave a Comment

Kylo RenSince a large chunk of the population has donated a portion of their disposable income to a movie theater in order to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we’re getting to the point where spoiler-free reviews are going to be unnecessary. If you haven’t seen the film yet and want to be surprised when you get to the theater, I’d recommend taking a look at my earlier review first, since it contains no spoilers.   Otherwise, read on, as I go into some of my personal ponderings regarding the movie.

Scroll past the picture below to read on.  Otherwise, it’s okay to return later and read when you’ve had a chance to see the film for yourself.

Fighter battleAre we all here? Good.  Here are a few personal thoughts after seeing Star Wars: The Force Awakens twice (Thursday PM and Friday PM):

I am not a Star Wars fanboy, but I have always had an interest in the series.  Perhaps it’s because George Lucas wanted to change some sequences in the preexisting films to make a plot point more noticeable (Greedo shooting first instead of Han Solo), more detailed (all the CGI with Jabba the Hutt in A New Hope) or look more unified (the horrific revised ending to Return of the Jedi that seems a bit ironic, seeing as it shows the folks on Corcuscant celebrating freedom, not knowing they’ll suffer the same fate as Alderann thirty years later). Maybe it’s because I wanted to leave a theater with a sense of awe and wonder—something I didn’t get when seeing The Phantom Menace back in 1999.  It could be due to the fact that I saw Peter Jackson succeed mightily in the Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Hobbit?  Not so much.). Regardless, I went in wanting something more, something dynamic, something post-worthy.

I got that—and much more.

The film’s first portion centers on the planet of Jakku, as BB-8 takes the map portion with him a few seconds before Kylo Ren’s Bat Cruiser (not trademarked, but it should be) shows up and annihilation occurs.  Rey, a scavenger in those parts, wants little to do with the droid when she encounters him and eventually has to make a decision about whether to sell him.  BB-8’s loyalty reminds me, in a non-speaking way, of the loyalty of Ruth to Naomi in the Old Testament (see Ruth 1:16-18).  Rey decides not to, and it’s a good choice on her part, as the droid introduces her to Finn, a Stormtrooper gone AWOL. The two make quite a formidable pair, and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of this pair in future films.

As for Kylo Ren, it’s revealed that he’s the son of Han Solo and Leia.  He’s definitely a force (pun intended) to be reckoned with (notice the Force stop of Poe Dameron’s blaster shot in the opening sequence). In fact, the only folks who can fight him off are Snoke, General Hux, and (later on) Rey. But he’s got some serious issues. He has no control over his temper, slashing massive streaks into a computer wall when he finds out Rey was not captured. In another sequence, the Stormtroopers on duty just turn around and walk away. This probably explains why his lightsaber fizzles, pops, and looks so different than the ones we’ve come to know in the past. He wants to be good, but can’t seem to fight his way out of the Dark Side. We see this in play on numerous occasions, notably when taking to Han Solo on the bridge at the end of the film.  He knows what he needs to do, but can’t do it—does that sound eerily like the struggle Paul talks about in Romans 7:15-25?  As a result, he is a wretched man.  It looks like we’ll get to see more of this struggle in future episodes.

The last scene location of SW: TFAIn the end, Starkiller Base is destroyed, Han Solo is taken out by his son, Finn is on life support after a nasty lightsaber slash up the back from Kylo Ren, and Rey travels with Chewbacca to a planet full of islands.  Atop one of the islands, she meets up, for the first time, with Luke Skywalker.  Luke on the island reminded me of John on the island of Patmos in the book of Revelation. He had vanished (remember the opening screen crawl?) after seeing one of his Jedi trainees go rogue (in this case, Kylo Ren).  Perhaps he was waiting for a revelation of his own.  In John’s case, he came across Jesus himself, who told him to write some letters to a group of churches that needed a wake-up call badly (except for Philadelphia) and provided an amazing look at what will eventually come to pass. We’re not sure about Luke yet, but Rey holds his lightsaber out to him as the camera pans around them and the film ends (one of the best shots I’ve seen in a film in quite a while, I might add).  Perhaps it’s the wake-up call Luke needs to hear.  Sadly, we’ll have to wait a few more years until director Rian Johnson shares Episode VIII with us.

Filed Under: Film, Reviews, Star Wars Tagged With: A New Hope, Alderann, BB-8, Chewbacca, Corcuscant, Finn, General Hux, George Lucas, Greedo, Han Solo, Jabba the Hutt, Jakku, Kylo Ren, Leia, Lord of the Rings, Paul, Peter Jackson, Poe Dameron, Return of the Jedi, Rey, Rian Johnson, Snoke, Star Wars, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Starkiller Base, The Hobbit, The Phantom Menace

38 Years Of Star Wars: A Personal Journey

May 25, 2015 by Mark Sommer 1 Comment

star wars main

Thirty-eight years ago, on Memorial Day, George Lucas changed the course of history with the release of a little film called Star Wars. 

Everything old is new again.

Once you’ve created the wheel, why invent a new one? That’s what big and small screen producers seem to be thinking. Those of us who remember the ’70s and ’80s have been feeling a sense of déjà vu. Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, and even The Muppets are back on the scene.

Often remakes of popular films and television shows pale in comparison to the originals. This is often true of sequels (and prequels), too. Some filmmakers know they can make money by merely appealing to nostalgia. But even the more scrupulous often find it impossible to recapture the nuances which made the original movie great.

When George Lucas released Star Wars, thirty-eight years ago this Memorial Day, I am sure he believed it was a good film. I doubt he thought it would become the icon it would soon become and the influence it still is today. You never quite know what will strike a chord with an audience. By mid-August of 1977, it was clear just how strongly the chord was resonating.

Star Wars was a breath of fresh air in that cynical era. Religion of any kind seemed to be giving way to dry secularism in the culture at large. Many movies of the day were nihilistic, and Obi Wan talking about becoming part of “a larger world” was different.

Luke Skywalker was part of that larger world, and had a close connection to it. However, he had been raised by a cynical uncle who was afraid of the past, fearful Luke would become like his father. It would take mentors outside his family to teach him “the force is strong” in his family. As Yoda would tell him in The Empire Strikes Back, “You must unlearn what you have learned.”

Life is (or should be) about relearning. We are all in a very real sense a product of our history. But we don’t have to be trapped inside the falsehoods we have been told. The problem is we often continue to believe the lies even when the truth is right in front of us. And, as the scripture teaches early in Genesis, knowledge does not necessarily keep us from the dark side.

star wars 2Luke needed intervention in his life, and the implication is something bigger than him was moving him toward those who could help him. But he had to trust his mentors and cooperate with what he was being taught.

When Star Wars was hitting its biggest box office numbers in August of 1977, I was beginning a significant relearning phase of my life. I had enrolled at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. I would only be there one year, but the classes, the classmates, and the whole atmosphere in general made a big imprint on my life. I was unlearning and relearning things about myself and my God, while picking up some ideas that I would later, for better or worse, abandon. And the mandatory English class was honing my writing skills enough that I would later be able to write posts on the internet which are somewhat intelligible.

I am from a very conservative background. I was raised in churches which were part of an Association with the word “Fundamental” in its name. Attending a movie in a theater was generally frowned upon, although many of the older generation had no problem attending G-rated films, and most of my peers were getting more adventurous. Moody had a policy that students were not allowed to attend theaters, although we were allowed to watch television in the student lounge. (It was there I viewed the 1977 animated version of The Hobbit for the first time.) But I was getting some reports from back home about how great this new science fiction film was.

I was able to see Star Wars for the first time in the summer of 1978. I remember rather vividly coming in late to the discount theater where it was playing. The droids were already making their way through the Tatooine desert. It was obvious the copy being shown had seen better days, with the familiar white dots on the screen from the projector shining through holes in the cellulose. But the quality of the film did not deter me. I was hooked.

Unfortunately, by the end of the decade, many evangelical “fundamentalists” were speaking out against the Star Wars movies. They were too blind to see how God was using the films to cause people to think about spiritual things. There was even a backlash against Tolkien, who was seen by some as occultic.

star wars1Obviously I disagree with the extremists who see Star Wars as a back door to Satan. I have abandoned some of the more extreme views of those I grew up under. But I have not abandoned my belief that there is Something bigger than myself, and that belief should make a difference in how I live my life. The films by George Lucas are definitely not a religious rock I stand upon, but I am thankful for those who have considered the “larger world” because the movies exist.

In the coming months I hope to post reviews of the six Star Wars movies in anticipation of the upcoming Episode VII: The Force Awakens. There are most definitely themes which run through the movies which relate to my faith. And, I dare say, there are still some redeemable elements in the “prequels” despite the often poor dialogue and storylines.

Filed Under: Editorial, Featured, Film, Reviews Tagged With: A New Hope, Evangelicals, Force Awakens, George Lucas, Star Wars

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