Did ‘The Force Awakens’ really stink? ‘Star Wars’ fans respond
A recent piece by Michael Hiltzik has awakened a kind of Dark Side-Light Side debate among die-hard "Star Wars" fans with a couple of declarations: 1. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is not very good; and 2. It's not really a movie, but the safe "anchoring element of a vast commercial program."
"Why be creative when that will merely interfere with merchandising, and when recycling is more dependably profitable?" he writes.
You can read his entire column here.
Our readers have taken to Facebook to respond — some rebutting and others reinforcing Hiltzik's points. Although some dismiss his contentions simply by saying, "The force is clearly not strong with Michael Hiltzik," others offer more detailed responses. Here's a sampling.
Agree...
"...'Star Wars' should not be just 'a good movie.' It's bigger than that. It should be a boundary-pushing exploration of a fantastical galaxy far, far away."
"It's not a bad movie. But its very recycled and I was very disappointed because of this. I expected JJ Abrams to do something similar to what he did with the Star Trek series and give a fresh perspective on the Star Wars series. But instead all he did was recycle various elements from the past Star Wars which made the movie quite predictable."
"I think [Hiltzik] is spot on. The movie impressed me as a remake of the first 2 films. It was entirely too predictable, and it completely trashed the last few decades of developments in the Star Wars Universe."
"Absolutely agreed. If you enjoyed Force Awakens, great. Enjoy it. But all I saw was a giant commercial of what is to come the next few decades. Hollywood, television, toys, theme parks will only be manufacturing and selling the same few modern mythologies: star wars, DC, marvel, Harry Potter etc. It's going to get old and tired and I can't wait until the fallout."
... or agree not
"Absolute rubbish! This movie was entertaining and anyone who loves Star Wars will love this movie! And it was great to see new fresh faces! They were great actors and I really enjoyed it in IMAX. And I can't wait for Star Wars Land at Disneyland! Disney did a fabulous job with Star Wars. And I'm happy a black man took the lead. It's about time!"
"The art wasn't in the Star Wars but in the naked humanity of the characters. You can go numb to the sci fi but its the "something" in the way the characters were that made it more real. I think that's really what they wanted viewers to grab onto."
"The Force Awakens without a doubt intentionally is filled with callbacks to the original Star Wars, and I agree that it goes a bit too far in that area. However, the reasoning is neither due to lazy storytelling nor attempts to just make a buck, but rather to ensure that this new trilogy (and more specifically, these new characters) stays connected to the first one. Now that the connection has been established, the story is free to go in new directions."
"I felt like Abrams and Disney used this film more as a way of setting a foundation and winning people back who hated the prequels. As one who missed the feel of the original trilogy, it felt good to have it back and made me want more. After Phantom Menace I didn't go see the other two prequels in theaters and just waited for the DVD. I'll be back in the theater for Episode 8."
"[Hiltzik's] biggest mistake was comparing Star Wars to Jaws. Yes, the plot is similar to the return of the Jedi...but there's sooo much more to the story the next movies can explain. Like how Anakin was truly conceived (Darth Sidious) and how that affects the fate of the Skywalker family... Who Rey's parents are ... Who snoke is... How Kylo Ren will develop as the villain. I was skeptical going into the film, but came out very surprised with how well done it was."
"It's clear that there will be some who don't like Star Wars or science fiction or just has little imagination but, I and many others grew up with the originals 4,5 & 6. I remember sitting at the dollar theater all weekend in Austin Texas watching 'A New Hope' all day! The toys we played with took us away to a galaxy far far away. All of the movie quotes we used and still do till this day are a part of our pop culture. I love Star Wars, It can and has been campy at times but it's part of the fun. No other sci-fi franchise aside from Star Trek comes even close but I hope to see this kind of magic again one day and no doubt it will be from someone inspired by 'The Force'."
So what do you think: Was the new "Star Wars" movie a disappointment or a triumph? Or maybe something somewhere in between? Share your thoughts with us here in the comments or on Facebook.
May the Force be with you: @mmaltaisla
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