I had a feeling, right from the beginning, I wasn’t going to figure this one out. Never before in the history of episodic television or movies has there been a more confusing franchise than Star Wars. I’m not sure if this a prequel to the sequel or a sequel to the prequel. Right away I realized there were no recognizable characters in this film. So I decided to settle in my seat and follow the story. Once I got into the movie a little I figured out I didn’t need to know where it fell in the chronology. Little by little this well written story began to unfold right on the screen. This is a great film. I recognized just enough to figure out where in the franchise this story fit. This is a testimony to the people that put this film together. I’m out of touch and have never seen two of the movies that were made in the second set of three films. I guess that would mean I haven’t seen episodes two or three. Or is it five and six? I’m not sure. This new film looks like it will be called episode 3.5.
I can’t say enough about how I became riveted to the story. I found it well paced and suited fine for the senior citizen with ADD. The characters included a lot of fresh faces. Yet they became familiar as they ran around in that far away galaxy a long time ago. It was kind of like watching an NFL exhibition game. You recognize the uniform and the surroundings yet the players are different. When the leads are on the screen it’s like watching those free agent rookies that are trying to make the team. Then that wheezy guy with the black cape and the hood shows up and you realize this is the real deal. All in all this was a five star film. There were villains that seemed to have the upper hand. But with a little ” force” and a couple of breaks the heroes prevailed. They showed what some rebels with a little faith and a lot of dedication to doing the right thing can achieve if they put their Jedi minds to it.
huffingpuffpost 