The story of the new instalment of one of the most notable franchises has been argued to not be the dominant concern, and maybe this is why the film has gone onto break box office records. It’s been mentioned by a few that the story line of the force awakens was simply recycled from the first star wars film - A new hope. Yes, the two were incredibly similar. There was a death star, and everything else you would expect. But this is the best possible move the Abrams could have made.
In my opinion, the plot was less of a recycled twin, but more of a very close relative to a new hope. It was done this way not only for the nostalgia that would pool in the pits of the stomach of the fans who saw A new hope in theatres the first time around, for people like me who grew up watching it on an old video tape and saw the prequels on the big screen, and the fresh faced kids who are seeing star wars for the first time in the cinema. It’s not recycling the plot, but renewing the excitement that was much needed after the prequels.
However, to suggest that the plot was not original is doing the film a injustice. It helped us to see new world, connect to characters, old and new and helped up learn about these characters in depth, or in a way that left doors open that wouldn’t have been able to if the film had a fresh plot, it is an origin story for many characters, a bridge from old to new. We know the characters so well, and with a wider reach of fans, the box office records were in the bag/ A fresh, new plot would have drawn us away from the new generation of characters, this introductory film has only been achieved due to the fact the film was going to be an inevitable success from the outset.
Something that Abrams insisted on not being in the film - the intense computer generated imagery that the prequels relied on so much attributes to the success of the film. Whether this being nostalgia, or pure aesthetics it doesn’t matter. And whether you liked the film or not, not totally original plot aside, it can’t be denied that the film is witty and filled with action that a huge majority felt was left out of the prequels. The films connects us to the original trilogy in a way that we felt, subconsciously, we would never get again, and it does so without compromising on action, intensity or aesthetics that will not look dated in a mere ten years.
Finally, the force awakens focused more on introduction of the characters, setting us up for the inevitable sequels, which without the film would be more fast paced and missing the substance that made it so successful. The plot is familiar, but the way the film utilised the characters, and the way these characters deviate from its predecessors, and updated technology within the world made it fresh. So I like to think of the Force awakens as something not completely separated from the original trilogy. It’s an extension of them, an extension that we have, so patiently, some more than others, for.
