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The Wait Is Over As ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Opens Worldwide

By Sandra Hajda
Published on: 14:41 PST, Dec 17, 2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened internationally on Wednesday, earning a whopping $14.1 million and breaking a collection of monetary and attendance records in its first days, according to IGN.

Vice has already declared that “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens is much, much better than the Star Wars prequels,” adding that the film’s only weakness is that it seems so tailor-made to please fans that at times you feel like you are watching “a remix” of something else — a mash-up of beloved Star Wars tropes pasted together by a director who is not interested in innovating but rather in giving people what they want and expect.

Yes, the prequels had problems — a whole host of them — but at least they cut their own path.

The New York Times were positive, declaring that “the big news about Star Wars: The Force Awakens is — spoiler alert — that it’s good!”

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is directed by J.J. Abrams, who took on the daunting directing task from celebrated Star Wars creator George Lucas. Abrams is being credited with revitalizing the stagnant Star Wars franchise.

Abrams didn’t just direct, he dreamed up the script in conjunction with a team of screenwriters. The plot of the seventh installment — not a prequel but a traditional sequel that continues where the sixth left off — begins with Luke Skywalker in hiding. A collection of other characters — both friends and enemies — are hunting for Vader’s son, according to the New Yorker. The universe is no longer dominated by the Empire but by a successor, the equally nefarious First Order. As the last of the Jedi, Luke is a natural target for the evil First Order, who are determined to hunt him down. A group of virtuous Resistance fighters are determined to find Luke first, before the Order can get their hands on him.

The new script brings along a host of new characters played by young actors who have been widely lauded for their performances.

Memes, fan reactions, spoiler-filled and spoiler-free reviews, and cheeky “trolling” posts aimed at credulous movie-goers have sprung up all over social media. For example, a “rick-roll” version of the famous scene-setting Star Wars rolling opening text has appeared on social media.

Social media activism campaigns inspired by the film have been launched and are gathering supporters.

Styling tips for The Force Awakens opening attendees and reviews of the new CoverGirl Star Wars-inspired makeup collection also started doing the rounds:

‘George [Lucas] seized upon something unique. That’s why [Stars Wars] has been a kind of mythology that people carried with them…it’s extremely important to people.’

J.J. Abrams stated in a panel that his goal with The Force Awakens was not to return to the Star Wars films for the sake of nostalgia but to “return to a place” to tell a new story.

The world that George created was so vast…it was such a fertile ground.

Composer John Williams, who created the distinctive and celebrated scores for the first films, including the Darth Vader and Darth Maul themes, returned to compose the score for The Force Awakens.

[Image by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]

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