Star Wars: The Force Awakens is Recycled Material

Rating: 7/10 (24 April 2016)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was one of the most anticipated movies in the history of cinema, and most audiences have said that it was worth the wait. The energy and humor in the movie is similar to the original Star Wars trilogy (movies IV, V, and VI). While many people like Star Wars: The Force Awakens because of the nostalgia, I believe that the movie is too much like Star Wars: A New Hope. It is as if J. J. Abrams couldn't come up with any new ideas for the film. Viewers are treated to the same plot, the same scenery, and same characters as A New Hope. Even elements of the film that should have been new are way too familiar— the new characters, for example, are eerily like the old ones. And believe it or not, another Death Star gets destroyed. In short, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a rehash of Star Wars: A New Hope, except that some of the characters are older and now have complex emotional problems.
To begin with, The Force Awakens has a plot that is a little too similar to A New Hope. For example, the movies seem to have the same beginning. Both movies begin with vital information being hidden in a droid to keep it from falling into the hands of the Empire/First Order. Both droids end up on desert planets, where storm troopers are sent to retrieve them. And in both films the droid falls into the hands of the protagonist, who makes a daring escape in the Millennium Falcon. The main difference between the beginnings of The Force Awakens and A New Hope is that The Force Awakens moves faster and has more action, but other than that, things are pretty much the same. And the similar beginnings are just the beginning.
One the biggest surprises in the plot of The Force Awakens is the reappearance of a Death Star—only this time it is called a Star Killer Base. Viewers have definitely seen this before—twice. It is enough to make one wonder why Abrams would use it again. It is a familiar weapon of destruction, but its inclusion makes the viewers question: Is the dark side really that stupid? The Republic has already destroyed two Death Stars in the past. Can the First Order not see that coming again?
Those who view The Force Awakens will have other reasons to feel like this is déjà vu. The setting and overall feel of the two movies are also alike. Jakku, Rey's home planet, is a desert planet very similar to Tatooine, Luke's home planet. The Death Star and Star Killer base could be the same set—both are cold and gleaming, and both have rooms with huge drop-offs. Likewise, the Rebel control center and the Resistance control center have viewing screens that look almost alike, and both seem cramped and chaotic. The similarities make the viewer feel as if The Force Awakens is familiar territory.
In addition to recycling the plot and setting, The Force Awakens also recycles the characters. The new characters are just re-hashes of the old one. For example, Rey is one of the new protagonists in the film. She is very similar to Luke Skywalker—she is an excellent pilot, and the force is strong with her. She is courageous and resourceful. She can use Jedi mind tricks. She is Luke all over again, except she is female. Rey's sidekick, Finn, is also nothing new. He has a lot in common with Han Solo. Finn has bravado and is not afraid to lie to get what he wants (even though he has trouble lying convincingly). He, like Solo, also shows that he is less committed to the Resistance and more worried about his own future when tries to convince Rey to run from the action. While the new characters are like previous characters, the old characters haven't changed much either. I honestly thought it was pretty cool that Abrams decided to bring back some of the old characters, and I was glad to enjoy Han Solo's sarcastic humor again. But as I continued watching I noticed they were doing pretty much the same things they had been doing in the earlier movies. One of the biggest letdowns of this movie was the characters from the past movies seemed really good, strong and exciting, but in this movie I felt like they were suffering from very strong emotional problems. There is lot of drama between Han Solo and Leia because their son, Kylo Ren, turned to the dark side. In The Force Awakens, Han and Chewbacca are once again roaming the galaxy as smugglers, not because they love adventure, but because Han can't handle what is happening at home. Leia is now the general of the Republic, but she is also worried sick about her child. Even Luke Skywalker, who tended to go off on his own in Star Wars IV, V, and VI is once again away from Han and Leia. However, this time he has gone into hiding because someone he was training turned to the dark side. When you think about it, it is kind of disappointing that Leia doggedly keeps fighting with the Resistance while Han and Luke both run away.
One of the reason people liked Star Wars: The Force Awakens so much is because the movie has a lot of the elements from the past movies. While this is an interesting concept, I feel like there is so much similarity from the old movies that it keeps viewers from thinking about the new movie. If you really look at the quality of The Force Awakens, you can see that it is an action packed film meant to draw the viewers in, but that it relies on the emotions of the past films to satisfy their needs. Viewers who come to the movie expecting something new and exciting will probably be disappointed.