2nd Time's A Charm

Rating: 9/10 (7 January 2016)

I first saw The Force Awakens about a week and a half ago in my local cinema. Upon arriving at the theatre, I realised that the screening was in fact in 3D. I never go out of my way to see a 3D movie however I was excited when I remembered how good the visuals appeared in the trailers. Besides, I had finally got the hang of my flimsy daily contact lenses so the 3D glasses wouldn't be a problem.
I left the theatre that night satisfied but confused. Did I merely enjoy The Force Awakens because it wasn't The Phantom Menace?
Fast Forward to today. My dad and I went to a 2D screening. I actually discouraged him somewhat because he has just about zero time for the prequels. However, he had free tickets so I agreed (if anything it was worth seeing those Millennium Falcon scenes again). The nostalgia even greater on this occasion because he brought me to the original three when they were re-released in 1997.
I sat down, forgot about the 3D viewing and enjoyed the 2D screening immensely. Fair enough, this time I had a better grasp of the story and, more importantly, the characters. More importantly however, I was also not distracted by the flashy 3D, which in hindsight did nothing for me. Besides, 3D wipe transitions are just absurd.
What they got right this time around was creating a story and setting that belongs to swashbuckling space cowboys rather than the dry deliberations of monkish Jedi and intergalactic diplomats of the prequels. Star Wars is fun again.
Sure, I could have forgone the nostalgic quirks in the plot for an all new approach, but hopefully the sequels will expand into newer territory.
The death of the entire series' most brilliant character broke my heart but it also gave credibility to this new trilogy that would not otherwise exist.