A more in depth reply, once you've seen it *SPOILERS* (Off-Topic)

by cheapLEY , Thursday, December 24, 2015, 23:56 (3260 days ago) @ CruelLEGACEY

I'm going to see it on Saturday for the second time; I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out on a repeat viewing.

I've seen a lot of folks complaining about it being a "remake" and reusing story elements from previous films. Initially, I was struck by the same thing, and a bit disappointed. The one element I still don't really like so much is Starkiller base amounting to another Death Star. I just don't feel like it makes all that much sense.

The rest of the reused story elements I have actually come to like, because I think they work well, and it speaks to the general themes of Star Wars. Episode 1 reused a lot of the themes of A New Hope (the young kid wanting to get away, the death of a mentor, the typical Hero's journey stuff). The Force Awakens obviously reuses the same elements, and I don't think that's a problem. It's a cycle that will continue.

Then you obviously have the ancient, wise being in Maz Kanata, mirroring Yoda from Empire, setting Rey on her quest by giving her the lightsaber.

My absolute favorite thing, though, is the encounter between Han and Kylo Ren. It is the exact same as the encounter between Vader and Luke in Empire Strikes back; a father tries to get his son to join him. Initially, I didn't really like the scene very much, but I've come to really appreciate and love the way it was done, making it echo almost exactly the scene from Empire. And it's a two for one, as it also echos the scene from A New Hope, where the hero witnesses the death of her mentor at the hands of the antagonist.

At the end of the day, I understand the issues some have with retreading old story elements, but they worked so well for me that I don't mind (in fact I've come to love the way it was done). It seems more respectful than just outright copying to me.

As a side note, I saw a post on reddit the other day that I loved. I doubt it'll end up being true, but I liked the thought:

Basically, it theorized that after Return of the Jedi, Luke swore off combat and vowed to never again wield a lightsaber. He built his Jedi academy on the basis of becoming one with the Force and achieving peace, not teaching combat skills, but instead focusing on meditation and the sorts of things that Qui-Gon taught Yoda and Obi-Wan after his death. This would perhaps go towards explaining why Kylo Ren's lightsaber is so unstable. He was never taught how to build one, and was only able to piece one together perhaps from some old holocrons or other Jedi/Sith records he was able to discover.

So when Rey holds out Anakin's lightsaber to Luke, she isn't only asking for training, she is asking him to break a vow he made, and to perhaps even take up arms against yet another family member, which is the reason he made a vow in the first place.