By Cynthia Jessup
After the frenzy of the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, we spoke with a few local fans of a variety of ages to get their perspective on the film.
Kid Reviews
Have you seen the original Star Wars films? If so, how would you compare them to the new one?
Tristan liked the new film, especially the “snow battle scene.” “I have [Kylo Ren’s] mask and a red lightsaber. I have a T-shirt of Kylo Ren and Legos.” –Tristan, 5
“She [Rey] gave Luke his lightsaber and had a staring contest,” he noted matter-of-factly. Why was the ending his favorite? “Because I like staring contests.” –Liam, 7
“I like the new droids and ships, but my favorite Star Wars film was Return of the Jedi. See the old ones first—they’re better.” –Victor, 8.5 (he insisted he wanted the half-year acknowledged)
Adult Reviews
Have you seen the original Star Wars? How does it compare to your experience to this new movie?
“Very comparable, but the big three [actors] played a better interaction than the top three in this film. Also, it was well heralded in papers before coming out as a new thing. We all went to see it, and at Ocean City that summer Star Wars T-shirts and merchandise were everywhere. The next two films were very good also, but it kind of dove with Jar Jar Binks. Everything that year was Star Wars and disco. No one had heard of Luke and Leia, but everyone knew Obi Wan (Alec Guiness) and Harrison Ford.” –Dave Flynn, 57, a sci-fi writer who has published the trilogy Search for the Alien God.
“Original is the best. The new one just is the original three all over—not as good since it’s a pure sequel, nothing new or creative to me. I mean, it’s a fun time and enjoyable movie, but The Force Awakens had so much hype … hard to live up. [It] hits all the right notes but doesn’t try to exceed on anything.” –Simon Lee, 38, a professional in computer science and development.
“[The film from 1977] told a better story and didn’t have so many plot holes. Star Wars was popular because of the original hype.” –Natasha Vega, 30
