I’m trying to get some writing done, but can’t stay awake. So I’ll kick off The Force Awakens and hope I have more energy later...

Here’s my Empire and Jedi Thread... https://twitter.com/swankmotron/status/1348710113595457536

Here’s Rogue One and A New Hope: https://twitter.com/swankmotron/status/1348334570555416576

Revenge of the Sith and Solo here. (Which is such a weird order) https://twitter.com/swankmotron/status/1347957451698524160

And here’s Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. https://twitter.com/swankmotron/status/1347589108646899713

First thing you’ll notice in The Force Awakens is the first line of the crawl.

“Luke Skywalker has vanished.”

This is the central mystery everyone needs to solve over the next two films. Not just WHERE is he, but WHY?

The silhouette of The Finalizer creeping across the planet is super cool. If he captured nothing else, JJ Abrams captured the aesthetic of Star Wars.

The breathless urgency of this opening is all-consuming. Like, you can FEEL the stakes. And Max Von Sydow puts it over the top. https://www.starwars.com/news/the-cinema-behind-star-wars-the-seventh-seal

The visual device of the blood on Finn’s helmet to make him standout is smart visual storytelling.

And Finn’s “awakening” here has a completely different vibe in the context of him being actually Force sensitive.

Poe’s banter with Kylo, “who talks first? You talk first?” draws a straight line between the comedy of the classic trilogy and General Hugs.

Don’t let anyone gaslight you into thinking any of that is out of place, even in the midst of dire situations.

Rey’s introduction is a beautiful piece of music and her plight feels so separate from the galaxy. Which is, the point. This follows the same cycle as Anakin and Luke in their first parts.

They get excited or determined when they realize they CAN make a difference.

The chemistry between Daisey Ridley and the BB-8 team (credit where it’s due, @BrianHezza) is astounding.

“I had no idea we had the best pilot of the Resistance on board” is one of the driest, drollest lines of comedy in all of Star Wars. Full stop.

Rey waiting for her family is doubly heartbreaking now, knowing they’re definitely dead. She held out hope for a dream and it makes her choice of family and moniker that much more powerful and meaningful.