Reaction Shots

I’m not a fan-boy. That said, I like the Star Wars mythos as I understand it from the films (and the visual world-building is remarkable), but had to double-check to make sure that Mos Eisley is a place, not a person (I got confused with a character’s name in the current episode.) I really don’t like the prequels, don’t particularly care for “The Jedi Strike Back” and view the last three tales of the saga with a mix of sentiment, curiosity, and indifference. I’m not inured to cultural cachet of the series and yes, I teared up whenever Carrie Fisher was on-screen and yes, I found certain parts of this last chapter moving, despite the staple gun patchwork of the script. That latter part feeds the indifference. The curiosity, of course, is how these new films were going to address this massive franchise. Turns out, the new films aren’t bad, but that is most decidedly damning with faint praise. “The Force Awakens” is a beat for beat remake of “The Last Hope” and I actuall...