#211: Clyde Barker Reviews "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

In line with yesterday's guest strip that strongly discouraged spoilers, we've got a spoiler-free review of the latest installment in the Star Wars movie franchise.

My own thoughts about Episode VII are similar to Clyde's.

See you tomorrow!

[click for hover]

Tags: Action; Movies; Space; TV

Characters: Barker, Clyde; Beansworth, Harry

Transcript

Harry Beansworth: This is Harry Beansworth for SNN 2. I have the pleasure to announce movie critic Clyde Barker...

Harry: ...with his spoiler-free review of the latest installment of Star Wars, "The Force Awakens." Clyde?
Clyde Barker: Thank you, Harry. Well, to wrap it up before we go into details: "The Force Awakens" brings tears of joy to a fan's eyes! It's a masterpiece!

Clyde: J.J. Abrams treated the franchise with the respect it deserves as an almost 40-year-old classic, and yet he spiced it up with some interesting turns and plot twists. The cast, both the beloved actors from Episodes IV-VI and the newcomers, do their best to fill the characters with life. Let's have a look at a brief scene to see what I mean.

[Scene showing Rey in restraints on Kylo Ren's battleship]
Clyde: English actress Daisy Ridley plays Rey, a young scavenger on a desert planet. She was as unknown as Ford, Hamill, and Fisher were in 1977, and just as talented.

Clyde: In this scene, Rey only has a very vague idea about the Force and how it works, and yet she decides to full Obi-Wan. The way Ridley plays it is intense.
Rey [in the scene]: You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open! -- You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open! -- You will...

[Scene showing Han Solo and Chewbacca]
Clyde: We also meet the heroes of our youth. They are 30 years older, but still as cool as they used to be.
Han Solo [in the scene]: Chewie, we're home!
Chewbacca [in the scene]: Roooooar!

[Scene showing Kylo Ren with his red lightsaber]
Clyde: The main villain, Kylo Ren, played by Adam Driver, is stunning, but not in the way you'd expect.

[Scene showing Finn on the desert planet]
Clyde: John Boyega plays Finn, a deserted stormtrooper, and he does it in a brilliant way.

[Scene showing BB-8]
Clyde: You may have heard that R2 and 3PO are back. But the droid that really steals the show is BB-8, the one that Rey finds in the desert.

[Scene showing Maz Kanata]
Clyde: My favorite character, however, is Maz Kanata, a mysterious and very wise alien played by the great Lupita Nyong'o. And you will probably like her, too. I'm quite sure about that.

Clyde: There are quite a few more great characters I didn't have time to mention, like Poe Dameron. Some have argued that this movie is too similar to Episode IV, but I think that Rey's journey merely mirrors Luke's in "A New Hope." To wrap it up: you should absolutely go watch this movie. Good night.

Harry: Thank you, Clyde. Next up on SNN 2 is the weather forecast.