By Nick Kugge

The force is Frozen in me

– The following program contains my own opinions on the latest episode of the Star Wars franchise – no spoilers –

For a series of unfortunate reasons I’ve only seen the Force Awakens earlier this week. Two hours and sixteen minutes later I left the cinema, the light sabre between my legs.  After all the hype in the press and the good reviews I was massively disappointed. The Force Awakens is nothing more than a copycat of the original Star Wars (Episode IV). For the past days I’ve been reflecting on this disenchantment; after all it is the most viewed film in the world, they can’t all be wrong!

The original Star Wars is probably one of my first cinema memories when they relaunched back in the 90s. What I loved as a child and keep on admiring now was how this universe was not only unique but also remained coherent. The Force Awakens still feels like a Star Wars film; however, there isn’t any new original creation reaching the standards of icons like light sabres, Wookies, X-Wings, etc.

I am wondering how it was to direct such a movie, considering the massive expectations of the public. What was Disney’s main focus…creating a new generation of Star Wars fan while pleasing the old ones? If you’re new to the franchise you’re in for a treat, but if you grew up with Chewbacca’s grunts there isn’t much more to it… So Disney, please stop milking franchises and create a new original IP.