The Force Awakens – A Spoiler Hound’s Reflections

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What was it like to see The Force Awakens knowing every spoiler available? Spoiler alert: it’s still awesome.

“Reading or hearing a rumor–or even a spoiler–is nothing like seeing it play out on screen. But this wasn’t just any movie, this was Star Wars. Is it possible to actually ruin the experience?”

So….did you see it? Of course you saw it! Everyone reading this saw it (if not, don’t read farther–spoilers abound). This movie was almost everything I had hoped for all these years. It was fast, it was exciting and most importantly, it was FUN! Hopefully you felt the same.

Did it meet your expectations? For me, I went in having no expectations, because I knew what I was getting. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I was a spoiler hound. I’ve never avoided spoilers before, and I haven’t felt like anything I’ve seen before was ruined because of knowing something ahead of time. Reading or hearing a rumor–or even a spoiler–is nothing like seeing it play out on screen. But this wasn’t just any movie, this was Star Wars. Is it possible to actually ruin the experience?

So just how deep did I go? Pretty deep.

I’ve been following the rumor mill on this movie since the very beginning. The excitement from the discussion, the new information and the reveals that were leaking out were not taking away from the movie, but enhancing the experience. It was a puzzle–a puzzle where not all the pieces fit together. Heck, some of the pieces aren’t even for this puzzle. Speculating online was so much fun; there were countless ways this movie could be put together, so knowing the broad strokes of certain scenes still left much to the imagination. Take the opening of the film for example: I’ve known for a while that the film would begin with the attack on the village, but there was so much more to it. The editing and cinematography contributed to the terror that the villagers must have felt as the First Order invaded. When FN-2187 is introduced, John Williams’ score sells the idea of a good person in the wrong place. There is also some great stuff in these first minutes of the film. Kylo uses the force to freeze a laser blast in midair!  There is even some humor in the dialogue between Poe and Kylo–not something I expected. I had an outline of events, not the details, and those are what was truly memorable.

From there, the story line splits into a few different directions.  There is Rey–currently my favorite character in the film–as she scavenges inside a Super Star Destroyer. Like A New Hope, galaxy-impacting events are set to kick off on a backwater planet.  The parallels to the introduction of Luke Skywalker from A New Hope are poignant, without being just a retelling.

Knowing and seeing were two different things, and no discussion could compare to actually seeing it on screen.

That was one of my fears leading up to this movie. Spoiler information was making it start to sound like it could be a remake, a greatest hits if you will, of the original trilogy. After seeing the film, my fears were put to rest.  The Force Awakens feels like Star Wars!  Themes feel familiar, and they should; these are different characters reacting to similar situations in the saga.  Rey, like Luke before her, has lived a solitary life, maybe even more so, and is suddenly swept up in something far larger than herself.  She is hesitant, not wanting to get involved, but can’t help being pulled by her moral compass, doing what is right.  Finn, who has now deserted, also is torn between running for his life and feeling a need to help set things right.

Although there isn’t a lot of background on the political stage the movie is set in, it seemed to tell the audience that the Empire of old is no longer, and the First Order is an entirely different beast. Knowing and seeing were two different things, and no discussion could compare to actually seeing it on screen.

I knew all of the other “major” plot twists and surprises before seeing the film, also. Luke not being in the movie until the very last scene. That Kylo Ren was really Ben Solo, the son of Han and Leia, and now seduced to the dark side by Supreme Leader Snoke–this was confirmed for me the day before I saw the movie. Han’s death had been rumored from the very beginning, and had been, for the most part, confirmed for months before the premiere.

All of these were amazing to see, very well written, and combined with the score were very powerful.  But they were not a surprise. I still enjoyed seeing them immensely. However, I do have to wonder what it would feel like to have not known.  I was checking events off in the back of my mind throughout the movie, knowing what was next and knowing pretty much the exact order that they would arrive.

Was my experience ruined?  I don’t think so.  In a way, I’ve been enjoying this film for the last three years, instead of only one night, but I can’t say for certain, as I can’t really compare it to NOT being inundated with spoilers. The only way to truly know is to avoid them on the next go round, which I think is my plan. I am going to avoid as much as I can for Episode VIII–to truly walk in that theater and not know what is going to play out. There are plenty of unanswered questions at the end of this film, and there should be some major revelations in the next film; I want to experience it the way it is intended to be experienced.

I’d love to hear what your opinion is on this, what you knew before going in and whether it had a positive or negative effect. I had a blast with this movie, and looking forward to the years of discussion and analysis. There is so much to dissect until we get the next installment. So until then…shhhhhh!  I don’t want to know!