Dear
Mr. Abrams,
I
would like to extend a debt of gratitude for the holiday gift that you have not
only given to me, but to all Star Wars
fans. Thank you for making the franchise relevant again with The Force
Awakens. I was able to see the film on Christmas Day, and it was worth all
of the hyped-up anticipation.
I
must also apologize to you as well. To be totally honest, I have not recognized
your work until the past few years. I did not watch any of your earlier
television work when it was originally on, including Alias and Lost,
but I feel a Netflix binge would change that. I liked Mission: Impossible
III when that came out, but at the time didn't make the connection that the
guy who created Lost directed M:I3. It was the Star Trek reboot that forced me to start
paying attention.
Growing
up I was a huge Star Wars fan, but
for some reason never warmed up to Star
Trek. I vaguely remember seeing parts of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, but it didn't resonate with me the
way Star Wars did. My older brother
was into it, recording on our family VCR episodes of Star Trek: The Next
Generation. I was in junior high and high school while the series was on,
and at the time being a Star Trek fan
was not considered cool. For that reason I used to continuously make fun of my
brother and tell him the show was lame. Although it was many years later and I
have matured considerably since The Next Generation's hey day, your 2009
film Star Trek and its 2013 sequel have roped me in as a fan to both the
franchise and your work.
As
for Star Wars, the original film and The
Empire Strikes Back were two movies I watched continuously as a kid, and Return
of the Jedi was one of the first movies I saw in the theater. My brother
and I had a number of action figures that we kept in our C-3PO action figure
carrying cases. In the late nineties I saw all of the reissues in the theater
(including Empire twice). My copies of the films went from VHS tapes to
DVDs and now to Blu-Ray. I think you get the idea.
But
I'm not trying to compare the two franchises here. What you ended up doing for Star
Trek is multiplied tenfold with The Force Awakens, and it blows
George Lucas's three prequels right out of the water. Don't get me wrong there
are some good things with the prequels: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor as a young
Obi-Wan Kenobi, and multiple Jedi with numerous light saber battles. However
people tend to remember the bad: Jake Lloyd as an annoying young Anakin
Skywalker, Hayden Christensen's less than stellar acting, and most notably Jar
Jar Binks. Your combination of intriguing new characters mixed with old
favorites is exactly what diehard fans have been waiting for. Oscar Isaac, John
Boyega, Adam Driver, and especially Daisy Ridley are great choices to spearhead
the new trilogy, and I'm anxious to see where the next films will take them.
In
closing I will reiterate that as a Star Wars fan I thoroughly enjoyed
the movie, but I feel lukewarm movie goers will also have fun seeing The
Force Awakens. I feel that is the most important point. It's an epic film that blends action, humor, tragedy, and drama, which are a majority of the main qualities
people look for in a movie. The bottom line is that you understand what movie
fans want to see. From one fanboy to another, thanks again. I wish you staying
at the helm for the next two films, but you led them off to a strong start.
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