Star Wars: The Force Awakens - 12 Reasons It Lives Up To The Hype

2. It Sets Everything Up Wonderfully

It's easy to forget, what with all the excitement of having NEW STAR WARS, that this is just the first film of a whole new trilogy. Episode VII, with VIII and IX to follow in the next few years. The story that Abrams and Kasdan have crafted here isn't self-contained, but one that will continue to grow and evolve. That's why the ending of the film is so important. I've already spoken about the film rhyming with the originals, and if the ending mirrors anything, it's the final shot of The Empire Strikes Back. It's not a direct parallel of course, but in that final sense of hopefulness mixed with despair, that's the feeling it gives. In truth, there's quite a bit left unresolved here. Obviously the major talking point will be Luke Skywalker and Rey, and whether or not they're father-and-daughter, and what will actually happen between the pair irrespective of that. Whatever the outcome, that last shot of the them - finally lifting the hood off Luke Skywalker - was the perfect way to end this movie. After that, though, there's also the small matter of Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke. They aren't going to take things lying down, and the First Order will surely come back stronger in the next instalment - and there's still a lot about Snoke we don't know. You've then got the rest of the galaxy and the state it's in, with the Republic and the Resistance to factor in, whatever happened to Maz Kanata, and the future of our other heroes, Finn and Poe Dameron. That's another way it invokes memories of The Empire Strikes Back. That wasn't a complete movie, but left things in place for the next piece. This is the same. It seems a very long wait for Episode VIII.