A little movie called Star Wars: The Force Awakens finally hit theaters recently and it’s quickly become both a critical and box office smash. It’s a crowd-pleaser in every sense of the term and definitely lived up to the ridiculous hype we all had a hand in contributing to, but it’s by no means a perfect film. In many ways, The Force Awakens is the perfect set up movie, in that it lays the groundwork for what should be a very compelling and surprising Episode VIII and IX. As a standalone entry in this new trilogy however, The Force Awakens leaves a bit to be desired, which is understandable when J.J. Abrams and crew had to balance so many spinning plates: appeasing old fans, introducing new characters, staying true to the look and feel of Star Wars after the prequels tarnished it all so heavily…it’s a tough order for any filmmaker to fill. and though Abrams stumbles here and there, he did an admirable job of bringing Star Wars back. Now that we can look ahead to Episode VIII, we have a few notes for how that film can improve upon The Force Awakens.
Please note: this article contains **MASSIVE SPOILERS** for The Force Awakens, so if you haven’t watched it yet, maybe do that first before reading.
8. Make Captain Phasma Awesome
One of the most promising new characters introduced in The Force Awakens is Captain Phasma, the badass, chrome-domed stormtrooper commander played by Game of Thrones‘ Gwendoline Christie. Or at least, that was what the pre-release marketing buzz would have us think of her because in practice, Captain Phasma came across like as a wet noodle, accomplishing nothing of consequence and getting taken out in humiliating fashion by Finn, Han, and Chewie. When you hire someone as talented and physically imposing as Gwendoline Christie and dress her up in a supremely cool outfit, you expect results and The Force Awakens just doesn’t deliver in that regard. We already know that Phasma will be back for Episode VIII, so it’s imperative that the film actually does the character justice and makes her live up to what we were led to believe she was — namely, the new trilogy’s answer to Boba Fett.
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