{"id":20920,"date":"2015-12-17T09:00:12","date_gmt":"2015-12-17T17:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spijue.wpengine.com\/news\/the-force-is-strong-newest-star-wars-resurrects-franchise\/"},"modified":"2015-12-17T09:00:12","modified_gmt":"2015-12-17T17:00:12","slug":"the-force-is-strong-newest-star-wars-resurrects-franchise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/the-force-is-strong-newest-star-wars-resurrects-franchise\/","title":{"rendered":"The Force is strong: Newest ‘Star Wars’ resurrects franchise"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK<\/strong> \u2014 Cue the scrolling of yellow words into outer space: \u201cStar Wars\u201d is back.<\/p>\n

It has taken more than $4 billion, the passing of the torch from George Lucas to J.J. Abrams and enough anticipation to fuel a Death Star, but the force has finally been stirred. Countdown clocks, set in October 2012 when the Walt Disney Co. purchased Lucasfilm, will hit zero on Thursday night when \u201cThe Force Awakens\u201d debuts. Once again, packed movie theaters will echo with the rousing themes of John Williams and the buzz of lightsabers.<\/p>\n

The opening follows a year of intensely watched dribbles of trailer footage, one of the grandest premieres in Hollywood history and a largely glowing critical response that has pushed fan fervor into hyper-speed – even as many die-hards, clutching their advance tickets, cover their ears and anxiously yell \u201cNo spoilers!\u201d<\/p>\n

Much is at stake, from the bottom line of Disney to the hearts of \u201cStar Wars\u201d devotees whose faith was severely tested (but far from extinguished) the last time \u201cStar Wars\u201d returned: in 1999 with the first of a clunky trilogy of prequels.<\/p>\n

As the galaxy far, far away again descends over the globe, a handful of questions surround \u201cThe Force Awakens.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Is it any good?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Critics, embargoed until early Wednesday morning, have roundly praised \u201cThe Force Awakens\u201d as a return to form for the franchise and a loving resurrection of the space opera. The general feeling is that the movie balances old (the original stars, hand-crafted effects) and new (the heirs apparent Daisy Ridley and John Boyega) in a kind of greatest hits of \u201cStar Wars\u201d that, while it may not chart much new ground, flows with the spirit of the original movies. The force is strong with it.<\/p>\n

The New York Times\u2019 Manohla Dargis said \u201cit seamlessly balances cozy favorites … and new kinetic wows.\u201d Variety\u2019s Justin Lang wrote that the film reinvigorates the saga, even if \u201cfan service takes priority here over a somewhat thin, derivative story.\u201d The AP\u2019s Lindsey Bahr said the film \u201cis no more and no less than the movie that made us love it in the first place. In fact, it\u2019s basically the same thing.\u201d Ultimate judgment, however, doesn\u2019t sit with critics but with the fans.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How much will it make?<\/strong><\/p>\n

For months it\u2019s been the favorite parlor game of the movie industry. Will it pass the record $208.8 million domestic debut of \u201cJurassic World\u201d in June? The December marketplace is a different beast than the early summer; the previous top December opening is the $84.6 million for 2012\u2019s \u201cThe Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

It goes without saying that \u201cThe Force Awakens\u201d will smash that. It\u2019s already sold more than $100 million worth of presales. Rival studio executives peg a debut above $200 million and likely surpassing \u201cJurassic World.\u201d<\/p>\n

Analysts, though, caution that the opening weekend is only part of the story for \u201cThe Force Awakens.\u201d Given Disney\u2019s investment and planned rollout of sequels and spinoffs for years to come, the more significant box-office fate of \u201cThe Force Awakens\u201d will be told over weeks and months.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real key here is where we are in March,\u201d says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box office data firm Rentrak. \u201cThis movie gets into the $1 billion club without breaking a sweat.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the film\u2019s all-powerful merchandising soaks up holiday sales, Disney will hope that \u201cThe Force Awakens\u201d plays like \u201cAvatar\u201d and \u201cTitanic\u201d – movies that remained top draws through January and benefited from repeat viewings. The film opens most everywhere internationally this weekend, but doesn\u2019t land in China until Jan. 9.<\/p>\n

\n

Who\u2019s the breakout star?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many contenders here, led by the fierce Ridley and Boyega, who adds to the humor that runs throughout the film. Harrison Ford, too, has drawn some of his best reviews in decades for his reprisal of Han Solo. But there\u2019s no question: the scene-stealer of \u201cThe Force Awakens\u201d is BB-8, the puppy-like droid who bleeps and bloops and rolls away with the movie.<\/p>\n

\n

Are we actually talking <\/strong><\/p>\n

about the Oscars?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t out of the realm of possibility, but \u201cThe Force Awakens\u201d faces the odds of surviving an asteroid field. Academy voters seldom reward sequels, and Abrams\u2019 film is the last-screened entry of the season. It\u2019s not without precedent, though; \u201cStar Wars\u201d was a best picture nominee in 1978 when Woody Allen\u2019s \u201cAnnie Hall\u201d won.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http:\/\/twitter.com\/jakecoyleAP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 Cue the scrolling of yellow words into outer space: \u201cStar Wars\u201d is back. It has taken more than $4 billion, the passing of the torch from George Lucas to J.J. Abrams and enough anticipation to fuel a Death Star, but the force has finally been stirred. Countdown clocks, set in October 2012 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[65],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-20920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-nation-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20920\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20920"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=20920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}