Star Wars: The Force Awakens In-Depth Review

Welcome to my belated review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. As much as I wanted to write up a review as soon as the end credits rolled, I decided to wait. I wanted to avoid being “Phantom Menaced” and watch the film a few more times while the nostalgia subsided. Six trips to the theater, and a much lighter wallet, gave me some clarity on the matter.

While this is not a perfect movie, the pros heavily outweigh the cons and its execution in giving audiences that Star Wars magic is flawless. Perhaps the film’s biggest accomplishment is the introduction of the new characters Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and Kylo Ren.

Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Luke Skywalker are names that transcend pop culture and therefore need no introduction. Casting and character development was the key ingredient in making this a reality for the newcomers and they were delightful in every sense of the word. Continue reading “Star Wars: The Force Awakens In-Depth Review” →

The Awakening Begins

As I head out to the theater to wait in line to see the new Star Wars movie, I kind of feel like Kylo Ren pictured above. It’s dark, there’s a chill in the air, and I’m optimistically on guard with no idea of what awaits me on the silver screen.

Few films in history have had greater anticipation than The Force Awakens. It’s the sequel that fans have been waiting for despite coming to terms with the idea that Revenge of the Sith would be the saga’s final movie. That all changed when Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, and now we’re less than 24 hours away from moving forward in a galaxy far, far, away. Continue reading “The Awakening Begins” →

Star Wars: The Perfect Weapon Review

Star Wars: The Perfect Weapon | Author: Delilah S. Dawson | Publisher: Del Rey | Price: $1.99 | The Road to Episode VII @ Forces of Geek.com

If you’ve been keeping up with all of The Force Awakens coverage, you might have noticed a picture of a woman amongst what appears to be a bunch of pirates. She is wearing a black skull cap, black lipstick and leaning comfortably against a rather large alien.

Her name is Bazine Netal, and she just might be the most deadly mercenary in the galaxy.

The Perfect Weapon is an exclusive eBook and short story set shortly before the upcoming film’s events. Bazine is hired by an anonymous client to locate an ex-Stormtrooper and recover a mysterious package he’s safeguarding. Continue reading “Star Wars: The Perfect Weapon Review” →

Kanan: The Last Padawan #7: Review

Kanan: The Last Padawan #7 | The Road to Episode VII @ Force of Geek.com

Kanan has been the unsung hero of Marvel’s Star Wars comic line. While it hasn’t appeared in the top ten selling comic books such Darth Vader or Shattered Empire, it’s the critical acclaim that has extended this book from a 5 issue mini-series to an ongoing series.

A lot of the credit goes to Greg Weisman who helped shape and establish the character of Kanan Jarrus when he was a writer on the first season of the Rebels animated series.

Kanan’s backstory if rife with many turbulent moments with the catalyst being the death of his master Depa Billaba. Seeing these moments in previous issues augmented Kanan’s current trust issues with clone trooper Captain Rex on the TV show. Continue reading “Kanan: The Last Padawan #7: Review” →

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer and Poster Review

The Road to Episode VII | My column @ Forces of Geek.com

Sometimes, J.J. Abrams’ “Mystery Box” approach to promoting a film can be frustrating. However, this time, he is running on all cylinders as the trailer gave us a lot without spoiling much of anything. I still have no idea what this movie is about, but the revealed footage made my imagination run wild with possibilities.

Kylo Ren standing over the scorched Darth Vader helmet and vowing, “Nothing will stand in our way. I will finish what you started.” Wow, just, wow. What does that even mean? Did Vader have a grand design that none of us are aware of?

Does Kylo know that Vader turned good at the end of Return of the Jedi? We’ve had Sith lords that deal in absolutes, but never a dark side wielder that is clinically insane. What else do you call someone who keeps someone’s thirty-year-old head on a pedestal? Continue reading “Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer and Poster Review” →

Will Raw Feel a Disturbance in the Force?

The highly anticipated trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens will premiere this evening during halftime of the Giants vs. Eagles Monday Night Football Game on ESPN. The game officially starts at 8:15 PM EST and the trailer is expected to air between 9:45pm and 10:00 PM. While this is great news for Star Wars fans, this could be horrible news for WWE. Continue reading “Will Raw Feel a Disturbance in the Force?” →

Star Wars: Shattered Empire #3

Even from beyond the grave, Emperor Palpatine will do anything to protect his secrets. Satellites have been sent to select planets across the galaxy to create typhoon strength storms that will destroy everything in their path.

One of these planets is Palpatine’s homeworld of Naboo. Coincidentally, Princess Leia and Shara Bey (Poe Dameron’s mother) are there meeting with the Queen in an attempt to bring allies to the New Republic. Continue reading “Star Wars: Shattered Empire #3” →

Star Wars Reads Day

This past Saturday marked the fourth annual Star Wars Reads Day! There were thousands of events being held all over the globe as this wide-ranging celebration is on a mission to promote literacy while uniting fans of the franchise.

I’m going, to be honest, I never knew that Star Wars Reads Day was even a thing until my editor at Forces of Geek asked me to write an article about it. Once I looked into what this event was, it resonated with me because Star Wars taught me how to read. Continue reading “Star Wars Reads Day” →

My Journey to The Force Awakens began at Force Friday

Last Friday, my journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens kicked off in style as the first wave of merchandise was made available for the first time. I decided to take advantage of this by attending one of the midnight release events so I could be one of the first to score some of the new action figures…….I mean collectibles.

One of my favorite things about Star Wars is its wide variety of space ships. The Hasbro toy company sells these vast vehicles as a part of their catalog, however, they can be a little pricey. In the upcoming film, there is an orange and black X-Wing fighter that is available for $80.00 retail.

Spending eighty large on one thing could limit the amount of items one can buy. I found a much cheaper and quality alternative courtesy of the Revell model manufactures SnapTite Build & Play kit. No glue, no tools, no paint, batteries included and easy to assemble, the finished product has great detail and makes for an excellent display piece.

I recently wrote an article about my experience on Force Friday with some pictures I took inside of the store. Click here to check out “The Force Friday Awakens” at Forces of Geek.com

Star Wars: Who is Kylo Ren?

There are 125 days until Star Wars: The Force Awakens hits theaters, and it can’t come fast enough for this life-long fan of the franchise. Last week, J.J. Abrams played with my emotions like a fiddle as he revealed some fascinating information in an interview with Entertainment Weekly about the film’s crossguard lightsaber-wielding villain, Kylo Ren.