While I’ve only talked to a few people who didn’t care much for The Force Awakens, let’s face it: this movie is under a lot of scrutiny. The original trilogy is much-loved by many, and the prequels…well, they were there whether you liked them or not and a lot of folks were wondering if The Force Awakens was going to live up to the Star Wars legacy.

Personally, I definitely think it did, and while I could write a book about it, I’m just going to give you my ten favorite things from the movie! This is entirely subjective!

Spoilers ahead, please consider yourself warned!

10. Another sassy droid. It’s ok that R2D2 only made a small appearance in the movie, because now we have BB-8 and he’s pretty rad. There’s enough room in my heart for all the droids!

9. No post-credits scenes. Who needs ’em? Not us, we got all the content in the actual movie, thank you very much!

8. Kylo Ren’s new style of lightsaber. I was a little skeptical at first, but he shows us the merits of the design.



7. Self-baking bread. How awesome is that?! First blue milk, now this…do I need to move to a desert planet or what?!

6. Another Cantina Band. Did we need another cantina band scene? Not really. But we got one, and I have zero problems with it. I’m just going to enjoy it. Maybe we’ll get a cantina band album!

5. There was no Jar Jar Binks!!!!!!! Actually, there were also no characters like Jar Jar, so that’s a plus as well.

4. Carrie Fisher being awesome and badass. General Leia? Would you expect anything less? Not to mention she’s totally slaying the haters in interviews and on social media. Go Carrie!

3. A strong female lead. Even these days they are still too rare, but Daisy Ridley exceeded expectations. I’m hoping for some kind of fun mother/daughter relationship between Rey and Leia.

2. All the Star Wars merchandise. Everywhere. There were a few action figures or whatever with the prequels, but it’s like I can’t leave my house now without seeing a kid with a Star Wars toy. This is how childhood should be.

1. The fact that there even is another Star Wars movie (or several, really.) I’d long accepted as a child that there would only be three, and then when the next three came out I more or less made my peace that the Star Wars cash cow had been milked. Then Disney acquired the rights to it and the Force guided them to carry on, because there are stories to be told!