Star Wars The Force Awakens and Episode VIII

I watched The Force Awakens last Tuesday and I just want to thank Disney, Kathleen Kennedy, JJ Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, and the cast for giving us this great film. This is the Star Wars that I grew up with. As a fan of the franchise since 1977,  I have to admit that I got a little choked up a few times during this film. Probably the most moving scene was of course Han Solo's death at the hands of he and Leia's son Ben(aka Kylo Ren who is the film's main villain). This film featured some of Harrison Ford's best work, IMO. Seeing the big three leads from the original trilogy back on the big screen was like seeing old friends. I really like JJ Abrams' old school approach to film making. Seems to me like this film sort of mirrored certain elements of the original trilogy without being a rehash of what had been done before. There was a great blend of action, humor, and dramatic elements which made the original trilogy great. The scenes between Han and Leia were classic SW. Ford and Carrie Fisher managed to pick up where they left off without skipping a beat. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega did a great job bringing the characters of Rey and Fin to life. Thinking BB-8 is now my second favorite droid next to R2-D2 who in the film had powered down, distraught by his master Luke Skywalker's disapearence. I found myself cheering for Artoo as he slowly powered back up during the film, thinking to myself "come on, buddy. You can do it." I'm hoping we see more of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in Episode VIII. My prediction is that Episode VIII will focus on Luke like The Force Awakens sort of focused on Han and Chewbaca. Would like to see Billy Dee Williams return as Lando Calrissian. Looks like Lando would certainly have a score to settle. Anyway, that's it for now. Until next time, behave yourselves out there and have a good one, 'later.