51idewS+2OLWith Star Wars: The Force Awakens coming out on DVD, I wanted to check out the book before I watched the movie again (I mean after the two times I saw it in the theatre).

The movie was better than the book when it came to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and I had a feeling that would be the case. But I wanted to check it out for extra bits and pieces I may have missed or “deleted scenes.”

The book did not disappoint in the latter department.

The biggest differences between the movie and the book for Star Wars: The Force Awakens were the additions of internal dialogue and the extra dialogue between characters. Admittedly, the extra dialogue didn’t add much to any of the scenes, and was much crisper in the movie.

The internal dialogue is what fascinated me the most – especially from Kylo Ren.

Obligatory statement: If you have not seen the movie – or read the book – do not read further. Spoilers abound!

In the movie, Kylo Ren was a character that you’re not supposed to like. He is irredeemable. The book doesn’t change that, but instead became a character that intrigued me. The internal conflict was more apparent as was his “attraction” toward Rey.

I don’t use attraction in the physical sense, but there was something that pulled him toward her. He couldn’t place it, but he never did his best when it came to fighting against her. Kylo Ren held a little back. So while Rey was proficient with the light saber for a first-time user, perhaps if Kylo Ren used all of his abilities, we wouldn’t have another movie coming out in 2017.

Another fascinating moment occured during the fight between Kylo Ren and Rey. While Kylo Ren was on the ground after being slashed with Rey’s light saber, she stood over him. In the book, Rey heard a voice in her head telling her to kill Kylo Ren. The dark side was trying to lure Rey to its side. This is not at all apparent in the movie because there it seems like that before she strikes, the Starkiller Base world is torn apart and the two are thrown onto different sides.

In the book, it’s quite clear that Rey chooses life over death.

There were a couple of extra scenes such as showing how Dameron Poe made it out of the dessert in Jakku, and also Unkar Plutt shows up again in Maz Kanata’s bar to punish Rey for stealing the Millennium Falcon.

They were probably left out of the movie for timing purposes, and neither scene advanced the plot, but does offer extra information.

While the book was not as good as the movie, if you’re a Star Wars fan, the book is worth checking out for the extras.

2 COMMENTS

    • It did keep true to the book, and I definitely enjoyed the the insights I didn’t get other wise, but I enjoyed the crisper dialogue and the pacing in the movie a bit more. I wonder if I read the book first and then watched the movie, if my opinion would have been different.

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