Star Wars - The Force Awakens

Plot Summary

Approximately 30 years after the destruction of the second Death Star, Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi, has disappeared. The First Order has risen from the remains of the fallen Galactic Empire and seeks to eliminate Luke and the Republic. The Resistance, backed by the Republic and led by Luke's sister, Leia Organa, opposes them while searching for Luke to enlist his aid.

Resistance pilot Poe Dameron meets village elder Lor San Tekka on the planet Jakku to obtain a map to Luke's location. Stormtroopers under the command of Kylo Ren destroy the village and capture Poe. Poe's droid BB-8 escapes with the map, and comes across a scavenger, Rey, at a junkyard settlement. Ren tortures Poe and learns of BB-8. Stormtrooper FN-2187, unable to kill for the First Order, frees Poe and they escape in a stolen TIE fighter; Poe dubs FN-2187 "Finn". They crash on Jakku, and Finn appears to be the only survivor. He encounters Rey and BB-8, but the First Order tracks them and launches an airstrike. The three flee the planet in a stolen, rundown ship, the Millennium Falcon.

The Falcon breaks down, and is soon captured by a much larger ship, piloted by Han Solo and Chewbacca, who reclaim their former ship. Han explains that Luke tried to rebuild the Jedi Order, but after a student turned to the dark side and destroyed all he had built, Luke went into exile, feeling responsible. Gangs seeking to settle debts with Solo attack, but the five escape in the Falcon. The criminals inform the First Order of Han's involvement. The Falcon crew arrive at the planet Takodana and meet in a cantina belonging to Maz Kanata, who can help BB-8 reach the Resistance, but Finn wants to flee on his own. Rey is drawn to a vault and finds the lightsaber that belonged to Luke and his father, Anakin Skywalker, before him. She experiences disturbing visions and flees into the woods. Maz gives Finn the lightsaber for safekeeping.

At the First Order's Starkiller Base, a planet converted to a superweapon capable of destroying star systems, Supreme Leader Snoke orders General Hux to use it for the first time. It destroys the Republic capital and its fleet and Hux declares it the end of the Republic. Snoke tells Ren that to overcome the call of the Light Side of the Force, Ren must kill his father, Han Solo. The First Order attacks Takodana. Han, Chewbacca, and Finn, who uses the lightsaber in the fight, are saved by Resistance X-wing fighters led by Poe, but Rey is captured and taken to Starkiller Base. Ren interrogates Rey, but she resists his mind-reading. Discovering she too can use the Force, she escapes her cell with a Jedi mind trick.

Han, Chewbacca, Finn, and BB-8 arrive at the Resistance base on D'Qar, where they meet Leia and the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, the latter of which has been inactive since Luke's disappearance. As Starkiller Base prepares to fire on D'Qar, the Resistance devises a plan to lower the planetary shield so their fighters can attack. Leia urges Han to bring their son back alive. Using the Falcon, Han, Chewbacca, and Finn infiltrate the base. They lower the shield, find Rey, set explosives, and encounter Ren. Han confronts Ren, calling him by his birth name, Ben, and implores him to abandon the dark side. Though conflicted, Ren kills Han. Chewbacca shoots Ren and sets off the explosives, allowing the Resistance X-wing fighters to attack the weapon and starting a chain reaction that destroys Starkiller Base.

The injured Ren chases Finn and Rey to the surface. Finn battles Ren with the lightsaber, but is wounded. Rey takes the lightsaber and fights Ren. She overpowers him with the Force and wounds him before they are separated by a fissure. Snoke orders General Hux to evacuate and bring Ren to him, while Rey, Chewbacca, and Finn escape in the Falcon. On D'Qar, the Resistance celebrates while Leia, Chewbacca, and Rey mourn Han's death. R2-D2 awakens and reveals the rest of the map, allowing Rey to travel with R2-D2 and Chewbacca to an island on a distant planet. She finds Luke and offers the lightsaber to him.