3) The Cast Chemistry
Recommended Videos
Of course, great individual performances help to sell the product, but they aren’t everything. Even the prequels had solid individual turns (from Ian McDiarmid and Ewan McGregor, to name but two). What was missing from those films, however, was the palpable cast chemistry that both the original trilogy and Star Wars: The Force Awakens have.
It’s something that can be so difficult to get right – see the complete lack of affection between Hayden Christensen’s Anakin and McGregor’s Obi Wan, and the total disinterest Natalie Portman’s Padme appears to have for Christensen’s Anakin. Compare that to the sparks that fly between Isaac, Boyega and Ridley, or between Ford and all three, in Episode VII.