“The garbage will do”

The Force Awakens

Fan service is a concept that is typically treated as a negative. Hardly surprising as a lot of the nods, winks and references to the previously popular are ham-handed and out of place.

Star Wars usually avoids this trap. Fan service in a galaxy far, far away is typically goosebump inducing, narrative driving, and there is no better example of this than when the Millennium Falcon makes a return to our screens in The Force Awakens. The iconic Corellian YT-1300 light freighter is about to launch back into action.

We’re so excited, we don’t even care that Rey calls it “garbage.” One scavenger’s garbage is a smuggler’s treasure. Besides, she’ll learn in time.

“The garbage will do” as Rey, Finn and BB-8 vie to escape the First Order, as stormtroopers have descended on Nima Outpost, assisted by strafe-running Tie Fighters. The Quadjumper that Rey had eyeballed was blown to pieces in front of our heroes. And so once again, the ol’gal with plenty of surprises is called into action for a daring chase.

The chase as the Falcon is pursued by screeching Ties has every bit of the cinematic spectacle that we witnessed in The Empire Strikes Back. The war torn Jakku landscape provides a perilous backdrop as Rey squeezes the Falcon through impossibly small spaces.

Her trip through the inside of a fallen Imperial Star Destroyer invokes memories of Lando and Nein Numb flying towards the core of the second Death Star in the Battle of Endor.

It’s all fan service and it’s all earned. It propels the story forward and ultimately puts us on a collision course with Han Solo and Chewbacca. We’re going on an adventure and it feels like home.