The guy who plays Kylo Ren didn’t sit quite right with Zach Cosgrove.
With “his big nose and big ears,” Adam Driver wasn’t whom Cosgrove, 25, of Schererville, envisioned for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which he saw opening night with his girlfriend, Jordan Pellegrini, and her dad, John Pellegrini, at the AMC 12 in Schererville. Indeed, for Cosgrove, whom some might call a “purist” as a fan of the franchise, nothing is going to be better to him than the books.
Cosgrove, like many people who jammed the theaters all over the country Thursday for opening night, had concerns about his beloved story. The fact that entertainment leviathan Disney bought the franchise from its creator, George Lucas, weighed heavily on him going into it.
Fortunately, the three enjoyed it.
“It was a really good movie, even if it went in a different direction than what I’ve grown to love,” Cosgrove said. “It also went at a lightning pace, which I wasn’t used to.”
“I thought the pace was good,” Jordan Pellegrini chimed in.
John Pellegrini agreed that the pace was a bit fast for the two-and-a-half hour epic.
Joan Clark, of Chicago, was concerned the director, J.J. Abrams, would add too much of his style to the movie and found he took derivative parts from the other movies. Otherwise, it passed the one test she feared most.
“With the Disney influence, he could’ve brought the Ewok factor back tenfold,” she said, referring to the little robed teddy bears on hovercrafts featured in “Return of the Jedi.”
While Cosgrove, the Pellegrinis and Clark were satisfied with what they saw, Victoria Serviss said the suspense drove her movie date — her mother, Jean Serviss — to tears.
“I grew up in a geek household, and my mom saw all the original films and was going to (‘Star Wars’ conventions) before they were cool,” Victoria Serviss, of Hammond, said. “We pulled into the parking lot, and she started crying because it’d been so long since the last one.”
And she was sure there would be more waterworks when the movie started.
“That’s all right. We have more napkins,” she said.
Over at the AMC 16 in Schererville, the crowd was down to a steady stream of moviegoers from the packed lobby for the sold-out 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. IMAX 3-D experiences, manager Sarah Gates said. And that was after the sold-out, 18-hour “Star Wars” marathon extravaganza the theater hosted of all six prior movies that started at 1 a.m. Thursday and ended with “The Force Awakens.”
Gates, who sported Princess Leia buns, and Markita Bibbs, theater supervisor, said fans of all ages filled the theater, and everyone was patient and having fun.
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“Everyone is bonded by the fact that they’re all here for the same reason,” Gates said. “My friends keep reminding me that I’m experiencing a part of history, and that’s cool to think about.”
One guy, Sam Buckman, 23, of Munster, had tickets for the 11 p.m. showing, so he did what any level-headed fan would do: He got to the theater at 2:30 p.m.
“I’ve learned to not set any expectations, so whatever happens, happens. If it’s terrible, I got to spend time with people; if it’s great, I won’t have to worry that it strayed too far from Lucas’ vision,” Buckman said. “I’m definitely worried there’s a weak storyline and that everything we love about it has been discarded for Hollywood tropes.”
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter with the Post-Tribune.