In John Lui's 31/2-star review of Star Wars : The Force Awakens (Return To The Familiar, Life, Dec 18), he says that the "retreading of archetypes is the weakest point of the story".

At some points, I, too, was afraid that the new film was too similar to Episode 4 in plot. But the familiarity is also the basis of its strengths: the one-line quips, the young protagonists' coming of age, the romance of adventure and the mysterious Force.

There are enough dissimilarities to inject original sparks into the film. These include protagonists who are not white males as well as an angsty villain ridden with self-doubt.

Dr Teoh Ren Shang