A new hope - truly

Rating: 10/10 (11 January 2017)

I've always been someone that went to see a film I wanted to see at the cinema, after the buzz had died down, when the seats were more empty and I had the space to take that film in more. It hasn't changed.
I grew up on re-runs of the original trilogy and I loved them. Then in my 20s I saw the three new prequel films which were fun, less dark and seemed benign of any real classic moments (save the fight between Darth Maul, Qui-Gon and Obi-One Kenobi - which in all honesty was brilliant, the birthing of Darth Vader and death of Anakin which should have been far more, was completely cringe-worthy). Quite a different set of films to the original trilogy but had their own merits. By no means classics though that Empire was or A New hope. Still, seeing the original films, I remembered how I felt as a kid towards all of it, it was a universe I very much wanted to be a part of and watching them, I did for the brief hour or two, it attracted me to play the old X-Wing games on my older brothers PC (when he was out!).
I then, in my 30s, went to see The Force Awakens which, it tipped the proverbial hat a few times in acknowledgement to the other films and was somewhat respectful, it was still a very different film to any of the other six and I can only compare it to this decades set of Super Hero films in how it was directed, built up and let down. Still, it was better then the prequels, full of action and romanticised some of the old characters in how they were brought back into it. If this film was a torpedo aiming for an exhaust port 2 meters wide, it missed, by a good foot or so but a try none the less.
Then, when it seemed all hope was lost by many including me. This film, really... was... a new hope. I could only complain that it was too fast paced for some characters to develop but other than that, it is gold, truly in line with the A New Hope, as it needed to be. Everything felt fitting for the whole universe and whilst I do agree Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher were not spot-on recreations of themselves, they were pretty flawless. This film made me feel like a kid again in all kinds of senses, the rushes of the alliance and even the appearances of a matured, menacing Darth Vader (yes, its James Earl Jones!). The main heroes and villains play their part but its important to remember this is a spin off film so I think its fair to understand why they are not developed too much but enough to warrant their places. This film made me tear up several times not just for nostalgia but it just felt right, the space battle scenes were perfect as were the various land battle. The environments, the characters, the Death star, the original Star Destroyers, all of them exactly in keeping with the original universe (now the time line is neigh on the same as the New Hope, I suppose that was obvious to expect).
As you can tell, I really liked it. I wish the main villain and heroine in this film had more development or were just a little more memorable to set this film more on this own than just a add on to a legacy but I still rate it as 10. Star Wars needed a real comeback film and this was very much it.