A NEW HOPE!

Rating: 7/10 (12 February 2020)

THE DEAD SPEAK! What first began as a whisper of few has now become a deafening roar of many. Fueled by hatred. Corrupted by a hive-mind mentality. Fully withered and consumed by the dark side. I refer not to the glorious return of Ian McDiarmid's delightfully evil EMPEROR PALPATINE, nor the out-of-nowhere, massive fleet he commands and dubs the LAST ORDER. Not of SUPREME LEADER KYLO REN or his FIRST ORDER, who are so close to victory they can taste it in the opening of this movie. I unfortunately am referring to you and I, dear readers.
We, the STAR WARS mega-fans of old. We who have spent the past few years enraged at what they have done to our beloved franchise. While it is a beautiful thing to be passionate about what you love, let us not forget the warning of our little green master - "Anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering."
Remember, in Anakin's desperate mission to preserve what he loved most, he destroyed it and became a monster.
In the weeks leading up to release, I realized that for every aging super-nerd naysayer, there is a youngling out there who is ecstatic to see newcomers such as John Boyega's FINN in these new-era adventures. While maybe not tailor-made to suit you, the force is as strong as ever with the STAR WARS franchise, and I personally find your lack of faith disturbing.
Like many though, I too had a bad feeling about this. However, I am relieved to say, I loved this movie! This is not just a STAR WARS fix, you get an overdose here. From the moment the opening crawl concludes, it reels you in and proceeds to barrage your mind, eyes and ears in an attempt to end the saga with a bang.
A beautiful score, as is the case with it's predecessors. Visually pleasing on an epic scale. The focus is pulled closer to our central characters, which gives more time for them to be fleshed out.
As opposed to 2017's LAST JEDI, this time around the few new characters are handled with an effective less-is-more approach. There are cameos a-plenty, which are sure to tug on your heart-strings. New force powers are explored, serving to expand the mythos. Last but not least, the action knob is turned to 11 and broken off. Lightsaber battles, anyone? Some scenes have very obviously been inserted by J.J. Abrams as deliberate fan-service.
Unfortunately, it is quite a bit further than a kessel-run from being a perfect film. It is plagued by an abundance of plot-holes. New plot-holes are created as they try to patch old ones from previous installments. Lore is blatantly ignored and will leave hardcore fans scratching their heads. While the grand scale of the film delivers an epic finale, from the other side of the coin it can be considered downright ridiculous at times.
However, if you are willing to temper your expectations, return to orbit, and remember that this is fiction made for the sole purpose of entertainment, this movie is a blast. As someone who spent the last two films less than interested in our new heroes and villains, I was left wanting more of them here. Adam Driver steals the show and delivers a very emotional performance. While some points must be force-pushed off the final score, for me it is still a 7/10
May the force be with you!