The Star Wars We've Been Waiting For

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2015)

I had very high expectations going into this movie, and was also very worried as I walked into the theater. I was concerned about whether or not this movie would do the franchise a justice, or be another flop. Every expectation I had for this movie was shattered. Star Wars: The Force Awakens had a fantastic blend of action, comedy, drama, and was all brought together by great performances. For starters, this movie is visually stunning. Every scene was eye catching, and kept my eyes virtually glued to the screen. I never found myself wondering when the next scene was coming, because I was totally enthralled on the action on screen. The new characters were incredibly likable, and each had depth to them. My favorite of the new characters are hands down Poe Dameron, Rey, and Fin. Anytime any of these three were on screen, it was just an amazing time. Fin and Rey had great chemistry, and the comedy between them is organic and hilarious. Fin is witty, high energy, and was 100% entertainment through the entire film. Rey was all around bad ass, and played a fantastic lead woman. It was a good twist making Rey the Force sensitive one instead of Fin, which we were all lead to believe. Her character is interesting, and has me wondering about her past, and her future as a Padawan of Luke Skywalker. Poe Dameron and Fin were hilarious with each other, and Poe was a fantastic character to watch interact. Oscar Isaac is fantastic, entertaining me every time he is on screen. Kylo Ren is an incredible villain that has depth, and is a villain that I genuinely want to learn more about, and that I care about. He's interesting, being the son of Han Solo and Leia. Kylo Ren is set up for success. Over the course of the film, Kylo Ren has his mask off a good amount, making it easier to connect to who he is. Speaking of Han Solo and Leia, they were great. They gave a good amount of nostalgia, but not too much, and it works. Watching Harrison Ford play Han Solo was just like watching the Han Solo from A New Hope, just a little older. The nostalgia in this movie was fantastic. The scene where Fin and Rey are running from the TIE Fighter air strike and the camera pans to the Millennium Falcon, got a ton of gasps from the audience. One thing was the amount of little details and nods to the original trilogies really made this movie feel like Star Wars. Admiral Akbar returns, and the Death Star is mentioned, just reminding us all of A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. The biggest problem I had was the look of Andy Serkis' character of the Supreme Leader Snoke. Snoke looked very CGI, but his character was still intriguing, and did not take away from the film in any way. This movie is not flawless, but nowadays, how many movies are? All in all, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a well deserved sequel to the classic pieces of film history that is the original three Star Wars movies. After a substantial amount of time, the Force has Awoken.