Brilliant, thrilling new ride

Rating: 9/10 (4 January 2016)

As an admirer of the originals but not an all out fangirl, I wasn't sure if I would enjoy The Force Awakens. I had nothing to worry about, this film was a thrilling adventure with new characters that you connected with as well as seeing old friends. The first 45 minutes to an hour in particular were just riveting.
SPOILER ALERT From the retro scrolling graphics at the beginning, to the grimy, sandy world so reminiscent of the first trilogy, with episodic cut aways, humour, engaging characters and lovable droids, I had a big grin on my face, they nailed the tone and story. Without sounding too cheesy, it was really exciting to see Chewy and Hans Solo burst into scene.
SPOILER ALERT Daisy Ridley being the big lead has been a very well kept secret. She was awesome and great to see a female Jedi kicking ass. John Boyega was great too and funny, both had a lot of charisma and good chemistry. You quickly cared about these characters. As for the baddies, Domnhall Gleeson was practically unrecognisable and to be honest, to counter some of the interesting reviews on here that are unhappy with the leads, the biggest surprise for me was the reveal that the new Darth Vadar is the Brooklyn dwelling hipster, Girls star Adam Driver?!
I can't wait for the next installment, this film deserves all the praise it's getting.