Incredible stuff, even though it's in familiar territory.

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2015)

After a really long decade Star Wars is back! J.J. Abrams has done us proud. The Force Awakens, or episode VII (the first in a new trilogy of films to come every other year) as it's been named, is a superb science-fiction film. For the die-hard fans its only gripe is it's a little too familiar in territory, but that's genuinely it. For the newer, younger audiences, TFA leads a path to what's to come. When the blue letters 'A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away' followed by the trademark yellow words swiping up the starry backdrop, I felt like I was 11 again. There's a strong scent of nostalgia mixed in to the story, but for every old memory there's 10 new ones. So many emotions washed through me within a short space of time, as I know my expectations (and everyone else's) are, and were, going to be met. It only takes a few seconds to know we're in the capable hands of someone who's a major fan himself.
Now briefly on to what he's given us. The light side hangs in the balance. The forces of darkness, now known as the First Order, are stronger, bigger, more formidable than ever before. Characters on either side are equal throughout. TFA opens up the SW universe. Jakku's desert looks splendid, derelict AT-AT walkers and Star Destroyers are left abandoned and new arrivals provide different personalities that I want to know so much more about. Adam Driver's Kylo Ren switches from intimidating foe to deeply torn adolescent. All five main newbies (Isaac's fighter pilot Poe, Ridley's feisty girl Ray, Boyega's runaway Fin, Gleeson's evil man Snoke and Driver's Sith) get there chance to shine, just as the older ones so dear to me do as well.
I'm eager to see The Force Awakens again, and even more for the next chapter. Episode VII will keep me feeling happy and young for a long time after its release. Next up, a spin-off called Rogue One!