A fun blast to the past

Rating: 9/10 (19 November 2016)

I was excited about seeing The Force Awakens when it was announced. Also, I was kind of skeptical because the prequel Star Wars movies were hit or miss for me. George Lucas had some great ideas for the prequels, but they fell flat. The mix bag of good and bad performances also didn't help. So, I was a bit reserved about the movie.
It was great that JJ Abrams was announced as director for the movie. I enjoyed with what he did with the 2009 and 2013 Star Trek reboot movies along the 2008 TV series, Fringe. He did a great job with The Force Awakens. At least, he didn't go nuts with lens flares like with the 2009 Star Trek reboot movie.
One of the things I enjoyed about TFA were the new characters. Despite others calling her a Mary Sue, I liked Rey. She was really cool and a great role model for little girls. Poe could've been used more in the movie. Also, I'm glad they didn't kill him off. Even though I like Finn, he acted more like an ordinary, everyday person who was caught up in the movie's events and not like a First Order Stormtrooper turning on his former comrades. I even enjoyed Kylo Ren. It was great seeing familiar face like Han, Leia, and Chewie. They were some of my favorite characters from the original series.
Despite seeing my favorite Star Wars characters back on the big screen, the story was decent. It felt like they were trying to hard to capture the nostalgia of the original trilogy. They could've created some new threat for the new characters to fight against instead of a Death Star knock-off. Also, the movie brought up several unanswered yet important questions that I really wanted answered. The major important question is who are Rey's parents since that kept being brought up. Also, I want to know how Maz Kanata got Luke's lightsaber from Bespin.
Despite its flaws, I really enjoyed watching Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. It lived up to the hype. It's worth watching over and over again on Blu-Ray. Can't wait for Episode VIII and Rogue One to come out in theaters.