Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

Rating: 10/10 (26 December 2015)

Disney paid over $4 billion to buy Lucasfilm, George Lucas himself served as creative consultant, I was super excited about a new movie, and the original stars returning, it was just a question of whether the acquisition was worth it, forget the prequels (no Jar Jar Binks), directed by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Mission: Impossible III, Star Trek, Super 8). Basically it's been 30 years since the destruction of the second Death Star, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), the last Jedi, has disappeared, the remains of the fallen Galactic Empire have risen and become The First Order, seeking to eliminate Skywalker and the Republic, the Resistance, backed by the Republic, are led by Luke's sister, Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), opposing the First Order and searching for Luke. On the planet Jakku, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) obtains a map to Luke's location from village elder Lor San Tekka (Max von Sydow), Stormtroopers, commanded by Kylo Ren (What If's Adam Driver), destroy the village and capture Poe, his droid BB-8 escapes with the map, and comes across scavenger Rey (introducing Daisy Ridley) at a junkyard settlement. The First Order Stormtrooper FN-2187 (Attack the Block's John Boyega) is unable to kill, gets away, frees Poe and they escape in a stolen TIE fighter, Poe gives him the new name "Finn". Poe and Finn crash on Jakku, Finn appears to be the only survivor, he finds Rey and BB-8 in the village, the First Order find them and attack, the three flee the planet in the stolen, rundown Millennium Falcon. Following a chase and escape, the Falcon breaks down and is captured by a larger ship, piloted by Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew and Joonas Suotamo), they reclaim their former ship, finding Rey and Finn, Han explains that Luke tried to rebuild the Jedi Order, but a student turned to the Dark Side, Luke went into exile and all he built was destroyed. The five escape on the Falcon when attacked by criminal gangs, the gangs inform the First Order of Han's involvement, the Falcon lands on the planet Takodana, the group meet cantina owner Maz Kanata (12 Years a Slave's Lupita Nyong'o), who can help BB-8 reach the Resistance, Rey finds Luke Skywalker's lightsaber, it also belonged to his father Anakin. The First Order have converted a planet into a superweapon capable of destroying star systems, Starkiller Base, Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) orders General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) to use the weapon for the first time to destroy the Republic capital and its fleet, Snoke tells Ren he must kill his father, Han Solo. Takodana is attacked by the First Order, Finn uses the lightsaber in a fight, Resistance X-wing fighters save Finn, Han and Chewbacca, they are led by Poe, but Rey is captured and taken to Starkiller Base, she resists Ren's interrogation and mind-reading, and Rey discovers her powers of the Force, using a Jedi mind trick to escape her cell. Han, Chewbacca, Finn and BB-8 meet Leia at the Resistance base on D'Qar, droid C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) explains that R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) has been inactive since Luke's disappearance, the group learn that BB- 8's map to Luke's location is incomplete. The Resistance plan to lower the planetary shield of Starkiller Base, before it will fire on D'Qar, so the fighters can attack, Leia asks Han to bring their son back alive; Han, Chewbacca and Finn infiltrate the base in the Falcon, the shield is lowered and Rey is found, and explosives are set. They encounter Ren, Han confronts him, using his birth name Ben, and implores him to turn from the Dark Side, but Ren kills his father Han, Chewbacca shoots Ren and sets off the explosives, the Resistance X-wing fighters therefore attack the weapon and the Starkiller Base is destroyed in a chain reaction. Injured Ren chases Finn and Rey to the surface, Finn is injured in a fight using the lightsaber, Rey takes it and overpowers Ren, who is wounded, they are finally separated by the ground crumbling, Snoke orders General Hux to evacuate and bring Ren to him, while Rey, Chewbacca and Finn escape in the Falcon. The Resistance celebrate victory on On D'Qar, but Leia, Chewbacca and Rey mourn Han's death, R2-D2 awakens and reveals the rest of the map, Rey follows this to an island on a distant planet, and there she finds Luke Skywalker, offering him his lightsaber. Also starring Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, Simon Pegg as Unkar Plutt, Tim Rose as Admiral Ackbar (voiced by Erik Bauersfeld), Pip Torrens as Colonel Kaplan, Rocky Marshall as Colonel Datoo, Heroes' Greg Grunberg as Snap Wexley, The Raid's Yayan Ruhian as Tasu Leech, Sebastian Armesto as Lieutenant Mitaka, Warwick Davis as Wollivan, Saw's Ken Leung as Admiral Statura, The Raid's Iko Uwais as Razoo Quin-Fee, 30 Rock's Judah Friedlander as Bar Patron, Thomas Brodie-Sangster as First Order Officer, Bill Hader as BB-8 Voice Consultants, Daniel Craig as Stormtrooper JB-007 and Ewan McGregor as the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ford, Fisher and Hamill returning makes the nostalgia all the more fun, newcomers Ridley and Boyega are fantastic talents, and Driver a great choice for villain, supporting cast members do great as well. I was hoping the feel of the fantastic originals would be reignited, I'm happy to say it met all my expectations, the story is well written and played out, the chase and fight sequences are highly exciting, and the special effects are amazing, this truly is a return to the good old days and I cannot wait for the next, a brilliant science-fiction fantasy action adventure. It was nominated the Oscars for Best Film Editing, Best Music for John Williams, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects, and it won the BAFTA for Best Special Visual Effects, and it was nominated for Best Production Design, Best Original Music and Best Sound. Star Wars was number 24 on The 100 Greatest Pop Culture Icons. Outstanding!