Very entertaining, made for a whole new generation of fans...

Rating: 9/10 (7 January 2016)

I may have been the last man in my town to see this movie, but I finally took it in in all of it's 3D/IMAX glory... and honestly? I thought it was great, very entertaining. I don't understand all of the harsh reviews on this site lambasting this episode.
Over the past couple of weeks I took the time to watch the original three (3) installments since I hadn't really seen these in many years. I loved the franchise as a kid and fondly remember seeing the first Star Wars at a drive-in with my parents in 1977.
Sure this movie shared a lot of the same themes from the 1st episode, but so what? I felt like I was catching up with old friends when I saw Han Solo and Chewbacca first appear. The fight between good vs evil continues on in the galaxy. The Force is still a "force" to be reckoned with, there are still people in the galaxy using it for evil and as the story title tells you....the Force awakens once again in a new set of characters to carry the story forward.
I thought the sound and special effects were spectacular. The alien renditions were closer to real-life than the "puppets" used in the first trilogy, obviously technology's come a long way in 40 years.
The new droid, BB-8, was a great new character and his antics throughout the movie held my attention, yes despite the fact that it caught me reminiscing about R2D2. I thought he was great.
I loved the new character Maz, she being the wise-old barkeep who's seen it all over 1,000 years in the galaxy and who respects the power of the Force and the danger that the New Order will resurrect all of the old Empire terror. Great character. She reminded me a little bit of Yoda.
The new female lead was great as well, obviously Princess Leia has seen some hard living over the past 40 years, her Jedi-fighting days are well behind her, but this new character Rey is just what the franchise ordered to get a new legion of fans to take up the cause of this storyline.
I could take potshots at a lot of incongruities throughout this movie, but hey, it's a movie. It's a story and I thought it was entertaining and it really took me back to the way I felt as a 12 year old mesmerized by this incredible new universe that Lucas spun out of his head.
My wife, who hates all things science fiction (Star Trek, Star Wars) really enjoyed the movie and that's saying something! I think Disney did a good job, and for all of those critics out there vilifying JJ Abrams, cut the guy some slack, he saw it as a kid and I think this installment of the franchise does it justice, despite all the naysayers out there....
I'll definitely check it out again and I can't wait for the next installment!