Star Wars: the Force Awakens works because it feels fresh and new yet still old and familiar.

Rating: 8/10 (20 December 2015)

There aren't really spoilers in this but I will put up the spoiler alert anyway.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away Without offering the much dreaded spoilers for the people who have yet to see this movie, I had a few thoughts.
 George Lucas was right to allow other people to steer his creation. JJ Abrams is pretty much can't miss these days, and the script is not nearly as clunky or dialog-challenged as some of the original trilogy or the prequels. There is humor throughout, which deviates from the sometimes grim seriousness of the prequels. The story, broken down to its most basic, is simple, and stays on course and urgent in a way that Episode One, with all its talk of trade agreements and midichlorians never did. It resembles many of the elements of New Hope and Return of the Jedi, and it calls back many of the characters that made the original movies so beloved. Fans are rewarded for being fans, and any person who may have never seen a Star Wars actually won't be lost here.
 The injection of new blood, in the characters of Finn, Rey, and Poe are very welcome. Rey is a strong female lead character, Finn is a great character whose transformation from storm trooper to resistance fighter comes early in the film, and Poe enters the series as an absolutely lovable successor to the Han Solo character.
 Harrison Ford plays older Han Solo who has the weight of the universe on his shoulders. Carrie Fisher returns as Leia, and of course there's Chewbacca and the droids. The whereabouts of Luke, the last Jedi Knight is at the heart of the movie. Suffice it to say, all the old favorites are represented.
It is far and away superior to Episodes 1-3, maybe up there with Episodes 4 and 5 (though personally, I feel that Return of the Jedi always gets short shrift—it was always a satisfying conclusion to the original trilogy.) Star Wars: the Force Awakens works because it feels fresh and new yet still old and familiar.