A remake of episode IV

Rating: 6/10 (16 December 2015)

Story: the script written by Abraams himself along with Lawrence Kasdan (who co-wrote "Empire" and "Jedi") is a solid block of fan service towards Episode IV. It follows identical story patterns - desert planet, kid ready to go off on adventure, mentor comes along the way,etc - but some nice (humorous) twists left and right. Although it delivers with no cringe-worthy scenes, Abraams seems to be focused too much in "New Hope" as he tries avoid the (hilarious) wrath of the internet fan boys. Whereas this is not necessarily a bad decision, it would be been a greater challenge to try to distinguish his film from old ties and allow himself to follow our (old and new) heroes in different settings rather than familiar ones. Of course, this is Star Wars, it had never been about breaking the rules or groundbreaking story material, it is all about family relationships.
Themes: The character interaction is worth the price of the admission alone and it is simply magical to see all those icons that you love talking to each. Main focus here remains the connections between them and the family ties that each one may carry on their shoulders. It had always been a eye catching dynamic that has been explored in the last six films successfully - how Luke reacts to his father's news, how Anakin is going to save Padme, etc - and if it is not broken why fix it? Abraams knows he has a goldmine of characters the audience is willing to see in action surrounded by love, betrayal, friendship, care and heroism and commits rightfully so.
Characters: Episode VII boasts a phenomenal cast - from the main protagonist duo to the film's primary villain. It's a pleasure to have Harrison Ford back as Han Solo with the most scene stealing moments and his chemistry with Fisher and Mayhew (Chewbacca) still holds strong since 1983. It is evident that Ford is having a blast at the iconic role and it seems that it has not passed a day since the concluding events of the "Return of the Jedi". Carrie Fisher has little screen time (unexpectedly) but does justice to the material and regarding Mark Hamill's appearance much cannot be said without giving anything away. Among the newcomers, Daisy Ridley makes a strong impact - likable, fierce and vulnerable - she brings a freshness to the Star Wars myths by being almost at the center of the story in a rather dominant boy- ish series. John Boyega is surprisingly charismatic (and amps the humor to 11!) although his character is rather blunt sometimes and feels like filler. Other wellknown cast members are either minimized cameos - Max Von Sydow, Gwendoline Christie come to mind, what a waste!, or glorified ones - looking at you Oscar Isaac. and this is where the film mostly crumbles. An overabundance of characters offer almost nothing at the proceedings instead they are used as an excuse to move the plot forward. It is admirable that Abraams tries to recreate a vivid world of Star Wars but at one point, we are not caring for most of them as they carry almost no significance or dramatic weight.
Villain: The best element in the film, main player here is Kylo Ren portrayed by Adam Driver. A rather menacing (and badass) presence, his story arc is by far the most interesting with some nifty emotional touches. Driver plays Ren's obsession/confusion to perfection and surely has the most development in the movie. Not only, he summarizes what is wrong with the dark side, tiny little details regarding his emotional attributes build up his character without requiring much heavy handed exposition or long monologues. At this part, Abraams and Co have succeeded tremendously and Driver's performance carries a dramatic (and tragic) weight reminding the glory of "Revenge of the Sith"'s final act.
Direction: Abraams' direction is solid, dynamic and evidently from the Star Trek entries serviceable with similar blended display of CGI and practical effects. However, despite the presence of some inspiring dog fight sequences, Abraams seems to struggle with the lightsaber battle suffering from close ups and intense edit despite the atmospheric setting. It is always good to see no lens flare! - thank you for that - and him trying to keep consistent with the visual flare of the previous films. Following George Lucas's directing (and static) style with a bit of more dramatic movement in the space scenes feels like a natural evolution for a modern entry in the SW canon. Particularly, there is a wonderful shot of Finn fighting his way through a Stormtrooper squad while on the background Dameron is blasting lasers on Tie-fighters. Brilliant. however, it does not bring back any memorable moments due to his insistence to follow the patterns of Episode IV. Although there is a clear enthusiasm, he gets caught in his own excitement to recreate probably his nostalgia. All six films boasted some truly memorable set pieces (Vader vs Luke in Empire, Duel of the fates scene, pd race, Emperor confrontation in Jedi) or visual style (who can forget the almost renaissance like lava landscapes of Mustafar?), yet here, despite the state of the art talent involved, the films feels more a fan service checklist rather than a fully fleshed out adventure.
Despite being a technical thrill and a treat for the holiday season, Episode VII though lacks any emotional punch while it is focused on pulling off the nostalgia flag rather than initiate excitement with something new. Abraams has done a serviceable job as the franchise's first helmer with adequate action scenes and a great cast. He falls short though as he sidelines interesting personalities, events and mini plots threads at the expense of the fan service with a blink and you miss ending that sets up further entries.