Impressions from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015)

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2016)

I guess like every fan of the "Star Wars" saga, I eagerly awaited this new movie, and was not disappointed (much). I waited long enough until the massive crowds died down enough that I could finally see the picture and not have to worry about sitting in a heavily crowded theater and being constantly distracted by everything that comes along with a large crowd.
Alas, I was but one of five people at a 1:15 P.M. showing at my local theater.
With the eagerly awaited 2015 "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," I can say that "Alias" J.J. Abrams has fashioned a reasonable sequel to the original "Star Wars" trilogy that began in 1977 and ended in 1983, as well as the much-beleaguered prequel trilogy that began in 1999 and ended in 2005.
The film is not the prequel trilogy and doesn't contain any of its silliness, but it falls short of the epic grandeur of the original trilogy. It's really somewhere in the middle, if you really want to think about it. But I guess, if we were to have a continuation of "Star Wars" following the conclusion of "Return of the Jedi" (1983), then this was it.
This new film is very much a return to the tone and style of the original trilogy, and features a great many nods to those films, while still in other ways continuing the story.
People, and George Lucas (creator of the "Star Wars" saga), have speculated for years that a follow-up to the original trilogy would be something like "The Force Awakens," where a time after the conclusion of "Return of the Jedi," we would return to many of the principal cast members and some new, fresh faces to the saga, as well.
I wasn't disappointed, but aside from a few minor quibbles, this was a worthy entry into the "Star Wars" cinematic saga. I look forward to "Episode VIII" in a few years.
10/10