The best 'Star Wars' movie since 'The Empire Strikes Back'

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2015)

There has been an awakening and it is awesome! No offense to those Ewoks, but STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS is the best 'Star Wars' movie since 'The Empire Strikes Back.' This film is exciting, it's fun, but it's also heart-wrenching and deeply affecting. Clearly the result of a work done with care.
Now this a spoiler-free review, I'm going to keep it that way because this film does have a pivotal plot point that if you spoil it, it would certainly ruin the entire experience. So the secret must be kept until you see it for yourself, it is that crucial.
The story is set years after the events in "Return Of The Jedi," Leia is now a general leading the resistance, and Luke Skywalker has gone missing, the mystery of his whereabouts is constant throughout the film, it is what drives the good guys and the first order, finding Luke becomes their cause. Oscar Isaac plays a great pilot named Poe Dameron who gets captured by the villain Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). But a stormtrooper with a conscience, Finn (John Boyega) helps Finn escape, a situation which then leads to Finn encountering Rey, (Daisy Ridley) a scavenger who's just trying to get by and survive each day. A new adorable droid, BB8, enters their lives and gives them a mission which leads them to Millennium Falcon and Han Solo. These young ones learn about the past, that the jedi and the force are all real. Meanwhile a threat far more sinister and much larger than the death star is wreaking havoc. These new characters will ultimately have to choose whether to stay as who they are or become something more.
What's awesome about STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS is that J.J. brought back everything we loved about the old original "Star Wars" films. He brought back all the fun and excitement that the prequels lacked because those episodes I,II, and III were too busy trying too hard to be political thrillers. J.J. brought back the Millennium falcon and the thrill of aerial fight. Even the light saber fights on the ground are extremely well-choreographed, they keep you on the edge of your seat.
I think the new kids on the block, Boyega, Isaac, Driver, Ridley, all did a fantastic job, and they can go toe-to-toe with the legends, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Luke Skywalker. I think the writers, J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, and Michael Arndt smartly written the film in a way that would bridge the gap between these two generations. STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS is nostalgic for us who've been fans ever since we could remember, but it embraces new fans who may not know much but will now learn more because of this film. It's a great way to pass the baton, it also makes way for the next installment, EPISODE VIII and IX.
This is a very well thought-out film, not a single boring note, nothing about it seems hasty or abrupt, it's well-structured and well-crafted from start to finish. I love how Rey and Finn start out not having a purpose but they end up choosing their own, this is not about destiny placed upon you, it's still up to them in the end, just like how it's my choice to plan on watching this film again and again until I memorize every single line and dialogue.
You geek out when you see something familiar, you geek out when you see something new, you laugh, you cry, you can feel your pulse pounding through the action sequences, STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS is why you go to the theaters. Any of us who had doubts when Disney bought Lucasfilm can now admit that that may have actually been a pretty smart move on their part, definitely a good thing that happened to this property.