Finally...the Force awakens!

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2016)

Acclaimed J.J. Abrams directs and co-writes this STAR WARS installment. I remember watching the original with my best friend in 1977 and agreed this is a spectacle. What a hallowed franchise it has become. Although not being a faithful follower, my perspective of THE FORCE AWAKENS probably will leave a lot to be desired.
Three decades have passed since the last episode had Luke Skywalker(Mark Hamill)decide to hideout on a small mountainous island. Harrison Ford returns as a matured, and yet still charming, Hans Solo. Time as not served Leia(Carrie Fisher)well, although now the princess is a general who leads the Resistance. Chewbacca(Peter Mayhew)is still one of the most likable sidekicks ever. C3PO and R2D2 still look the same.
Two likable characters will more than earn their entry into the franchise; John Boyega(Finn)is an AWOL stormtrooper, who meets a beautiful scavenger named Rey(Daisy Ridley), who has crafty skills equal to the best of any fighter. Poe Dameron(Oscar Issac)is a devoted pilot of the Resistance working for Leia. And a new malevolence, the First Order, spawns from the ruins of the Empire.
FX are definitely special in the grand fashion one would expect. So much frantic action it is hard to find a place to sneak away for popcorn or soft drink refills. The detractors of this movie will be, of course, way out numbered by the serious Star Wars fanatics. The story line not exactly simple; but sustains the free thinkers with wide open imagination.
Others in this cast of hundreds(maybe thousands): Max von Sydow, Adam Driver, Gwendoline Christie, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyongo, Nick Walters, Dante Briggins, Dombhnall Gleeson and even Daniel Craig plays a stormtrooper.
This movie proves to be one not to be missed. You don't even have to be a Star Wars fan. And definitely worth watching more than once.