A reboot? Maybe not that much

Rating: 7/10 (24 March 2016)

Star Wars is a saga that I deeply cherish, it had been following me since I was 5 years old and I still am a big fan of it. You can't imagine the excitement when I heard they were going to make a new film soon, something I literally had dreams about. I will say, I think the 3 prequels could have been much better. But onto the new installment: The force awakens.
Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac), the best pilot in the resistance, was charged to find a map to locate Luke Skywalker. As the first order attacks, Poe charges the little ball droid BB-8 with the burden. Poe gets captured and BB-8 is sent roaming alone in the desert planet of Jakku.
Let's begin with the main fault people find to this movie: "It looks too much like A New Hope". Yes, it has similar plot points, and I almost didn't care. Because what people seem to forget is what new stuff it brings to the table. In a new hope, I don't remember a Stormtrooper, Finn (John Boyega), deserting the imperial ranks. Vader was cool, but he never was as deep as kylo ren (Adam Driver) in the movie. I don't recall the owner of the mos eisley cantina being a 900 years old almost mystical creature. The point is, the new characters, especially Rey (Daisy Ridley) will make you forget about that critic, it has similar plot point, but I found myself not caring that much.
This movie is simple enough, but still complex. It has a basic story; a no-name woman gets the help of a few people to defeat an evil force. And like in the previous star wars movies, it works. I found it fun to have a movie that I could just enjoy and shrink down to being a kid.
Unlike the prequels, the characters seem real; they are 3 dimensional and relatable and likable. Except for one which is a little bit too much powerful, but I suppose the next films will explain some of that. Kylo Ren was a personal favorite, I have a weakness for psychotic and tormented characters, and I just can't explain it. Kylo's frequent outbursts, his inferiority complex and his fears, made him a very interesting character. Dialogues felt real and true to the characters, from Finn's clumsiness and Rey's innocence, to Poe's cockiness.
The special effects are top, there's a very good mix of practical (thank god) and CGI and everything looked real. I really loved the actions scenes, never cutting to explosions Michael bay style; JJ Abram knew how to direct our attention towards the actors while the action was unfolding around them. The cinematography was lovely. I don't know if you ever noticed in the prequels, but the shots were really boring and repetitive. But none of that here, it's much more creative. The lighting is hard to talk about, but in one scene, it mirrors the light work in the duel of episode VI and I loved it, it added a lot to the emotional factor.
The soundtrack wasn't my personal favorite of the six, but was still great, just not as memorable.
It had a few problems, starkiller base (which I don't want to talk about for spoiler reasons) and one scene in particular which had too much CGI for my taste. The similarity to episode IV might annoy some people but I didn't find them distracting at all.
Go see it if you want a fun time, if you want to see fun action, likable characters and a generally good adventure movie. If someone tells you it sucked, listen to what they had to say, ask a review from themthey'll probably tell you about the similarities with ANH and a certain Mary Sue. But it was a wonderful experience, a dream come true for a fan like meI saw it 5 times. What's wrong with me?