A good, if flawed, film.

Rating: 6/10 (20 December 2015)

It's finally here! Yes, this film does exist and isn't just a figment of everyones imagination. The most anticipated film of all time has finally landed. So, the question on everyones mind is, how good is it? (No, the question isn't, is it any good?) I think that by now everyone is convinced that This film will be good. But how good is it? The answer to this question is, it is perfectly adequate. Now, don't tear me to pieces quite yet. Here me out first and if you still want my head on a silver platter, that's fine. 'The Force Awakens' takes place roughly thirty years following the events of episode six or 'Return of the Jedi'. But this time we follow some new faces.
Yes, the central protagonist of the original trilogy (Luke) is long gone. And we are left with two new faces. Rey, played by Daisy Ridley and Finn, John Boyega. Finn is a stormtrooper for a new empire called The New Order. Who seems to be following in the very large footsteps of Darth Vader. Needless to say, these are bad dudes. And Finn recognizes this very early on and escapes to Jakku.
This is where we met Rey. A scavenger that roots through wrecked star ships to try and survive. These two join together in an attempt to escape Kylo Ren and the first order. It's a fairly simple story that has some great twists and turns. Twists that I will refrain from spoiling in this review.
Aside from an interesting story 'The Force Awakens' offers some of the best sequences in any Star Wars movie. Thanks to careful direction from Abrams and spectacular set pieces we get some of the coolest action scenes of the year. It's easily the best looking and feeling Star Wars in the franchise. It's gorgeous to look at and a blast to watch.
Not to mention it has a great cast and compelling characters. This is what I loved about this film. As the film moves along we see sides of the old characters that we never have. And the new ones are given their own distinct identities. The film wisely doesn't go to far though. It gives them just enough for us to care about them but not so much where the next films will lack new development. This allows Boyega and Ridley to shine in their respective roles.
But this is not a perfect film. The most noticeable flaw was the lack of one central character. In the original trilogy there is certainly a slew of characters but there is no doubt that Luke Skywalker is the lead. 'The Force Awakens' doesn't have anyone like that. It takes so long introducing everyone that is going to be in the films, that no one becomes the actual star until the bitter end of the movie. We jump between so many different character subplots that it's sometimes hard to keep everything in line.
There are other flaws like Gleeson feeling severely out of place, clashing between VFX and practical effects, and a handful of continuity errors but I will only touch on one more. Kylo Ren. While he himself is not a mistake, but the way the film handles him is. He is easily the most complex character in the entire film. This is because the film gives him (as I felt) a full, three film arc. By the end I was unsure where the next films could go with him because he feels like he has already reached his full arch. ​ 'The Force Awakens' is far from a perfect film. It's bloated, melodramatic, and sometimes even clumsy. But there is no denying that it's a blast to watch. It's able to introduce new characters into its universe with ease. While, simultaneously, being one of the coolest, sleekest films to release this year.