Sets the foundation for the future of the saga

Rating: 8/10 (18 December 2015)

I have never written a review on this site before, but I thought it best to share what I saw last night in the new chapter of Star Wars. Lets note first that I have been a Star Wars fan my entire life even though I wasn't around to watch the originals when they first came out. My father first showed me Star Wars in the worst way possible, with the prequels back in 2000. From an early age, I enjoyed those movies, simply, because I was a child. It wasn't until I was about 16 years old when I realized how ridiculous they were. Of course, the originals were always my favorite, and after brutally making it through Episodes 1 and 2, it was actually Episode 3 that saved my loved for Star Wars. Yes I know that sounds impossible, but the connection into the originals was brilliant and I really loved that. When I was about 10 or 11, after having watched episodes 4-6, my love for Star Wars grew enormously and I never would have thought they would bring it back, giving all us fans years of excitement and anticipation. Now enough about my love for Star Wars in general, let's get to the main topic of discussion. Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
To start, the movie opens with a pretty unique scene. In the Star Wars movies, something I've always payed attention to were the introduction scenes, and this one did not disappoint. From then on, you're thrown in to a pretty good adventure, with a few story point holes that are just never explained. That's what bothered me a good amount about this movie, but I won't spoil any of that for you here. You should see that for yourself. The character introductions are fast, but the progression felt pretty good for some reason, probably because I saw so much of them in interviews, and in trailers that I just felt like I knew them already, which was not a good thing to be honest from a filmmakers point of view. I wanted more real dialogue and less comedy or at least more time to get to know these characters. Another thing that bothered me and a lot of others in the theater, was that the comedy was just too much for a Star Wars film. Its like they tried to use comedic relief to fill the holes they left open in the plot. Some of the comedy was well placed, but most of it was unnecessary, and left me with a bit of frustration because Star Wars isn't meant to be hilarious. You're supposed to get a joke every now and then from Han or another sarcastic character, laugh real quick, and then forget about it and move right on with the rest of the story. Thats just really overdid it here and in my eyes, it brought down the true value of the film. Now lets put all these bad points put aside, and go over some of the brilliant aspects of the movie.
One of the main things I loved about this movie is the villain. Kylo Ren played by Adam Driver is absolutely amazing. I'm not sure if it is my enjoyment of Driver's career all together that made me like this character more, or the fact that I actually felt the sinister evil of the villain in a Star Wars movie for the first time, but something was really done right here. Darth Vader was always evil, yes, but no where near Kylo Ren evil, and boy, is it wonderful to watch. Another great aspect to this movie is, of course, Harrison Ford. No character in any movie, for me at least, beats Han Solo. The lovable smuggler who really just wants to stay away from the action and avoid all responsibility, which, unfortunately for him, is never the case. We get the same character in this movie, and you can sure see that Ford has progressed beautifully in his career to make Han Solo even more amazing in this movie. Also seeing Chewie and Han back together just brought great joy to my heart and a little water to my eyes.
Overall, this movie is wonderful, and J.J. did a great job with almost all of this film. Yes, there were a few things in this movie that I would have done differently, but all together, we get a pretty great Star Wars film that has really set the foundation for the upcoming episodes. From the amazing CGI mastered dog fights between the Rebels and the First Order, to the spectacular lightsaber battles, and to the awesome original shots that offer no effects at all, this movie gives life back to something we all feared passed away back in 2005 with the end of the prequels. Go watch this movie. Take your friends and family. See it, then see it again, and then go home smiling knowing that we are in for a good ride until 2019, when the saga finally comes to a close with Episode 9. You won't regret seeing this movie at all, but I'm sure you'll have your questions after leaving the theater, just like I did. Hopefully, all will be answered in time.