A generous, energetic and brilliant return to a galaxy far, far away...

Rating: 8/10 (14 January 2016)

For a starter, I'm not really a Star Wars fan. However, I enjoy the movies but now after seeing The Force Awakens, the way I look at the films has changed. I feel more familiar with the franchise than ever before. A feeling I haven't had with any other film released in 2015.
Daisy Ridley plays Rey, a scavenger living in the Abu Dhabi-shot desert on the planet of Jakku. She one day finds a rollerball droid named BB-8 who she decides to keep. Meanwhile John Boyega's character Finn is a stormtrooper who exits his part in the evil First Order and runs into Rey and BB-8 and embark on a journey to fight against Adam Driver's post-Vador villain Kylo Ren. In the process they bump into an aged Han Solo and co, including a new character Poe Dameron played by another franchise newbie Oscar Isaac.
Its great to have Han Solo and the rest of the old cast back and a grand welcome for two new leads, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, that have enough potential to kick start successful Hollywood acting careers thanks to this. Every performance is rewarding, big or small. Besides Ford, Ridley and Boyega completely steal the show. It's amazing how much talent they've got having not done anything much in Hollywood beforehand. Ford is the one to praise for bringing the nostalgic feeling from the original trilogy back onto it's feet. From the moment his "Chewie we're home" line is said, the real Star Wars is back! It's a moment of magic.
Director J.J. Abrams certainly had a risky task to take on board after the disappointing results of the prequels. He keeps on roots with the originals by using practical effects instead of CGI, real locations rather than green/blue screen and cute, caring creatures instead of another Jar Jar Binks. He knows how to blend old and fresh new ingredients together without ever losing interest in either of them. This is what many filmmakers fail to do. The old and fresh blood are entertaining anyway, almost like two movies merged into one.
There are some flaws I feel though. After all the hype of Kylo Ren leading up to release, he results as a disappointing low key villain with nothing much special or original about him at all, besides the lightsaber. Driver is the wrong casting choice for the role. He's too young and looks less of a villain and more of a commercialised heartthrob. Even the First Order and it's characters feel underdeveloped without any logic to them whatsoever. Also Carrie Fisher's returning Princess Leia isn't the same person we saw last back in 1983. She's turned into a grandmotherly figure and although does a very good job at it, it is hard to see the character everybody once loved.
Amongst these minor flaws, this is one heck of a Star Wars film. The action scenes from lightsabers to X-wing battles are endlessly exciting and John Williams' musical score has become mind-blowingly electrifying in the background. It's a joy to listen to. Abrams' cinematic return couldn't be more surprising. May the force be with him.