Chewie! We're home! Star War: the Force Awakens is a Force to be reckoned with!

Rating: 8/10 (19 December 2015)

The 'Star Wars' film series is so engrained in our pop-culture, that even the rarest of movie fans have heard of it. There is no way in escaping from it! Several generations of people had gone through, at least one of the six films (1977-2005) in their lifetime. After all, the first 3 films (1977's Star Wars: A New Hope, 1980's Empire Strikes Back & 1983's Return of the Jedi) are often seen as the great examples what the ultimate cinema experience was meant to be. While, the chronologically recent 3 prequels releases (1999: Star Wars: Phantom Menace, 2002: Attack of the Clones & 2005: Revenge of the Sith) were somewhat mostly critically hatred. Can 2015's Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens fined a balance in the force? Can it live up to the hype and the high standard of movie goers, everywhere? The answer is a clear yes! Yes, it's better than the prequels, but no, it's not as good as the originals. What it is, however, is a promising start. The Force Awakens indeed awoken the long dormant Star Wars fan-boy in me. It's nearly a cinematic masterpiece with a few flaws. I wouldn't say, the movie is perfect. After all, The Force Awakens has the unenviable task of reintroducing audiences to a beloved cinematic universe isn't an easy task for anybody. Like the original 3 films, none of them were perfect. When you take off your nostalgia goggles, you will see the films for what they truly are, incredibly well-made, extremely fun, smarter-than-average blockbusters. Nothing more, nothing less, and after watching this film, you can put it in that level. I have to say that director JJ Abrams and his crew really did pull it off. With that said, the story is a mixed bag for me. It's a bit predictable. Set 32 years later, the events of Return of the Jedi, the galaxy's greatest hero, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) has vanished. In his wake, a new threat arises, from the defeated Galactic Empire. Now call, The First Order; they attempts to rule the galaxy through power and fear. Only a rag-tag group of heroes can stop them. Can they stop the threat, while also try to rediscover the true reason, why their galaxy's greatest hero, sudden exile from society? Watch the movie to find out! Without spoiling the movie too much, I have to say, like JJ Abrams's last movie 2013's Star Trek: Into Darkness, the movie story is bit of a copy and paste rethread of familiar older films story beats with some differences in the way, in the, it's told. It can be a bit nagging with the 60 year timeline being call a myth, the movie being full of bad exposition spots, un-liking encounters with items and people, and it's lack of show don't tell moments, but for the most part, it does kinda work in establishing the connection from the new films to that of the old. They do somewhat work, together like emotional Han Solo (Harrison Ford) story arch. Make sure bring some tissue. Other moments, not so well. A good example is like how is there a Resistance movement, if the galaxy is once again, ruled by a Republic? Is the New Republic, some type of unseen villain that General Leia (Carrie Fisher) does not like? It doesn't make any lick of sense. The whole reason of conflict was a little awkward and a little unclear. One minute, they looking for maps for Luke, the next minute, it's about stopping a weapon from blowing up star systems. It's a bit flabby. Despite that, the original establishment cast were really great in their limited roles. It's really nice to see the characters back in the film, even the connection between them, wasn't well-established. However, I was disappointed by the lack of Luke Skywalker in the film. The new cast is just as good. Daisy Ridley as Rey, really was able to show the character's strong, capable, and courageous side, while also showing her weaknesses. She does match the role, very well. However, her character backstory wasn't really told, well. John Boyega's Finn was somewhat annoying, due to his mixed sense of morality, but for the most part, he works well in his means. For the most part, Adam Driver as the villain, Kylo Ren was alright, despite other critics might think of him. He show that he can easily be deeply conflicted, between doing what he feels is good and he feels he must do to keep the galaxy safe. From all of the new main characters, Poe Dameron is by far, the weakest. Oscar Isaac did well with the role, but I really didn't see much, character development within the film. In the supporting character side, I was somewhat disappointed with Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) & Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis) with their limited time and acting. These are just a few nagging bits and pieces to them that hopefully will be further fleshed out in future installments, but for now, they are mostly likable and despicable as they are meant to be. They work well off each other and with the old cast, and have a lot of promise for their future growth. The action is well-paced in the film. Never a dull moment. It looks more brutal and realistic, than the previous films. However, the CGI squid alien attack wasn't really needed. Despite that, most of the visual effects were really stand out. I like how the studio preference for using real locations and miniature models over green-screens and computer-generated imagery. The film is more aesthetically, because of that. It does work. The film's score is by John Williams is just as amazing and enduring. Overall: Regardless, what I say in this review, and what critics say about this movie; everybody should see the newest Star Wars film. So find the force within you and check it out for yourself!