Star Wars Awakens

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2015)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a long anticipated sequel and return to a galaxy far, far away. Return of the Jedi (1983) being the last installment, J.J Abrams takes the reigns as director and services the fans well with a generous dose of nostalgia. There are some cliché or corn-ball moments but there is plenty of new here to be mixed in with the old and it pays off greatly and only left me wanting more.
Oscaar Isaac plays Poe Dameron, the Resistance's star pilot who is sent on a secret mission while newcomer Daisy Ridley plays Rey - a lonely, self-sufficient scavenger living on the planet, Jakku. She encounters a disillusioned storm-trooper Finn, who has 'nothing to fight for'. Together, along with a mysterious new droid BB-8 embarks on a 'classified' mission to return the droid to the Resistance in the fight against the second coming of the Galactic Empire - The First Order and their new face of evil Kylo-Ren, played by Adam Driver.
A strong script from Empire scribe Laurence Kasdan, J.J Abrams (and Michael Arndt) with an interesting premise concerning our beloved hero Luke Skywalker. The film lets the new cast carry the load early on and happy to say the new cast of heroes and villains does an outstanding job carrying the first act. Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Isaac and Driver are all interesting characters in their own right who make them their own. The dynamic and energy between Rey and Finn is kinetic with great dialogue and banter while the atmosphere, sets and locations and craft which has obviously gone into this film is paramount. A far cry from the much-maligned sequels, the realism and grit really shows on screen making everything just that much more authentic in this used galaxy. Blood, sweat, and rust – it's back!
The action scenes are top-notch, the dogfights pitting old favorites X-Wing verses Tie Fighters are some of the the best in the franchise yet and the score by legendary John Williams probably isn't his finest work but never fails to amp you up and get the blood pumping though it was the return of Han Solo and Chewbacca which got me feeling emotional. Harrison Ford hasn't missed a step and absolutely owns it. Carrie Fisher returns as Leia, Hamill as Luke, the droids are back in their respective roles and for some moments it's just like old times, only not quite.
Balancing between new and old is tough and there is just no pleasing some expectations while others just have a negative agenda, especially when it comes to the massive juggernaut that is Star Wars. If I had one nit-pick it was the seeming ease of formulating a plan of attack on the First Order in the final act but it's all very minor in the scheme of things. If you weren't into this movie I feel sorry for you.
I see the haters posting their 1/10 ratings which have been hardly objective or fair. J.J Abrams has an impossible task living up to the original classics but he managed to tick all the right boxes for me - and by the sounds of it lots of others in this resounding success of a movie.
He has brought the spirit, emotion and feeling back to the galaxy which had been sorely missing in the prequels. The argument that The Force Awakens is a blatant rehash of A New Hope is weak. You don't have to be a genius to figure out that there are obvious parallels, beats and similarities. A message in a droid. A desert planet character about to embark on their greatest adventure ala Anakin and Luke. A cantina or bar with a band, a 'death star' type weapon with a trench, a villain in a black mask. The same repetition can be said for James Cameron's Aliens (1986) which is considered one of the greatest sequels of all-time - and rightfully so. Let's take a quick look at Aliens – spoilers ahead for that movie. We revisit the downed derelict ship from the first movie and a colonist gets attacked by a face-hugger to open things just like the first movie when a crewmember does. We have another artificial human character/ corporate crony working for the evil company with questionable motives. The crew from the first is replaced by marines who are introduced all waking up from a cryogenic sleep just like the first movie. There is a detonation finale against the clock with the same voiced countdown, complete with the rescue of a 'smaller' character. The Alien eventually stows away on the ship again and is subsequently blown out of an airlock by the main character (again) and the movie ends the same way, with the main character going into a cryogenic sleep.
The Force Awakens was an ode to the fans who grew up with the originals, it's a story for a new generation and as promised in the opening line is going to 'begin to make things right'.
This was a big win for Disney and Star Wars fans. The new characters are truly memorable and likable. They give it their all and the story itself is an emotional roller-coaster, full of laughs and tears too for those whole hold dear the originals. The climax of the film left me with chills, especially the final shot. It was probably the most powerful moment for me being such a fan of the original trilogy and only serves the anticipation of what lies ahead.