An Amazing Action Thrill Ride With Heart!

Rating: 10/10 (22 December 2015)

I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. My heart was pounding in the more intense scenes. The theater collectively laughed at the humor, gasped at the plot reveals, and cheered for our heroes in the moments of triumph.
The performances were top notch all around. The real standout here is Daisy Ridley. She brings to life a character who is simultaneously innocent but strong. She's been described as scrappy and a survivor. That's accurate. But she isn't hardened or bitter, though she would have good reason to be. She's still got a femininity to her despite being able to handle herself in a fight. Her emotion comes through her facial expressions. She doesn't even need any dialogue. John Boyega does a wonderful job of a guy on the run. He's a nuanced character. He has regrets but he wants to do the right thing. He's brave but he isn't always sure of himself. He's reluctant but he's a hero. And Oscar Isaac brings the charisma in buckets. A confident fly-boy who knows he's on the right side and knows he can complete his mission never letting on that he knows he could be killed at any moment. Watching each of the heroes of this new generation was enjoyable.
Adam Driver succeeds in his portrayal of Kylo Ren. It's hard to talk about this character without giving too much away but I'll just say that when Ren is wearing the mask he is definitely scary and imposing. A great villain for the franchise.
Some have expressed some criticism about the similarities to A New Hope. I don't want to reveal plot points so I will just say that I agree the films are similar in structure but hardly similar in the actual story. I'd like to point out that there are a LOT of movies that have a similar plot to A New Hope. Some that came after A New Hope and some that predate it by decades - Hidden Fortress anyone????
I could easily describe this film focusing on the dissimilarities and it would sound NOTHING like A New Hope. Like an improvisation in a jazz song, the theme remains the same but the tune varies. It is not just the same notes played again. The plot goes off on its own to find its own voice and unique story. I have seen A New Hope dozens if not hundreds of times over the years. I know the movie inside and out. Not once during this movie did I find anything predictable. I was genuinely wondering what was going to happen next. I think many people might be disappointed with some of the reveals that happen during the movie because they were expecting plot twists with a surprise level of the Empire Strikes Back. Don't expect that. The movie isn't predictable but there's nothing that's a complete shock. There's a difference between a plot developing and a plot twisting. We get a lot of the former in this film. And that's fine by me.
This was a fantastic addition to the Star Wars series. A great Star Wars movie and a great movie in its own right. I walked out of the theater satisfied and content. I was overjoyed that Star Wars was back in a big way. But I also had dozens of questions rattling around in my mind. Episode VIII can't get here fast enough.