Star Wars IS Back

Rating: 9/10 (19 December 2015)

Star Wars The Force Awakens is a great movie that is completely worthy of the Star Wars name. Is it perfect? Of course not. There are a lot of problems, but the universe is rich, the villain is fantastic, and the rest of the characters knock it out of the park. JJ Abrams did a fine job returning the Star Wars films to glory, and it is far superior to the prequel films from the early 2000's.
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The final third of the film is where it gets a bit too much, and it all starts after Han Solo is killed by his son, Kylo Ren. Supreme Leader Snoke was poorly rendered with CGI and he was very tough to look at. I think he could have been done with practical effects and camera trickery to look more realistic.
The Starkiller Base is essentially a bigger version of the Death Star and wasn't necessary for this story. At the end, it wasn't nearly as important as Rey and Finn fighting Kylo Ren while trying to escape the base. Most of the Starkiller Base parts are holding back the characterization of Ren, Rey, and Finn.
Ren is a fantastic, conflicted villain. When watching the movie, Ren felt exactly how Anakin should have been portrayed in the prequel films. He is angry, scared, but powerful. Adam Driver deserves an Oscar nomination for his performance.
Daisy Ridley was great as Rey. She was awkward, and a bit anti- social. It makes sense for the character and shows with her reluctance to use a light saber or the force.
Finn, played by John Boyega, also was a great character and portrayed perfectly. Finn was as conflicted as Kylo Ren, even though we still know very little about his back story. Finn, Rey, and Kylo Ren have massive story arcs throughout the movie and all are given proper development.
Overall, this was a great addition to the Star Wars Franchise and definitely lived up to the lofty expectations placed upon the name.