The search for Skywalker

Rating: 10/10 (18 April 2016)

Thirty years after the destruction of the second Death Star and the overthrow of the Empire a new force has risen from its ashes; the First Order. Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi, has disappeared and both the First Order and rebels, who are now known as The Resistance are searching for him. A map to his location has been found and given to rebel pilot Poe Dameron but the First Order's storm troopers attack before he can get it back to the resistance he gives the map to his droid, BB-8, and tells it to get far away.
Dameron is captured buy the sinister Kylo Ren but is helped to escape by defecting storm trooper FN-2187, soon renamed Finn. Their flight doesn't get them far though; they crash and it looks as though Dameron is dead. Meanwhile BB-8 is found by a scavenger named Rey; she shortly meets with Finn and, thinking he is in the resistance they manage to escape in a familiar ship.
Their journey to the resistance base will bring them into contact with some familiar characters and into many life of death situations. We also learn why Luke has disappeared and the connection between Kylo Ren and the central trio from the original 'Star Wars' films.
Anybody who has seen the original 'Star Wars' film will find the plot of this film very similar; this may be a problem for some viewers but I found myself really enjoying this and think it was probably the best film in the series since 'The Empire Strikes Back' it is helped by the lack of things like Ewoks and Jar Jar Binks! The new characters were pretty impressive, in particular Rey and Finn. Their characters developed nicely through the film; this was particularly true of Rey as she starts to discover her strength in using The Force; thankfully the writers didn't rush to explain why she was so strong; no doubt we'll learn in later films. It was great to see many original characters even though Luke's appearance can best be described as a cameo or even a teaser as to what is to come in episode eight. While the overall story doesn't feature any major twists there is one very surprising moment for those who have managed to avoid spoilers. The cast does a solid job; newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega were great as Rey and Finn and of the original cast members Harrison Ford stands out as he has the most prominent role. The film features plenty of exciting action as some humorous moments which thankfully don't feel too forced. Overall I really enjoyed this film and heartily recommend it to fans of the original films.