Very welcome return to Original Trilogy-style storytelling, but falls short of true greatness

Rating: 7/10 (16 December 2015)

Prequels? What prequels? J.J. Abrams and his team have successfully recaptured the heart, humour and humanity of the original Star Wars trilogy. As a fan of the saga since 1977, it's great to see a Star Wars film after all these years that swings the pendulum back towards practical effects, snappy, economical dialogue, and a breakneck pace. No boring Jedi council meetings, somersaulting CGI Yoda or stilted performances here - for me, this film is almost as good as A New Hope and Empire. ALMOST. I have one major problem with it that I won't reveal on a public website (and I'm sure a lot of Original Trilogy fans might agree with me about it). That one thing - which may cause controversy amongst us die-hard fans - prevented me from ranking this film alongside A New Hope and Empire. And in the Minor Problems Dept, well, some characters unfortunately don't get as much screen time as I'd hoped. But for the most part, it's a wild ride and well worth the wait. George Lucas might have forgotten what makes a great Star Wars movie, but thank goodness J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan and their collaborators remember. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega are great, the original trilogy actors are great, there's action galore, some nice little in-joke references to the original films, some hilarious comic moments, and overall the whole thing just FEELS very Star Wars. Great job, cool ending, I'm keen to see where the series goes from here. After 32 years, the Star Wars we all love is finally back.