The Force Awakens Is Exactly What We Have Been Waiting for

Rating: 8/10 (27 December 2015)

After watching the initial reveal for the new star wars I was overcome with joy. I grew up with star wars from a young age and went to watch all of the prequels at the cinema and I loved every thing about star wars, from the lightsabers to the death star. I unfortunately wasn't around when the original trilogy was coming out. I don't think i'll ever forgive my parents for that one. So as soon as it let me, I booked tickets to see it. Even then I was only able to get tickets to watch it in 2D on the 23rd. As soon as the credits at the start of the movie began to roll I was hit with a myriad of emotions. I had no idea how to feel. Of course I was excited, but I was also really worried for the film, if it was a failure, it would've ruined most of my childhood memories. I am pleased to say it wasn't.
After seeing the first 10 minutes of the film, it was apparent that JJ had done it. The stormtroopers looked new and as awesome as ever, the re-imagined blasters and lightsabers are fantastic, looking new and original and still staying true to its roots and not changing the overall look of the gear that drastically.
Although I loved the first section of the movie with all of it's throwbacks and references to the original trilogy, as far as I could see they have more or less ignored the existence of the prequel movies, which might not be all that good, but by no means is it a massive downfall. My main gripe with the first half hour or so of the film is the planet on which the events unfold, the planet Jakku is very bland, almost identical to Tatooine(?) and is just a vast expanse of sand with not much to look at apart from the characters. The settings later on on the film are greatly improved much more to offer in the way of scenery.
The characters in the movie are a big part in why this movie has been such a success, the main group of characters are diverse enough to make it different but at the same time still have the same 'zest' that the characters from the original movie have. The supporting cast also give some VERY strong performances, one of the stand out ones being 'Maz' Who runs a bar that mirrors the Mos Eisley Cantina and is also a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Kylo Ren who is the evil sith of the movie gives a stand out performance. (Although I feel they may have made a slight error casting him.) His performance is still fantastic. He has some particularly stand out moments were you can really connect with him, in a weird, twisted kind of way, and he even has some funny moments, thats a good link to my next topic. The humour in the movie is great, after watching the trailers from the movie, and from what I heard going in, I expected it to be a very serious movie compared to the others, but it has some actually pretty funny moments which I'm not going to spoil, you'll have to see them yourself if you haven't already. Despite the light hearted-ness that the movie has it has some pretty big twists and sad moments (Don't worry I won't spoil any!) But I feel that the movie has handled them very well and doesn't put too much, or too little over the top drama into them. Despite the sadness I expect fans to take it well. In summary, the acting is fantastic. The story is fantastic. The effects are fantastic. The villain is amazing. JJ, I salute you. You done good, pal. But the best thing about the whole movie, the thing I enjoyed the most out of the entire time I was in the cinema...
No Jar-Jar bloody Binks.