In many respects recalls the original Star Wars film.....

Rating: 6/10 (8 May 2016)

The latest addition to the Star Wars stable of films, The Force Awakens, recalls the first film made way back in 1977.
There's a hero who is unaware of her Jedi powers, a new, bigger Death Star and and a villain who shares the same lineage as Darth Vader and wants to be like him.
This film is not really doing anything, in other words, that has not already been done. Moreover, the original achieved what it did with more class and flair. The villain in this film lacks the presence and menace, of Darth Vader. The hero comes across as a rather desperate re-run of Luke Skywalker, whilst, "super sizing" a Death Star doesn't change the fact its still, well, a Death Star.
Reintroducing some classic Star Wars actors and characters, aside from the obvious nostalgia factor, does little to lift this film either.
The result is a rather ordinary flick, that is not bad, as such, but for those of us old enough to remember the original film, its not doing anything new either. Instead, The Force Awakens, looks more like a retread of a much better, earlier, envisioning from the Star Wars universe. Six out of ten from me.