A Good Start... With the Comfortable Feeling of a Worn-In Pair of Shoes

Rating: 7/10 (28 December 2015)

I have been a Star Wars fan my entire life.
Like most fans, I loved the originals... that is, before George Lucas decided Han shot 2nd, Boba Fett needed to sound less menacing and more like a Kiwi, and the dark den of Jabba's Palace was transformed into a comical joke by a ridiculous song, with a CGI Sy and furry Shrek-like creature.
I further suffered under Lucas' penchant for destroying his own creation in the prequels, Episodes I-III. Each time, I told myself, "Surely, it cannot be worse than the previous one." And each time, I walked away from the theater with my head in hands, sorely disappointed that I would never again regain the 2 hrs. of my life back, I had just wasted. The horrid script/dialogue, hideous acting, over reliance on CGI, and soul-crushing love scenes between Anakin the younger (bleh)... and older, Hayden (wooden performance) Christensen and the respectable, Natalie Portman (poor girl, even she couldn't perform the miracle of making her character shine through the stunted lines she was given), left me with the eye-gouging reality that this was the "death of Star Wars." The best of that series, "Revenge of the Sith," still has the stupid Obi Wan dragon thing, coughing robot, hackneyed villain accents, and epic CGI battles, of video game quality, not that of a major Star Wars epic. I'm talking about you Kashyyyk.
So, what does this have to do with "The Force Awakens?" Nothing. And that is the beauty of it! Reading the comments on here, left me wondering if the majority of those who saw TFA had a collective memory lapse of the past 3 films, and the horrid bastardizations of the much beloved originals by Lucas.
TFA wasn't the best movie... And yeah, it pretty much ripped off "A New Hope." Sure, there were moments where I questioned the logic of a star-sucking super weapon and how easily it was destroyed. How come Captain Phasma was such a non-factor in this one? And how does Rey know the Millennium Falcon better than Han? And just how does the Falcon just coincidently end up in the same space that Han's salvage ship resides in? OK. And yeah, maybe it's a bridge too far to assume a novice to the Force, Rey, can beat a Sith like Kylo Ren in hand-to-hand combat. Did the bad guys escape? Did Captain Phasma escape the trash bin?
Even knowing all that, my rebuttal is this: no Jar Jar and no Midi-chlorians.
TFA stuck to what worked in the original Star Wars series. It brought the action alive again, through its use of detailed models, less CGI, more "live action," and less rubbery clone trooper clashes. The saber battles were more visceral and less 1080 degree whirling dervishes. It was better acted; the cast, hands down, made me feel the emotion on screen. Daisy Ridley (Rey) and John Boyega (Finn) were spectacular, and the on-screen chemistry just meshed so well. Even Adam Driver (Kylo Ren), who is receiving knocks by critics, for being petulant and whinny, deserves high praise for playing a developing character, whose story arc is far from over.
Star Wars fans are right to call out Disney and J.J. Abrams for playing it too safe. I get it.
From where I am sitting though, Star Wars has reawakened from its Medieval Dark period, bringing the fire and heart of a saga that sparked the imagination of a generation over 30 years ago.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," is a good start, leaving me eagerly anticipating the next chapter.