Star Wars shines once again

Rating: 8/10 (25 December 2015)

This is my very first review and what compelled me to write it was the amount of unjustified negativism towards this movie (because you can't use as an argument facts that are purposely left open or things that you missed because you were on your cellphone tweeting about how awful the movie is).
First, let us focus on the plot: a former Jedi (not yet Sith Lord, and that is very important to one of the so called "plot holes") turned bad after being trained by a Jedi Master; a force sensitive human only knowing about the force in the adult stage of their life and using it without training, and the need to get back some information to the Resistance. God, it's just A New Hope all over again, I hear you all saying! However, as most reviews will let you believe, the Force Awakens is not the bland copy of A New Hope everyone is making it out to be. Kylo Ren, seen at the beginning as a Darth Vader 2.0, shows that he's the exact opposite of that. He is insecure and constantly doubting himself, giving a more human touch to the character that Darth Vader didn't show until Empire Strikes Back. The movie doesn't start with an already powerful and almost invincible super villain. Instead, it focus on Kylo Ren route to becoming that Sith Lord (notice that he is never called that?), giving us a taste of what the prequels should have done with Anakin, making it kinda poetic, the repetition of a cycle.
Finn is a marvellous character that carries the movie comedy segments, while being serious when he needs to. His storyline kinda resembles Solo's, lacking the will to fight the great threat, but being drawn to do it to save his friends. However, he has much more reasons to run away from the confrontation than Han, since he was created within the First Order, taken away from his family when he was a child, but being the only one that maintained the moral perceptions to understand that what he was about to do for the first time (first scene, where he chooses not to shoot) was wrong. He creates a great relationship in a small time with Poe Dameron (those two have great chemistry), lasting to the very end of the movie without looking forced.
Rey is a character that connects with the audience on so many aspects and a lot of work must have gone into her development. I will not address much about this character, but I will instead talk about what everyone is raging about: Rey's untrained ability with a lightsaber and her success in everything she does. For the people that don't know much about Star Wars, the Force has a high impact on who's sensitive to it. The people that have an affinity with the Force are most likely to succeed, even when not knowing about it. That explains her ability to pilot a ship for the first time (although not perfectly), allied with her scavenger knowledge. To explain the lightsaber use we have to actually pay attention to the movie: when Ren is reading Rey's mind, he mentions that he can see an island in an ocean, implying that Rey has some (unknown) knowledge about Luke's whereabouts. And guess what, Skywalker was indeed at an island in the middle of an ocean, subtly telling us that Rey has some hidden memories.
This movie is a reintroduction to the Star Wars universe and to our new heroes and villains, and it does that perfectly. The actors deliver a great performance and the plot is built in a way that leaves a lot of things open, as should a first movie of a trilogy. The use of a similar story to the New Hope was a good way to get the viewer familiarized with the new characters, to whom you fall instantly in love, while using some moments to capture the nostalgia. It was a damn good film and the Star Wars saga shines once again.