Brilliant Special Effects and Nice Mix of the Old and New

Rating: Null/10 (3 January 2016)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
*** (out of 4)
I'm pretty sure every person on Earth know what the film is about and just in case you don't I'm not going to spoil anything here in regards to the plot. Yes, it's basically a reworking of A NEW HOPE with the old and new characters being brought together to go up against the Dark Side.
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS was probably the most anticipated movie in recent memory and as no shocked it turned out to be a massive hit. I predicted when I heard that it was going to be made that it would eventually become the top grossing movie ever made. It hasn't quite reached that mark as of me writing this but I'm sure it will happen. So, we know it was a massive hit but how was the actual movie?
I'm not a major STAR WARS fan but this one here isn't nearly as good as episodes four through six. How could it be? With that said I must admit that I found the film to be extremely entertaining, which is all I was personally asking for. I thought J.J. Abrams did a very good job at building up the new characters and the new story while also keeping the original trilogy fans happy. I thought the screenplay was clever in how the old characters were brought into this new story and I won't complain about any of the events that happen in regards to the story.
The special effects, as you'd expect, are spectacular and they certainly push the level in regards to what can be done today. The various space battles were tremendous to look at and best of all is that they feel 100% authentic and real. There wasn't a single battle where you didn't feel as if you were right there in the action and this is always a major plus. Another thing are that the robotic characters are all well-designed and manage to fit right in with the series. The film is full of wonderful action scenes and all of them are full of terrific atmosphere.
Performance wise, against I'm not going to spoil anything major so all I will say is that the original three actors are all excellent in how they are used. The new people like Daisy Ridley, JOhn Boyega, Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver all are good and I think fans have a nice cast to take this series into the future. Of course, we also have Chewbacca back, which is always fun.
The film does have some flaws and I think some of it is based around the humor. The film goes for a lot of humor and I thought a lot of it didn't work all that well. Ford and Chewbacca get some nice moments together but many times the jokes fell flat. I'd also say that the film ran on a tad bit too long but the ending was so wonderful that it was fun once it came. STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS is really just a set-up for what's to follow and it certainly has me excited for what comes next.