The Force is strong with this one. Stays (mostly) true to classic Star Wars tenets.

Rating: 9/10 (19 December 2015)

I recall watching the release (and re-release) of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, as an all-day matinée in '83 when RotJ was first released. The thing i remember, as clearly as if it happened just yesterday, is the buzz, anticipation, and adrenalin rush i had knowing i was about to see all three movies at once. Now, how many people (outside cinema staff) can say they got to see all three originals, in one day, on the big screen? But i digress.
For the most part, The Force Awakens, delivered on the promise of the original three movies, where the later three movies that started with Phantom Menace, mostly failed. With the three middle movies, i found a lot of the material, plot lines, and sub-plots were either tacky, cheesy, or just plain average. I found The Force Awakens to have pretty much returned some great classic/fundamental, old Star Wars flavor, cleverly blended in with the new. No mean feat.
Incidentally, i never got to see the first movie (A New Hope), as i was only eight at the time (in '77) - and i'm still envious of my three older brothers who were all old enough to see it during their high school years, at the time.
In all honesty, for those new to the Star Wars universe, on the big screen, trust me when i say, this movie is an excellent introduction to it.
So it's like this: if the following Star Wars movies are anywhere near as well thought out, produced, and filmed as The Force Awakens is, than die-hard Star Wars fans (like myself), old and young, should just about get the same buzz, anticipation, and adrenalin rush i had, all those years ago, back in '83.