The most anticipated movie of the year, and how it turned out

Rating: 8/10 (19 December 2015)

Yeah, I know how people who haven't seen this don't want to see any spoilers. I will only write one small spoiler here (I'll warn you when it comes, so read on), but i will tell you what I thought of it. It was actually the first live action (Not clone wars animated stuff) Star Wars theatrical movie since Revenge of the sith. So how was it?
The story in this movie takes place 30 years after Return of the Jedi and focuses on what happens in the future of Luke, Leia, and Han's galaxy, which in the movie is not only expanded, (The desert planet in the trailer was not Tatooine, for example) but features new characters that we focus on throughout. The concept of an expansion to the original trilogy is very engaging, drags people to theaters, and gets people talking about it. Its actually a well executed and much more enjoying than the awful Phantom menace and Attack of the clones. Is it perfect? No. One reason is that it is way too similar to a New Hope. It may sound awesome, but it just takes away any suspense by making it so predictable. But can it be funny even if the trailer insists its an action drama. Yes, because there were some parts that just made me laugh (Even those parts are spoilers, there are so funny). Also, there were a couple of plot holes and questions it leaves that are problems. The story overall can be clumsy for its predictability, unoriginal , with a couple of plot holes, but it is enjoyable for its great execution and nostalgia of the original trilogy.
The special effects, are out of this galaxy far, far, away. I've heard before release that director JJ Adams tried to use as little CGI as possible. Even if there was still some, it sure delivered. The special effects, are epic, from the TIE fighters to the explosions, and the controlled (Non CGI) robot used for BB8. Unlike the Marvel films where the effects are epic but have so much CGI that it makes you think about it all 2 1/2 hours, this didn't have a lot of that and also had less ugly CGI aliens than Phantom Menace. So overall, these are effects some directors should take into consideration.
The characters in this movie are the following: The main character, Rey, starts off doing things similar to what Katniss Everdeen did in District 12 like getting food, for instance, then proceeds to become involved in an adventure. She's not really as appealing as Luke Skywalker, but she is still a good character. There's the other main character, Finn, who is actually a better character because of choosing to be good instead of evil, which makes him a great guy actually. Han Solo is great to see again because he was one of my favorite characters in ep. 4-6. But the problem with him is that he may be a bit like the old man who was once a hero but now a grumpy person, but still a good character. However he gets character development at one point, but it would be spoiler galore to tell you guys. Chewbacca is in it as well, and is also nice to see again, and still pretty helpful and lovable. As for the rest, Leia does appear, but is more quiet in this one than in previous films, and doesn't develop really. Lovable droids C3-PO and R2-D2 are barley in it at all, but are nice to see on the big screen again, making it a positive appearance. Then there's the villain, Kylo Ren. He actually isn't that amazing of a character because he is powerful with his helmet on, but (Small spoiler) actually kind of wimpy with it off (At one point). But he does have a great struggle, making feel like a real character, far more real than Dooku or Darth Maul. There"s one character named Poe, who's important in the first 30 minutes, but then the film seems to forget about him for a while. Finally, there's BB8, the droid with a sphere bottom and a half oval head we see in the trailer. He's very interesting in the first half for reasons I won't get into, but then those reasons tone down, but he's still a cute and helpful little droid to be in it. But most of the characters overall are great.
So overall, the Force Awakens is a good holiday treat to watch in theaters. An improvement to the prequels obviously, but not as good as the original 4-6 movies. But for this weekend of movies, I took it over Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Road Chip because seeing the force re-awaken for the 7th Star Wars film would be more enjoyable for me than hearing atrocious Chipmunk talking/singing for 90 minutes. Seriously, how come they released their 4th film at the same time as this? So Star Wars fans can see it, but they should maybe lower the high expectations a bit because of its flaws.